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Jelly Roll delivered a powerful message on the season finale of The Voice Tuesday (May 21), debuting a vulnerable new song titled “I Am Not OK” from his upcoming album. Shrouded in fog, the country star took center stage to give the unreleased ballad its world premiere on the singing competition series’ final episode of […]
Singer-songwriter Vincent Mason, known for his viral hit “Hell Is a Dance Floor,” has signed a label deal with Interscope Records/UMG Nashville/Music Soup, the companies tell Billboard. Mason has been releasing music via Music Soup since his first release, so the deal marks a continuation of his work with that company. The Georgia native’s debut […]
Asher HaVon didn’t have the only big surprise during Tuesday night’s (May 21) finale of The Voice season 25.
Lainey Wilson‘s lifelong dream came true when The Voice mentor Reba McEntire invited her to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“Lainey, I’m so proud of you,” McEntire remarked, after Wilson, Billboard’s recent cover star, performed her new single “Hang Tight Honey”. “You did a wonderful job. And I have heard that I have inspired you and what you’ve done so far. I’m thrilled that I have had anything to do you with your career because you are blowing it up.”
And with that, McEntire made it official. Wilson will be inducted into the Opry.
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Hailing from Baskin, LA, Wilson kicked off the recent 2024 ACM Awards with a mini-medley performance (including a sweet taste of “Hang Tight Honey”) and won for female artist of the year, one of her five nominations on the evening.
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“I was so proud of you at the ACMs the other night,” McEntire continued, “and I couldn’t be more proud to be the one that helps you continue to bridge the gap between our generations, and keep them all going.” Wilson will be elevated into the Opry during a ceremony in Nashville on June 7.
Somebody pinch me…I’m going to become a member of the @opry on June 7! 🥹😭 This is the moment little Lainey dreamed about ever since her first trip to Nashville. Thank you @reba & @NBCTheVoice for the surprise of a lifetime. https://t.co/MxNNvfjqA5— Lainey Wilson (@laineywilson) May 22, 2024
The 32-year old recounted visiting the Opry with her family at age 9. “I knew that I wanted to play there. I wanted to do it. It’s so crazy that you’re asking me to be a member because I look up to you so much.”
Watch the moment below on NBC’s The Voice.
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Wilson, a Record Breaker Award at Billboard‘s Country Power Players, has been carving out her own path in country music in recent years.
“Save Me,” her duet with Jelly Roll, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in December, soon after her coming-of-age song “Watermelon Moonshine” had summited the list — for the shortest stint between No. 1s for a female artist in the chart’s 34-year history.
“Watermelon Moonshine” nabbed both the Academy of Country Music (ACM) and Country Music Association Awards for album of the year, as well as the Grammy for best country album — only the ninth record ever to complete that trifecta. And at November’s CMA Awards, Wilson became the first woman to win entertainer of the year since Taylor Swift in 2011 and the first artist since Garth Brooks in 1991 to win best new artist one year and entertainer of the year the next.
The good times keep on rolling when Wilson opens her Bell Bottoms Up Bar, located at 120 South 3rd Ave., on May 31. The same day, the rising star launches her Country’s Cool Again Tour with two headlining shows at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater.
There’s a long history of country-to-pop crossovers, from Dolly Parton to Shania Twain to Taylor Swift. But 2024 is proving to be the year of the pop-to-country crossover, from Beyoncé‘s Cowboy Carter album to Post Malone‘s twangy “I Had Some Help” to Dua Lipa‘s surprise ACM Awards duet with Chris Stapleton. On the new Billboard […]
Lainey Wilson, the reigning entertainer of the year at both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards, has set an opening date for her new Nashville bar.
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Wilson’s Bell Bottoms Up Bar, located at 120 South 3rd Ave., will open May 31 — the same day Wilson launches her Country’s Cool Again Tour with two headlining shows at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater.
The Bell Bottoms Up bar will feature two stages, four bars and a mezzanine floor, while the rooftop level will feature 1970s western-inspired details, a dance floor, disco-inspired decor and frozen drinks. The three-story, 27,000-square-foot venue will open in partnership with TC Restaurant Group, the business that has also helped launch Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa, Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink and Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar.
