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Just weeks after making an unlikely U.S. chart debut, Sophie Ellis-Bextor is taking her show on the road for a first-ever headline tour of North America.
The British pop star sets a seven-date stretch, starting March 30 at San Francisco’s August Hall, followed by dates in San Diego, CA; Washington, DC, Boston, MA; Philadelphia, PA; New York, NY; and wrapping June 8 at Danforth Music Hall in Toronto, ON.
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The New York show at Webster Hall “sold out in a day,” she writes on social media. “My band and I are coming for you! Super excited. Come and dance with me.”
Ellis-Bextor is, of course, flying high with her 2001 hit “Murder on the Dancefloor,” which is synced to the final sequence in the hit dark drama Saltburn.
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The scene, in which the film’s lead Barry Keoghan dances nude to the song, kicked off a dance trend on TikTok – and saw the song power into charts around the world.
Last month, “Murder” cracked the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, at No. 98, then lifted to No. 51, its new peak.
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In her homeland, “Murder” recently returned to its all-time peak position of No. 2 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, and is one of her six top 10 hits there. She also boasts a No. 1 hit as the uncredited singer on Spiller’s 2000’s release “Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love)”. The track has also reentered the top 10 on Australia’s ARIA Chart.
“It actually feels really magical, and if I’m honest, I don’t think I’ve completely processed it really,” Ellis-Bextor told the BBC following the revival for “Murder”. “It’s a song I’ve been singing for over 20 years. I still love singing it. I love the way people react when I do it live. But for new people to be discovering it, for it to be making new memories with people, is kind of beautiful.”
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Ahead of her North America jaunt, Ellis-Bextor has strutted her stuff on national TV, performing the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and for the BBC’s coverage of the BAFTAs.
The English artist kicks off a tour of Continental Europe next month, starting in Groningen, Netherlands on March 1. More concerts are locked in across the U.K. and Europe later in the year.
Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign have a monumental week on Billboard’s charts (dated Feb. 24), thanks to the pair’s new collaborative album, Vultures 1.
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The set by the pair, billed collaboratively as ¥$: Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 148,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in its opening week (Feb. 9-15, following its Feb. 10 release), according to Luminate. Ye earns his 11th No. 1 album — as he passes Eminem for the third-most among rappers, after Jay-Z (14) and Drake (13) — and Ty Dolla $ign scores his first.
Meanwhile, all 16 songs on the album — Ye’s first following his string of hate speech and antisemitic remarks, which resulted in companies including Adidas and Def Jam Recordings distancing themselves from him — debut on the Billboard Hot 100, led by “Carnival” at No. 3. Ye notches his 21st top 10 hit, and Ty Dolla $ign his third, and first in a lead role.
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Here’s a look at every song, all debuts, by Ye and Ty Dolla $ign on the latest Hot 100.
Rank, Title:No. 3, “Carnival”No. 23, “Fuk Sumn”No. 26, “Back to Me”No. 30, “Talking,” feat. North WestNo. 33, “Burn”No. 34, “Vultures,” feat. Lil Durk & Bump JNo. 39, “Stars”No. 52, “Do It”No. 53, “Paid”No. 55, “Keys to My Life”No. 64, “Paperwork”No. 65, “Beg Forgiveness”No. 67, “Hoodrat”No. 79, “Problematic”No. 93, “Good (Don’t Die)”No. 94, “King”
With 16 debuts on the latest Hot 100, Ye ups his total to 157 career entries. He boasts the sixth-most in the chart’s 65-year history, after Drake (328), Taylor Swift (232), the Glee Cast (207), Lil Wayne (186) and Future (168). Ty Dolla $ign pushes his sum to 46 entries.
Thanks to their featured appearances, North West and Bump J both earn their first career Hot 100 hits. At just 10 years old, North West, the eldest child of Ye and Kim Kardashian (who divorced in 2022), is now one of the youngest acts ever to reach the chart. Among other precocious charted talents, Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, hit the Hot 100 at just 7 years old in 2019, thanks to her featured turn on Beyoncé, Saint Jhn and Wizkid’s “Brown Skin Girl.” She made her overall chart debut just after making her debut in the world, as her coos are heard on Jay-Z’s “Glory,” featuring B.I.C.. The song hit Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 2012, making her the youngest billed artist ever on any Billboard chart.
