Dance
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Daft Punk debuts on Billboard‘s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart (dated Dec. 10) with Homework: Remixes at No. 17. The limited edition two-LP Record Store Day release earned 2,000 equivalent album units, with nearly all from physical sales, Nov. 25 (its release day) through Dec. 1, according to Luminate.
The set supports the 25th anniversary of the original Homework album, which spent 18 weeks on the Billboard 200 in 1997-98 (peaking at No. 150); it predated the June 2001 inception of the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
Homework: Remixes contains original remixes of Homework hits “Around the World,” by Masters at Work and Todd Terry; “Burnin’,” by DJ Sneak and Ian Pooley; and “Revolution 909,” by Roger Sanchez and Junior Sanchez, among others.
Homework: Remixes is Daft Punk’s 11th charted title on Top Dance/Electronic Albums. The act’s six No. 1s are tied with The Chainsmokers’ total for the second-most of all acts – and the most among duos or groups. Only Lady Gaga and Louie DeVito have more (seven each).
Daft Punk also improves on the latest list with Random Access Memories (9-7, up 15%) and Discovery (23-16, up 3%). Random, the act’s longest-running title with 369 chart weeks and counting, reaped 21 weeks at No. 1 in 2013-14. Discovery, released just prior to the chart’s start in 2001, hit No. 4 that year and made it to No. 1 at last, following the announcement of the act’s dissolution, in 2021.
‘All’ in Top 10
Shifting to the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, Alok, Sigala and Ellie Goulding lift into the top 10 with “All by Myself” (15-10). Alok’s third top 10, Sigala’s sixth and Goulding’s 10th, the song is scoring core-dance airplay on Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel, iHeartRadio’s Evolution and Channel Q, among others. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)
On the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, “Myself,” which samples Depeche Mode’s 1990 smash “Enjoy the Silence,” motors to a new peak (33-26). The track earned earning 629,000 U.S. streams, up 38%, in the wake of the Nov. 25 release of its club mix.
More ‘Good’ News
Speaking of Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, David Guetta and Bebe Rexha reign for an 11th week with “I’m Good (Blue).” The total ties Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” for the second-most weeks at No. 1 in 2022; Elton John and Dua Lipa’s “Cold Heart (Pnau Remix)” spent 22 of its total 36 frames at No. 1 this year, after first reigning in October 2021.
“Good,” which earns top Airplay Gainer honors with 62.9 million all-format radio airplay audience impressions (up 8%), also matches Guetta and Rexha’s longest commands on the chart, as his “Hey Mama,” featuring Rexha, Nicki Minaj and Afrojack, dominated for 11 weeks in 2015.
“Good” leads the Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs and Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales charts for a 12th week each, with 10.1 million streams and sold 5,000 downloads sold in the tracking week.
Grab your umbrellas because while it may be December, Kelly Clarkson‘s forecast calls for the very best kind of rain. The pop star opened her talk show on Monday (Dec. 5) by blazing through “It’s Raining Men” by The Weather Girls.
“Humidity is rising, barometer’s getting low/ According to all sources, the street’s the place to go/ ‘Cause tonight for the first time, just about half past 10/ For the first time in history, it’s gonna start raining men,” she sang before belting out the track’s famous refrain of “It’s raining men, hallelujah it’s raining men!”
Originally released as the lead single off The Weather Girls’ 1982 album Success, “It’s Raining Men” became a No. 1 hit on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart — and bonafide gay anthem — that October. Also peaking at No. 46 on the Billboard Hot 100, the testosterone-soaked track eventually received a Grammy nomination in the now-defunct best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocals category.
Since the start of December, Clarkson has invited both Dolly Parton and Jimmy Fallon to her studio to duet on, respectively, “9 to 5” and Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe.” Other recent Kellyoke picks by America’s original Idol include Lady Gaga’s Chromatica-era lead single “Stupid Love,” “Only Happy When It Rains” by Garbage, “Dream a Little Dream of Me” as recorded by Mama Cass with The Mamas and the Papas and more.
