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On Thursday night (July 13), Jay-Z watched another one of his manifestations come to life when the Brooklyn Public Library unveiled an honorary exhibition for the billionaire polymath.
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Aptly titled “The Book of HOV” — based on his song lyric in DJ Khaled’s 2022 Grammy-nominated anthem “God Did” — the exhibition includes “archived objects, including original recording masters, never-before-seen photos, iconic stagewear, prestigious awards, and recognitions, as well as videos and artifacts from every facet of Jay-Z’s professional life.”
“Brooklyn Public Library, including the Center for Brooklyn History, is home to the most expansive collection of Brooklyn history in the world, and Jay-Z is an important part of the borough’s story,” the CEO of the Brooklyn Public Library Linda Johnson told Billboard. “We are proud to celebrate his mastery of music, poetry, the written word, and the oral tradition, and we hope the exhibit will inspire visitors to bet on themselves and pursue their own dreams, musical or otherwise.”
A throng of supporters huddled behind the barricades and watched the 37-year-old library become a playground for the hometown kid who used to throw paper planes from his Marcy Projects window. Song lyrics ranging from Jay-Z’s “Sweet” to “Encore” grace the building’s exterior like an open-paged book. At the same time, a live band serenaded the attendees with a medley of Jay-Z classics, including “Roc Boys,” “Allure,” “Can’t Knock the Hustle,” and “Where I’m From.”
“The design of the exterior plays with the building facade, which was built to symbolize an open book while paying homage to Jay’s words,” The Book of HOV co-creative director Ken Tokunaga told Billboard. There’s also a blue LED cube outside the library that plays the content of Jay’s career to greet people on their way inside the building. “The classical type contrasts with the contemporary aesthetic of the LED cube that sits at the promenade center. We always aimed for this tension between classic and modernity,” added Book of HOV co-creative director Ian Schatzberg.
Jay-Z and Beyoncé attended the prestigious honor and used the celebration as a much-needed break from the singer’s Renaissance Tour as she looks to head back on the road this Saturday (July 15). Jay-Z’s superstar friends, including DJ Khaled, Babyface, Fat Joe, and Steve Stoute, also stopped by to enjoy the festivities and relish the feats of the Brooklyn icon.
Inside the 40,000-square-foot exhibition, artifacts dating back to Jay’s 1996 introduction make up the iconic showing. Spanning eight sections, rooms such as “Hov Did That” contain his 2008 Glastonbury Festival guitar, a 2009 hand-written letter from the daughter of Frank Sinatra, and his 2021 Rock and Roll of Fame Award. In addition, “Baseline Studios” is a re-imagination of where Hov recorded some of his most famed works, such as 2000’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, 2001’s The Blueprint, and 2003’s The Black Album. One more notable section inside the exhibit is titled “Business, Man,” as it highlights his most significant wins on the business front, mainly the birth of his clothing brand Rocawear, his management company Roc Nation, and his streaming company, TIDAL.
The exhibition will be free for the public beginning Friday (July 14), and no library cards are needed to get inside. There will be 13 limited-edition library cards that fans can collect, as each one features the cover of Jay-Z’s solo albums dating back to 1996’s Reasonable Doubt. Those who don’t live in New York can also experience the exhibition online, as famed radio host Angie Martinez narrates the story behind each of the eight sections.
“It’s not every day that an exhibit of this scope is housed in a public, actively used space. Typically, visitors would have to pay museum fees to access this type of immersive experience, and we’re thrilled to make it available free of charge to every New Yorker, from every walk of life, as part of their visit to our Central Library,” explained Johnson.
She added: “The exhibit is a labor of love by Roc Nation and was created by people who have worked closely with JAY-Z and know him best. It was important to all of us that The Book of HOV be an enhanced library experience in which the public is able to attend programming, spend time browsing our collections, and check-out books and vinyl records, all while learning about this Brooklyn-born icon’s extraordinary and inspiring contributions.”
