bbnews
Page: 223
The chart miracle that is Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding’s EDM hit is showing no signs of letting-up in the U.K.
“Miracle” (via Columbia) retains top spot on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published June 2, for an eighth non-consecutive week at No. 1.
That feat equals Harris’ all-time reign over the U.K. survey, matching the eight weeks “One Kiss” with Dua Lipa spent at the summit back in 2018.
Meanwhile, David Kushner’s viral hit “Daylight” (Miserable Music) holds at No. 2, while Afrobeats artist Rema’s “Calm Down” (Mavin) completes the podium, up 5-3 for a new high.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Loreen’s 2023 Eurovision Song Contest-winning entry “Tattoo” (Polydor) continues to stick around, logging a third week in the top 10. The Swedish singer’s pan-European hit dips 4-10.
The highest new entry on the latest survey belongs to J Hus, as “It’s Crazy” (Black Butter) arrives at No. 15. “It’s Crazy” is the East London rapper’s first taste of new music as a lead artist in three years. With its lofty debut, the hip-hop artist earns his 13th U.K. top 40 appearance.
Taylor Swift is on the rise once again, thanks to the release of Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition) (via EMI). A trio of tracks make a dent — the maximum allowed under the Official Charts Company’s singles chart criteria — led by “Karma,” this week’s big gainer thanks to a new cut featuring rising rapper “Ice Spice”. It’s up 67-12, while “Hits Different” bows at No. 18 and “Snow On The Beach,” which features additional lines from guest artist Lana Del Rey, reenters the top 40 at No. 24.
Also new to the chart is Dua Lipa’s “Dance The Night” (Warner Records), lifted from the forthcoming Barbie movie soundtrack. It drops in at No. 20, for Lipa’s 23rd U.K. top 40 appearance.
Finally, as news of Tina Turner’s death spread the globe, fans paid their respects by listening to the rock legend’s greatest hits. The late singer’s signature song “The Best” (Parlophone) reenters the U.K. chart at No. 25, having peaked at No. 5 in 1989, while her comeback smash from 1984, “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” returns at No. 35. “What’s Love Got To Do With It” is Turner’s highest-peaking solo track in the U.K., reaching No. 3. Turner died May 24 at the age of 83.
What better person to star in and guide a biopic on Keyshia Cole than the R&B artist herself. That’s how it’s playing out for Keyshia Cole: This Is My Story, an upcoming biopic on the Grammy Award-nominated artist, set to premiere June 24 on Lifetime. Cole takes executive producer duties and makes her acting debut […]
While the media has fixated on K-pop superstars BTS, Blackpink, Tomorrow X Together, and, more recently, newbies Fifty Fifty, don’t sleep on Stray Kids.The South Korean boy band doesn’t get the attention, but they’re flying in the upper-elite class, with No. 1s on the Billboard 200 chart with Maxident and Oddinary. Both recordings made a mark on the other side of the Atlantic, cracking the Official U.K. Albums Chart. According to the IFPI, Stray Kids was one of the top 10 most popular artists of 2022, coming in at No. 7 on the Federation’s year-end list, led by Taylor Swift; while Maxident was the No. 6 most popular album of the year (Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti was No. 1). The eight-member pop group return with 5 Stars (via JYP Entertainment and Republic Records), the lads’ third Korean-language studio album, and fourth overall. Prior to its release at the stroke of midnight, 5 Stars was already a hit. Based on data commissioned by online casino guide 6Takarakuji, the LP has notched more than 5 million pre-orders, ahead of recordings by BTS, TXT and Seventeen’s 10th mini album FML, which dropped last month. Stray Kids recently completed a string of concerts in North America, including their first-ever stadium concerts in the United States, for which they warmed-up with a late-night TV performance of Oddinary track “Maniac” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Forming in 2018, the Kids — Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. — took over the top 5 of Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter, dated Jan. 28, with the title track at No. 1, and the cuts “DLMLU,” “Novel,” “Battle Ground” and “Lost Me” at Nos. 2-5, respectively.Later, in February, the boy band dropped The Sound, marking their first original Japanese full-length album.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Spanning 12 songs, 5 Stars can be streamed in full below.
