billboard news

12 Jan 2024

Usher Super Bowl Halftime Show Teaser, New Music From Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X & More | Billboard News

It’s Friday, January 12th, and we’re running down the new music releases of the day. Ariana Grande is back with her new track “yes, and?,” Lil Nas X dropped his long-awaited track “J CHRIST,” 21 Savage has released a solo album titled “american dream” and more. Ivan Cornejo is Billboard’s newest cover star. Usher’s Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show teaser features stars like Jung Kook, J Balvin and more!

Tetris Kelly
Will Jung Kook join Usher onstage at his Super Bowl halftime show? Ariana Grande, Lil Nas X and more release music. Kali Uchis talks pregnancy and her hot new album. We look at the rise of ITZY, and Ivan Cornejo is the future of regional Mexican music. Welcome to another edition of Billboard News, I’m Tetris Kelly. It’s Friday, January 12th, and we’ve got a brand-new cover star, but first let’s get into our Friday Music Guide.

Tetris Kelly
We’ve entered a new era: Ariana Grande is back and she’s saying “Yes, And?” This self-empowering bop is definitely not safe for work.

Tetris Kelly
We’ll have more new music throughout the show. But now it’s time to get to our last feature of genre cover star, Ivan Cornejo, the future of regional Mexican music.

Ivan Cornejo
It stood out to me so much, I think, that I was just like, ‘hmm I actually like this.’ At the time, I wouldn’t really listen to regional music. It was more of like my dad’s Mariachi music and like the old-school stuff. A couple of years later, Natanael Cano drops, you know, ‘Corridos Tumbados.’ He’s definitely like a pioneer for this new genre that you call salsa reino and like corridos tumbados, so many people got inspiration from Nate, that he really took a big step and just changed the whole corridos feel, like a lot of people just adapted to that quickly.

Watch the full video above!

11 Jan 2024

Lil Nas X Responds to Backlash, Amy Winehouse Biopic Trailer Debut & More | Billboard News

Laufey is Billboard’s newest cover star! Lil Nas X is responding to backlash for the use of religious imagery, celebrity lookalikes and more in his new video teaser for his track “J CHRIST.” Anderson .Paak’s Apple Music series ‘.Paak House Radio’ is back for season 2 and features guests like aespa, Saweetie and Victoria Monet. And more!

Tetris Kelly:
Lil Nas X is pissing all kinds of people off, we get a first look at the Amy Winehouse biopic, Anderson .Paak has a ton of fun with aespa and Victoria Monet, we run down the top songs on TikTok, and Laufey is our Future of Jazz cover star. This is Billboard News. I’m Tetris Kelly, back on Thursday, January 11th and we continue our Future of Genre cover stars with Laufey.

Laufey:
I knew I wanted the album to be called ‘Bewitched’ before I started writing any of the songs. I knew I wanted it to be a little bit more mature and I wanted it to be more confident. I think my first album was a little bit aloof, it’s very, you know, hopeless romantic. This second one, although it has elements of that, you know, I’ve experienced more with love. I’ve matured more. I think my writing has gotten better. Some of the references I put into my music, the classical references, especially, are so obvious that sometimes I get DMs or messages from my fans saying like, “Wait a minute, I was listening to Bach today and I found the beginning of ‘Everything I Know About Love.’” And I’m like, “Yep, you got it.” And I love that. I love spreading it in. I mean, I need to do a deep dive into the classical references in ‘Bewitched’ but there are so many. It feels very, very validating, especially in the category that I am in, you know, it’s all my heroes. It’s all legends, so getting to be a voice in that category is just incredible and especially with this album that I wrote at home, it’s just, it’s crazy. Taylor Swift was one of the first songwriters that I really, like songwriter artists, that I really resonated with. Every song while you’re listening, you can visually see what’s happening, and it turns into a little movie. And I think that’s something, though she has changed genres so many times, she’s always kept true to that. It’s always that Taylor Swift storytelling, that songwriting, that is the common denominator. That’s one thing I really want to do in my lifetime as a musician, and it’s inspired me greatly.

Tetris Kelly:
For the full profile head to Billboard.com. We’ll have another cover story for you tomorrow.

Watch the full video above!

