Billboard

08 Sep 2023

Tyler, The Creator’s ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ Returns to No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart After New Vinyl Release

Tyler, the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost finds its way back to No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Sept. 9), as the album vaults 76-1 following a new vinyl release of the set. It’s the album’s third week at No. 1 in as many years, following one-week visits to the top in 2022 and 2021.

The album’s return is owed to the Aug. 25 release of the first vinyl pressing of the deluxe edition of the album, dubbed Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale. The deluxe edition was originally issued via streamers and digital retailers in March 2023. The triple-LP set was pressed on blue-colored vinyl. In total in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 31, all retail versions of the album combined – old and new – sold just over 29,000 copies (up 1,397%), according to Luminate. Vinyl sales comprised nearly all of that sum.

Call Me If You Get Lost previously hit No. 1 for one week in 2022 (April 30-dated chart) after the original album’s release on vinyl, and for one week in 2021 (July 10, its debut frame).

In total in the U.S. through the week ending Aug. 31, Call Me If You Get Lost has sold 328,000 copies on vinyl across its multiple vinyl editions.

Elsewhere in the top 10 of the latest Top Album Sales chart, Zach Bryan’s self-titled set launches at No. 3, and The Turnpike Troubadours’ A Cat In the Rain debuts at No. 5.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Travis Scott’s chart-topping Utopia falls to No. 2 after four weeks at No. 1 (selling 29,000 copies; down 68%), while Bryan’s self-titled album bows at No. 3 with 17,000 sold (all from digital downloads, as it has yet to be released on any physical format). NewJeans’ former No. 1 2nd EP ‘Get Up’ rises 7-4 with 13,000 (down 17%), while The Turnpike Troubadours’ A Cat in the Rain starts at No. 5 with nearly 13,000 sold.

Taylor Swift’s former leader Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) rises 8-6 (nearly 13,000; down 19%), NCT DREAM’s ISTJ: The 3rd Album falls 6-7 (12,500; down 49%), and J-Hope’s Jack in the Box falls 2-8 (12,000; down 74%). Swift’s former No. 1 Midnights climbs 11-9 (10,000; down 12%), and JIHYO’s Zone (The 1st Mini Album) falls 4-10 (10,000; down 73%).

In the week ending Aug. 31, there were 1.666 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 12.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.333 million (down 15.3%) and digital albums comprised 334,000 (up 0.1%).

There were 552,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Aug. 31 (down 18.9% week-over-week) and 773,000 vinyl albums sold (up 12.6%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 23.283 million (up 1.8% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 31.147 million (up 20.4%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 67.201 million (up 6.9% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 54.788 million (up 11.6%) and digital album sales total 12.414 million (down 10%).

08 Sep 2023

Zach Bryan Rules 8 Songwriter & Producer Charts, Thanks to New Album

Zach Bryan has had a massive week on Billboard’s charts (dated Sept. 9), thanks to the arrival of his new self-titled LP.

Zach Bryan launches atop the Billboard 200, Top Country Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Americana/Folk Albums charts with 200,000 equivalent album units earned Aug 25-31, according to Luminate.

Concurrently, the collection’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Hot Country Songs, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs – becoming the first track ever to top all those tallies.

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All 16 songs from the set storm the Hot 100, and genre-specific charts for country and rock/alternative, helping Bryan hit No. 1 on four songwriter charts and four producer charts.

Here’s a recap of all the songwriter and producer charts on which Bryan is No. 1:

Hot 100 Songwriters (1st week at No. 1)
Hot 100 Producers (1st week at No. 1)
Country Songwriters (39th week at No. 1)
Country Producers (1st week at No. 1)
Rock & Alternative Songwriters (49th week at No. 1)
Rock & Alternative Producers (1st week at No. 1)
Rock Songwriters (49th week at No. 1)
Rock Producers (1st week at No. 1)

Further, here is a recap of Bryan’s entries on the latest Hot 100:

No. 1, “I Remember Everything,” feat. Kacey Musgraves
No. 14, “Hey Driver,” feat. The War and Treaty
No. 17, “Spotless,” feat. The Lumineers
No. 18, “East Side of Sorrow”
No. 20, “Tourniquet”
No. 22, “Overtime”
No. 23, “Summertime’s Close”
No. 24, “Fear and Friday’s”
No. 29, “Ticking”
No. 31, “El Dorado”
No. 37, “Holy Roller,” feat. Sierra Ferrell
No. 38, “Smaller Acts”
No. 39, “Fear and Friday’s (Poem)”
No. 41, “Jake’s Piano – Long Island”
No. 44, “Tradesman”
No. 47, “Oklahoman Son”
No. 76, “Dawns,” feat. Maggie Rogers (holds in place; peaked at No. 42 in February)
No. 88, “Oklahoma Smoke Show” (down from its No. 81 peak)