Morgan Wallen’s name is now etched in the ARIA history books as “Last Night” (via Republic/Universal) enters week eight at No. 1. “Last Night” holds top spot on the latest Australian singles chart, published June 2, making it the longest reigning leader by a male American country singer since the ARIA Charts launched in 1983. It beats by a week Billy Ray Cyrus’ seven-week stint at the top with “Achy Breaky Heart” in 1992.Taylor Swift gets some good karma on the ARIA Charts, following the release of Midnights (Til Dawn Edition) (via Universal), which returns to No. 1. Swifties have been obsessing over the fresh cut of “Karma,” which features Ice Spice and flies 59-2 for a new chart peak, besting its No. 9 high from 2022. It’s one of several album tracks on the rise, including “Snow on The Beach,” which features additional lyrics from Lana Del Rey and reenters at No. 12; while “Hits Different” impacts the chart for the first time at No. 16. Dua Lipa shuffles into the top 40 with “Dance The Night,” lifted from the Barbie soundtrack. It’s new at No. 22 for her 21st top 50 single in Australia, a streak that dates back to “Be The One,” which reached No. 6 in 2015, ARIA reports.Also impacting the chart for the first time is “America Has a Problem” by Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar, a remix of a cut from Bey’s chart-topping album from 2022, Renaissance. It’s new at No. 32. Over on the ARIA Albums Chart, Swift’s Midnights returns to the summit, up 7-1, for its first stint in the penthouse since February of this year. Midnights has now logged 13th non-consecutive weeks at No. 1. Matchbox Twenty lights up the tally with Where The Light Goes (Atlantic/Warner), their fifth studio album. It’s new at No. 2 for the week’s highest debut. Thanks to Swift, the U.S. group misses out on extending its streak of No. 1s. They’ve landed four thus far, with Yourself Or Someone Like You (1996), Mad Season (2000), career retrospective Exile On Mainstream (2007) and North, their most recent studio album from 2012.Rockabilly “supergroup” the Barnestormers complete the podium with their self-titled set, new at No. 3 with the debut of their self-titled album (via Mushroom Group’s Bloodlines, distributed by Universal Music Australia). The Barnestormers features Jimmy Barnes on vocals, the Living End’s Chris Cheney on guitar, Stray Cats’ Slim Jim Phantom on drums, producer Kevin “Caveman” Shirley on bass, and Squeeze keyboardist and broadcaster Jools Holland.Close behind is Sydney indie band Boy & Bear, which bows at No. 4 with their eponymously titled fifth album (through UNFD/Orchard). It’s the fourth top 5 appearance for the ARIA Award winners, a run that includes No. 1s for 2013’s Harlequin Dream and 2015’s Limit Of Love.Finally, Tina Turner proves she’s still simply the best, as Aussies remember the U.S. R&B legend by returning to her greatest hits. “The Best” (Rhino/Warner), which soundtracked Turner’s campaigns for Australia’s professional rugby league, reenters at No. 29 on the singles survey after peaking at No. 4 in 1989 (a duet with Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes, which also appeared in a league campaign, hit No. 14 in 1992). Her signature comeback song “What’s Love Got To Do With It” returns at No. 84, while a string of her albums enjoy sales and streaming spikes: All The Best (up 28-17), Private Dancer (reentering at No. 53) Tina! (No. 58). Turner passed away May 24, aged 83.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Great art is so often hewn from struggle. Dave Grohl knows all about it. Following the 1994 suicide of Kurt Cobain, and the immediate disbanding of Nirvana, the grunge great’s drummer Grohl focused his grief and energies on a new project, Foo Fighters. A year later, Foo Fighters dropped its self-titled debut album. Grohl sang every line and played every instrument, with the exception of a guitar part on “X-Static”.The Foos are now members of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 2022 (Grohl was also elevated as a member of Nirvana, in 2014), and 11 albums deep in a rocking career, one that was ignited by struggle. Grohl and his Foos have had to pick up their shattered pieces once again following the untimely death last March of their talismanic drummer, Taylor Hawkins. Working through heartbreak, the band reassembled those pieces for But Here We Are, the Foos’ 11th and latest studio album, which dropped at the stroke of midnight. Produced by years-long collaborator Greg Kurstin, the set is described a “brutally honest and emotionally raw response” to tragedy, and “the first chapter of the band’s new life.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Spanning 10 tracks, But Here We Are opens with the first single “Rescued,” which dropped April 19.
Grohl returns to his familiar duties behind the kit on the new LP, though Josh Freese was recently unveiled as the Foos’ full-time drummer, making his live concert debut with the group on May 21 for a performance that included new cut “Show Me How” and the title track. Freese, a veteran studio/touring drummer, has played with acts including Guns N’ Roses, A Perfect Circle, and Nine Inch Nails, was revealed as during a livestream, “Foo Fighters: Preparing Music for Concerts”.
