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Nothing can crush “Flowers” (via Columbia) in the U.K., as Miley Cyrus’ track becomes the longest-reigning No. 1 single of 2023 so far.
The U.S. pop singer enters a fifth consecutive week atop the Official U.K. Singles Chart with “Flowers,” powered by 8.5 million streams across the cycle. That’s more than enough streams to lead all singles in that format for a fifth straight week.
“Flowers” is easily Miley’s biggest chart hit in the U.K., beating the single-week runs for her previous leaders “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball,” both from 2013.
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After nabbing her first-ever U.K. top 10 spot earlier in the month, PinkPantheress pounces once more with “Boy’s a liar” (Warner Records), up 8-3 in its ninth week on the chart. It’s the third top 40 appearance for the British singer, songwriter and producer, and it’s helped up by a remix featuring rising U.S. rapper Ice Spice.
Linkin Park locks the highest new entry on the latest chart, published Feb. 17, with “Lost,” a previously unreleased track which features vocals from the band’s late leader singer Chester Bennington.
The nu-metal favorites bow at No. 18, for their first U.K. top 20 appearance in 14 years. “Lost” is one of six unreleased songs on Meteora 20, the 20th anniversary edition of their sophomore album. Meteora 20th Anniversary Edition will be released through Warner Records on April 7.
Further down the list, London rapper Strandz scores his first U.K. top 40 as “Us Against The World” (Relentless) jumps 42-27, while countryman Central Cee snags his 16th top 40 appearance with “Me & You” (Central Cee), new at No. 31.
Close behind is Brighton, England alternative-pop act Lovejoy with “Call Me What You Like” (Anvil Cat). It’s new at No. 32 for Lovejoy’s first top 40 appearance.
Finally, the Feb. 12 Brit Awards has juiced-up the chart performance of several winners, performers and nominees.
Among the beneficiaries is George Ezra “Green Green Grass” (Columbia), which lifts 19-14 after it was shortlisted for song of the year, eventually losing out to Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (Columbia), up 34-7 on the latest survey. Meanwhile, Lewis Capaldi’s “Forget Me” (Vertigo), which the Scotsman performed on the night, is up 44-37.
Paramore stands tall atop the U.K. albums chart as This Is Why (via Atlantic) blasts to No. 1.
This Is Why had led its closest rival at the midweek point by two-to-one, and it completes the job by securing the title.
According to the Official Charts Company, This Is Why, the Franklin, Tennessee-formed band’s sixth studio LP, was a particular hit on physical formats, which accounted for 76% of its final total.
The reunited trio of Hayley Williams, Zac Farro and Taylor York now has a third U.K. No. 1, including Brand New Eyes (from 2009) and Paramore (2013). This Is Why also leads the Official Vinyl Albums Chart, and it’s the best-seller in Australia.
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Also new to the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published Feb. 17, is You Me At Six’s Truth Decay (Underdog), the Surrey, England group’s eighth studio album. It’s new at No. 4 for the rockers’ seventh consecutive top 10 appearance.
ABBA continues to mine Gold (Polydor) with their 1992 greatest hits collection, which improves 15-10. The set has now chalked up a ridiculous 1,085 weeks on the U.K. chart, and July 2021 became the first LP to log 1,000 weeks on the survey.
The Swedish pop legends have made a home of sorts in the U.K. with ABBA Voyage. Digital avatars of the band – or ABBA-tars, as the show’s producers insist on calling them – are performing through November at the purpose-built 3,000-capacity ABBA Arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London.
Another legendary act makes an impact on the latest chart — The Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger and Co. bow at No. 21 with live hits collection GRRR! Live (Mercury Studios), for the Stones’ 54th top 40 appearance.
Finally, two major TV broadcasts produce chart bumps for several performers.
After performing a medley of hits for her Super Bowl halftime slot, Rihanna’s ANTI (Roc Nation) returns to the top 40 at No. 39. The Barbadian pop artist’s eighth studio album enjoys a 74% week-on-week gain as it improves 69 spots, the OCC reports, while RiRi’s 2007 album Good Girl Gone Bad (Def Jam) rises 41 places to No. 42.
Harry Styles won album, artist and song of the year at the 2023 Brit Awards. He’s a winner again as Harry’s House (Columbia/Sony) lifts 6-2, and his previous, sophomore set Fine Line improves 31-20 on the latest list.
