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Billboard News’ Tetris Kelly caught up with Doechii after her set at Coachella and talked about her track ‘What It Is (Block Boy’) and ‘Persuasive’ going viral, her friendship with labelmate SZA, her background in dance, mixing genres, and more!
Despite a resumé including hip-hop classics for Jay-Z, DMX, Drake and Lil Wayne, if you ask Swizz Beatz, he believes his music legacy is incomplete.
“I just feel like my music is the only thing in my life that doesn’t represent where I am today,” says Swizz inside New York City’s revered Jungle City Studios earlier this week. “Everything else is the level of where I’m at or how I live, where I travel, and everything I’m doing is at the level of me in 2023. Music is probably the only thing that’s 2010. I’m not satisfied at all.”
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In hopes of playing catch-up, Swizz partnered with Mass Appeal to release Hip-Hop 50 Vol. 2 last Friday (Apr. 23) — including marquee all-stars such as Nas, Lil Wayne, Jay Electronica, Lil Durk and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie. The six-track EP is a hearty appetizer with punchy verses, most notably from Bronx upstart Scar Lip on the standout record “Take ’em Out,” also featuring New York heavyweights Jadakiss and Benny The Butcher. After releasing his first body of work since 2018’s Poison, Swizz hopes to unload new projects with some of his old-time pals, Wayne and Jadakiss, later this year.
“With this EP, I gotta do these entry points to get on the train and know what stop I want to get off at,” he says. “I don’t want to get off on Jackson Ave. I want to get off in Egypt. I want to get off at a different stop. If I can’t grow as a musician, I can’t inspire people. I don’t want to keep doing the nostalgia thing.”
Billboard met with Swizz Beatz to speak about Hip-Hop 50 Vol. 2, wanting to create more music, fatherhood, upcoming projects and more.
How did we get here where you’re releasing your first body of work in five years?
Blame Nas! One day me and him were kicking it, and he told me Mass Appeal was going to have a lot to do with HipHop50. He said, “We got this concept with all the producers, and you gotta be the producer that represents New York.” I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Premier is going to represent a different place, [along with] you, Hit-Boy and a couple other people.” I said, “OK. Cool.”
When he’s telling me this, this is like a year or two before the anniversary. So I’m like, “OK. Let’s do it.” I swear it feels like he told me this a month ago. I still remembering get the phone calls, like, “Yo. You’re up. It’s time for your Hip-Hop 50 [tape]. How we looking?” I said, “What? Damn.” I can’t lie.
They made it simple where it was like, “Just give us five tracks.” So I was thinking, “I can pull five tracks off my drive. That’s easy.” And then something hit me and was like, “Nah. Everything counts.” Everything counts at this point. Don’t just put some s–t that’s on the drive. Put the pressure out. Put how you want people to look at you today out.
And I started taking the project very seriously. Even with the promos and different things, I took it seriously, like it was my album — because technically, it is my album. It’s my EP. My name’s on it. The artists I messed with are on it. I produced it. I just don’t want to do anything, but the times that I did, I don’t like it when I look back like, “Damn. I was lazy on that.”
I think you’re the only producer that can get Nas outside of his Hit-Boy bag and rap on their beat.
I like Nas in his Hit-Boy bag. [Laughs.] Me and him got chemistry as well. We have a whole album together. It was a long time ago, but when I seen him and Hit-Boy get the chemistry and tapping into the younger generation — they was being nominated and getting Grammys. I told him, “Stay focused with Hit-Boy. We can come back to what we’re doing, but I like this for you right now, because I’m not a selfish person like that.”
When I see something that’s working, as a fan of the art, I want Hit-Boy and Nas to win. They just happened to stumble on the chemistry, and I gotta respect that. Me and [Nas’] chemistry is a little different.
I feel like right now, we’re back in the era with the rapper/producer combo taking over the genre led by Nas and Hit-Boy, Curren$y and Jermaine Dupri…
Swizz and Jadakiss.
I mean that sounds good, but do we have a project?
I wouldn’t say it to sound nice. [Laughs.] It’s sooner than you think.
How did this come about?