Plus, the erstwhile coach of The Voice and Ariana Grande also dropped a live recording of “Santa, Can’t You Hear Me,” their 2021 Christmas collab, just in time for the holiday season.
Watch Clarkson power through “It’s Raining Men” below.
New year; new vision.
As 2023 draws closer, Alex Sholler — known to many as the mega-successful producer/singer/songwriter/instrumentalist/party-starter Alison Wonderland — is revving up the engines of her latest venture: FMU Records.
With the label, Sholler intends to spotlight left of center electronic music made by up-and-coming artists along with her own Dark Electronic genre currently coming into greater focus via her Whyte Fang project.
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This Thursday (December 8), FMU Records will drop its debut release, “I Surrender.” A collaboration between Argentinean producer Dabow and South African artist Jon Casey, the track is a play-it-loud tapestry of percussion punctuated with trap bass and wavy synths that serves as a mood setter for FMU.
With the label, Sholler hopes to use her global platform to give shine to rising stars and provide a place where artists can release music without bowing to the kinds of craven, algorithm-based marketing strategies many begrudgingly endure.
“For FMU, we are just going to push good music,” she tells Billboard. “Artists won’t have to do TikToks to ensure their tracks do well. I just want to get cool, good music out there.”
Distribution for FMU is being handled via Ingrooves, while Alison Wonderland music will continue to be handled by EMI/AUS — which released Alison Wonderland’s three studio albums, including 2022’s Loner, which hit No. 3 on Dance/Electronics albums this past May.
But early 2023 sees Sholler putting her focus outside of Alison Wonderland, with FMU Records set to drop the debut album from her Whyte Fang project this spring. After spending six years on the backburner while Sholler took over the scene as Alison Wonderland, the project soft-launched earlier this year with a trio of singles — “Girl,” “333” and “TIDES” — that showcased a hypnotic, hard-edged sound well-suited for late nights in dark clubs.
Dropping March 31, 2023, the Whyte Fang album will include that trio of previously released singles and come in tandem with a warehouse launch party happening in New York earlier that month. The event will feature a Whyte Fang performance, which Sholler calls “not just a musical, but a whole artistic experience where the lighting, visuals, set, and live listening experience is all very cohesive.
“I’m just excited for people to see what’s going on in my mind,” she adds, “and [I’m excited] that I have complete creative control over it.”
The launch of this label was described in a press release as “one of the most important steps” in your career thus far. Does that feel true for you and if so, why?
Yes, this does feel true to me. I have always felt like I should take advantage of my reach as an established artist and give up-and-coming artists a chance to use my platform and keep control of their music — it’s something I feel very passionate about now.
I think that currently, artists feel a lot of pressure to be content creators, marketing managers, and promoters. I don’t want artists to feel like a statistic, I want them to feel like humans. I’m finding it hard to navigate myself in this world, with the pressure of only looking at numbers rather than the music. I just want to throw cool parties and hope things grow organically. I want to use my platform to give these young artists exposure.
My understanding is also that the label is intended to give you yourself more freedom. What does that mean to you? What will it look like in practice?
My Alison project is not able to be signed to FMU Records, but Whyte Fang is, so I’m able to really do what I want, without the opinion of teams of people. I guess I also have the freedom to sign whatever track I want, which is really exciting.
Do you feel like you haven’t had as much freedom as you would have liked in prior label relationships?
I 100% didn’t have as much freedom in past relationships, but I don’t think anyone does with big record labels. Don’t get me wrong, I have always had the freedom to release the music I wanted, but in terms of getting marketing budgets or singles supported you have to play ball with what the label wants to spend money on. Things like being told to do TikToks for my songs to get more budget makes me sad; it feels sterile and not the type of creative I am, and I’m sick of it. It’s archaic.
What’s the tone for FMU? Is there one song that sort of sums up your ethos?
