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Canadian singer-songwriter Allison Russell has been releasing music for over two decades, but she’s now, officially, a Billboard Hot 100-charting hitmaker, thanks to her new song with Hozier, “Wildflower and Barley.”
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Released March 22 on Hozier’s new four-song EP Unheard (via Rubyworks/Columbia Records), the song debuts at No. 88 on the Hot 100 with 6 million U.S. streams earned in its first week of release, according to Luminate. The EP debuts at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 with 38,000 equivalent album units.
Russell, from Montreal, has had a longstanding career in numerous forms: as a member of the bands Birds of Chicago, Our Native Daughters, Po’ Girl, Tim Readman & Fear of Drinking, Sankofa and Sisters of the Strawberry Moon, as well as a solo recording artist.
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Birds of Chicago, of which Russell is a member with her husband, JT Nero, has charted one title on the Americana/Folk Albums chart: Real Midnight reached No. 22 in 2016. The pair has released two additional LPs: Birds of Chicago in 2016 and Love in Wartime in 2018.
Our Native Daughters comprise Russell, Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah and Leyla McCalla. The quartet’s only studio album, Songs of Our Native Daughters (released on Smithsonian Folkways), reached No. 23 on Independent Albums in 2019.
Plus, Sisters of the Strawberry Moon’s album with Luther Dickinson, Solstice, reached No. 23 on Heatseekers Albums in 2019. The project also includes Amy Helm, Amy LaVere, Coco Mamas and Sharde Thomas.
Russell has also released two solo LPs: Outside Child in 2021 and The Returner last September, both on Fantasy Records. The sets were nominated for best Americana album at the 2022 and 2024 Grammy Awards, respectively. She has earned seven additional Grammy nominations and took home her first trophy at the latest ceremony, for best American roots performance (for “Eve Was Black”).
Following her Grammy win, Russell made headlines when Tennessee House Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison blocked a resolution to honor her, despite allowing a similar resolution to pass for Paramore after the group won its first Grammy. The resolution was presented by Tennessee Democratic Rep. Justin Jones, who aired his grievances on X following the decision. “Tonight my Republican colleagues blocked a resolution honoring Black American Roots artist Allison Russell for her first Grammy win,” he wrote. “[She] has worked tirelessly to foster an inclusive Nashville through her music and continues to make Black History here in Tennessee.”
Russell has long been an outspoken activist outside of music. In March 2023, she teamed with Jason Isbell and LGBTQ non-profit organizations to organize Love Rising, an all-star benefit concert in Nashville in response to the state passing laws banning gender-affirming care for minors and banning drag shows in public spaces. The show featured performances from Brothers Osborne, Sheryl Crow, Hozier and Maren Morris, among others.
As CMA entertainer of the year winner, 10-time Grammy nominee and whiskey enthusiast Eric Church has grown his varied business empire to include being a co-owner of the Field & Stream brand, launching his own SiriusXM music channel, “Eric Church Outsiders Radio,” rolling out the drinks line Whiskey JYPSI and his upcoming six-story venue Chief’s in downtown Nashville. Infusing his personal brand into every part of these ventures has been just as critical as it has been in his music.
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For some artists, putting out a whiskey might involve little more than slapping their name on a bottle—but Church has never been most artists. His name doesn’t appear on a bottle of Whiskey JYPSI, yet he’s been intimately involved in crafting its feel and flavor.
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“It’s not a celebrity whiskey,” Church says of Whiskey JYPSI to Billboard via email. “I’m a whiskey and bourbon connoisseur. It’s what I enjoy. I have my whole life and Whiskey JYPSI was built to produce a unique and high-quality product. It’s a true partnership and I happen to be a creative and that’s how I contribute the most.”
In 2020, Church joined forces with Raj Alva to launch Outsiders Spirits, an incubator for whiskey creativity. On April 2, the new Whiskey JYPSI Explorer Series launches, with the first release from the series boasting a blend of two six-year-old bourbons: a Kentucky-distilled low rye, as well as an Indiana high rye. The new offering follows the inaugural Whiskey JYPSI Legacy Batch 001, which released in 2023.
“We created this – Raj, Ari and I – it was important to us that we could be creative; to have creativity not just at the start, but through the whole process,” Church says. “We’re able to look around the world and find unique ingredients – like our initial Explorer release is finished with wood from the Appalachian Forrest in North Carolina, where I am from, and Legacy 001 had Canadian Rye that was very unique to its location. By finding unique ingredients and making smaller batches, you can super serve the product and get highly creative with the flavors. That’s what makes Whiskey JYPSI different as a brand.”
