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U.K.-based electronic producer Mura Masa and rising pop singer-songwriter PinkPantheress have been close collaborators for a couple years now — in both the artistic partnership sense and the more literal one. “She lives 10 minutes down the road,” Mura Masa, 26, tells Billboard with a laugh. “She has a friend who lives right next to me, so we’re always bumping into each other.”
It was that combination of proximity and kinship that led to the two cooking up “Boy’s A Liar” over a couple of hours together last year — a charming synth-pop twinkler born, Mura Masa says, of “borderline-misandrist tendencies” shared by the two artists. A minor chart hit in their country and a modest stateside streaming success, the song blew up earlier this month following the release of its “Pt. 2” remix, which adds a verse from New York rap phenom Ice Spice. After debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Feb. 18) at No. 14 — an eye-popping arrival for two artists with limited history on the chart — the collaboration leapt to No. 4 the following week and ticks up to No. 3 on this week’s list (dated March 4).
“Ice Spice is the most exciting artist right now, alongside Pink,” says Mura Masa, who adds he only found out about the new version when videos of the two of them filming the NY-set video went viral on TikTok. “I texted [PinkPantheress] straight away and I was like, ‘Yeah, genius, big-brain move. This is gonna be great.’ ”
Below, Mura Masa dives further into the process and inspirations behind the biggest global smash of his and his collaborators’ young careers, how the song’s success could lead to future U.K. hits crossing the pond and more.
You’ve worked with PinkPantheress for a while already. Can you talk about how that relationship started, and how it has developed over time?
I think I first heard Pink’s music around like “Pain” and “Break It Off,” and then I was reaching out to people to try to find out who she was and where she lived because there’s not much information about her online. And it turned out she lived 10 minutes down the road from me. [Laughs.] We started hanging out a lot after that, and it’s really easy for us to pull up on each other.
[The] first time we worked together, I think we made “Just for Me” that day. It was probably the first idea that we worked on, and I think it was very obvious that we have a similar set of influences, and I really see her in a really nice way. We share a lot of the same ideas. Quite often she’ll knock on the door and be at my house, like, “Hey, I was in the area…” There’s a little studio at the bottom of my garden — that’s where we made “Boy’s a liar” and “Just for Me” and countless other things that may or may not be released.
How did “Boy’s A Liar” come about?
We’re oddly not very verbal with our communication. We just kinda hang out and maybe one word or phrase will get tossed around, and then I’ll start a beat. I wish it was a more remarkable story, to be honest, but it was made in a couple of hours, like most things that we do. She took the idea and went away and worked on it by herself, and restructured it, wrote some different parts. But basically, the final record is what we did in those few hours, which I love. I think that’s really important.
She said something in the press release about how you both wanted to write a song about how boys are liars — which she said was a particularly common theme “this time of year.” Do you have any idea what she meant by that?
[Laughs.] Yeah, I think we share similarly borderline-misandrist tendencies. Just like, “Men are often problematic and can’t be trusted” — but I try not to involve myself too much in the lyric-writing with Pink as much as I might do with other artists. She’s so formed already and has such a great idea about what’s going to hit in terms of pop culture. In terms of getting Ice Spice on the record, it was entirely her proactive, genius brain.
So much of the song is about the melody of that title phrase. Did she come up with that? And if so, did you recognize immediately that it was something special?
The first iteration of the song came about very quickly, and then I sent her the instrumental. The whole “boy’s a liar” bit was actually something that she wrote on her own. I think the next week, she had leaked it herself, which she’s prone to doing — that’s the first time I heard that version. I texted her and was like, “Yeah, that’s it! That’s the hook! That’s better.” Full credit to her for that.
I didn’t really notice it until a handful of times listening to it, but the beat does kind of have that Jersey club bounce to it, which is getting to be a prevalent sound in pop music — especially on this side of the pond. Is that something you’re drawing influence from these days, or were listening to while you were making it?
Yeah. It’s really cool what’s happening with Baltimore and Jersey and these really localized American genres that are having moments. “Just Wanna Rock,” the [Lil Uzi Vert] song, is the biggest example of that. If I remember correctly, that is something that we talked about that day, but I really didn’t want to go fully into that and make a pastiche of something that I’m not locally a part of. But yeah, there’s bed squeaks in there, there’s the kick [drum] pattern, things like that.
When me and Pink work together, we’re never trying to make something that’s pastiche-y — it has to fit into her world. It’s interesting that you said you didn’t even notice it until recently, because that’s a good thing in my head.
Basically the song is left as-is on the remix, aside from swapping the second verse for Ice Spice’s verse. Was there any thought about changing it at all?
I left that up to her. She’s a brilliant producer in her own right, and she was able to take the stems of what I did and work it around what Ice Spice did. I’m just happy to even be a remote part of what she’s doing.
What do you think about the remix is lending itself to this kind of success?