And Brighton, England alternative pop duo Wet Leg’s chart-topping, eponymously-titled Domino Recordings debut flies 83 spots to No. 29, after winning for group of the year and best new artist at the BRITs.
The 73rd edition of the Sanremo Festival ended just a few days ago but its aftermath will last for a long time. Not just for the quantity of funny memes, but also for the impact that the event had on streaming platforms and on the growth of the artists’ profiles on social media. And finally, for spurring a debate topic that concerns not just music but the society we live in: The absence of women among the five finalists. Was that just a matter of appreciation of the songs – like many artists themselves said – or is there something deeper?
Also: Did the six new artists coming from Sanremo Giovani really benefit from the participation in the main competition?
The impact on streaming platforms
The TV show ended, so the competition is now shifting to the digital world. Like after the last editions, streaming platforms are dominated by Sanremo songs, as clearly shown by Spotify’s Top 50 (Italy and Global) and Apple Music’s Top 100 Italy. The most streamed songs on both Spotify and Apple Music are Lazza’s “Cenere” (“Ashes”), Mr. Rain’s “Supereroi” (“Superheroes”), and winner Marco Mengoni’s “Due Vite” (“Two Lives”) – the top three contestants of Sanremo 2023.
The impact of Sanremo on streaming platforms can also be observed on a global scale. Six songs of the top 10 of Spotify’s Top Songs Debut Global are from Sanremo: Besides the three already mentioned, also Madame’s “Il Bene nel Male” (“The Good in the Bad”), Rosa Chemical’s “Made in Italy,” and Tananai’s “Tango.” Is streaming the festival’s true democracy?
Growth on social media
The Italian agency of influencer marketing FLU analyzed the contestants’ impact on social media. In the digital world, the most active audience was the one comprised between the age of 18 and 24. It is another confirmation of the generational turnover that characterized Sanremo in the last years, supported by the growing number of younger artists participating in the contest.
Overall, Sanremo generated more than a billion views for the hashtag #sanremo2023 and millions of views for the videos published by the festival’s official profile. The artists’ profiles also benefited from such a visibility and massively raised their number of followers. Rosa Chemical saw a growth of 158%, Mr. Rain of 98,84% and Colapesce & Dimartino of 55%. In absolute numbers, Marco Mengoni surpassed all the others once again, with 400,000 new followers.
The absence of women among the five finalists
Marco Mengoni immediately said that he wanted to dedicate his victory to “all the women who participated this year and brought wonderful songs on stage.” During a press conference the day after, he added that Italy still has a lot to do when it comes to gender equality. The female artists themselves did not want to accuse anybody and minimized the issue. Still, the last time a woman won Sanremo was with Arisa’s victory in 2014.
Before the beginning of Sanremo, Elodie said in an interview with Vogue Italy: “Male artists don’t get bothered as much. If you’re a male, you do your thing and that’s it. But I have the impression that someone is always there to judge me. That pisses me off. I get the feeling that I’m not good enough. Men get judged less.”
There are many factors to consider, starting from a deeper understanding of the demographics of those who vote from home. But the gender gap is still an issue in the Italian music industry.
Equaly, an Italian community of female professionals of the music industry, analyzed the problem closely. In the last year’s edition of Sanremo, women were 36% of the contestants. This year, that figure fell to 33.7% – 11 female artists out of 28 contestants. No wonder women had fewer chances to make it to the final stage of the contest.
“There are several reasons why the Italian music market is not very inclusive,” said Francesca Barone, co-founder of Equaly. “For sure, a few factors are the way Spotify’s algorithms work, the success of trap music, the pandemic giving women the burden of family care, and also Italy’s traditional mentality, still dominated by patriarchal schemes.”
The new artists at Sanremo
If you are 20 and have the possibility of showcasing your talent in Italy’s prime music event, the final result is maybe not too important. Still, it is worth noting that the six artists coming from the contest Sanremo Giovani occupy the lower positions of the final ranking: with a No. 20 ranking, Colla Zio were the most successful. It is difficult to compete with household names and their fan bases built over the course of decades.
Prior to the event, Billboard Italy asked artistic director and main host Amadeus about this issue. He said that he just wanted to give newer artists the right space: “This world needs to trust the young, both in music and entertainment. People my age often reject their ideas, but they’re wrong. It’s us who need to adapt and enter their world, also because they spontaneously fall in love with the past.”