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Church’s imprint is also on every inch of his upcoming venue Chief’s. The 20,000-square-foot establishment at 200 Broadway in downtown Nashville celebrates its grand opening on April 5, and not only features Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ on the rooftop, but a two-story, approximately 350-capacity live music venue called The Neon Steeple.
The Neon Steeple is set to feature upcoming performances from not only the “Chief” himself, but Ray Wylie Hubbard, songwriter Casey Beathard, Jim Lauderdale, Sunny Sweeney, Suzy Bogguss and Radney Foster. Church has been very hands-on in selecting performers for the venue, with some artists in the inaugural batch of performers having ties to Church’s own music. In 2019, Church’s music video for “Desperate Man” featured the song’s co-writer Wylie Hubbard. Beathard has co-written several of Church’s hits including “The Outsiders” and “Homeboy.”
“I have a vision for it – there is a troubadour element, there is a songwriter element, and that will evolve over time like anything else but that has been the fabric of how we want to activate the first year,” Church says. “I’m excited to do my shows and we will have other artists that people will recognize. For a lot of artists, it will be an underplay, and for others it will be a perfect place to play Nashville.”
Also originating April 5, Church will launch the 19-show “To Beat the Devil” residency at Chief’s—one that promises a wellspring of creativity and intimacy with his ardent fanbase.
“Very rarely do I get to walk out with a guitar in a living room setting,” says Church, who notes that it is likely that attendees will see some surprise guests show up at various shows during the residency. “It’s very rare that you get to go out and have a conversation like that. It allows me to turn the show into a full musical piece and not just playing songs. It was conceived that way. I have most of it sketched out and I can’t wait to do it.”
In August 2023, Church performed two nights as part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s artist-in-residence program, offering up a two-hour, 19-song set that included both Church’s radio hits as well as rarely-heard live renditions. The set was somewhat of a precursor to the unique nights of music he has planned for the Chief’s residency.
“It will be a lot of unique, new music that pertains to different times in my career; stuff that I wrote and maybe didn’t make an album or a story that nobody’s ever heard,” Church says. “That’s part of the reason we are going restrict cell phone use. That’s the only way people can truly be in the moment and experience the moment. As a parent, I understand the challenges of people being away from their cell phone though, so we are going to use Yondr [a pouch system that allows concertgoers to lock away their phones], which allows you access to your phone by stepping outside if you need to – which is important to me. But there will be no recording. What happens there is for the people that fought so hard to get tickets, and they get to talk about it,” Church says.
“It will be a completely unique show and one of the more challenging and special ones of my career.”
American Idol loves a bit of drama. Hollywood is a drama factory. Match it up, and Sunday night’s Hollywood Week episode of Idol delivered so much of the stuff you could chew on it.
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Ziggy, the so-called Dutch pop prince, has gone full diva during this 22th season, sporting colorful, custom suits with matching candy-colored hair. Ziggy isn’t just testing his talents, he’s keen to make his old man proud; the rocker passed away before the season began, before getting the chance to see Ziggy shine in the U.S. singing competition. Mackenzie Sol, a Las Vegas-based TikTok content creator known for his prank videos, has sailed through to LaLa Land, and made fans along the way.With a spot in the final 24, the drama intensified. Ziggy (real name: Ziggy Krassenberg) went first with “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman. Sol followed up with a performance of The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends”.The judges couldn’t separate them, so a challenge was set: a sing-off to “Jealous” by Labrinth or Harry Styles’ “Falling,” with just one hour to prepare. “Jealous” it was. Drama.
Neither singer was happy about the scenario. Nerves were shredded. “I don’t like the fact I’ve got to sing against him, he’s incredible,” remarked Sol backstage.
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A crestfallen Ziggy took his concerns to another level. “This is just insane,” he stated. Sol is “such a good singer, such a pure soul.”
At one point, Ziggy was so freaked out, he stepped into Sol’s rehearsal space and asked him to stop singing. “I am so nervous and you’re making me really nervous,” was the explanation. More drama.
If Ziggy was mortified, he had right to be. Sol, we learned, isn’t just familiar with the song, he used to sing it with his ex, to whom he assured he’d never sing it again if they broke up. “Why not use that pain and sing it for the last time ever,” Katy Perry remarked.
The youngsters took their turn to belt it out. “They both are really good,” Perry later remarked. Good, however, isn’t enough for one competitor.
