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In the increasingly global K-pop industry, ZICO epitomizes the concept of a multi-hyphen musician after establishing himself as a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, boy-band leader, television host and label CEO. But the 31-year-old can now add Billboard chart-topper to his resume thanks to his latest single, “Spot!” featuring Jennie of BLACKPINK.
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Released on April 26 to mark the HYBE artist’s first time dropping a song among the globally focused New Music Friday releases, “Spot!” unleashes ZICO’s latest offering as a hook-heavy, feel-good pop/hip-hop hybrid. Similar to his singles such as viral smash “Any Song” or “Summer Hate” alongside K-pop legend Rain, the playfully buoyant “Spot!” lets the duo bounce through bars to shout out the many meanings that “hit the spot” can conjure.
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The collab caught on quickly Stateside, with “Spot!” debuting at No. 1 on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart, marking ZICO’s first-ever No. 1 on a U.S. Billboard sales chart. It’s Jennie’s second time ruling the chart after her debut “Solo” single did so back in 2018.
“Spot!” sold 1,000 copies in U.S. in its initial April 26-May 2 tracking week, according to Luminate. It also registered 2.5 million official U.S. streams in the same period.
But the impact of “Spot!” was not confined to the U.S. The collab debuted at No. 24 on the Billboard Global 200 chart with 47 million streams and 5,000 downloads, and also earned a No. 8 debut on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. with 44.5 million official global streams (excluding U.S. activity) in the tracking week, and 4,000 downloads (excluding U.S. sales).
Sharing his reaction to the good chart news with Billboard, ZICO expressed his gratitude, saying, “I feel like a new chapter has opened up for me as a musician.”
Read on for more from ZICO about working with Jennie, how he approaches collaborating for his new music variety show and what’s next.
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Congratulations on the success of “Spot!” It’s your first No. 1 on a U.S. Billboard sales chart. What was your reaction to the chart news?
I feel like a new chapter has opened up for me as a musician. The song’s reach to Billboard, beyond Korea, fills me with immense gratitude. I’m eager to share this joy with everyone who contributed to making this project a reality.
You’ve collaborated extensively in the K-pop world. Is there something particularly charming about Jennie that impresses you?
Everything about her is charming. From vocals and visuals to acting, as well as her sense of professionalism in bringing the song to fruition — it’s all these things combined. But personally, I think it was her professionalism.
How was it filming the music video? It looked like you two were having a blast.
It was our first time getting dressed up and seeing each other in front of a camera [like that]. At first, it felt a bit awkward and funny, so we had a hard time holding back our laughter, but it was these candid moments that were captured on camera for a natural result.
Do you have a favorite Jennie or BLACKPINK song?
I had the chance to peek at Jennie’s to-be-released solo track demos — there were so many good ones.
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I understand you have a lot of respect for the artistic process. You host a new music variety show, The Seasons: Artist With ZICO. How do you approach spotlighting other artists’ work?
I believe my role is to assist the larger audience in comprehending the unique charm of each artist with the most fun and fresh perspective, so I dedicate a lot of effort to this aspect. But most importantly, it’s not solely about music. Rather, it’s about the chemistry, like the candidness and wit, that can come from any moment — I want these moments to be enjoyable little experiences for many people so I really strive to focus on every small second.
It sounds like you’re an observer. Are you seeing or feeling a larger impact with your new song?
I’ve noticed a shift in which more covers, reactions, and challenges [for “Spot!”] are coming from overseas compared to Korea, which differs from my past songs.
Have any new ideas or plans emerged as a result of the achievements or chart success?
Today, after thinking about these questions, I’m starting a kick-off meeting for my next project!
The lineup of songs for the 68th annual Eurovision Song Contest is now set. Ten of the 16 songs performed in the second semifinal on Thursday (May 9) join the 10 qualifiers from semifinal 1 plus the six pre-qualified entries, for a total of 26 songs competing live in the grand final on Saturday (May 11).