Sethu, Shari, Colla Zio, gIANMARIA, Olly, and Will paid the price of not being known to the general public before the beginning of the festival. Sanremo’s younger audience has been getting bigger and bigger, but how many of them actually vote?
Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” and Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” unofficially kicked off the year in new music when they soared in at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Jan. 28-dated Billboard global charts. While they have yet to budge from the top two positions on Billboard Global Excl. U.S., and the former maintains its command on the Billboard Global 200, no new song has hit the top 10 of either ranking since. The Feb. 18-dated Global Excl. U.S. chart features just four new entries overall, matching a record low sum of weekly debuts since the survey began in September 2020.
One of the standout new arrivals is PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2,” starting at No. 54, as well as at No. 15 on the Global 200. The song premiered late in 2022 as a solo track for the former before being remixed and reissued as a duet with the later on Feb. 3. The remix sparks the song’s launch on the global charts (and the U.S.-based Billboard Hot 100, at No. 14), spiking by 328% to 36 million weekly streams worldwide in the week ending Feb. 9, according to Luminate (with all versions rolled up into one chart listing).
Both artists released their first singles in 2021 and, in less than two years, have built themselves up as two of the buzziest online acts. Including the original solo take of “Boy’s a Liar” (but before releasing the song’s instant-hit remix), the U.K.-born PinkPantheress amassed more than 1.2 billion global streams despite never cracking either global chart or the Hot 100. Originally released on Nov. 30, 2022, the solo version debuted to 2.2 million worldwide streams in its first week, before growing to a peak of 9.8 million in the week ending Jan. 26.
Despite Ice Spice’s less robust discography and lower international profile, the song’s explosion on the most recent charts owes much of its success to its new co-headliner, the fast-talking New York-based rapper. It’s reasonable to assume that she did not just help grow the track’s overall global stream count, but helped further increase the song’s presence in the U.S., as its domestic share of streams leaps from 39% to 56%, compared to the week’s overall average of 23%.
While “Boy’s a Liar, Pt. 2” scores the Hot Shot Debut on the Global 200, the highest new entry on Global Excl. U.S. is Léo Santana’s “Zona de Perigo.” The Brazilian artist scores his first title on either global chart, opening No. 48 on the Global 200. The bulk of the song’s start is owed to its official live-performance music video. Of its 29.5 million global streams, 29.3 million came from outside the U.S. and 61% stemmed from video platforms. That’s a higher share of video streams than all but eight songs on the 200-position Global Excl. U.S. chart, and all but three on the Global 200.
As Santana was busy scoring his first global chart hit, Karol G, from Colombia, follows with her 14th, as “X Si Volvemos,” with U.S.-born Romeo Santos (who adds his second), debuts at No. 30 on the Global 200 and No. 32 on Global Excl. U.S., powered by 29.6 million streams worldwide.
Lastly, Mexico’s Fuerza Regida and Natanael Cano enter Global Excl. U.S. and the Global 200 at Nos. 179 and 184, respectively, with “Ch y la Pizza” (13.9 million).
Both tracks show similar streaming splits, with 28% and 25%, respectively, from the U.S., striking a balance between PinkPantheress and Ice Spice’s domestic lean and Santana’s strong international favor.
With their first album in six years, This Is Why (via Atlantic/Warner), Paramore powers all the way to No. 1 in Australia.
This Is Why becomes Paramore’s third leader on the ARIA Chart, following Brand New Eyes (in 2009) and Paramore (2013). It’s their sixth studio album and the followup to 2017’s After Laughter, which peaked at No. 3 in these parts.
The reunited pop-rock trio of Hayley Williams, Taylor York and Zac Farro can boast another neat feat this week; This Is Why is the only new release to impact the ARIA Top 50.
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Completing the podium on the latest ARIA Albums Chart, published Feb. 17, is Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (Columbia/Sony), up 3-2 following his triumphant nights at the BRITs and Grammy Awards; and Taylor Swift’s Midnights (Universal), down 1-3.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Miley Cyrus makes it five weeks in a row with “Flowers” (Columbia/Sony), a record that just seems to grow on fans.