11 Jan 2024

Lesley Gore’s 1963 ‘Misty’ Reaches No. 1 on TikTok Billboard Top 50 | Billboard News

Lesley Gore’s 1963 track “Misty” reaches No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart as Sophie Ellis Baxter’s “Murder on the Dancefloor” lands in the top 10.

Tetris Kelly:
We’ve got a new leader on top of the chart, plus rap and a 2001 sleeper hit break into the top 10.

Lesley Gore’s “Misty” hit jumps from No. 3 to the top spot on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for the chart posting Jan. 11. The 1963 hit becomes the oldest chart-topper thanks to various trends using the track. Flo Milli’s “Never Lose Me” bows to No. 7 thanks to a ton of trends including fashion and makeup. Finally, Sophie Ellis Baxter’s 2001 hit “Murder on the Dancefloor” lands at No. 10. This is in large part thanks to a trend born out of the song used in the film Saltburn.

Every Thursday, Billboard will bring you the verified list of the hottest songs on TikTok by monitoring music discovery and engagement on the platform in the United States. To find the TikTok Billboard Top 50 each week, users can simply go to any sound detail page and tap the top right button to access the charts page.

Watch the full video above!

10 Jan 2024

Selena Gomez Announces Social Media Break, Reneé Rapp Shades Tory Lanez & More | Billboard News

Jamaican Dancehall artist Teejay is Billboard’s newest cover star! Selena Gomez is setting the record straight on that viral Golden Globes moment and announced she will be taking a break from social media to focus on “what really matters.” Taylor Swift was seen heading to Electric Lady Studios in NYC yesterday, and Lady Gaga took to social media to share a pic from a dimly lit music studio. And more!

Rania Aniftos:
Selena Gomez sets the record straight on that viral Golden Globes moment, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga head back to the studio, Reneé Rapp will defend Megan Thee Stallion till the bitter end, and we reveal today’s Future of Dancehall cover star.

Hi, I’m Rania Aniftos. Welcome back to Billboard News. It’s Wednesday, January 10th, and we’re kicking off today’s show with our latest Future of Genre cover star Teejay.

Teejay:
Yeah, grew up in Montego Bay, I grew up with my mother, my uncle and my five, my four brothers and one sister. So I was basically the breadwinner in the family growing up. I was the one who basically left school at seventh grade just to continue music so I can help the family out. All my brothers is artists. So they have the studio so they would have like FruityLoops, Sonar, Acid Pro, I’d watch them learning how to use of all the Pro Tools. I started recording myself at the age of nine that’s how determined I was at the time.

Teejay:
Yeah, man. Davio is a real G. He believes in talent and loves Dancehall music so working with Davido was just pure vibes, in the studio smoking, just drinking rum, just enjoying the vibes and everything was just pure vibe. Davido said he wants to be the first person on the “Drift” remix.

Watch the full video above!

09 Jan 2024

Jeymes Samuel on Working With Jay-Z & LaKeith Stanfield & More | Billboard News

Jeymes Samuel , the director of The Book of Clarence, stopped by Billboard News to talk with Billboard‘s Executive Director of Hip-Hop and R&B, Gail Mitchell, about creating the movie, casting LaKeith Stanfield, working with Jay-Z, creating music for movies and more!

Jeymes Samuel:
When I open my eyes in the morning, the Lord says, “Action.” And the movie of my of my life begins.

Hey, everyone. I’m Jeymes Samuel, and this is Billboard News.

Gail Mitchell:
This is Gail Mitchell, executive director of R&B and hip-hop for Billboard magazine, and I’m here to chat with the director of the upcoming film The Book of Clarence, Jeymes Samuel.

Biblical epic, this one is. Before it was a Western epic with The Harder They Fall, your earlier film. So what is it about the word “epic” and “bold” that catches your attention and you go with it?

Jeymes Samuel:
I think for me, “epic” and “bold” are two of the words that define cinema. You know, it’s not often you know, in this day when every other movie is a superhero movie, you know, and I love those movies, but it’s really quite rare we get original storytelling in a cinematic experience, right? It’s usually with an IP we’re familiar with and or a sequel or something. I just love original storytelling like I love cinema. I love film. I love music and I love originality. So who better to bring those things than moi?

