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Gracie Abrams has notched her first ever No. 1 song in the U.K. with “That’s So True” topping the Official Singles Chart.
The U.S. singer-songwriter has had a breakout year following the release of her sophomore album, The Secret Of Us, as well as an opening slot on Taylor Swift’s massive Eras Tour. The Secret Of Us debuted at No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart back in June and at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
“That’s So True”, which recently peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, faced a stiff challenge from Gigi Perez’s “Sailor Song,” which held the top spot prior to this week’s battle. The Official Charts Company says that fewer than 1,200 chart units across downloads, streaming and physicals came between the pair. Another Abrams single, “I Love You, I’m Sorry,” is currently placed at No. 4.
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Chappell Roan secured her second top five hit with “Hot To Go!” which rises to No. 5. The Missouri-born musician, who Billboard reported recently split from her management company, previously peaked at No. 2 on the Official Singles Chart with “Good Luck, Babe!” back in August.
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Elsewhere there’s success for KSI and Trippie Redd as their collaboration “Thick Of It” reaches a new height of No. 6, while Sabrina Carpenter follows at No. 7 with “Bed Chem,” while her previous chart-topper “Taste” lands at No. 9.
Billie Eilish’s “Wildflower” rises seven from its previous position to No. 11, its highest position yet. The Weekend and Anitta’s “São Paulo” lands at No. 22, the latter’s first top 40 entry in the U.K.
Following his maiden U.K. No. 1 Album with Chromakopia, Tyler, The Creator secures his eighth top 40 hit with Lola Young-featuring “Like Him” landing at No. 33.
See the full Official Singles Chart here.
The Cure have landed their first No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart since 1992 with their new album Songs of a Lost World. The band’s 14th studio album was their first LP in over 16 years following 2008’s 4:13 Dream, and their first to land at No. 1 in the U.K. since 1992’s Wish, […]
IVE continues to elevate their global appeal by unleashing a new collaboration with David Guetta. “Supernova Love” marks the K-pop girl group’s second English-language release, following January’s “All Night” with Saweetie, which peaked at the No. 10 spot on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales chart. The new single showcases a sophisticated disco-dance sound, seamlessly combining […]
AFSHEEN, a recording artist, songwriter, producer and DJ based in LA, has just released a new album called SMALL WORLD. One of the lead singles from the album was “No Muse,” which he wrote and sang together with HARU NEMURI, a Japanese singer/songwriter who has been well-received overseas and has recently concluded her successful North America tour.
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The song is a distinctive fusion of drum and bass with HARU NEMURI’s richly imaginative singing. It is dedicated to the Woman, Life, Freedom movement of AFSHEEN’s home country, Iran (readers will recall that Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023).
In September 2022, a young woman named Mahsa Amini was taken away by police for not wearing a hijab. She was later found dead. This re-sparked the movement, and AFSHEEN sought to depict this tremendous struggle for the people whose freedoms are being taken from them.
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In an interview with Billboard Japan, the two artists spoke about the creation of “No Muse” and discussed making connections through music and “making the world smaller.” (This interview was recorded in late September 2023.)
How did you two meet and come to work on “No Muse” together?
AFSHEEN: I met HARU through Justin, who is interpreting this interview. When he came to my studio the first time, he played me some of HARU’s videos. That was the first time that I saw her, and I just fell in love with her music.
Her music is so unique, and there was something about it that I’d never felt before. So I really wanted to work with her in some way. Then, a while later, I put out the song “God Is a Woman,” inspired by the Woman, Life, Freedom movement. Her team thought that maybe she could do a new version of that song. We talked with each other over Zoom, a lot like this interview, and we decided to make a whole new song from scratch. This is how it was connected to birth of the idea of creating “No Muse”.
HARU, what was your impression when you first encountered AFSHEEN’s work?
HARU NEMURI: A lot of AFSHEEN’s music was in genres that I’ve never worked with before, so at first I couldn’t really imagine what kind of music we could make together. But once we decided to make a new song from scratch, AFSHEEN sent over a demo, and it felt like an abstract landscape. Given the feel of the music, I came around to think that I’d be able to write something for it. What AFSHEEN sent over came from a totally different direction than what I’d been imagining, so I found it really interesting.
AFSHEEN and I have very different personalities and energy levels, but I felt this sense of unity in the world evoked by the track. It was like I realized that two people who are so different had this common ground. I’d been under the impression that there wasn’t anything AFSHEEN-like within me, but actually there was a lot. And, on the other side of that, I didn’t think that there was anything of me in AFSHEEN, but there was. My impressions changed because of the project.
