State Champ Radio magazine
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An elite set of songs — like Queen’s “We Will Rock You,” The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s “Turn Down For What” — have become so known as sports anthems that they’re almost divorced from the original context in which they were released. To take off in a sports setting, plenty of factors must align — not just the fundamentals of what makes a song appealing to the masses, but also hard work behind the scenes and a little luck. But if sports teams, TV networks and of course fanbases get behind them, these tracks get massive boosts.
The songs below are some of the current standouts blasting in stadiums around the country — and likely to do so for a long time.
Key Glock, “Let’s Go”
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“The infectious beat and earworm chorus make it a lock — either for pro athletes’ stadium walkouts or intramural athletes getting ready to put up a very solid five points at the YMCA rec league, like myself,” EMPIRE’s Harrison Golding says.
Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor”
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CAA’s Dave Aussenberg calls the country-rock hit “the most under-the-radar anthem for all sports fans. As the clock winds down and the team is down to its last play, this is the soundtrack. It was all I could think about during the recent, incredible College Football Playoff semifinal games.”
Creed, “Higher”
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Thanks in large part to the Texas Rangers — both fans in the stands who sang along to it karaoke-style and players who belted it in the locker room post-World Series win — the rock band’s grandiose 1999 hit is experiencing a resurgence “equal parts hilarious and awesome,” Def Jam’s Gabe Tesoriero says. “The memes re-creating [Creed’s] iconic, bizarre Thanksgiving halftime performance” from 2001 “ruled my timeline [this year].”
Sheck Wes, “Mo Bamba”
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“That is becoming a ‘Seven Nation Army,’ ” Interscope’s David Nieman says. “It’s a third-down stop song; it gets the people going. We took Sheck when that song first came out to St. John’s [University] to do Midnight Madness for the basketball team, and in that moment, I realized how big of a stadium anthem that was going to be when the kids were singing back along with it, the way it sounded and the bravado of it all.”
Saweetie & P-Lo, “Do It For The Bay”
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Warner Records worked with the NFC champion San Francisco 49ers on this anthem for the football team’s playoff run by Bay Area natives Saweetie and P-Lo, which lined up with the team’s “Do It For The Bay” marketing campaign — and the song quickly took off, impacting Rhythmic Airplay and Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay and becoming a rallying cry for the team’s fans. “When you have an artist that has a personal tie to a sports organization and is genuinely excited to get in the studio and write a song for them, you end up with something unique and authentic that the fans and community will support,” says Warner’s vp of brand partnerships and ad sync Rob Santini. “Saweetie’s grandfather won a Super Bowl for the 49ers and her uncle is currently a coach on the team, so there was a real connection there.”
Fast Life Yungstaz, “Swag Surfin’ ”
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The Atlanta hip-hop trio’s 2009 track gained popularity at historically Black college and university parties, became an anthem for teams like the Chicago Bears and the Washington Mystics and is now in the spotlight thanks to the Kansas City Chiefs. “Since I’ve been here, it has been a huge fourth-quarter, big-time moment, big-time drive in the game for our defense” hype song, the team’s Travis Kelce said on the New Heights podcast in January. Its signature wave-like dance can “make the stadium feel like chaos.” As a widely circulated game clip showed, even Taylor Swift and Kelce’s mother got in on it recently.
This story will appear in the Feb. 10, 2024, issue of Billboard.
It was May 1977, and Queen had just finished its encore at Bingley Hall in the English town of Stafford when the crowd, rather than dispersing and heading home, began to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Originally featured in the 1945 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Carousel, Gerry & The Pacemakers had popularized the tune with their 1963 version, and shortly after, it became an anthem of the British soccer club Liverpool FC. The spontaneous incident at Bingley Hall would forever change the cultural landscape: It inspired singer Freddie Mercury and guitarist Brian May to write two of Queen’s most iconic songs.
“The story we’ve been told is that Brian and Freddie said, ‘Why don’t we write our own anthems?’ ” says Dominic Griffin, vp of licensing at Disney Music Group, which owns the North American rights to Queen’s music. “So Brian wrote ‘We Will Rock You,’ Freddie wrote ‘We Are the Champions,’ and they started finishing their shows with those. I’m not sure if there was one particular moment, but the band began to realize that there was not much difference between the crowd at a rock show and the crowd at a football game. It was having the same reaction.”
