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In January, HIP LAND MUSIC launched FRIENDSHIP. DAO, an artist-driven Web3 community project that is a pioneering initiative for the Japanese music industry. The profit structure of the music industry is changing, and FRIENDSHIP. DAO aims to bring together all those who support artists and music, creating a community that can lead to multiple collaborations through ongoing musical activities. We talked with Yuto Uchino from The fin., who is active not only in Japan but overseas as well, and Shacho from SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS, about FRIENDSHIP. DAO’s potential and ideals.
Jay Kogami: What led you to create FRIENDSHIP. DAO?
Yuto Uchino: I’ve been part of the digital distributor FRIENDSHIP., serving as a curator, since it was first launched. When I was working with my team to develop a broad range of ideas for a DAO, I realized that the FRIENDSHIP.’s activity philosophy had a lot in common with DAOs. FRIENDSHIP. DAO began when our team decided to use a DAO to address problems which couldn’t be solved with Web2.0, and to solve as yet unresolved problems faced by the music market, which has developed along the lines of music streaming. This all happened at the same time that overseas independent artists were starting to generate buzz by releasing their music using NFTs. A growing number of people around me were investing in cryptocurrency, so I was kept constantly abreast of information about Web3. However, even then, I realized that there wasn’t much affinity between NFTs and music.
Kogami: What do you mean?
Yuto Uchino: Most of what people were talking about in relation to NFTs were high value transactions. However, when music was released using NFTs, you didn’t hear about whether it actually reached people; whether they shared it; whether they heard it. These kinds of questions went unanswered.
Conceptually, a DAO is created and operated as a new organization. Unlike existing structures, in which everything is focused on platforms operated by large companies, like streaming services and YouTube, in the DAO, we created a new organization focused on the music itself, connecting different people and pointing to a new future for the music industry. In particular, with FRIENDSHIP.DAO we want to use Web3 technologies to visualize and restructure the human networks that are so hard to see in the industry.
Kogami: What specific music-related problems do you think Web2.0 has been unable to address?
Yuto Uchino: For a lot of indie artists, streaming on streaming services does not translate into actual sales. CDs also sell less, and it’s making it harder to raise money for activities. In the music streaming business, the flow of money has become concentrated and centralized, making it harder for indie artists and DIY artists to raise funds. This centralized distribution of money has weakened the underground and indie scene, and there are fears that the whole framework of new music creation may break down.
Kogami: Shacho, what do you think?
Shacho: We’re targeting both fans in Japan and overseas, and the way people access music overseas is totally different from Japan. Overseas, artists are constantly announcing fresh new songs on Bandcamp, and this has become an established approach. Artists around the world on the frontlines of the jazz scene are releasing new works and achieving strong sales and physical distribution, simultaneously, across national borders. The distribution system is very different in Japan. Looking from the outside at the speed with which things move overseas, it’s very frustrating not to be able to take part in it.
Kogami: Bandcamp’s service was created based on the music framework that was in place before the rise of streaming, so it’s interesting to see that it still draws so many artists and fans.
Shacho: Bandcamp has social media functions, too, so you can see songs that were purchased by famous DJs or by other people whose musical tastes are similar to your own. It fuses the best parts of Web2.0 and traditional media.
Kogami: One of the things you’re trying to do with FRIENDSHIP.DAO is to create sustainable revenue streams for all kinds of artists. What kind of approaches do you think you can use to achieve that?
Yuto Uchino: When talking about generating revenue and compensation, one major problem is that, under Japanese law, you cannot use cryptocurrency for transactions. If this issue was addressed, it would make it easier for Japanese artists popular with overseas audiences and active in overseas music scenes to connect with people outside Japan.
To enable artists to make money on FRIENDSHIP.DAO, we’re envisioning introducing a point system. We’re thinking about setting things up so that when work or collaborations are performed, points are assigned based on people’s actions. We’d like to use cryptocurrency for payments in the future.
Kogami: Who can take part in the DAO?