Bryan is the sole credited producer on all 16 songs on the new album (as well as “Dawns,” not on the set). He’s also the only credited songwriter on 14 songs on the LP (as well as “Oklahoma Smoke Show,” likewise not on the album). The only track above on which he is not billed as a producer is “Oklahoma Smoke Show,” which is credited to Eddie Spears.

Bryan is listed as a co-writer on “I Remember Everything” (with Musgraves), “Spotless” (with The Lumineers’ Wesley Keith Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites) and “Dawns” (with Rogers).

Bryan is just the third person to simultaneously top the Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts this year, after Taylor Swift (among eight total weeks leading the lists together) and Travis Scott.

Billboard launched the Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts, as well as genre-specific rankings for country, rock & alternative, R&B/hip-hop, R&B, rap, Latin, Christian, gospel and dance/electronic, in June 2019, while alternative and hard rock joined in 2020, along with seasonal holiday rankings in 2022. The charts are based on total points accrued by a songwriter and producer, respectively, for each attributed song that appears on the Hot 100. The genre-based songwriter and producer charts follow the same methodology based on corresponding “Hot”-named genre charts. As with Billboard’s yearly recaps, multiple writers or producers split points for each song equally (and the dividing of points will lead to occasional ties on rankings).

The full Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts and full genre rankings can be found on Billboard.com.

08 Sep 2023

Here Are 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Nelly Furtado | Billboard

Nelly Furtado reveals five things you didn’t know about her to Billboard.

Nelly Furtado:
Hey, I’m Nelly Furtado, and I’m going to list five things that you might not know about me!

One, I have three kids. One’s 19, one’s 5 and one’s 4, so yeah, mommy of three if you didn’t know. I’m a supermodel and mommy — yes mommy with three kids [in Spanish].

I play trombone — or I used to. My first instrument was ukulele. So … that’s my instrument fact.

I know how to make Portuguese Rissóis De Bacalhau, if you know, you know.

No. 4: I’m really quirky, you might not know that.

I love to stay at the studio till 7 a.m., when the sun rises and bring as many people as I can to jam and have a good time and all for one and one for all.

I’m Nelly Furtado, and those are five things you didn’t know about me.

Watch the full video above!

07 Sep 2023

XG Talk About New Music, Trip to Disneyland, Universal Studios & More | Billboard

XG talks to Billboard about their upcoming new music, recent trips to Disneyland and Universal Studios, and more at KCON LA 2023.

Tetris Kelly:
Well, first of all, I feel like I already know you because you’ve been hanging out with my producer Evan, and he loves you guys so much. So I’m happy to meet you guys at KCON. Tell me about these outfits because you guys look great. What was the inspiration? A little bit of race car going …

Maya:
Oh, yeah … this is like a race car concept. But we wanted to put energy into our performance as well. So we put, like, red colors and also sparkles, bling bling. You know, we need the bling bling for the big stages today!

Tetris Kelly:
Well, you guys are blinging and I know you’ve been busy, obviously. You’ve been at our studio, you’re at KCON LA now. What else have you guys gotten to do while you’re in L.A.? I’ve heard something, I’m just saying.

Maya:
Well, we are preparing a lot of new songs. Our first mini album is coming soon, Sept. 27. Actually, so we’re preparing for that. Oh, yes. Get ready. New DNA is coming. So yes, we’re preparing for that and also different stages upcoming this year.

Tetris Kelly:
As you prepare for your new release, did you also get to maybe check out Disneyland or something?

Cocona:
Oh, I went to Universal Universal Studios Hollywood with Harvey and Maya.

Tetris Kelly:
Oh, y’all split it up. So what was your favorite thing at Universal?

Cocona:
Oh, studio tour. Oh yeah. I love it.

Tetris Kelly:
What did you guys do at Disneyland? And I need your favorite ride/

Jurin:
Oh, favorite ride? Incredicoaster. That was so fun.

Tetris Kelly:
Incredicoaster! So fun! And then last, before I let you guys out of here: What’s your favorite song this summer?

Jurin:
Oh favorite summer song is “New Dance” by XG. We can’t spoil it or anything, but it will come out on Aug. 23. So I hope you guys enjoy it.