Whether due to its stomp-clap beat, call-to-action lyrics or simple melody — or more likely a combination of all three — “We Will Rock You” in particular became one of the most widely recognized songs in history, especially at sporting events, where it blares nightly in arenas and stadiums around the world. According to BMI, “We Will Rock You” is the song in the performing rights organization’s 22 million-plus-track repertoire most played at NHL, NFL and MLB games. It accumulated over 9.5 million U.S. radio and TV feature performances from its 1977 release through the third quarter of 2023.
That’s no accident. Since acquiring Queen’s catalog in 1990, both Disney and the band have encouraged radio stations to use “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” in promos, allowed sports stadiums and teams to use them to soundtrack highlights and hype videos (which require additional approval, separate from the blanket public performance license that all venues need to simply play a song in a public space) and licensed them to now-classic sports films like The Mighty Ducks, Any Given Sunday and The Replacements. The label’s research data, including figures from Radio Disney, showed that all generations reacted to the songs.
“I think it was a way for sports teams to play something that appeals to everyone in the venue,” Griffin says. “Those Queen songs tick all the boxes because the lyric is great for sporting events and they’re just natural anthems, and the band went out to write an anthem for an arena that turned into a sports anthem.”
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In the decades since, an elite set of songs like these has become a genre unto itself, so known as sports anthems that they’re almost divorced from the original context in which they were released — call it “the Jock Jams effect,” after the compilation albums from the mid-’90s that featured hype-up tracks like House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is).” But more modern songs have also joined the pantheon in recent years, like The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s “Turn Down for What,” which are near-omnipresent at current sports games.
“It becomes folk music when things like that happen,” Jack White said of “Seven Nation Army” on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast in 2022. “It just becomes ubiquitous. I’m sure many people who are chanting the melody have no idea what the song is or where it came from or why, or whatever — it doesn’t matter anymore, and that’s just amazing.”
“We’ve been fortunate that several of Lil Jon’s songs have become incredible stadium anthems over the years,” says the artist’s manager, Rob Mac. “With ‘Turn Down for What,’ we knew that record felt massive, but the video really helped to boost the song as well. His music has always hyped up fans and crowds — his voice and energy [lend themselves] to that, and people really embrace and connect with it. His music became part of the experience inside a stadium.”
Still, plenty of factors must align — not just the fundamentals of what makes a song appealing to the masses, but also hard work behind the scenes and a little luck — for a song to take off in a sports setting. Labels are constantly pitching not just legacy artists, but new acts and songs to local teams and TV networks hoping for a placement. If a song makes the cut, it can be a massive boost for an artist.
“We spend a lot of time trying to get our new artists played inside sporting arenas because you’re reaching anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 people at a time and you’ve got a captive audience who can’t turn the radio off,” says Griffin, noting the success Disney has had with acts like Demi Lovato, almost monday and Grace Potter, whose “The Lion, the Beast, the Beat” soundtracked multiple promos for the Detroit Lions during this year’s NFL playoffs. “Any time you can get your music in front of that many thousands of people, it certainly helps with recognition.”
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Take “Swag Surfin’ ” by Fast Life Yungstaz, for one extreme example: The song has been a staple at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium for a few years now, played when the defense needs a big stop or the crowd needs an energy boost. In the weeks leading up to the NFL playoffs, the song averaged between 350,000 and 400,000 on-demand streams per week; that number jumped to over 1 million the week the Chiefs beat the Miami Dolphins in the playoffs, when Taylor Swift was seen doing the song’s signature dance alongside Chiefs fans.
“In the arena business, when you’ve got 20,000 or 40,000 people and you’re trying to get them to do something, sometimes it’s the big, dumb gesture that really wins the day. Whether it’s some goofy guy dancing on the scoreboard or something that’s telling you to get up and yell, or a song that’s got a simple melody where everybody can participate, that really seems to be the most effective,” says Ray Castoldi, who has been Madison Square Garden’s music director/organist since 1989; in his role, he also frequently selects the music for New York Knicks and New York Rangers games and occasionally plays the organ for the New York Mets at Citi Field.
Castoldi says he’s constantly looking for new songs to add to his game playlist and that he regularly tests out new material in the Garden — but that the rotation remains pretty steady, with around 300 songs on tap for any given game. “Arena standards are songs that appeal on such a wide basis that you almost can’t help yourself — it’s something in human nature where it motivates a large group of people,” he says. “I always see the equation as: You play the music for this huge assemblage of people and you want to get them all riled up and get their energy going, and then they give that energy to the players.”
