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A$AP Rocky was making headlines before he even arrived to the Met Gala on Monday night (May 1). Hours before he appeared alongside Rihanna on the iconic red carpet of the prestigious event, the rapper chaotically made his way into New York City’s Carlyle Hotel to get ready.
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In a viral clip circulating social media, the “Fashion Killa” star is seen jumping over a barricade at the hotel, pushing a young fan named Maddy in the process and knocking her glasses off. The fan then took to Twitter to share a shocked selfie, in which her hair is messy on one side and her glasses are crooked from the situation. “ASAP Rocky just literally jumped over me,” she captioned the post.
A$AP saw the tweet, and issued a sweet apology on Tuesday morning (May 2). “LOL MY FAULT $WEETHEART,” he wrote, also following Maddy on Twitter to soften the blow.
When A$AP arrived with RiRi at the Met Gala, they dropped jaws with their stunning looks. Paying homage to Karl Lagerfeld’s love of Scotland, Rocky wore a tartan kilt over his jeans, paired with sleek black sunglasses à la the late German fashion designer who was being honored at the event. The Barbados-born superstar, meanwhile, donned a gorgeous all-white Valentino wedding gown with a train, adorned with white roses — and revealing her baby bump.
See their looks below.
With the finishing line in sight for this 21st season of American Idol, Iam Tongi is leaving nothing to chance.
The Hawaii native has grown in confidence as the competition progresses, and continues to impress even in these nervous final stages.
During Monday night’s (May 1) top 10 episode, the high-schooler took it home with a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World,” complete with some local touches. After ditching his guitar for Sunday night’s episode, and a performance of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me,” Tongi donned a colorful Hawaiian shirt and performed with a ukulele.
Accompanied with a steel guitar, Tongi’s talents were all on full display – control, tone, warmth. The crowd and judges are clearly rooting for him.
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Born in Kahuku, the lovable teen is still grieving the loss of his dad, his musical mentor, though he’s throwing it all into his magical Idol run.
“When Iam’s dad passed away,” the contestant’s mom said during an earlier episode, “he didn’t wanna sing anymore. He kept saying that every time he sings, he could hear his dad backing up. After talking to him… it’s a beautiful thing that he could hear his dad.”
Following the latest show, Tyson Venegas and Marybeth Byrd were eliminated. There was a surprise to come when the three judges saved Oliver Steele, the 25-year-old from Mt. Juliet, Tennessee who dueted with Tongi last month, and whose own dad, a professional bluesman, has endured life-changing health problems.
What isn’t a surprise is that Tongi goes through to the final 8. He’s the gift that keeps giving.
Next Sunday (May 7), Idol will present performances from the surviving contestants, along with performances from top 8 mentor Alanis Morissette and Ed Sheeran, who both join Luke Bryan as guest judges.
Watch below.
She took her time, but it was totally worth it when Rihanna finally arrived at the 2023 Met Gala.
The Barbados-born superstar arrived with partner A$AP Rocky, wearing a splendid all-white Valentino wedding gown with a train, adorned with white roses — and revealing her baby bump.
RiRi made a big impression as she left The Carlyle Hotel towards the very end as the official livestream, notes Vogue, stepping out wearing an archival fur coat from Fendi’s fall 1997 collection, designed by man of honor Karl Lagerfeld and once worn on the runway by Naomi Campbell.
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After an outfit change, the pair were ready for the red carpet — or on this occasion, the off-white carpet — the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Paying homage to Lagerfeld’s love of Scotland, Rocky wore a tartan kilt over his jeans, and the duo rocked up in sunglasses.
The “Umbrella” singer is expecting her second baby with A$AP Rocky, and is certainly a bonafide Met Gala veteran. Through the years, she’s rocked some of the annual event’s most memorable looks, from her 2015 Guo Pei canary-yellow gown to her 2018 John Galliano custom bishop-inspired attire.
After taking a break from the spotlight, Rihanna came roaring back with the Super Bowl 2023 Halftime Show on Sunday, Feb. 12, for her first performance in more than five years, and her first one as a mom.
That followed the release of “Lift Me Up,” which featured on the soundtrack of the upcoming Marvel sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, breaking a six-year drought since the release of the Anti album from 2016.
See pics and clips from the Met Gala below.
