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MELBOURNE, Australia — Live Nation Australia has secured a multi-year lease to operate Festival Hall, the iconic Melbourne live music and sports venue.
Through the arrangement, confirmed late Friday (March 17), LN is expected to invest in several upgrades on the versatile space, which was built during WW1 and currently boasts a capacity of 5,405.
Festival Hall slots into the concerts giant’s existing portfolio of venues, which includes The Palais Theatre in Melbourne, the Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, the Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide, and Anita’s Theatre, a historic venue in Thirroul, a northern seaside suburb of Wollongong, which last year became LN’s first push into regional Australia.
“We are extremely excited to be delivering the next chapter of Festival Hall’s life,” comments Roger Field, president LN APAC, “not only because it will help support the growing demand of shows that are coming down the pipeline across the industry, but also to put the iconic venue firmly back on the global live entertainment map.”
LN’s vision for Festival Hall, Field continues, is to ensure that the venue “remains a cornerstone of the State’s live music scene for artists, industry, and fans alike.”
The launch of this new project will support 200 full-time equivalent jobs on event days, sources say.
Festival Hall has a storied history. The multi-purpose space at 300 Dudley Street, in West Melbourne, was originally built back in 1915 by John Wren, chairman of Stadiums Pty Ltd. Fire ripped through the room in 1955, but a rebuild was completed in time for the 1956 Olympics Games, where hosted gymnastics and wrestling.
Over time, the likes of the Beatles, Bill Haley, Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Liberace, Shirley Bassey, Foo Fighters, Ed Sheeran and Lorde have played to packed houses at Festival Hall.
In October 2020, the venue was purchased by Hillsong Church with the intention to create a community hub to support live music, entertainment, and other events. At the time Hillsong stated, “it’s a way to give back to Melbourne and continue the venue’s legacy.”
It’s understood the church will continue to use the venue for weekend services and other events.
There’s no end in sight for Miley Cyrus’ chart reign in Australia as the pop star snags a rare chart double.
Cyrus’ “Flowers” (via Columbia/Sony) enters a ninth week at the singles chart summit, published Friday (March 17), and its parent Endless Summer Vacation debuts at No. 1 on the national albums survey.
With Endless Summer Vacation topping the ARIA Chart, Cyrus earns a sixth top five title, and her third No. 1 — her first in a decade.
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Miley previously led the tally with Breakout (2008) and Bangerz (2013), which both spent one week in the top spot, ARIA Reports.
If Endless Summer Vacation hangs around for another week in the penthouse, Miley will equal a family record. Billy Ray Cyrus’ Some Gave All logged two weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart in 1992, though he hasn’t tasted life at the top ever since.
As “Flowers” extends its unbroken streak, “River,” the second single from her eighth and latest LP, starts at No. 22 on the ARIA Chart and two other tracks from it appear in the Top 100.
“Flowers” leads an unchanged ARIA top four ahead of cuts by PinkPantheress (“Boy’s a liar” via Parlophone/Warner), The Weekend (“Die For You” via Universal) and SZA (“Kill Bill” via RCA/Sony), respectively, while Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” (Republic/Universal), from the U.S. country star’s latest, 36-track set One Thing At a Time, improves 6-5.
With the exception of Miley, no new releases debut on the top 50 of either main chart.
ARIA’s weekly charts are based on wholesale data collected from a combination of physical and digital retailers, and music-streaming services.
Two years after the release of their last new music, The Chemical Brothers are back.
The U.K. duo have today (March 17) released their latest single, “No Reason.” Their first song since 2021’s “The Darkness That You Fear,” the new output is classic Chemical Brothers — a textured and inventive (but never fussy) jam built around funk, bass, waves of percussion, and a precisely used voice shouting “whoo!” Jubilant and danceable, the song still maintains the hard edges the pair is known for. Watch the Smith & Lyall-created video for the track below.
The single comes ahead of the U.K.’s duo’s performances next month at Coachella, with The Chemical Brothers also playing shows in Santa Barbara, Calif. and Seattle, WA next month, along with festival sets throughout Europe for the remainder of the summer.
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The pair — Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons, have also been at work on a new album, which will be the followup to 2019’s No Geography. The album hit No. 3 on Dance/Electronic Albums and won the 2020 Grammy for best dance/electronic album. The guys have won seven Grammys in total during their nearly 30 year career, which launched with the 1995 release of their now classic Exit Planet Dust.