I’m all about people being open-minded. Dark Electronic music is really what comes to mind; it’s what I gravitate towards and with this label, I’m really going to be able to showcase that. I used to run warehouse parties, and I really find the dark, minimalistic vibe very appealing.
Will FMU release future Alison Wonderland projects and if so, where does that put your relationship with EMI/AUS?
For the record, EMI/AUS have always been incredibly supportive and always has let me do what I want. I love that team, they support this [new project], and they are aware of this. I love the people that work there, and they have done an incredible job. They have always given me freedom and fought for me — they are the rare exception of people in this industry who are decent and care about the artist, and I mean that with all my heart. There should never be any negativity toward that team. I love them. My previous comments are about the larger record label machine, not about any particular individuals.
Tell me about the Whyte Fang album and why 2023 is the right time to release it?
Because I’m f–king ready! I’ve been bursting at the seams, and I’m going to go so hard. I’m putting my heart and soul into this album. I feel like so much of the experimental music I make is overshadowed by what my record label has picked to put into the forefront, and I need a home for that, because I really gravitate towards those beats.
This week in dance music: Kygo announced that his Palm Tree Music Festival will debut in Aspen with co-headliner Jack White in February, Drake made a rare showing as Billboard‘s top dance chart artist of 2022, LCD Soundystem paid homage to the late Christine McVie amidst their Brooklyn Steel residency and Sam Smith’s and Kim Petras’ unstoppable “Unholy” hit No. 1 over on the Dance Mix/Show Airplay chart.
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The Martinez Brothers & Tokischa, “Kilo”
Back in 2016, The Martinez Brothers linked up with Miss Kittin on “Stuff in the Trunk,” an after hours-type heater on which Miss Kittin half-sings, half-chants suggestively over frenetic percussion. The duo’s’ newest track, “Kilo,” is its spiritual successor. “Kilo” channels that same 4:00 a.m., blurred-vision vibe while dipping into the Brothers’ oft-visited Latin roots, mixing their groovy tech house with reggaetón into an alluring track with frenzied, hard-hitting drums and trippy melodies. On vocals this time is Dominican artist Tokischa, whose melodic rap conveys a playfulness with a glint of mischief. A summer favorite throughout The Martinez Brothers’ Hï Ibiza residency, “Kilo” has staying power for fall and winter’s dark days and darker nights. — KRYSTAL RODRIGUEZ
Nocturnal Sunshine feat. Cha$ey Jon£s, “LDN”
Did you know before Maya Jane Coles was a known queen of deep house, she was cooking up nasty hip-hop beats with her boy Cha$ey Jon£s? “How long have we been friends, like 20 years?” the producer recently asked in an Instagram video. “24 to be exact,” her masked friend replied. “Yeah, we’re basically family.”
The pair first started making music when they were 14, and four years ago, they reconnected in the studio to produce LDN, a five-track EP that Coles calls “just the beginning of a new chapter.” Released under her Nocturnal Sunshine alias, the titular lead track is a dark and brooding bit of grimy goodness; a beautiful blend of her sensibilities to build a complex mood and a very clear understanding of golden era boom bap style. Cha$ey Jon£s delivers a smooth and mean performance on the mic. It’s an inspiring sound, a little bit evil and a little bit sexy, and we’re very happy to hear there’s yet more to come. – KAT BEIN
WayOfLife, Insides Outed
https://open.spotify.com/album/3AFkec7yqcf04IbJP3CMul?si=23OzRkopTCuLN-wzDXg0ug
WayOfLife is the artist name of Russell Wardlow, otherwise known as resident #78756 of Nebraska State Penitentiary. A longtime musician currently serving a 14-year sentence, Wardlow spent a two-week period of solitary confinement (due to a covid outbreak) making music, which found its way to Eli Goldstein of Soul Clap, who’d become acquainted with Wardlow via the non-profit Give a Beat, which uses music to fight mass incarceration and recruited musicians, including Goldstein, to recite Wardlow’s lyrical poetry for a radio series.Initially passing on the solitary confinement tracks, Goldstein took a deeper listen and found that the lyrics brought him to tears. He then professionally produced the music and is now releasing the nine track album via Soul Clap Records. Revenue from the album will go towards a fund for Wardlow’s eventual reentry to life outside of prison.