Perry, speaking on behalf of the three judges, praised Sol’s energy that is “a little unbridled.” Ziggy “you should be so proud because you were so pure and honest,” she enthused. “It’s going to take you to the highest of heights.”
Not in this competition.
Sol shone bright enough to secure a spot in the top 24, and progress to filming at Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa in Ko Olina in Hawaiʻi.
Watch the sing-off below.
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Ye – formerly known as Kanye West – and Ty Dolla $ign have nixed Vultures listening parties that were slated to be staged in multiple U.S. arenas later this month, Billboard can confirm.
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The listening parties were dubbed “Vultures 1 & 2 Listening Experience,” but notably, the Vultures 2 album, which was originally announced for release on March 8, about one month after the release of Vultures 1, still hasn’t materialized.
There’s still no word or sign of Vultures 2, and, now, those listening parties have gone quiet. A spokesperson for Ye tells Billboard those playbacks will no longer go ahead, but is confident new replacement dates will be announced shortly. No explanation has been given for the change of plan.
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At the time of writing, Kanye and Ty are still holding a listening party at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on April 21, with tickets on sale here.
The listening sessions were quietly announced, and largely overlooked by the mainstream media.
Evidence of those shows can spotted, however, at Ticketmaster which hosts a page for the Washington D.C. “experience,” with a broken link.
A statement from Amelie Arena in Tampa, FL reads, “We regret to report that due to the time constraints for Ye and Ty Dolla $ign to curate production and meet logistic requirements, the upcoming dates for the VULTURES 1&2 listening experience will need to be revisited at a later date.” Amelie Arena was scheduled to host the playback on April 14.
Variety’s Chris Willman was first to report the canceled U.S. playbacks, which were also penciled-in for venues in Fort Lauderdale, FL; Pittsburgh, PA; Nashville, TN; and Charlotte, NC.
The delayed Vultures 1 project enjoyed a fast start around the globe when it finally dropped, including a back-to-back stint at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in February, for Ye’s eighth consecutive No. 1 album dating all the way back to 2005’s Late Registration.
That two-week stint at the summit for Vultures 1 marked the first time West held the top spot for more than a week since 2011’s collaborative album with Jay-Z, Watch The Throne. The latest LP also topped Australia’s ARIA Albums Chart and opened at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.
A handful of listening parties built the buzz for Vultures 1, and the hip-hop pair would appear on stage at Rolling Loud California on March 14, for a performance that divided audiences as either a spectacle of high-art or next-level trolling.
Michael McMartin, the Canada-born entrepreneur who settled in Australia, where he established the framework for a professional music management community and guided the Hoodoo Gurus for four decades, died Sunday (March 31) following a lengthy illness. He was 79.
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“Michael had been undergoing treatment for cancer for a number of years but, despite the best efforts of his medical team, he succumbed to his illness peacefully around noon on Easter Sunday, surrounded by his beloved family,” reads a statement from the McMartin family.
Born on Vancouver Island on March 12, 1945, McMartin completed his BA (Political Science) at Loyola College in Montreal. He relocated to Australia in 1971, and, several years later, joined forces with producer Charles Fisher to form Trafalgar Records, the independent recording and publishing enterprise.
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In 1985, he established Melody Management. His first clients were the Hoodoo Gurus, whom he signed to their first record deal in 1982 and commenced managing three years later, in 1985. It was a relationship that would see the Gurus enter the ARIA Hall of Fame, in 2009, and would last until McMartin announced in February of this year that he would be stepping down from that role due to ill health.
“I really can’t find the words to express my feelings at this time but respect, love and gratitude would be among them,” he wrote in a message distributed Feb. 22, announcing his decision to hand over Gurus duties to Mick Mazzone of Mighty Management. “Thanks to the Hoodoo Gurus I have lived a life that I only otherwise could have dreamt of.”
McMartin was a founding member of the Music Managers’ Forum in Australia, he served as chairman and then executive director of the International Music Managers’ Forum (IMMF), the umbrella organization for managers from some 24 countries which has NGO status at WIPO, the United Nations agency dealing with worldwide copyright issues, and was, for 19 years, a board member of Support Act, the music industry benevolent charity.
The much-loved artist manager received the APRA Ted Albert Award for his lifetime contribution to Australian Music in 2007, one of the Australian music community’s highest honors, and in 2015 he was awarded the Medal of the Order Of Australia (OAM) for “services to the performing arts, especially music.”
He’s the reigning legacy award recipient at the AAM Awards, presented last year in Sydney.