No Reason has also been mastered in Dolby ATMOS at Abbey Road Studios by Giles Martin, who has also previously overseen the remastering of The Beatles back catalogue. “No Reason” will also be available on April 28 as a limited edition red vinyl 12 inch with a previously unreleased b-side track, “All Of A Sudden.
The first collaborative single from dance music’s new favorite supergroup — Fred again.., Skrillex and Four Tet — is out. Released today (March 17) via Atlantic Records, “Baby, again..” was first heard during Fred again..’s Boiler Room set last July, a performance that has since been streamed 16 million times.
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Indeed, the hype around this one is major, with both Fred and Four Tet appearing on Skrillex’s new album, Quest For Fire, released last month after a week’s worth of buzzy New York pop up shows from the trio that climaxed with a sold out show at Madison Square Garden on February 18. “Baby again..” was, in fact, the song playing during the climactic moment when the house lights at MSG finally went off midway through the five-hour show.
The five-plus minute song heavily samples Lil Baby and Da Baby’s 2019 track “Baby,” accelerating the BPM and adding layers of ravey production in line with the trio’s other recent output, with the track elevating to new plane of dancefloor headiness around the 4:30 mark.
“Baby again..” is already steeped in dance-world mythology, have been created during an impromptu studio session in Pangbourne, England where Fred, Skrillex and Four Tet came together to make music in the remote English countryside. (The backstory has earned the now apparently inseparable trio the nickname Pangbourne House Mafia among fans.) The song has since been a staple of all three artists’ sets. Listen to it below.
Meanwhile, Skrillex’s Quest For Fire (which, naturally, features Four Tet and Fred) is currently at No. 8 on Dance/Electronic albums, where it previously peaked at No. 2. Five Quest For Fire singles (including its lead single “Rumble” featuring Fred) are currently on Dance/Electronic albums, where Fred also currently has a pair of other singles “Mike (Desert Island Duvet)” and “Delilah (Pull Me Out Of This).”
Stream “Baby again…” below.
Robert Smith’s furious tweet spree on Ticketmaster’s fees “debacle” for the Cure‘s forthcoming North American tour has had the desired effect — a “gesture of goodwill” from the ticketing giant and the promise of some money returned.
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Earlier in the week, Smith unloaded on Ticketmaster when the band’s fans complained that fees attached to the Lost World North American tour were most costly than the price of a ticket.
The problems emerged Wednesday (March 15) when tickets were made available to those who had registered for Ticketmaster’s “verified fan” sale.
Smith went on the attack when, in some cases, the added-on service fees, facility charges and order processing fees added up to more than the cost of entry, all despite the band offering reasonably-priced tickets for the trek and ensuring the tickets will be non-transferable to minimize resale and keep prices at face value.
“I AM AS SICKENED AS YOU ALL ARE BY TODAY’S TICKETMASTER ‘FEES’ DEBACLE,” Smith blasted in one all-caps broadside against Live Nation sister company. “TO BE VERY CLEAR: THE ARTIST HAS NO WAY TO LIMIT THEM. I HAVE BEEN ASKING HOW THEY ARE JUSTIFIED. IF I GET ANYTHING COHERENT BY WAY OF AN ANSWER I WILL LET YOU ALL KNOW.”
He got an answer, and he let them know.
“AFTER FURTHER CONVERSATION, TICKETMASTER HAVE AGREED WITH US THAT MANY OF THE FEES BEING CHARGED ARE UNDULY HIGH, AND AS A GESTURE OF GOODWILL HAVE OFFERED A $10 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR LOWEST TICKET PRICE (‘LTP’) TRANSACTIONS,” writes Smith in the first of a new batch of tweets.
“AND A $5 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OTHER TICKET PRICE TRANSACTIONS, FOR ALL CURE SHOWS AT ALL VENUES;” he continues. “IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A TICKET YOU WILL GET AN AUTOMATIC REFUND; ALL TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW WILL INCUR LOWER FEES.”
In a separate tweet, Smith confirmed that “Verified Fan” ticket sales have now ended.
The legendary British goth-rock band’s Shows of a Lost World North American tour will span 30 dates, kicking off May 10 at New Orleans’ Smoothie King Arena.
The Cure took their place in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2019, with Trent Reznor on hand to induct the group.
See Smith’s tweets latest below.
