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Kenya Grace’s viral track “Strangers” is taking the elevator on the U.K. chart.
Based on sales and streaming data gathered from the first 48 hours in the chart week, “Strangers” is set for a podium finish; should it hold its early position when the chart proper is presented, “Strangers” would finish at No. 3.
It’s been a strange month for the British artist as her breakthrough hit opened at No. 20 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, for her first appearance on the national tally. Last Friday, Sept. 15, the single rocketed to No. 12.
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“Strangers” is Grace’s first release through a major music company, issued through FFRR, a dance-focused sub-label of Warner Music.
At the top of the chart blast is Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” (Ministry of Sound), which is on track for a third week at No. 1, while “Vampire” (Geffen), lifted from Olivia Rodrigo’s current No. 1 album Guts, is set to retain second place.
Meanwhile, Casso, RAYE and D-Block Europe’s “Prada” (Ministry of Sound) is poised to lift 5-4, for a new high, while Tate McRae’s viral number “Greedy” (RCA) could land the Canadian singer-songwriter a third U.K. top 10 appearance. It’s expected to start its chart journey at No. 9, for what would be the week’s highest debut. McRae previously impacted the top tier with “You Broke Me First” (No. 3 peak in 2020) and with her Tiesto collaboration “10:35” (No. 8 in 2022).
Finally, Issey Cross’s drum ‘n’ bass number “Bittersweet Goodbye,” which interpolates the Verve’s 1997 hit “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (Atlantic), which in turn is based on the strings sample from the Rolling Stones’ 1960s release “The Last Time,” could bounce into the top 20 for the first time. It’s up 22-19 on the chart blast. “Bittersweet Goodbye” is the British artist’s third U.K. top 40 appearance, and her highest charting record to-date.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday, Sept. 22.
Doja Cat holds off a hattrick of hot Olivia Rodrigo numbers for a second week at No. 1 in the U.K. with “Paint The Town Red” (via Ministry of Sound).The leader at the midweek stage, “Paint The Town Red” completes the cycle as the most-streamed track in the country for a second consecutive week, the Official Charts Company reports.As Rodrigo scores her second albums chart title, with Guts (via Geffen), three songs from it spill on up the U.K. singles chart. Former chart-topper “Vampire” is up 3-2, while “Bad Idea Right” soars 12-3, for a new peak position. Also, Rodrigo owns the highest new entry on the latest Official U.K. Singles Chart, published Sept. 15, as “Get Him Back” bows at No. 7, for her seventh U.K. top 10.Also heading north on the weekly tally is Fred Again and Obongjayar’s “Adore U” (Atlantic) up 9-4; Cassö, RAYE & D-Block Europe’s “Prada” (Ministry of Sound) up 7-5; newcomer Kenya Grace’s viral number “Strangers” (FFRR), up 20-12 in its second week; and Troye Sivan’s “Rush” (Polydor) up 22-21.BTS member V bags his first solo singles chart top 40 entry with “Slow Dancing” (BigHit Entertainment), from his solo debut LP Layover. It’s new at No. 24. As a member of BTS, V has an additional nine top 40 appearances, with three of those songs reaching No. 3. Leigh-Anne enjoys a top 40 debut with “My Love” (Warner Records) featuring Ayra Starr. It’s new at No. 28 for both artist’s second top 40 appearance.Meanwhile, the Rolling Stones’ roll into the chart once more. “Angry,” lifted from the legendary rock band’s forthcoming album Hackney Diamonds, is new at No. 34. The Rock And Roll Hall of Famers now boast 44 top 40 hits in their homeland, across a career spanning more than 60 years. Finally, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion crack the top 40 with their latest collaboration “Bongos” (Atlantic), new at No. 35. It’s the followup to the U.S. rappers’ controversial hit from 2020 “WAP,” which spent three weeks at No. 1. “Bongos” is Cardi’s 14th and Megan’s fifth U.K. top 40.
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Olivia Rodrigo is crowned on the U.K. albums chart as Guts (Geffen) flies to No. 1.
At the midweek point, Guts had what appeared to be an unassailable lead, capturing 33,000 combined sales. That proved to be the case when the Official U.K. Albums Chart was published late Friday, Sept. 15, with Guts cruising to the top with 60,300 chart units, the Official Charts Company reports. Not only was Guts the best-selling and most-streamed album of the latest chart cycle, it outsold the rest of the top 10 combined for the biggest first-week tally for any LP in 2023.
