Billboard
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On Monday night (Feb. 5), Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign shared a vague post on social media that hinted at a listening event in Chicago for Vultures, the artists’ first joint project as hip-hop duo ¥$. “Vultures United Center Chicago 02 08 24,” the post read without any additional details.
It was at first met with skepticism, given that the United Center did not have the event listed on their schedule and the multiple times the album’s release date has shifted. But once it was listed on the venue’s website first thing the following day — with tickets going on sale at 3 p.m. local time — fans were eager to get their hands on a golden ticket. Before 6 p.m., the album release party, dubbed Vultures Listening Experience, had officially sold out.
Anticipation was high among fans, excited for an early listen of the long-awaited album, which was initially supposed to be released Dec. 15 and was then moved to Dec. 31, then Jan. 12. While it was expected to drop midnight Friday (Feb. 2), as of press time, the album has yet to drop.
Around 7 p.m., fans — mainly young teens who opted for oversized, dark-hued hoodies or a puffer, cargo pants and their favorite sneakers — crowded around the United Center just as rain and thunderstorms cleared. Before doors opened, Billboard spoke to a trio of friends who drove to Chicago from Virginia. Mauricio, the group’s de facto spokesperson, had a one-word response when asked what his expectations were for this event. “Visuals,” he said categorically. “This guy (Kanye) is really about portraying an image and aesthetic and vibe. The music is just kinda the background.”
Next to Mauricio and his buddies was Sterling from New Hampshire. “As soon as the event went on sale on Tuesday, I was able to buy a $235 ticket but it was a battle with Ticketmaster because the site would go down,” he explained. “My jaw would hit the floor but I eventually got in. Then, I bought a Greyhound ticket, took the bus, booked a hotel and spent almost $1,000. I’ve been waiting to see Kanye for 10 years. I’m just happy to be in the same building as him.”
A little past 8 p.m. gates finally opened and people were allowed inside the venue where official merchandise — black tees and white sweatpants and shorts stamped with a Vultures logo — was sold. Once you made your way inside, you were hit with a foggy view of the barely visible stage erected from an open space surrounded by white flags with the Vultures logo.
Chance the Rapper was in attendance and made a grand entry with an entourage in tow waving at the fans who recognized the hometown hero. Once settled in, he, like everyone else there, patiently waited for the listening session to begin. And it did around 10:10p.m., an hour after it was scheduled to start.
The crowd roared at the sight of Ye and Ty who walked up on the stage. Some of the songs that played throughout the night included “Burn,” “Paperwork,” “Everybody,” “Carnival,” “Vultures,” “Hoodrat,” “Paid” and “Talking/Once Again,” which featured a special performance by North West. Undoubtedly, the 10-year-old’s appearance onstage was one of the best moments of the night with the entire venue cheering her on as she rapped alongside her superstar father.
While the 12 songs that were played throughout the listening session were met with rave and approval by fans who nodded along to every beat, they were in disbelief when the music ended and lights at the venue went on signaling that the show had ended. As if on cue, the confused crowd checked their phones once the event was over. To their surprise (or perhaps not), the album hadn’t been released.
Ye and Ty are expected to host another listening event today in New York’s UBS Arena. Below, a list of the takeaways from Chicago’s Vultures Listening Experience event:
A Nod to Chicago
In the first five weeks of 2024, Taylor Swift won two Grammy Awards (including a record-breaking fourth for album of the year, for Midnights), announced a new studio album (onstage at the Grammys!), got her ninth No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart with the revived Lover hit “Cruel Summer,” topped Billboard’s annual Power 100 list for the first time, and saw two of her albums surpass the 2 million U.S. sales mark: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and Lover.
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1989 (Taylor’s Version), released in 2023, jumped past the 2 million mark – counting only traditional album sales (purchases of CD, vinyl, cassette and digital download copies) – in the week ending Jan. 11, according to Luminate. Meanwhile, Lover, released in 2019, flew past the 2 million threshold in the week ending Jan. 18. They mark her ninth and 10th albums to sell at least 2 million in the U.S.
Swift’s top-selling album in the U.S. is Fearless, with 7.286 million copies sold.
Plus, on the latest Top Album Sales chart, the former No. 1 Lover locks up its 200th nonconsecutive week on the tally, as it rises 8-4 on the list dated Feb. 10. It sold 8,000 copies in the week ending Feb. 1 (the tracking week captured on the Feb. 10-dated chart) – up 21% compared to its sales in the previous week. Only two other Swift albums have spent at least 200 weeks on Top Album Sales: her self-titled album, with 286 weeks (and counting), and Fearless, with 224 weeks.
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.
Elsewhere on the new Top Album Sales chart, Grateful Dead score its first No. 1 as Dave’s Picks, Volume 49: Frost Amphitheatre, Stanford U., Palo Alto, CA (4/27/85 & 4/28/85) debuts atop the list. It sold 21,000 in its first week. Rock supergroup The Smile sees its new album Wall of Eyes starts at No. 2 (14,500) while Swift’s chart-topping 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is steady at No. 3 (10,000; down 9%). Green Day’s Saviors slips 1-5 in its second week with 7,000 (down 82%), while Alkaline Trio’s Blood, Hair and Eyeballs bows at No. 6 with just over 6,000. Stray Kids’ chart-topping ROCK-STAR is stationary at No. 7 with 6,000 (down 2%) and Swift’s former leader Midnights falls 5-9 with nearly 6,000 (down 13%).