Yuto Uchino: In its first stage, it’ll be artists that are releasing music through FRIENDSHIP. In the future, we also plan to open this up to foreign artists. Then we’ll expand the scope to all kinds of people working in the music industry. The way we see the DAO as being used is for contributing to communication between people working in the industry, stimulating business. Ultimately, we’d like to make it possible for listeners to participate as well, directly connecting the people who listen to music with the artists that create it.
Kogami: What, specifically, is your first goal?
Yuto Uchino: We’re not looking at trying to achieve profitability in the DAO’s first stage. Instead, we want to reinforce the elements that serve as communication tools, helping participants broaden their networks. Our goal is to connect talented people, skilled engineers, and people with specialized knowledge, who are buried in the industry’s current structure, by relaying job offers and giving them the right to take part in projects. The decentralized organizational structure of a DAO will change the methods by which people take part in musical activities and projects, and will change how they contribute at a personal level. I think this organizational structure is a great fit for the music market.
Kogami: If you were able to find promoters outside Japan, you’d want to collaborate on projects with them, right?
Yuto Uchino: FRIENDSHIP.DAO would create synergy by visualizing networks of people overseas who can support Japanese artists. We also plan to make it possible to credit them in artists’ works. With FRIENDSHIP.DAO, we’re employing a mechanism to visualize credits by recording them in a blockchain.
Kogami: What hopes do you have for the Web3-native artists and creators that we’re likely to see in the future?
Shacho: As a creator, I want to see them create music with even better sound quality. However, in the music streaming era, the mainstream approach is now to create music with low audio fidelity, optimized for the speakers of mobile devices. I’m very curious to see if Web3 creative activities restore the value placed on audio quality. I’m also interested in how musical experiences and entertainment will be created for the metaverse. Of course, real-life, live music will live on. We can’t allow it to disappear. I’m just worried that, as musical experiences become more divided, such as through VR performances in the metaverse, audio quality might degrade even further.
Yuto Uchino: Future generations of artists won’t just be able to access music around the world, it’ll also become commonplace for them to collaborate with artists throughout the globe. Creators will connect with each other regardless of their countries and where they’re active, so we’ll see new, unprecedented music being made. I’m looking forward to hearing the music created through these collaborations. I also want to get started on these kinds of creative activities myself.
Shacho: I think that Web3 will be a great fit for Japanese artists and bands with a strong overseas focus. Translation technology has also evolved quite a bit, so the language barrier is shrinking. Using DAOs and NFTs and communicating in English from the very start will, I think, turn into a way to connect with the world at large.
–This article by Jay Kogami first appeared on Billboard Japan.
For the third consecutive week, Taylor Swift dominates Australia’s main charts with Midnights (Universal) and its hit single, “Anti-Hero.”
Midnights continues its upbroken streak atop the latest ARIA Albums Chart, published Nov. 11, while “Anti-Hero” remains unchallenged atop the ARIA Singles Chart.
Swift’s 10th and latest studio album gets the better of four new releases, as Drake and 21 Savage’s collaborative album Her Loss (Republic/Universal), debuts at No. 2. The new LP has a notable impact on the ARIA Singles Chart, with four songs from it splashing in the top 10 — “Rich Flex” (at No. 3), “P***y & Millions” (No. 5), “Circo Loco” (No. 9) and “Major Distribution” (No. 10).
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A trio of homegrown recordings complete the top 5.
Japanese-Australian singer and songwriter Joji arrives at No. 3 with his sophomore set Smithereens (88R/Warner), his second No. 1 album after 2020’s Nectar.
Smithereens includes the ARIA song of the year-nominated number “Glimpse of Us,” which peaked at No. 1 on the national singles survey.
Dean Lewis lands at No. 4 with The Hardest Love (Island/Universal), the followup to 2019’s A Place We Knew, which hit No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The Hardest Love features the heartbreaking song “How Do I Say Goodbye,” which is climbing charts in the Lewis’ homeland and in the U.K. It’s up 31-29 on Australia’s current singles survey.