I think it’s just the combination of two extremely zeitgeist-y artists. There are interesting through-lines between them as artists: they both have an interesting emotional center to what they do. It’s just a match made in heaven, and the video that makes the chemistry super-obvious. But as far as why it’s doing so well, I just think it’s a brilliant song, and Pink’s a great songwriter.
Is its chart progress something that either you’re monitoring, or your team is keeping you informed about?
No. I wouldn’t say it’s something I don’t care about, but it’s not something that I would normally follow actively. In fact, it was a text from a friend of mine out of New York — it was a tweet from one of these pop chart accounts, like, “Oh, it’s gone in at No. 14!” or whatever. I was like, “Wow, it’s so amazing that it’s ascended to kind of that level.” One of my publishers texted me out of the blue, like, “Well done.” I was like, “Oh, I must be doing something!”
PinkPantheress reacted to the song’s chart success in the U.S. with surprise, and I know a number of U.K.-based artists feel similarly about the challenges of landing that kind of an accomplishment. Why do you think that’s the case?
I could give an hourlong answer about the structure of radio in the U.S., and the need to break certain local markets before you get international success. But for most U.K. artists, it’s just a taste thing, an accent thing, or one [other] thing that’s holding them back. It’s been interesting seeing Central Cee really game the system. He did a whole freestyle about the differences between U.S. and U.K. slang. I love it when someone makes it their mission to break [into] the U.S. [market].
Was breaking the U.S. something you particularly cared about?
It’s a definite milestone for everybody involved. It’s interesting, like, post-Britpop and these kind of historical moments where the U.S. is tuning into what the U.K. is doing. But in the streaming era, it’s becoming more borderless and a lot more possible for international artists to break in the U.S. I don’t tend to see it as divided by territories. I just think a stream is a stream.
Do you think that the success of the song could lead to other opportunities, either for you or for like-minded U.K.-based musicians?
Absolutely. PinkPantheress is a huge example of that, where sounds that originate out of the U.K., like drum’n’bass and U.K. garage, are resonating with U.S. audiences at the moment. Something like this getting a chart position like it has is proof of concept where people really do enjoy this. “Boy’s a liar” is an interesting song because it feels like it has a U.K. sensibility, but ultimately it’s kind of in the shape of a U.S. song. It’s my favorite kind of thing.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Feb. 25, 2023, issue of Billboard.
You can’t talk about game changers in the music industry without talking about Rihanna. Whether you know her as the Caribbean Queen, the “good girl gone bad,” RiRi or simply Rih, the Barbadian singer has come a long way since her pre-Roc Nation days. Case in point: Robyn Fenty is the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner as the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles, making her the first headliner since Apple Music took over the Halftime Show.
In 2005, Rih dropped her first single “Pon De Replay” off her debut album, Music of The Sun. At just 17, the singer was already experiencing her first major hit: the reggae-influenced club track peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 27 weeks on the chart. But she quickly proved she was no one-hit wonder: The following year, her track “SOS” spent three weeks crowning the chart. Now, she has dozens of charting hits under her belt — including 14 No. 1s and features with Drake, Britney Spears, Eminem and more.
Though mainly known as a hitmaker, her talents go beyond music-making — she launched her Fenty Beauty line of cosmetics and skincare products in 2017 and lingerie brand Savage X Fenty in 2018. Plus, RiRi’s fashion consistently turns heads (in the best way possible) — whether she’s red carpet ready or simply taking a stroll around town.
With a Navy of fans who will wait a lifetime for the Barbadian singer’s next release — and her 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance — there’s no doubt that Rihanna has made her mark on music. Take a look back at her biggest hits on the chart below.
Rihanna’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits ranking is based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (through Feb. 8, 2023). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods.
Burt Bacharach was a titan on Billboard’s charts and in the music industry at large. The iconic singer/songwriter/producer/composer, who died Wednesday (Feb. 8) at his home in Los Angeles at age 94, charted on Billboard in some capacity in the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, and then, largely via samples and covers, in the ‘90s, ’00s and ‘10s.
The Grammy and Academy Award winner wrote or co-wrote seven No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in his lifetime, and they reigned in four distinct decades. Here’s a rundown, listed chronologically:
Artist Billing, Title (Peak Date)Herb Alpert, “This Guy’s in Love With You” (No. 1 for four weeks, beginning June 22, 1968)B.J. Thomas, “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” (four, beginning June 3, 1970)Carpenters, “(They Long To Be) Close to You” (four, beginning July 25, 1970)Christopher Cross, “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)” (three, beginning Oct. 17, 1981)Dionne & Friends (Elton John, Gladys Knight & Stevie Wonder), “That’s What Friends Are For” (four, beginning Jan. 18, 1986)Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald, “On My Own” (three, beginning June 14, 1986)Twista feat. Kanye West & Jamie Foxx, “Slow Jamz” (one, Feb. 21, 2004)
“Slow Jamz” contains a sample of Luther Vandross’ 1981 hit “A House Is Not a Home,” which Bacharach penned with frequent collaborator Hal David.