It’s just natural. That’s another person I have the chemistry with. I did all of his first solo records. If you look at the first LOX album, I did a solo there. The We Are the Streets album, I did a solo there. Me and Kiss always had a chemistry. And seeing what he did on Verzuz, we should have came with these [records] at that time. But Kiss went and got the bag. [Laughs.]
Greatness is never late and quality is also going to be something that’s going to have value. So no matter what happens with this EP, I wanted to give people quality. Lik,e pull Jay Electronica out. Get Nas in his bag. Another one that people are looking for is the me and Wayne project. I’m just ready to work.
What I enjoyed about the EP was that you have a knack for getting artists to speak candidly about certain topics — whether it’s Nas addressing being a bad father on “Runaway” or Jay Electronica talking about SZA blocking him on “Khalas.” Why do you feel artists feel comfortable with getting open on your records?
I think they know the caliber of where I come from with artists. I’ve worked with a lot of the greats, and the bar that was just set with the Ruff Ryders alone make people wanna step up. It’s just a tone that was set a long time ago from all of the Hov music to LOX music to even the current music. And I just don’t accept anything from the artists, I push them. I’d be like, “Nah, we can do that verse over.”
Believe it or not, we did three other Nas songs before settling on the one that’s on the record. This was his least favorite. He wanted to get on something that was more — what I feel — something I think him and HitBoy would do. That’s his comfort zone. I got him on “Live at the BBQ” time. He even hit you with those ad-libs from Illmatic. I was like, “This is the Nas I want.” I want to be far away from what you and Hit’s doing. I wanna be doing what Nas and Swizz doing. That’s how we moving.
What I liked about the Nas record was him taking accountability as a bad father to his daughter Destiny. Then, I thought about what you’ve been able to do as a father. When you listen to that record, is there a moment where you thought in retrospect like, “Damn, I didn’t get the dad thing right?”
Yeah, because there’s no real book on how to be a dad for our culture that I’ve seen or had available. We just young with money and freestyling it, and we thinking the gifts make you the dad — but the time makes you the dad, not the gifts. The gifts of time makes you the dad to that kid.
I’m happy to have a son who’s amazing to this day, and I’m still playing catch-up as we speak. The understanding is there, and if it’s not all the way there, the continuation of making it clear is there. The key is being in serious communication. I think it’s important for a lot of artists coming up to understand with your child that they don’t care about the money, they don’t care about the outfit, they don’t care about the materialistic things.
When they born with it, it doesn’t mean as much as it did for me growing up in the streets. Things that I would feel are materialistic, they just think that’s how it i,s because of the hard work I put in. They’re on planes, boats, and on this. They’re like, “Okay, my family’s successful and this is what it is.” They aren’t looking at those types of things, so it means nothing to them. You wanna throw the craziest birthday parties to make up for the time and that s–t don’t count. We gotta put the time in. That’s one thing I had to get better at. I’m ultra-dad now. I’m a dad-dad now. I’m a dad with a cape.
Your relationships as a producer always extended past New York like your bonds with Wayne and J. Cole. How are you able to look past New York and collaborate with other artists?
I always was New York at heart, but global-minded. I always felt bigger than New York, although hip-hop and myself started in New York. Like when I did “Down Bottom,” we wasn’t thinking about the South like that — but I was, because we had a great relationship with Cash Money. We was on tour with them and I just got to see a different excitement. And that’s why I tell people traveling is key.
For me, traveling, I got to vibe with other music — and then I got to live in Atlanta as well when I got kicked out New York. How you get kicked out of New York? That’s like getting kicked out of jail! It was over for me. Then, I moved to Atlanta, which was a turning point for me, because the sound changed and then I started going to Pat Riley’s and hearing the chants. I made “Stop, Drop” influences from Atlanta, so when I came back to New York and presented it to [DMX], he ain’t like it. He ain’t like it because it felt different. We put them chants in it, and all of that is from Atlanta’s influence. That came from traveling.
What made my sound is the New York BDP era with the boom-bap, the Atlanta sound with the chants, and reggae music. That’s my gumbo. Those are the sounds I was around the most and that’s what made me understand different sides are gonna have different melodies.