Homegrown indie act Slowly Slowly bows at No. 5 with Daisy Chain (UNFD/Orchard). That’s a career best for the Victorian act, besting the No. 7 peak for their third album, 2020’s Race Car Blues.
Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Meghan Trainor’s return to doo-wop pays dividends as “Made You Look” (Epic/Sony) lifts 19-12, for a new peak position.
Finally, Glass Animals’ hit “Heat Waves” (Polydor/Universal) gathers steam as it passes a chart milestone. The slow-burner lifts 26-23 in its 101st week on the chart. “Heat Waves” broke early in Australia, where it won triple j’s Hottest 100 countdown in January 2021, and led the ARIA Chart for several months earlier this year.
After Big Hit Entertainment rebranded into HYBE in 2021, the entertainment-lifestyle giant has shared annual updates with the public to share the company’s upcoming path and more into the philosophies guiding them for the next 12 months.
At the 2022 HYBE Briefing With the Community, several top music executives across the company and label partners including founder Bang Si-Hyuk, HYBE CEO Jiwon Park, SB Projects founder Scooter Braun, Big Machine Label Group President & CEO Scott Borchetta, HYBE Labels America VP Daniel Kwon, Interscope Geffen A&M VP of A&R Marketing Charlie Christie and more spoke to where the company was heading. Various HYBE employees, creatives and artists like also shared their experiences in the past year with an emphasis on “coevolution” and learning from one another’s businesses.
“HYBE has to continue creating the best content for fans who are waiting for new releases from their artists,” Bang shared of HYBE’s “ground rule” in quality content before sending a special message to BTS and their fans that “BTS was our starting and driving force and ARMY made all of this possible.”
From BTS to a slew of new artists on their way, HYBE artists are all housed across different labels at the corporation currently consisting of BIGHIT Music, BELIFT LAB, Source Music, PLEDIS Entertainment, KOZ Entertainment, ADOR, HYBE Labels Japan, and HYBE America. With new albums, world tours and debuts on the way, we’ve broken down the big moments on the calendar and what you can expect for the forthcoming months from HYBE.
Britain’s Got Talent judge David Walliams has been accused of making “derogatory and sexually explicit remarks” about contestants on the talent show.
According to an exposé in The Guardian, Walliams — one of the U.K.’s best-known TV personalities and a hugely successful children’s author — was heard in a recording of one episode of the show repeatedly calling one contestant the C-word and saying that another “thinks you want to f— her.”
According to the report, the comments were made during an audition show filmed at the London Palladium in January 2020 and had been picked up by microphones used to record conversations between the judges, for which the paper then saw the transcript.
Lawyers for Walliams and Thames TV, which produces Britain’s Got Talent, told The Guardian that the comments were part of a private conversation never intended for broadcast.
In one incident, the transcript claimed that Walliams described an older performer — after he had failed an audition and made a joke about the judge — as “a c—” three times. In another, after a female contestant walked offstage, Walliams described her as being “like the slightly boring girl you meet in the pub that thinks you want to f— them, but you don’t,” according to the transcript.
In a statement, Walliams said: “I would like to apologize to the people I made disrespectful comments about during breaks in filming for Britain’s Got Talent in 2020. These were private conversations and — like most conversations with friends — were never intended to be shared. Nevertheless, I am sorry.”
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
Singer Gal Costa, an icon in the Tropicalia and Brazilian popular music movements who enjoyed a nearly six-decade career, died on Wednesday. She was 77.
Her death was confirmed by a press representative, who provided no further information.
The soprano with wild curls of dark hair was best known for lending her unique voice to compositions such as Ary Barroso’s “Aquarela do Brasil” (Watercolor of Brazil), Tom Jobim’s “Dindi,” Jorge Ben Jor’s “Que Pena” (What a Shame) and Caetano Veloso’s “Baby.”