Among the 10 new countries joining the list are Georgia, with former American Idol singer Nutsa Buzaladze leading the charge with “Firefighter,” and Switzerland, with Nero’s “The Code” tipped to be the second favorite by the oddsmakers.
Georgia first competed in Eurovision in 2007 and hasn’t performed in the grand final since 2016, when Nika Kocharov and and Young Georgian Lolitaz placed 20th with “Midnight Gold.” The nation failed to qualify from the last six semifinals, but Nutsa has put them back in the running.
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Only seven countries participated in the first Eurovision Song Contest in 1956, including Switzerland, which hosted and won with “Refrain” by Lys Assia. Switzerland won again in 1988 with Celine Dion singing “Ne Partez Pas Son Moi,” so if Nemo can pull off a win, it will be Switzerland’s first victory in 36 years.
The other eight countries to qualify in the second semifinal are Armenia, Austria, Estonia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Netherlands and Norway. The six countries that were relegated are Alabnia, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Malta and San Marino.
The qualifiers from semifinal 1 are Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine.
The six pre-qualified countries are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and host country Sweden.
results of the competition, with 10 countries out of 15 moving forward into the grand final on Saturday (May 11) and five countries going home. Most notable among the 10 winning countries are Luxembourg, which returned to the pan-European competition this year after a 31-year absence, and Ireland, which holds the record for the most wins with Sweden at seven each.
However, Ireland has failed to qualify for the grand final 11 times since the semi-finals were introduced in 2005. Bambie Thug breaks that spell with “Doomsday Blue,” a self-described “electro-metal breakdown.” Thug (real name: Bambie Ray Robinson) is the first non-binary artist to represent Ireland in Eurovision and will be the first Irish contestant in the competition since Ryan O’Shaugnessy placed 16th with “Together” in 2018.
Thug’s entry is expected to place high in the grand final rankings. If they end up in the top 5, it will be Ireland’s biggest Eurovision success since Marc Roberts’ “Mysterious Ways,” which finished second to Katrina & the Waves winning U.K. entry, “Love Shine a Light” in 1997.
Talia, an Israeli-born singer living in Luxembourg, will be the first person from that small European country, the only grand duchy (a country ruled by a monarch with the title of grand duke or duchess) remaining in the world, to sing in Eurovision since Modern Times placed 20th with “Donne-Moi Une Chance” in 1993.
The other eight countries that qualified for the grand final are Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine. The five countries relegated out, by public vote during the live broadcast, are Australia, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Moldova and Poland.
The oddsmakers have Croatia heavily tipped to win; it would be that nation’s first victory in 30 attempts, although Riva, a band from Croatia, triumphed in 1990 when their country was still part of Yugoslavia.
A second semi-final will be broadcast live on Thursday (May 9). There will be 16 countries fighting for a spot in the grand final top 10 that night: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland.
Pre-qualified, and thus able to skip the semi-finals, are the host country (Sweden) and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), so-named because they contribute the largest amounts to the production budget.
Semi-final No 2 of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest will be live on Peacock in the U.S. on Thursday, May 9, starting at 3pm EDT/12 noon PDT. The grand final will also be live, on Saturday, May 11 at the same times.
Of 15 debuts on the May 11-dated Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, the most noticeable, at least in terms of a lengthy backstory, may not be Tommy Richman’s seemingly out-of-nowhere breakout hit “Million Dollar Baby” (No. 74) or Kendrick Lamar’s rap battle entry “Euphoria” (No. 98). The most surprising title on the tally overall may […]
ATARASHII GAKKO! is set to digitally release its third full-length album called AG! Calling on June 7 through the group’s U.S. label 88rising.
The project is the four-member girl group’s first full-length set in five years since their last album Wakage ga itaru, and includes “Tokyo Calling,” which the women performed live at this year’s Coachella, and “Fly High,” the theme song for the recently released animated Netflix movie Hanma Baki VS Kengan Ashura, and more. The alternative Japanese girl group made its worldwide debut under 88rising in 2021.