Stevie Wonder is the youngest credited artist to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100, as he was 13 when “Fingertips (Part II)” led in 1963. Overall, Jordy is the youngest billed artist to have appeared on the chart, at just over 5 years old with “Dur Dur D’être Bébé (It’s Tough To Be a Baby)” in 1993.
Also notable is the debut of “Good (Don’t Die).” The song was removed from Spotify after less than four days on the streaming service, as it includes an uncleared interpolation of Donna Summer’s 1977 top 10 Hot 100 hit “I Feel Love.” The song has since been removed from all other streaming services and for purchase. Hours after the release of Vultures 1, Summer’s estate claimed “copyright infringement” and disapproved of the use of the alleged sample. “Kanye West … asked permission to use Donna Summer’s song I Feel Love, he was denied … he changed the words, had someone re sing it or used AI but it’s I Feel Love … copyright infringement!!!,” the estate posted in an Instagram Story on the official Donna Summer account Feb. 10.
That isn’t the only sampling issue regarding the album. Ozzy Osbourne called out Ye and labeled him an antisemite after an earlier version of “Carnival” included a live performance of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.” Plus, R&B artist Dijon posted to Instagram Stories Feb. 9, a day before the album’s release, suggesting that he was unaware that his song “Good Luck” was being sampled on the track “Stars.”
Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” lands a sixth nonconsecutive week atop the Billboard Hot 100. With the song, which first led for a week in December, the rapper doubles his previous longest reign, as “First Class” ruled for three weeks in 2022. He has also led with “Industry Baby,” with Lil Nas X, for one week in 2021.
Meanwhile, three songs are new to the Hot 100’s top 10: Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” bounds onto the chart at No. 2; Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” debuts at No. 3; and Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” rises to No. 10, from No. 11.
The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Feb. 24, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Feb. 21 (a day later than usual due to the Presidents’ Day holiday in the U.S. Feb. 19). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
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Harlow’s “Lovin on Me,” released on Generation Now/Atlantic Records, drew 77.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 2%) and 21.6 million streams (down 7%) and sold 5,000 downloads (down 7%) in the Feb. 9-15 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The single adds a fifth week at No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart, drops 3-5 after five weeks atop Streaming Songs and rebounds 20-11 after two frames atop Digital Song Sales. It concurrently leads the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a 13th week each.
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Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” blasts onto the Hot 100 at No. 2, with 19.2 million streams, 4.8 million in airplay audience and 39,000 sold through Feb. 15. The track is one of two that she released Feb. 11 (with instrumental and clean and explicit a cappella versions of the song released Feb. 14), along with “16 Carriages,” which debuts at No. 38 (10.3 million streams; 90,000 in audience; 14,000 sold).
The arrival of both tracks was announced via a Verizon commercial that aired during CBS’ broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII, ahead of the March 29 release of Beyoncé’s album expected to be titled Act II, which follows her 2022 Renaissance LP.
Beyoncé lands her 22nd Hot 100 top 10 with “Texas Hold ‘Em” – which concurrently soars in as her first No. 1 on the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart; “16 Carriages” starts at No. 9 on the latter list, giving her two top 10s with her first two entries on the chart.
As previously reported, “Texas Hold ‘Em” is being promoted to country radio, among other formats, and debuts at No. 54 on the Country Airplay chart. It also begins at No. 38 on Pop Airplay, while additionally drawing play at adult pop, rhythmic, adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop formats.
“Texas Hold ‘Em” concurrently begins at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales, where it’s Beyoncé’s 11th leader.
Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” enters the Hot 100 at No. 3, with 23.5 million streams and 4,000 sold from its Feb. 10 release on the pair’s collaborative album Vultures 1 through Feb. 15. As previously reported, the album, Ye’s first since his string of hate speech and antisemitic remarks, which resulted in companies including Adidas and Def Jam Recordings distancing themselves from the rapper, premieres at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Ye adds his 21st Hot 100 top 10 and Ty Dolla $ign, his third – and first in a lead role; he previously led for a week in 2018 as featured on Post Malone’s “Psycho” and hit No. 4 in 2016 as featured on Fifth Harmony’s “Work From Home.”
