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The details and entries for all 62 categories in the inaugural Music Awards Japan, set for May 21 and 22 in Kyoto, have been announced. Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) has been named the Symbol of Music Awards Japan 2025, the act that personifies the spirit of this year’s MAJ.
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About 3,000 entries were announced, with 256 songs up for Song of the Year, 167 artists in Artist of the Year, 171 albums in Album of the Year, 61 artists in New Artist of the Year, 100 songs in Top Global Hit from Japan and 24 songs in Best Song Asia.
Voting is currently underway among artists and creatives nominated for an award, plus media-related and other music industry professionals from Japan and overseas. The nominees will be announced on Thursday, April 17, and the award winners will be revealed at the ceremony set for May 21 and 22. All of the entries can be viewed on the official MAJ website, and Spotify is currently celebrating the entries with its “museum” playlist. Fans can check out playlists for each category on various streaming platforms including d Hits, Amazon Music Unlimited and Apple Music.
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Atarashii Gakko! took to the stage at the event in Tokyo announcing this year’s entries. The four-member group is slated to perform at the music event called matsuri ’25: Japanese Music Experience Los Angeles on Mar. 16 with Ado and YOASOBI, an event by the Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA) that organizes MAJ.
In addition to the main categories mentioned above, MAJ has a total of 62 categories including: International Special Awards — awarded to songs that have won an award for Best Song or an equivalent prize in music awards in six countries — linked to award events in South Korea, China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam; the award for Largest Live Audience honoring Japanese artists who attracted the largest crowds in shows; and the Honorary Award in Music Technology, which celebrates Japanese music-tech professionals who have contributed to the music industry on a global scale.
Fans can participate in the selection process for the following five categories: through Spotify’s voting function for the Best of Listeners’ Choice awards for Domestic Song and lnternational Song powered by the streaming platform; the Special Award: Karaoke for J-pop and Enka / Kayōkyoku powered by DAM & JOYSOUND honoring songs sung the most at karaoke; and for the Special Award: USEN Request Oshi-Katsu Request Artist of the Year powered by USEN honoring the song requested the most on the USEN Oshi-Katsu Request Ranking.
Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) has been named the Symbol of Music Awards Japan 2025, the act symbolizing the guiding principle that MAJ aims to achieve. The trio consisting of Haruomi Hosono and the late musicians Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi formed in 1978, sparking a techno-pop craze in Japan and successfully touring internationally. The group was chosen as this year’s Symbol for the way they transcend borders and eras, showing a future that the MAJ strives to aim for. A YMO tribute concert will take place at the Kyoto International Conference Center on May 20, with performing artists and other details announced later.
International Special Awards: This category was established by CEIPA, the organizer of MAJ, in collaboration with music awards and their organizers in six countries: South Korea, China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam. It recognizes songs that have won the award for Best Song or an equivalent prize at music awards in the six countries. The top executives of the music awards in each country, or those nominated by the top executives, will participate in MAJ as overseas voting members. The category aims to connect the countries of the Pacific Rim through music, such as by realizing collaborations between artists from various countries through the collaborations between music awards.
Largest Live Audience: This award honors the artist who attracted the largest number of people to their shows. Based on the research data of the Live Entertainment Research Committee — a group of organizations and companies that surveys the size of the domestic live entertainment market, instances of overseas expansion, etc., and compiles an annual report — the artist who attracted the largest number of people to their live performances in Japan in 2024 will be awarded. This award celebrates the activities of artists who have energized the live music scene that has been on the road to recovery since the end of the pandemic.
Best Radio-Break Song: Radio DJs/personalities, directors and producers from 99 radio stations across Japan, who are at the forefront of the music scene and in direct contact with listeners, will vote as special radio voting members. This category will select songs with innovative appeal that update the music scene through a professional perspective, based on the music airplay data compiled by radiko.
Overseas Voting Members (partial list):Lucian Grainge (Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Group)Rob Stringer (Chairman, Sony Music Group)Robert Kyncl (CEO, Warner Music Group)Lyor Cohen (YouTube & Google Global Head of Music)Annette Barrett (President, IMPF)Hannah Karp (Editorial Director, Billboard)Ellen Lu (Vice President of Regional Festivals at Goldenvoice)Alex Norström (Co-President and Chief Business Officer at Spotify)
Lady Gaga’s Mayhem has debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, marking her fifth chart-topping album in Australia.