Also, vibing and mentoring the youth has been my thing. I speak to [Lil Durk] every day. Not about music — 99 percent real-life s–t and one percent music. That’s only if he’s got a project coming out or he’s working on my project coming out. That’s the same thing with 21 [Savage], that’s the same thing with [Travis Scott].
My peers don’t really take the time out that they should with the youth. I remember I was Durk, I was those young guys and wanted the big guys to take me in and give me some advice. I can’t say they ran to give me that advice. So I was like, “When I get in that position, I’m gonna give everybody the information.” You could call me about anything and I’m gonna give you the whole thing. Oh, what you tryna do? You want to build a car collection? You want to build a watch collection? You want to go back to school? We have real conversations about being fathers as well and being in relationships. I feel like we can’t ever get too big to talk to the youth.
What is that characteristic or trait that Lil Durk has that’s so appealing to the older generation?
For me, going back to [DMX], just growing up with X — me and X was really battling in these streets for food. We would go to The Bronx and battle everybody and a couple of other things. The thing that I’m saying is when I hear Durk’s lyrics, I believe him. You could see that he’s been through what he’s telling you about. He’s an open book of what he’s going through. I just love that type of poetry coming from such a young artist being truthful to it. Some parts are street, some parts are things that went down with his relationship, and some part is real things about how he’s trying to heal and do better. I like when it’s believable to me.
Another person might write better lyrics and might be in a category where it’s a lot of cap to me. You’re not really moving the way you say you’re moving. You not really doing what you’re saying, so although you can project it well, I’ma give Durk more points, because even if he’s not projecting it on a level where people feel that is top this or top that, I have to rank that higher — because he’s actually living what he’s saying. So that gets a lot of points with me, when it’s authentic.
Knowing that he calls himself Chicago’s Jay-Z, do you see any similarities between him and Hov?
I don’t think anybody’s like Hov, but I like that people are inspired by Hov. I’m inspired by Hov, because Hov has everything. He has the longevity, he has his ups and downs which is real life, he lost things and got them back and came back stronger. So I understand why Durk would say he’s that. And he’s allowed to say that, because you should feel like that — and that means that Hov is a big inspiration to him and that’s a great inspiration of someone to be an inspiration towards. He’s an inspiration for me as well.
I think Durk is the Durk. He’s the first of his kind doing things the way he’s doing it. I understand why he would give it to Hov, but I would feel like he’s the first him from Chicago.
In hip-hop, we’ve seen Big Threes define eras, with Kendrick, Drake and J. Cole being that of the 2010s. Which three artists have the potential to hold that mantle next for the new generation?
I think it’s unpredictable in the future. It’s all gonna be based on who’s working the hardest and who wants it the most. The thing that made us want it the most was being hot and cold. It’s something that you have to experience for longevity. I’ve been hot and cold 10 times. Hov, Eminem, [DMX], all the names that people compare themselves to, they’ve been hot and cold a lot of times, which made them great.
A lot of these artists gotta give themselves time to go through a rough period and then come up out of that and reinvent. The key to longevity is reinventing yourself. That’s why the conversation when I came out in ’98 is different in 2023. I changed up the conversation to where we’re talking about camels now. You gotta know how to continue reinventing yourself, because people gon’ want a different sauce. It’s just natural.
You posted the Lil Wayne snippet and I saw a fan try to clap at you saying, “Swizz, are we gon’ use the same f–king drums?” Competitively, did that pinch a nerve? Because you did respond back.
Of course: I’m a wolf at heart. I’m with all smoke and I’m not too big for it. Do something about it then. I know that person is right too, though. It’s called a “signature sound,” and we don’t have really too much of that today. Everybody’s just doing the same thing, and you can’t really tell their identity if that person’s name wasn’t on that record. You could tell a Swizz track if I’m not on it, or a Timbaland if he’s not talking or a Pharrell track if he’s not on it. You could tell a Kanye or Dre track. Today, there’s very few producers you could tell their music if they take their stamp off it. Those sounds and those drums were made to be repetitive as a signature, but I’m tired of it. I’ma change it quick too, though.
When you talk about changing it quick are we gonna hear that on this Jadakiss or Lil Wayne project?
