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BTS star Jung Kook just misses out on his first solo chart crown in Australia, as “Seven” starts at No. 2.
Featuring rapper Latto, “Seven” (via ING/Universal) arrives on the ARIA Chart, published July 21, behind Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (Virgin Music Australia/Universal), which races away for its sixth non-consecutive week at No. 1.
That’s easily the best solo effort for the K-pop superstar, who featured on Charlie Puth’s 2022 release “Left And Right,” peaking at No. 19 on the national tally. Latto’s previous best was a No. 6 peak for 2021’s “Big Energy” featuring DJ Khaled.
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Also new to the ARIA Singles Chart is Billie Eilish, with “What Was I Made For?” (Interscope/Universal) from the soundtrack to the Barbie movie, which has opened in theaters countrywide. “What Was I Made For?” debuts at No. 8, for the U.S. pop star’s 14th top 10 single in these parts, a collection that includes her chart-leader from 2019, “Bad Guy.”
Two other Barbie numbers are on the climb this week: “Barbie World” by Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and AQUA (up 42-23) and Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night” (up 40-27), both via Atlantic/Warner.
Australian pop artist Troye Sivan bags his 12th top 50 single with “Rush” (EMI), lifted from his forthcoming album, Something To Give Each Other, slated to drop in October. “Rush” is new at No. 12, and not far from his career best chart position, a No. 10 peak for 2014’s “Happy Little Pill.”
It’s all Taylor Swift on the ARIA Albums Chart as Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal) retains top spot for a second week. A week ago, Swift’s third and latest “Version” LP replaced her own Midnights album at the summit, a handover never seen before on the Australian chart.
The two-week stint for Swift’s recorded Speak Now album eclipses the one-week reign for its original, from 2010, ARIA reports.
The highest debut on the albums tally belongs to legendary Australian artist Tina Arena, whose new set Love Saves (Positive Dream/ADA) starts at No. 2. Arena now boasts nine top 10 albums, including No. 1s for 1994’s Don’t Ask and 1997’s In Deep. Earlier this year, Arena was the inaugural recipient of Rolling Stone Australia’s Icon Award, which she received during a ceremony in Sydney.
Swift secures three of the top 5, with Midnights holding at No. 3 and Lover unchanged at No. 4.
New music from Blur doesn’t just sprout from the ground, fall from the air, or materialize without sufficient fanfare.
The British pop-rock band was a standout of the ‘90s Britpop era, an act with charm, hits, a loveable line-up, and, as it turns out, longevity and a knack for reinvention.
While many of their contemporaries are frozen in time, Blur remains relevant.
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The original combination of Damon Albarn (vocals/keyboard), Graham Coxon (vocals/guitar), Alex James (bass) and Dave Rowntree (drums) returns for The Ballad Of Darren (via Parlophone), Blur’s ninth studio album and first in eight years.
Arriving at the stroke of midnight, The Ballad Of Darren was produced by James Ford, and recorded at Studio 13 in London and Devon, England in spring of this year.
Comprising 10 tracks, including the first release “The Narcissist,” which earned the lads their first Airplay Chart top 10 since 1997, plus followup “St. Charles Square,” The Ballad of Darren is the result of a fortuitous gathering of the bandmembers at Albarn’s West London studio just six months ago.
Since then, the foursome has shaken off the rust with several triumphant performances, including headline slots at Wembley Stadium on July 8 and 9. Both dates were sellouts.
More shows will follow.
Blur will embark on a run of Continental European festival dates, starting Saturday (July 22) at Italy’s Lucca Summer Festival, followed by spots at Japan’s Summer Sonic fest and additional dates in Central and South America. Fans everywhere can log into a “Live from London” presentation on July 25, for what is said to be the first ever performance of the new LP.
The Ballad of Darren follows the release of The Magic Whip in 2015, which hit No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, one of the band’s six leaders. Albarn and Co. have landed 13 U.K. top 10 singles, including No. 1s with “Country House” (1995) and “Beetlebum” (1997).
Stream The Ballad of Darren in full below.
The 2023 Premios Juventud celebrated its 20th anniversary from the Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot on Thursday (July 20) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the theme of “Exprésate a tu Manera” (Express Yourself Authentically).
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Shakira was the night’s biggest winner, taking home eight awards, in addition to the coveted Agent of Change special award.
While her emotional speeches were televised, along with memorable performances such as Hoobastank singing a salsa version of “The Reason,” and reggaeton veterans such as Zion y Lennox, R.K.M. y Ken-Y, and more, joining forces for a throwback performance, Billboard was at the red carpet and media center, catching all the action you didn’t see on TV.