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In revealing the upcoming bar and giving fans a sneak peek via social media, the singer-songwriter said, “Yank up them britches and make plans to check it out on Broadway before my Country’s Cool Again tour kicks off that weekend in Nashville!”
Wilson also previously said in a statement, “I’ve always wanted to create a destination for all my fans to visit and create new memories at, in the heart of country music city. So, to have a permanent destination in Nashville, is such a dream come true. I can’t wait for all my Wild Horses to get to experience my home away from home.”
Wilson, the cover star for Billboard’s recent Country Power Players issue, is set to release her latest album Broken Bow, Whirlwind, on Aug. 23. She previously told Billboard the album is “the Western sister of Bell Bottom Country.” She added, “I feel like it’s got a little bit more character [and] cinematic storytelling.” She is working on the album with Jay Joyce, the same producer behind her 2022 album Bell Bottom Country and its predecessor, 2021’s Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’.
For the first time, two songs have at least 70 million official U.S. streams in a single chart week.
Post Malone’s “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, earned 76.4 million in the May 10-16 tracking week, according to Luminate. The same frame, Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” tallies its second week of 70 million-plus streams, with 72 million, a 2% jump from 70.9 million in the May 3-9 frame.
As a result, “I Had Some Help” debuts at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Streaming Songs chart dated May 25, pushing “Not Like Us” down to No. 2.
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That’s the first time two songs have had at least 70 million weekly official U.S. streams since Billboard incorporated streaming data into its charts, with the Streaming Songs tally beginning in 2013. The closest any week had previously come was on the Aug. 22, 2020, survey, when Cardi B’s “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, reigned via 93 million streams, followed by Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry Later,” featuring Lil Durk, with 69.8 million.
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And that’s before one brings Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” the May 25 Streaming Songs chart’s No. 3 song, into the equation. It ranks with 66.3 million streams, up 14%. You can probably see where this is going: the May 25 rundown is the first time three songs have accrued 60 million streams or more in a single week.
“I Had Some Help” reigns in its first week, having been released May 10. It’s Post Malone’s fourth No. 1 on Streaming Songs and second in a row, following his rule as a featured artist on Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight” earlier in May. His other No. 1s were “Rockstar,” featuring 21 Savage, in 2017 and “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse),” billed as a co-lead with Swae Lee, in 2019.
Wallen, meanwhile, boasts his second No. 1, following a long rule for “Last Night” last year. As “Last Night” rose to No. 1 rather than debuting there, “I Had Some Help” becomes his first entry to premiere atop Streaming Songs.
Lamar’s “Not Like Us” achieves an additional distinction of being the first song in the chart’s history to actually rise in streams after first accruing 70 million since chart calculations began including only official streaming content in September 2020. That said, Lamar’s first week (May 3-9) was with a partial week of data, as “Not Like Us” was released May 4.
Going back to that week in September 2020, the new May 25, 2024, chart contains three of the seven biggest streaming weeks since. “I Had Some Help” is the biggest, while “Not Like Us” achieves the fourth largest in its latest frame, while “Million Dollar Baby” boasts the seventh largest.
Biggest Streaming Weeks Since Sept. 19, 2020:
“I Had Some Help,’ Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen, 76.4 million (May 25, 2024)
“Fortnight,” Taylor Swift feat. Post Malone, 76.2 million (May 4, 2024)
“Drivers License,” Olivia Rodrigo, 76.1 million (Jan. 23, 2021)
“Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar, 72 million (May 25, 2024)
“Not Like Us,” Kendrick Lamar, 70.9 million (May 18, 2024)
“Way 2 Sexy,” Drake feat. Future & Young Thug, 67.3 million (Sept. 18, 2021)
“Million Dollar Baby,” Tommy Richman, 66.3 million (May 25, 2024)
“Good 4 U,” Olivia Rodrigo, 62.7 million (June 5, 2021)
“Flowers,” Miley Cyrus, 59.8 million (Feb. 4, 2023)
“Anti-Hero,” Taylor Swift, 59.7 million (Nov. 5, 2022)
Of the above, all were the No. 1 songs of the week on the Streaming Songs chart, aside from “Not Like Us” and “Million Dollar Baby” via the May 25 chart.