The highly anticipated release stormed to the top spot, reinforcing the singer’s enduring popularity Down Under.
Gaga’s latest album joins an impressive list of past No. 1s on the ARIA chart, including The Fame Monster, which spent three weeks at No. 1 back in 2010, Born This Way (2011), A Star Is Born soundtrack (2019-20), and Chromatica (2021). Mayhem also leads the ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart this week, underscoring strong demand from collectors and fans alike.
It comes after Gaga hinted at impending Australian tour dates, which would mark her first in the country since 2014.
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She appeared on Australian radio network The Fox’s Fifi, Fev & Nick program on March 6 to discuss the release of her nascent Mayhem record, while also providing a hint as to whether she might be announcing her first Australian tour dates in over a decade.
“I can’t formally announce anything, but I can tell you that I’m going to be announcing… some things,” she responded with a laugh, before reflecting on her time in the country. “I miss my fans there so much, I really do. I have such fond memories of being in Australia, it’s a beautiful place and I really do want to come back soon.”
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The Mayhem era has already proven to be a commercial success, with the album’s lead single, “Die With A Smile”—a collaboration with Bruno Mars—soaring to No. 2 on the ARIA Singles Chart this week after rebounding from No. 7. The track’s resurgence follows the album’s release, driving renewed interest in Gaga’s discography.
Elsewhere on the charts, BLACKPINK’s Jennie makes a strong debut at No. 2 with her first solo album Ruby, marking the second consecutive week that a BLACKPINK member has landed in the Top 5. Meanwhile, Rosé’s APT., a collaboration with Bruno Mars, holds the No. 1 spot on the ARIA Singles Chart for its 14th non-consecutive week, tying with ABBA’s 1976 hit Fernando as the fourth-longest-running No. 1 in ARIA history.
Other notable debuts include American singer-songwriter Daniel Seavey, who enters the chart at No. 7 with his first full-length album, Second Wind.
Additionally, Australian rock legends The Cruel Sea return with Straight Into The Sun, which lands at No. 18 and marks their first studio album in over two decades.
Billboard Japan’s Women in Music initiative launched in 2022 to celebrate artists, producers and executives who have made significant contributions to music and inspired other women through their work, in the same spirit as Billboard’s annual Women in Music honors since 2007. This interview series featuring female players in the Japanese entertainment industry is one of the highlights of Japan’s WIM project.
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The latest installment of the series features Aimi Kobayashi. The 29-year-old classical pianist first performed with an orchestra when she was seven and made her international debut when she was nine. In 2021, she came in fourth place in the International Chopin Piano Competition, attracting attention from around the world. In November 2024, she released her first new album in three years after taking maternity and childcare leave. On behalf of Billboard Japan, the writer Rio Hirai spoke with Kobayashi, who shared her current mindset as she continues to advance her career while enjoying the major changes in her life.
You’ve built a career as a pianist, garnering international attention from a young age. Has your approach to music changed since you got married and became a mother in 2023?
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Aimi Kobayashi: My approach to music hasn’t really changed. Of course, the way I use my time has changed dramatically since becoming a mom. I have an adorable little monster at home, so it’s tough to find time to practice for concerts. But when I see how cute my child is, that alone makes me feel like working hard again.
So even after the stage in your life has changed, you continue to be committed to music. Still, there must be difficulties in continuing your career while parenting.
There are many other difficult things in life besides childbirth. So you just have to adapt to the situation you find yourself in and get on with it. You get used to the situation and it becomes the norm, so you don’t have to think too much about it and just do what’s in front of you, thinking “I have to get it done somehow!” I do my best with housework and parenting, but I don’t expect to be perfect at everything. I’m pretty casual about everything except my job. I think the secret to continuing your career is to get help from the people around you like your parents and set up a support system.
Were you good at relying on other people before you became a mom?