A view of the Central Library Building of the Brooklyn Public Library in Grand Army Plaza as it’s being covered with lyrics by artist Jay-Z in celebration of 50 years of Hip-Hop on July 10, 2023 in New York City.
Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
After completed the Swift Sweep last week on the ARIA Chart, Taylor Swift has retaken the chart throne with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (via Universal), setting another record in the process.
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Swift’s third and latest “Version” release debuts at No. 1, for her 11th leader in Australia, a feat that includes three rerecorded titles.
By replacing herself at No. 1 on the latest tally, published July 14, Swift becomes the first artist to do so since the ARIA Charts began in 1983, according to ARIA.
For the previous week, Taylor locked up the entire top five on the ARIA Albums Chart, a level of dominance never seen before on the national survey. Swift continues to swamp the top tier, with four of the top five titles, and six of the top 10. It’s a similar story on the national singles tally, where Taylor takes nine of the top 20 spots.
It takes a little heavy metal magic to disrupt Swift’s dominance on the ARIA Albums Chart.
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard prevents another sweep, as the Aussie act bows at No. 2 with possibly the longest album title of the year: PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation (via KGLW)
PetroDragonic Apocalypse equals King Gizz’s career peak of No. 2, achieved with four previous albums: Flying Microtonal Banana (2017), Infest The Rats’ Nest (2019), Chunky Shrapnel (2020) and Butterfly 3000 (2021)
The prolific band has released 24th studio album (including five in one year), 15 live albums, three compilations, a remix album, three EPs and snared two ARIA Awards.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, “Sprinter” (Virgin Music/Universal) by U.K. rappers Dave and Central Cee races to a fifth week at No. 1.
Finally, South Korean K-pop girl group NewJeans enjoys a top 40 berth with “Super Shy” (ING/Universal), which drops at No. 27. NewJeans has an Aussie connection; Danielle Marsh was born-and-raised in Newcastle, and her bandmate Hanni Pham calls Melbourne home.
From their creative laboratory, Disclosure issues Alchemy, their fourth album which had remained a secret until recent days.
Despite the title’s allure of precious metal, Alchemy is also something of a reset. There are no guest features, no samples, it’s independently released and Disclosure “don’t intend to tour it straight away,” reads a statement.
What is does have is energy and bangers, including the previously-released lead track “Looking For Love,” and the kind of no-nonsense floor-stomping house numbers that are big part of Disclosure’s armoury.
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But wait, there’s more. Album track “Higher Than Ever Before” is an atmosphere drum ‘n’ bass dynamo, “Sun Showers” a throwback trance gem, and “Talk On the Phone” is a perfectly-produced pop song.
Comprised of brothers Guy and Howard Lawrence, Disclosure is a heavyweight pair in the electronic music scene. In their homeland, two of their three albums have led the national survey — 2013’s Settle and 2015’s Caracal. Alchemy is the followup to 2020’s Energy, which peaked at No. 4 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart.
Released through the act’s own label Apollo Records, Alchemy is “a celebration of us feeling liberated right now,” explains Guy. “We’re no longer signed to a major record label. We’re not going to tour this record. We can do whatever we like and be super creative.”
The LP was reportedly written when the pair were at different stages in their lives, Guy, recently married and settling down in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, while Howard “was reeling from heartbreak and exhausted from a 150-date tour,” reads a statement accompanying the release.
Its creation was a type of alchemy. “There was this combination of deep heartbreak and sadness, but also deep admiration and appreciation,” Howard recounts. “Let’s turn this horrible feeling into something beautiful. The whole idea was to channel pain into beauty—which, in hindsight, is always the aim.”
Stream Alchemy below.
Duran Duran’s forthcoming North America tour will include a one-off benefit concert for the Cancer Awareness Trust, a special fundraising tribute to guitarist Andy Taylor, who is battling stage-4 prostate cancer.
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The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame-inducted British band announces the event for Aug. 19 at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, CA.
