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Aquaman star Jason Momoa will host Saturday Night Live for the second time on Nov. 18, while the rising star that is Tate McRae will make her musical guest debut. McRae, the Canadian singer and songwriter, is riding a wave with “Greedy,” which caught fire on TikTok before crossing over on charts around the globe. […]
Paul McCartney is more active than most folks a quarter of his age. The 81-year-old two-time Rock Hall inducted singer and songwriter dropped a “new” Beatles song last Thursday, its official music video on Friday, and completed a stadium tour of Australia on Saturday, produced by Frontier Touring. Add-in a 12-minute Beatles mini-film and media commitments, and McCartney has seemingly managed to be everywhere, all at once.
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Speaking with BBC Radio 1, McCartney revealed that “Now And Then” is more than an ambitious passion project. The single, which took more than 40 years to complete, had a touch of magic about it.
“When we were in the studio we had John’s voice in our ears so you could imagine he was just in the next room in a vocal booth or something and we were just working with him again so it was joyful,” he says, “it was really lovely you know, because we hadn’t experienced that for a long time obviously and then suddenly here we were working with ol’ Johnny.”
The track was originally a demo, written and sung by John Lennon into a tape recorder at New York’s Dakota Building back in the 1970s. McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr attempted to resurrect the recording in the 1990s, but the audio quality was beyond help. That was, until Get Back director Peter Jackson and his team at WingNut Films developed the MAL audio technology, powered by artificial intelligence, which could separate the stems.
Completed with a string arrangement, written by Giles Martin, Paul and Ben Foster, and featuring contributions from all four Beatles, it’s pitched as the “last” Beatles record.
“It was kind of magical doing it,” McCartney adds.
The single has blasted out of the gates in the United Kingdom. According to the Official Charts Company, “Now And Then” leads the race for the chart crown, by outselling the rest of the top 5 combined.
“Now And Then” was completed with the assistance of AI, a story thread that arguably sidetracked the message around the announcement. Technology always intrigued the Beatles, McCartney notes.
“The first time we heard a tape go backwards by mistake we went ‘Oh what’s that?’ and we wanted to put that on our record, whereas other people would just go ‘Oh come on get the tape on the right way and let’s get on with it’,” he explains. “But we always grabbed little things like that so Peter Jackson, he’s organized it so it’s magic. It’s very special for me to be singing with John again.”
McCartney also recounted his latest, hits-laden performance at Glastonbury Festival 2023, in June of this year. “Well you know Glastonbury is special,” he enthuses. “We’d done an American tour to get up to speed with the band, we were excited to do Glastonbury just ’cause it’s Glastonbury and then you get that many people singing something like ‘Hey Jude’ and you know, in this world today when the news is so often bad, it’s just so great to see all these humans with such a loving vibe that you get at Glastonbury. No, it was great to do and I’m glad we pulled it off.”
Stream the interview here.
The Beatles’ “last” song “Now And Then” is on track for the U.K. chart title.
Based on sales and streaming data captured from the first 48 hours in the chart week, “Now And Then” is in pole position, outselling the rest of the top 5 combined, the Official Charts Company reports.
If it holds its spot, “Now And Then” will become the Fab Four’s 18th U.K. chart-leader, and their first in 54 years, since “The Ballad of John and Yoko” topped the weekly tally back in 1969.
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“Now And Then” actually debuted at No. 42 in the U.K. last week based on just 10 hours of sales, but is now expected to jump 41 places to the top of the Official Singles Chart when chart is published this Friday, Nov. 10.
The crown would cap a remarkable journey for “Now And Then.” The track began life as a demo written and sung by John Lennon, was later developed and worked on by Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, and now completed by Paul and Ringo, the surviving members of The Beatles, more than 40 years after the group began work on it.
The late Lennon’s vocals and piano part were recorded to tape at New York’s Dakota Building in the 1970s, and remained there until film director Peter Jackson and his team at WingNut Films developed the MAL audio technology, powered by AI, which could separate the stems. The result is a lush production, with a string arrangement, written by Giles Martin, Paul and Ben Foster, and featuring contributions from all four Beatles.