“Gal Costa was among the world’s best singers, among our principal artists to carry the name and sounds of Brazil to the whole planet,” President-elect Luiz Inácio da Silva wrote on Twitter alongside a photo of him hugging her. “Her talent, technique and courage enriched and renewed our culture, cradled and marked the lives of millions of Brazilians.”
Gal Costa foi das maiores cantoras do mundo, das nossas principais artistas a levar o nome e os sons do Brasil para todo o planeta. Seu talento, técnica e ousadia enriqueceu e renovou nossa cultura, embalou e marcou a vida de milhões de brasileiros.📸 @ricardostuckert pic.twitter.com/4jU2SBcHuq— Lula (@LulaOficial) November 9, 2022
Costa was born Maria da Graça Penna Burgos in the northeastern state of Bahia and came onto the scene alongside future legends Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Maria Bethânia.
All were already successful solo artists when they formed the band Doces Bárbaros. Their joint side project became an important counterculture reference during Brazil’s two-decade military dictatorship, inspiring a record, tour and documentary.
In 2011, Costa was awarded a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
She remained an active performer until nearly the end, having recently suspended shows to undergo a surgery on one of her nostrils. Her next concert had been scheduled for Dec. 17, in Sao Paulo.
EGAKU -draw the song- is a Japanese YouTube channel featuring videos capturing the process of popular manga artists, illustrators and animators drawing illustrations inspired by their favorite songs. The series launched a year ago on Oct. 31 with the first episode featuring manga artist Miki Aihara (Hot Gimmick), who chose Rhymester’s “Tousou no Funk” (Funk on the Run) as her inspiration. The first season featured other prominent artists including Kamome Shirahama (Witch Hat Atelier) who illustrated milet’s “Grab the Air” and designer daisukerichard who drew his rendition of Creepy Nuts’ “Nobishiro.”
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Through these videos of professional artists drawing illustrations set to tracks of their choice, the series aims to encourage people to enjoy existing songs from a new perspective. Emi Harada of Sony Music Entertainment explains that the initial purpose of EGAKU -draw the song- was to revitalize previously released music.
Harada: I’m usually in charge of theme song tie-ins for animated TV shows and video games, and I coordinate the creation of music by artists to go along with those works. I thought it might be interesting to kind of reverse that process and came up with the idea of asking the visual artists to choose pre-existing songs and have them draw a picture based on how they perceive it.
The videos are created by Takehiro Kanou and Ku Misan of zona inc. Kanou says he enjoyed the process from the start. “It was our first time creating YouTube content from scratch, and we had a lot of fun from the initial stage of discussions,” he says, but Ku notes that she had some misgivings. “At first, I was thinking that it’d be difficult,” she shares. “I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to convey the process of drawing a picture within the space of a song, and since we also had to make the music appealing as well as include the atmosphere of the artists’ workplaces, I thought we had a lot to overcome.”
The original plan was to shoot in a studio, but after repeated meetings, it was decided that the shooting would take place in the visual artists’ respective workplaces. This added to the difficulty of the production.
Kanou: EGAKU is essentially an excerpt, a summary. The shooting itself takes five to six hours. Each artist works at a different pace, so it was up to us to decide which elements to highlight and how to bring them together.
Ku: We spoke to (the visual artists) about which parts we’d be using and the tempo we had in mind in connecting them. Sometimes we’d face issues about the balance between the BPM of the song and the illustrators’ drawing speed, or run into something like, “this scene is too subdued compared to the excitement of the song’s chorus.” The tools people use and the way they draw are all different, and for example, the way each artist draws eyes shows their individuality. We also made an effort to include items from their workplaces. We figured it’d be fun for fans to imagine how a manga artist might have used those items as references by showing the books and other things they have.
Using the entire song is another characteristic of the video series.
Harada: Some suggested that using the whole song would be too long, but the stories and worlds depicted in each song can’t be conveyed with just a portion of it. We also stick to having the visual artists choose the song they really want to work with [instead of requesting the song]. It takes a lot of time to get permission for each track, but we think it’s best to have them draw their works based on music they really like.