1 OF 2: AFTER FURTHER CONVERSATION, TICKETMASTER HAVE AGREED WITH US THAT MANY OF THE FEES BEING CHARGED ARE UNDULY HIGH, AND AS A GESTURE OF GOODWILL HAVE OFFERED A $10 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR LOWEST TICKET PRICE (‘LTP’) TRANSACTIONS…— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
2 OF 2: …AND A $5 PER TICKET REFUND TO ALL VERIFIED FAN ACCOUNTS FOR ALL OTHER TICKET PRICE TRANSACTIONS, FOR ALL CURE SHOWS AT ALL VENUES; IF YOU ALREADY BOUGHT A TICKET YOU WILL GET AN AUTOMATIC REFUND; ALL TICKETS ON SALE TOMORROW WILL INCUR LOWER FEES— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
I WILL KNOW IN A BIT – AND LET YOU KNOW – WHAT SHOWS HAVE TICKETS LEFT FOR SALE TOMORROW… ONWARDS X— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
SO… ‘VERIFIED FAN’ SALES HAVE NOW ENDED – A NUMBER OF TICKETS FOR ALL CURE SHOWS (EXCEPT LA + DETROIT… A MISCOMMUNICATION? sigh… ) WERE HELD BACK FOR ‘GENERAL’ ON SALE FRIDAY 17TH AT 10AM LOCAL TIME – LINKS WILL BE POSTED IN A BIT… GOOD LUCK X— ROBERT SMITH (@RobertSmith) March 16, 2023
DJ/producer John Summit and singer Hayla jump onto Billboard‘s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated March 18) at No. 9 with “Where You Are.” The first top 10 for both acts, “Where” starts with 1.9 million streams and 1,000 in download sales in the United States March 3-9, according to Luminate.
The collab amounts to Summit’s eighth total appearance, a run that began with “Deep End” (No. 26 peak, December 2020). Until now, that song and “Human,” featuring Echoes (March 2022), were tied as Summit’s highest-peaking tracks.
“Where” brings the second appearance for Hayla, the featured vocalist on Kx5’s “Escape” (No. 11, last June).
Concurrently, “Where” enters at No. 4 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart, matching the high of “Escape” last year. Summit scores his second and top-charting top 10, following “La Danza” (No. 10, March 2022).
On Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, “Where” debuts between two other newly-arriving collabs: Marshmello and Manuel Turizo‘s “El Merengue” (No. 6) and Oliver Tree and David Guetta‘s “Here We Go Again” (No. 10). The former, as previously reported, marks Marshmello’s first entry on a Billboard Latin chart.
“Here” is Oliver Tree’s second top 10, following “Miss You,” with Robin Schulz (No. 4, November). “Here” is Guetta’s landmark 20th top 10, the fourth-most among all acts since the chart premiered in January 2013; Kygo leads with 24, followed by The Chainsmokers (22) and Calvin Harris (21).
The track also extends Guetta’s record for the most Hot Dance/Electronic Songs hits overall to 75 (ahead of Kygo, with 61). “Here” bows with 1.8 million U.S. streams.
Further on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, a fourth notable team-up, Martin Garrix and JVKE‘s “Hero,” leaps 33-17. The track earns top Streaming Gainer honors with 872,000 streams, up 48%, in the wake of the March 3 release of new remixes by DubVision and Space Ducks. The rank is the closest that “Hero” has been to its No. 13 best in two months.
Moneybagg Yo chats with our R&B / Hip-Hop reporter Neena Rouhani about his upcoming album ‘Hard to Love’, working with GloRilla on ‘On Wat U On’, leaning into social media, the perfect push-up form, his relationship with Ari Fletcher, and more!
Shinedown pulls ahead of Foo Fighters for sole possession of the most top 10s tallied on Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, as “Dead Don’t Die” leaps from No. 12 to No. 8 on the March 18-dated survey.
In the March 3-9 tracking week, “Die” earned 3 million audience impressions, according to Luminate. That’s a 19% boost over the previous period (2.5 million).
Shinedown adds its 15th top 10, breaking the band out of a tie with Foo Fighters for the most in the chart’s 14-year history. The Brent Smith-led Shinedown first hit the top 10 with “Sound of Madness,” which peaked at No. 2 in July 2009. The act has one No. 1: “The Crow & the Butterfly,” a four-week ruler in 2010.
Most Top 10s, Rock & Alternative Airplay:15, Shinedown14, Foo Fighters13, Cage the Elephant13, Imagine Dragons13, twenty one pilots11, The Black Keys11, Muse10, Weezer
“Die” makes three top 10s in a row for Shinedown, following “Daylight” (No. 4, last August) and “Planet Zero” (No. 5, March 2022).