“The poem was about fatherhood and my first child had just been born so I connected deeply with his words,” Goldstein tells Billboard. “We started talking on the phone during his incarceration in Nebraska and built a deep relationship… When we got to re-connect, we agreed to release the music as an album on Soul Clap Records. Over the last few months I’ve been working with BK based producer Taylor Bense to make beats worthy of the raps, and it’s an honor to take a new step for myself and the label with this supremely talented artist!”
“My desire is to grow in my personal development, as a father of two great sons, and in my creative works to be an effective messenger and bridge from prison to the world,” Wardlow says. “There are stories behind these walls the world needs to hear; until that can happen, I will have my ‘insides outed’ to create that insight of the strife of those inside.” — KATIE BAIN
RL Grime & Nero, “Renegade”
A hot track ID since RL Grime debuted the song in his annual Halloween mix, “Renegade” marks the first original music from Nero since 2018, and the group’s first collaboration with Grime. While Nero has indeed been out of the spotlight for a minute (besides a handful of remixes, including one of deadmau5′ 2021 single “XYZ”), there’s no forgetting the voice of Nero vocalist Alana Watson, whose chromatic wail glistens above a tough electro production. “Renegade” is out via Grime’s Sable Valley imprint. — K. Bain
Lachi, “Black Girl Cornrows”
There’s nothing better in this world than feeling good in your own skin, and Lachi’s latest single “Black Girl Cornrows” has a bumpin’ beat and self-love lyrics that can build you up to a higher state. The song is released in celebration of International Disabilities Day, a cause championed by the legally blind singer and producer, whose work with Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities (RAMPD) and other organizations has brought her to meet President Biden and help reshape the inclusion riders at this year’s upcoming Grammy awards. Outside of its positive and important message, “Black Girl Cornrows” simply bangs, with co-production on its energetic grooves from Black Caviar and two ferocious features from Question ATL and Yvie Oddly. When you put this song on, you’ll be ready to hit the streets in your weirdest look, stalking the sidewalk proudly and joyously for all to admire. – K. Bein
Snakehips feat. Lucky Daye & BIA, “Solitude”
U.K. duo Snakehips are ending 2022 with some exciting news: their debut album, never worry, is finally headed our way early next year. (“Probably shoulda done this years ago but better late than never,” they joked on Twitter.) With the announcement, they’ve shared their latest track, “Solitude” featuring Lucky Daye and BIA. Sweet yet wistful, “Solitude” is a plea from one lover to another to take the leap: “Come and break my solitude, ‘cause I wanna share it all with you,” BIA sings. It’s the type of song you play when you’re missing that special someone in the flesh, and texts and FaceTime no longer cut it. In addition to “Solitude,” never worry will feature previously released singles “Who’s Gonna Love You Tonight,” “All Around The World” and “Water.” — K.R.
Sam Smith and Kim Petras parade to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart (dated Dec. 3) with “Unholy.” The song is Smith’s third leader on the list, following “Diamonds” (for a week in December 2020) and “Promises,” with Calvin Harris (two weeks, 2018). Petras scores her first No. 1 on the survey.
“Unholy” drew core-dance airplay, via its Disclosure remix, on Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel, KMVQ-HD2 San Francisco and WZFL (Revolution 93.5) Miami, among other signals, in the Nov. 21-27 tracking week, according to Luminate. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)
Additionally remixed by Acraze, “Unholy” became the first leader for both Smith and Petras on the Oct. 29-dated Billboard Hot 100. Speaking of Acraze – just crowned atop Billboard‘s Top New Dance/Electronic Artists recap for 2022 – “Believe,” featuring Goodboys, debuts on both Dance/Mix Show Airplay (No. 40) and the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (No. 47). It samples Coco Star’s 1996 track “I Need a Miracle,” which was popularized when Fragma sampled it in 2000’s “Toca’s Miracle.”