While the majority of Bacharach’s chart entries are as a songwriter or producer, he also tallied hits as a billed recording artist (all sung by chorus vocalists). His songs “Saturday Sunshine” and “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” popularized further by Dionne Warwick and Tom Jones, both peaked at No. 93 on the Hot 100, in 1963 and 1969, respectively.
On the Adult Contemporary survey, Bacharach charted four songs as a billed recording act (also all sung by chorus vocalists): “Reach Out for Me” (No. 38 peak, 1967), “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again” (No. 18, 1969), “All Kinds of People” (No. 18, 1971) and “Something Big” (No. 50, 1974).
Bacharach also charted eight sets on the Billboard 200, the highest-charting (No. 18) being his self-titled album in 1971.
Bacharach continued to impact Billboard charts over the last few years: In 2018, he scored his final songwriting entry on the Hot 100, via Meek Mill’s “What’s Free,” featuring Rick Ross and Jay-Z (No. 20 peak). The song samples Richard Evans’ 1972 hit “Close To You,” a cover of the Carpenters’ former No. 1. In October, Richard Marx’s LP Songwriter, which includes the track “Always” that he co-wrote with Bacharach, hit the Top Album Sales tally. “The experience of sitting in a room and writing a song with Burt is something I consider one of the greatest thrills of my life,” Marx mused.
Below is a recap of Bacharach’s most successful songs on the Hot 100 as a songwriter.
Burt Bacharach’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits as a songwriter ranking is based on actual performance on the weekly Hot 100 from the chart’s Aug. 4, 1958, inception through the chart dated Feb. 11, 2023. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, certain eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods. Additional research via Fred Bronson’s Billboard’s Hottest Hot 100 Hits reference book.
Miley Cyrus spread the love Monday (Feb. 6) after her hit song “Flowers” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a third week in a row.
“Flowers is spending [its] 3rd week at #1 & as magical as this moment feels I know it doesn’t happen by chance,” the pop star wrote on social media alongside outtakes from the track’s music video. “This song & it’s success represents the power of YOU! This is your moment & it’s my honor to be the messenger.”
Ever since it bloomed in the middle of January, the lead single from Cyrus’ upcoming album Endless Summer Vacation has only continued to plant its roots deeper and deeper as fans around the world find solace in its message of independence, self-empowerment and living life with no regrets. (In addition to extending its reign on the Hot 100, the track also holds steady this week at No. 1 on both Billboard Global charts, with the anthem now notching three of the five biggest streaming weeks on the charts since their inception in 2020.)
“Flowers” has found plenty of high-profile fans over the last few weeks as well — from Gloria Gaynor praising it on Instagram for “encourag[ing] everyone to find strength in themselves to persevere and thrive” and Diane Keaton jamming out to it in her backyard to Lauren Alaina using the song as the perfect vocal warm-up ahead of her show at the famed Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Cyrus’ forthcoming album is set to be released March 10 via her new label home, Columbia Records. Check out the star’s reaction to the continuing chart domination of “Flowers” below.
Flowers is spending it’s 3rd week at #1 & as magical as this moment feels I know it doesn’t happen by chance. This song & it’s success represents the power of YOU! This is your moment & it’s my honor to be the messenger. pic.twitter.com/ekVb103LTj— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) February 6, 2023
Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” is spending a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Feb. 4, 2023) after it previously soared in at the summit. To celebrate, the singer took to social media to share some film-style photos of herself dancing and having fun.
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“Celebrating ‘Flowers’ being #1 around the world again this week,” she captioned the post. “I love that this record is connecting in such a positive way & it’s a pleasure to continue creating music for you. These milestones are only made possible by the listeners & my incredible fans. Endlessly thankful.”
Celebrating “Flowers” being #1 around the world again this week! I love that this record is connecting in such a positive way & it’s a pleasure to continue creating music for you. These milestones are only made possible by the listeners & my incredible fans. Endlessly thankful. pic.twitter.com/fuA2DvU324— Miley Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) January 30, 2023
Cyrus first announced during her Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party NBC special that “Flowers” would be released Jan. 13, which fans recognized as her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth’s birthday. That narrative and interaction on TikTok have helped grow the profile of the song, which leads Cyrus’ eighth studio album, Endless Summer Vacation, due March 10.
Last week, “Flowers” became the most streamed song in a week in Spotify history for the second week in a row. While Spotify didn’t share specific numbers, the hit single first achieved the feat in the week of Jan. 19, making it all the more impressive that Cyrus managed to outdo herself for a second consecutive week. It also fed the streaming numbers of Bruno Mars’ “If I Was Your Man” — which “Flowers” slyly plays on without sampling or interpolating any of the No. 1 torch song melodically.
Miley Cyrus took to social media on Tuesday (Jan. 24) to react to her new song “Flowers” debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and beyond.
“Thankful that Flowers is Number 1 around the world,” she tweeted above a behind-the-scenes snippet from the set of the single’s music video. “This song is dedicated to my fans & the steadfast self love I wish for each of you. Forever grateful, Miley.”