Maybe not too much on a Jada project because there’s a certain feeling that I want to hear. It gives you that rush and you don’t even know it’s a part of the reason. I’m probably gonna stick more to the core, and then the next one we do, I’m gonna flip it — but I gotta give him the uncut first. That’s just like with the EP, I had to give ’em uncut vibes for me to get to my next vibe. My next project, I let another person produce me for the first time.
How was that?
It was amazing. I don’t think I’m letting go of power, because I just think I want to take myself seriously as an artist more than I ever did.
Even back 15 years ago when you were dropping “It’s Me B–ches?”
I was bugging. I wasn’t taking myself serious. Those are records I gave to people that they took too long to put out, or didn’t wanna do. Like “It’s Me B–ches” was for Cassidy. I remember doing that on my birthday at Sony studio, and he was just like, “I don’t want that.” I said, “All right, cool.” And I put it out for fun. That went. “Money in the Bank,” all them and that was for Eve.
This Jada project is coming this year?
Inshallah.
Is this Wayne project real?
It’s all on him. I’m ready. He’s on tour, so inshallah with all of that. There’s not gonna be no more blank spots for a minute. Even if those two projects don’t come out, I already got the clip lined up so crazy. Either way, it’s gonna feel like it’s coming fast because other stuff is gonna take up the time.
What I really want to do, I want to put out 50 tracks for the 50th anniversary. I want to use that as my goal to give back to 50 years of hip-hop. I want to give people 50 tracks. Knowing I’m almost there for all the music I produced for Godfather of Harlem. But right now, I’m not even counting that. I need to have that bar like that so I can just stay in my zone. I’m ready to have fun and rock-and-roll.
Twenty-five years of Swizz Beatz — has that resonated with you?
I don’t even feel like I started yet. And the reason why is because when I came in it, I came so young and I didn’t even have enough time to process what I was doing. Going back to school and having the information I have now, I actually know what I’m doing. I feel like now I’m just starting because I know what I’m doing. Before I was just in the moment and riding the wave. Now, it’s a different mission for me.
When Billie Eilish first stopped by The Late Late Show, she was an ascending alt-pop kid wonder. Things have moved on. The California native has conjured No. 1 singles and albums, set records, cut a James Bond theme, filled arenas and stadiums around the globe, and her name flapped from a Hollywood broadcast tower earlier in the day, courtesy of an oddball.
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Eilish is back from a spell on the sidelines, contributing vocals to Labrinth’s “Never Felt So Alone” and performing with the British artist at Coachella. A headline slot at 2023 Lollapalooza awaits. James Corden, however, is on the way out. The Brit is counting the hours until he completes his eight-year stint as host of the late-night show, this Thursday.
On Wednesday night (April 25), the “Bad Guy” singer joined Natalie Portman on the couch for a chat, and a stroll down memory lane. As he’s done with his guests all week, Corden pulled up the archives, a snap of a young Eilish about to hit the stage for her debut TV performance of “Ocean Eyes.”
“I remember that I was very nervous, and I was very sick. I was sick for like many years,” she recounts. “Everything I did I was sick.”
When Corden came to visit her backstage, he was the “first celebrity I’d ever been up close to.” Now they all want to meet her. True story.
In those half-dozen years, she’s also tried her hand at acting, including a stint in Donald Glover’s Swarm series. What would a dream role look like? “When Swarm was brought up to me, I was like, this is the thing. Donald Glover is my all-time hero. My lifelong hero.”
The 21-year-old digs a festival. Nothing unusual there. Only, when she attends one, she’s enjoying it from the stage, performing to enormous crowds. Expect more of that she headlines Lollapalooza this August. “I love playing festivals. It’s one of my favorite types of shows to do.”
Standing on stage before a ridiculous volume of people, as she did at the South American leg of Lollapalooza, “it’s just a sea… endless people. It’s like a feeling I don’t get in any other aspect of my life. It’s really incredible. It’s hard to be present sometimes, but I would say festivals…it might not be all your fans or your crowd and so I feel like I have to prove something.”
Watch the interview below.
Just a few weeks ago, the Jonas Brothers announced an upcoming performance at a very special venue: Yankee Stadium. Dubbed “One Night Only,” the demand soon forced a second show, both scheduled for August.