ATARASHII GAKKO! will kick off its World Tour Part I in June at the Primavera Sound 2024 in Madrid and perform in 13 cities across Europe and Asia. The group will also hit 11 cities across North America beginning in September for its World Tour Part II promoting the new album. Tickets will be sold in advance from 10:00 a.m. on May 9 in each city, and will go on sale to the general public from 10:00 a.m. on May 10 in each city.
Check out ATARASHII GAKKO!’s tour dates below:
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World Tour Part IJune 1 – Barcelona, Primavera Sound FestivalJune 3 – Brussels, La MadeleineJune 5 – Paris, BataclanJune 7 – Cologne, Live Music HallJune 8 – Berlin, MetropolJune 10 – London, Indigo at The O2June 12 – Amsterdam, Melkweg MaxJune 19 – Seoul, Yes24 Live HallJune 21 – Kuala Lumpur, ZeppJune 23 – Bangkok, Samyan HallJune 25 – Hong Kong, MacPherson StadiumJune 27 – Taipei, Zepp New TaipeiJune 29 – Singapore, The Theatre at Mediacorp
World Tour Part IISeptember 26 – Vancouver, PNE ForumSeptember 27 – Seattle, Showbox SoDoSeptember 29 – San Francisco, The WarfieldOctober 1 – Mexico City, Pepsi CenterOctober 3 – Chicago, Byline Bank Aragon BallroomOctober 6 – Toronto, HISTORYOctober 9 – Boston, RoadrunnerOctober 11 – Washington, D.C., The AnthemOctober 13 – Atlanta, The EasternOctober 15 – Austin, ACL LiveOctober 17 – Dallas, The Factory in Deep Ellum
The 2024 Met Gala should have been a strictly star-powered triumph for Stray Kids, when the current faces of Tommy Hilfiger set a historic first at fashion‘s biggest night out. Yet amid the glamour, Stray Kids fans — and, possibly, some of the members themselves — were left with the experience marred by their disrespectful treatment by red-carpet photographers, highlighting the systemic barriers still faced by non-Western artists in Hollywood.
The eight-member Billboard 200 chart-toppers attending the Met Gala marked the first time an entire group has hit the glitzy gala together. Making their Met Gala debut in custom-designed suits alongside Tommy Hilfiger himself, members Bang Chan, Changbin, Lee Know, Hyunjin, Felix, Han, Seungmin and I.N arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art collectively in navy jackets that would soon reveal the custom ‘fits in various shades of the clothing brand’s signature red, white and blues underneath.
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But a few feet away, amid the flurry of camera flashes that surrounded all sides of the Gala entrance, derogatory comments from on-site photographers groaning about the group’s “robot” demeanor, annoyed that the reveal took place with their backs to one group of photogs, and thinking the band would only understand Korean reveal the thinly veiled prejudices that still plague the industry.
(Note: The video below includes subtitles that don’t always match what can be heard.)
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As The Daily Mail noted, some paps said people would get “confused” because the group took photos with their coats on and off — a racist stereotype that people of Asian descent are challenging to differentiate visually. One photographer can be heard making his peers laugh after joking that viewers would think “two K-pop bands” attended the 2024 Met Gala. (From this reporter’s findings from the last 48 hours, no one has made that mistake.)
The incident shed light on the unfair challenges international celebrities like Stray Kids face navigating less familiar territory in pursuit of global success.
Despite instances where SKZ easily and comfortably adapted to the American media landscape via live interviews like BUILD Series or People TV, last year’s MTV VMAs, or various Fashion Weeks, the singers still face barriers and a dismissive attitude toward their presence. It reflects a lack of understanding while underscoring the need for greater cultural sensitivity and inclusivity in entertainment.
Most of the Kids’ media experience is with Korean and Japanese events, which have systems and red carpets structured differently than in the States. At a typical K-pop event, press conference or awards show, there is a platform for artists to pose for photographers who are all collectively shooting together during a dedicated photo time. Guided by an MC, host or team leader like Bang Chan, the artists almost always coordinate their pose to their left, center and right for everyone to get a range of angles and shots. After that dedicated time, photogs are left to their own devices to get the best pics.