“Believe” is Acraze’s follow-up to “Do It to It” (featuring Cherish), which hit Nos. 2 and 3 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, respectively.
Staying with the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, Taylor Swift storms into the top 10 with her current Hot 100 leader “Anti-Hero” (11-7). It’s her ninth top 10 among 17 charted titles, dating to the debut of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (No. 21 peak, 2012). Swift led with “Wildest Dreams,” remixed by R3HAB, for a week in 2015.
“Anti-Hero” has drawn core-dance support for its Kungs remix on iHeartRadio’s Pride Radio and for its Jayda G remix on SiriusXM’s Diplo’s Revolution. The song, additionally remixed by Roosevelt, ILLENIUM and others, is also collecting airplay on Channel Q.
Additionally on Dance/Mix Show Airplay, Regard reaps his sixth top 10 and Drop G earns his first with “No Love for You” (19-8). Plus, Nicki Minaj notches her 10th top 10 with “Super Freaky Girl” (12-9).
Shifting to the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, The Prodigy returns at No. 13 with its breakthrough The Fat of the Land, following its reissue as a 25th-anniversary double silver vinyl release. The 1997 set previously appeared on the chart, also at No. 13, for a week in 2019; its original release pre-dated the tally’s 2001 inception. The Prodigy has notched five Top Dance/Electronic Albums top 10s, including its 2004 two-week No. 1 Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.
Land, which includes signature songs “Firestarter” (No. 30 on the Hot 100, 1997), “Smack My Bitch Up” (No. 89 on the Hot 100, 1998) and “Breathe” (No. 18 on Alternative Airplay, 1997), earned 3,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in July 1997.
When you think of next-generation artists liable to tribute Christine McVie in the wake of her unexpected death at age 77, LCD Soundsystem probably isn’t the first one that comes to mind. But the Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter’s radio-ready pop hooks have been so inescapable for the last half century that even a band more likely to name-check Can than the Mac couldn’t avoid paying homage to the rock legend during a show on the day of her passing.
Playing an Amex card members-only show at Brooklyn Steel on Wednesday (Nov. 30) night, the indie dance outfit wove a bit of McVie’s Rumours side 1 closer “Songbird” into their own melancholic foray, “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down.” Keyboard player Nancy Whang took lead vocal on the “Songbird” segment during the encore, and once the show wrapped, McVie’s Mac track “Everywhere” (which incidentally has been enjoying a chart bump thanks to a Chevy ad synch) played over the speakers as the crowd emptied into the night.
And that wasn’t the only unexpected cover to crop up during the eighth night of the band’s residency at the Brooklyn venue. For the first time ever in concert, James Murphy & Co. busted out a cover of The Human League’s “Seconds,” a harrowing gem from synth-pop group’s underrated classic Dare!. LCD released a live-in-studio cover of “Seconds” on their Electric Lady Sessions album in 2019, but this was the first time fans got to hear it live – and Murphy does a pretty convincing Philip Oakey impersonation while intoning the tragically timely chorus “It took seconds of your time to take his life / It took seconds” on that 41-year-old song about gun violence.
Prior to the show’s start, Amex card members lucky enough to score tickets were treated to an open bar and savory free burritos from El Gallo Taqueria. In case you’re thinking, “Wait, there are enough Amex card holders who love LCD Soundsystem to fill an 1,800-capacity music venue?”, don’t forget this a Brooklyn crowd — and an East Williamsburg one at that. Sure, there were some boomers and zoomers, but the mostly millennial crowd dancing itself clean certainly remembers the pre-Apple Store days of Williamsburg when the group’s 2010 masterpiece This Is Happening could be heard booming out of any of the now-shuttered dive bars on Bedford Avenue. So naturally, the self-parodying “Losing My Edge” was one of the most enthusiastically received songs in the set list – after all, it’s become a painfully resonant anthem for aging hipsters everywhere who aren’t quite ready to throw in the towel on home breweries and 45s-only DJ sets. But hey, when LCD is on stage, the old days feel brand new again
Drake reigns as Billboard‘s Top Dance/Electronic Artist for the first time in 2022, thanks to the success of his underground house-focused album Honestly, Nevermind. The set also finishes as the year’s Top Dance/Electronic Album.