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But tonight, the band is keeping its promise: one and only one incredible night in Los Angeles. At least, for now. Nick teased at the end of the show the band would return in September, which was met with sky-high shrieks.
For the trio’s second show on this unofficial trek, which started in London earlier this month, the brothers came out swinging — perhaps practice for playing at a baseball stadium soon, with hits old and new receiving home-fun worthy roars.
After opening with current The Album single “Waffle House,” Joe addressed the crowd through deafening screams. “We’ve only done this one other time,” he cautioned before teasing, “We’re playing a good amount of songs from the new album.” Another promise kept.
The band performed several unreleased songs off its forthcoming 12-track project, including “Summer Baby,” “Montana Sky,” “Sail Away,” “Vacation Eyes,” “Celebrate” “Little Bird” and “Walls” (the lattermost earned a live debut during the band’s recent gig on Saturday Night Live.) And while that material made up the entire first act, following a brief intermission the Jonas Brothers returned for a hits-filled second set, treating the intimate 1,600-capacity room just the same as it would – and will – a 46,000-plus person stadium.
Check out the seven best moments from the show below.
Nick’s Early (and Epic) Tease
“It’s so good to be back,” Nick told the crowd while taking in the space. “We’re playing tonight at a venue we’ve never played in. This whole mini tour is just trying to check off bucket list items.”
“It brings me back to how this whole journey for this album started about a year-and-a-half ago,” he continued. “We were home, at our respective homes [in L.A.], and Jon Bellion walked us through a few songs,” all of which, he says, centered on what matters most to the brothers right now: family, fatherhood and love.
And finally, he delivered one final message before diving into the music. “We have a very special audience here tonight,” Nick said before delivering the best tease of the night. “We’re going to play some more songs from the album and then we’re going to step offstage and let you guys have a few drinks – looks like some of you already have – then we’re going to come back and play all the f—ing hits.”
The Brothers’ “Real Sexy” Moment
“This next song is a very special one to me,” said Kevin, introducing the sultry “Vacation Eyes.” “I know what it feels like to be in love, and it feels like you’re on vacation every single day – so this one is all about that.”
“It’s about to get real sexy in here, c’mon now,” added Nick before opening the track in his forceful falsetto over a groovy bass guitar lick. And later, fans are treated to a guttural growl from Joe, making the song even more unforgettable – and securing its status as a potential fan favorite off The Album.
Addressing Uncharted Territory
Three stools are placed on stage as Nick and Kevin took their seats on either end of Joe with their guitars in tow. “Now this is the moment in the show where we talk about something we’ve never talked about in our music before,” started Nick, which was met with whispered gasps. “Fatherhood.” He then dedicated “Little Bird,” the second-to-last song on The Album to “every parent in the room… and every child in the room.”
The Mind-Blowing Harmonies
It’s no secret Kevin, Nick and Joe can sing – and sound their best when harmonizing with one another. There was no stronger proof of this than on the set’s first-half closer, “Walls.” After live-debuting the song on SNL, it sounded even stronger now. Backed by a six-person chorus, the song’s powerful ending seemed to electrify the room, feeling much like a long-loved classic – thus serving as a perfect connector between the new album and the upcoming second hits-filled half.
The Seamless Transitions
The show’s second half, of course, operated like a well-oiled machine as the brothers churned out hit after hit, oftentimes without the music ever really ending or the stage lights fully dimming. Yet one of the best transitions occurred between the band’s 2020 single “What a Man Gotta Do” and its 2007-released “That’s Just the Way We Roll.” A pivot so seamless it managed to jump entire decades.
Nick and Joe’s Sing-Off
Much to the surprise of many, Nick suddenly appeared alone on stage. He then took it by storm to deliver his stirring solo single “Close,” making a strong claim for it to be a set closer. But not if Joe has anything to say about it.
As Nick took a seat to the side of the stage, Joe came out to perform the DNCE hit “Toothbrush” (backed by DNCE bandmates and Jonas Brothers touring musicians Jack Lawless on drums and JinJoo Lee on guitar). All the while, Nick howls along to the “awhooo” filled chorus as Lee later shreds during a solo of her own.