On the day of its release last Thursday (Nov. 2), “Now And Then” was named as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record. The song is all-love, McCartney told Radio 1’s Clara Amfo. “Just a loving feeling,” he says of the recording, “because that’s often what we were trying to do with our records, we were trying to spread love. And in this one it is very poignant. It’s John talking about ‘I miss you’ and stuff like that so, I think emotion, that would be the key word for people to take away from it, ‘emotion’.”
Jackson helmed the official music video for “Now And Then,” which dropped last Friday.
The closest competition on the First Look chart, according to the Official Charts Company, is BTS star Jung Kook’s “Standing Next To You,” which is eyeing a No. 2 start. That would be the K-pop artist’s highest peak of his solo career in the U.K. Jung Kook has three U.K. top 10s to his name, with a best of No. 3 for 2023’s “Seven” featuring Latto.
Taylor Swift buries her rivals under a mountain of sales and streams in the U.K. as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) debuts at No. 1.
Swift’s latest release, the fourth of her six recording projects, clocks up a “massive” 184,000 chart units, the Official Charts Company reports, more than double that of the original 1989’s opening-week sales of 90,000, accumulated following its release in 2014.
That opening result crushes the previous record holder for 2023, Lewis Capaldi’s Broken By Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, which scored 95,000 chart units in its week one.
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The runaway leader at the midweek stage, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) outperforms the rest of the top 10 combined during the latest cycle, and is the fastest-selling vinyl release of the year, with 62,000 copies sold, according to the OCC.
It’s Swift’s 11th chart-topping U.K. album, extending her own record as the woman with the most U.K. leaders this century, and the female artist with the 11 consecutive No. 1 albums in the briefest timeframe, at 11 years.
Among female artists, only Madonna has more — with 12. It’s only a matter of time before TayTay catches up with the Queen of Pop.
With Swift’s “Vault” cut “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) reigning over the national singles survey, TayTay collects another chart double.
It’s by no means the only new release to make its impact felt on the latest albums tally. Veteran electronic act Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark snag a highest-charting studio album across a career spanning 45 years, with Bauhaus Staircase (100 Percent Records), new at No. 2. That equals the peak position of OMD’s 1988 hits compilation The Best of OMD, one of their eight U.K. top 10s.
Rolling Stones’ latest leader Hackney Diamonds (Polydor) drops 1-3, while Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inducted pop-rock band Duran Duran earn a 12th U.K. 10 with Danse Macabre (BMG), their Halloween-themed 16th studio album.
Also new to the top 10 are albums from James Blunt (Who We Used to Be at No. 5 via Atlantic), CASISDEAD (Famous Last Words at No. 7 via XL Recordings) and Alfie Boe (Open Arms – The Symphonic Songbook this week at No. 10 via BMG).
Taylor Swift is having her way on the U.K. charts, as “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)” bows at No. 1 on the national singles survey, and its parent LP arrives at the summit of the albums chart.
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“Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version)” starts atop the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published Friday, Nov. 3, with a market-leading 4.9 million streams, the Official Charts Company reports.
Swift now boasts three career chart leaders in the U.K., a list that includes a “Look What You Made Me Do” (in 2017) and “Anti-Hero” (2022).
“Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) is one of three new TayTay tracks from the “Vault” which crash the top 10, as “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version)” starts at No. 2 and “Slut!” (Taylor’s Version) bows at No. 5.
The top five is completed by Casso, Raye, D-Block Europe’s “Prada” (down 2-3 via Ministry of Sound) and Kenya Grace’s “Strangers” (down 1-4 via FFRR).
Halloween is done and dusted for 2023, but the spooky celebration makes its impact felt on the U.K. singles survey. Danny Elfman’s “This is Halloween” (No. 14 via Walt Disney) from The Nightmare Before Christmas, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” (No. 20 via Epic), Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” (No. 21 via Arista) and Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash” (No. 29 via TheMonsterMash.com) all power into the top 40 on the latest tally.
Meanwhile, there’s new chart peaks for Drake, Sexyy Red and SZA’s “Rich Baby Daddy” (up 17-15 via OVO/Republic Records), Chase & Status, Hedex and ArrDee’s “Liqour & Cigarettes” (up 20-18 via EMI), Doja Cat’s “Agora Hills” (up 28-26 via Ministry of Sound), and Tems’ “Me & U” (up 36-34 via Since 93/RCA).