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With this context, Stray Kids did attempt to show love to all sides of the photographers on the Met Gala carpet by staggering themselves so four members were more forward toward one side of the cameras and then turning around so the other four were more forward for the second group of photogs. Also of note: While the photographers knew Stray Kids were a K-pop act, members Bang Chan and Felix grew up in Australia and Seungmin spent some time living in Los Angeles; assuming that an English comment would slide past them (including “What’s Korean for ‘right’?,” which elicited laughs from the paps) is incredibly close-minded.
While it is important to understand that photographers need usable and workable photos to fulfill their livelihoods, the diversity that Stray Kids bring to a function like the Met Gala should be celebrated rather than marginalized. Perhaps the prospect of shooting an eight-member boy band could be a new professional challenge instead of something to bemoan.
Korean artists have been attending the Met Gala for over a decade, with guests like PSY and Siwon of Super Junior attending more than 10 years ago and, more recently, seeing the likes of BLACKPINK‘s Jennie coming for her second Met Gala this year. Considering fashion’s consistent and growing affinity for K-pop partnerships, even more K-pop groups are likely to attend in the future.
Whether the comments were heard or not, Stray Kids moved with grace and poise on the carpet, and their presence alone reminds us of the importance of inviting and embracing different cultures, people and perspectives.
From the reality show that created their group in 2017, Stray Kids have had an unwavering determination to defy expectations and rise above adversity. Despite obstacles, the band’s overarching talent, humility, and tireless spirit to continue forward are not only recognized by one of the world’s most prestigious events but increasingly felt across the different Billboard charts. As they continue to break boundaries and challenge norms, Stray Kids can show how they won’t just make waves in the music industry, but help reshape long-held perceptions and inspire greater change.
Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated May 8, extending its record to 14 weeks atop the tally.
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The hip-hop hit dominated the chart for most of this year after it first hit No. 1 on the chart released Jan. 31 and stayed there for 13 straight weeks. The MASHLE Season 2 opener slipped to No. 2 last week (May 1) but returned to score its 14th week atop the list. The track has increased in all metrics of the chart’s methodology except streaming compared to the previous week. Downloads for the long-running hit are up by 117%, radio airplay and video views by 105%, and karaoke by 120%. And it’s far from doing poorly in streaming as well; weekly streams remain almost the same as the week before and the total has surpassed 300 million at the second fastest pace in Japan chart history.
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Moving 4-2 this week is Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac.” The song gained 130% in downloads, 127% in karaoke, and notably, 425% in radio from the week before, hitting its highest position yet.
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Debuting at No. 3 is SixTONES’ 12th single “Neiro.” The theme song for the drama series Omukae Shibuya-kun starring member Taiga Kyomoto launched with 540,564 CDs sold, outselling the group’s previous single “CREAK” (471,285 first-week sales). The track tops sales and comes in at No. 9 for radio and No. 18 for video.
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In other chart moves, the theme song of a project by TOBE’s artists, called “Be on Your side,” re-enters the chart at No. 12 after selling 75,157 copies in its first week, and the first single “MORNING SUN” by EXILE B HAPPY — the new EXILE TRIBE music group led by EXILE TETSUYA — bows at No. 15.
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 Apr. 29 to May 5, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
The first of three live broadcasts of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest yielded the initial results of the competition, with 10 countries out of 15 moving forward into the grand final on Saturday (May 11) and five countries going home.
Most notable among the 10 winning countries are Luxembourg, which returned to the pan-European competition this year after a 31-year absence, and Ireland, which holds the record for the most wins with Sweden at seven each.
However, Ireland has failed to qualify for the grand final 11 times since the semifinals were introduced in 2005. Bambie Thug breaks that spell with “Doomsday Blue,” a self-described “electro-metal breakdown.” Thug (real name: Bambie Ray Robinson) is the first nonbinary artist to represent Ireland in Eurovision and will be the first Irish contestant in the competition since Ryan O’Shaugnessy placed 16th with “Together” in 2018.
