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The latest contestant to lift the helmet on season nine of The Masked Singer now has extra time for sitting on the dock of the bay, watching the tide do its stuff.
Wednesday night’s (March 8) episode was a flex for the DC comic universe, with the judges all playing their part in costume, and the show appropriately opening by way of Nicole Scherzinger (in a Catwoman suit) tackling Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero.”
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Three new contestants showed their best, with Gargoyle striking the first blow with a performance of Charlie Puth’s “One Call Away”.
Next up, Wolf with a rendition of the Doors’ “Break on Through,” followed by Squirrel’s take on Pink’s “Try”.
The canine, however, got canned.
When the helmet came off, the celebrity inside was none other than late ’80s/early ‘90s crooner Michael Bolton, who, during his career, has bagged a brace of Grammy Awards and Billboard Hot 100 leaders, with “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” and “When A Man Loves A Woman.”
“I could get used to being the Wolf,” he told host Nick Cannon on his exit. “It’s great, the audience is great, the show’s great,” said the clearly-disappointed singer.
And what next for the blue-eyed soul man? “I’ve got some things going on, an album coming out in the spring. It’s about making this a beautiful world, despite what’s going on, whatever the climb we’ve got to do our best to make it a beautiful world.”
With Bolton unmasked, Squirrel and Gargoyle entered a Battle Royale, squaring off to 3 Doors Down’s “Kryptonite.”
Squirrel won, but Gargoyle was handed a reprieve by the judging panel.
Earlier, during the premiere of season nine, the Gnome was unmasked to reveal the Emmy, Golden Globe, Tony and Grammy-winning entertainer and comedian Dick Van Dyke. Also unmasked on episode one was the Mustang, who turned out to be “A Little Bit Stronger” singer Sara Evans.
Fox’s unusual hit returns next week with a Sesame Street-themed episode.
Watch Bolton’s performance of “Break On Through,” his unmasking, the Battle Royale and Gargoyle’s save.
The clocks don’t lie; more than a decade has passed since Macklemore had us all wanting to blow a few bucks at a thrift shop.
With his breakthrough hit “Thift Shop,” the Seattle rapper, ably supported by Ryan Lewis and Wanz, steamed ahead in a career that swiftly yielded four Grammy Awards, including best new artist, best rap album and a pair of rap single trophies. The song was big everywhere, even landing at No. 1 on Australia’s Hottest 100 countdown for the year 2012, when a then-record 1.5 million-plus votes were cast.
Fast forward to 2023, and Macklemore is back with Ben (he was born Ben Haggerty), his third solo album, which dropped last Friday (March 3).
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Ahead of its release, the hip-hop artist went on the record to discuss how his relapse during lockdown and subsequent recovery had shaped the LP.
“I think that pain is a catalyst for great art,” he said recently for an interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show. “I don’t want to inflict the pain on myself anymore to make art. It’s not like I need to self-sabotage in order to create, but I think that it created some darker, more honest and vulnerable moments on the album,” he shared.
Macklemore was back on our screens Tuesday night (March 7), this time with The Tonight Show for a performance of album cut “Tail Lights” featuring Morray.
Drenched in red light, and wearing a black-leather jacket and tie with a smart shirt, Macklemore spread the love (and shared the spotlight) with his support cast.
Watch the late-night TV performance below.
No blind audition is the same. And precisely no singer on NBC’s The Voice has made an arrival quite like Kala Banham.
The 24-year-old Windermere, Florida native stepped onto the Voice stage Tuesday night (March 7), for a rendition of “Both Sides Now,” a song that appeared on Joni Mitchell’s 1969 album Clouds.
Banham kept her vocals in a velvety pocket, finding the emotional connection while never showing off.
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Kelly Clarkson and Niall Horan turned together, only the former One Direction singer was fast enough to trigger a block on the U.S. country artist.
Another new additional to the panel, Chance the Rapper, turned, leaving Blake Shelton the odd one out.
There were tears of joy from Banham’s folks, who were watching on, feeling the vibe, and Clarkson blasted the non-plussed Shelton with multiple volleys of “what are you doing?”
“What a perfect song,” enthused Clarkson. “You showed dynamic, to see you emote like that, you really felt the message and the words mean something to you. We would have been beautiful together. I’m going to steal you, mark my words.”
Horan praised her “impeccable” song choice, and her ability to show tenderness in the softer moments. “I haven’t got a singer like you on my team.” Then he stepped up his sales pitch.