But wait – there’s more. Nick then stands to perform “Jealous” as Joe took a seat and Kevin returned to play and sing harmonies alongside Nick. Soon enough, Joe was back on his feet so the three can close out the song together before ending the sing-off with DNCE’s defining song, “Cake By the Ocean.”
The Time-Traveling Ending
“We’re gonna take it back a few years for ya,” Joe told the crowd before the brothers dig into “Lovebug” off its 2008 album A Little Bit Longer. With a quick head nod from Joe, they then go right into “Year 3000” (from the year 2006) and “Burnin’ Up” before closing the night with “Sucker” off Happiness Begins, the band’s last studio album that marked the end of an unofficial 10-years-long hiatus.
Thankfully, with The Album around the corner, fans went home certain of more on the way – and soon.
Colin Hay has touched the impossible. For a time in the early 1980s, Hay’s band Men at Work was owning sales charts, setting records, and making music that has stood the test of time. Ask any Australian to sing the national anthem, you’ll receive the official version, “Advance Australia Fair,” followed by the unofficial cut — Men at Work’s “Down Under.” With “Down Under” and its parent, Business as Usual, Hay and Co. simultaneously topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, at the time a feat as rare as rocking horse poop. The group went on to win the Grammy Award for best new artist.It’s ubiquitous, a song with more than one billion streams and played everywhere Australians gather and celebrate. Where folks are having fun. When this reporter interviewed Shaquille O’Neal, the retired NBA great spotted the Australian accent and sang back the chorus of “Down Under.”
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Since its release in 1981, “Down Under” has forged a life of its own — from the struggle of a bruising copyright lawsuit over the catchy number’s flute refrain, to a drum ‘n’ bass cover by Luude which cracked the U.K. top 5 in 2022, and a fresh interpretation by Yolŋu surf rock band King Stingray.“No, it doesn’t really happen, to hardly anybody,” he says of the breakout success of Men at Work. “It was massive. Having said that, we were always very ambitious. We always felt that we could do well. But we didn’t really know how well, but we got hints at it. We seemed to bypass a lot of the typical things that Australian bands did to achieve even national success. We just immediately tried to find an audience. That was our thing. We found that audience pretty quickly, albeit a quite small, very very passionate one, and quite engaged. We always knew we had a strong live following.”On Thursday night (April 27), Hay will take a bow at the 2023 APRA Music Awards at ICC Sydney, where he’ll receive the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music, one of the highest honors in this market’s music community.
Hay will be honored for an outstanding career, that included so much more than a single hit. “Who Can It Be Now” logged a single week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982. “Overkill” and “It’s a Mistake” both hit the top 10 on the Hot 100, “Dr. Heckyll & Mr. Jive” cracked the top 40 (at No. 28).
Speaking to Billboard from Sacramento, CA, Hay admits “blunders” made, which included an “absolutely horrendous deal” done at the start with CBS Records (“It was a really horrible, horrible record deal,” he insists), and a followup album that didn’t meet expectations, with the band at least.
“We made some pretty, pretty sizable mistakes, really, early on in our career. Being five musicians, having had that success, we didn’t really know what we were doing, you know. We thought we did, but we didn’t, really.”
“Down Under” introduced the rest of the world to the Australian vernacular, and specifically the word “chunder,” a variation on “puke”. For that we can thank the late comedian Barry Humphries, and his character Sir Les Patterson. Late Men at Work bandmate Greg Ham and Hay “were hugely inspired by Humphries and Peter Cook. We were massive fans of Humphries. A lot of that video was inspired by him and certainly the use of the word the word ‘chunder,’ because that he had a great fascination it.” Humphries died last Saturday (April 22) aged 89.The U.S. was late to the party with Business as Usual, though the rest of the world arrived on time (Business as Usual was released in November 1981,and wouldn’t hit the summit of the Billboard 200 chart until November 1982). With followup Cargo, reps from the band’s label said to hold off on its release. “Wait for six months, a year, before you release the second album, which made perfect sense,” was the advice, he recounts. “It makes perfect sense now, but at the time, we didn’t listen to him.”Cargo peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. “It still was a successful record. We still sold millions of records, but it wasn’t like the first one,” says Hay. “With the benefit of hindsight, of course, we should have waited. That was a classic blunder as they say.”