With just the singular performance of Honestly, Nevermind, Drake edges out Lady Gaga as the Top Dance/Electronic Albums Artist, who closes the year at No. 2 off the strength of her five charting albums during the chart year. Gaga is also No. 2 on the overall Top Dance/Electronic Artists list, after ending 2020 and 2021 at No. 1.
Explore All of Billboard’s 2022 Year-End Charts
Honestly debuted at No. 1 on the July 2-dated weekly edition of the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, amassing 19 weeks at No. 1 in the chart year. Drake sat at the summit every week since except one, when Madonna bowed at No. 1 with her career-spanning remix collection Finally Enough Love on September 3. Drake’s 19 weeks at the top were second only to Lady Gaga’s 25 with The Fame: no other album totaled more than one frame at No. 1 in the 2022 chart year.
Drake also completes 2022 at No. 3 on the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Artists chart, with 10 Honestly tracks, the most of all acts, finishing the year in the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs top 50, led by “Massive” at No. 11. “Falling Back,” which became Drake’s first Hot Dance/Electronic Songs No. 1 (July 2), comes in at No. 15 on the year-end list. The album spawned six additional top 10s (eight in total) during the year, with year-end finishes as follows: “Texts Go Green” (No. 17), “A Keeper” (No. 18), “Calling My Name” (No. 19), “Currents” (No. 22), “Flight’s Booked” (No. 23) and “Overdrive” (No. 40).
Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts dated Nov. 20, 2021 through Nov. 12, 2022. The rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology details, and the November-November time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.
Speaking of the year-end Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, Elton John and Dua Lipa hold the No. 1 spot with “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix).” The inventive pop/dance remixed track, which references John classics “Rocket Man” and “Sacrifice,” spent 32 weeks at No. 1 on the weekly chart during the year, almost three times as many as any other song (Beyonce’s Grammy-nominated “Break My Soul” was next, with 11 weeks at No. 1; more on her below).
“Heart” first hit No. 1 on October 23, 2021, compiling four frames at No. 1 prior to the chart year; its 36 total weeks at No. 1 are second only to the 69 chart-topping weeks achieved in 2018-20 by Marshmello and Bastille’s “Happier” since the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart’s January 2013 inception.
Elton John also ends the year as the No. 1 Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Artist. He was the only artist to register more than one leader on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in 2022, as in September he teamed with Britney Spears to follow “Heart” with “Hold Me Closer,” which also referenced John’s hits, including “Tiny Dancer,” “The One” and “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.” John is also the only act with more than one song in the year-end Hot Dance/Electronic Songs top 10, with “Closer” coming in at No. 9.
“Heart” also ends 2022 at No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs and Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales charts, earning 32 weeks apiece at No. 1 during the year on both lists; the longest span of any song. Plus, John completes 2022 at No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales Artists chart, while Drake takes No. 1 honors on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs Artists.
Circling back to Beyoncé, she finishes 2022 as the No. 2 Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Artist, with her Renaissance album leading to her first four Hot Dance/Electronic Songs top 10s, including the aforementioned “Break My Soul,” “Summer Renaissance,” “Pure/Honey” and “Thique.” “Break,” with its interpolation of Robin S.’s “Show Me Love,” ends at No. 2 on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs year-end list, as it earned top 10 finishes on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (No. 2), Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (No. 4) and Dance/Mix Show Airplay (No. 8).