No, I was the type who couldn’t rely on others. But after having a baby, I found myself thinking more often that you can’t live on your own, so I started relying on people around me without hesitation. I’m a mom, but don’t think I have to raise my child on my own. Of course I feel that I have to protect my child, but both the mother and father should equally fulfill their parental roles. You share the housework and childcare with your partner, and if that’s still too much, you can ask for help from other people and raise your child together.
That’s true. When you were in your teens or early twenties, did you ever feel anxious about balancing work with marriage and parenting?
No! I didn’t intend to give up either. I think it’s possible to balance both depending on who you marry. I wanted to be a pianist even after I got married and became a mom. That’s why I wanted to marry someone who would understand and support my career.
When you were 17, you took a break from playing in concerts and went to study at The Curtis Institute of Music in the U.S. Did you feel differently then, compared to during your recent maternity and parental leave?
During my time abroad, I only took a break from doing concerts and continued to practice improving my skill, so it felt completely different. As for maternity and parental leave, it was the first time in my musical career that I took a real break. It’s not often that you get a break that everyone around you congratulates you on. I really enjoyed raising our child and doing the housework while waiting for my partner to come home. But as it continued, I really started to feel the desire to go back to work. My partner continued to perform at concerts, so there were times when I felt anxious and wondered, “When will I be able to get back to work?”
I see. How did you overcome that anxiety?
I decided to push my comeback back two months, and that was a big relief. I had concert plans and other things lined up, and had initially decided to return to work as soon as possible because I didn’t want to cancel or postpone. I’d never experienced any major illnesses and was in good health, so I thought I’d be able to manage it if I just worked hard, but giving birth was harder than I’d expected. Even so, I still thought I had to return as soon as possible and ended up getting sick and feeling mentally overwhelmed. Then, the people at my agency and my manager told me, “Your mind and body will be back to normal with time, so take it easy and rest.” Their kind words lifted the weight off my shoulders and eased my postpartum anxiety, and I was able to return to work.
I’m really glad there are people around you who understand. What do you think is necessary for women to continue making music in this industry for a long time after marrying or becoming a mom?
It’s good to have a place to return to after taking maternity leave. Children are a gift, and there will be times you have to cancel shows. I was grateful there were so many people who understood this and waited for me to come back. This isn’t just limited to the music industry, but if there’s an environment that supports women taking maternity leave, then it will make it more enjoyable for them to look after their kids. And although it may be slow, I think that society is changing. Rather than focusing on the things that mothers and women can’t do, I want to believe that the world is becoming a better place and live my life as I wish.
Many women have careers in classical music, but for example, more men have been awarded at the International Chopin Piano Competition, and the ratio of male and female musicians also differs depending on the instrument. What are your thoughts on the gender imbalance in this industry?
I do sense some remnants of history, like the fact that Western orchestras used to be comprised of only male musicians in the past. A friend of mine, a female musician in an orchestra once told me that it’s hard for women to actively participate in orchestras. I do think that it takes intense conviction. The same is true for office workers. Some might imagine that a woman has to work as hard as a man to advance her career in an administrative position. I think I can make the most of my strength as a woman without compromising my identity.
Have you personally been affected by gender inequality?
I do feel it since I became a mother. Being pregnant was a wonderful experience. Only women can experience nurturing a life inside themselves and giving birth. But I also envy men who can pursue their careers without taking time off when they become fathers.
In addition to motherhood, changes in the stages in women’s lives can sometimes be an obstacle to career advancement.
Women do go through various changes in their lives, like having to raise kids or care for their parents someday. When changes like these happen in the home, more women tend to sacrifice their careers, and it feels like this is linked to gender imbalance in society. Also, women often suffer from physical problems due to hormonal imbalance caused by age. Women have to overcome many obstacles to advance their careers.
Do you have any role models, someone who makes you think, “I want to live my life like this person”?
There aren’t too many (female) classical musicians who continue to be active after having children. So I admire women in any field who flourish in the work they want to do after having kids. But this is my opinion as a married woman who has a child. Whether or not you get married is up to you, and being a mom isn’t everything. I think it’s fine as long as you’re happy.
I think you’re a role model for many people. Do you have any messages for women who might be worried about being able to advance their careers even as changes happen in their lives?