And once a song reaches that threshold, it achieves a new, almost mythic status that can long outshine the rest of an artist’s oeuvre. House of Pain racked up 87 million on-demand U.S. streams in 2023, according to Luminate; 75 million of those were for “Jump Around.” Even for an act as beloved and popular as Queen, which tallied 1.3 billion streams in 2023, 8% of its streams were “We Will Rock You.” As Brian May said in 2017 — in an interview after Billboard named that song the No. 1 jock jam of all time — “They’re beyond hits. We don’t have to sell them in any way.”
This story will appear in the Feb. 10, 2024, issue of Billboard.
For Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles fans — and any football lover, really — last year’s Super Bowl LVII was a thrilling, down-to-the-wire classic. But as the game, airing on FOX Sports and tied at 35, cut to commercial break at the two-minute warning, tense viewers might’ve felt an unexpected wave of calm. The buttery-smooth lick from “Hungersite,” one of the most popular tracks by the exploding jam band Goose, played as the stressed visages of head coaches Andy Reid and Nick Sirianni gave way to ads.
“It was so surreal to hear our song during the Super Bowl,” Goose singer-guitarist Rick Mitarotonda tells Billboard. “We are very thankful to FOX Sports for supporting what we do and exposing so many bands in the genre to the masses.”
Goose posted the snippet to Instagram and reached out to FOX Sports to express its gratitude — all in a day’s work for Jacob Ullman, FOX Sports senior vp of production and talent development, and Jake Jolivette, a producer at the network. Through their production roles on NFL games, Ullman and Jolivette have caught the attention of astute listeners with secondslong jam band synchs — from titans like the Grateful Dead and Phish to cultier acts like Umphrey’s McGee and moe. — for the past several years.
Ullman, 50, saw his first Dead show at age 12 when his father took him to see the band at Southern California’s Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in 1985. Jolivette, 49, got into the band as a Midwestern college student, attending his first show in 1992 (three years before Jerry Garcia died); his college years also coincided with Phish’s rise, and the Vermont band’s “communal” shows hooked him. “It’s almost like going to a live sporting event,” he observes.
Ullman began working at FOX Sports when the network launched in 1994, and Jolivette landed there a decade later. The former recalls the thrill of synching a jam-adjacent artist early on: When he integrated Dave Matthews Band’s “Tripping Billies” into a hockey broadcast in 1996, he was amazed “that you can collide your work life, your passion for sports and your passion for music in one place.” But FOX Sports wouldn’t become known for its sly jam band integrations until years later, after Ullman and Jolivette had both risen through the ranks and found themselves working together on NFL and NASCAR broadcasts.
For many viewers, the first clue that the FOX Sports edit bay might be tie-dye-friendly came during 2017’s Super Bowl LI, in a produced pregame video narrated by actor Ving Rhames introducing the competing New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. Jolivette used Audioslave’s “Cochise” for the Patriots — and Phish’s exuberant “Tweezer Reprise” for the Falcons. Phish frontman Trey Anastasio and the band’s former longtime road manager, Brad Sands, watched the show, and a screenshotted text thread between them circulated on jam-loving corners of the internet. (Sands said, “Falcons have to win now right?” and Anastasio agreed.) “I love ‘Tweezer.’ I love how it builds,” says Jolivette before adding with a chuckle, “Mind you, my editor hated the song — but I still got it in.”
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In 2018, FOX Sports inked a five-year deal with the NFL to air Thursday Night Football, and Ullman and Jolivette became heavily involved in the broadcasts. That’s when their jam band synchs really took off. “We’d sneak a couple of [songs] in there — all of a sudden, you’re getting texts,” says Jolivette with still-palpable amazement. “That’s when I figured out that this was something that was brewing that people could hear.”
When the pandemic hit, Ullman, who had hung out with the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir at NASCAR events over the years, convinced the musician through his manager to record a solo performance of the national anthem for the late-March 2020 broadcast of an iRacing Pro Invitational simulated race. Later that year, Ullman and Jolivette’s colleagues Joe Carpenter (senior audio engineer) and Bryan Biederman (director) — fellow FOX Sports Deadheads who work on the network’s MLB broadcasts — integrated a slew of Dead songs into the 2020 World Series. Sensing the public’s interest, FOX uploaded a supercut of the synchs — among them “Shakedown Street,” “Sugar Magnolia” and “Althea” — to its social media, with corresponding game footage nested within the band’s iconic “Steal Your Face” logo.