“Flowers” launched at No. 1 on this week’s Hot 100 (chart dated Jan. 27), as well as on the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. The anthem is Cyrus’ second track to top the all-genre Hot 100 after “Wrecking Ball” spent three weeks at No. 1 back in 2013. It will appear as the lead single from Endless Summer Vacation, Cyrus’ upcoming eighth studio album, when it drops March 10 via Columbia Records.
To coincide with the chart-topping debut, Billboard broke down five reasons why the self-love groove has become the Hannah Montana star’s biggest hit in nearly a decade — from its close proximity to her latest New Year’s Eve special on NBC and finding in-demand hitmakers like Kid Harpoon and Tyler Johnson in the song’s credits to its explosion on TikTok and the litany of fan theories about the track’s lyrics being about her relationship with ex-husband Liam Hemsworth.
The song, which broke Spotify’s single-week streaming record after its Jan. 12 rollout, has also found a number of famous fans with its independent message, including Gloria Gaynor, Diane Keaton, Kerry Washington and more.
Check out Miley’s message to fans about the success of “Flowers” below.
Mac DeMarco has already tallied Billboard chart accolades, and now he’s also a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist, as his song “Heart to Heart” debuts on the Jan. 28-dated ranking at No. 98.
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The track, from the Canadian singer-songwriter’s fourth studio album, 2019’s Here Comes the Cowboy, debuts almost entirely on the strength of 5.8 million U.S. streams (up 7%) in the Jan. 13-19 tracking week, according to Luminate.
TikTok has been instrumental in the song’s resurgence, as the song has been used in more than 94,000 clips on the platform. (TikTok does not contribute to Billboard’s charts.) In a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, DeMarco described the song as a tribute to late rapper Mac Miller. “We had this strange history,” he said, alluding to their tongue-in-cheek feud over their similar names, “and then we became really close, and I was going over to his place multiple times a week, up until the point that he passed away.”
“Heart to Heart” has also found success on other Billboard rankings: It rises 6-5 on Hot Alternative Songs and 9-8 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, marking his first top 10 on each chart.
Here Comes the Cowboy became a hit upon its release. The set debuted at No. 1 on Americana/Folk Albums, No. 2 on Alternative Albums, No. 3 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums and No. 10 on the Billboard 200. It also reached No. 3 on Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums.
DeMarco first appeared on a Billboard chart in November 2012, when his debut studio album 2 opened at No. 49 on the Heatseekers Albums chart, before reaching No. 26 the following year.
Since then, DeMarco has charted four albums on the Billboard 200: Salad Days (No. 30 peak in 2014), Another One (No. 25, 2015), This Old Dog (No. 29, 2017) and Here Comes the Cowboy. Another One also hit No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Alternative Albums and Americana/Folk Albums.
DeMarco has been a notable vinyl seller, as three of his releases have topped Vinyl Albums: Salad Days, Another One and This Old Dog.
On the songs front, DeMarco charted two tracks prior to “Heart to Heart,” both also from Here Comes the Cowboy: “On the Square” and “Nobody” reached Nos. 44 and 46, respectively, on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs in 2019.
DeMarco released his fifth studio album, Five Easy Hot Dogs, last Friday. The set is entirely instrumental, and he recorded it during a road trip from Los Angeles to New York.
Stephen Sanchez is infatuated with love — but he’s not interested in approaching it from a 21st century lens. “I think it’s a lost art to tell somebody that you’d pull the moon down for them,” he tells Billboard. Growing up listening to ’50s and ’60s records on vinyl in Northern California, he has always been drawn to an old-school charm within his own music. The inspiration ultimately led to his breakthrough hit, “Until I Found You,” which became his first Billboard Hot 100 hit and has remained on the chart for months.
Penned in May 2021, just six months after moving to Nashville, Sanchez felt there was something special about the heartfelt song straight away — and another six months after its release that September, it debuted on the all-genre songs chart at No. 100. Since, it has spent 23 weeks on the list, reaching a No. 38 high this October, and continues to climb elsewhere, hitting a new No. 3 peak on Billboard‘s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart dated Dec. 17.
Despite being more than a year old at this point, the timeless-sounding pop hit has experienced one resurgence after the next, be it through an Em Beihold version of the track that arrived this April, on TikTok or radio airplay. But even as the song still reaches new listeners, the 20-year-old isn’t slowing his output: in August, he released EP Easy On My Eyes; in November, “Missing You,” with Ashe, arrived; and in 2023, he’ll kick off the year with a new single, followed by his first headline tour and then a debut record that’ll come in the summer.
Below, Sanchez reflects on “Until I Found You,” teases an impending sonic shift in his music, discusses why he wants to “flirt with the audience” during his live shows and more.
Where did the inspiration for “Until I Found You” come from?
I was in a serious relationship at the time. There was a lot of back-and-forth toward the beginning because I was super fearful of it, and I pushed her away because of that. We had established a very solid friendship before then, and it isolated us from even having that. I moved to Nashville months later, we reconnected and I took her out on a date. The song is just reflecting that time: When I was without her friendship and loving, it was so hard. I just remember how shallow that time felt in my life. [When] I wrote the song, we were very much in love, and it made that moment of our lives more beautiful.