The first episode featured manga artist Miki Aihara’s interpretation of Japanese rap pioneers RHYMESTER’s “Tousou no Funk.” How did the producers of the series go about booking and shooting the inaugural video?
Harada: We first made a sample video, then made offers to the visual artists we wanted to feature in our series. We then met with the ones who kindly agreed to work with us and asked them to choose a song, then shot the episodes. I heard that our first featured artist, Ms. Aihara, is really a huge RHYMESTER fan. I did kind of wonder if it was appropriate to launch the series with an act that had switched labels [laughs], but I’m glad we were able to make it happen.
We asked the series producers which of the videos released so far has left the greatest impression on them.
Ku: For me it was the video of Kamome Shirahama drawing milet’s “Grab the Air.” She used analog tools, as in dip pens on paper, and it felt really live. It helped me see that there’s a different quality to it compared to digital art. Her workplace shows her style and we also got shots of her dogs. Shooting and editing was so much fun, and it was also viewed a lot, too.
Kanou: Shiqako was also great. The thing is, he and I were friends back in school. He used to work as an assistant for manga artist Yasuhisa Hara on his Kingdom series, and then later Siqako’s own Manshu Ahen Sukuwaddo (“Manchurian Opium Squad”) series became popular. When I asked him about participating in EGAKU, he said sure and chose Denki Groove’s “Ichigo Musume wa Hitorikko” for his episode.
Harada: The first episode of Season 2, featuring Blue Period’s Tsubasa Yamaguchi drawing PornoGraffiti’s “Tsukikai” (“Moon Keeper”) was also memorable. While most of the illustrators had already decided on the composition of their works or had their sketches finished before the shoot, Ms. Yamaguchi started by drawing many rough compositions on a piece of paper. She even decided to start over again from scratch after she’d started coloring it. I thought the entire process was like a real-life version of her manga series Blue Period.
Season 2 started on Oct. 7 with new videos — Yamaguchi’s episode, plus Mayu Yukishita drawing Yurufuwa Gang’s “Strobolights (Yurufuwa Gang version),” Paru Itagaki drawing Chara’s “PRIVATE BEACH,” and Miki Yoshikawa drawing ORANGE RANGE’s “Ishindenshin” — dropping four days in a row.
Kanou: In the beginning, our intent was to focus mainly on the visual side of the presentation, but in Season 2 we shifted towards taking the fans of the music into consideration even more. The songs start from the beginning of the clip now because people wanted to hear them as soon as possible.
Ku: We’ve also expanded the range of how we show the process. Miki Yoshikawa’s (Flunk Punk Rumble, A Couple of Cuckoos) episode is kind of comical because she suggested we do it that way.
Tsubasa Yamaguchi is a manga artist with a degree from the prestigious Tokyo University of the Arts. She is currently working on her popular series Blue Period, which depicts a young man’s efforts to get into art school and his life at the university once he passes the demanding entrance exams. Yamaguchi chose to work with PornoGraffiti’s “Tsukikai,” the B-side from the J-pop duo’s smash-hit single “Melissa” from 2003.
“It was the first music CD I ever bought, and I especially loved the B-side,” she says of her song choice. Elaborating on the illustration she drew based on the poetically heartbreaking number, she shares that “the song contains many memorable scenes, and I wanted to give form to the one that the protagonist would probably recall many times in the future.” The song’s appeal is effectively drawn out in the video series because the illustrators’ own tastes and memories come first regardless of the song’s popularity or how well known it is.
The collaboration between manga artists/illustrators and music presented in the EGAKU series holds considerable potential as visual content. What do the producers envision for its future?
Harada: Like I said earlier, our first goal is to revitalize previously released music. We’re hoping to introduce the appeal of these songs through the series and channel the renewed interest towards making the songs popular again on streaming platforms. The next goal we now have is how to make the best use of the drawings. We could hold exhibitions and sell merchandise based on them and such, so there’s lots of business potential there.