When you can’t find the answer to something even after thinking hard about it, it’s important to summon up your courage and take a step forward. You might gain new perspective, and even if you don’t find it right away, you might be able to arrive at your own answer by taking one step at a time. When I was a teenager, I used to think I had an infinite amount of time, but after becoming a mom, time passes like the wind. So I think it’s better to try the things you want to do now without holding back, and to live your life without regrets.
—This interview by Rio Hirai (SOW SWEET PUBLISHING) first appeared on Billboard Japan
Travis Japan’s “Say I do” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated March 12.
This song is being featured as the theme song for Honnou Switch, the drama series starring member Kaito Miyachika and actress Wakana Aoi, and is the first CD single by the seven-member boy band. The track launched with 147,896 copies to rule sales, top downloads, and came in at No. 53 for streaming to give the group its first-ever No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” continues to hold at No. 2, extending its stay in the top 10 to 47 weeks. The Oblivion Battery opener rules streaming for the 27th week with 10,034,805 weekly streams, tops karaoke, and comes in at No. 7 for downloads and No. 2 for video views.
Sakanaction’s “Kaiju” also holds at No. 3. Streaming for the Orb: On the Movements of the Earth opener stays at No. 2 (83% week-over-week), and comes in at No. 4 for downloads (54%), No. 4 for radio, and No. 16 for video.
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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Darling” rises two notches to No. 4. The track is currently at No. 3 for streaming and has stayed in the top 3 for the metric since its debut on the list. The former No. 1 hit is at No. 19 for downloads, No. 6 for video, No. 16 for karaoke, and moves 74-36 for radio (160%).
SEVENTEEN’s “Shohikigen” returns to the Japan Hot 100 for the fifth time after the CD sold 94,151 copies this week. Kenshi Yonezu’s “BOW AND ARROW” rises 19-6 after the accompanying music video featuring superstar figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu powered the track to No. 1 for video. Aimyon’s “Sketch,” the theme song for the latest Doraemon feature film, Doraemon the Movie: Nobita’s Art World Tales, soars 69-7. The single rules radio, comes in at No. 5 for sales with 9,217 copies sold, No. 13 for video, and No. 90 for streaming.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from March 3 to 9, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
With their third full album, awake&build, released in 2024, yama completed their Moratorium Trilogy. Now yama has put the finishing touches on their fourth full album, ; semicolon, in which they set off to a new start as an artist.
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In addition to the previously-released “BURN,” created under the name of yama x WurtS, and “Drop,” which was produced by indigo la End, the album contains new songs which saw yama being joined in the songwriting process by creators and artists they hold great respect for, like maeshima soshi and Shota Horie. These new songs make up the majority of the album. As yama’s career has advanced, their thirst for expressivity has grown even stronger. What is the philosophy that underlies his artistic efforts? Billboard Japan talked with yama about what lay behind the creation of ; semicolon and delved into who they are as an artist today.
I’ve heard that the album’s title, ; semicolon, is meant to represent taking a new step forward as an artist.
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This new album is packed with things I love, music I love, and messages I want to share. I tried to be as much a part of the songwriting and lyric-writing process as possible. I wanted to be involved in any way I could in the album’s creation. I feel like, with my past trilogy of albums, I’ve finally set the foundation in place to move forward (as an artist).
Your 2021 release, the meaning of life, your 2022 release, Versus the night, and your 2024 release, awake & build, make up the “Moratorium Trilogy,” right?
I was feeling things out as I went through my Moratorium period. I was hesitant to perform in front of people, and going up on stage was a struggle. But I couldn’t back down. That’s because for as long as I can remember, music has been the only thing that truly interests me. I just want to keep moving forward. I can’t stop myself. I feel like I’ve grown as a person through this process of trial-and-error. At first, I couldn’t convey what I was feeling to others, but now, having finished the trilogy, I’ve defined what it means to be “yama.” That’s why I was able to make ; semicolon.
Of all of your albums, ; semicolon has the most songs on which you’ve been personally involved in the songwriting and lyrics.
I love singing, of course, but with Versus the night I also started writing songs. Through the process, I found that I was surprisingly strong-willed. I realized that there were things I wanted to say and to communicate, though I didn’t put them in words, and I had a stubborn streak, unwilling to compromise on my message. I started thinking that I’d be better able to convey my aesthetics and my human nature if I wrote my own music.