The pop star’s reign could face a challenge from “Boy’s A Liar” (Plg/Warner) by PinkPantheress, the hotly-tipped British singer, songwriter and producer. “Boy’s A Liar” roars 25-3, following the release of a remix featuring U.S. rising star Ice Spice.
Also on the move up is Miguel’s 2010 release “Sure Thing” (Sony), which lifts 11-7 after getting the viral treatment on TikTok. That’s well-up on the original No. 11 peak for “Sure Thing” back in 2011, and it marks the U.S. R&B artist’s second top 10 appearance (his 2013 collaboration with Mariah Carey on “Beautiful” went to No. 6). “Sure Thing” is now three-times platinum certified.
Finally, American rapper and singer Coi Leray’s catchy number “Players” (Universal) is on the rise. It’s up 18-10.
Hoshimachi Suisei is a VTuber (“Virtual YouTuber”) managed by Japan’s leading VTuber agency, hololive production. Hoshimachi, whose tagline is “it’s your shooting star, your diamond in the rough,” was an independent creator before joining hololive’s new label INoNaKa Music in May 2019. She released her first album Still Still Stellar in September 2021, which launched at No. 1 on Billboard Japan’s download albums chart. In this day and age when VTubers are becoming increasingly recognized and their fields of activity expanding into multiple genres, Hoshimachi has gained a massive following for her distinctive singing voice.
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“The fact that a VTuber is becoming recognized as a recording artist is interesting in itself,” she says of her activities. “I’m enjoying the challenge of seeing how far I can go as a VTuber, how widespread we can become and be accepted. I want to open up new avenues not so much as an artist, but as a VTuber who is also an artist.”
Her second album, Specter, released Jan. 25, draws out her potential as a singer even more so than her debut set. Cutting-edge creators such as Tomoya Tabuchi, Tatsuya Kitani, and Nanahoshi Orchestra (aka Takashi Iwami) contributed songs to the album, providing a great variety in sound. Hoshimachi explains that she wanted to add more band-like songs to her catalog because she wanted to perform her second concert with a live band.
At the same time, she says she wanted to express a darker side of herself on this project. “I wanted to sublimate some of the bitterness stemming from what I do that I can’t usually express in my usual livestreams,” she explains. “My first album had a lot of sparkly, ‘idol’-like songs. For the next one, I wanted to sing more numbers along the lines of ‘Her Trail on the Celestial Sphere’ and ‘Ghost.’” The title of her sophomore set is a nod to her self-penned song “Ghost” from her debut project, which she drew inspiration from her innermost negative emotions to write.
The lead track “Michizure” was provided by Ayase, principal songwriter of YOASOBI, the breakout duo that creates music inspired by novels and stories. Hoshimachi shares her reasons for asking the sought-after hitmaker to write the principle number for her second album. “My first album was fortunately well received, so I was wondering who I should ask to write the lead track for the new project that could contend with it,” she says. “I liked Ayase’s music a lot and was talking with my team about how awesome it would be if he were to agree to write a song for me. I’m glad we were able to make it happen.”
Ayase says he had seen Hoshimachi’s videos covering his songs. Regarding VTubers he notes, “They try different things and put out a variety of contents don’t they? They sing, do variety show-like things and live game streaming, too. I think of them as an evolution of TV personalities rather than an offshoot of YouTubers.”
VTubers enjoy immense popularity now, but Hoshimachi looks back on its history and says that it wasn’t always smooth sailing. “When I joined hololive, Kizuna AI was blazing the trail, but it felt like the people who liked VTubers were creating boundaries amongst themselves,” she shares. “We weren’t very big at the time, so I thought that internal conflicts would cause the entire genre to become obsolete. It was a time when we should all be cooperating with each other, and I wanted to expand the concept of VTubers further and make it more interesting.”
Hoshimachi continues to take on various challenges as a virtual artist because of this desire for progress, and she recently demonstrated her motivation in a prominent way. She became the first VTuber to sing on the popular YouTube channel The First Take, which has over 7 million subscribers. The concept of the channel is to record a song live in one take, and fans are treated to their favorite artists’ highly charged performances.
“I was nervous and was like, ‘Whoa, it really is shot in one take!,’” she says with a laugh. “So I really put my heart into that single take. I consulted with various people to find the best way to get people’s attention, but as for the performance itself, I did my best to be my usual self and just sing well. We decided to create the impact by diving into the number with no self-introductions at the beginning.”