Thug’s entry is expected to place high in the grand final rankings. If they end up in the top five, it will be Ireland’s biggest Eurovision success since Marc Roberts’ “Mysterious Ways,” which finished second to Katrina & the Waves winning U.K. entry “Love Shine a Light” in 1997.
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Talia, an Israeli-born singer living in Luxembourg, will be the first person from that small European country — the only grand duchy (a country ruled by a monarch with the title of grand duke or duchess) remaining in the world — to sing in Eurovision since Modern Times placed 20th with “Donne-Moi Une Chance” in 1993.
The other eight countries that qualified for the grand final are Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Lithuania, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine. The five countries relegated out, by public vote during the live broadcast, are Australia, Azerbaijan, Iceland, Moldova and Poland.
The oddsmakers have Croatia heavily tipped to win; it would be that nation’s first victory in 30 attempts, although Riva, a band from Croatia, triumphed in 1990 when their country was still part of Yugoslavia.
A second semifinal will be broadcast live on Thursday (May 9). There will be 16 countries fighting for a spot in the grand final top 10 that night: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland.
Pre-qualified, and thus able to skip the semifinals, are the host country (Sweden) and the “Big Five” (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom), so-named because they contribute the largest amounts to the production budget.
Semifinal No 2 of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest will be live on Peacock in the U.S. on Thursday starting at 3 p.m. ET/noon PT. The grand final will also be live, on Saturday at the same times.
BE:FIRST’s “Masterplan” blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated May 1, ending Creepy Nuts’ consecutive run atop the chart at 13 weeks.
The title track of the septet’s concept single released April 24 on CD, “Masterplan” debuts at No. 2 for CD sales with 115,963 copies sold in its first week, and comes in at No. 7 for streaming with 7,955,802 weekly streams. It also rules downloads (35,174 units), radio airplay and video views, dominating three metrics to take the top spot on the Japan Hot 100 like the group’s previous release, “Mainstream.” This is BE:FIRST’s sixth No. 1 hit, having previously ruled the tally with “Gifted,” “Bye-Good-Bye,” “Scream,” “Boom Boom Back,” and “Mainstream.”
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Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” slips to No. 2 after 13 straight weeks atop the Japan Hot 100. While it yields the top spot this week, the number of downloads for the MASHLE Season 2 opener increased by 105% from the week before, and points for karaoke and radio also increased, resulting in only a slight decrease in overall points.
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Omoinotake’s “IKUOKU KONEN” rises 5-3 this week. The three-man band hit the stage for its first headlining show at the Osaka Jo Yaon outdoor concert hall on April 28, celebrating the day the band was formed, and downloads increased slightly probably due to this event. Omoinotake is set to digitally release a new single called “Tsubomi” (Bud) on May 5, to be featured as the ending theme of the anime series My Hero Academia Season 7.
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WEST.’s “Heart” bows at No. 6. “Heart” is the anniversary single commemorating the tenth anniversary of the seven-member boy band’s CD debut on April 23. The track ruled sales with 263,585 CDs sold in the first week, while also coming in at No. 19 for radio.
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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 April 22 to 28, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
There are times when a performance gains power not only from who’s playing what music and how, but also from when and where it’s played. So it was with the Berlin Philharmonic’s 2024 Europakonzert, which took place on May 1 at the historic Tsinandali Estate in Georgia.
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As Georgians protested in the streets of the capital city of Tbilisi against a law that would regulate NGOs and foreign media companies in a way that many people there believe would benefit Russia – or at least follow its illiberal path — one of the most accomplished orchestras in Europe delivered a majestic performance of pieces by Schubert, Brahms and Beethoven, as if to culturally anchor the country in the heart of Europe.