So turning your own feelings into song and sharing them with others gave you a sense of fulfillment?
Not so much “fulfillment” as more like “purging.” I first fell in love with music because when I listened to music it took a weight off my shoulders and set my heart at ease. When I share my own music, and when I put my own emotions into musical form, it makes my heart feel a bit lighter. That said, I’m still exploring the process of making music. I have this need to make everything perfect, so I overthink things. I just can’t bring myself to feel optimistic, and my output is slow because of that. But when making ; semicolon, I just put that all aside. I took this stance that “I’m just a beginner,” and I started out simply focusing on getting things in song form.
So that creation process itself may have been a way of accepting yourself as you are, flaws and all.
I feel like I’ve been able to forgive and accept myself, a bit at a time. Initially, I didn’t want to show people my shortcomings. But when I revealed my imperfections, I was surprised at how much they resonated with others. People became interested in yama, the person. So, because of that, I’ve also become able to accept my own imperfections.
The album’s name, ; semicolon, came from Project Semicolon, an American movement to support people struggling with mental health issues. Specifically, the semicolon represents the idea of moving from a difficult chapter of your life to starting a new chapter. What was your impression of the project?
I found out about Project Semicolon the first time I performed live in front of an audience. A person who’d been a fan of mine since my indie days gave me a letter and, along with it, a ring with a semicolon on it. In the letter, they wrote about the meaning of the project, and it made a deep impression on me. At the time, I was recklessly rushing forward, doing all I could to move forward. I thought, “I can’t do it yet, but I hope one day I’ll be able to put this concept into song.”
What about Project Semicolon made such a strong impression on you?
That interaction with a fan was a formative experience in my musical career, truly feeling that there are real people out there listening to my music. I’d seen comments on my videos on streaming sites before, but my musical activities had been limited to the internet, so I almost never received messages directly sent to me. But then, this one day, this fan sent me a message. It said “I’d been feeling like I just couldn’t keep struggling with life, and I was thinking about killing myself when I heard the song you released today. I want to hear more of your music, so I’ll keep on trying.”
So your song saved that fan.
I’d been working so hard making music to save myself. It was the first time that I felt that my efforts could save and provide comfort to someone else. Later on, I went on to perform live in front of an audience, and that’s when that fan taught me about the concept of Project Semicolon. Just living each day had been hard for them, but they kept pushing forward, looking for something they could enjoy in their life. Little by little, I grew more confident in my own skills, too, and I got better at communicating with people. It was a gradual process. I never got a semicolon tattoo, but putting these feelings in song form was the same thing for me. I named the album ; semicolon and wrote a song named “semicolon,” and for the rest of the album I let my own curiosity and sense of excitement lead me as I wrote the kinds of songs I wanted to write.
You discovered a new world through your interactions with others. I feel like that’s why you went from having a hard time performing in front of people to coming to enjoy performing live, and it’s where the song “semicolon” came from.
I’ve always made music for myself. That was true long ago and it’s still true today. The issue’s been how much I could grow, how much I could comfort myself, and how much I could forgive and accept myself. I’m sure everyone feels the same, and that everyone’s hard on themselves. But if I extended a helping hand to people simply out of some kind of sense of obligation, that wouldn’t be truly from the heart. I don’t want to pretend to be something I’m not through my music. I make music to cleanse my own heart, and if that comforts other people, then that’s wonderful. I wish someone had told me about the semicolon movement earlier. But unless I can forgive and accept myself, I don’t think I’ll be able to overcome my trauma or the ties that bind me. That’s why I tell myself “Accepting yourself isn’t compromising yourself. It’s just one part of taking control of yourself.” Of course, listeners can take the music as they wish, but I’d love it if when people listened to the song, they didn’t take the lyrics as me or someone else talking to them, but instead felt like the lyrics were a message they were telling themselves.
—This interview by Sayako Oki first appeared on Billboard Japan
Awich dropped a collaborative single called “ASIAN STATE OF MIND” featuring South Korea’s Jay Park; India’s KR$NA; Masiwei, the leader of the Chinese group Higher Brothers; and Cambodia’s VannDa on Feb. 28.