In her first The First Take video, Hoshimachi sang “Stellar Stellar,” the lead track from her first album. This video received a great deal of attention and attracted more than 160,000 peak simultaneous viewers. She then dropped a video of her performance of “Michizure,” the aforementioned lead track from her sophomore set.
Looking back at the creative process for the number, Ayase says that Hoshimachi spoke about some hang-ups regarding her career in their conversation that took place before he wrote the song. “When we had our first meeting remotely, I asked her about the problems she faced in her activities as a VTuber,” he shares. “What she told me was similar to the pressures that we (non-virtual) artists feel. The price you pay for fame that comes with facing the public and the worries that derive from that are common to all of us. Of course, ‘Michizure’ is a song about Suisei, but I also mixed in my own personal thoughts as I wrote it.”
Hoshimachi shares the concrete image she had in mind for the lead track. “I intended to fill the second album with themes of pain and conflicting feelings, and asked Ayase to write a track that would lead a set of songs like a ‘hyakkiyako’ (‘monster parade’).” The inspiration for the song comes from her personal feelings, but she adds, “When I write songs, I don’t want to limit the target audience. I want the song to be something that people from all walks of life can relate to when they hear it. I think the lyrics (for ‘Michizure’) turned out like that.”
Ayase says his first impression of Hoshimachi’s singing voice was that it had “both power and clarity.” “It’s rare to find someone with a voice like this. Even if someone has a really good voice, it’s not always possible to explain it as an image. In that respect, Suisei’s voice is strong and clear, and I could picture it as something like a vacuum tube, so it was easy for me to write a song for her.”
“I think people would usually imagine something terrifying when they hear the keyword ‘hyakkiyako,’ but I thought that what she was asking for was a song that would march at the front of that parade of monsters, so I wanted it to be solid,” he continues. “Meanwhile, it should also have a sense of sorrow. I wanted the chorus to have a kind of incongruity, in the sense that it has composure and is majestic, but also has vulnerability at its core.” To achieve this goal, the 28-year-old hitmaker says he was careful “not to put too many words” into “Michizure” compared to the songs he has created before.
Following the release of her second album Specter, Hoshimachi held her second headlining concert entitled Shout in Crisis on Jan. 28. She shared in an interview ahead of the show: “This is my first live performance with a live band, and we’ve been pretty meticulous about the staging. We’ve prepared various tricks to make you feel as if you’d just finished watching a movie when the show is over.” She also announced her third solo concert at the end of the show, which has been archived and is currently available on YouTube. Like a comet, her namesake, it looks like Hoshimachi’s rapid progress is unstoppable.
This interview by Takuto Ueda first appeared on Billboard Japan.
BSS’ “Fighting,” feat. Lee Young Ji, blasts in at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Feb. 15. BSS consists of three members — SEUNGKWAN, DK, and HOSHI — from the 13-member South Korean boy band SEVENTEEN.
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The lead single off the trio’s project SECOND WIND performed well in a balanced way on this week’s charts, coming in at No. 3 for sales, No. 7 for video views, No. 9 for downloads and No. 13 for streaming. The track is the group’s first new song in five years.
NCT DREAM’s “Best Friend Ever” launched at No. 1 for sales this week with 348,133 copies sold, and HKT48’s “Kimi wa motto dekiru” followed at No. 2 for the metric with 178,889 copies. But these two tracks couldn’t support that lead with other metrics — for example, “Best Friend Ever” came in at No. 54 for downloads and No. 90 for video — and were unable to overtake “Fighting” at No. 1 and the long-running hit “Subtitle” by Official HIGE DANdism at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100. “Best Friend Ever” bows at No. 3 while “Kimi wa motto dekiru” debuts at No. 4 this week.
Rising singer-songwriter YU-KA’s “Hoshizukiyo,” the theme of the ongoing TV drama series Hoshifuruyoruni starring Yuriko Yoshitaka and Takumi Kitamura, debuts at No. 9 on the Japan Hot 100. The track is off to a good start, ruling downloads this week with 14,816 units, and also coming in at No. 4 for radio, No. 45 for streaming and No. 72 for video.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, YouTube and GYAO! video views and karaoke data.
For the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Feb. 6 to Feb. 12, head here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.