“Die” concurrently rises 6-5 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, continuing Shinedown’s streak of sending every one of its entries to the top five – 30 in all, dating to 2003. Of those, a chart-record 18 have hit No. 1.
“Die” also jumps 25-19 on the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs survey. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 323,000 official U.S. streams March 3-9.
The track is the third rock radio single from Planet Zero, Shinedown’s seventh studio album. The set bowed at No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums tally last July and has earned 164,000 equivalent album units to date. A pop radio-only single from the LP, “A Symptom of Being Human,” concurrently starts at No. 36 on Adult Pop Airplay.
When a star is born, grab your sunglasses and step out the way.
Kate Cosentino, a 23-year-old talent from Kansas City, shone bright when she stepped onto NBC’s The Voice stage Tuesday night (March 14), for her Blind Audition.
It was a starry performance, judge Niall Horan would go on to say. He should know when he sees one.
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Cosentino covered Dionne Warwick‘s “I Say a Little Prayer,” doing so in her own pace, stripped down, and with an electric guitar. Though her outfit screamed “clown couture” (her words), Cosentino’s played with no fuss, going with a finger-picking jazzy style, and without overriding effects.
Kelly Clarkson turned first and led a domino effect, as Chance the Rapper and Horan swiftly fell for her charms.
“Amazing,” Chance said at the wrap. “You got such a cool vibe to you.” The hip-hop star paid tribute to her “full voice” which carries a “lot of joy that comes out of it.”
Clarkson moved. “You have such a pretty alto register,” said the country-pop star, “kind of like lullaby-ish. You really could go so many places.”
And with that, the sales-pitch was on.
Horan didn’t muck about. He opened strong: “Would you like to be on my team?” Her choice of song was an indication of high quality and standards. “You could go all the way. You’ve given us this really really famous massive hit that’s really tough to sing. There’s an already-made star in there. You’ve got this Italian confidence.”
Will this star being a shooting one, will it go supernova, or light the canopy for years to come
We’ll wait and watch. In the meantime, Horan will guide the artist into the next phase of the talent competition.
Watch below.
If you get the feeling Bad Bunny is everywhere at once, all of the time, well, you’re not entirely confused.
The record-smashing Latin artist is a verified global superstar, and his career seems to be rolling along, gathering momentum by the month.
Need a snapshot? In recent weeks, Bunny (real name: Benito Ocasio) scored his tenth music video to hit one billion views on YouTube (with 2016’s “Soy Peor”); he opened the 2023 Grammy Awards; presented at the Billboard Women In Music; and video game publisher 2K released a first look at Bad Bunny in WWE 2K23, the newest instalment of the WWE video game franchise.
Pull back a few years and, Bunny made history with El Ultimo Tour del Mundo (2020) and Un Verano Sin Ti (2022), which both debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making him the only artist to top the tally with a Spanish-language album — not once, but twice.
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Un Verano Sin Ti went on to become the first Spanish-language album to be nominated for album of the year at the Grammys, and it won the IFPI Global Album Award, making Bunny the first Latin artist to ever win an IFPI global award.
Add to that big-office dynamite, both on tour and at the movies, and a No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for “I Like It” with Cardi B and J Balvin, this Bunny just keeps bouncing along.
The Puerto Rican rapper was in the spotlight again on The Late Late Show Tuesday night (March 14), for a round of “Carpool Karaoke”.
Sitting alongside host James Corden, Bunny played along and answered those questions we all wanted to ask.
Among them, how did it go down with his folks when he announced he’d use the stage name Bad Bunny instead of Benito (he initially wanted to hide his features behind a bunny mask, à la Deadmau5 and Marshmello. “I never wanted to be so famous. So then I just went with the flow.”) Also, why “Bad Bunny” (no matter how bad he is, a bunny is “still looking cute…that’s me.”), and was there truth behind the rumor that Bunny nearly failed to make it for his Grammy-opening medley performance (yes, blame L.A. traffic).
The hip-hopper also discussed his love of drawing and wrestling. He demonstrated it, at one point enticing Corden into the ring with WWE wrestler Rey Mysterio.
The best of the action, however, was saved for the “karaoke” element, with host and talent hitting “Dakiti,” “I Like It,” “Tití Me Preguntó,” and covers of “Break Free” by Ariana Grande featuring Zedd, and finishing things up with Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” the biggest hit in the world last year.
Watch below.