John Watson was on hand to present McMartin, his mentor, with the special honor. “When someone passes it’s easy to list what they did but it’s much harder to explain how they did it. In an era where far too many men acted badly, Michael proved that nice guys don’t have to finish last,” Watson writes in a statement to Billboard. “He was an unbelievably kind mentor to hundreds of people, including me, and his political advocacy for the industry as a whole – and managers in particular – was an inspiration across decades. Without him there would not be an AAM and Support Act would be nowhere near the force that it has become.”
Colin Hay, former frontman of Men At Work, remembers McMartin for his kindness. “After I was dropped by MCA Records in 1991, I was unsure of what to do next. I knew Michael McMartin a little. He said to me one day, ‘why don’t you just make an acoustic album, and I’ll release it.’” That happened, and the pair became friends. “Friends that could tell each other the truth. He told me one day that I was wallowing in self pity, and that I could be a much better person. He was right. He helped me whenever I asked, even when I didn’t,” explains Hay. McMartin was “a rarity among men,” someone who “believes in making the industry that we inhabit a better place for all, a place that fosters creative endeavor, instead of the all too often obstacle course that this here music industry can be.”
McMartin “left an indelible mark on the Australian music industry, and his loss is acutely felt within our management community which he supported and uplifted so generously,” reads a statement from the Association of Artists Managers. In recent years, the AAM points out, McMartin “formalized his desire to lift up developing managers” by spearheading the Patron’s Gift; a fund that would enable opportunities to bring in diverse communities, POC and First Nations emerging managers.
McMartin is survived by his wife, Saskia, and his son, Hamish and his extended family, including Michael’s two grandchildren, Kiara and Koby.
A private family funeral held in the coming days and, a little later, an announcement of a public gathering to be held in Sydney to celebrate the late music man’s life and legacy, with friends and music industry acquaintances invited.
Billie Eilish took to social media to clear up public speculation after her interview with Billboard on sustainability went viral. Peso Pluma surprised Anitta with a birthday cake onstage during her set at Tecate Pa’l Norte and shared a kiss. We have a new No. 1 track on the Hot 100 this week. We’re breaking […]
Sean “Diddy” Combs has maintained a steady presence on Billboard’s charts since the mid-1990s, when he founded Bad Boy Records and began charting with his own smash singles “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” “I’ll Be Missing You” and more. These songs and others from his catalog have continued to rack up millions of streams and are radio classics, still earning hundreds of plays every week. But due to a string of sexual misconduct allegations and, most recently, two raids of his homes on March 25 by the Department of Homeland Security in connection with an ongoing sex-trafficking investigation, his familiar presence on radio and top streaming playlists may be in jeopardy.
Diddy’s music catalog* (see below) has been consistently dropping on radio since Cassie, the mogul’s former girlfriend, filed a lawsuit on Nov. 16, 2023, accusing Combs of years of abuse and one accusation of rape. The lawsuit alleged that she had “endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbed demands,” including repeated beatings and forcing her to “engage in sex acts with male sex workers.”
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From Nov. 3 to 16, 2023 – the two tracking weeks preceding Cassie’s filing – Diddy’s catalog generated 11,000 radio spins, which translated to 23.3 million radio airplay audience impressions, according to Luminate. In the two tracking weeks after (Nov. 17-30), his catalog raked in 8,000 spins (down 28%), equaling 17.3 million impressions (down 26%).
In almost every week since then, Diddy’s catalog has seen decreases in radio play. In the most recent two-week span (March 15-28), his catalog tallied 1,000 spins that garnered 4 million impressions. Compared with the two weeks leading up to Cassie’s filing in November, that’s an 88% drop in radio spins and an 83% plummet in radio audience.
The most drastic single-week drop in radio occurred between Nov. 24-30 and Dec. 1-7. Diddy’s music saw a 41% plunge in radio spins in that span (from 3,000 to 2,000) and a 31% fall in audience (6.9 million to 4.7 million). The drop came as Diddy was hit with another pair of lawsuits on Nov. 23: One, filed by Joi Dickerson-Neal, claimed that the superstar drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1991, while a second – from an anonymous accuser – alleged that the music mogul sexually assaulted and beat her. Also contributing to the plunge, many radio stations (though not primarily R&B/hip-hop formats) start playing holiday music after Thanksgiving. Thus, non-holiday fare could see a decline in activity to make way for holiday music.
