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11 Jul 2023

Carly Rae Jepsen, Haim & More to Perform at LA’s Newest Music Venue The Bellwether | Billboard News

LA’s newest music venue The Bellwether is opening its doors in LA today with a performance by Phantogram.

Tetris Kelly:
The Bellwether is Los Angeles’ hottest new music venue, and Billboard is taking you inside.

Musicians like Haim, Tove Lo, Carly Rae Jepsen and so many more are set to take the stage at The Bellwether in downtown Los Angeles. They open their doors for the first time today as they host Phantogram.

The venue can hold 1,600 fans and with the wraparound balcony, there’s not a bad view in the house. You can grab a drink at the bar while you wait for them to open the doors or eat at their restaurant. For a higher price tier, you have access to the Looking Glass VIP Lounge.

For a full schedule and to buy tickets for shows at The Bellwether, go to TheBellwetherLA.com.

11 Jul 2023

EXO Snags Second Hot Trending Songs No. 1 With ‘Cream Soda’

Music from EXO’s new album EXIST – The 7th Album dots Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter, dated July 15, including four of the top five.

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Billboard’s Hot Trending charts, powered by Twitter, track global music-related trends and conversations in real-time across Twitter, viewable over either the last 24 hours or past seven days. A weekly, 20-position version of the chart, covering activity from Friday through Thursday of each week, posts alongside Billboard’s other weekly charts on Billboard.com each Tuesday, with the latest tracking period running June 30-July 6.

The July 15-dated survey is paced by “Cream Soda,” the album’s leadoff track. The songs “Love Fool,” “No Makeup” and “Private Party” follow at Nos. 2-4, respectively. All four songs were newly announced as part of the wider tracklist reveal on July 2 ahead of the album’s eventual July 10 release.

The reign of “Cream Soda” follows EXO’s previous No. 1, “Let Me In.” Also from EXIST, the song was released in June and led the June 24-dated Hot Trending Songs tally.

The top non-EXO song on the July 15 ranking is FendiDa Rappa’s “Point Me 2,” with Cardi B, which debuts at No. 5. A remix of FendiDa Rappa’s “Point Me to the Slut’s” released last year, the new version was released July 7 after being teased on the rappers’ social media accounts beginning July 3.

It’s Cardi B’s second time at No. 1 on the chart, both times with features on remixes of previously released songs. In April 2023, she led as part of Latto’s “Put It On Da Floor Again.”

More music from EXO plus songs from MISAMO and Jung Kook round out the top 10.

Keep visiting Billboard.com for the constantly evolving Hot Trending Songs rankings, and check in each Tuesday for the latest weekly chart.

11 Jul 2023

Tina Turner’s ‘Nutbush’ Dance Record Set at Australian Bush Fest

Australians love Tina Turner. And they proved it en masse, when almost 6,000 fans showed up at an outback party to dance the “Nutbush,” setting a new record in the process.

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The Big Red Bash in Birdsville, a remote Queensland town 1,000 miles west of the state capital, Brisbane, has raised the record in years past.

But on this occasion, just weeks after Turner’s death, on the 10th anniversary of the festival, and the 50th anniversary of “Nutbush City Limits,” the old mark was squashed.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 5,838 dancers did their thing — many wearing colorful outfits for the occasion. That figure easily eclipses the old mark of 4,084 people, set at the same site in 2022, and the 1,719 people recorded by Guinness World Records in 2018.

“It’s a military operation trying to get them lined up in rows and dancing for five minutes,” says Greg Donovan, founder of the Big Red Bash, held July 4-6.

Helen Taylor, co-founder of the Australian Book of Records, caught all the action.

“Everyone was in the spirit of things today. It was the best I’ve ever seen,” she recounts. “We had people on crutches dancing, there was a girl dancing the Nutbush and hula hooping at the same time.”

The record-setting effort also raised more than A$100,000 for charitable causes.

Australia has a deep, lasting connection with Turner. Her extraordinary solo comeback in 1984 was engineered by Roger Davies, the great Australian artist manager who has guided the careers of Pink, Olivia Newton-John, Janet Jackson, Cher and many others.

The rock icon also starred as Auntie Entity in 1985’s Beyond Thunderdome, the third in George Miller’s Mad Max action movie franchise, and from 1989 to 1995, Turner was the face of the National Rugby League (then the New South Wales Rugby League or NSWRL). Followers of the sport remember Turner as “The Queen of Rugby League.”

Turner died May 24, at the age of 83.