Further down the list, Wheatus’s breakthrough number “Teenage Dirtbag” (Columbia) reenters the U.K. Top 40 at No. 38, for its first top flight appearance since 2001. “Teenage Dirtbag” peaked at No. 2 that year.
It’s Friday, November 3rd, and we’re breaking down all the new music releases this week! Jung Kook’s debut solo album ‘Golden’ is out now, Olivia Rodrigo drops a new track titled “Can’t Catch Me Now” for ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,’ The Beatles release their final song “Now and Then” and […]
Blink-182 earns its second consecutive and total No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, as “One More Time” tops the Nov. 11-dated ranking.
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The song lifts from No. 2 to No. 1 with 9 million audience impressions, up 11%, in the Oct. 27-Nov. 2 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The song follows the group’s “Edging,” a 17-week leader on the list beginning nearly a year ago.
Concurrently, “One More Time” rules the Alternative Airplay survey for a fourth week. It also rises 5-4 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, marking Blink-182’s second-highest-charting entry, after “Edging” reached at No. 2 in January.
“One More Time” is also bubbling under Adult Alternative Airplay; should it chart, it would become the band’s first appearance there.
The song has crossed over to non-rock radio formats, too. It rises 32-29 on Adult Pop Airplay, having become the band’s first title to make the tally since “I Miss You,” which peaked at No. 24 in 2004.
On the most recently published multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart (dated Nov. 4), reflecting activity Oct. 20-26, “One More Time” ranked at No. 10. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 3.8 million official U.S. streams and sold 2,000 downloads in that span.
The song is the second single from Blink-182’s LP One More Time…, the trio’s ninth studio album and first since the return of guitarist and vocalist Tom DeLonge. The set debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Nov. 4 with 125,000 equivalent album units earned.
All Billboard charts dated Nov. 11 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
It’s Taylor Swift week on Australia’s charts, as the U.S. pop star completes a double and floods the top deck of the national singles tally.
As expected, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal) flies to No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, published Friday, Nov. 3, for Swift’s 12th career leader in the land Down Under, while “Is It Over Now?” debuts at the pinnacle of the singles survey.
Remarkably, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is her third No. 1 for 2023, following Midnights, which reigned for seven non-consecutive weeks earlier this year (after clocking seven weeks at the top in 2022) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), which checked-in at the penthouse for two weeks in July.
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Although ARIA doesn’t publish the combined sales, the trade body reports 1989 (Taylor’s Version) accumulates the biggest sales week ever for Swift on the ARIA Albums Chart, the top opening week for any new album since 2017, and a record-setting first week for a vinyl album.
All four of Swift’s rerecorded LPs have led the national chart. Two more are to come.
With her latest feat, Taylor levels-up with Madonna in third place on the all-time list of acts with the most No. 1 albums in Australia. Jimmy Barnes leads that list with 15 as a solo act (he had another five with Cold Chisel), with the Beatles in second place with 14.
TayTay’s 12 leaders include the original version of 1989, which reigned for four weeks in 2014 and another five weeks in 2015.
With its fast debut, “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” becomes Swift’s 10th No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, a list that’s dominated by tracks from the new album. Eight of the top 10 are from Swift, including a top four sweep.
Swift will repay her fans in February 2024 when she plays seven stadium shows in Australia, on her The Eras Tour, produced by Frontier Touring (three at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, four at Sydney’s Accor Stadium).
Across her career, the pop star has spent 23 weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, the trade body reports, drawing level with “You’re The Voice” singer John Farnham.
The Beatles lead that list, with 130 weeks, ahead of Elvis Presley (61 weeks) and Justin Bieber (48 weeks). With “Now And Then,” which arrived Thursday, Nov. 2, the Beatles could extend that lead when the next chart is published.
Meanwhile, prolific Australian alternative rock act King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard earn their second top 10 of the year with The Silver Cord (KGLW/Universal), new at No. 5 on the ARIA Albums Chart. King Gizzard are nominated for four categories in the 2023 ARIA Awards, set for Nov. 15 in Sydney.