Speaking about the intimate show, Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon says, “We are heading to Northern California, to play many of the songs that we wrote together with our dear friend, Andy Taylor, to help him and others in their fight against prostate cancer. It is the right thing to do.”
Those songs are a collection of gold-standard hits, from “A View to a Kill,” to “Planet Earth,” “Rio,” “Girls on Film,” The Reflex,” “Wild Boys,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Is There Something I Should Know,” “Save a Prayer,” and others.
News of Taylor’s diagnosis reached the band just days before their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last November. His ongoing treatment forced Taylor to miss the ceremony, though members of the band used the platform of the ceremony to read a letter from Taylor, addressing for the first time his illness.
Since then, the bandmates “been made aware of a revolutionary life-extending treatment that they will be funding for cancer patients such as Andy,” reads a statement from the band.
Adds drummer Roger Taylor: “We would like to thank our fans and the organizers of this benefit who have given us the chance to help our longtime friend and colleague Andy Taylor. We have always described ourselves as a ‘band of brothers,’ and that has never been more true than in this very moment.”
Taylor was lead guitarist for Duran Duran during their heyday in the early-to-mid 1980s, during which time the new wave stars became, without argument, one of the most popular bands on the planet. Now 62, the English rocker performed on DD’s first three studio albums, the self-titled debut from 1981, Rio from 1982, Seven and the Ragged Tiger from 1983, live album Arena from 1984, contributed to the band’s 1986 album Notorious, then split to pursue a solo career.
Taylor reunited with bandmates Le Bon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor in the early 2000s. With the old band back together, Duran Duran released the 2004 album Astronaut, toured, and collected a slew of awards, including the Brit Award for outstanding contribution to British music, the BPI’s equivalent of the lifetime achievement award.
Andy Taylor has discussed his health battles, which he described as “a death sentence,” for a U.K. TV interview earlier in the year.
Playing guitar has had an unexpected benefit. “It’s really helped me to live with the pessimism of an incurable disease,” he notes, “but the optimism of creating music.”
Following the benefit concert, Duran Duran will embark on the second leg of their North American Future Past Tour, in support of their 15th studio LP Future Past, which peaked at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart in 2021.
Another album is already in the works, and it’ll feature the talents of Andy Taylor. A statement issued by the band in March reads, “Duran Duran are thrilled to confirm a special new music project is in the works, set for release later this year on BMG. The new recordings will feature extended Duran Duran family and friends, old and new, including our former bandmate Andy Taylor who will join us on guitar on a few tracks.”
Ticket pre-sales for the benefit concert go on sale Monday, July 17 for members of the Duran Duran VIP Fan Community, with the general on-sale beginning Wednesday, July 19 at GuildTheatre.com.
In the meantime, Andy Taylor is in good hands. “I am delighted that we have been able to help turn Andy’s life around, and with the support of Duran Duran and their incredible fanbase, the revolutionary new treatment could well both improve Andy’s quality of life and extend it significantly,” comments professor Sir Chris Evans, founder of The U.K.’s Cancer Awareness Trust. “Andy will receive the latest precision medical treatment, emanating from some recently successful clinical trials, along with the ongoing support that the Cancer Awareness Trust is providing. The incredible support of Duran Duran will mean many more people will benefit just like Andy has”.
After a synch in Apple TV+’s The Crowded Room, Bill Withers’ “Lovely Day” leads Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind, for June 2023.
Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of June 2023.
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“Lovely Day” can be heard in the series premiere of the new Apple TV+ series, which first aired alongside its first three episodes on June 9. In June 2023, “Lovely Day” earned 13.1 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 3,000 downloads, according to Luminate.
Released in 1977 and found on Withers’ album Menagerie from that same year, “Lovely Day” peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1978. The song returned to the Billboard charts upon its The Crowded Room synch, re-entering the R&B Digital Song Sales chart at No. 13 on the June 24-dated survey.
Irma Thomas’ “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)” appears at No. 2 on Top TV Songs after being heard in the sixth season premiere of Netflix’s Black Mirror (June 15). The song earned 368,000 streams in June 2023. “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand)” was one of four songs from Thomas to reach the Hot 100, peaking at No. 52 in August 1964.