Tetris Kelly:
Well, look forward to new music from XG. Thank you so much for hanging out with us.

07 Sep 2023

d4vd Lights Up Spotify #PopRisingOnTour Stop at LA’s Roxy Theatre: Photos

d4vd‘s star is officially on the rise, and Spotify has taken notice.

The 18-year-old singer — who broke through with the 2022 tracks “Romantic Homicide” and “Here With Me” — is one of a handful of performers selected by the music streamer to participate in its #PopRisingOnTour, which shines a light on the artists featured on the platform’s Pop Rising playlist and allows them a slot to play for fans.

“This year, Spotify introduced #PopRisingOnTour, our collaboration with emerging artists that lets us celebrate Spotify’s Pop Rising playlist on the road, at key tour stops nationwide,” Lisa Ritchey, manager, pop, dance & indie, artist partnerships, Spotify, said in a statement. “Watching d4vd go from making music in his sister’s closet to selling out this show in minutes has been thrilling to watch as he continues to captivate his fans both on and off stage. We’re so proud to see his promising career unfold, and to assist other rising talents through this initiative.”

To catch up with the rising star, Billboard caught d4vd’s set at #PopRisingOnTour — which took place at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday night (Sept. 6) — to take photos of him getting ready to hit the stage, performing several tracks from his catalog and even taking a young fan onstage.

Up next for d4vd is the release of The Lost Petals EP. The set, arriving Friday, will contain a total of five tracks and serves as the formal follow up to his breakthrough EP, Petals to Thorns.

See Billboard‘s photos from d4vd’s #PopRisingOnTour show at The Roxy Theatre below.

07 Sep 2023

Here Are 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Noah Kahan | Billboard

Noah Kahan reveals five things you didn’t know about him to Billboard.

Noah Kahan:
I’m Noah Kahan, and these are five things that you don’t know about me unless you’re a weird weirdo who knows all these things, in which case — leave me alone.

The first is that I can speak Spanish. I lived in Costa Rica for a little bit of time in high school, and I used to be fluent. I’m conversational now.

The second is I have really bad acid reflux, which should not come as a surprise, but it’s still true.

The third thing is that I eat sunflower seeds with the shells on, and they have sent me to the hospital. It’s simply the best way to eat them and I will not hear any arguments to the contrary.

The fourth thing is that I wore Merrells until I was in the third or fourth grade because I didn’t know how to tie my shoes, and I still don’t know how to really do it. And every time I tie my shoes, I don’t do it like whatever bunny through the tree or whatever. It just never works the right way. It’s embarrassing and I don’t want to talk about it anymore, so stop asking me about it.

The fifth thing is that I’ve seen every episode of Below Deck that’s been made at least one time, and I’m obsessed with Captain Lee to the point where, like, I’m trying to find out where he lives type s–t. Like, I love Captain Lee so much. So thank you, Captain.

Watch the full video above!

06 Sep 2023

Here Are 5 Things You Didn’t Know About (G)I-DLE | Billboard

K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE reveals five things you didn’t know about the members.

(G)I-DLE:
Hi, we are (G)I – DLE and this is five things about us.

Soyeon:
I did my nail in LA.

(G)I-DLE:
Oh! So pretty!

Minnie:
Today, I had breakfast with Yuqi and Shuhua and we had scramble eggs.

Yuqi:
Oh, and you waited for about 20 minutes?

Minnie:
Yeah, I waited, like, 20 minutes for the scrambled eggs, but it was really good.

Yuqi:
My best friend’s birthday is the same day with Soyeon.

Minnie:
Oh, her best friend!

Shuhua:
This [clothing] is from my own closet.

Miyeon:
I worked out yesterday!

(G)I-DLE:
This has been (G)I-DLE! And this was five things about us.

06 Sep 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Sierra Ferrell & The War And Treaty Debut With Zach Bryan Features

Sierra Ferrell and The War And Treaty are both officially Billboard Hot 100-charting artists, thanks to their featured appearances on Zach Bryan’s new smash LP Zach Bryan.

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The set debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 200,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week (Aug. 25-31) in the U.S., according to Luminate. It’s the third No. 1 country album of 2023, so far, after Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time and Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), and the first rock No. 1 of the year. (The set is categorized as both a country and rock album.)