Kanou: I think it’s also important to accumulate and archive the videos. For example, if we have pictures of 30 songs, we can turn them into some other format, like art books. As for exhibiting them, it might be nice to display them as installations. Make the space itself a work of art, not just limited to just showing the drawings and the process of creating them.
Ku: I’m sure there are many ways we could transform what we have, like the artworks, videos, and song lyrics into an exhibition. It’d be great if we would bring it to that level by continuing with the series.
Harada: I’m glad that the illustrators who participated had fun drawing their works and that the musicians are also happy with the series. In response to Ms. Yamaguchi’s video, frontman Akihito Okano of PornoGrafitti commented, “(Thanks to her art) I was able to further expand the image of this song when I sing it. It’s a great honor as a musician.” We wanted to make the content meaningful for both the visual artists and the musicians in that way. Of course, we can’t keep doing this unless there are viewers who enjoy it, so we’ll do our best to promote EGAKU and bring it to as many people as possible.
—This interview by Tomoyuki Mori first appeared on Billboard Japan.
Official HIGE DANdism’s “Subtitle” sits at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for the third week in a row on the chart dated Nov. 9.
The “Pretender” hitmakers’ latest hit racked up over 20 million streams again after breaking the record for highest weekly streams of 2022 in Japan last week. The track logged 21,044,966 streams this week, up by 1.3 percent from last week (20,781,069), and is currently still the only song that has recorded over 20 million weekly streams this year. The drama theme also scored 3,098,136 video views, up by 23.7 percent (2,505,102), and keeps at No. 2 for the metric. The song has increased points overall for the fourth week in a row after also adding points in radio and karaoke.
Kenshi Yonezu’s “KICK BACK” follows at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 for the third week, also increasing streams from 15,051,990 to 15,337,414 (up 1.9 percent, No. 2). Although Chainsaw Man opener appears to be slowing down in video, it still sits at No. 1 for the metric after racking up 4,060,395 views (down by 1.3 percent). The track also performed well in radio and karaoke.
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SixTONES’ new single “Good Luck!/Futari” launched with 398,252 CDs to bow at No. 3 on the Japan Hot 100. Although this figure is fewer by a little over 80,000 copies compared to the Johnny’s group’s previous single, “Watashi” (479,949 first-week copies), “Good Luck!” comes in at No. 1 for physical sales and look-ups, while also performing well in radio and Twitter (both No. 2). The track comes in at No. 23 for video, so while it fared relatively well in a number of metrics, it still wasn’t enough to overturn the two long-running mega-hits lodged at the top of the Japan Hot 100.
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, Twitter mentions, YouTube and GYAO! video views, Gracenote look-ups and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, see here.
After two weeks at the top of the U.K. albums chart, Taylor Swift’s golden run could come undone by Drake and 21 Savage.
The hip-hop pairing leads the midweek U.K. chart with Her Loss (via OVO/Republic Records), their first collaborative collection.
If it holds its position, Her Loss will become Drake’s fifth leader, after Views (from 2016), Scorpion (2018), Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020), and Certified Lover Boy (2021), and Savage’s first.
Swift’s 10th and latest album Midnights (EMI) dips 1-2 on the Official Chart Update, after a two-week stint at the summit. Though nothing is certain as the race enters the second half. Swift, meanwhile, is en route to a third consecutive week atop the Official U.K. Albums chart with “Anti-Hero,” which leads the midweek survey.
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Further down the albums chart blast, Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit eye third spot with Palomino (Columbia), their fifth studio album. If it maintains its course, Palomino will give the act (Johanna and Sara Söderberg) a second top 5 effort, after 2018’s Ruins peaked at No. 3.
Close behind is Welsh entertainer Luke Evans’ A Song For You (BMG), new at No. 4 on the midweek survey, for what would be a career best chart position.
The top 5 on the chart blast is completed by the Prodigy’s third album The Fat of the Land (XL Recordings), which is re-issued to celebrate its 25th anniversary. The set, which yielded the hits “Breathe,” “Firestarter” and “Smack My B**** Up” hit No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic following its original release in 1997.