Skirllex, Fred again.. and Four Tet will play Madison Square Garden this Saturday (Feb. 18). The show, announced today (Feb. 15), will serve as a large-scale celebration of Skrillex’s sophomore album, Quest For Fire, dropping this Friday (Feb. 17) on OWSLA/Atlantic Records.
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Tickets for the show go on sale today at 1 p.m. ET. The MSG show will mark the biggest event that the trio have played together thus far, launching their b2b2b threesome last month at a trio of clubs in London and continuing the run last night at Good Room in Brooklyn.
“Last night in New York was so fun with my brothers Four Tet and Skrillex,” reads an email sent out today to Fred again..’s mailing list. “So due to popular demand we’re announcing another date, Madison Square Garden, on Saturday.” Skrillex also announced the set today via his Instagram.
The show marks a massive return of dance music to the iconic venue, which became a de facto dance scene hub during the EDM boom, hosting sold-out shows from era-defining acts including Swedish House Mafia and Jack Ü, Skrillex’s project with Diplo. This weekend’s show will mark both Four Tet and Fred again..’s debut appearances at MSG.
A press release notes that “this week is expected to be monumental for everyone involved in the project and fans who have been keeping up with recent events alike,” with attached imagery featuring the names of album collaborators including Justin Bieber, Porter Robinson, Missy Elliott and many more.
“Last night, the collision of the three artists’ styles was apparent from the jump; throughout the night you could confidently guess who was behind the selection of each track,” reads our review of the January show in London. “The hosts regularly interacted with the eager, Thursday night crowd, checking in by throwing a singular cordless mic between each other. At one point, Fred jumped on to the mic to ask, ‘Do you all have enough room to dance?’ His rhetorical question was answered by squeals and screams — not dissimilar to hysterical fans at a boy band concert. The sea of people rippled as one, as people stayed put on the dancefloor for the entire set.”
Marco Mengoni won Sanremo 2023, after the pop star dominated the song contest from start to finish with his song “Due Vite” (“Two Lives”). It was Mengoni’s second victory at the festival, his first coming in 2013 with “L’essenziale” (“The Essential”).
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He triumphed over finalists Lazza, Mr. Rain, Ultimo, and Tananai – all male artists. Upon accepting the prize, Mengoni dedicated it to “all the women who participated this year and brought wonderful songs on stage.”
During a press conference with the top three contestants the day after, he added that “the women of this year’s edition had incredible songs. I was sorry to see that none of them were among the five finalists. Clearly, we still have a lot to do to change things in this country.”
Mengoni, who is signed to Sony Music Entertainment’s Epic Records Italy, also explained why he burst into tears during a previous press conference. “They were tears of joy, of course. You must walk through the difficult times of life. I’m grateful to my life for making me overcome tough experiences that made me grow up as a person. I’m talking about private experiences that I don’t want to disclose.”
The singer confirmed he will represent Italy at Eurovision Song Contest in May. “It will be my first time” in Liverpool, he said.
Rapper Lazza said his second-place finish bodes well for the Italian urban scene. “I’m so happy, long live hip-hop,” he said. While believing he could win, Lazza complimented Mengoni on his victory. “Marco had wonderful song and he’s a great singer.”
The third-place finish by Mr. Rain, another rapper, was also impressive. He maintained a low profile during the competition but then climbed up the rankings with a song about depression, which he sang accompanied by a children’s choir.
“Many people texted me on social media,” he said. “People connected to ‘Supereroi’ [‘Superheroes’] because it talks about asking for help in a moment of weakness. When you’re in a dark place, you feel like you’re the only one suffering and feeling those emotions. The important thing is having the courage to accept yourself and show you for who you are – with the innocence we had when we were children.”
In terms of audience, this year’s edition of Sanremo was the highest rated since 1995. Overall, 63.1% of TV viewers followed the five nights of the event. On average, the final night (Jan. 11) was watched by 12,256,000 people, or 66% of TV viewers.
Here is the definitive full final ranking of the 73rd edition of Sanremo.
Marco Mengoni
Lazza
Mr. Rain
Ultimo
Tananai
Giorgia
Madame
Rosa Chemical
Elodie
Colapesce & Dimartino
Modà
Gianluca Grignani
Coma Cose
Ariete
LDA
Articolo 31
Paola & Chiara
Leo Gassmann
Mara Sattei
Colla Zio
Cugini di Campagna
gIANMARIA
Levante
Olly
Anna Oxa
Will
Shari
Sethu
“The past is a prologue, something to treasure on the long road of life.”