Rodrigo is now a perfect two-from-two. Her debut from 2021, Sour, spent five weeks at the summit and racked up a handful of U.K. chart records. When Sour and “Good 4 U” reached No. 1 in the same week in May 2021, Rodrigo became the youngest solo artist in history to nab the chart double, aged 18 years and 3 months.Also, Sour set a benchmark for the most first-week streams for a debut album in the U.K. Then, in June 2021, the U.S. pop singer became the first female solo artist to claim three simultaneous U.K. top 5 singles with “Good 4 U,” “Déjà vu” and “Traitor.” With three No. 1s, she’s the female solo artist with the most U.K. No. 1 singles this decade.As Guts completes its sprint to the top, Sour enjoys a return to the top 10. Rodrigo’s debut effort rises 18-8 in its 121st week on the tally. Guts separately reigns over the Billboard 200, and the ARIA Albums Chart.Unchanged at No. 2 on the latest U.K. survey is Travis Scott’s former leader Utopia (RCA), while English indie rockers the Coral enter at No. 3 with Sea of Mirrors (Modern Sky/Run On), for their seventh top 10 appearance. The Wirral indie band also appears further down the list with accompanying album Holy Joe’s Coral Island Medicine Show, new at No. 36.Former Moloko singer Roisin Murphy enjoys her first solo top 10 appearance with Hit Parade (Ninja Tune), new at No. 5; veteran electronic pair the Chemical Brothers land a tenth U.K. top 10 with For That Beautiful Feeling (EMI), new at No. 6; and M Huncho’s My Neighbours Don’t Know (MYB) starts at No. 9, for the masked U.K. rapper’s fourth top 10.Outside the top tier are new releases from the xx vocalist Romy (Mid Air at No. 15 via Young), Public Service Broadcasting (This New Noise at No. 28 via Test Card), Fleetwood Mac (Rumours Live at No. 34 via Rhino) and Yussef Dayes (Black Classical Music at No. 37 via Brownswood Recordings).
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Kim Tae-hyung, better known to ARMY as V, is never far from the spotlight.
With the release of his six-track collection Layover, the BTS star is very much the main man right now.
V marked the occasion by performing one of the first concerts for Tiny Desk Korea, a new series based on the popular NPR spot.
Filmed in Seoul, South Korea last month, with a newly assembled production crew and eight-member session band – many of whom flew from the U.S. for the recording – V unleashed three slinky Layover cuts.
V kicks things off with “Love Me Again,” takes us for a spin of “Slow Dancing,” and ends matters with “For Us.”
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“These songs evoke a sense of fleeting tranquility, as if they effortlessly pass by and offer a soothing pause,” he remarks in his native tongue.
The 11-minute performance video is part of the newly launched international version of Tiny Desk, a joint venture between NPR and LG U+, the Korean telecommunications and media company. The first few episodes, including performances by the Kim Chang Wan Band, Sunwoo Jung-A and the Yoon Suk Cheol Trio, are available on the Tiny Desk Korea YouTube channel, with new content dropping each Thursday.
Layover, meanwhile, has been warmly received since its Sept. 8 release. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 8) on Billboard, choosing the new solo collection as their favorite music release of the past week – with 96% of the vote.
The K-pop star’s six-track album, which also includes “Rainy Days,” “Blue,” and a piano version of “Slow Dancing,” is eying a top 10 debut in the U.K., where it entered the midweek chart at No. 5.
V is no stranger to the Tiny Desk format. With his BTS bandmates, he performed on the flagship segment back in 2020, and again in 2022.
Watch the latest Tiny Desk below.
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Olivia Rodrigo has the guts and the glory as her sophomore album powers to No. 1 in Australia. Rodrigo’s Guts (via Geffen/Universal) debuts at the summit of the ARIA Albums Chart, published Friday, Sept. 15, while each of its 12 tracks impact the top 50 on the national singles survey, including two of the top three.
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Guts, the followup to 2021’s Sour, which logged eight non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart, is the only new release to appear in this week’s top 50. Doja Cat and her hit “Paint The Town Red” (RCA/Sony) prevents a Rodrigo double, as former leader “Vampire” flies 7-2 on the ARIA Singles Chart, ahead of “Bad Idea, Right,” vaulting 24-3 for a new peak. Further down the list, Guts cuts “Get Him Back” bows at No. 6 and “All-American Bitch” opens its account at No. 10, lifting Rodrigo’s tally of top tier hits to eight (including three No. 1s), all racked-up since January 2021.Meanwhile, Sour finds fresh chart legs, rebounding 18-8 on the latest ARIA tally.Albums by the Weeknd (The Highlights at No. 2, Starboy at No. 4 via Universal), Travis Scott (Utopia at No. 3 via Epic/Sony) and Zach Bryan (Zach Bryan at No. 5 via Warner) are unchanged from the previous chart cycle. Veteran alternative rock favorites Grinspoon enjoy a return to the albums chart, just weeks out from the start of their Easy Detention Tour. The two-time ARIA Award-winning band’s Easy reenters at No. 46, just one place ahead of New Detention, both via Universal. Easy peaked out at No. 4 in 1999, while New Detention hit No. 2 in 2002, two of the group’s eight top 10 albums in their homeland. Grinspoon’s national trek is scheduled to start Oct. 29 on the Gold Coast.Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Doja Cat’s “Paint The Town Red” enters a fourth consecutive week at No. 1, while BTS’ V debuts at No. 54 with “Slow Dancing” (ING/Universal).