Check out the list below:
1. At the red carpet, Fuerza Regida, who performed on the show, told Billboard that they are big fans of Jhayco and, in fact, have a collaboration in the works but can’t share further details. The Puerto Rican rapper is no new face to the Música Mexicana realm. Cortez teamed up with Ivan Cornejo for “Esta Dañada (Remix)” in 2012 and this year, with Eslabon Armado in “Tomando Tequila.”
2. Billboard observed a real boy band encounter while interviewing Piso 21 on the red carpet. During the interview, where they were talking about their first-ever U.S. tour kicking off in September, Mexican pop group Camila walked by and greeted the boys. In the unexpected encounter, Pablo of Piso 21 told Camila that the reason they even became a group in the first place is because of Camila’s influence and inspiration.
3. Speaking of Camila, the Mexican pop group has reunited after more than 10 years. In its triumphant comeback, which included a performance of their latest single “Fugitivos” and a medley of their biggest hits, the group helmed by Samo, Mario Domm, and Pablo Hurtado revealed that they will be going on tour. This year, they will kick things off in Mexico and hope to extend the trek to the U.S. in 2024.
4. The Argentine movement was well represented at the 2023 Premios Juventud. Not only did Khea and Tiago PZK give an emotional performance of “Para Amarte a Ti,” followed by Tiago’s new perreo “Asqueroso,” but nominated act Rusher King was also present. “It’s incredible and we’re always conscious that if the artists of Argentina join forces, we can reach more people and transmit that union. That’s the message we want to send and we’re happy that we can do that with our music,” the artist, one of Billboard’s 23 Latin Artists to Watch in 2023, told Billboard. Both Rusher and Khea attended Premios Juventud for the first time.
5. Shakira was the big winner of the night, and although she did not visit the media center, she did go backstage for photos. The Colombian artist, rocking a red, fitted dress and her loose blonde locks, posed with her eight Premios Juventud trophies, and was joined by her sons Sasha and Milan, as the press captured photos and videos from afar.
Shakira speaks onstage during the 2023 Premios Juventud Awards at Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot on July 20, 2023 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
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6. In a first-ever performance, Chiquis was joined onstage by her younger sisters Jacquie and Jenicka for a heartfelt performance of “Pedacito de Mi,” dedicated to their late mother Jenni Rivera. The performance marked Jacquie and Jenicka’s TV debut, telling Billboard at the red carpet that the best advice they got from Chiquis ahead of the performance was to be themselves… and to wear the same shoes that they wore at rehearsals.
7. Backstage at the media center, Mexican pop artist Kenia Os was surprised with three awards. She had no idea she was going to win, and in fact, thought she was going to walk away with zero-from-five nominations. A shocked Kenia, who proudly dedicated her wins to her fans and the Puerto Rican community, nabbed the awards for new generation – female artist, I want more, and best fandom. Following a brief Q&A with the press, the artist asked her publicist to take photos of her with her phone and happily posed with her silver PJs.
Travis Scott, The Weeknd and Bad Bunny have cracked open the Utopia briefcase just a tad Friday (July 21) to release their new single, “KPOP.” “KPOP” comes just a week before Scott’s Utopia livestream event at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on July 28 to launch his first studio album in five years. The […]
Move over, “Scream & Shout.” There’s a new Britney Spears, Will.i.am collaboration in the club. After giving fans just a one-day heads up, the two all-star musicians have dropped their new single “Mind Your Business” — a full decade after first working together on 2012’s “Scream & Shout.” On the track, Brit and the Black […]
Eslabon Armado showcased their música mexicana hit-making prowess at Premios Juventud 2023 with a performance of their hit “Ella Baila Sola.”
Armed with invigorating requinto riffs and a standup bass to further amp up the vibe, the California troupe inspired a dance-off at the ceremony, with folks seemingly knowing every lyric to the corridos banger.
Moments before, Eslabon Armado collected their award for best song – regional Mexican music for the popular number, originally sung with July Billboard cover star, Peso Pluma. Unlike some artists who accepted their prizes, the background was lit with the crowd shouting the words to the No. 1 song on Billboard Latin charts. Frontman Pedro Tovar sang part of it too, thrilled, before speaking to the audience.
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“No tengo palabras, ahorita mi corazón esta palpitando muy recio. ¡Puro México, y que viva Puerto Rico! También les quiero decir que si no fueran por ustedes, no estuviéramos aquí,” said the lead singer. (“I have no words, right now my heart is pounding so hard. Long live Mexico, and long live Puerto Rico! I also want to tell you that if it were not for you, we would not be here.)