“Between that and what we were doing on Thursday Night Football, that year was probably where a lot of this exploded,” Ullman says. It was a feedback loop of sorts: The more FOX Sports integrated jam bands, the more positive reinforcement it received.
Still, in the tricky world of TV licensing, the network’s ’heads need supportive — or at least tolerant — colleagues to facilitate clearances. For that, they work with a team that includes vp of music Nicole de la Torriente-Nelson, who leads negotiations with publishers and labels, and associate director Yvonne Wagoner, who prepares approved playlists for broadcast teams. Wagoner collaborates with crews to construct eclectic playlists — an amalgam of current hits, old classics, songs for specific situations like scoring and situational matches for game location and weather — and solicits requests. While some core songs remain throughout a season, there’s also turnover, and Wagoner refers potential new songs to de la Torriente-Nelson and her colleagues, who secure the applicable rights. Licensing terms vary, but songs are often cleared for a season’s entirety, with fees paid out on a per-use basis (the higher-profile the game, the higher the synch rate).
Take FOX Sports’ week 15 Buffalo Bills-Dallas Cowboys broadcast. Jolivette wanted to use a song by Buffalo jam band moe. for the Bills home game, so he asked Wagoner to clear the group’s “Happy Hour Hero.” She passed along the request to de la Torriente-Nelson, whose team secured the rights, and Jolivette and senior audio mixer Jamie McCombs — not a jam fan per se, though he admits Jolivette has “turned me on to some really good stuff” — prepped the few seconds that would ultimately air. Late in the first quarter of the Dec. 17 game, with the Bills up 7-0, “Hero” led into a commercial break. Watching was moe. guitarist Al Schnier, who posted a video of his TV screen to Instagram with the caption “Bills + moe. + winning = Happy Hour Hero.”
Integrations like that really are by jam band fans, for jam band fans. Ullman’s team doesn’t feel bound to the Dead or Phish, or even to the most popular tracks in their respective discographies; in the Jan. 14 Dallas Cowboys-Green Bay Packers playoff game, FOX Sports used the Dead’s “Saint of Circumstance” and Phish’s “Axilla,” hardly the best-known songs by either group. Jolivette and his colleagues seek out the best secondslong snippets, wherever they may come from. As he explains of “Saint of Circumstance,” “The part we use, it hits. If you’ve seen that in concert, you know that’s one of the great transitions. That, to me, is what makes that a great song to use.”
And in the ultimate validation of their work, one of their heroes is returning the fandom. “When you think about it, the music we make isn’t unlike a sporting event,” Weir, who was spotted with the FOX Sports team on the sideline at January’s NFC Championship game, tells Billboard. “On a good night, you don’t really know where it’s going to go — and getting wherever it’s going is going to be different every time to boot.”
This story will appear in the Feb. 10, 2024, issue of Billboard.
If there’s one word that Usher personifies, it’s “cool.” The word applies to his still-captivating vocals, deep catalog of multigenerational R&B/pop hits, fluid footwork, keen fashion sense — all of which I witnessed firsthand while watching Usher and his team rehearse for the launch of his first Las Vegas residency almost three years ago. Despite the pressure-cooker atmosphere inherent in that gamble — including lingering pandemic-related challenges — the eight-time Grammy Award winner remained chill and in control. So it makes sense that Usher would be just as unflappable on the eve of performing before the largest audience of his career: at the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show.
“It’s more about anticipation than jitters,” Usher says matter-of-factly in early January, having already logged a month of rehearsals in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Atlanta. “I’m so ready for it to happen. I just want to sing louder than I’ve ever sang; dance harder than I’ve ever danced. I want to celebrate the 30 years of this career where I’m very fortunate to have made songs and moments with people that they will remember forever.”
When he started his My Way residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in July 2021, the coronavirus pandemic was far from over — audiences were still “in a life depression,” as he puts it. Two years and one bigger venue (Dolby Live at Park MGM) later, My Way finished as a massive success — and Usher is clearly ready for an even bigger stage. “What an amazing crescendo,” he marvels. “I played 100 shows in Las Vegas [across both residencies], and my 101st will be the Super Bowl.”