The band went their separate ways in 1985, but the music still moves. Career record sales top 30 million, according to PRO APRA AMCOS.Hay was born in Scotland, before settling in the land Down Under. And like many of his Australian rock ‘n’ roll peers, including Angus Young and Jimmy Barnes, his still carries the accent.
Regrets, he has a few. Highlights, many more. Among the highpoints, Hay recounts a performance in Brazil, “playing in this jungle for 25,000 people” with indigenous dancers alongside him on stage. “They were just incredible. They gave me this kind of energy and I was kind of like floating singing the third verse. I thought to myself and the court case, they can’t touch it. This is just incredible. People in courtrooms will never ever understand that.”Hay isn’t slowing down. His music was introduced to new generations through Scrubs and Garden State, and he continues to tour, both as a solo artist and as a guitarist in Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band. The full-length solo album Now and the Evermore dropped in 2022, just a year after I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself. “I’m going to be spending the second half of this year probably messing around with a few ideas,” he admits.
But first, APRA will salute Hay and the late concerts giant Colleen Ironside at the 2023 APRA Music Awards — “two uniquely Australian music industry figures,” comments Dean Ormston, CEO, APRA AMCOS. “Colleen championed Australian songwriters and artists and created live music pathways into Asia with a business acumen that was years ahead of her peers. Colin is a songwriter of the highest level and with the biggest heart, whose songs continue to connect and hit No. 1 on the charts.”Hay will be in the room as the man of honor. “It gives me a great excuse to come down (to Australia),” he says. “Not that I really need an excuse.”
Billie Eilish sure isn’t a bad guy, but the jury is out on a man who climbed the KTLA tower in Los Angeles, with an attention-seeking sign.
The as-yet unnamed man managed to reach the roof and climb the TV station tower in Hollywood, where he waved a flag reading “’Free Billie Eilish.” The other side appears to read “MK ultra sex slaves donald marshall clones.”
Footage captured from the scene late Tuesday (April 25), at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Bronson Avenue near Van Ness Avenue, shows the man dangling the cloth sign, with an electric guitar slung over his chest.
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According to ABC, authorities surrounded the 160-foot tower, attempting to convince the man to come back down. Sunset Boulevard was reportedly shut down in the meantime.
It’s unclear what the message refers to, though that hasn’t stopped it from trending on Twitter.
Eilish isn’t locked away. Indeed, she made a coming out of sorts earlier this month by lending hervocals to Labrinth’s “Never Felt So Alone,” which she followed up by performing with the British artist at the Mojave Tent for Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
The “Bad Guy” singer has two full length albums to her name, 2019’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, and 2021’s Happier Than Ever, both of which reigned over albums charts everywhere. Along the way, she became just the second artist in Grammy Awards history to win all four of the Big Four categories, and became the youngest artist to write and perform a James Bond theme, “No Time to Die,” aged just 18. She has yet to comment on the strange situation.
See images and clips of the Hollywood tower climber.
BREAKING: A man has climbed the KTLA tower in Hollywood while holding what appears to be a sign that says “Free Billie Eilish.” pic.twitter.com/zUnkZzU8H4— Los Angeles Magazine (@LAmag) April 26, 2023
We caught up with Shenseea at Coachella and talked with her about her love for dancehall music, performing at Coachella, and collaborating with artists like Megan Thee Stallion, 21 Savage, and Gwen Stefani. Taylor Swift explains the hand injury she sustained on tour and Drake adds more stops to his upcoming tour. Latto tops the Hot Trending Songs Chart and more!
The “Iam Tongi Show” continues to pull-in the viewers, as the teen sensation from Hawaii competed in American Idol’s top 20.
The competition is live, its tense and just 20 singers are still in the game, all of whom delivered their best for Monday night’s (April 24) episode.
Tongi impressed Katy Perry so much this week with a cover of an ABBA classic, she suggested Idol was now “The Iam Tongi Show.”
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He was at it again, this time delivering a reggae interpretation of Lionel Richie’s ballad “Stuck On You”.