Gordon Lightfoot, the late, legendary Canadian singer and songwriter, is being remembered for his contribution to his country’s folk songbook, and for inspiring generations of musicians and fans.
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Lightfoot, who wrote the songs “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” “Sundown” and “If You Could Read My Mind,” and many other across a celebrated, decades long-career, died Monday (May 1) in a Toronto hospital at age 84.
Born in Ontario, Lightfoot’s six-decade career began in the early 1960s on the Toronto folk circuit and went worldwide in the 1970s thanks to a string of influential hits. He scored four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the ’70s, starting with “If You Could Read My Mind,” which peaked at No. 5 in 1971. Next up were “Sundown” — his lone No. 1 — and “Carefree Highway” (No. 10), both from 1974’s Sundown — also his only No. 1 album on the Billboard 200.
During his lifetime, he collected 13 Juno Awards in his native Canada, capped by his induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1986, and in 2012 was elevated into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led tributes. “We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters,” he states. Lightfoot “captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape. May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his legacy live on forever. To his family, friends, and many fans across the country and around the world: I’m keeping you in my thoughts at this difficult time.”
We have lost one of our greatest singer-songwriters. Gordon Lightfoot captured our country’s spirit in his music – and in doing so, he helped shape Canada’s soundscape. May his music continue to inspire future generations, and may his legacy live on forever. To his family,…— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 2, 2023
As the sad news spread on social media, fans and fellow artists chimed in.
“This one is really hard to write,” reads a statement from countryman Bryan Adams. “Once in a blue moon you get to work and hang out with one of the people you admired when you were growing up. I was lucky enough to say Gordon was my friend and I’m gutted to know he’s gone. The world is a lesser place without him. I know I speak for all Canadians when I say: thank you for the songs Gordon Lightfoot. Bless your sweet songwriting heart, RIP dear friend.”
This one is really hard to write. Once in a blue moon you get to work and hang out with one of the people you admired when you were growing up. I was lucky enough to say Gordon was my friend and I’m gutted to know he’s gone. The world is a lesser place without him. I know I speak… pic.twitter.com/GsFOwEGnrq— Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) May 2, 2023
Brian Wilson, Belinda Carlisle, author Stephen King and many others weighed in on the passing of a great. See the reaction on social media below.
Gordon Lightfoot has died. He was a great songwriter and a wonderful performer. Sundown, you better take care/If I catch you creepin’ ’round my back stairs.”— Stephen King (@StephenKing) May 2, 2023
We’re deeply saddened by the loss of 1998 Inductee Gordon Lightfoot. His music leaves behind an everlasting legacy in the hearts of Canadians everywhere. Our condolences to his loved ones, friends, and fans. “Give me a wave I can ride upon, come and show your strength to me.” pic.twitter.com/EDUZ4MxO62— Canada’s Walk of Fame (@CWOFame) May 2, 2023
If there was ever a case for the afterlife it’s so these two can meet up tonight. Smoke cigarettes, have a drink, spin yarns & make everyone up there feel whole again. Lightfoot and Prine. Conjurers of light and dark.Two of the most brilliant of storytellers.#GordonLightfoot pic.twitter.com/ZhnMe971io— George Stroumboulopoulos 🐺 (@strombo) May 2, 2023
It remains tight at the top of the U.K. singles chart race, as Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding‘s “Miracle” (Columbia) holds a slim advantage over David Kushner’s “Daylight” (Miserable Music).
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“Miracle,” the throwback trance tune, edged out “Daylight” last week for a third non-consecutive week atop of the Official U.K. Singles Chart.
When the sales and streams were tallied, just 267 combined units separated the two best-sellers at week’s end.
It’s a similar story this time, with less than 2,000 combined units splitting the pair in the early part of the latest chart cycle, the Official Charts Company reports.
Libianca’s Afrobeats hit “People” (5K) completes the podium on the chart blast, up 4-3.
London rapper Nines is poised to make a splash on the singles survey, thanks to the release of his fourth album, Crop Circle 2. Three tracks from it — the maximum allowed under the OCC’s rules — are set to enter the top 40, led by “Tony Soprano 2” (No. 9), “Calendar” (No. 17) and “Highly Blessed” featuring Skrapz and Wretch-32 (No. 25), all via Warner Records. “Calendar” is poised to be the best-placed debut and the only new release in the top 20.