[With regard to its sonic inspiration], I grew up on ’50s music. My grandpa has this amazing property in San Jose, California, and there are two barns on either side and the house sat right in the middle. It’s on top of this hill, and you can oversee all of San Jose. In the mornings, they would make me breakfast, and then they would tell me to go out in the barn and pick through vinyl. My grandpa is 85 years old at this point, so the only records he has are records from the ‘50s and ‘60s. I would pick through vinyl and just get inspired. Even now, I still do that every time I go up there.
Was there a specific moment that you knew you had a hit on your hands?
I don’t think I ever thought that a song of mine would do this well and throw me in the position to be in the shoes of my heroes. However, on the other side of that, I think the moment when I felt like I had something that was really special … I was making very poor financial decisions when I realized it. I went to Carter Vintage [Guitars] in Nashville, and I bought this old Rickenbacker and old amp, and I wrote the song on that — I [already] had the first part, and then I finished the rest of it on that. That’s what gave it that ‘50s and ‘60s sound. I was playing around with other ‘50s covers — like Paul Anka and The Penguins — and then that song popped out. It felt like it was pulling from my roots in a very huge way.
How much tinkering was there between your initial vision and the finished product?
I think the main thing I couldn’t get over [was] how much reverb was being used. There are small, petty things that I always get caught up on within every song we’ve ever released, and I feel like that’ll be true to me for the rest of my life. It took a day or two to record the whole song and get it done, and then Georgia, whom the song is about, came in and sang on the song. It made it even more special — it’s a very amazing immortalized moment in life right there.
You’ve mentioned the song’s old-school charm. Was creating that more of a concerted effort or a happy coincidence given what you were listening to at the time?
I think it was just a happy coincidence. I really just love that music so much. As far as artistry goes, I think I’ve always fallen into the category where I feel extraordinarily safe picking up a guitar and hiding behind that and adept lyricism and all that stuff. That music makes life fun. It makes love fun. It makes it really emotional. I think it’s a lost art to tell somebody that you’d pull the moon down for them. For that to fall out in such a natural way, that feels very special, and this year, I’m chasing that — but also not trying to force it at all.
It definitely takes a specific tact to write a song that adequately captures all of the emotions that get wrapped into love.
Yeah, I think artists need to flirt with their lyrics more. Your audience at a show is essentially someone that you’re trying to win over. They’re the muse, and you’re flirting with them for an hour, trying to convince them to go out on a date with you. And the same way with a song, right? We should be flirting with our lyricism. We should be slow-dancing with it. We should be taking it out to dinner — metaphorically, of course. But just enticing it into this deep romance within ourselves, that way we’re not losing sight of true artistry. I think that it’s easy to jump on TikTok and sing a song for 30 seconds. But where’s the flirting? That’s a one-night stand. Where’s the meat of it?
Is there a standout experience from the song’s success that really resonates with you?
We played [Late Night with] Seth Meyers and my manager was there. My best friends were there with me. We showed up that day, and I almost threw up because I was so nervous. We got out there, and he was saying my name and we sang the song. And then we jumped on a plane and flew right back to Nashville and made it in time [to watch the performance on TV]. All of my friends were in my little 500 square foot apartment, and they were all crammed in my living room. We were all just cheering and screaming at, like, 12 a.m. It was so beautiful.
What about the song lends itself to being such a long-lasting hit?
Gosh, I just feel like it just won’t stop. (Laughs.) Every time there’ll be a time where it simmers down, I’m like, “Cool. That was a great run. Let’s release some more great music.” And then it’ll just pick right back up, and I get texts like, “It’s going off again!” I’m like, “Why? Why is it going off again?” The only comparison that I can give is that I have this old car, and sometimes it’ll start right up, and it’ll be amazing. And then sometimes, I’ll park it back in the garage, and the next day, it won’t start at all. I’m like, “Okay, cool. Maybe tomorrow!” It’s the same with this: it’s very exciting. It’s a beautiful thing, and I’m really glad that it was this song, honestly. If it could’ve been any of [my songs], I love that it’s this one because it is very much my roots. I just love that it’s under Mercury Records, which was an old-school label, and they released old-school music, and this is an old-school song. That’s just so cool.
How has the process of creating and releasing music been impacted by having a label behind you?
It has just given me this immense state of peace. I think that Mercury is an amazing label because it’s run by people that I have real relationships with and that truly believe in me. It’s also an extension to a label [Republic Records] that believes in me. They put their entire being into artists’ projects and it just opens up this space that feels very safe and welcoming to an artist. As far as Mercury and Republic goes, they care about maintaining the integrity of their artists’ music. I truly believe I wouldn’t be able to do that with anyone else.
As you were putting together your debut EP, Easy On My Eyes, were there any core messages or concepts about you as an artist that you wanted to get across to listeners?