AFSHEEN: That’s so beautiful. That’s what I’m trying to do with SMALL WORLD. It’s about taking a step outside of your comfort zone and having the courage to explore what you don’t know. A lot of people are scared to try something new. I feel a lot of respect for HARU and her artistic sensibilities, and it’s beautiful that she trusted me and tried to create something unique. The core of music comes from the heart, and that’s where real connections are made. Heart to heart and soul to soul. What’s important isn’t what it sounds like, but how it makes you feel.
In AFSHEEN’s part, there’s this one phrase that really stands out, “No muse but the music,” which is even used in the name of the song. I feel like that connects to the theme at the heart of the song. Could you talk a bit about the title, “No Muse,” and about this line?
AFSHEEN: When HARU heard the song I sent her, she just said “No muse.” It started there. When you’re writing songs, there are some things you just can’t explain. You just feel them. When she said that, I was like, “Let’s start with that.” Then she sent back her demo, which had the phrase “No muse,” and I felt like I had to make that the chorus.
For me, personally, “No muse” isn’t true, because, first and foremost, music is my muse. Also I have someone who is my muse, in a way. But I had to run the music through the filter of the women of Iran, who feel like they have no muse. So I sang “No muse” myself. But the music keeps me going. Most of the time, I don’t like to describe these things because I want the audience to take it in and make it their own. But I do love that line. I’d even like to make merchandise like a shirt that says “No muse but the music” on it. I think that would be wonderful.
So HARU came up with “no muse?” HARU, what did you mean with that line?
HARU NEMURI: I think that there are times in people’s lives when they’re suddenly saved by art. The landscape I imagined, with its android goddess, captures that moment. In that moment of salvation, it feels like a religious experience, like there is a goddess present. But the reality is that you’re not being saved by some sort of mystical force, but by the art before you. You were saved by the fact that someone existed and created that art.
I don’t have any problem with people calling someone their muse, or using muse in their personal relationships, but I want to free people from this sense of being saved by something mystic. When I wrote the lyrics, I tried to depict what it would be like to be standing there, alone, in this kind of landscape. The lyrics have a storytelling feel, with room for interpretation. That’s unusual for me, and I hope people also enjoy that part of the song.
We’ve talked about the song’s theme and message, as expressed through its lyrics, but now, using that as a launching point, I was hoping you could speak a little about something deeply tied to the song, Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
HARU NEMURI: In Iran, a woman in her early 20s was arrested and questioned by the police for not adequately covering her hair with a hijab, and she died under suspicious circumstances. The Woman, Life, Freedom movement itself had existed in Iran before that, but this news sparked major protests. That’s when I found out about it, seeing it on the news.
I despise systems of controlling people, like nations or societal systems. I truly do. People should have religious freedom, and to worship whoever they want, but when religions or systems become political powers, what we’re talking about stops being simple belief. People die. It needs to stop.
AFSHEEN: I 100% agree. I 1,000% agree. It was one year ago, at this time of the year, when all of this was happening(*). I had gone to five different countries, working on SMALL WORLD, and then I started hearing about this woman who got killed for showing her hair. Then it started snowballing into a revolution, with more kids being killed. It was heartbreaking. When I was coming back to L.A., I knew that I had to do something musical about that. The world is a beautiful place, but it’s also a cruel place. There is so much unfairness. I knew that energy was going to do something, though I had no idea what.
I didn’t know that a year later I’d be here, talking with HARU. That’s what SMALL WORLD is about. It’s how we make the world smaller. HARU, you’re a Japanese artist, so you didn’t have to do or say anything about this, but you did. That means a world to me, and, I’m sure, to a lot of young women that will see this. I pray for true freedom for everybody. We should all have the freedom to do what we feel, as long as it doesn’t harm anyone. I think that’s what my work has to say about the Woman, Life, Freedom movement.
*As mentioned previously, this interview was conducted in September 2023, roughly one year after the death of Mahsa Amini.
AFSHEEN, in making SMALL WORLD, you collaborated with artists around the world. HARU NEMURI, you’ve also become internationally active, collaborating and touring with overseas artists. How do you two feel about venturing out from the countries you’re familiar with and working overseas?