Tongi has grown in confidence as he progresses through the season, and tonight he was all smiles. And how would Richie react to Tongi covering one of his classics with a Polynesian twist? As the performed ended, the Commodores frontman raced on over for a hug with the high-schooler. There’s your answer.
Tongi has won fans at every stage of the competition, an instantly likeable kid with touching vocals and a sad story to tell.
After tonight’s show, an even dozen remain. Michael Williams, Hannah Nicolaisen, Mariah Faith, Nailyah Serenity, Paige Anne, Matt Wilson, Kaeyra and Olivia Soli were eliminated, while Lucy Love and Nutsa were saved by the judges.
Tongi progresses to the top 12. Next Sunday night (April 30) on ABC, the hopefuls will be put through their paces once again, for the reveal of the top 10 plus performances from mentor and Idol album Adam Lambert.
Watch Tongi’s latest performance below.
After succumbing to a fast-finishing Lewis Capaldi last week, Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding could produce another U.K. chart miracle.
The British duo’s rave-throwback number “Miracle” (via Columbia) returns to No. 1 on the midweek U.K. chart, and remains on track for a third non-consecutive week atop the Official U.K. Singles Chart.
Capaldi broke the streak last Friday when “Wish You The Best” (via Vertigo) overhauled “Miracle,” after trailing at the midweek stage.
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The next-best chart performer is David Kushner’s viral hit “Daylight” (Miserable Music), which lifts 3-2 on the Official Chart Update and is set for a new peak position.
Libianca’s TikTok-fueled Afrobeats hit “People” (5K) completes the midweek podium, up 4-3, while Capaldi’s latest recording looks likely to slip 1-4.
Another dance track is shaping for a top 10 finish. Switch Disco and Ella Henderson’s “React” (Relentless) rises 14-9, for what would be a new peak position in its 12th week on the chart. “React” samples from the late DJ and producer Robert Miles’ classic mid-‘90s house track “Children.”
Based on midweek sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, three singles are poised for top 20 debuts on the next weekly survey. Nines’ “Tony Soprano 2” (Warner Records) is set to start at No. 11 for the week’s top new entry; The Weeknd and Future’s collaborative number from HBO series The Idol, “Double Fantasy” (Republic Records), is close behind at No. 12; and social media star HStikkytokky and General G are poised to bow at No. 16 with Twust (Hstikkytokky & General G).
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published Friday (April 28).
After losing his voice and skipping a concert in Mississippi on the weekend, Morgan Wallen has scratched three most live dates.
Taking to social media, the country star revealed he hasn’t recovered from the issues which forced him to scotch his performance Sunday night (April 23) at Vaught Hemingway Stadium.
As a result, he’s postponing a trio of concerts in the week ahead: Michigan (April 27), Illinois (April 28), and Nebraska (April 29).
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“Y’all know how important my fans are to me, so I feel horrible about this news,” he explains on his Instagram Stories. “There’s nothing more I want to do than be on stage playing for you guys. But as of today, I’m on doctor-ordered vocal rest, and we have to reschedule this week’s shows.”
New dates are set for June 27 in Grand Rapids, MI; Sept. 8 in Moline, IL, and Sept. 9 in Lincoln, NE, with Wallen’s post assured fans that “all original tickets” would be honored on the rescheduled shows.
“I appreciate and understand everything you do to get to my shows,” Wallen’s social post continues. “So, it would be unfair of me to put on a show that I know will not be 100%. I’m doing everything I can to speed up the process of getting to that 100% mark.”
The singer made history last week when he became the first artist with three songs in the Country Airplay top 10 when “Last Night” jumped to No. 8, right in between “Though You Should Know” at No. 7 and “One Thing at a Time” at No. 9.
His brand of country music is finding fans around the globe. His Billboard Hot 100 leader “Last Night” is the current No. 1 on Australia’s ARIA Chart, his first leader there, and its parent, the Billboard 200 leader One Thing At A Time, has logged time at No. 1 on Australia’s albums chart.
“Last Night” recently gave Wallen his first top 40 in the U.K., a market not recognized as a country music hotbed, with a peak of No. 31.