Sonically, I wanted it to feel very close. It felt very tender and sensitive within the singing and how we mixed it, but [there’s] also a little bit of lightheartedness in the sense that, when love feels very joyful, you feel that. I did want to feel that differentiating, rollercoaster vibe of sonics and thematics going on, but the whole thing is about love, of course — its beauty, its downfall and its kind of weird in-betweens. That’s a consistent human experience. Whatever your perception is of the circumstance you’re living in, whether it be love or lust, I want this record to feel accessible.
You recently announced your first headline tour, which will kick off in early 2023. What can we expect for that?
Having strangers that I don’t know come out and pay money for these shows … to play in front of them is going to be so exhilarating. I’m excited to dance. I used to go to concerts when I was younger, and the consistent thing I would imagine was feeling the music from the audience, but imagining that I was moving to it on stage. To get to do that for real now is so exciting. I want to make it so that there’s a dance with the audience that’s happening, in the same way that I was saying earlier with the songwriting. Bring them into a feeling. That’s the goal: have fun and flirt with the audience as much as I can.
Is there anything else we should be on the lookout for?
Man, we got a brand new bag coming. It’s going to be really great. We’re releasing a debut record, and it’s going to come out in the summer, and I don’t want to spoil much about it. But we have a new single coming out in January. I don’t want to spoil that, either, but it’s going to be an entire sound change. The whole thing has taken a flip. We’re not doing singer-songwriter, acoustic stuff anymore. We’re hanging up the guitar and swapping it out for a mic.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Dec. 10, 2022, issue of Billboard.
In the time since Meghan Trainor dropped her third studio album Treat Myself in January 2020, her life has completely transformed. That October, she revealed that she was pregnant with her first child. She released A Very Trainor Christmas the same month, and early the following year, the 28-year-old Nantucket native welcomed her son, Riley, with her husband, Spy Kids star Daryl Sabara.
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Now a mother, Trainor says that she has learned to focus more on “what actually matters” and being her most authentic self for her new baby. That has involved spending loads of time on TikTok, posting casual videos dancing with her family or sharing personal and hilarious tidbits about her life. “I’ve been more real and open than ever. I even talk about my love for MiraLAX online,” she jokes to Billboard.
The platform has also boosted one of her biggest hits in the past few years: her fresh take on doo-wop, “Made You Look,” first began to spread across TikTok thanks to a dance trend started by users Brookie and Jessie that has since become inescapable. Trainor has gotten in on the fun, and to date, nearly two million user-created videos on the platform have utilized the track as a backing sound. “Made You Look” reaches a new No. 24 high on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Dec. 3, marking Trainor’s highest-charting hit since “Me Too” reached No. 13 in 2016.
Below, the pop star tells Bilboard about the details behind “Made You Look” — including how she drew inspiration from a familiar hit to create the song — how music has changed over her decade-long career and what being a mother has taught her.
How did “Made You Look” come together?
It was one of the last songs I wrote for the album. I knew I needed my self-confident banger that I always do on my albums, and I was really studying “All About That Bass.” I was like, “Why did this work so well?” I think everyone just loves to sing along to a song that’s like, “I am awesome, I am the sh-t, I am hot.” Especially after having a baby, I was already struggling to love my body. I was covered in a C-section scar crossing over all my stretch marks and I was really struggling to like myself, but also like myself in front of my own husband.
My therapist had me stand in front of the mirror naked every day and the first day, I was shaking and hated it. By the third day, I noticed things that I liked about my body and I was like, “Wow, this is so powerful.” So, I was in the shower one day and I was like, “Yeah, they could dress me in all these fancy clothes, but when I’m at my grungiest and at home, that’s when my husband is like, ‘You’re the prettiest girl in the world. You’re the hottest.’ ” I wanted to put that in a song, and I wrote the chorus in the shower.
Your C-section scar is how you gave birth to your son, though. That’s so special.
Exactly. I was at the point where I would say to my husband, “Please don’t look at it. Don’t look at my scar!” He’s like, “That’s my favorite mark there ever was. That’s where my boy came out of. That’s the most special thing in the world!” I had never thought about it like that.
How is making music different for you since having your son?
It’s more important now. I guess I’m also more mature, because I’m older and been through more, so now, I’m at an age and point in my life where I’m like, “Here’s what actually matters and here’s what doesn’t. I’m not going to stress anymore.” I really had to work with my therapist on what I can and can’t control. These stretch marks are here, [I have to] get used to them and learn to love them because I can’t control whether they go away or not. In my songwriting, I try to put in that “let it go” vibe.
What was your reaction when “Made You Look” started blowing up on TikTok?
I was so surprised, because it’s so hard to get a song to be successful on TikTok. You don’t want to be out there every day like, “Check out my new song!” I like being vulnerable on that app, and I feel weird being on there just to promote my music. This song was important to me, though, and I knew it would help people with their confidence.