The Okinawan MC and top rappers from each country came together to usher in a new Asian era on this cypher track, mixing their native languages with English to simultaneously compete with each other to flex their uniqueness while giving off a sense of Asian unity.
The accompanying music video, released along with the track, racked up a million views in just 24 hours after its release. Excited fans have left over 20,000 comments in various languages. As the title “ASIAN STATE OF MIND” suggests, the video was shot in each of the home countries of the rappers, who share the same pride as Asian artists.
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Awich, the queen of Japanese Hip-Hop, was recently appointed as global ambassador for JORDAN (Nike), and is set to further expand her reach outside of Japan in the future.
Jay Park, founder of AOMG, H1GHR MUSIC, and MORE VISION, has released a diverse range of music including collaborations with other artists. He’s the first Asian to sign with JAY-Z’s Roc Nation, and is enjoying international success as a highly acclaimed artist.
KR$NA, hailing from Delhi, India, garnered recognition with his Hindi song “Vyanjan.” The 37-year-old MC’s catalog has been highly acclaimed both in India and internationally, and he’s known as lyrical innovator in the Indian hip-hop scene.
Masiwei, from Chengdu, Sichuan Province, is the leader of the Chinese hip-hop group Higher Brothers and also active as a solo artist. In September 2023, he released a collaborative single with Japan’s Satomi Shigemori called “LION (feat. MASIWEI).” The 32-year-old is also the founder of the fashion brand AFGK.
VannDa, born in Sihanoukville in 1997, achieved the feat of being the first Cambodian artist to have a music video (“Time to Rise”) score over 100 million views on YouTube in October 2022. He was included on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia-Pacific music list the following year, and went on to perform along with Phoenix and other acts at the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics in 2024, introducing Cambodian music on the global stage.
King Charles is taking on a new role in addition to monarch of the United Kingdom: DJ.
As announced Thursday (March 6), the British ruler is set to premiere a new radio show on Apple Music titled The King’s Music Room. Recorded in his personal office at Buckingham Palace, the show will showcase Charles’ favorite artists, from “1930s crooners to Afrobeats stars as well as disco divas and reggae icons,” according to a description.
In a trailer released Thursday, Charles personally introduces the show while seated behind his desk. “Throughout my life, music has meant a great deal to me,” he says. “It has that remarkable ability to bring happy memories, comfort us in times of sadness and take us to distant places. But perhaps, above all, it can lift our spirits to such a degree, and all the more so when it brings us together in celebration.
“In other words, it brings us joy,” the king continues. “This is what I particularly wanted to share with you: songs which have brought me joy. This seemed such an interesting and innovative way to celebrate this year’s Commonwealth Day.”
A press release adds that Charles’ show will be “shaped by his extraordinary experiences from around the world” and find the monarch sharing personal stories about the artists he features. Bob Marley, Kylie Minogue, Grace Jones, Davido and RAYE make up just a few of the musicians he’ll highlight.
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“Human curation has always been a key pillar of our unique editorial approach,” said Rachel Newman, Apple Music’s global head of content and editorial, in a statement. “Apple Music Radio is where culture is happening worldwide, and we are honored that King Charles III chose to share his personal playlist with us, and with music fans around the world.”
The King’s Music Room will premiere on Apple Music 1 and Apple Music Hits at 6 a.m. GMT on Monday (March 10), with additional broadcasts throughout the day and Tuesday (March 11).
Watch the trailer below.
Speaking with Saint Levant feels like encountering two personalities at once. One moment, you hear Marwan Abdelhamid (his real name), his intimate voice carrying the warmth of distant days spent with his father in Gaza. He recalls them in detail, as if each melody holds a story refusing to fade. The next moment, the more widely known artistic persona of Saint Levant takes over, exuding charisma and absolute confidence in front of the camera. The seamless blend of personal memory and stagecraft, nostalgia and defiance, defines his presence.
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As Billboard Arabia’s February cover star, Saint Levant’s artistic journey has taken him from Jerusalem and the alleys of Gaza to global stages from The Olympia in Paris and Coachella and Lollapalooza. Born into several cultures and languages, his identity is a fusion of Arabic, English and French, shaped by his Palestinian-Serbian father and Palestinian-Algerian mother. His migration to France and the U.S. further enriched his artistic outlook, injecting his work with a globally intertwined essence. This diverse background enables him to merge different musical styles, from funk to traditional Eastern rhythms, making him a rising star in Arabic music.