While Diddy’s radio presence has been decreasing, his streaming totals don’t tell the same story. Excluding his latest LP The Love Album: Off the Grid (released Sept. 15; making for a fairer catalog comparison), Diddy’s catalog garnered 6.7 million on-demand U.S. streams** (see below) Nov. 3-16 – the two weeks preceding Cassie’s filing – and 4.5 million in the two most recent tracking weeks (March 15-28), down 31%.
Last week, Diddy’s day-to-day streams increased after the raids of his homes on Monday (March 25). On Saturday and Sunday (March 23-24) Diddy’s catalog earned 930,000 streams. In the two days following the home raids (March 26-27), it earned 1.28 million, a 38% increase.
On March 26, the day after the raids of Diddy’s L.A. and Miami homes, his attorney Aaron Dyer spoke out against the “gross overuse of military-level force” in the raids of the musician’s residences, and vowed to end the “witch-hunt” against his client. While the results of that have yet to be seen, Diddy’s decline on the airwaves shows that many stations have already made up their minds.
*Diddy’s music catalog encompasses all titles billed to Diddy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Puff Daddy & The Family, and Diddy Dirty Money. This excludes featured credits, like The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo Money Mo Problems,” on which Diddy is featured.
**Diddy’s streaming sum includes user-generated content, or UGC, streams, which don’t count towards Billboard’s charts.
–Kevin Rutherford and Trevor Anderson contributed to this report
Elbow pushes its way to the top of the U.K albums chart with Audio Vertigo (via Polydor).
The Bury band blasts to No. 1 on debut with Audio Vertigo, their 10th studio album and the market’s best-seller on wax.
The leader at the midweek stage, Audio Vertigo is Elbow’s fourth leader on the all-genres survey – joining previous No. 1s The Take Off And Landing Of Everything (from 2014), Little Fictions (2017) and Giants Of All Sizes (2019).
The veteran British alternative rock act beats Future and Metro Boomin‘s first collaborative album We Don’t Trust You (Epic/Freebandz), new at No. 2. That effort matches Future’s previous chart peak, set with 2022’s I Never Liked You; and gives Metro Boomin a new career best, eclipsing the No. 3 peak for 2022’s Heroes & Villains. Three tracks from We Don’t Trust You crack the top 40 on the national singles survey, led by “Like That” at No. 6.
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Completing the podium on the latest Official U.K. Albums Chart, published Friday, March 29, is Olivia Rodrigo’s former leader GUTS (Geffen), which rebounds 15-3 following the release of the deluxe “Spilled” edition. The reissue includes one brand-new track, “So American,” which debuts in the U.K. top 40, at No. 24; plus a further four songs previously available across vinyl releases, including the track “Obsessed,” new at No. 10 on the singles tally.
Scottish alternative rock favorites The Jesus and Mary Chain bag their highest-charting album in 37 years this week with Glasgow Eyes (Fuzz Club), new at No. 7 on the Official Albums Chart. It’s the band’s third U.K. top 10 after 1987’s Darklands (No. 5) and 1988’s Barbed Wire Kisses (No. 9).
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Johannesburg, South Africa breakout star Tyla ties up her first U.K. top 20 album with her eponymously titled debut. Tyla (Since 93/RCA) starts at No. 19. The Billboard cover star won the 2024 Grammy Award for best African music performance, for her amapiano hit “Water.”
British indie rock act Starsailor glides into the chart with Where The Wild Things Grow (Starsailor), their first full-length release in seven years. It’s new at No. 25 for the Warrington, England formed band’s and sixth U.K. top 40.
Finally, new releases from FLETCHER (In Search Of The Antidote at No. 26 via Capitol), The Staves (All Now at No. 32 via Communion) and Big Thief band member Adrianne Lenker (Bright Future at No. 35 via 4AD) and Waxahatchee (Tigers Blood at No. 38 via Anti) enter the top 40 on debut.
It’s another beautiful week for Benson Boone, as the U.S. singer and songwriter enters a second week at the chart summit with “Beautiful Things”. The 21-year-old Monroe, Washington native had the most-streamed song in the U.K., as “Beautiful Things” (via Warner Records) clocked up 5.4 million plays over the seven-day chart cycle. Explore See latest […]
It’s Friday, March 29th, and we’ve been blessed with a ton of new music this week. Beyoncé’s long-awaited ‘Cowboy Carter’ is finally here. J-Hope dropped his new album, ‘Hope on the Street Vol. 1.’ Machine Gun Kelly teamed up with Trippie Redd for ‘Genre: Sadboy.’ Fans are raving about the features on ‘Cowboy Carter’ with […]