The Foos will rumble through the summer with a full itinerary, including more than a dozen festival appearances at Boston Calling, Sonic Temple, Rock Am Ring, Bonnaroo, Ottawa Bluesfest, Harley-Davidson Homecoming, Fuji Rock, Wildlands, Outside Lands, Jazz Aspen Snowmass, Riot Fest, Sea.Hear.Now, Louder Than Life, Ohana and ACL, as well as a number of North American and international headlining dates.
And Here We Are is the followup to 2021’s Medicine at Midnight, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, one of the band’s nine top 10 appearances on the chart, two of which hit No. 1.Stream it below.
Latto is putting it on the floor (again), and bringing Cardi B along for the ride. After quite literally ripping Cardi out of plastic in a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday (May 31), Latto used the opening line of her bouncy single “Put It On Da Floor” to announce a revamped remix with the […]
The Recording Academy’s aggressive efforts to boost the number of women and people of people of color at all levels of the organization, including at the very top, have borne fruit.
People of color account for fully 60% of the newly-elected board of trustees, while women account for 45%. People of color represented a majority of the board (53%) for the first time two years ago, as Billboard reported. Women then accounted for 44% of the board.
For the first time in Academy history, women are serving in the top two posts on the board concurrently. Tammy Hurt has been re-elected to serve as chair; Dr. Chelsey Green was elected vice chair.
Hurt is the third woman to serve as chair, but the first two women in that role, Leslie Ann Jones and Christine Albert, both served alongside male vice chairs. Tony Cisconti was vice chair under Jones from 1999-2001. John Poppo served as vice chair under Albert (2013-15). (Poppo subsequently served as chair from 2015-19.) Rico Love was vice chair under Hurt in her first term (2021-23).
Hurt, from the Academy’s Atlanta chapter, is “an openly out LGBTQ+ officer, a landmark for the Academy,” as the Academy’s press release puts it.
Gebre Waddell was elected secretary/treasurer, succeeding Om’Mas Keith. Albert, from the Academy’s Texas chapter, has been re-elected to serve as chair emeritus. It’s her fourth term in that role.
“I’m pleased to introduce and welcome the new national officers and trustees to our Academy family,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “This great, new group reflects our eclectic music community and will carry forward our mission of serving all music people. I look forward to working alongside this esteemed group to continue the evolution of our Academy.”
In partnership with Mason, the national officers lead the trustees and Academy senior staff to shape the mission and policies of the Academy and its affiliates. The Academy defines its mission as its “commitment to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, fight for creators’ rights, protect music people in need, preserve music’s history, and invest in its future.”
Eleven members of the 2023 –24 board of trustees are Grammy winners. J. Ivy won his first Grammy in March in the new category of best spoken word poetry album for The Poet Who Sat by the Door. Falu Shah won his first Grammy in 2022 for best children’s music album for A Colorful World.
John Legend is the current trustee with the most Grammy wins (12), followed by Angelique Kidjo (five); Yolanda Adams, Chuck Ainlay, PJ Morton and Michael Romanowski (four each); Jonathan Yip and Natalia Ramirez (two each); and Ledisi, J. Ivy and Falu Shah (one each).
Here’s more background on the four national officers:
Tammy Hurt is a drummer, music producer and television producer. She is the second person from Atlanta to hold the position. Her latest musical project, Sonic Rebel, incorporates original, genre-blurred, Dolby Atmos music beds and mashup remixes. Her boutique entertainment firm Placement Music, founded in 2010, has worked with such clients as FOX Sports, Paramount Pictures, CBS, MTV, HBO, BET, Sony, the NFL and NASCAR. Hurt was active in the campaign that led to the passage of the Georgia Music Investment Act, the state’s first standalone music tax incentive.
Dr. Chelsey Green is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, entrepreneur, and educator. Dr. Green and her ensemble, Chelsey Green and The Green Project, have released five studio projects, one of which (The Green Room) debuted and peaked at No. 22 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart in October 2014. Green performs concerts, music festivals and educational workshops around the world. Committed to music education, advocacy and youth arts access, Dr. Green is an associate professor at Berklee College of Music and also serves as a member of the Program Council of NewMusicUSA.
Gebre Waddell is a tech entrepreneur, mastering engineer, and published author. As CEO and co-founder of Sound Credit, he played a key role in the creation and growth of the platform, driving innovation in the field of music fintech and credits. With more than 20 years of experience as a professional mastering engineer, he has made contributions to works of prominent artists such as Ministry, Public Enemy, Lil Wayne and Rick Ross. In 2013, his book Complete Audio Mastering was published by McGraw-Hill Professional,
Christine Albert is an independent recording artist and founder/CEO of Swan Songs, an Austin, Tex.-based nonprofit that fulfills musical last wishes. She has released 12 independent albums as a solo artist and as part of the folk/Americana duo Albert and Gage, and has appeared on Austin City Limits.