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When discussing the Arab artists who inspired him, Saint Levant looks back to his time in Gaza. He reminisces about road trips with his father, who played music in the car, filling the air with the voices of global stars like Lenny Kravitz and Michael Jackson. “Before any singer, my father was my inspiration,” he says. Yet, diving deeper into memory, he adds with nostalgia, “But if we’re talking about Arab singers, definitely Cheb Khaled. We used to listen to his albums, especially Sahra and Khaled, with songs like “El ‘Arbi” and “Wahran”—those are incredible. To me, Cheb Khaled is the top.”
Saint Levant’s first professional track carried his real name. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he released “Jerusalem Freestyle,” a rap song about the Palestinian cause. “That was my first real track where I put my name —on Spotify, I was Marwan Abdelhamid.”
Hussein Mardini
What sets Saint Levant apart are his multicultural roots, which grant him a broad perspective on music. He seamlessly sings in three languages, English, French and Arabic, within a single song. Explaining his unique lyrical structure, he says, “From my very first song, I was using three languages because that’s just how I talk. The same goes for my music. Now, I’ve learned to separate them more. Before, I used to mix all three languages in one sentence, but I realized not everyone is like me—they can’t follow that. So now, I do one chorus in English, one in Arabic and one in French, which makes it easier. But it all happened naturally. I never planned to be a trilingual artist.”
This cultural foundation also influences the structure of his music. When asked to define his genre, Saint Levant explains that his work transcends classification. He blends 1980s funk with traditional Palestinian and Algerian sounds, making it difficult to stick a single label to it. His team frequently revisits this question, reflecting the fluid nature of his artistic identity. Instead, he describes his music as part of a “New Wave Arab” movement, blending futuristic Arab sounds.
Hussein Mardini
His latest project, the album Love Letters, is an open letter to love in all its forms, released in February to align with Valentine’s Day. Elaborating on the title, he says, “Each song is a love letter in its own way. ‘Daloona,’ which I did with Qassem Alnajjar, Shadi Borini and 47Soul, isn’t a romantic love letter. It’s a love letter to my country and my people. I brought together seven Palestinian artists in one track, so it’s a love letter to Palestine. ‘Diva’ is a love letter to the golden girl and to Algeria. ‘Wazira’ is a tribute to the minister of love and ambassador of emotion. And ‘Wayn Ma’addi Wayn’ is a Libyan song, a love letter to Libya, and also a song for broken hearts. So to me, they are all different love letters.”
Explaining the album’s structure, he says, “I divided it into two sides: Side A and Side B, because there’s a difference. Songs like ‘Daloona,’ ‘Wazira’ and ‘Carmentina,’ those are love letters from Marwan. But ‘Diva’ and the rest are love letters from Saint Levant, the persona. Of course, I feel more comfortable as Marwan, but I have to play Saint Levant.”
Speaking about his collaborations, Saint Levant highlights his long-anticipated project with Marwan Moussa. “I’ve wanted to work with Marwan Moussa for a while. Since 2020, in interviews, whenever they asked me which rappers I’d like to collaborate with, I always said Shabjdeed and Marwan Moussa. To me, those two played a big role in my journey. So finally meeting him and being in the studio together was an insane experience.”
Before this project, Saint Levant released his debut full-length album, Deira, in 2024, following the success of his 2023 EP From Gaza with Love. The latter gained widespread attention for its raw and heartfelt expression. Deira is named after the hotel his father built in Gaza in 2000 when their family moved there. The hotel bore witness to many tragedies before being completely destroyed in the recent war. Singing about “Deira” became a celebration of Palestinian daily life and Gaza’s landmarks through a deeply personal lens, reflecting Saint Levant’s lasting bond with his hometown and how that bond has endured over time, adding a profoundly personal and emotional dimension to his work.