K-pop’s latest girl group to grab the limelight, Fifty Fifty, is on the rise with “Cupid” (ATTRAKT). After improving 26-18 last week, the tune is closing-in on a top 10 appearance, lifting to No. 13 on the chart blast.
Also on the way up is David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray’s “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” (Parlophone), which interpolates Haddaway’s ‘90s club classic. After climbing 23-19 last week, it’s set to go even higher, to No. 15.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday (May 5).
If you didn’t have Iam Tongi making the top 10 of American Idol 2023, then never, ever gamble a cent.
Tongi has been lighting it up throughout the competition, earning hugs and tears from the judges, and cheers from millions more watching on at home.
The schoolkid from Hawaii comes across as a sweet kid with a tough story, but his talent is obvious when he’s at the mic. Katy Perry quipped that we were all watching The Iam Tongi Show. That might be the case, though he hasn’t scaled the summit just yet.
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On Sunday night’s top 12, Tongi ditched the guitar and performed a soulful cover of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home To Me”. Just Tongi, a backing band and singers, and a sea of waving arms from the audience.
Tongi has an attachment to his guitar. His late father spent his holiday paycheck on a six-string for his son, then aged 13. Idol viewers saw how much that instrument means to the youngster when it needed to be repaired during the early weeks of this season and he had to go without it one week. Cue tears, everywhere.
On Sunday, Lucy Love and Nutsa were eliminated, Tongi and nine others went through.
On Monday night, the reveal of the top seven, plus a performance from Season 19 winner Chayce Beckham. We’re all still watching The Iam Tongi Show.
Catch the latest performance below.
Grimes has encouraged fans to go nuts with her (almost) no-rules A.I. vocal project. Now, the experimental Canadian artist points the way, a digital sandpit where creators can muck around with her vocals, get them away, make some money and create “chaos”.
Though still in beta, Grimes’ Elf.Tech project is the engine room to the project, which, despite her initial take, will definitely operate with some clear IP and copyright rules, and financial splits.
Grimes has been touting the A.I.-generated song concept through open-sourcing audio stems to music creators and AI voice model companies, and pitching her Elf.Tech backend at Ultra Music Festival.
“This is all a beta test so it may be imperfect at first. But! Let’s try this out,” she writes in a thread on Twitter.
HOW TO MAKE MUSIC FEAT GrimesAI – we can distribute it for you and you can earn royalties from your work: https://t.co/p598CXaXnD— 𝔊𝔯𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 (@Grimezsz) April 30, 2023
Currently, a range of pre-recorded Grimes acapellas are available, though creators can create and upload their own.
“We also have stems on the site if you prefer to train ur own Grimes model! we’ll add more stems over time Feel free to take advantage of Grimes IP! we can collect master recording royalties for you if choose to distribute your song through,” she writes.
Elf.Tech also acts as an aggregator, by uploading songs for distribution to DSPs for $9.99 each year.
Creators who cut a recording with “GrimesAI-1 voiceprint” – that is, the AI-generated audio based on Grimes’ vocals — must share an equal split of the master recording royalties distributed on streaming services, onchain marketplaces (primary and secondary sales) and other DSPs, reads the terms and conditions.
And to be sure, creators “must have the legal right to all elements of their distributed recording,” the exception being the use of the GrimesAI-1 voiceprint.
The creative mayhem will be dampened should copyright lawyers get involved. “I don’t own the rights to the vocals from my old albums. if you make remixes, they may get taken down. However if you don’t monetize them they prob won’t get taken down. If a remix goes viral we will work with my old labels to ensure distribution/ compensation for you,” writes Grimes, the mother of two with ex Elon Musk.
“We ask for 50% splits on master recording royalties in exchange for a grimes feat and distribution,” she adds. “There’s a *small* chance we can organize getting you publishing $ as well but we can’t guarantee this yet. But I hope we can!! Would be cool.”
Also, concludes the Elf.Tech document, “we will be making consistent updates to the GrimesAI voice model, stems and distribution service, so remember to enjoy the CHAOS.
You can call it a tight, a nail-biter, or “miraculous,” but the result is the same — Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding are back at the U.K. chart summit.