A pair of songs from Based on a True Story, a newly premiered series from Peacock, debut at Nos. 3 and 4 on Top TV Songs. Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” from the show’s fourth episode, lands at No. 3 (5.5 million streams, 2,000 downloads), followed by Queen and David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” at No. 4 (15.4 million streams, 2,000 downloads). Both episodes premiered June 8.
See the full top 10, also featuring music from Love Island (UK), The Bear and Cruel Summer, below.
Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)1. “Lovely Day,” Bill Withers, The Crowded Room (Apple TV+)2. “Anyone Who Knows What Love Is (Will Understand),” Irma Thomas, Black Mirror (Netflix)3. “The Final Countdown,” Europe, Based on a True Story (Peacock)4. “Under Pressure,” Queen & David Bowie, Based on a True Story (Peacock)5. “Bad Guy,” Billie Eilish, Love Island (ITV2)6. “Hold the Line,” Toto, Love Island (ITV2)7. “She Drives Me Crazy,” Fine Young Cannibals, The Bear (Hulu)8. “My Own Worst Enemy,” Lit, Cruel Summer (Freeform)9. “She’s So High,” Tal Bachmann, Cruel Summer (Freeform)10. “Stuck in the Middle With You,” Stealers Wheel, Love Island (ITV2)
Songs from Lil Uzi Vert’s new album Pink Tape take the top three spots on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart dated July 15, led by “Werewolf” featuring Bring Me the Horizon, which debuts at No. 1.
“Werewolf” earned 6.7 million official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads June 30-July 6, according to Luminate.
Lil Uzi Vert leads Hot Hard Rock Songs for the first time in their second appearance on the list. They previously made the survey as featured on Bring Me the Horizon’s “AmEN!,” which debuted at No. 12 on the June 17 tally and ranks at No. 21 on the latest chart.
As for Bring Me the Horizon, the band now boasts four Hot Hard Rock Songs No. 1s, tying Falling in Reverse for the most dating to the chart’s 2020 inception. The Oli Sykes-fronted group first reigned with “Parasitve Eve,” followed by “Obey” (with Yungblud) and “Teardrops,” all in 2020.
In between the commands of “Teardrops” and “Werewolf,” Bring Me the Horizon rose as high as No. 3 with “LosT” in May 2023.
“Werewolf” is followed on Hot Hard Rock Songs by “CS,” a cover of System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!,” at No. 2, and “The End,” featuring BABYMETAL, at No. 3 (around 5 million streams each).
Lil Uzi Vert is the second act to occupy the top three of Hot Hard Rock Songs in a single week, following Van Halen, which took up Nos. 1-3 on the Oct. 17, 2020, tally following the death of guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Concurrently, the three songs rank at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 on Hard Rock Streaming Songs in the same order. “Werewolf” also tops Alternative Streaming Songs, while “CS” and “The End” appear at Nos. 6 and 7, respectively.
The all-rock-genre Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ranking sees “Werewolf” start at No. 5, followed by “CS” at No. 8 and “The End” at No. 10.
Of the trio, “Werewolf” makes the all-format Billboard Hot 100, debuting at No. 81. It’s Bring Me the Horizon’s second time on the chart, following the No. 68-peaking “Maybe,” released with Machine Gun Kelly, in April 2022.
“Werewolf,” “CS” and “The End” are three rock-flavored songs from rapper Lil Uzi Vert’s wide-ranging Pink Tape, which concurrently debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 167,000 equivalent album units earned, as previously reported.
Rihanna is always full of surprises. But when the Primetime Emmy nominations were announced and her name was read out, it was RiRi who was left gobsmacked.
Rihanna’s Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show performance scored five Emmy nominations, including outstanding variety special (live), which she shares with executive producer Jay-Z.
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Until now, she’s never had a Primetime Emmy nod.