“Carnival” by the pair, billed collaboratively as ¥$: Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign, crowns Streaming Songs, marking Ye’s fourth No. 1 and Ty Dolla $ign’s first.
Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” backtracks to No. 4 from its No. 3 Hot 100 high; Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” falls to No. 5 from its No. 2 best; and Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” slips 4-6, following four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in October.
SZA’s “Snooze” descends 5-7 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2, as it leads the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart for a 29th week.
Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, retreats 6-8 on the Hot 100, after it led for a week upon its debut last September. It tops the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts for a 25th week each.
Tate McRae’s “Greedy” dips 7-9 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 3. It also becomes McRae’s first No. 1 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, after it dominated Pop Airplay for eight weeks.
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Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” climbs to No. 10, from No. 11, with 17.8 million streams (up 7%), 15.9 million in airplay audience (up 17%) and 2,000 sold.
The song is the Strafford, Vt., native’s first Hot 100 top 10. He arrived on the chart last June with “Dial Drunk” (featuring Post Malone), which reached No. 25, and peaked at a No. 14 best among his entries prior to “Stick Season” as featured on Zach Bryan’s “Sarah’s Place” in October. Notably, Kahan wrote “Stick Season” solo, making it any soloist’s first top 10 solely written by that artist since Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” (No. 10, January 2023).
“Stick Season” – which leads the multimetric Hot Alternative Songs chart for a fifth week, after it reached No. 2 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in November 2022 – is the title track from Kahan’s album released that October. Sparked by its latest deluxe version, the set rebounds to its No. 3 high on the Billboard 200.
Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on Billboard’s social accounts, and all charts (dated Feb. 24), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Feb. 21).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Royel Otis is one on those runs where you best get on-board, or move clear out the way.
The psychedelic indie act from Sydney has been, in the Australian vernacular, smashing it of late.
It’s been a ride. A debut headline tour of the U.K. and Europe, a national tour with DMA’S, and now a headline trek of their own; a nomination for the 2023 ARIA Awards in the Michael Gudinski breakthrough artist category; and a viral cover of Sophie-Ellis Bextor’s “Murder on the Dancefloor,” for triple j’s Like a Version spot which entered the ARIA top 40; and a slew of cosmic-chill tunes were elements of the set-up for Pratts & Pain, Royel Otis’ debut album release.
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Pratts & Pain takes its name from the pub in Streatham, south London, the local for Dan Carey (Wet Leg, Fontaines DC), who produced the new album at his home studio.
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Dropping last Friday, Feb. 16 through Andrew Klippel’s Ourness, Pratts & Pain has caught the attention of tastemakers around the globe, including the NME, which celebrates the current cover stars as “Australia’s next breakout indie heroes.”
Their special “blend of propulsive rhythms and laid-back cool” has the Grammys lauding the Aussies as one of 25 Artists To Watch In 2024.
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“Royel Otis is a testament to the art of songwriting and being unique shining through,” explains Klippel, who discovered, signed and guided the career of multiple award-winning Aussie funkster Genesis Owusu. “We’re thrilled to see the global engagement.”
Royel Otis is led by childhood friends Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic. Forming in 2019, the group immediately located its sound; a dreamy tug of nostalgia, catchy choruses, wrapped in jangly guitar and up-front harmonies that remind of peak MGMT — minus the synths.
The lads quickly hit their strides, releasing Campus in 2021, Bar & Grill in 2022 and Sofa Kings in 2023 – that’s three EPs is as many years. Along the way, Going Kokomo single “Kool Aid,” “Oysters In My Pocket” and others enjoyed support from BBC Radio 6 Music, triple j and the national youth broadcaster’s army of listeners.
Triple j’s listeners spoke, and voted, as Pratts & Pain single “Sofa King” landed at No. 76 on the Hottest 100 countdown last month, and made its way into a Billboard chart, debuting at No. 36 on Alternative Airplay. Album track “Velvet” has enjoyed U.K. spots with BBC R1 (Jack Saunders), BBC 6 Music (New Music Fix Daily), Apple Music 1 Matt Wilkinson + Playlist, and Radio X (John Kennedy).
In support of the album, Royel Otis is currently playing metro and regional Australian cities, for a tour presented by Frontier Touring and triple j.