The crescendo won’t end there. This year marks the 30th anniversary of his self-titled debut album. And on the eve of the halftime show, the singer-songwriter will release his much anticipated, long-gestating new project, Coming Home — the first on his own label, mega, in partnership with music industry veteran Antonio “L.A.” Reid and in association with gamma., helmed by former Apple executive Larry Jackson. The gamma. deal, which Usher and Reid signed in February 2023, is the latest in a series of entrepreneurial ventures, including Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace, that Usher has been lining up for the next phase of his career. And on Aug. 20, Usher will embark on the just-announced Past Present Future tour, playing 24 arena dates across the United States (with more dates to be announced).
Usher’s mother, Jonnetta Patton — who took him to LaFace Records when he was 13 and managed him for 17 years (he’s currently managed by Ron Laffitte of Laffitte Management Group) — isn’t surprised by her son’s stunning trajectory. “He could really sing at a young age,” she explains. “I said, ‘This is your next star. This is the next Michael Jackson.’ ” She adds with a laugh, “People said, ‘His mom’s crazy.’ ”
When puberty claimed Usher’s vocal range, everyone around him (including, at least momentarily, Usher himself) thought his career was over before it had even started — except for Patton, who made sure the label secured a vocal coach to help him find his voice again. “It was so depressing for him; he almost lost his record deal,” she recalls. “But Usher fought. He was truly determined and dedicated to the goal that he set for himself: that one day everyone would know his name. He stayed the course. [Today], he’s a true performer who has no fear.”
Bottega Veneta shirt, Alexander McQueen pants, Fear of God sunglasses, Jacquie Aiche and Veert jewelry.
Sami Drasin
To his legion of fans who sent four of his albums to the top of the Billboard 200 and nine of his songs to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Usher’s staying power was never in question. But in the past 12 years, since 2012’s Looking 4 Myself and after two albums (Hard II Love and A) that weren’t massive hits like his earlier projects, he has experienced an indisputable renaissance in tandem with his residencies. And those 100 shows set the stage perfectly for the Feb. 9 release of Coming Home, which coincides with the 20th anniversary of his RIAA diamond-certified 2004 classic, Confessions. Usher’s first solo album since 2016’s Hard II Love (and first studio project since 2018’s A with Zaytoven), Coming Home is, like Confessions, executive-produced by Usher and Reid (who dropped by the singer’s Billboard photo shoot but declined to be interviewed for this story). However, it’s most certainly not a sequel, one of the rumors that swirled in the long lead-up to its announcement.
The 20 tracks — which serve up R&B, hip-hop, pop, funk, Afrobeats and amapiano — include three recent releases: the R&B hit “Good Good” with Summer Walker and 21 Savage, the remix of the Michael Jackson-esque “Standing Next to You” with Jung Kook and the tender ballad “Risk It All” featuring H.E.R. from the Color Purple soundtrack album. But with the pulsating rush of tracks like “Keep on Dancin’,” the album delivers what fans continue to love about Usher: his emotive vocals, relatable lyrics and danceable beats. Standouts include the thematic title track with Burna Boy, a fun pairing with rap force Latto on the upbeat “A-Town Girl” (which contains elements of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl”), breakup song and next single “Ruin” featuring Nigerian singer-songwriter Pheelz and “Kissing Strangers,” a striking reflection on a relationship’s aftermath.
The lattermost, a holdover from a stockpile of songs that Usher was considering for his then-untitled new album in 2021, was co-produced by the late busbee. Known primarily for his work with pop and country artists like P!nk, Maren Morris and Keith Urban, busbee might seem an unusual choice for Usher — but for the reinvigorated singer, such collaborators are part of a push to experiment more with different genres and rhythms while “digging deeper in what I choose to write about.” That doesn’t mean Usher is abandoning what has gotten him this far: The album is full of reunions with the R&B vets who helped craft his earlier successes, like Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, The-Dream, Christopher “Tricky” Stewart and Pharrell Williams.
“[Malcolm] Gladwell talks about the 10,000 hours rule for becoming the ultimate expert in one’s field or craft,” gamma.’s Jackson says, referencing the author’s best-selling Outliers: The Story of Success. “And Usher has achieved his 10,000 hours of mastery. He exudes it. He’s sitting at the top of his mountain — the first independent artist to ever play the Super Bowl.” And even at this point in his career, milestones like that still matter to Usher.