“You are unbelievable,” the 1D singer said. “You’ve got such a storytelling voice, so sweet so beautiful. And the song choices that are available for you is huge.”
After learning some of her story, Chance praised Banham for having the “most unique voice that we’ve heard so far” which, he notes, is coupled with the “most control and range.”
Shelton offered his 5 cents (he wasn’t familiar with the song), and it was over to Banham to make the tough choice. Ultimately, she joined Team Niall.
Does Horan possesses the luck of the Irish? We’ll have to wait and see.
Watch the performance below.
Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Kelly Rowland has signed with UTA for global representation in all areas.
Rowland has won four Grammy Awards and has been a chart-topping performer since Destiny’s Child launched its self-titled debut album in 1998. She has released four solo albums and has launched hits like “Stole,” “Dilemma” with Nelly, “Like This” and “When Love Takes Over” with David Guetta. Her massive hit “Motivation” won top R&B song at the 2012 Billboard Music Awards and song of the year at the 2011 Soul Train Music Awards.
The 42-year-old has also built her film and TV résumé over the last two decades. She is set to star in and produce Tyler Perry’s Mea Culpa on Netflix. Her other film credits include Paramount’s Fantasy Football, Netflix’s The Curse of Bridge Hollow, Bad Hair, The Seat Filler and Freddy vs. Jason, among others.
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She starred in and produced the Lifetime holiday franchise Merry Liddle Christmas and has appeared in TV series like CBS’ The Equalizer, L.A.’s Finest, HBO’s A Black Lady Sketch Show and Fox’s Empire. She won the 2020 NAACP Image Award for outstanding guest performance in a comedy or drama series for her portrayal of Gladys Knight in BET’s American Soul.
Rowland has also appeared as a judge and coach on several competition shows including The X Factor and The Voice.
She will continue to be represented by Jennifer McDaniels and Del Shaw Moonves.
This article originally appears in THR.com.
In between having fun and turning up crowds at Rolling Loud Los Angeles last weekend, City Girls took a moment to speak with Billboard News about what a perfect date looks like for them and to give fans aspiring to be like them some pointed career advice.
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For Yung Miami — who confirmed on camera that she is single, despite being publicly linked with Diddy — her perfect date includes a series of luxurious and NSFW activities.
“I want a man to come pick me up on a jet, eat my p—y on the jet,” the rapper, whose real name is Caresha Brownlee, stated. “It depends on when we land … [I want to] eat on the beach, but we naked.”
Brownlee currently hosts the Caresha Please podcast, during which she brings a series of musical guests from the R&B and hip-hop space to talk about their lives, careers and relationships, often resulting in raw and unfiltered answers.
“I like to ask questions that people not. I just like to talk to people, it’s something that I want to know, it’s not even the people. If I wanna know something about you, I’m going to ask you,” she said of her show. “I’m a very direct person. I’ll ask anything, I’ll say anything and so I just feel like holding real conversations with people, real topics. If you want to get personal, you can.”
The conversation, which took place with Billboard News host Tetris Kelly, then pivoted to career advice for aspiring female rappers looking to emulate City Girls’ career. JT laid it out simply for anyone watching: “Be yourself, be authentic, f— these n—as, get that paper … and love your n—a too.”
Watch City Girls’ full interview with Billboard News in the video above.
Billboard’s 2023 Women In Music Awards was hit with fans, capturing an all-time record of 60 million views — and counting.
Announced today (March 7) by Billboard parent PMC, the latest WIM Awards and its corresponding clips and outtakes videos generated its lofty result across Billboard.com, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Instagram Stories, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Harmony, Penske Media’s in house streaming platform.
Based on clips of performances and award outtakes, the ceremony generated 8 million more views than the 2022 edition.
Held March 1 at Los Angeles’s YouTube Theater, Billboard’s annual event celebrates the most influential female powerhouses who are shaping the music landscape, from rising stars to frontline artists, creators, producers and executives.
Among the greats, 2023 Woman of the Year SZA. “You are the real deal. You are such a genuine human being, a genuine artist, a poet, a songwriter, an emoter who’s a once-in-a-lifetime, once-in-a-generation talent,” Lizzo said of the SOS star, adding, “We don’t deserve you!”
Also on the night, Becky G was honored with the Impact Award presented by American Express, Doechii received the Rising Star Award presented by Honda, Ivy Queen earned the Icon Award, Kim Petras nabbed the Chartbreaker Award, Latto landed the Powerhouse Award, Lainey Wilson won the Rulebreaker Award, Lana Del Rey took home the Visionary Award, TWICE was named Breakthrough Award winner, and Rosalía rocked the house with first ever Women in Music Producer of the Year award presented by Bose.