Bryan’s “Holy Roller,” featuring Ferrell, debuts at No. 37 on the Hot 100 purely on the strength of its first-week streaming sum: 12.1 million U.S. streams earned. That total helps the song open at No. 20 on the Streaming Songs chart. Genre-wise, it also starts at No. 14 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and No. 17 on Hot Country Songs. (The Hot 100, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Country Songs charts all blend streams, sales and airplay data for their respective rankings.)

Ferrell, from Charleston, West Virginia, is a newcomer to Billboard’s charts. The country/folk/bluegrass singer-songwriter scored her first overall chart appearance in September 2021, when her third, and most-recent LP, Long Time Coming, reached No. 15 on the Americana/Folk Albums chart and No. 25 on Top Album Sales.

She’s returned to Billboard’s charts once since then with her featured appearance on Ray LaMontagne’s “I Was Born To Love You.” The song climbed to No. 38 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in June 2022.

Outside of the charts, she’s released two additional solo LPs: Pretty Magic Spell in 2014, and Washington By The Sea in 2016. She’s also collaborated with Diplo (“Rain on My Mind,” also with Paul Cauthen), Shakey Graves (“Ready Or Not”), and Old Crow Medicine Show (“Belle Meade Cockfight”).

Next year, she’s scheduled to open for Bryan on his stops in Las Vegas and Denver on his Quittin Time Tour.

Bryan’s “Hey Driver,” featuring The War And Treaty, debuts at No. 14 on the Hot 100, also largely on the strength of its first-week streaming sum: 18.3 million U.S. streams, plus 1,000 downloads sold. The streaming sum also generates a No. 5 debut on the Streaming Songs chart. It concurrently debuts at No. 2 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and No. 5 on Hot Country Songs.

The War And Treaty are a husband-and-wife duo, based in Albion, Mich., comprising Tanya and Michael Trotter Jr.

The pair are relatively new to Billboard’s charts. The act first appeared on a chart in 2018 with its second studio album Healing Tide. The set climbed to No. 11 on the Heatseekers Albums chart and No. 26 on the Independent Albums chart. Two years later, in 2020, the couple notched its first song entry on Billboard’s charts with “Five More Minutes.” It peaked at No. 20 on Adult Alternative Airplay.

Since then, the act’s third and fourth albums both charted on the Top Current Album Sales ranking: Hearts Town reached No. 70 in October 2020 and Lover’s Game peaked at No. 56 in March.

Aside from the charts, the War And Treaty have also collaborated with Shovels & Rope (“Tomorrow”), Blues Traveler (“Need Your Love So Bad”), Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (a star-studded cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin,” also with Rosanne Cash, Steve Earle and Jason Isbell), and Dierks Bentley (a live cover of U2’s “Pride (In The Name of Love)”).

Outside of the War and Treaty, Tanya Trotter (née Blount) forged a successful career as a solo act in the ‘90s. She charted three solo songs on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list (billed as Tanya Blount): “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” (No. 57 peak in 1994), “Through The Rain” (No. 27; 1994) and “Hold On” (No. 66; 1995).

“Through The Rain” also crossed over onto the Hot 100, reaching No. 90 in October 1994. The track appears on Trotter’s sole solo album, Natural Thing (released via Polydor Records), which climbed to No. 58 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.

She first rose to prominence after she was cast in the 1993 Whoopi Goldberg film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit—as the role of Tanya. She has a breakout moment in the film, when she sings “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” alongside future No. 1 Hot 100 artist Lauryn Hill. The duet appears on the soundtrack to the film, which reached No. 74 on the Billboard 200 in 1994.

05 Sep 2023

Mexican Rapper Lefty SM Killed in Guadalajara

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Lefty SM

Source: @leftysm_ / Instagram

Rising rapper Lefty SM, who had been creating a serious buzz in his home country of Mexico, was shot and killed. He was 31 years old.

The tragic demise of Lefty SM, also known as Juan Carlos Sauceda, was confirmed by his label and Billboard Español. “Dear Alzada friends and family, with profound sadness we’re informing you about the death of our brother, Lefty SM, Juan Carlos Sauceda,” Alzada Records confirmed, in Spanish, on its Instagram page on Sunday (September 3). “Our love and prayers are with his wife María Isabel and their two daughters.”

Carlos Félix, a PR rep for Alzada, confirmed that Lefty SM was shot twice near his home and was pronounced dead at a local hospital. He offered no further comment on a possible motive for the murder. The Mexican government in the Jalisco region was expected to release a formal report on the incident on Monday (September 4).