Gail Mitchell:
Exactly! So talk about the cast. You’ve got some great cast members. You’re working with LaKeith again.

Jeymes Samuel:
Yeah.

Gail Mitchell:
So talk about him. How was he? How does he define Clarence for you? What is it? What instincts did you see in him making The Harder They Fall that clicked with you and said, “This is my Clarence”?

Watch the full video above!

09 Jan 2024

Destiny’s Child Reunite, Spice Girls Hint at Reunion, Ice Spice’s Super Bowl Ad & More | Billboard News

Sexyy Red is Billboard’s latest cover star! Ice Spice has teamed up with Pepsi’s lemon-lime soda STARRY for a commercial that will air during the Super Bowl. We all saw when Destiny’s Child reunited for ‘Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé’ but it looks like they were back together once more for a very special reason. Mel B of the Spice Girls is teasing a potential reunion that would feature all five members of the group. Justin Timberlake has wiped his Instagram, leaving fans wondering if he is releasing new music. And more!

Tetris Kelly
Destiny’s Child and the Spice Girls reunite. Justin Timberlake wipes his socials, Ice Spice is making her Super Bowl debut. Sexyy Red covers our Future of Hip-Hop issue and we sit down with Jeymes Samuel. It’s time for some Billboard News. I’m Tetris Kelly, it’s Tuesday, January 9th, and we continue our week of Billboard Future of Genre covers with Sexyy Red.

Sexyy Red
I wanted to be everything because I was good at everything. I used to think I was gonna be a painter. I used to be drawin’ a lot, designing my Barbie doll’s clothes. I used to be doing they hair. I knew I could do it. But I just didn’t know this is what I would be doing. I always knew because I was just different. I was weird. I was quiet. But everybody used to want to be my friend. I was pretty, my hair was real long. My mama knew how to dress me. Everybody used to just be like flocking to me. But I was weird, I was quiet. Like I was shy. I didn’t want to talk to nobody. But people still just, I don’t know, like I always been like that person for real.

Sexyy Red
My ex-boyfriend had cheated on me. So I had made a diss song about him. And then I rapped it to him. He was like, “Oh that’s hard, I liked that.” And it is when we would be around his friends, and he had me rap the song to his friends. And they was like “Oh, you actually can rap, they like you hard,” so then I was just like “For real?” And I went to the studio and made a real song. And then everybody was like “Send me the song, send me the song,” and people started booking me for parties and that’s how it started.

Watch the full video above!

08 Jan 2024

Ariana Grande’s New Track, The Weeknd Teases New Era, Golden Globes 2024 & More | Billboard News

Odetari and 6arelyhuman are Billboard’s latest cover stars. We recap everything you missed at the 2024 Golden Globes. The 2023 Primetime Emmy Creative Arts Awards were this weekend, and musicians were among the big winners of the night. Ariana Grande took to social media to announce that her new single “Yes, And?” will be out this Friday, The Weeknd is seemingly teasing a new era of music, and Lil Nas X tweets that new music is coming. And more!

Tetris Kelly:
It was a huge award weekend with the Golden Globes and the Creative Arts Emmys going down. Ariana Grande, The Weeknd and Lil Nas X tease new music. We revealed this week’s top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. And we kick off a full week of cover stars.

Happy Monday! It’s January 8th. I’m Tetris Kelly and we’ve got, wait for it, five new cover stars this week for our Future of Genres issue. And today’s Future of Electronic cover stars are Odetari and 6arelyhuman.

Odetari:
So the first song that I had that went viral I think in, like, one day, I had hit 256,000 streams, which was crazy to me because I had never passed like 10k on a song. But I saw how fast it went up, got really excited, and then the next day it dropped like half so it was like a roller coaster.

6arelyhuman:
Once it started to really hit was when I would see a bunch of videos from people just creating things and coming up with their own ideas with the song. I remember specifically one of the things that helped a lot was a South Park edit. I don’t know why, but that’s something that really helped the song take off.

Odetari:
A lot of people that were making similar music to us, were not showing their faces at all.

6arelyhuman:
Yeah.