HARU NEMURI: I think that, for any given country, there’s only a certain percentage of people who really need my music. Going to a lot of different places increases my likelihood of encountering that small percentage of people in any given country. I also don’t like staying in the same place for a long time. I want to travel to alot of different places.
But I feel like the situation in Japan is an unusual one. In any country, most musicians aren’t going to be in the superstar camp or in the “We just started out and we only have five fans” camp. But in Japan, the musicians in this middle area, the largest area, never leave Japan. There are a lot of musicians who have no particular reason to tour outside Japan, but who also have no particular reason not to tour outside Japan. I always wonder why they don’t go, especially when I look at overseas artists.
What about you, AFSHEEN?
AFSHEEN: I think it’s important for every artist to be able to open up and collaborate with other artists. It’s important to be able to go to other markets or cities or countries where you wouldn’t normally have an audience or fans. It will expose your music to more people, and make the world smaller. That’s the true message of SMALL WORLD, and the essence of who I am as a person. I love to see people from different backgrounds and countries and genres coming together. What makes music so exciting is the way it brings us together. I feel that it’s important to step out of what you know and expand your world.
Then, in closing, was there anything in this collaboration that inspired you and that you think will influence your future activities?
HARU NEMURI: In “No Muse,” I put storytelling and the depiction of the song’s landscape first and foremost, which is very unusual for me. I think that’s because usually I just don’t have the talent for that. That’s why I haven’t made any attempts to do it out in public. However, now, having tried it, I realized that I wasn’t able to do it because I didn’t have a clear visual picture myself. I discovered that I could write lyrics as long as I had my own clear picture. I’d like to refine my own sensibilities so that I can get a clear picture in mind before I start.
AFSHEEN: That’s beautiful. I think that’s the key point of collaborations. If we can walk away as better writers and better artists, I think the collaboration was a success. I would never have thought of doing a vocal duet, but the fact that HARU enjoyed “God Is A Woman” gave me power and encouraged me to sing the chorus. Thank you for liking my voice. If it weren’t for you, I might never have done what I did.
—This interview by imdkm first appeared on Billboard Japan
Japanese retailer PARCO Co. Ltd. is celebrating the 55th anniversary of the PARCO shopping complex with a special ad featuring musician Haruomi Hosono, the late visual artist Keiichi Tanaami — who died in August at age 88 — and his first disciple Naohiro Ukawa.
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Carrying on his mentor’s legacy, Ukawa directed the HAPPY HOLIDAYS Campaign that also marks Hosono’s 55 years in music, with an epic historical mandala blending rare photos from his childhood through to his works with Happy End, YMO, and up to the present day with the iconic motifs and characters by the internationally acclaimed artist and graphic designer Keiichi Tanaami.
“I feel greatly honored to have been asked to participate in this memorable 55th anniversary of PARCO as creative director,” Ukawa says. “This project is a cultural mandala that visually fuses artwork by my mentor Keiichi Tanaami, who passed away suddenly shortly after his 88th birthday, with the historical transition of Haruomi Hosono, who also miraculously celebrated his 55th anniversary in the same year as PARCO. The history of PARCO, which has continued to lead the pop avant-garde culture of Japan since its period of rapid economic growth, resonates with the 55 years of time flowing through this mandala, and a cultural mantra emerges… This visual world has a three-dimensional structure with a complex interweaving of such multiverses.”
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Ukawa also serves as creative director for the commercial that celebrates Hosono’s 55-year music history using generative AI technology to bring photos and Tanaami’s signature motifs to life, accompanied by Hosono’s original music and narration to ring in a special holiday season.
“By some amazing coincidence, my music career began in the same year that PARCO was founded, 55 years ago,” says Hosono. “I prayed for ‘Happy Holidays’ while composing this music.”
Ukawa adds, “Sealed within this mandala is a present-century continuation of creativity, in which the disciple completes a work by allowing the departed mentor and his style to possess him, making full use of both extremes — the physical body and cutting-edge technology — such as hand-drawn artwork x CG and hand-drawn animation x generative AI. This incredibly deep and psychedelic visual world has reached a clear ceremonial realm and is a microcosm of post-war Japan’s alternative culture, where fine art and pop culture are chaotically mixed together!!!!!!! Happy 55th anniversary to PARCO and Haruomi Hosono!!!!!! And a massive RIP to my mentor, Keiichi Tanaami…”
Related events will accompany this project, including a screening of a documentary film about Hosono and a talk show entitled Hosono Cinema House featuring the legendary musician and Ikuko Harada to be held at White Cine Quinto on the 8th floor of Shibuya PARCO in Tokyo Nov. 7. A special program on Tanaami aired on Dommune hosted by Ukawa on Oct. 28 and another one on Hosono is set for Nov. 9.