Fear of God jacket, pants and shoes, and Dolce & Gabbana gloves.
Sami Drasin
How did your residency prepare you for this global performance?
I’m happy that I’m coming off a successful residency, which helped me prepare and get into the rhythm of it overall. Otherwise, I would have had to restart and relive moments. But going on that stage every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday reminded me of what my music has meant, how people feel about me and how I feel about it all. After years and years of doing this, you can grow tired and frustrated, especially as music changes the standards of how we count what’s hot, what’s cool or what’s not. All of those things can get to your mind and make you even question if you really want to continue to do it. But when I went to Las Vegas, it just made me excited about all of it all over again.
Any hints you can share about what viewers can expect?
It will definitely be an event. There are special guests. And I’ve considered new songs. But you know, it’s 12 to 15 minutes. So it’s really hard to determine what moment matters more than others, especially with a new song. But there’s the dance, the wardrobe, the lighting, how long you stay in a song, the fact that the audience may sing along … It’s a lot. So I’m trying my hardest not to overthink it.
Did you get in touch with other halftime performers for pointers?
I’ve happened to be around a few people who’ve played the Super Bowl, and they did give me some pointers. I also happened to be on a boat not too long ago with Katy Perry, who gave me some notes. I heard that Rihanna stood up for me [in a December interview with E! News] and said something really incredible [about Usher’s qualifications for the gig]. I really appreciated that. I’ve watched every performer, analyzing how they maximized those 12 minutes. But you know, your moment is your moment. And this is a moment I’ve prepared for during the last 30 years.
Usher photographed on January 5, 2024 at 1859 Bel Air Road in Los Angeles. Dolce & Gabbana suit, Calvin Klein shirt, ETAI mask, Fear of God gloves and shoes, Versace sunglasses and Jacquie Aiche jewelry.
Sami Drasin
Which past halftime performances stand out the most for you?
All of them start with the idea that the Super Bowl changed when Michael Jackson performed. I’ve enjoyed Prince, Coldplay, Beyoncé, Bruno Mars, Madonna. There are tons of things that I was able to pick up on, from looking at how they chose to enter, what they did while they were onstage and how they chose to close. But the one that really stands out is Michael. Before then, they just hired a random band or whoever. Michael brought in his own director, obviously paid a lot of money and spent a lot of time designing that incredible moment. He reframed how we look at the Super Bowl live performance.
What components must a Super Bowl halftime show have to resonate with viewers?
You should have hit records. (Laughs.) I always say that a new song is a bit of a risk. But then, Beyoncé played something fairly new [“Formation,” at the Coldplay-headlined Super Bowl 50 in 2016], which I thought was really interesting, and The Weeknd did a pretty cool job as well. You also need to have a singalong moment. I think every Super Bowl should have a live band and your mic has to be on, or should be, because people want to connect with you. They want to feel it’s live and in the moment. And every halftime performance should have dancing. Even if the artist isn’t doing that, you have to have some sort of choreography.
Is there one song that you still love to sing and dance to the most?
I love to perform all my songs. But to this day, I still love “U Got It Bad.” I think because of the connection between me and the audience. Then the fact that the song kind of reinvented the ballad in a way because it’s almost like a tempo [song]. It was no longer like a slow, sultry singalong ballad about emoting. It has rhythm and I dance to it; that’s the other side. And the fact that people sing it the way that they do when I’m performing it, they feel a connection to it and it feels real. When it all comes together — the song, the connecting message to the audience, the dance — it almost feels like classical music.
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It’s now the eve of releasing Coming Home. What can fans expect from 2024 Usher?
Every album offers a bit of where I was in my life and what I felt I wanted to share. But this is the first time that I’ve ever felt so comfortable to just be where I am. I’m 100% in my skin. And after 30 years, it shouldn’t even be a question about whether this is going to be greater than something in my past. And I don’t mean that in a derogatory way. I’m just saying it’s hard because every time you put out an album, you’re trying to figure out how not to mess up what you’ve done in the past. And I don’t want to think like that.
I just want to love what I do, make what I love, allow people to come to my space and see what I have to offer. You might identify with it. It may help you deal with some of the sh-t you may be going through, or it may be helpful in making a baby or just having a good time. (Laughs.) I’m not thinking of this album in comparison to anything other than what it is: uniquely its own. And it’s a hard thing, especially when you’ve amassed an audience that goes all the way from “OMG” to “Think of You.” Now I want [the audience] to come back to see me one more time and know that I came home to this space where I’m comfortable.