Odetari:
We made sure to also attach the image to it because a lot of songs that blow up on TikTok, most people just scroll like they’ll hear the song but they don’t really care about it or the person who made it. I feel like we really nailed it on that.

Tetris Kelly:
For the full interview, head to Billboard.com. We’ll have a new cover for you every day this week, but it’s time to get to our awards show coverage. If you didn’t catch the Golden Globes last night don’t worry, we got you covered.

Watch the full video above!

08 Jan 2024

Hot 100 Chart Reveal: Jan 13th | Billboard News

The holidays are officially over and we have a new song ready to take over the No. 1 spot from Mariah Carey. Also Doja Cat, SZA, Tate McRae and Taylor Swift all make appearances on the chart. Watch the video to find out who’s on top.

Tetris Kelly
This is the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the week dated January 13. Doja Cat brings “Agora Hills” to the top 10 for the first time. Luke Combs is back at No. 9 with “Fast Car.”

Tetris Kelly
“Last Night” keeps it country at 8.

Tetris Kelly
With Tyla’s “Water” at a new No. 7 high. SZA’s “Snooze” is at No. 6.

Tetris Kelly
While Zach and Kacey are back at 5.

Tetris Kelly
Doja Cat grabs a second entry in the top 10 at No. 4.

Tetris Kelly
While Tate McRae reaches a career peak of No. 3. Taylor Swift is still strong at No. 2. And returning to his pre-holiday No. 1 spot is Jack Harlow with “Lovin On Me.”

Watch the full video above!

08 Jan 2024

Billie Eilish Wins Best Original Song, Taylor Swift & Selena Gomez Show-Stopping Looks & More | Billboard News

Billie Eilish wins best original song for the second time for “What I Was Made For” from the Barbie movie, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez walk the red carpet in show-stopping gowns, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig accept the first ever Cinematic and Box Office Achievement at the 2024 Golden Globes.

Tetris Kelly
The 81st Golden Globes were a night to remember. Musicians showed up in full force from rock stars to pop stars, producers and multi-hyphenateS. Inside the Beverly Hilton, the cameras love nominees and besties Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez who sat next to costar Meryl Streep. Selena seem surprised her name when they announced Best Actress in a TV Series Musical or Comedy but seems super excited when Ayo Edebiri won the trophy. Andra Day and Jon Batiste hilariously presented Best Original Song

Tetris Kelly
Which Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas won for “What I Was Made For” from ‘Barbi’e

Tetris Kelly
Barbie also took home the first ever award and was cinematic and box office achievement.

Tetris Kelly 1:19
For everything Golden Globes hits a Billboard.com

05 Jan 2024

NLE Choppa vs. Blueface, Nicki Minaj on Writing About Her Father’s Death & More | Billboard News

It’s the first Friday of the new year, and we are looking at all the new music that was released this week. Nicki Minaj opens up about writing about her father’s death on her new album ‘Pink Friday 2.’ NLE Choppa has challenged Blueface to a boxing match after he dissed him on his new track “Barbie Remix.” And more.

Tetris Kelly
Nicki Minaj talks album inspo, NLE Choppa wants to fight Blueface, Post Malone’s epic Vegas New Year’s Eve party. We take Tori Kelly on a speed date and run down this week’s hottest tracks

Tetris Kelly
Welcome to Billboard News. I’m Tetris Kelly. It’s Friday, January 5, we’ve almost made it to the first weekend of the new year. But first, we’ve got some new music to get to and our Friday Music Guide.

Tetris Kelly
Lewis Capaldi is back after some health issues with an extended version of ‘Broken by the Desire to Be Heavenly Sent,’ featuring five new songs like “Old Navy Blue.”

Tetris Kelly
We’ll have more new music throughout the show. But first, let’s get to our top story.

Nicki Minaj
The first verse, as in “Are You Gone Already”? The first verse is me speaking to my father, my father had just passed.

Tetris Kelly
Nicki Minaj opens up on how the tragic loss of her father inspired her Billboard No. 1 album ‘Pink Friday 2.’

Tetris Kelly
Nicki Minaj stopped by Apple Music on Thursday and spoke about how the emotional track that opens ‘Pink Friday 2’ “Are You Gone Already” was inspired by the sudden loss of her father in 2021.

Watch the full video above!