Here’s the full list of the Academy’s 2023-24 board of trustees:
Newly elected or re-elected:
Christine Albert
Marcella Araica
Julio Bagué
Larry Batiste
Marcus Baylor
Evan Bogart
Anna Frick
Kennard Garrett
Tracy Gershon
Dr. Chelsey Green
Jennifer Hanson
Tammy Hurt
J. Ivy
Angélique Kidjo
Ledisi
Eric Lilavois
Susan Marshall
Donn Thompson Morelli “Donn T”
Falu Shah
Gebre Waddell
Paul Wall
Wayna
Jonathan Yip
Trustees who are currently midterm:
Yolanda Adams
Chuck Ainlay
Marcella Araic
Nabil Ayers
Jennifer Blakeman
Alex E. Chávez
Doug Emery
EJ Gaines
Jordan Hamlin
Terry Jones
Andrew Joslyn
Thom “TK” Kidd
Mike Knobloch
John Legend
PJ Morton
Natalia Ramirez
Michael Romanowski
Von Vargas
Bruce Springsteen had a moment that fans, bandmates and promoters dread when, during a concert in Amsterdam last Saturday (May 27), the rock legend had an on-stage fall.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The 73-year-old artist was returning from a stint in the pit when, during a performance of “Ghosts,” he tripped up the stairs while carrying his electric guitar.
The Boss appeared to have a soft landing, as members of the E Street Band rushed over to check on him and help the Boss to his feet.
“Goodnight everybody,” he yelled to the audience, as he gingerly made his way back to the center stage.
Thankfully, it wasn’t the end of the show. “Ghosts” came early in a set at Johan Cruijff Arena that numbered almost 30 songs, and included classics “Born In The U.S.A.,” “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road,” “Dancing In The Dark,” and more.Stumbles aside, Springsteen has enjoyed some glory days on his current European tour.
During his trip to Ireland, he caught up with former Pogues singer Shane MacGowan at his home in Dublin, and was spotted hanging with some townspeople and having a pint at The Burrow pub in Rathangan, Co. Kildare.
During a visit last month to Spain, Springsteen welcomed on stage former First Lady Michelle Obama and actress Kate Capshaw, wife of director Steven Spielberg, for a rendition of “Glory Days.”
And the stars came out for his performance at Rome’s Circus Maximus, with the likes of Sting, Nick Cave, drummers Lars Ulrich (Metallica) and Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), and actors Woody Harrelson, Chris Rock and Isla Fisher spotted in the audience.
Springsteen has been prolific of late, dropping the albums Western Stars in 2019, followed by Letter to You in 2020, both peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Last year, Springsteen released the R&B covers album Only the Strong Survive, his 21st studio set (peaking at No. 8).
As we close Mental Health Awareness Month, Billboard is focusing on grieving, after the hip-hop community has suffered so many tragic losses over the last few years. As Black men continue to become susceptible to gun violence, many artists have begun opening up about the importance of therapy — or at least positively embracing pain, whether that’s through music, journaling or even getting a tattoo that pays homage to your lost ones.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Billboard spoke to Swizz Beatz, Lloyd Banks, Joey Bada$$, and G Herbo about what their best advice is for overcoming a loss and moving forward. See what each man said below.
Swizz Beatz
I think the best thing is to take the time that’s needed. To figure out how you want to grieve. I’m still not over [DMX]. I still have moments, but I’ve got to a good space because X actually came to me and let me know that he was okay. I couldn’t even listen to [“Ruff Ryders’ Anthem”] I wasn’t even prepared for it. It just breaks me up. I’m like, “Damn.” It’s the only song to ever do that. All the other songs, I’m cool. [That song] is like a trigger for me. Then he came and kinda was like, “I’m good.” I seen the whole s–t.
You just gotta be open-minded. Grieving has no ending to it. It’s like when a person comes to your mind like, “Damn.” Sometimes I just have to have a moment to be like, “Damn.” I don’t even feel like he’s gone though. I be like, “X really not here.” Taking the time out to think about that is crazy, sometimes. I start thinking about the s–t we was about to do. The things we didn’t get the chance to do. That’s why now I gotta do everything and go.
Lloyd Banks
Embrace [the pain.] I got four family members in the same cemetery. I often go every Sunday or every other Sunday. I drive over, buy flowers, lay the flowers down and talk to ’em. That’s just what I do, especially on a significant day. Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, things like that. If I come back from out of town, that’s just what I do. I’m very spiritual with that type of thing. A lot of people say it but they don’t do that.