David Guetta, who was the No. 1 Top Dance/Electronic Artist of 2015, had another banner year in 2022, this time finishing at No. 6 on the list. Guetta earned 16 chart entries on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in 2022, the most of all acts (his 72 charted titles in the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart’s history leads all acts too). His collaboration with Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue),” became Guetta’s second career leader in October, spending seven weeks at No. 1 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (a total which continues to increase at press time); besides “Heart” and “Break,” “Good” was the only song to spend multiple frames at No. 1 in 2022.
The Grammy-nominated “Good,” based upon an interpolation of Eiffel 65’s 2000 Eurodance smash “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” grabs the No. 6 spot on the year-end Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. It was also No. 4 for 2022 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales list, with Guetta also garnering a No. 4 finish on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales Artists chart.
Shifting gears, Acraze is the No. 1 Top Dance/Electronic New Artist, with his breakthrough hit, “Do It To It,” featuring Cherish, securing top 10 finishes on both the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (No. 6) and Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (No. 7) tallies. “Do It” did it at No. 3 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs for 12 weeks, from December-March, and the track even crossed to the Billboard Hot 100, darting as high as No. 65 in January.
Kordhell comes in second on the Top Dance/Electronic New Artist list, as his viral hit “Murder In My Mind” made it to No. 7 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in October. Another viral act, Dxrk, ranked third on the Top Dance/Electronic New Artist tally, with his “Rave” reaching No. 9 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in May.
Sickick was fourth on the Top Dance/Electronic New Artist list, thanks to two viral tracks: “I Can Feel It” (which mashes up Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” and Michael Jackson’s “Remember The Time”) and “Frozen,” Madonna’s 1998 Ray of Light electronic ballad which began as a remix and became a collaboration with Madonna, Fireboy DML and 070 Shake.
Meanwhile, Doja Cat clawed her way to No. 1 on the Dance/Mix Show Airplay Artist listing, with six titles hitting the chart during the year (only second to Guetta’s seven), including top 10s “Get Into It (Yuh)” and “Vegas.” Consistency and longevity was Doja’s strategy, as all six of her songs peaked between Nos. 10 and 12, with three logging 20 weeks or more on the chart.
Harry Styles shined bright as the No. 2 Dance/Mix Show Airplay Artist, with his “As It Was” ending as the No. 1 Dance/Mix Show Airplay Song. Next on that year-end list, at No. 2, is Kx5’s first offering, “Escape,” featuring Hayla. “Escape” spent eight weeks at No. 1 from April-June; only “Cold Heart” reigned for longer. Kx5, the team of Deadmau5 and Kaskade (new as an entity in 2022), also finishes at No. 5 on the Top Dance/Electronic New Artist list.
Kygo may be mostly closed associated with swaying palm trees and gentle ocean waves, but the producer’s Palm Tree Music Festival is expanding to a location with a lot more snow.
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Today (Nov. 30), the producer announces his Palm Music Tree festival will set-up shop in the ski haven of Aspen, Colorado this Feb. 24-25.
Kygo will headline one night of the event, with Jack White headlining the second. The rest of the lineup includes Gryffin, King Princess, Cannons and Forester, with additional acts to be announced in the coming months.
“Aspen holds a special place in our hearts, and we love spending time there,” Kygo tells Billboard. “We thought it would be fun to bring to the festival to a beautiful location that has provided so many incredible memories over the years and with partners who are like family to us.”
The Aspen edition of Palm Tree Music Festival is produced by Kygo’s own Palm Tree Crew, along with Belly Up Aspen and C3 Presents. This is the event’s first ever winter edition, with the other U.S. show happening in The Hamptons this past June and additional recent editions in Croatia and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
While winter temperatures are perhaps counterintuitive to the sea breeze and boats of Kygo persona, the Aspen edition of Palm Tree Music festival does much to expand the leisure-centric lifestyle brand that the Norwegian producer born Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll and his manger Myles Shear have built over the years. In Kygo’s Billboard cover story this past March, the pair noted how their goal with Palm Tree is to emulate Jimmy Buffett’s massively successful Margaritaville lifestyle brand.