“We are over the moon to have our first album out and further more beside ourselves from all the love we’ve received around the world on the release,” reads a message from the group to Billboard. “Bless ya all and thank ya even more.”
Then, from April, an extensive tour of North America, Europe and the U.K., including festival spots and recently added shows in Los Angeles and Oklahoma City.
Stream Pratts & Pain below.
Idles leads an all-new top three on the midweek U.K. chart with Tangk (Partisan), the British rock outfit’s fifth studio album.
Based on midweek sales and streaming data published by the Official Charts Company, Tangk is predicted to snag the crown, and give the Bristol, England five-piece a fourth U.K. top 10, including the 2020 chart topper, Ultra Mono. Idles scored two nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards (best rock album for Crawler and best rock performance for “Crawl!”).
Chart victory is not assured.
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Paloma Faith has a chance of scoring the title with her sixth album The Glorification of Sadness, new at No. 2 on the chart update. The Glorification of Sadness (RCA) should give the British pop singer a sixth consecutive U.K. top 10, a tally that includes her first No. 1 in 2017 with The Architect.
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Completing the podium on the Official Chart Update is Liverpool rock act Crawlers, with The Mess We Seem To Make (Polydor), their debut album. It’s new at No. 3, for what should give the four-piece its first U.K. top 10 appearance.
After one week at the chart summit, Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (Republic Records) looks likely to tumble, down 1-4. Kahan nabbed his first chart double last week, when Stick Season and its title track led the respective Official Charts.
Meanwhile, Derby, England pair Pet Needs (brothers Johnny and George Marriott) eye a top 10 berth with their third collection Intermittent Fast Living (Xtra Mile). It’s set to debut at No. 7, for their first impression on the chart.
Finally, veteran indie-rock act Cast is on track for a first top 10 spot in 25 years, and fourth overall with Love is the Call (Cast Recordings), new at No. 8 on the chart blast, while former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett could bag his first top 10 album in 44 years with his latest solo effort The Circus and the Nightwhale (Inside Out), new at No. 9 on the chart update. Hackett last cracked the top 10 back in 1980 with Defector.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday, Feb. 23.
Beyoncé strides ahead in the U.K. chart race with “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the first cut from her forthcoming project Renaissance Act II (via Columbia/Parkwood Ent).
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Based on midweek sales and streaming data published by the Official Charts Company, “Texas Hold ‘Em” has an advantage of fewer than 1,500 combined sales over the second-ranked single, Dua Lipa’s “Training Season” (Warner Records).
If “Texas Hold ‘Em” plays its cards right, Bey will bag a sixth U.K. No. 1 single.
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Teased during a Verizon Super Bowl LVIII advertisement, “Texas Hold ‘Em” opened at No. 9 on the Official Chart last week, for the top debut of the cycle and Bey’s 22nd solo U.K. top 10 hit.
The Houston, TX-raised artist chalked up another 12 top 10 singles as a member of Destiny’s Child, including two leaders (“Independent Women, Pt. 1” from 2000 and “Survivor” from 2001).
As Bey bounces up the midweek tally, Dua Lipa’s “Training Ground” gives good fight. It’s at No. 2 on the Official Chart Update, and should earn Lipa her 15th U.K. top 10 single. One of those is “Houdini,” which peaked at No. 2 and is currently sat at No. 12.
As it stands, Washington-born singer and songwriter Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” (Warner Records) appears likely to hold at No. 3, its peak position.
Noah Kahan‘s reign with “Stick Season” (Republic Records) appears set to come to an end. Following a seven-week stay at No. 1, the folky hit is predicted to dip to No. 5.
After “Training Ground,” the next best new entry should belong to “Lovers In A Past Life” (Columbia), the latest collaborative track by Scottish EDM hitmaker Calvin Harris and deep-voiced English singer Rag’n’Bone Man. It’s new at No. 19 on the chart update. Rag’n’Bone Man has a perfect two-from-two No. 1 albums in the U.K., and five top 40 singles. Harris has also notched two chart-leading albums, and a whopping 42 solo U.K. top 40 singles. The pair teamed up on 2019’s “Giant,” which peaked at No. 2.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published Friday, Feb. 23.
The Veronicas will crank up the heat for Gothic Summer, the pop pair’s first via Big Noise Music Group.