Clips remain online for streaming here on Billboard.com and at Billboard’s YouTube account.
For more visit billboardwomeninmusic.com.
Chance the Rapper did a late-night triplet when he visited The Tonight Show on Monday (March 6), by participating in an interview, playing a daft game, and performing a new number.
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First up, the Chicago hip-hop star (real name: Chancelor Johnathan Bennett) sat for a chat with the NBC program’s host Jimmy Fallon, and cleared up any questions about whether Martin Short really is such a good guy.
Well, yes, apparently. Chance regaled with a tale of a flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, in which he was separated from his eldest daughter, Kensli. That was until a “kind older gentleman gets up” and offered his seat to the girl. It was indeed the Martin Short. “I super freaked out,” Chance admits. “He was really, really nice and I don’t think he knows who I am. So I think he just did it…that’s a really kind gesture.”
Conversation moved on to Chance’s Black Star Line Festival in Ghana. “It was very successful,” he says of the event, held earlier this year with a lineup featuring Erykah Badu, Dave Chappelle, T-Pain, Jeremih, Sarkodie, Tobe Nwigwe, Asakaa Boys and M.anifest.
“It was magical. 52,000 people, the largest concert in the history of Ghana”. With the dust barely settled, Chance and Vic Mensa are plotting the next round for the festival in January 2024. And perhaps, this time visiting the West Indies.
“We’re actually thinking about hosting the next one in Kingston, Jamaica,” he explains. “We’re still working it out in our heads. And we love the city of Accra and Ghana and West Africa as a whole. We just want to continue to, like, create community in other spaces.”
The Grammy Award-winning songwriter and producer also squeezed in some promo for season 23 of The Voice, for which he’s the newest coach. Would he have auditioned for the show if the whole Chance The Rapper thing never happened?
Sure, he would have done just fine, Chance admits confidently.
And which song would he hit, given the chance? “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going Song,” the Jennifer Hudson piece from Dreamgirls.
Chance stuck around and showed he’s a good sport by playing a round of “Peanut Butter That’s My Jam Tic-Tac-Toe,” a sticky new spot and a real mouthful.
The Coloring Book star closed it out with a solo-performance of “YAH Know”. The recording, which features King Promise, will appear on his upcoming album Star Line Gallery, expected for release later this year.
Watch the performance below.
Ed Sheeran completed a hattrick of attendance records last week when his – = ÷ x Tour (pronounced The Mathematics Tour) swung into the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the largest stadium in Australia.
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The English pop superstar broke the national record for attendance at a ticketed concert on Thursday (March 2) with upwards of 105,000 tickets sold.
He was just warming up.
The imposing venue was the host for another record-breaking effort last Friday (March 3), when more than 109,500 Sheerios packed the house — setting a new mark for the second consecutive night.
The combined attendance across those two shows, at almost 215,000, will take some beating.
The MCG, or simply the G, as locals call it, is a sporting and concerts caldron which has hosted countless events since it was constructed on its current site in 1853.
The opening and closing ceremonies for the 1956 Olympic Games where held at the MCG, it’s the spiritual home of AFL, the world’s largest Test cricket ground, and it has provided the backdrop for concerts by the biggest names in music, from David Bowie to U2, Paul McCartney, Billy Joel, the Rolling Stones, Madonna and many others.
With those two massive shows, Sheeran has a special footnote in the history of the MCG and Australia’s touring market — and not for the first time.
When the “Shape Of You” singer last toured Australia with Frontier Touring, in 2018, more than 1 million tickets were sold, a feat that wiped Dire Straits’ record for a single trek (950,000) that had stood for more than 30 years. Sheeran’s Divide tour that year also set a new mark of 18 stadium dates across Australia and New Zealand, beating AC/DC’s old record (14).
Sheeran has a deep friendship with Australia and the Gudinskis, the family behind Frontier Touring, the touring company which produced the current recent trek, the 2018 Divide run and others.
All five of his studio albums have led the ARIA Chart. He has a chance to hit the national survey for six when his next album, Subtract, drops May 5.
Sheeran’s hit “Shape Of You” is the leader on the ARIA Top 100 Singles chart of the 2010s.
The Brit’s 12-date The Mathematics Tour of Australasia continues tonight (March 7) at the Adelaide Oval and wraps up Sunday (March 12) at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
Tickets are available for both shows.