Although life slowed down for many people in China in 2022, the country witnessed many heartwarming stage performances, artist breakthroughs, an emerging new generation of young musicians and the growing role that technology is playing in music.
To bid farewell to 2022 and usher in 2023, Billboard China spent an evening with 12 musicians from different generations and musical styles. They shared their achievements in 2022, their thoughts on the past year, and expressed their expectations for the future.
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Even though Zheng Jun, Zhang Yuan and Su Xing (Allen Su) are industry veterans, 2022 was a brand-new experience for them.
Zheng Jun, a Chinese rock legend, was among the cast of contestants when Call Me by Fire (Season 2) premiered in August. In an interview, he said that his friends were afraid that his participation in the show would “make him lose his integrity in his later years,” but he responded that, “In my later years, I intend to break new personal ground, not preserve the old.”
In trailers for the show, Zheng stunned audiences with his casual demeanor. Far from seeming “called by fire,” he instead practiced meditation, ate barbecue and applied facial masks. When it came time to hit the stage, he instantly took audiences back to the golden age of rock and roll with his floral shirts and classic swagger. Zheng has claimed that “all I’ve ever dreamed of is true love and freedom,” and this sentiment shines through in his stage performances.
People have commented how Zheng seems to have remained the same, something all-too-rare in these ever-changing times. For Zheng, his reverence for his songs, his passion for music and his dedication to creating the best art possible has never changed.
In other ways, however, Zheng has changed. He is now more relaxed, happier and more optimistic. For him, the show feels like an adventure with friends both old and new. Before the competition got underway, Zheng sent a message to his friend Faye Wong saying that his only goal was to “have fun.”
In contrast, Zhang Yuan and Su Xing (Allen Su) brought about an upswing for themselves in 2022. 0713, the down-and-out men’s team, finally saw things turn around after an unexpected resurgence in popularity after their appearance on Welcome to the Mushroom House.
Reflecting on 2022, Zhang Yuan says he is pleased that he participated in as many music variety shows as he did. He is also happy that he managed to secure many different stages to show what he was capable of, and that he got to participate in some original soundtracks. Su also joked about having such a heavy workload on the show that it was enough to make him “happy for more than half a year.”
From Super Boy (Happy Boy) to Welcome to the Mushroom House, and then onto even bigger and better stages down the line, 0713 owe their success to their persistence. Zhang Yuan continued to innovate with his music, and found that music and the stage still held the highest allure for him, even after having been in the industry for many years.
Su cast an even wider net. He participated in talk shows, tried his hand at being a sports blogger and dabbled in content planning for variety shows.
They may be pursuing different goals, but they are taking a similar path. Personal milestones and progress will come naturally when you love what you do and keep an open and inquisitive heart and mind.
Zheng Jun, the oldest member, along with Zhang Yuan and Su Xing (Allen Su), come from the first generation of talent shows. Throughout the years, their admiration and love for music has never faded, and they have ceaselessly explored the infinite possibilities that music affords them. Overcoming all obstacles that lay ahead of them, they always walk their own path.
New Styles and Tasks
Some musicians focus on their styles and areas of expertise, while others turn to new tasks and directions, enjoying the occasional detour in their musical journey.
From Morning Bound for Midnight to The Direction of Light, music fans have become familiar with Zhang Bichen’s work over the past few years. Somewhat unusually for someone with such a commanding stage presence, Zhang openly admits that she has maintained the habit of ”thinking and summarizing” ever since her debut. In her creative process both on and off the stage, she has carefully analyzed her own experiences, and jumps at any opportunity she gets to compare and contrast them with other musicians.
This constant loop of dissection and communication led her to make some interesting creative choices in 2022. Wearing a spunky ponytail and a light and comfortable denim jacket, Zhang walked out into the auditorium with a completely revamped image, jumping up and down as she sang “Select C.” This was the first time that Zhang, a singer with extensive stage experience, had participated in a show where she could interact with the audience more directly. This experience has made her look forward to dipping her toes into other music styles and discovering more aspects of herself in 2023 while she prepares her new album.