Featuring the previously released cuts “Perfect,” “Detox” and “Here to Dance,” Gothic Summer is due for release worldwide on March 22 via Big Noise Music Group, a specialist in alt-pop and rock, whose co-founder and A&R is John Feldmann, longtime collaborator and singer/guitarist with Goldfinger.
Feldmann produced the eight-track LP, which boasts a long-list of collaborators including Travis Barker, Sierra Deaton, Ryan Linville (Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan), Zhone (Troye Sivan, Kim Petras) and Chris Collins (Royel Otis, Matt Corby), all of whom “challenged the duo to explore their expansive musical range more than ever before,” reads a statement announcing the project.
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The Brisbane act, identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, have released five studio albums, all of which cracked the ARIA top 10. The Veronicas have led the Australian singles chart several times, including 2007’s “Hook Me Up,” 2014’s “You Ruin Me,” and 2016’s “In My Blood.”
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“Untouched” (via EngineRoom/Sire) provided the Veronicas with a U.S hit when it cruised into the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 following its release in 2007.
Combined streams from across their catalog is north of 900 million, say reps.
Speaking with Billboard following their signing with Big Noise in 2022, Jess remarked that they’re “excited to be the first female fronted signing to the label,” adding, “we felt they’re an amazing find for the Veronicas.”
On the new project, the siblings “embrace introspection and challenge societal pressures,” reads a statement, “shining a light on the truth beneath pop music’s shimmering surface”.
In support of Gothic Summer, the Veronicas will perform at Hello Sunshine Festival in Melbourne on March 2, before embarking on a 22-date U.S. headline tour, their first U.S. jaunt in almost a decade.
Gothic Summer tracklist:1. Perfect2. Detox 3. Here To Dance4. Savage (Ft. Kerser)5. Invisible6. Ribcage7. Jungle8. Perfect (Acoustic)
Beyoncé holds all the cards as “Texas Hold ‘Em” blasts into the U.K. top 10.
The new single, the first from Bey’s forthcoming Renaissance Act II (Columbia/Parkwood Ent) project, bows at No. 9 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published Friday, Feb. 16.
With that fast start, the pop superstar bags a 22nd U.K. top 10 single. Act II will mark Bey’s eighth studio record, four of which have gone to No. 1 in the U.K.
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Three cuts from Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 (YZY) fly into the Official Chart – the maximum allowed from any one album. All crack the top 20, led by “Carnival” (at No. 12), “Burn” (No. 17) and “Back To Me” (No. 18).
At the top of the tally is Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” (Republic Records), which logs a seventh straight week at No. 1. With its parent album climbing to the summit of the Official U.K. Albums Chart, Kahan has his first career U.K. chart double. A new edition of the Stick Season album yields the track “Forever,” which arrives at No. 31 for his fifth U.K. top 40 single.
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Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Saltburn-powered “Murder On The Dancefloor” (Polydor) holds at No. 2 on the Official Singles Chart, less than 600 combined units ahead of Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” (Warner Records), the OCC reports. “Beautiful Things” lifts 5-3, a new peak position for the 21-year-old Washington-born singer-songwriter.
Also on the rise is YG Marley’s “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” (YG Marley Music), up 9-5. That’s a career high for Marley, the grandson of the late, great Bob Marley and son of Ms. Lauryn Hill.
English singer and TV presenter Wes Nelson enjoys a top 40 debut with “Abracadabra” (Moor), his collaboration with homegrown R&B favorite Craig David. It’s new at No. 37, following the pair’s live performance on ITV’s Love Island All Stars, for Nelson’s fourth U.K. top 40 single and David’s 26th.
Finally, Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” (Rhino) returns to the top 40 following her rare performance of the ‘80s hit at the 2024 Grammy Awards. “Fast Car” reenters at No. 38, after Chapman and country star Luke Combs performed the song on the Grammys on Feb. 4, marking Chapman’s first live television appearance since 2015. Originally released in 1988, “Fast Car” reached its peak of No. 4 in 2011, and has been introduced to country audiences by Combs’ faithful rendition which appeared on 2023’s Gettin’ Old and became a U.S. hit.
Noah Kahan scores his first U.K. chart double as “Stick Season” holds at No. 1 on the national singles chart, and his LP of the same name rises to the summit of the albums tally.