Two debuts close out the top 10, as Static-X’s Project Regeneration, Volume 2 launches at No. 9 with nearly 5,000, and Future Islands’ People Who Aren’t There Anymore bows at No. 10 with 4,000.
In the week ending Feb. 1, there were 1.118 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 1.3% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 827,000 (up 0.5%) and digital albums comprised 291,000 (up 3.6%).
There were 404,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Feb. 1 (up 3.9% week-over-week) and 418,000 vinyl albums sold (down 2.4%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 2.108 million (down 31% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 2.413 million (down 46.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 5.915 million (down 36.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 4.545 million (down 40.2%) and digital album sales total 1.370 million (down 17.7%).
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Singer-songwriter and Nashville native Conner Smith reaches the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time with his single “Creek Will Rise.”
Released in February 2023 on Valory Records, the track debuts at No. 89 on the Feb. 10-dated chart with 14.4 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 2%) and 3.3 million official U.S. streams (up 177%) Jan. 26-Feb. 1, according to Luminate.
The song’s profile was boosted by the Jan. 26 release of his debut full-length, Smoky Mountains. The 12-song set, which includes “Creek Will Rise,” debuts at No. 42 on Top Country Albums with 6,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week.
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“Creek Will Rise” also holds at its No. 14 high on Country Airplay and jumps 31-23 for a new best on the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart.
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Previously, the 23-year-old charted two tracks on Country Airplay: “Learn From It” (No. 38 peak, 2021) and “Take It Slow” (No. 52, 2023). He scored his first overall chart appearance in October 2021, when “I Hate Alabama” debuted and peaked at No. 21 on Country Digital Song Sales after going viral on TikTok. The song surged after the third-ranked University of Georgia defeated top-seeded University of Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 10, 2022, giving Georgia its first trophy since the 1980 season. The timely lyrics, “I hate Alabama/ I hate crimson red/ I hate how they yell ‘Roll Tide’ when I got a Braves hat on my head” were particularly prescient.
That breakthrough helped Smith ink a deal with Big Machine’s Valory imprint. In January 2022, Billboard named him Country Rookie of the Month. “The Lord’s timing is perfect and that was true with [“I Hate Alabama”]. We put out this song on a Friday and the very next day, Alabama lost in football for the first time in two years,” Smith told Billboard at the time. “That is what made the song explode. So now anytime Alabama is playing, the song gets some love.”
Smith is the first Valory signee to debut on the Hot 100 in 2024. Three songs on the label entered in 2023: Justin Moore and Priscilla Block’s “You, Me, & Whiskey” (No. 37 peak), Thomas Rhett’s “Mamaw’s House” featuring Morgan Wallen (No. 55), and Rhett’s “Angels Don’t Always Have Wings” (No. 69).
Usher teases his highly anticipated Super Bowl Halftime performance, talks about the advice and encouragement he’s received from other Super Bowl Halftime show performers like Katy Perry and Rihanna, his new album Coming Home, why people still resonate with his album Confessions 20 years later, his experience doing his successful Las Vegas residency and whether he’ll return to it, his thoughts on where the future of R&B music is going and more.
UsherPlayin’ the Super Bowl man.
Gail MitchellThis is Gail Mitchell, Executive Director of R&B and Hip-Hop for Billboard magazine, and I couldn’t be more thrilled because to my left is the one and only Usher.
UsherHey Gail, how you doing? How are you doing love? It’s been a while.
Gail MitchellIt hasn’t been a long time actually it’s been three years.
UsherWell three years actually is for everybody else is a long time.
Gail MitchellBut deja vu? Because we were sitting at Caesars Palace, yes, inside the theater. And you were rehearsing the first iteration of your residency. And look at you now on that stage Park MGM and now you’re going to be on a global stage.
UsherVery happy to have been able to have that moment with you very happy to have started that and then 100 shows later on now plays a Super Bowl in Las Vegas. I’m very, very happy.
Gail MitchellYou look very calm, cool and collected outside. It’s a matter of days at this point, right?
UsherI’m trying my hardest not to overthink it but it’s literally 12 to 15 minutes, if I can manage to impress the entire world, over 30 years of a career within 15 minutes. It’s, it’s a lot, you know, I’m definitely happy that I’m coming off a successful residency and kind of in the rhythm of it overall. Because otherwise, you know, you kind of have to restart and relive the moments, but every day going on that stage from Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, it just reminded me of what my music has meant, and how people feel about me, and how I feel about it. You know, after you know, years and years are doing this, you can go tired, and just kind of grow frustrated, especially as music changes the standards of how we count, it changes the standard of what is hot, what’s not the standard of what’s cool, and what is and all of those things can kind of get to your mind. And, you know, make you even question if you really want to continue to do but when I went to Vegas, it just made me excited about all of it all over again.
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