The concert at the Tsinandali Estate was gorgeous – an afternoon show, performed outdoors on a sunny day, with birds chirping in the background. (Conductor Daniel Harding stepped in for Daniel Barenboim.) The prominent violinist Lisa Batiashvili, who comes from Georgia and is now an artist in residence at the Berlin Philharmonic, performed the solos in Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major with power and exquisite sensitivity.
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The next night, the orchestra performed the same show at the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater – not far from where some of the protests took place – followed by considerable applause and the unfurling of a couple of European Union flags. It was hard to miss the symbolism – not nationalism but something more open-hearted. The politics never overshadowed the music, which was powerful in its own right, but it was clear how much the music, and the idea of Europe, meant to the Georgian audience. Sometimes concerts are the continuation of policy by other means.
Georgia sits a crossroads between Europe and Asia – always geographically and now politically as well. Culturally, the country has always faced West – it’s mostly Eastern Orthodox, and it was part of the Soviet Union before it gained independence. In December, under the current government, Georgia officially received candidate status to join the European Union, which the majority of people there seem to favor and would place the country firmly in the West. And although the overlap of the Europakonzert and the debate about the proposed law is just coincidental, it seemed to hint at two possible paths forward for the country: A kind of international optimism or a narrower nationalism.
The Tsinandali Estate, which was leased from the government and renovated by the Silk Road Group, a Georgian company, has its own particularly European cultural history. The estate, which fell into disrepair during the Soviet era, is identified with Prince Alexander Chavchavadze, a Georgian aristocrat, who used it in the 1800s to bring to Georgia European-style wine, formal gardens and classical music. Silk Road, which has restored the estate to its former glory with an eye toward historic preservation, now operates two hotels there, as well as nearby vineyard and a fall classical music festival that features young performers from across the Caucasus region. This, too, is profoundly optimistic.
“We thought, ‘How can we bring life to’” the estate, says George Ramishvili, the Silk Road Group’s founder and chairman. “And we chose classical music because it’s related to history.”
Europakonzert
Stephan Rabold
Years ago, Ramishvili connected with the Berlin Philharmonic through Batiashvili, and they started discussing brining the annual Europakonzert to Georgia. “It’s the perfect music but also the message for peace – we’re both about a united Europe,” Ramishvili says. “Europe is Georgia and Georgia is Europe.”
Everything about the concerts brought that idea home. At both shows, the audience seemed to be mostly middle-class Georgians, probably a few years older and a bit more fortunate than most of the protesters, who skewed younger. But they both want more engagement with a Europe that has put aside its conflicts. The European Union has its share of problems, but it represents a more compelling vision of the future than anything coming out of Russia.
None of this hung over the concerts, though. The annual Europakonzert, which is usually but not always performed in an EU member state, is symbolic, for a variety of reasons, including where it happens and the role of Berlin, which has become the cultural capital of Europe. But anyone who didn’t understand the politics, or simply wanted to forget them, would have found the shows just as compelling without that context. At Tsinandali, the stone walls of the amphitheater seemed to magnify the sound, as birdsong broke through the quiet parts of Schubert’s The Magic Harp. Batiashvili brought a richness of tonal color to Brahms’ Violin Concerto in D Major, especially in the Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theater, where Harding brought out the orchestra’s power.
Music diplomacy has been a tradition since at least the 1950s, when the U.S. State Department arranged for “Jazz Ambassadors,” most famously Louis Armstrong, to tour the world. Musicians seldom solve international disagreements, and it’s not their job to do so, but shows like this bring countries closer together in a way that shows what they have to offer one another. These two shows made a powerful case for both the value of the European idea and its potential for expansion.
Europakonzert
Stephan Rabold
Nutsa Buzaladze received raves from the American Idol judges when she competed last year on season 21 of the long-running television talent series. Eliminated from the top 12 on April 30, 2023, the singer from the nation of Georgia didn’t sit still. This week she will perform on another televised song contest when she represents her country in the Eurovision Song Contest, which normally reaches a worldwide audience in the hundreds of millions.