Eslabon Armado made history with Desvelado, which debuted at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart. “It means a lot being No. 1 on Top Latin Albums,” Pedro Tovar told Billboard in May. “It’s probably our favorite album, but we didn’t expect it to go that high. Mainly because I know that people don’t like something at first, but when four, five, six months or a whole year pass by, there’s always that one song that hits, and then everybody is like, ‘Oh, this is my favorite album!’”
On the all-genre Billboard 200, Desvelado opened at No. 6, becoming the highest-ranking ever for a regional Mexican album since December 2014, when the tally began tracking physical units alongside on-demand streaming and digital track sales.
Premios Juventud celebrates its 20th anniversary from the Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the theme of “Exprésate a tu Manera” (Express Yourself Authentically). The ceremony is televised by Univision.
Co-hosted by Alejandra Espinoza and Angela Aguilar, this year’s PJs debuts 15 new categories that “reflect the latest trends” in Latin music, such as best song for my ex, best urban track and best urban mix, among others.
This year, Shakira and Camila Cabello will receive the special “Agent of Change” award, joining past honorees that include Jesse & Joy, Maluma, Daddy Yankee, J Balvin, Kany Garcia, Jenni Rivera Foundation, Ricky Martin, Becky G, Pitbull, Juanpa Zurita, and Wisin y Yandel.
In recognition of her philanthropic excellence, Shakira gave an emotional speech to accept Premios Juventud’s Agent of Change award at its 20th anniversary edition.
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The Colombian powerhouse artist founded the Pies Descalzos Foundation in 1997 to promote education and provide support for vulnerable children in Colombia and various disadvantage communities of the region. The foundation has improved access to quality education, nutrition, and healthcare for underprivileged communities, with a particular emphasis on early childhood development. To date, the foundation has aided 150,000 underprivileged students.
Wearing a beautiful red dress, sleeveless from one side, her blondish long hair flowing as she walked, the Colombian superstar singer delivered an impassioned speech.
Read her full acceptance speech below:
Thank you for this honor, Kanny. Thank you for your kind words. This recognition is impossible to receive without sharing it with the incredible team of our Pies Descalzos Foundation and Patricia Sierra, its director, who work tirelessly every day to transform our most vulnerable communities in Colombia. So this is also for you.
We live in an ambiguous world, surrounded by good music, beauty, TikTok dances, filtered selfies. But there are realities that cannot be filtered or made up. There are places where people who are born poor die poor because they do not have the opportunity to receive a quality education.
Places where, although it is still hard to believe, people are discriminated against because of their sexual preferences, the color of their skin or their social class. It is an imperfect world, but fortunately it is constantly changing. And that is a truth that cannot be wasted. When my 10-year-old son tells me with sadness that a friend of his would like to change his skin color because he doesn’t feel part of it or that someone else is being pushed aside because of his preferences. That only remains for me as a mother to show him that he doesn’t have to be quiet, that he can raise his hand, that he can use his voice and that he can complain about that and everything else he disagrees with.
That’s the way it is, Milán. And I am relieved to see, I am very, very relieved to see that this youth knows how to do it more and more. In the social networks, you amplify the news that concerns us and bring to light stories that if it were not for them, if it were not for you, these stories would not be known. You question things, you point out injustice, you seek the truth. And today Milán and Sasha are here with me, which is a great joy for me. I want my children to understand that to be an agent of change you don’t have to be a female pop star.
You don’t have to have a foundation, you don’t have to be a politician or even occupy a place of power, you don’t have to be famous or rich. To be an agent of change you just have to differentiate what is right from what is wrong. You just have to believe that it is possible to change things and not let anyone tell you otherwise.
That is power and you, the youth, have that power. And if you are angry and if you are uncomfortable with exclusion, and if you do not allow yourselves to be anesthetized by the pain of others and if you raise your voice and do not lower your arms, then I can rest assured that my children and that you are and will be the hope of many and are also and will be the true agents of change. Thank you very much.
Premios Juventud celebrates its 20th anniversary from the Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the theme of “Exprésate a tu Manera” (Express Yourself Authentically). The ceremony is televised by Univision.
SIZE matters for Astralwerks.
Today (July 20), the venerable dance label has announced a partnership with Steve Angello‘s SIZE Records. Under the terms of this deal, all future SIZE Records releases will be distributed by Astralwerks, with the agreement also encompassing SIZE’s back catalog.