My therapy is the music, especially as I’ve gotten older because now I know how to express myself through the music. When you’re in your mid-to-late 20s, you have this bravado and cockiness to you. Years later, I’ve matured and I understand how important it is to tell somebody else they’re special or to treat yourself like you’re special. I’ve learned to relay that message to my fans in a multitude of ways.
I saw a clip that showed the process after somebody passes. There’s extreme hurt — devastation. Everything stops, right? The immediate family has to go from that trauma and then holding it together to actually planning a burial. So now you gotta talk to these people who conduct themselves as professionals. You gotta put these people to the ground and then you see cousins, family, friends and people you haven’t seen since the last person passed, and the immediate family goes home with that mourning more than everybody else, like, “Yo. We gotta do this again other than when people die.” And then you don’t see them until the next person dies.
Now, you go home and the first anniversary comes. You celebrate, you have a party and food. You might even have it again, but what happens five years down the line? It’s you, your brother, your close ones. And 10 years down the line? It might just be two to three of y’all embracing that s–t.
Where I’m from, we don’t forget. Embrace it. Remember the good times and what they mean to you. Go talk to ’em.
G Herbo
With me, I just like to focus on good things. When I think about negative things or when I’m grieving a loss of a friend or family member, I try to focus on the next best thing for myself — whether it’s like a vivid memory or something to makes me smile, or maybe the motivation of just waking up and wanting to work everyday and do better for myself and my family and just know that the people I was blessed to have that aren’t here anymore just wanted to see me win and do good in life.
So when I think of those memories and those relationships that I had with the people that I lost, it keeps me going — because I know they would just want to see me striving and be the best version of myself. When it comes to grief, you can’t ever pinpoint how it’s going to make you feel or when you may think about a love one, it just happens out of nowhere. There’s [no] real formula or process with showing people how to grieve. I think it’s more of being in-tune with your emotions.
Joey Bada$$
I recently successfully grieved, if that makes sense. I can’t tell you what it looks like for me now. I don’t even want to think about having to grieve anything or anyone right now, but I could imagine that my approach now at this age would be more direct and head-on. I just buried things and I would go around and try to substitute grieving time with work and anything that would take my attention away from grieving a loved one or a situation. Now, I would try to do my best to deal with it.
America’s Got Talent has returned to our screens, and the tears have already begun flowing.The auditions are always a mixed bag. To paraphrase Forrest Gump, you never know what you’re going to get. With the Mzansi Youth Choir’s debut performance on the season 18 opener, we got something special. The choir from South Africa was inspired by the story of the late Jane “Nightbirde” Marczewski, a talented singer who shone on the 2021 AGT stage, and blew away judges with her own audition. On that occasion, Marczewski scored a golden buzzer with an original song, “It’s OK.” Following that performance, the singer revealed that she had a 2% chance of survival from cancer that had spread to her lungs, spine and liver. The video garnered millions of views on YouTube and her performance warranted a standing ovation from all four judges.Nightbirde exited AGT weeks later to focus on her health. Her story ended in tragedy, when Marczewski passed away in 2022, aged just 31. She’s gone, but not forgotten. And on Tuesday night (March 30), Mzansi Youth Choir ensured her music would live on, and her legacy would continue, by covering “It’s OK”. Hailing from Soweto, a township of Johannesburg, the choir was formed 20 years ago as a safe space for youngsters to develop and grow.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Following the TV performance, tears. On stage, at the judging table and in living rooms around the world.
“For anyone who doesn’t know, we lost a very very special person from our AGT family. Her name was Jane. Her nickname was Nightbirde, and she sang this song,” Heidi Klum recapped for the audience. “It was really beautiful. Thank you.”
“That was the perfect AGT audition, remarked Sofia Vergara.
Howie Mandel was moved by what he heard and saw: “I’ll always remember Nightbirde. And to see that it touched people on the other side of the globe, unbelievable. You deserve so much more than a yes. And to be here, you deserve a thank-you.”Judge Simon Cowell wore his emotions for the world to see. “This brought back so many memories for me,” he said, trembling and wiping tears from his face. “I know how much this would have meant to her. Right to the end she was so passionate about sharing her music…you’ve come back here with the most amazing tribute. It was perfect.”The singers wouldn’t be denied. They earned the Golden Buzzer, and with it, a slice of history. Passage through the competition was awarded by the audience, a moment never seen before in AGT.
Watch below.