News of his death caused shock to his peers and fans. MC Davo, a friend and colleague, had just performed with Lefty SM last Friday (September 1) at a show held at the Teatro Metropólitan in Mexico City. “How is this possible? I can’t believe it, really, I can’t believe it man,” he said tearfully in a now-deleted video sent through his Instagram Stories. He would later post a photo of them hanging out at the beach. “Just a few hours ago we were enjoying life. May God have you in his glory.”

Lefty SM had built a solid career in rap and Hip-Hop, starting off in 1992. It wasn’t until 2017 when the native of San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora, started to amass a huge following thanks to his YouTube channel. He built upon that with collaborations, including hits with the Santa Fe Klan such as “Si me caigo”, “Con los ojos rojos” and “Por mi México”. The group expressed their grief over the news online. “This isn’t possible, brother,” they wrote in an Instagram post. “Tell me it’s a lie.”

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05 Sep 2023

Every Country Music Record Broken on the Hot 100 in 2023: From Morgan Wallen to Oliver Anthony Music & More

It’s a good time to be a country artist.

2023 has been an unusually exceptional year for country music. From Morgan Wallen to Luke Combs, Zach Bryan, Oliver Anthony Music and more, country acts are reaching historic highs across Billboard’s charts – including, most notably, on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

As of the latest list (dated Sept. 9), four country songs (defined as those that have also appeared on the Hot Country Songs chart) have hit No. 1 on the Hot 100 this year: Wallen’s 16-week juggernaut “Last Night,” Jason Aldean’s one-week leader “Try That in a Small Town,” Oliver Anthony Music’s two-week viral No. 1 “Rich Men North of Richmond,” and, as of this week, Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves. Dating to the Hot 100’s launch in 1958, only one other calendar year has brought four-or-more country No. 1s: 1975, when five reached the summit (listed below in chronological order of when they topped the Hot 100):

“(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” B.J. Thomas
“Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” Freddy Fender
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” John Denver
“Rhinestone Cowboy,” Glen Campbell
“I’m Sorry,” John Denver

“Last Night” has been particularly historic, as its 16 weeks atop the Hot 100 from March to August mark the most weeks ever at No. 1 for a non-collaboration, and tie it for the second-most overall. It also became the first chart-topper by an unaccompanied solo male country artist in over 42 years, since Eddie Rabbitt’s 1981 hit “I Love a Rainy Night.”

Meanwhile, Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” has spent eight weeks at its No. 2 high on the Hot 100, becoming his top-charting song. It has also crowned the all-format Radio Songs chart, Country Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay, and has reached the top 10 on Pop Airplay and Adult Contemporary.

Even further, 11 country songs have hit the Hot 100’s top 10 this year, almost quadruple the three that reached the region in all of 2022 (Combs’ “The Kind of Love We Make” and Wallen’s “You Proof” and “Don’t Think Jesus”). Three country hits also appeared in the top 10 in 2021 (Gabby Barrett’s “I Hope,” featuring Charlie Puth, Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” and Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like”), after four did in 2020 (“I Hope,” Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber’s “10,000 Hours,” Combs’ “Forever After All” and Wallen’s “7 Summers”). “10,000 Hours” was the only country song to reach the Hot 100’s top 10 in all of 2019.

Zach Bryan has also achieved historic heights. This week, he becomes just the second country artist to chart at least 18 songs on the Hot 100 in a single week, after Wallen. “I Remember Everything” also becomes the first song to ever to top the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs charts. Before this week, his breakout song “Something in the Orange” climbed to No. 10 on the Hot 100 in January, later becoming the longest-charting country song by a male artist, spending 66 total weeks on the survey.

The genre’s 2023 success doesn’t end with Wallen, Combs and Bryan, though. Multiple other country artists have also scored their first Hot 100 entries this year, including Tyler Childers (“In Your Love”), Hailey Whitters (“Everything She Ain’t”) and Warren Zeiders (“Pretty Little Poison”).

As Billboard reported in July, country music consumption in the United States increased by 20.3% year-over-year in the first 26 weeks of 2023, according to Luminate. That’s a significant improvement from the 2.5% growth that it experienced over the same period in 2022. Only K-pop (up 46.2%) and Latin (up 20.6%) saw sharper growths. While that surge is driven mostly by Wallen, a whole new crop of country artists is also contributing, including Bailey Zimmerman, Jelly Roll, and Nate Smith.

As country music continues its chart domination into 2023’s fourth quarter, here’s a look at every country music milestone and record that’s been broken on the Hot 100 in 2023, recapped in chronological order.