Launched in 2003 by the Swedish House Mafia member, the SIZE catalog encompasses music by Angello, Laidback Luke, Eric Prydz, Afrojack, Don Diablo, AN21, Junior Sanchez and many other electronic stars and underground greats.
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The deal is also being punctuated by new music, with Angello releasing “What You Need” — a collaboration with masked duo Wh0 — tomorrow (July 21) via SIZE Records/Astralwerks and Wh0 Plays. The track marks the 250th release of the SIZE Records catalog.
“While I’m excited to honor the legacy of SIZE Records by re-launching the catalog, I’m every bit as thrilled by what the future holds,” Angello tells Billboard. “Teaming with Wh0 to make ‘What You Need’ the inaugural new release on the imprint feels like the perfect way to set the tone for everything we have planned. It’s a new era, new team, new SIZE, new collaborations, new music and lots of it! My gratitude to Astralwerks for taking this journey with us at SIZE!”
The deal marks a return for Angello and Astralwerks, with the label releasing Swedish House Mafia’s compilation albums, 2010’s Until One and 2012’s Until Now, which contained the trio’s all-time hits “One (Your Name)” and “Don’t You Worry Child.”
“SIZE Records is a powerhouse label and home to some of my all-time favorite records,” adds Astralwerks President Toby Andrews. “Being able to work with them as they kick off their 20th anniversary celebrations whilst Astralwerks is celebrating its 30th year feels like the perfect match. In addition to that, the whole team is excited to bring more of Steve’s music to the world and work with him and all his team to elevate the future vision and catalog of the label.”
Steve Angello continues to be managed by Wassim Sal Slaiby and Dina Sahim at SALXCO.
BALI — When Denis Ladegaillerie takes his place on stage for the Music Matters conference in Singapore later this year, the Believe chief executive officer should have some tales to share. Success stories.
Ten years ago, Believe (then Believe Digital) embarked on an Asia Pacific odyssey. The risk is paying off, thanks in no small part to the expanding reach and adoption of streaming services, and the waves of regional acts passing through the pipeline, crossing borders like never before.
Ladegaillerie, the Paris-based music company’s founder, returns to the annual summit this September brimming with confidence for his business’s regional operations, which are now active in 15 APAC territories. Royalties to labels and artists have ballooned to €700 million ($784), Billboard can confirm. The magical €1 billion ($1.12 billion) milestone is on the horizon.
Believe established its APAC presence back in 2013, initially in Indonesia. Playing to the beat of its mantra, “local approach, global vision,” the brand set about building from scratch a network tuned to each local music scene, cognizant of the language, culture and genre specificities that make each market unique.
Believe paid tribute to its APAC origins in May by returning to Bali for a gathering of 130-plus staff, or “Believers” as they’re known within the company, from 11 countries.
Participants included Antoine El Iman; managing director of Southeast Asia and Australia/New Zealand; Dahlia Wijaya, country director, Indonesia; Georgette Tengco, country director, Philippines; Somwalee Limrachtamorn, country director, Thailand; and Mick Tarbuk, country manager, Australia & New Zealand, whose affiliate landed two ARIA No. 1 albums in 12 months, with Cub Sport’s Jesus At The Gay Bar (April 2023) and Northlane’s Obsidian (April 2022).
Cub Sport
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Also among guests, Believe’s streaming partners, including Paul Smith, managing director of YouTube Music APAC, one of the most powerful brands in the region (and also a guest speaker at ATM 2023), and several key artists, including Indonesia pop star Yura Yunita, a native of Bandung, West Java, who boasts more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram and upwards of 1 million subscribers to her YouTube channel.
The region “was untapped territory,” recounts Sylvain Delange, managing director Asia Pacific. “The business opportunity was tiny at the time because digital was not existent. Well, it existed, but it was ringback tones.”
The Frenchman is a big believer — in the traditional sense — that the pan-Asian music market could achieve lift-off; he was tapped to build the regional business from the ground up.
Previously, he served for five years in Tokyo, promoting French music abroad for the French Music Office. That organization no longer exists, though the relationships he built in Asia still do, and Delange got a head start.
Delange “is an instrumental part of the transformation of the market that we’ve been a part of,” notes Ladegaillerie.
Timing is everything. Launch before the streaming platforms mature and make inroads, and the ship has sunk before it sailed.
Start too late, you miss out.
“When you have international players, and especially big players, like Apple, Spotify or YouTube entering the market, that levels the playing field for everyone,” reckons Delange.