When I saw the dance from the TikTokers Brookie and Jessie, [it] was so fun and they made it look so cool. It was hard to learn, but now that I know it, I do it literally every day. I love the dance so much. It blew up and popped off, but now I see people doing other stuff to the song. I saw a girl who was learning how to be a chef, someone practicing how to cut a vagina while giving birth and a horse giving birth to my song. That’s the coolest part of TikTok. The whole world is on there.
What are some of the biggest differences you see in music trends and on the Hot 100 over the course of your career?
Obviously, TikTok rules the world. For the last album, I was like, “I’ll do every piece of promo you want me to do. If this works, I’ll do it.” But it didn’t work. So, for this album, I made a priority to do “TikTok days” and make content. This app allows for a whole day of fun work for us, and it doesn’t feel like work. I get to be at home and make videos that go viral, and it still helps my music and connect with strangers all over the world. I went live on TikTok this morning and people from Ethiopia were in there. People are like, “Hi from South Dakota! Hi from South Africa!” And I’m like, “Oh my God!” It’s just the best app to connect with everyone globally.
I’ve been more real and open than ever. I even talk about my love for MiraLAX online. The best part of that is that it seems to be what everyone likes. They like me being myself. That’s easy to do for me, rather than [being] like, “Oh, I’m a celebrity that no one can touch, and I wear Gucci and Prada. Don’t talk to me.” It’s easier and more fun this way. Finally, for the first time in a long time, I really, really love my job again. I love promoting music again.
It also feels like you found a renewed love for music on Takin’ It Back.
Yeah! My last album I was chasing radio so hard and was going more pop because I was trying to run away from the doo-wop stuff. I was like, “No, I can do all the genres! I love pop! I love dance!” Then, I was like, “Alright, let’s do the doo-wop. Let’s give the people what they want.” I realized, then, my love for it. I wrote the verses of “Made You Look” over lunch while laughing. We were like, “Oh, it should be, ‘Call up your chiropractor just in case your neck breaks from looking at me.’ ” We were having a ball.
One thing that definitely hasn’t changed through your albums are your messages of empowerment.
I’m trying to do that for everyone out there. The best reward is [that] I’ve been getting letters from fans that start with, “Your music helped me so much growing up.” That’s better than any compliment ever.
What are you excited for with the holidays coming up? You’re a big Christmas fan and even have a holiday album.
Yes, my decorations are already up and I put up the tree. I’m also trying to get pregnant. I’m trying to have four kids and get them out. I don’t know if we’ll tour next year, because touring is so exhausting and brutal still.
Especially if you do get pregnant.
I mean, I don’t know if I’m as cool as Cardi B. The icon that’s like, “Sure I can tour and perform and do SNL pregnant.” I don’t know if I’m as strong as her. I remember being pregnant and being like, “I really should lay down.” I was pooped, so I don’t know if I want to sign up for a tour and then get pregnant while doing that. It’s a big debate, but if something happens and I can open for someone or do a short run, I would love to do something like that. I also want to put out a book about pregnancy. After giving birth, I feel like I can do anything. So, I’m just picking new goals and making new dreams.
What’s the biggest thing you learned through motherhood?
Mom guilt is [a] very similar pain to struggling with loving yourself. I’m a very hard critic on myself in everything I do. With loving myself and music and my talent, I’m my worst critic. I noticed that mom guilt is a very similar feeling. Immediately, I had the worst mom guilt because I started working right away and I was like, “Oh, he’s saying ‘dada’ first and it’s probably because he doesn’t know me!” That’s not the case at all. I had to learn, “Hey, be easy on yourself. You’re doing the best you can and that’s all that matters.” Watch out for mom guilt, and just know that I have it too and I’m working on it.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Nov. 19, 2022, issue of Billboard.
It’s ostensibly a big morning for Greg Kurstin. As we speak in the sunlit lounge of his Hollywood recording studio, the Grammy nominations are being announced — and as is often the case, the veteran producer’s name is connected with a few very big artists expected to make significant showings.
But if Kurstin is at all nervous, he doesn’t show it. Whether out of politeness or commitment to his “maybe boring” daily routine — drop his two kids at school, come back to the studio, make hits, get home in time for dinner — Kurstin, 53, neither tunes in to the broadcast nor checks his phone as the nominees are announced.
Instead, Kurstin has the same focus as always: the music that got him here. A lifelong pianist, he amalgamates his considerable abilities on a range of instruments, his love of jazz and his history as both a session musician and band member (Geggy Tah, The Bird and the Bee) into an improvisational accompanist’s approach to pop music. The artists who’ve called on him as producer — a wide range including Paul McCartney, Sia, Beck, Halsey, Foo Fighters and Maren Morris — look to Kurstin not for a distinct, signature sound, but for his ability to bring out the best within them.
The most famous of those collaborators, of course, is Adele. Since her 2015 album, 25, and its smash “Hello,” she and Kurstin have had a prolific creative relationship — one that continued in 2022 with 30. He co-wrote, produced or co-produced six of the 12 tracks on the album, which spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. One of those was lead single “Easy on Me,” which tied “Hello” for Adele’s longest No. 1 run on the Billboard Hot 100 (10 weeks) and led Radio Songs for 15 weeks — her personal best and the sixth-longest in the chart’s history.