Concurrently, as previously reported, “I Had Some Help” reigns on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100, followed by “Not Like Us” and “Million Dollar Baby” at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.
Lil Nas X‘s Billy Ray Cyrus-assisted “Old Town Road” might be the longest-running No. 1 single in Billboard Hot 100 history (19 weeks), but that doesn’t erase the conflicted feelings the Grammy-winning “Industry Baby” rapper has regarding his controversial reception in the country music space back in 2019, compared to how Beyoncé‘s and Shaboozey‘s country tunes have been embraced in 2024.
While he’s “happy” for the two, Lil Nas X told the BBC on May 19, “I wish this would have happened for me. I wasn’t even able to experience this.”
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Lil Nas and Billy Ray took home the 2019 CMA Award for musical event of the year, but, for the “Montero” singer, even that triumph pales in comparison to how Black artists are currently being received in the mainstream country space. Half a decade after the domination of “Old Town Road,” Black artists are making history in the genre.
At the top of 2024, Beyoncé’s smash hit “Texas Hold ‘Em” became the first song by a Black woman to top Hot Country Songs, as well as the first country song by a Black woman to reach No. 1 on the Hot 100. Months later — following the release of Queen Bey’s Cowboy Carter, the first album by a Black woman to top Country Albums — Shaboozey’s J-Kwon-interpolating “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” reached No. 1 on Country Songs, making him and Beyoncé the first Black artists to score back-to-back leaders in the chart’s 66-year history. “A Bar Song” has since reached No. 3 on the Hot 100, marking Shaboozey’s third appearance on the ranking in 2024, following his dual Cowboy Carter features: “Spaghettii” (No. 31, with Linda Martell) and “Sweet * Honey * Buckiin’” (No. 61).
Cowboy Carter also features collaborations with several ascendant Black country stars, including Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Reyna Roberts, Tiera Kennedy and Willie Jones. Upon the release of “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Billboard reported massive streaming boosts for Black women in country music, ranging from Martell to Rissi Palmer and K. Michelle.
Lil Nas’ own post-“Old Town Road” music has further explored his affinity for rap, pop and rock, but he’s hinting at a return to country music, confirming to the BBC that he’s been “trying out some country [sounds] here and there over the last couple of years.”
“I want to feel connected to it and not force it,” he said.
Five years ago, “Old Town Road” — which ultimately won the Grammy for best pop duo/group performance — achieved the rare feat of simultaneously appearing on the Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song spent a single week at No. 19 on Hot Country Songs before Billboard removed the country-trap hit from the ranking for “not [embracing] enough elements of today’s country music” despite Lil Nas X labeling the song as “country” in the track metadata upon its Dec. 3, 2018 release.
The ejection of “Old Town Road” from the Billboard country charts sparked a flurry of debate regarding the acceptance and recognition of Black artists in the country music space, and the industry’s apparent compulsion to solely box Black artists into the hip-hop and R&B genres despite the musical composition of their songs. Some even drew parallels to 2016’s “Daddy Lessons,” widely regarded as Beyoncé’s first proper country song, which did not chart on Country Songs despite a No. 26 peak on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and a subsequent remix with The Chicks.
Since “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X has successfully transitioned from viral meme to bonafide pop star cultural lightning rod. Both of his official projects — 2019’s 7 EP and 2021’s Montero LP — reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. He’s also added a bevy of Hot 100 hits to his arsenal, including “Montero (Call Me By Your Name” (No. 1), “Industry Baby” (No. 1, with Jack Harlow), “Panini” (No. 5) and “Thats What I Want” (No. 8).
05/21/2024
Male solo artists dominate, though three female solo artists and two groups have also achieved the feat.