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It’s taken 36 weeks (including 10 weeks in the top 10) for Stick Season (via Republic Records) to complete its first stint atop the Official U.K. Albums Chart, doing so in a tight finish. Stick Season lifts 3-1.
The collection enjoys a late flurry, thanks to the release of the deluxe edition, Stick Season (Forever), a string of in-store signings, and the buzz around his U.K. arena tour this August.
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With his chart feat, Kahan joins some elite company. According to the Official Charts Company, the last artist to swing the U.K. chart double was Taylor Swift, who, in November 2023, simultaneously landed her 11th No. 1 album with 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and third U.K. singles single leader “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)”.
Coming in at No. 2 on the Official Chart is Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 (YZY), the most streamed album of the week, the OCC reports. The No. 1 album in the U.S. and Australia this week, Vultures 1 becomes Ty Dolla $ign’s career high and first U.K. top 40 appearance. Kanye has 11 solo U.K. top 40s, including seven top 10s and three No. 1s.
Stick Season and Vultures 1 overpower Declan McKenna’s What Happened to the Beach? (via Columbia), the leader at the midweek point. It’s the best-selling album during the chart cycle, for a No. 3 debut, for the London-born singer and songwriter second top 10 spot, following 2020’s Zeros, which peaked at No. 2.
Also making a splash on the latest tally is Zara Larsson’s Venus (Black Butter/Sommer House), new at No. 15 for the Swedish singer-songwriter’s third U.K. top 40, after 2017’s So Good (No. 7) and 2021’s Poster Girl (No. 11).
And finally, Usher enjoys a post-Super Bowl score as Coming Home (Mega Gamma) lands at No. 24, for his eighth U.K. top 40, while former Mercury Prize winning British rapper Dizzee Rascal is close behind with Don’t Take It Personal (Big Dirte3), new at No. 27. That’s Dizzee Rascal’s eighth top 40.
Lenny Kravitz let the music talk, then recounted some of the righteous steps he made along the way in his music career, as the rocker was presented with the Music Icon Award at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards.On a night when Taylor Swift dominated with four awards, but was unable to attend due to her current touring commitments in Australia, it was Kravitz who rocked the house with a mini-set of his classic hits, and an emotional speech.
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Kravitz and Co. took off with “Fly Away,” and cruised into medley that included ““TK421,” It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over,” “Let Love Rule” and Are You Gonna Go My Way.”
Following the incendiary set, triple Grammy Award winner Victoria Monét present Kravitz with the silverware.
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Considering the meaning of the word “icon,” Kravitz remarks, “It means a lot of things to a lot of people, to me it means you’ve made an indelible mark by being who God created you to be. And, daring to be different.”
More than 35 years ago, before the 11 albums, 40 million records sold, and four Grammys won, Kravitz was a wanted man. And many of those guidance officers, they wanted to change him. “When I was first coming up a lot of people offered me a lot of deals but they wanted me to change. My music wasn’t black enough, it wasn’t white enough. It didn’t fit nicely inside a box. Or sound like what was on the radio at the time,” he explains. “And I turned down the money and the glitzy promises of fame and stardom because I couldn’t live with myself doing something inauthentic.”
An icon, he considers, “is someone who inspires and teaches others to believe in themselves and their direction whatever that direction is.”
Kravitz’s trajectory has “never been about how many records I sell, or how many awards I win, it’s not about trying to write hits, or being calculated or formulaic. Its about enjoying and being grateful for the journey and using the gifts that God gave you and that journey goes how it goes. And it will continue because I’m just doing me.”The musical journey won’t stop anytime soon. “I was a fan of music long before I was a musician,” he continues. “And my mantra now is the same as it was 35 years ago: never follow the trends, set your own pace and recognize that the best is here right now in front of you.”During her opening statement, Monét enthused, “We are here to celebrate an undefinable, undeniable, once in a lifetime genius, he is a force.”
Kravitz, she reckons, “defies any singular description. Father, singer, songwriter, producer, kick-ass stage performer, actor, designer, fashion maven, philanthropist, visionary and the king of letting love rule.”
Read Billboard’s recap of the 2024 People’s Choice Awards and the full list of winners here.