Those big players, when they arrived, brought with them certain standards. “Standards of business practices, content management, monetization, good practices, in terms of marketing releases, and so on,” he continued, creating “a much healthier environment for the music ecosystem.”
The Asian market is as exciting as it is diverse, and the recorded music business is spiking.
The numbers back it up.
Luminate’s 2023 “Midyear Music Report” found that, overall, on-demand audio and video streaming in the first half lifted by 107% year-on-year – a world-leading rate of growth.
And earlier, the IFPI reported that Asia notched double-digit growth for the third consecutive year, up by 15.4%, “outpacing the overall global growth rate.”
China, meanwhile, has joined the recording music industry’s elite. According to the IFPI’s Global Music Report, the world’s most populous market is now the No. 5 ranked country for the first time, bumping France into No. 6. APAC accounts for four of the top 10 markets (Japan at No. 2, South Korea at No. 7, Australia at No. 10), and four of the top 10 acts globally are from APAC – BTS, SEVENTEEN, Stray Kids, and Jay Chou.
Believe itself has evolved from pure distribution-driven business into one focused on “local content, globally,” explains Delange, who confirms the Asia Pacific activities has generated north of €700 million in distributions.
That pile includes its businesses in India, Southeast Asia, China, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, where Believe is ranked No. 3 in terms of digital market share, according to Oricon market research, behind Universal and Sony Music, and ahead of Warner Music.
Acquisitions, investments and partnerships will continue to play a part. Notable deals struck in recent years include the acquisition of a stake in Philippines-based Viva Music and Artists Group (VMAG); the acquisition of India’s Venus Music, and subsequent rebranded to Ishtar; and the purchase of a 76% interest in South Indian soundtrack specialist Think Music, all in 2021.
“The objective for us is to is to strengthen our position on market segment by bringing in people that have a very specific expertise,” explains Delange. “Our positioning is to basically build on our past 10-year success, continue to educate. There’s still a lot of education to be done on many topics. We will continue to build on our teams, we’re going to continue to invest in local players, we’re going to continue to build the partnerships closely with the DSPS.”
Soon, the “emerging markets” tag will be gone from the vernacular.
A decade from now, “Asia would have been very-well emerged,” says Delange. “We do anticipate that Asia Pacific is going to become the largest music market in the world in the next 10 years.”
Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay Lautner are sharing all the details of what it was like working with Taylor Swift on the “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)” music video.
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On the latest episode of The Squeeze podcast, hosted by the Lautners, Tay said the secrecy surrounding the superstar’s latest video was “literally bigger than any secret I’ll ever have.”
Earlier this month, Swift debuted the first music video from her Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) album at the first Eras Tour stop in Kansas City, Missouri. The Twilight actor, Joey King and Presley Cash, who all starred in the video, also joined the singer onstage to celebrate the video’s premiere.
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After the concert, they all took to social media at the time to share their excitement about the video, with Swift also writing on Instagram, “Joey and Presley had been in the video for “Mean” when they were 9 and 13 and they are back and so ridiculously bad ass!! Taytay is INCREDIBLE in this (didn’t have a stunt double!) and shout out to @taylautner for being so awesome to hang with on set. The Tale of 3 Taylors.”
Now, the Abduction actor is giving his thoughts on the whole experience, as well as sharing his appreciation for the Grammy-winning singer, who they call “blonde girl Tay” to differentiate from his wife, “girl Tay” since they all have the same name.
“We’ve known how freaking awesome the video is for a while now, so it was just stoked for everybody to see it and just see the genius of blonde girl Taylor because she is truly unbelievable. She can do it all,” Taylor said of Swift on the podcast. “Honestly, the most impressive thing about her is that she is such agenius and she does do it all but you would never think so just talking to her. She’s the most humble person I’ve ever encountered.”
Tay seconded the actor’s comments, adding that Swift is such a “collaborative” person.
Later in the episode, the couple discussed their friendship with Swift and what it was like for Taylor to introduce his wife to the singer, given that she is also his ex-girlfriend. Swift and Taylor dated back in 2009, and it is rumored that her hit song “Back to December” is about their breakup.
“It was great,” Taylor quipped. “I know on paper it sounds like a tough situation, but I not once was ever worried about it.”
The actor added that he and his wife are secure in their relationship and that Tay is also the “coolest, chillest person ever” as well as being a “die-hard fan of that person.”
He also said “blonde girl Tay” is the “sweetest human being on Earth” so it ended up being “kind of just a perfect situation.”
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This article originally appeared in THR.com.