Slowdive scores its first top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Sept. 16) as the band’s new album Everything Is Alive debuts at No. 3. The set launches with 12,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Luminate. It’s the best sales week yet for the British group, and its second chart entry, having previously topped out at No. 22 with its self-titled release 2017.
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Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, the late Jimmy Buffett’s 1985 best-of album Songs You Know by Heart: Jimmy Buffett’s Greatest Hit(s) re-enters the list at No. 1 – its first week atop the 32-year-old tally. Plus, YouTuber and Twitch streamer Dream sees his debut effort To Whoever Wants to Hear launch at No. 8.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Songs You Know by Heart sold 15,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 7 (up from about 200 copies in the previous week), following Buffett’s death on Sept. 1. It’s the best sales week for the album in 24 years, since the chart date of July 3, 1999, when it sold 17,000 copies.
Travis Scott’s chart-topping Utopia holds at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with 12,000 sold (down 58%), while NewJeans’ former leader 2nd EP ‘Get Up’ is a non-mover at No. 4 with 11,000 (down 19%) and Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) rises 6-5 with 10,000 (down 23%). NCT Dream’s ISTJ: The 3rd Album climbs one spot to No. 6 (8,000; down 37%) while Swift’s chart-topping Midnights bumps 9-7 (nearly 8,000; down 24%).
YouTuber and Twitch streamer Dream starts at No. 8 with his first album release, To Whoever Wants to Hear, with nearly 7,000 copies sold. J-Hope’s Jack in the Box slips 8-9 (6,000; down 49%) and Stray Kids’ 5-Star: The 3rd Album rises 15-10 (6,000; down 17%).
In the week ending Sept. 7, there were 1.630 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 2.2% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.287 million (down 3.4%) and digital albums comprised 342,000 (up 2.6%).
There were 543,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Sept. 7 (down 1.5% week-over-week) and 734,000 vinyl albums sold (down 5.1%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 23.826 million (up 1.5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 31.881 million (up 20.1%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 68.831 million (up 6.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 56.075 million (up 11.3%) and digital album sales total 12.756 million (down 9.9%).
23 PR (or Twnty Three) expands its presence in the United States with the appointment of James Rainis as head of U.S. public relations, Billboard can exclusively reveal.
The independent comms and artist management firm recruits Rainis from Shore Fire Media, where he worked on campaigns for the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bon Iver, Ghostface Killah, Oneohtrix Point Never, and PJ Morton, over a nine-year stint.
Founded in 2014 by Melody Forghani, 23 PR is based in Sydney, Australia and represents a diverse roster of talent, including RAYE, Little Simz, Obongjayar, KAYTRAMINÉ, Caroline Polachek, Skepta, and Joji.
In 2019, Amanda Perlstein, formerly of Stones Throw, Partisan, Shore Fire, and Big Hassle, launched 23 PR U.S. With Perlstein at the helm, the American arm secured relationships with Logic1000, CLIP, Baird, Luna Li, Haviah Mighty, and others, and works in tandem with HQ to offer tailored U.S.-only, Australia-only, and, when required, joint campaigns.
“Melody and Amanda have built a formidable press operation both in Australia and the U.S. while always honoring the vision and goals of the musicians they represent,” comments Rainis in a statement. “I’m thrilled to join the team and to expand 23’s U.S. operations, all while working with a diverse roster of artists on the bleeding edge of music today.”
Adds Perlstein: “Melody and I are thrilled to welcome James to our U.S. team. We can’t wait to see where he takes the company next with his keen eye for spotting talent early, extensive knowledge of music, and a commitment to developing an inclusive company culture.”
Since the U.S. division opened for business, the indie firm has brought acts like Kucka, Maple Glider, altopalo, Sunset Rollercoaster, MAY-A to the “global stage,” reps say.
A statement from the company reads, “Our love of music is at the center of every campaign through the promotion and protection of artists and their stories.”
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