Harris and Goulding’s “Miracle” (via Columbia) lifts 2-1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart for a third non-consecutive week, doing so just 267 chart units ahead of David Kushner’s “Daylight” (Miserable Music), according to the Official Charts Company. Kushner’s viral hit lifts 3-2 for a new high, while Lewis Capaldi‘s former leader “Wish You The Best” (Vertigo) is down 1-3, completing the podium.
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The close call for “Miracle” is one for the record books, placing it in the all-time list.
You won’t find many narrower margins in the 68 years of Official Chart history, though few races have come down to the wire quite like the 2007 photo-finish which saw Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” pull ahead of Kate Nash’s Foundations by just 16 copies.
Also notable on the latest chart, published April 28, is Switch Disco’s “React” (Relentless), which lifts 12-8 for the dance act’s first appearance in the U.K. top 10. The track features vocals from Ella Henderson and samples from Robert Miles’ classic mid-‘90s house number “Children.”
Just missing out on the top 10 is London rapper Nines with “Tony Soprano 2” (Warner Records), new at No. 11. It’s his first top 20, and third top 40 appearance overall. And it’s the week’s top debut.
Further down the list is The Weeknd and Future‘s latest collaboration, “Double Fantasy” (Republic Records), lifted from the Weeknd’s HBO show The Idol. It’s new at No. 14.
K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty is flapping it wings with “Cupid” (ATTRAKT) up 26-18, while David Guetta, Anne-Marie and Coi Leray’s “Baby Don’t Hurt Me” (Parlophone), which interpolates Haddaway’s ‘90s club classic, improves 23-19.
Meanwhile, HStikkytokky and General G bag a top 40 debut with “Twust” (Hstikkytokky & General G), new at No. 21 and Raye’s Flip A Switch” (Human Re Sources) leaps 48-35, thanks to new remix featuring Coi Leray.
Finally, Kim Petras and Nicki Minaj crack the top 40 with “Alone” (Republic Records), sampling Alice Deejay’s 1999 house track “Better Off Alone.” It’s new at No. 37, for Petras’ second top 40, following last year’s leader “Unholy,” with Sam Smith; and Minaj’s 42nd.
After seven studio album releases, Enter Shikari finally snags a U.K. No. 1.
The St Albans, England-formed rock band blasts to No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart with A Kiss for the Whole World (via So Recordings), their sixth top 10 appearance.
Previously, the group scored top 10s with their 2007 debut album Take to the Skies (No. 4 peak), 2012’s A Flash Flood of Colour (No. 4), 2015’s The Mindsweep (No. 6), 2017’s The Spark (No. 5) and 2020’s Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible (No. 2). Also, thanks to the release of a vinyl-exclusive pressing, Live At Alexandra Palace 3 enters the weekly survey at No. 15.
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A Kiss for the Whole World completes a tight race, finishing just 800 combined units ahead of its nearest rival, The 1975’s Live with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (Polydor). The 1975’s live set, an exclusive physical-only release (vinyl, CD and cassette) for the 16th annual Record Store (April 22), is new at No. 2 on the Official Chart, published April 28.
After starting the week with a slim lead, British indie pop duo Everything But The Girl debuts at No. 3 with Fuse (Buzzin’ Fly), for a new career best. Fuse is Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt’s first studio album as a duo in 24 years, and it’s their fifth top 10, following 1985 debut Love Not Money (No. 10 peak), 1990’s The Language of Love (No. 10), 1993 greatest hits collection Home Movies (No. 5) and 1996’s Walking Wounded (No. 6).
Completing an all-new top four is Taylor Swift’s folklore – The Long Pond Studio Sessions (EMI), a Record Store Day exclusive. The Long Pond Studio Sessions is the U.K.’s best-selling album on wax for the latest chart week, and bows at No. 4 on the all-genres albums chart. The original version of folklore spent three weeks at No. 1 in 2020.
Finally, new releases from Jethro Tull (RökFlöte at No. 17 via Century Media), Post Malone (The Diamond Collection No. 25 via Republic Records), Songer (Skala at No. 30 via Hard Reality), and Tiësto (Drive at No. 34 via Atlantic) crack the U.K. top 40 on debut.
Motown legend Smokey Robinson stopped by Billboard News to chat with Billboard’s Executive Director of R&B / Hip-Hop Gail Mitchell. He opened up about the reaction to his new album ‘Gasms’, what it’s like to be sampled by other artists, the Spanish language EP he is working on, and more!