11 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift Set For Big Splash on U.K. Singles Chart

It’s unlikely to be a Swift Sweep, though Taylor Swift is on track to land three singles in the U.K. top 10.

With Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) crushing the midweek U.K. albums chart, a trio of her singles are well-placed at the halfway stage.

Based on sales and streaming data published by the Official Charts Company, Swift’s Lover single “Cruel Summer” could hold at No. 5; “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version)” is tracking to become the highest new entry, at No. 6; and “Mine (Taylor’s Version)” is close behind, new at No. 8.

As previously reported, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), the third in TayTay’s rerecorded “Version” series, is currently outselling the rest of the top 10 combined. Good luck to anyone chasing it. If the second half of the chart week plays out as expected, Swift will snag her 10th consecutive U.K. No. 1 album.

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None of Swift’s singles have the legs of Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter,” which leads the race once again. “Sprinter” is on its way to a sixth straight week at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart; it leads an unchanged top three on the chart blast, ahead of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire,” and J Hus featuring Drake’s “Who Told You,” respectively.

Meanwhile, Kylie Minogue’s infectious hit “Padam Padam” is upwardly mobile, and could sneak back into the top 10, at No. 9, while Jorja Smith’s “Little Things” (No. 13); the Weeknd, Madonna and Playboi Carti’s “Popular” (No. 14); Gunna’s “Fukumean” (No. 16) and Tom Grennan’s “How Does It Feel” (No. 17) are on the rise.

All will be revealed when the weekly chart is published this Friday (July 14).

10 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift’s ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ Is Currently Outselling Rest of U.K. Top 10

Taylor Swift is in complete control of the U.K. chart race with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), the third instalment of her “Version” LPs.

Based on midweek sales and streaming data captured by the Official Charts Company, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) has already accumulated 48,0000 combined units (sales and streams), to lead the Official Chart Update.

It’s highly unlikely Swift can be caught. The new set, a rerecording of her third album, 2010’s Speak Now, is outselling the rest of the top 10 combined, the OCC reports.

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Should it hold its spot when the chart proper is published, Swift would nab a tenth consecutive U.K. No. 1. That feat stretches over a little more than a decade, and would extend Swift’s lead as the female solo artist with the second most No. 1 albums in U.K. chart history, behind only Madonna, with 12.

Swift’s chart domination is especially impressive when considering her U.K. leg of The Eras Tour is booked for almost a year from now. Anticipation is sky-high for her live shows in Australia, where Swift currently locks up the entire top five on the ARIA Chart, a never-seen-before phenomenon.

Coming in at a distant No. 2 on the U.K. chart blast is Wham’s retrospective The Singles: Echoes From The Edge of Heaven, which benefits from the debut of the ‘80s pop duo’s Netflix documentary. Echoes should give Wham, comprised of the late George Michael with Andrew Ridgeley, their sixth top 10 album as a duo.

Completing the podium at the midweek stage is California soul trio Gabriels’ debut set Angels & Queens, new at No. 3, while iconic British singer and songwriter PJ Harvey’s I Inside The Old Year Dying is on course to become her first top 10 in seven years (the last was The Hope Six Demolition Project, which summited in 2016). Dying is new at No. 4 on the midweek survey.

Also eying top 10 berths are D-Block Europe’s fresh mixtape DBE World, at No.7, and the Pigeon Detectives’ TV Show, at No. 10, for what could become the alternative rock band their first top 10 showing since 2008.

All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published Friday (July 14).

10 Jul 2023

Noel Gallagher’s Saratoga Concert Evacuated Following Bomb Threat

A bomb threat derailed a concert Saturday night (July 8) at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), shutting down the venue before the main act, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, could take the stage.

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According to multiple reports, Metric and Garbage completed their opening sets, but the High Flying birds got their wings clipped when the site was abruptly evacuated just ahead of their headline slot.

An announcement before 10 p.m. said the show would not go on due to “circumstances beyond our control,” according to a report from Jim Shahen of the Albany Times-Union.

Adds reporter Jon Campbell, who was in the room: “The stage was all set for Noel Gallagher. Then a guy came on stage and said: ‘Due to circumstances beyond our control, the show will not continue.’”

“We have no idea what happened tonight,” Garbage posted on its official Twitter channel. “We were just all evacuated and we were concerned for everyone !!! I’m sorry we have no real information. We were just told there was an emergency evacuation!!!!”