Various other related events are planned for the holiday season, with further details to be announced Dec. 2.
INI’s “WMDA (Where My Drums At)” shoots to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Nov. 6.
The lead track off the eleven-member group’s seventh single “The View” dropped on Oct. 30 and launched with 796,758 copies, which is the second highest first-week sales for the boy band following its previous single, “The Frame.” “WMDA” tops sales and comes in at No. 2 for radio No. 3 for downloads, and No. 67 for video views.
Creepy Nuts’ “Otonoke” holds at No. 2. The Dandadan opener leads downloads, streaming and video this week although points for each metric are down.
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Rosé & Bruno Mars’ “APT.” rises two notches to No. 3. Downloads for the track are up 125% and streaming up 135% week-over-week. “APT.” has ruled Billboard’s Global 200 and Global 200 Exc. US charts for two consecutive weeks. The catchy pop number is spreading throughout the world through TikTok and other channels.
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THE RAMPAGE from EXILE TRIBE’s “Endless Happy-Ending” bows at No. 4. The track featured as the opener for the anime series FAIRY TAIL 100 Years Quest sold 71,223 copies to come in at No. 3 for sales, No. 4 for radio airplay, and No. 92 for streaming.
aespa’s “Whiplash” rises 13-7. Streams for the title track off the girl group’s mini-album have increased 142% compared to the previous week, and radio is also up 199%.
AKASAKI’s “Bunny Girl” rises a notch to No. 8, steadily climbing the ranks for four straight weeks. Streaming for the track is up 108%, downloads up 161%, and videos up 119%, with the growth rate for downloads being particularly large compared to the week before.
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 Oct. 28 to Nov. 3, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
At the end of the summer, A$AP Rocky released a music video that quickly took over the internet. The video for the song “Tailor Swif” was described as a surreal dream journey. However, anyone familiar with Soviet art, lifestyle, fashion, cinematography and aesthetics will notice many interesting references in the work. The video was filmed in Kyiv, Ukraine, just months before the war began. A particularly intriguing aspect is that the production company behind the video, shelter.film, is based in Kyiv. The company is co-founded and led by Albert Zurashvili, who is from Georgia. It’s even more notable that shelter.film now operates out of Georgia, continuing to work on numerous international projects.
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Recently, shelter.film received several prestigious awards for A$AP Rocky’s music video at the renowned Ciclope Festival. The project was among the winners in five categories, including the Grand Prix in the music video category.
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Billboard Georgia interviewed Albert Zurashvili, who shared insights about shelter.film and the experience working on A$AP Rocky’s “Tailor Swif” video. shelter.film was founded five years ago in Kyiv, with a vision established by Zurashvili. He explains that the talented professionals, who are now part of the shelter.film team, helped him bring this vision to life. Today, Gena Shevchenko and Marina Karmolit are his partners, and together they manage shelter.film. The company launched on April 1, a date that led many to believe it was a prank. “We were too busy launching the project to look at the dates,” says Zurashvili.
The core team at shelter.film consists of six members, and since its founding, it has grown into one of Ukraine’s most well-known production companies. Its international portfolio includes work for several leading brands, such as Chanel, Coca-Cola and Samsung. Now, shelter.film is operating worldwide with offices in Kyiv, Tbilisi and Brussels and is constantly exploring new horizons for their clients.
Despite its service-oriented business model, shelter.film is part of the creative industries, known for its innovative and artistic approach. In today’s advertising landscape, competition is incredibly fierce, with impressive videos being produced daily. Brands consistently launch creative campaigns that capture attention. Even in this competitive environment, shelter.film has carved out its own niche. A signature style runs through their work, showcasing that its creators treat advertising as a form of art. The shelter.film team aims to produce projects that leave a lasting impact on society.
“Shooting videos is generally not too complicated these days. But bringing it to storytelling within commercials with a high-end cinematography or just ripping eye-candy art is somewhat not as easy,” says Zurashvili.
According to him, the company strives to express its creativity. For shelter.film, the process is more than just completing tasks and delivering projects—it’s something that each team member truly enjoys.