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One year after interviewing Nutsa in Hollywood during her time on Idol, Billboard sat down with her again, this time in Malmö, Sweden, to talk about her life since then and what will be the biggest moment of her career so far.
When we talked last year in California, I suggested you sing for Georgia in Eurovision, and here you are. What have the last 12 months been like for you?
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First of all, American Idol was the biggest thing I’ve done in my life. They gave me an open door to new opportunities. Like Lionel [Richie] said to me, “It doesn’t matter what number, you’re a star.” American Idol was a starter for my international career. Being on Idol makes your life much easier because people look at you and say you’re the real deal. I have an agent in America and he had me perform the National Anthem at a Lakers game and a Dodgers game. I had an amazing summer living in Miami and was in the Hamptons for a weekend when a producer [with Georgia’s national broadcaster] called and said, “Nutsa, we are thinking of having you represent your country at Eurovision. When are you coming to Georgia?”
So you said yes to Eurovision?
I told them I only had one condition: I’m going to be involved with every little detail. And they said, “Yes, for sure. We want you to be at your best. We want you to sing the song that you love to sing.” So I had the freedom to be myself and not someone that they want me to be and that is the greatest thing they’ve done for me. And it’s coming from the director of the broadcast.
You’re singing “Firefighter” as the Georgian entry. Who found the song?
We had an open call. We received amazing songs, and we listened to all 300 of them. We had three favorites, and we chose one that I feel very confident in. “Firefighter” was from Darko Dimitrov, a Macedonian producer who has a lot of experience in Eurovision. The writer of the lyrics was Ada Skitka from Estonia. I really loved the song, but only the chorus. I flew from Miami to Macedonia, and we spent three days in the studio finishing the song. It was a very creative process.
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What does representing Georgia in Eurovision mean to you?
I have loved my country ever since I was a very little girl. Because of my country’s history and our people, I want to make them proud. I want to show the world how great Georgia is and how many talented people we have. We are a very small nation and that makes me more motivated to put Georgia on the map everywhere I can. Because especially in America, they think that Georgia is a state.
You competed on Idol and now you’re competing again in Eurovision. What are your thoughts about the competition?
I don’t really think of it as a competition, to be honest. I do it for my career and I do it to become better and to have more experience, because all my life I wanted to have a career where you can go everywhere and sing everywhere. Not only in my country, but everywhere. I think big competitions give you the possibilities to be heard by millions and millions of people and that’s the main reason I’m doing it. I don’t like to compete with anybody. The only person I’m competing with always is myself, because I always want to do something bigger and better.
What was the main lesson you learned during your run on American Idol?
On American Idol, I realized that I had done hard work before, but Idol is the hardest work. I pushed myself to the limits. When I was in my hotel room, I cried because I was so exhausted from the emotions. By the time we were doing the live shows, it was better. I became friends with the contestants and then I became friends with the crew.
What are your plans for your career after Eurovision?
My new single is coming out on May 12. I shot a music video before flying to Malmö. The song is called “Mother’s Day” and I’m releasing it on Mother’s Day. It’s about my mom and she is in the music video with me. I’m sure a lot of people are going to cry because I love my mother very much and I wanted to have a song about her.
What else lies ahead?
There is other news I haven’t told anybody, so I’ve saved it for Billboard. I’ve been invited to audition for Broadway on May 11 [the same day as Eurovision]. So I need to go to New York as soon as possible for that.
Can you tell me for what show?
I don’t think they want me to. It’s a modern musical. The character that they want me to play is very near to who I am in real life and the voice of that character in the songs is my style.
Nutsa Buzaladze will sing “Firefighter” in the first semi-final of the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest on Tuesday (May 7) in Malmö, Sweden. The live broadcast can be seen in the U.S. on Peacock at 3 p.m. ET. If “Firefighter” is one of 10 songs from the 15 semi-final entries that qualifies for the grand final, she will perform the song again on Saturday (May 11). That four-hour show will be seen on Peacock, also at 3 p.m. ET.