Korean tech company Kakao will launch a tender offer to acquire up to 35% of SM Entertainment’s outstanding shares. The move came a day after a court injunction forced Kakao to cancel its plan to acquire a 9.05% stake directly from SM, whose roster includes NCT 127 and Red Velvet; a court injunction scuttled SM’s plan to issue new shares and give Kakao the stake, according to reports by Bloomberg and Reuters.
Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment are seeking to become SM’s largest shareholder and partner, to help rebuild the company after SM’s board of directors terminated a production contract with the company’s legendary founder, Lee Soo-man, on Dec. 31. Lee sold most of his SM shares to HYBE, the home of BTS, on Feb. 22 and won a court injunction Friday that prevented SM from issuing new shares to Kakao. As a result, Kakao has been forced to seek shares from existing SM shareholders instead.
HYBE had sought an additional 25% stake in SM through a tender offer but was able to purchase slightly less than 1% of outstanding shares, the company revealed in a regulatory filing Monday (March 6). That increased HYBE’s ownership stake in SM to 15.8%. With Lee’s 3.65% stake, HYBE has voting power of 19.4% of outstanding shares. The next-largest shareholder, Korea’s National Pension Service, owns 6.2% of SM’s shares.
Kakao and HYBE are locked in a battle for control of SM’s board of directors ahead of the company’s annual general meeting on March 31. “Kakao has strong trust in the excellent competitiveness of SM Entertainment’s current management, employees, and artists, and the current management’s efforts to resolve the factors that hinder SM Entertainment’s growth,” the company said in a statement.
HYBE sees itself as the more skilled, experienced company to guide SM’s global ambitions and has criticized its competitor’s “utterly irresponsible contract” with Kakao.
Kakao and its subsidiary Kakao Entertainment, which raised $966 million from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia and Singapore in January, will offer 150,000 won ($115.46) per share — a 25% premium over the 120,000 won ($92.36) per share HYBE offered.
SM’s share price rose 13.8% to 148,100 won ($114.09) on Tuesday morning in Seoul following news of Kakao’s tender offer.
Additional reporting by Jeyup S. Kwaak.
De La Soul could cap an eventful stretch with a career-best U.K. chart position for the hip-hop legends’ 3 Feet High and Rising (via Chrysalis).
At the midweek point, De La Soul’s 1989 debut LP blasts to No. 5, well ahead of its No. 13 peak from January 1990 and a potential career high.
A top 5 appearance would cap a particularly eventful stretch for the Grammy Award-winning trio, which lost its founding member Trugoy the Dove (born David Jude Jolicoeur) last month, at the age of 54.
The rush for 3 Feet High and Rising is powered by streaming, and the long-overdue release of the New Yorkers’ catalog on digital streaming services last Friday (March 3) for the first time.
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That campaign followed months of work with the act and their record label, AOI, along with Reservoir, and includes De La Soul’s first six albums, 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), Stakes Is High (1996), Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000), and AOI: Bionix (2001). Just one of those LPs has cracked the U.K. top 10 — De La Soul Is Dead, which peaked at No. 7.
Flying high at the top of the Official Chart Update is the Lathums’ From Nothing to a Little Bit More (Island). If it holds its position, the Wigan, England rock outfit will earn a second leader following their 2021 debut, How Beautiful Life Can Be.
Close behind is British rapper slowthai, who is chasing his third consecutive top 10 with UGLY (Method). It’s new at No. 3 on the chart blast. Raised in Northampton (and born Tyron Frampton), slowthai landed a No. 1 with his previous, sophomore effort, Tyron.
Completing the podium on the chart blast is Mimi Webb’s first full-length album Amelia (RCA), set for a No. 3 debut.
Also eyeing top 10 stars are Scottish folk band Tide Lines (An Ocean Full of Islands currently at No. 6 via Tide Lines Music); “Songbird” singer Eva Cassidy’s posthumous collection with the London Symphony Orchestra and Australian-British composer Christopher Willis (I Can Only Be Me at No. 7 via Blix Street) and prog-rock legends Genesis (BBC Broadcasts at No. 9 via UMR/Virgin).
U.S. country star Morgan Wallen will need to show a clean set of heels in the final stages of the chart race if he’s to nab his first U.K. top 40 appearance. Wallen’s 36-track third album One Thing At A Time (EMI) appears at No. 40 on the Official Chart Update.
All will be revealed when the weekly chart is published Friday.