“We are blessed to have the opportunity to get involved in socially impactful projects,” Zurashvili says. “We always support new names and evolving talents, as true progress in our industry lies in people, not just tools. Working in international markets these days, we are still getting top Ukrainian specialists involved in every project (physically or remotely) to keep those gems of people around and on track.”
As mentioned earlier, shelter.film has collaborated with many leading companies across various industries. Advertising projects, by their nature, consider numerous client briefs. When we asked how the shelter.film team manages to preserve the artistic value of each commercial video, Albert Zurashvili responded.
“It may sound tall, but we’re doing everything possible to avoid compromises,” he says. “We’re not overpromising but over delivering and never under budgeting. So we’re pretty straightforward about that — we can do it best within the budget line or not. No one wants failures, and we can foresee and avoid them. It’s not just a reputational risk – it’s actual damage for specialists and the image of the country on a global stage as a destination for films and celebrities. So we’re not choosing between commerce and art, I’d say. We’re creating commercial art.
“In recent decades, Ukraine has become a well-known destination for major brands and artists to film their best projects. For that to happen, service production companies collaborating with extremely skilled specialists have put years of sweat and passion into proving that this is the way to do it. After years of hard work and establishing the highest level of service in Eastern Europe, along with the most experienced crew, we started to see significant income for the country through all those worldwide projects. Many talented directors and other creative professionals are eager to bring their work to Ukraine or Georgia, as the level of achievement they attain and the excitement and involvement of the crews are just incredible.”
Marina Karmolit, Albert Zurashvili and Gena Shevchenko of shelter.film photographed for Billboard Georgia.
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Despite numerous high-budget commercials and various projects, one of shelter.film’s standout achievements is the A$AP Rocky music video. The concept for the video was developed by directors Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia, a duo renowned for their work with many stars of the global music scene, including Coldplay, as well as brands like Nike and Apple. Shelter.film has previously collaborated with these directors on various projects, including a Dua Lipa music video.
“It was a freestyle of developing and polishing the details of every scene on the go in a short-term and extra-confidential manner,” says Zurashvili. “Most of the crew coming to the set were unaware of who we were shooting for and were surprised when they arrived. A few weeks later, A$AP and his gang arrived in town, and we spent a few amazing days in Kyiv shooting this crazy project, doing all the tricks possible, and filming it on a Kodak 16mm camera. Working with film is always exciting, as you don’t see the final result until the material is developed and scanned. It was an unforgettable experience.
“No need to mention there were tons of negotiations that took us more than half a year of constant discussion, but it was definitely worth it. One of the highlights for us is that we involved an incredibly talented Ukrainian director of photography, Denys Lushchyk, in shooting this music video.”
In one of the scenes of A$AP Rocky’s music video, a famous scene from the 1977 film Mimino, by Georgian director Georgiy Daneliya, is brought to life. As Zurashvili explains, this decision was made by the directors. “It’s a fantastic reference from Georgiy Daneliya and I’m happy we have it there,” mentions Albert. According to him, A$AP Rocky was deeply involved during both the filming and post-production stages, and the entire team worked to a high professional standard.
For the shelter.film team, visual communication is an art form and a unique way of telling a story. This approach is consistent whether they are working on a commercial advertisement or a music video. “Every art form, even if it’s commercial, has a timestamp,” Zurashvili says. “All great stories should be told. Art is about freedom of expression. I appreciate any brands and artists brave enough to be on the cutting edge of history. The loudness of your voice brings power and responsibility to those who trust and follow you. Positive change can happen only where there is responsible, kind, and intelligent dialogue. As I said, we’re happy to have our role in it and always contribute with full responsibility.”
Karol G’s “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido” orders an eighth round at No.1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart. The song, which became the singer’s fourth leader on the tally in September, extends the third-longest command in 2024, and moves to within three weeks of tying the second-longest domination this year. Only two other […]
Billboard China has officially announced the inaugural Billboard Global No. 1s selection for the China region. In a collaboration with TME Chart — part of Tencent Music Entertainment Group — Billboard China has analyzed the annual performance data from TME Chart, which encompasses the UNI Chart and Wave Chart, to curate a shortlist of 50 […]
TOMORROW X TOGETHER continue to solidify their place as one of K-pop’s greatest storytellers with The Star Chapter: SANCTUARY. This reflective yet hopeful mini-album captures the nuanced emotional spectrum of youth through some of their most subtle, vocally challenging songs to date. The six-track mini album release takes listeners on a journey that melds TXT’s […]