The situation now has clarity, with officials confirming the closure was in response to a “bomb threat.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, the concert at Saratoga Performing Arts Center was suspended ‪at 9:40 pm and concert attendees were evacuated without incident. K9s completed a sweep of the venue after the crowd exited, with negative results,” reads a statement from the NY State Park Police.

The venue, operated by Live Nation, had a particularly eventful weekend. Sunday’s performance of Kidz Bop was delayed due to “inclement weather in the area,” with organizers urging guests to “seek shelter in the venue.”

Gallagher is touring in support of his band’s latest album Council Skies, which last month debuted at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, denied the crown by Foo Fighters’ But Here We Are. The Foos ended Gallagher’s record streak of 10 consecutive No. 1 studio albums dating back nearly three decades, including all seven LPs with Oasis and the previous three with High Flying Birds.

10 Jul 2023

Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Vampire’ Flies High on U.K. Chart

Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” (via Geffen) sinks its fangs into the U.K. singles chart.

Arriving at No. 2, the pop-rock number becomes Rodrigo’s fifth U.K. top 10 appearance, a collection that includes two leaders.

When Rodrigo announced her arrival to the pop music world with 2021’s Sour, she set a stack of records. With the release of “Good 4 U,” Rodrigo became, at 18 years and three months, the youngest solo artist in history to snag the Official U.K. Chart double.

The Grammy Award winner’s debut also broke the U.K. record for most first-week streams ever for a debut album, and she’s the first female solo artist to score three simultaneous U.K. top 5 singles with “Good 4 U,” “Deja Vu” and “Traitor” (Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” also led the survey).

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“Vampire” blasts to No. 1 in Australia and is the first release from Rodrigo’s sophomore album Guts, due out Sept. 8. Its predecessor, Sour, spent five weeks at No. 1 in the U.K.

After a tight chart race, the Official Charts Company reports, Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (Live Yours/Neighbourhood) finds the legs to outpace “Vampire” for its fifth consecutive title.

“Sprinter” accumulates a market-leading 8 million-plus streams, according to the OCC. Completing the top 3 is J Hus and Drake’s “Who Told You” (Black Butter/OVO/Republic), down 2-3.

Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” (EMI) continues to heat up on the U.K. chart, four years after its initial release. The Lover album track cracks the U.K. top 10 for the first time, rising 12-6. It’s the 22nd U.K. top 10 for Swift, who will return to these parts in June 2024 when her The Eras Tour passes through.

Meanwhile, DJ Peggy Gou’s dance number “(It Goes Like) Nanana” (XL Recordings) continues to climb, up 9-7, while D-Block Europe and Clavish’s collaboration “Pakistan” bolts to a top 10 start. “Pakistan” debuts at No. 10, the third top 10 appearance for D-Block and Clavish’s second.

10 Jul 2023

Nothing But Thieves Nab U.K. Chart Crown With ‘Dead Club City’

Nothing But Thieves swipe the U.K. chart title for the first time as Dead Club City bows at No. 1.

Formed in Essex, England, the five-piece indie-rock band enjoyed top 10 appearances with each of their previous three albums: 2015’s self-titled debut (peaking at No. 7), 2017’s Broken Machine (No. 2) and 2020’s Moral Panic (No. 3).

“How’s this happened then?!,” reads a message on the band’s socials. “It’s a synth based concept record with too many guitar solos. This is all to say that despite our best efforts of self sabotage, it’s only gone and got Number 1. It can still happen.”

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Completing the podium on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published July 7, is Elton John’s hits collection Diamonds (Universal/UMC), which holds at No. 2 as the pop veteran winds-up his record-setting final tour; and the Weeknd’s The Highlights (Republic Records/XO), up 6-3.

Further down the list, London singer and songwriter Olivia Dean blasts to No. 4 with Messy, her full-length debut LP.

Also arriving in the top 10 is Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape, new at No. 7. That’s the second top 10 for the U.S. rapper, singer and songwriter, after 2020’s Eternal Atake peaked at No. 3. Lil Uzi Vert also impacted the U.K. chart with 2017’s Luv Is Rage 2 (No. 14), and Pluto x Baby Pluto (No. 39), his 2020 collaborative release with Future.

Meanwhile, Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten bags a debut solo top 10 appearance with Chaos For The Fly (Partisan). The best-seller this week on wax, Chaos For The Fly takes off at No. 10.

Olivia Rodrigo is back with “Vampire,” and her fans can’t get enough of the U.S. pop star. Rodrigo’s chart-topping debut album from 2021, Sour (Geffen), blasts 32-16 in its 110th week on the tally.