Veteran Irish crooner Daniel O’Donnell could bag his 20th top 10 album with I Wish You Well (DMG TV), new at No. 6 on the midweek survey, while Japanese-Australian singer and songwriter Joji (real name George Kosunoki Miller) could snag his second top 10, with Smithereens (12Tone Music) eyeing a No. 8 bow.
Finally, Girl Power is back, as Spice Girls’ 1997 album Spiceworld (UMR/Virgin) makes a splash on the midweek chart at No. 12. The pop group’s sophomore album debuted at No. 1 following its initial release, and enjoys boost thanks to the release of a 25th anniversary edition.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published late Friday (Nov. 11).
Taylor Swift is on the brink of her longest-running No. 1 in the U.K., as “Anti-Hero” takes pole in the race to the top.
The Midnights number has led the Official U.K. Chart for two consecutive weeks, equaling the reign of her 2017 single “Look What You Made Me Do.”
Based on early sales and streaming data compiled by the Official Charts Company, “Anti-Hero” is on target for a third week at No. 1, while “Lavender Haze” (6-12) and “Snow On The Beach” (8-15), featuring Lana Del Rey, are set to tumble out the top tier.
“Anti-Hero” leads the First Look chart, ahead of Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy,” while Rihanna’s comeback track “Lift Me Up” appears set to slip 3-9.
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The big takeaway from the chart blast is the impact of Drake and 21 Savage’s collaborative album, Her Loss. Three tracks from the new LP, which dropped last Friday (Oct. 4) are set to impact the top 10: “Rich Flex” (No. 3), “Major Distribution” (No. 4) and “On BS” (No. 5).
Should the trio of tracks maintain momentum, Drake’s total of U.K. top 10 singles would rise to 37, the OCC reports, while 21 Savage could boast five.
Meghan Trainor is eyeing a rare top 10 appearance with “Made You Look,” which is on the climb in the early stages of the chart cycle. The U.S. pop singer’s latest single is set to climb 14-10, for Trainor’s fourth top 10 appearance, and first in seven years, since 2015’s leader “Marvin Gaye” with Charlie Puth.
Finally, British rapper and songwriter K-Trap appears set to be the week’s big gainer, according to the OCC, with “Warm” ready to vault into the top 20, at No. 19, what would be a peak position.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published late Friday (Nov. 11).
Ed Sheeran breaks records like the rest of us kick back on a weekend — with monotonous regularity.His 2017 hit “Shape Of You” is the most-streamed song ever on Spotify, he’s the only artist to sell one million tickets on a single tour of Australia, he’s behind the longest climb to No. 1 in the U.K. (19 weeks with 2014’s “Thinking Out Loud”).
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Sheeran establishes another new mark, this time in his homeland where he becomes the first artist to have four albums chart inside the Official Albums Chart Top 10 for a year.
Those albums, Sheeran’s studio collections + (Plus), x (Multiply), ÷ (Divide) and = (Equals), have now all charted for 52 weeks or more inside the top 10 of the Official U.K. Albums Chart.
He’s the first artist to ever achieve this feat, the Official Charts Company reports.
Since the weekly tally was published for the first time on July 22, 1956, only one other act has had more than one album go the distance — Simon and Garfunkel, with two LPs.
Sheeran has an impressive five-from-five leaders on the national albums survey – 2019’s No. 6 Collaborations Project also hit the target. He also has a grand total of 13 No. 1 singles, level with Madonna and behind only Cliff Richard and Westlife (14), the Beatles (17) and the all-time chart king, Elvis Presley (21).
The Englishman last week teased the 2023 release of a new album, which Sheerios are speculating could be called Subtract, in keeping with the mathematical theme of those previous hit album titles.
Sheeran is facing a busy year. Aside from the prospect of new music, he’ll hit the road for a major international stadium jaunt, dubbed the “+ – = ÷ x Tour,” due to kick off Feb. 2 at Sky Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, followed by dates across Australia and North America.