05/21/2024
Chris Stapleton and Dua Lipa made for one of the biggest surprises of the evening at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards on Thursday night, when they paired up to perform a collaborative version of “Think I’m in Love With You,” a song from Stapleton’s 2023 album HIgher. On Monday (May 20), they officially […]
This week’s slate of new music includes fresh tracks from Luke Combs, Shelby Lynne and Becky Buller. Combs offers up a contribution to Twisters: The Album, while Lynne teams with Karen Fairchild, Ashley Monroe and Gena Johnson to craft new music. Bluegrass mainstay Buller highlights the importance of mental health care on her latest, while Aaron Vance blends radio-ready sonics with a romantic vibe. Meanwhile, Laci Kaye Booth issues her full-length debut, chock-full of top-shelf songwriting.
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Luke Combs, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma”
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Combs issues one of his most ferocious vocals to date from the first blistering notes of this thumping barnburner. Written by Combs with Jonathan Singleton and Jessi Alexander, this song is part of the companion album to the movie Twisters. As such, this careening country-rock number blends lyrics that center on translating the passion for thrill-seeking that comes with chasing tornadoes. “Scared of nothing and I’m scared to death,” is how Combs describes it on one verse, while the wall of thunderous percussion and sinewy guitars churn, winding into a chorus that feels tailor-made for crowds to lift up their cups and shout along with.
Shelby Lynne, “Over and Over”
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As Lynne’s masterpiece album I Am Shelby Lynne celebrates its silver anniversary, the singer-songwriter proves she continues to possess one of music’s most distinctive voices on her new song “Over and Over.” She depicts the tale of someone remembering an old flame, and the cascade of memories that keep trailing from the past to the present. Horns, tambourine and a swell of voices further elevate Lynne’s crystalline voice. The song was produced by Lynne, Karen Fairchild, Ashley Monroe and Gena Johnson, as Lynne prepares an upcoming album with Fairchild.
Becky Buller feat. Aoife O’Donovan, “Jubilee”
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Ten-time International Bluegrass Music Association award winner Buller puts a spotlight on a subject rarely covered in bluegrass music with her latest album, Jubilee, which centers on battling with depression. Released May 17, the album was initially commissioned by the FreshGrass Foundation to debut at their Bentonville, Arkansas festival. Buller and her band recorded the album live; on the title track, featuring Aoife O’Donovan, she remembers the idyllic early days of love, but yearns for a time of respite as demands and stresses pile up — a topic that no doubt resonates deep with so many listeners. The harmonies here are superb, backed by expertly-rendered mandolin, guitar, banjo, bass and fiddle.
Aaron Vance, “Will You Marry Me (Cause I Wanna Be Your Man)”
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Mississippi native Vance has been releasing music for more than a decade, with songs including “Cabin Fever” and “Outlaw Jones,” and has been spotlighted by the Black Opry as well. Here, he dusts off a song he wrote solo in 2015. “Will You Marry Me,” produced by Rich Karg, gives a fun, uptempo vibe to this romantic missive. Groovy, twangy guitars and laid-back percussion provide an undertow as Vance’s clear, resonant voice chronicles a couple’s story from friendship to lovers, as he pops the question in song. Vance is steadily stacking his cards as a singer-songwriter of ineluctable artistic power.
Laci Kaye Booth, Loneliest Girl in the World
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Livingston, Texas native Booth issues her debut full-length album with Loneliest Girl in the World, out via Geffen Records. Across 15 tracks, Booth largely stays within slow grooves and singer-songwritery sonic terrains, which place the focus squarely on her softly smokey voice and vivid story arcs. She tries to shake off her overthinking, “good girl” ways in “Nightmare” and in “South,” she muses how she’ll handle it if her lover’s wanderlust for open spaces leads him from the city and out West. Snippets of phone calls with family lead into the album’s closer “Hang on Houston,” as she sings of missing home as she chases her dreams in the “ten-year town” of Nashville. Smart songwriting and tasteful production proliferate the album, highlighting her talents as both writer and vocalist and making Booth one of the genre’s brightest newcomers.