In Deira, he worked with prominent artists from different musical landscapes to expand its impact and make it a shared experience. His collaboration with Cheb Bilal on “Let Her Go” and the standout track “Allah Yihmeeki” with global artist Kehlani, who has publicly supported the Palestinian cause, are among the highlights. The album also features tracks that capture Saint Levant’s mix of defiance and emotion, alongside romantic ballads like “Forgive Me” and “Qalbi.”
Saint Levant has secured a consistent presence on the Billboard Arabia Top 100 Artists chart, holding a spot for 46 consecutive weeks. His single “Wazira” released before “Love Letters” entered the Hot 100 last week, with more songs from the album expected to follow in the coming weeks.
This article was originally published by Billboard Arabia, written by Omar Bakbouk.
Naniwa Danshi’s “Doki it” blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated March 5.
The J-pop boy band’s eighth single is being featured as the theme song for AOKI’s “Freshers Fair” commercial starring the seven members. The single launched with 336,529 copies to rule sales, while coming in at No. 4 for downloads and No. 9 for radio airplay. This is the band’s third single after “UBU LOVE” and “The Answer” to hit No. 1 (and the fourth week, as “UBU LOVE” stayed atop the chart for two weeks). and “The Answer”).
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” follows at No. 2. Streaming and video for the track are down from the previous week, but downloads gained by 104%, radio by 117%, and karaoke by 107%. The Oblivion Battery opener has coasted along in the top 5 for the 46th consecutive week, with six of them at No. 1.
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Sakanaction’s “Kaiju” slips a notch to No. 3. While overall points for the Orb: On the Movements of the Earth opener have decreased, streaming rises 3-2 (up 119%) and radio jumps 4-1 (up 147%).
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=LOVE’s “Tokubechu, shite” shoots to No. 4 from No. 56. The track marked the girl group’s highest first week sales with 302,589 copies, coming in at No. 2 for the metric.
timelesz’s “Rock this Party” debuts at No. 5. This is the first new song by the now eight-man group formerly known as Sexy Zone, after five new members joined through the audition called timelesz project. It’s also the first digital release by the boy band since their debut as Sexy Zone. The buzz around the new-member audition powered the track to No.1 for downloads, No. 8 for streaming, No. 53 for radio, and No. 86 for video. In addition, the release of the introductory digital compilation album Hello! We’re timelesz including songs from the group’s Sexy Zone years has sent “RUN” and “Jinsei Yugi” back into the Japan Hot 100. It’s been about four and a half years since the former entered the charts (No. 57 this week), and about a year and three months for the latter (No. 95).
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Feb. 24 to Mar. 2, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
Bring Me the Horizon has reacted to the unexpected support from Liam Gallagher after covering Oasis’ iconic “Wonderwall” for Spotify Singles earlier this year.
The band, who reworked the Britpop anthem into a heavier, more atmospheric version, admitted they were taken aback by Gallagher’s positive response.
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“It’s a good song, it’s actually one of my favorites. Top five,” frontman Oli Sykes said of the track while speaking to NME on the red carpet at the BRIT Awards 2025. “We always usually cover stuff that no one has ever heard of, so we were like, ‘Now let’s try to reimagine something that everyone knows. Make it easy for ourselves.’ It came out alright I think! It was crazy that Liam didn’t slag it off to the high heavens…”
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Drummer Mat Nicholls echoed the sentiment, acknowledging Oasis’ influence on their generation of British musicians.
“[We grew up] listening to them, definitely. It’s hard to ignore them, especially being our age, because Oasis are a British staple. We were expecting [Liam] to absolutely rinse us, but he said some actually nice things! It was cool and I think it went down as good as we wished it could.”
Gallagher had previously responded to the cover on social media, writing, “I f—ing LOVE it.” When a fan speculated that his brother Noel might be displeased, Liam doubled down: “I’m not, it’s absolutely incredible, made my day. I’m off out on my skateboard, f— y’all.”
The BRIT Awards marked another milestone for the band, who previously won Best Alternative/Rock Act in 2024. This year, they were nominated for Group of the Year but lost out to Ezra Collective.
The band is set to headline Reading & Leeds Festival 2025 alongside Travis Scott, Chappell Roan, and Hozier. It marks their second time topping the bill at the twin-site festival, following their 2022 co-headlining slot with Arctic Monkeys.