The occasion wasn’t lost on the “Umbrella” singer, who dug out her red Super Bowl outfit for a social post. “Pull up breed up 2 d bashment,” reads the accompanying comments. “5 EMMY NOMZ is craaaaazzzyyy!!! Im so grateful for every single person involved in creating these memories!”
The awards will be presented on Monday, Sept. 18.
RiRi’s performance at the football’s showpiece event in February 2022 was huge for several reasons. It represented her first major live performance following a lengthy absence from the spotlight. And she used the occasion to show off her baby bump, a moment that caused the Internet to (nearly) melt down.
The billionaire businesswoman and mom recently became the first female artist to have 10 songs reach one billion streams on Spotify.
Rihanna’s billion-streams club songs on Spotify are “Diamonds,” “We Found Love” (with Calvin Harris), “Love on the Brain,” “Stay” (with Mikky Ekko), “This Is What You Came For” (with Calvin Harris), “Needed Me,” “Four Five Seconds” (with Kanye West & Paul McCartney), “Work” (with Drake), “Umbrella” (with Jay-Z) and “Love the Way You Lie” (with Eminem).
Expect that collection to grow when the Barbadian artist release the follow-up to her last studio album, 2016’s Billboard 200-topping Anti.
As her list of hits builds, so too does her family. Earlier this week, the 35-year-old musician, mogul and expecting mom showed off her third-trimester baby bump while premiering a coral Savage X Fenty bra and panties set. Rihanna and A$AP Rocky already have a baby son, RZA.
It’s game on for ENHYPEN, which enters the Pokémon universe with the collaborative new single “One and Only.”
Accompanying the new number is a shiny music video, which sees each member of the K-pop boyband team up with a Pokémon buddy, through a partnership with the so-called Pokémon Music Collective.
All the faves are there, including Pikachu, Charizard, Charmander and Snorlax.
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It’s as upbeat a song and clip as you’ll find. Channeling Al Jarreau’s “Mornin,’” the lads get about their daily routine with their animated friends in tow, and enjoy a camping getaway with an unexpected caravan flight.
Announced late June, the collab is “inspired by the sounds of the Pokémon series video game universe by artists across multiple genres,” per a press release.
“We are so delighted to participate in this project, given our love for Pokémon. ‘One and Only’ is a vibrant pop-genre track that perfectly complements the dynamic energy of both Pokémon and ENHYPEN,” the septet says in a statement.
Earlier this month, ENHYPEN announced the dates and venues for its FATE World Tour, which will include stops across cities in Asia and the United States.
The Asian swing of the jaunt— the group’s second world tour — will kick off with two dates at Seoul’s KSPO Dome July 29-30. Japan follows in early September, the first being a visit to Osaka’s Kyocera Dome Osaka Sept. 2-3. Less than two weeks later in Tokyo, K-pop stars will play a pair of dates at the Tokyo Dome on Sept. 13-14.
As previously reported, ENHYPEN will then head to the United States starting with an Oct. 6 stop at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles. The group will also play shows in Glendale, Ariz.; Houston; Dallas; and Newark, N.J., before concluding the U.S. leg on Oct. 22 at Chicago’s United Center.
Comprising Jungwon, Heeseung, Jay, Jake, Sunghoon, Sunoo, and Ni-Ki, ENHYPEN is a creation of BELIFT LAB, making their debut in November 2020.
Since then, they’ve landed two top 10s on the Billboard 200, with 2022’s Manifesto : Day 1 (peaking at No. 6), and 2023’s Dark Blood (No. 4). Three more titles have landed in the top 40.
With “Utau,” J-pop producer imase last year kick-started the Pokémon Music Collective, an initiative of Universal Music Japan and The Pokémon Company.
Watch Pokémon X ENHYPEN’s “One and Only” below.
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Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor” spends its first week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts, rising 2-1 on both July 15-dated tallies. The track earned 32.4 million airplay audience impressions and 11.5 million official U.S. streams and sold 5,000 downloads June 30-July 6, according to Luminate. […]
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