This makes the upcoming Aspen event something of a full circle moment, with Kygo and Shear first meeting the AM radio icon years ago at the Belly Up venue in — you guessed it — Aspen.
“To be able to produce an event like this here in our community is something we have been diligently working on for a long time,” say David and Danny Goldberg of Belly Up Aspen.
“We are super proud to launch our first winter edition of Palm Tree Music Festival in Aspen and build something that has never been done during the peak winter season in the middle of downtown Aspen,” adds Shear. “Palm Tree Crew is making history here in Aspen and we are stoked to finally see this event come to life.
Tickets for Palm Tree Music Festival Aspen go on sale tomorrow (Dec. 1.)
Diplo looks like he’s having the time of his life while attending the FIFA World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
In a pair of photos posted to his Instagram Story on Wednesday (Nov. 23), the DJ is seen wearing a traditional long shirt called a thobe, paired with a loose red and white cloth headdress known as a gutra while watching a match between Costa Rica and Spain from one of the eight stadiums built for this year’s World Cup.
“Damn spain up 7-0 i’m not even paying attention I just wanna make sure my hat thing looks alright,” he wrote, posting one of the same selfies on Twitter.
His Major Lazer bandmate Ape Drums also shared a number of videos from the occasion, including Diplo goofing off and pretending to be a salesperson at one of the arena’s merch stands. “What’s up, habibi? What you want? Anything you want I get for you. I get anything for you,” he quipped to the camera as Ape Drums laughed from behind the lens.
The pair were in Doha along with Walshy Fire for Major Lazer to headline the opening night of the Daydream Festival Qatar on Tuesday night. The fest continues for seven more days through Dec. 18 with performances by Alesso, Nervo, Armin Van Buuren, Tiësto, Jonas Blue and more.
Earlier in the week, Diplo also cheered on Team USA, who will next face England in a match scheduled for Friday.
“We came to support our boys in Qatar and made some new friends,” he tweeted at the time, posting a video as he chanted “USA! USA!” before pointing out a Qatari fan waving an American flag.
Check out Diplo’s many tweets from the World Cup below and Ape Drums’ Instagram Stories here.
Earlier this month 5,000 dance fans gathered at Austin’s Seismic Dance Event to do what dance fans to best — dance.
Held at The Concourse Project, a 7-acre venue holding three stages, 2022 marked the third year for the boutique festival, which launched in Austin in 2018 and has since become a destination for global house and techno acts.
“We want to deliver the big festival experience with an intimate vibe,” Seismic co-founder Andrew Parsons, who produces the event alongside his wife Kelly Gray, told Billboard in 2019. “We aren’t trying to sell 20,000 tickets, because that’s not the goal. We always want to keep it boutique.”
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Parsons and Gray are the creative minds behind RealMusic Events, the Austin-based production company that hosts Seismic and has been credited for injecting underground electronic flavor into the “live music capital of the world.”
The festival is also committed to sustainability, partnering wiht Blond:ish’s organization Bye Bye Plastic for separate waste streams into landfill, compost and recycling. (At the 2021 event, 16,468 single-use plastic cups were saved from landfills.) The 2022 Seismic lineup featured heavy-hitters including Jamie xx, Charlotte de Witte, The Martinez Brothers, Gorgon City and Oliver Heldens‘ HI-LO project.
Additionally this year, UK legend Fatboy Slim played a set that launched with the indelible piano chords to his all-time biggest hit “Praise You” before shifting into Freddy Mercury’s isolated vocal from Queen‘s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” (Seriously, listen to it.) Parisian rising star Chloé Caillet whipped up a heady, sexy vibe; scene queen LP Giobbi meshed house music and classic rock samples; and Palestinian producer Sama’ Abdulhadi delivered the hard-hitting techno that’s made her a global name.
Relive these moments or experience them for the first time with the full Seismic 2022 sets from these four stars below.