Both Pan Yunqi and Wang Yinuo started as trainees of the 2022 season of Sing! China, and they now have officially embarked on the road of becoming professional musicians. For these two fresh faces, the world is their oyster.
Although Pan is very young, she is often praised for her assertive stage presence. Possessing a maturity beyond her years, she excels at heartwarming narrative-based songs, but also tried her hand at “My Good Luck,” which is more of a traditional ballad. While she may be new, this college student is clearly not afraid of trying new things.
Wang’s timid outwardly appearance belies the robustness of his singing voice. A quote from one of his songs: “Just look forward, don’t look at money/ At least your heart will not loosen when you look forward.” Offstage, he is a down-to-earth and sensible person who stresses the importance of healthy eating and sleeping habits.
After singing a series of popular OSTs, Ye Xuanqing began to delve into more original works as well as production. She said that learning about different artistic processes could help improve her ability to appreciate art, facilitate her own ability to create, and further clarify where she stood amongst all of this.
Hu Shih, a Chinese litterateur once said, “Why be afraid of the infinity of truth? Joy resides in every step of growth.” Newcomers and veterans in the music industry always face new tasks. So long as they dare to think, do, and try, they can unlock the infinite potential that resides within them.
Find the Right Positioning and Expand the Boundaries
For the young musicians who are on the rise, 2022 was undoubtedly an important moment for them to mature as artists. Some of them released their first EPs, and some had their first concerts.
In an industry where newcomers are always emerging en masse, young musicians often regard finding where they fit in and answering the question of “Who am I?” as the most important task every new year.
Chen Zhuoxuan was nothing if not blunt. “The pressure of this competition is through the roof,” Chen Zhuoxuan says bluntly. Her solution to deal with the pressure? Determine the musical style and direction that best suits her and try her utmost to stand out as an artist. In her spare moments, she practices her songs and has been learning the cello, guitar, and ukulele. She has also been studying arrangement and other music-related skills.
For Wu Xuanyi, it’s all about passion. To be given an opportunity to stand in the spotlight and express herself is the greatest reward her musical journey has given her so far. She prefers using her passion in pursuit of personal satisfaction and growth. Wu firmly believes that the most basic elements are the most important ones, so she always trains her basic skills and vocalization to ensure that they can always be called upon when needed.
Relative newcomer He Luoluo says in the interview that making plans wasn’t his strong suit — he just wants to experience the here and now. But he remains remarkably serious when it comes to his music and performing on stage. After an initial period where he lacked direction, he eventually entered the entertainment industry when he was 18 years old. Now in his twenties, he has his feet firmly planted on the ground.
Yang Haoming hopes to pursue music and acting simultaneously, as he “can’t stand the idea of having any regrets.” Yang has been acting in film and television dramas since his debut as a music artist. He released a new EP immediately after having a difficult time with his acting agent. Yang felt that his heart was telling him to push himself to expand his boundaries.
New Technologies
On Dec. 12, TME announced the debut of Lucy, the company’s first hyper-realistic virtual idol, creating another hot topic for Chinese music circles in 2022.
After the release of her first single, “Superposition State Girl,” many music fans wondered if Lucy’s voice was real. In fact, her voice is generated by feeding her mass amounts of data pertaining to the singing and timbres of specific targets. Her proficient singing abilities allow her voice to span multiple octaves with ease as well as pull off transposition, trills and portamentos.
As an AI idol, Lucy also has her own independent personality and preferences. Being intensely curious about daily life, she likes to observe and collect the sounds and sights of the world around her. Subway announcements on a busy line in the early morning, the sound of coffee beans being ground in the afternoon, the ticking sound of the traffic lights counting down in the evening…they are all enough to light a creative spark within Lucy.
The virtual idol must face the challenge of breaking through walls between virtual and real world in order to truly communicate with audiences and other musicians. Wandering in different dimensions is also a constant source of inspiration for Lucy. Achieving cross-dimensional cooperation with human musicians is one of her goals in 2023.
Lucy is more than an AI idol who produces AI music. In the future, a new open-source sound based on Lucy’s voice will facilitate music creation in other application scenarios. Music creators will be able to make use of Lucy’s voice clips or open-source sounds to achieve technology-driven creative music co-creation.
Jam Hsiao Ching-Teng
Courtesy of Billboard China