Close behind is Australian singer and songwriter Angie McMahon’s Light, Dark, Light Again (AWAL). It’s new at No. 6. Light, Dark, Light Again is McMahon’s second album, and the followup to Salt, which peaked at No. 5 in 2019. McMahon was Billboard’s Indie Artist of the Month for October.
Just two albums into her career, Olivia Rodrigo is proving impossible to catch.
The U.S. pop star is a perfect two-from-two atop the Billboard 200 chart, and the Official U.K. Albums Chart. In her homeland, she’s bagged three No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100, most recently with “Vampire” sinking its fangs in for two weeks in July.
On the other side of the Atlantic, she became the youngster solo artist to history to claim the U.K. chart double when, at 18 years and three months, she led both main charts in May 2021 (with Sour and “Good 4 U”). The next month, in June 2021, Rodrigo became the first female solo artist to claim three simultaneous U.K. top 5 singles with “Good 4 U,” “Déjà vu” and “Traitor.”
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Add to that a hattrick of Grammy Awards, including best new artist; a BRIT Award for best international song at the BRIT Awards in February 2022; and in August of this year, at the age of 20, she became the youngest artist receive a BRIT Billion Award by the BPI.
Before she bent charts to her will, Rodrigo was high-profile piece of the Disney machine, starring in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Rodrigo adds another feather to her cap with “Can’t Catch Me Now,” from The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (Music From & Inspired By), the official soundtrack to Lionsgate’s latest film in The Hunger Games franchise.
Rodrigo wrote the searing ballad with producer Daniel Nigro, less than two months after the release of Guts, her sophomore LP. It’s one of 17 songs on the soundtrack, including works performed in the film by The Hunger Games star Rachel Zegler, as well as tracks by young artists in the folk and Americana genre.A prequel, set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute, and long before Coriolanus Snow became the dark overlord of Panem, The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes arrives in theaters Nov. 17.
The upcoming movie stars Zegler alongside Tom Blyth, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, Jason Schwartzman and Viola Davis, and follows the story of Coriolanus (Blyth), who is the last hope for his failing lineage, the Snow family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol.
The full soundtrack also arrives Nov. 17. Stream “Can’t Catch Me Now” below.
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Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday party is set to continue well into the last weeks of the 2023, with a televised all-star concert special, honoring the life and career of the country music legend. Featuring performances from Beck, Gary Clark Jr., Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, Norah Jones, Miranda Lambert, Dave Matthews, Keith Richards, and the man of honor, Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration is set to air Sunday, Dec. 17 on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+.Nelson’s sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson will also perform, alongside George Strait and Chris Stapleton, with Jennifer Garner, Chelsea Handler, Woody Harrelson, Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson confirmed as hosts.
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The iconic artist, author, actor, and activist broke the news of the televised concert special Thursday night (Nov. 2) when he appeared as a guest on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show. “I’m ready for it,” he tells Colbert.
Many stars on the lineup for next month’s special were on hand when Nelson blew out 90 candles back in April of this year.
The likes of Beck, George Strait, Snoop Dogg, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Tom Jones, The Chicks, and Chris Stapleton performed at the Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie’s 90th Birthday, spread across two-dates at the Hollywood Bowl.
“It was great,” he tells Colbert of that earlier love-in, “a little surreal of course. I loved every minute of it.”
Like a fine wine, Nelson seems to be improving with age. He was nominated for four Grammys earlier this year and a multi-part documentary on Nelson, titled Willie Nelson & Family, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. On March 3, he released his latest album, I Don’t Know a Thing About Love, which highlighted songs written by Harlan Howard, on Sony’s Legacy Recordings. On Friday, Nov. 3, Nelson is inducted into The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
The party doesn’t end there. “It is the sincere privilege of our lives to have produced these shows celebrating our beloved Willie, and to partner with CBS to bring this special to fans around the world,” comment Mark Rothbaum and Keith Wortman, creators and executive producers of Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration. “Viewers will now have the chance to sing, and laugh, and cry and experience the joy of this celebration like never before.”
For his latest late-night stint, Nelson performed “I Never Cared For You,” and “Whiskey River,” both of which appear on his Greatest Hits, released today to coincide with his Rock Hall elevation.
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