Finally, Madonna enjoys a “get well soon” message from her U.K. fans as Finally Enough Love (Rhino) rises on the chart. The Queen of Pop’s 2022 hits collection reenters the chart at No. 27 following the release of six-LP “Rainbow Edition” boxset.

The American pop legend recently spent several days in the ICU after she developed a serious bacterial infection, a development that pressed pause on her massive, career-spanning Celebration tour. Finally Enough Love originally peaked at No. 3 in the U.K. following its release in 2022.

07 Jul 2023

John Mayer Sends a Message Ahead of Taylor Swift Release, New Music From FIFTY FIFTY, TXT & More | Billboard News

It’s Friday and we’ve got a ton of new music from Taylor Swift, TXT and Jonas Brothers, NewJeans, FIFTY FIFTY and more! Amid the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), John Mayer is sending an interestingly timed message. Jessica Simpson clears up those Ozempic weight loss rumors and opens up about the resurgence of Newlyweds. Jason Mraz stops by Billboard News and talks about the success of “I’m Yours,” his new album & more!

Tetris Kelly:
Taylor Swift drops Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and even her ex seems to respond. We’ve got all the top drops in your Friday Music Guide. Jessica Simpson slams online trolls commenting about her weight loss. Jason Mraz stops by our studio to talk about making pop music, and Priscilla Block goes Fishing for Answers.

Happy Friday, y’all, I’m Tetris Kelly and this is Billboard News. It’s July 7th and we’ve got a bunch of new music to get you in the weekend mood.

Are you feeling “Enchanted” today? Taylor Swift has finally released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and it even includes new “From the Vault” tracks with Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams.

We’ll have all the hottest drops throughout the show but first, let’s get to your top story. There is no escaping the moment that is Taylor Swift releasing Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), even for her exes. After dropping her latest re-record, Taylor celebrated the moment by sharing a look back at her Fourth of July celebration with pics of her and her besties like Selena Gomez and the Haim sisters. Even Drake marked the moment while on tour, posing with a Taylor look-alike and writing “Congrats on the drop, sis.” And her ex John Mayer posted pics from his show with The Grateful Dead last night, including drones that spelled out “Please Be Kind.”

Watch the full video above!

07 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift Sets Chart Record In Australia With Top-Five Sweep

Taylor Swift sweeps into the Australian record books, breaking a chart mark previously owned by the King of Pop, while Olivia Rodrigo nabs her third leader on the national singles survey.

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“Vampire” (via Geffen/Universal) spreads its wings to debut at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart, following the lead of “Drivers Licence” and “Good 4 U,” which both reigned in 2021.

Rodrigo’s debut album from 2021, Sour, also hit No. 1 in Australia, logging a total of eight weeks in the penthouse. With “Vampire” flying high this week, Sour soars 28-15. Rodrigo’s latest hit is the first release from the U.S. pop phenomenon’s sophomore LP Guts, due out Sept. 8.

With “Vampire” starting atop the ARIA Singles Chart published Friday, July 7, the four-week unbroken reign of Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” (Virgin Music/Universal) is at an end. “Sprinter” dips 1-2, while Swift’s “Cruel Summer” (Universal) works its magic in the Australian winter, holding at No. 3.

In any other week, Rodrigo would command the headlines with her chart-topping feat.

This is no ordinary week. It’s Taylor Swift’s week.

Swift dominates both lists, as “Anti-Hero” (up 7-6) and “Karma” (up 8-7) impact the top 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart, while “Style” (reentering at No. 11) and “Blank Space” (up 20-12) and a string of her hits ascend.

The U.S. pop superstar’s dominance is outright on the ARIA Albums Chart, on which Swift completes an unprecedented sweep of the top 5, led by Midnights, which bounces 2-1 for its 13th week at No. 1, ARIA reports. The top five is closed out by Lover, 1989, Reputation, and Folklore, respectively, while Red (Taylor’s Version) vaults 15-9.

Previously, Michael Jackson was the standard-bearer for dominance, notching the top three albums in the week following his death in 2009.

Swift-mania is a triggered by the general ticket on sale for her The Eras Tour of Australia in 2024, produced by Frontier Touring.

TayTay will play her hits across seven concerts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Sydney’s Accord Stadium next February, tickets for which went on sale to the general public Friday, June 30. No further dates will be added for the Australian tour, Frontier Touring has confirmed.