All of that went a long way toward making Kurstin Billboard’s top Hot 100 producer of 2022. And by the end of our conversation, the nine-time Grammy winner (including two for producer of the year, non-classical) will rack up another five nominations: best pop vocal album; song, record and album of the year (all for 30); and best country album (for Morris’ Humble Quest, which he produced). But here in the studio — emitting cool dad vibes in jeans and a T-shirt — he’s immersed in the 9-to-5 that produces that award-worthy work, insulated from much of the buzz it has generated.
“Sometimes I’ll do a song with an artist,” Kurstin says, “and I’ll be like, ‘I wonder if that song did well?’ And then you go see their show and it’s like, ‘Oh, these people know the song!’ ”
It seems like you have the luxury of choice, in terms of artists you agree to work with. Besides your track record of hits, what do you think they’re looking for from you?
I’d like to think that they’re coming to me because I want to support their vision and learn where they’re going musically and try to achieve that somehow, to bring out the best song they could possibly need at this point in their career. Everyone is different. A lot of people I work with are people I’ve worked with before, over and over, and so there’s a lot of history there, too.
You’ve said that artists come to you for the support you provide during the process, rather than for a particular sound.
I don’t think I necessarily have a sound or a particular style that’s recognizable. People have said to me, “I could tell you did that song,” and I’m like, “Really?” I just bring it all back to when I was just a side musician accompanist working with a singer. I would try to support what they’re doing and not be a distraction, but to bring out the best emotion by finding the right chords and the right arrangements. I translated that to production, in a way.
Adele’s songs in particular are so intensely personal. To what extent are you helping her unpack that emotion?
I’m definitely there to navigate that emotional terrain. I have to find the right sequence of chords or the beginning of a song that ignites something in her and whatever lyric she’s wanting to write that day. So, I will search. Sometimes it takes a long time; sometimes it happens immediately; sometimes it’s at the very end of the day. Usually, I’ll just improvise, trying to imagine where she wants to go.
Are there conversations happening as you work?
We don’t really discuss it… I get on the piano and then I’ll get a sense of, “Oh, she likes this little bit I’m playing right now,” so I’ll stay there. Sometimes I do that for an hour or two while she’s formulating lyrics, and I just know I don’t want to move; I don’t want to change anything, because if she’s writing, I feel like it’s going well. So I’ll stay where I am. It’s like a meditation. Also, it’s amazing how much she remembers — just a little seed we started like, a year ago, she’ll say, “What about that little thing we did?”
Is the pressure around a new Adele album something you have to try to tune out?
Yeah. I mean, it’s so hard for me to tune it out. It definitely stresses me out, in a very positive way. There’s excitement, but there’s also just the feeling of like, “I don’t want to be responsible for something not performing.” That’s just me. I probably would take it personally, which I shouldn’t, but a lot of us artists have issues where our self-worth is wrapped up in our performance. But I try to stay grounded and healthy and just know it’s out of my control… Grammy time brings up a lot of those feelings again, because the attention on the album starts coming back.
Despite your accomplishments, you keep a low profile. What’s your day-to-day life like?
My days are pretty normal. I mean, aside from that I work with these extraordinary artists. I take the kids to school, then go to the studio. I just focus on the thing I’m working on, try to do a good job with that, then try to get home by dinnertime. That’s pretty much my life, which is kind of unusual in my line of work. A lot of producers work on the opposite time frame. When I’m going to bed, they’re starting.
For me to be healthy, I have to have a schedule, a structure. The way my mind works, it will start to race, and if I work too late, then I have trouble sleeping and that messes up my next day. Artists are happy to adapt to working that schedule. I want to do a great song for them and send them on their way so they can have a life and go out at night to do whatever they want to do. I’m totally friends with a lot of artists I work with… but I don’t want to keep someone longer than they want to be there.
You mentioned the anticipation you feel around Grammy season. What is your relationship with the awards?
It’s a crazy experience to be invited or involved, and I know I won’t be invited forever. There will be a point where people will be like, “OK, you can go now.” (Laughs.)
Eventually they’ll show you out the back door.
Exactly. Like, “We’ve had enough of you.” While it’s happening, I’m just going for the ride. It feels very good for your work to be recognized. I don’t take it lightly when people are voting for stuff I’ve worked on. I have fun when I go, although it makes me nervous when I’m there, because I hate speaking in the microphone, but that’s also a good problem to have.
Where do you keep the nine Grammys you’ve already won?
They’re in the bedroom, kind of staring at me. If I’m in a bad mood, I can look up and be like, “Come on! Chin up.”
All that said, do you want to check and see if you’ve been nominated this year?
(Looks at phone.) OK, I got best pop vocal album, song of the year, album of the year, country album and record of the year. So there’s that!
This story will appear in the Dec. 10, 2022, issue of Billboard.