This is your first solo album since 2016. What have you learned about yourself musically that has brought you to this comfortable, creative space?
That there are new genres that I can play in; ideas and collaborations, rhythms and things that I can participate in and not be beholden to just the overall standard of creating the classic R&B album. I learned that how people listen to music is really a snapshot nowadays. So you have to kind of change your approach of how you even sequence songs; people don’t even necessarily know the difference between a hook and a bridge. Therefore, the way I’m creating is being adjusted a bit because where I was, I am no longer, and the producers that I work with, they’re no longer there either. We’re in a new space. What I also have learned is, don’t hold on to music so damn long. You’ve got to let it go. I worked literally for about four to five years just collecting music [for this album].
I’m comfortable because I’m in my own zone, on my own throne. I did it my way. I’m quoting myself. (Laughs.) I have nothing to prove. I’m not racing time. If there’s any question about whether a 45-year-old artist can release music and still be relevant: I’ve been releasing music over the last year that’s definitely connected in a different way. I hope that sets a precedent for artists who are my age. I sing harder and with more precision than I’ve ever done on this album.
Custom jacket and gloves, Saint Laurent shirt, Purple Brand pants, Veert jewelry and Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses and brooches.
Sami Drasin
What’s your take on R&B’s rebound over the last couple of years, with next-gen artists like SZA, Coco Jones, Victoria Monét, H.E.R. and Brent Faiyaz? Where will the genre evolve from here?
I’m very happy that there’s a new installation of R&B artists who care to be authentic to what they are creating, inspired by artists of the past. Everybody who has ever said to me that R&B is dead sounds crazy. Especially when I know the origins of R&B are in all other genres of music.
It’s about creating commerce in other spaces. Lovers & Friends [where Usher will perform Confessions in full in May] is a successful R&B festival that gives you a place to go and celebrate the songs that we make. We need things that you associate with R&B that you can buy into. Like with hip-hop — glasses, clothes, cars, jewelry, sneakers … ancillary things that people can access. R&B needs and has the potential to have those things as well.
My point is, I never felt like R&B was dying. I think it just needs expansion. We’re moving toward a standard where people are looking at snippets — TikTok, Instagram and other things — and when fans get it, they take it and do something with it. But if we start to think of it that way and create from that place, the standards for R&B will change. You won’t be able to compare it in an old-versus-new way. It’ll just be what it is.
What prompted your transition from major-label to indie artist as a label owner with mega and reteaming with L.A. Reid?
I wanted to do something that I felt would represent R&B and come from a place of passion. L.A. [who also consulted on the My Way residency] and I had talked about working together again. He was managing a few artists and still working on his production company, HitCo. This would be a journey that would require us resetting a second on our next go-round because we had worked together other times with Justin [Bieber] and on other projects. But he and I would find and develop artists who represent this new standard. And as the first artist on mega, I’d be the first up to bat. It seemed ambitious. But I couldn’t think of a better partner or better music man with amazing ears.
L.A. also has incredible sensibility in developing artists because he set the standard at LaFace Records for the artist I am and the way I think of entertainment. Then we managed to connect Voltron (laughs) with Larry Jackson, and it just went to another level because he had a similar interest in wanting to invest in artists and their creative; to pull from some of the things that we’ve done in our paths to create sustainable artists and teach them together. We have a studio in L.A. and Atlanta; we’re looking for artists and are very excited about the potential of building some incredible things together.
You reportedly sold your interest in Bieber’s catalog to HarbourView. Moving forward, do you plan to invest in technology and other music-related ventures?
I’ve never publicly made that statement [about Bieber]. However, I am at an incubation space in my life, looking for new ventures, new ideas, partnering with people who have like-minded interests in entertainment, not just for music but hopefully with the NFL, NBA [Usher holds a minority stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers] or other ventures. I think that we need a Black-owned team somewhere. A minority share is great, don’t get me wrong. I love it. But to at least have one team that is owned by minorities in a way that’s significant, continues to grow and you feel it — I would love to know that there is a minority and/or majority [interest] that is all Black.
Jimmy Iovine, Liberty Ross and I started a brand of skating rinks called Flipper’s, and we’re in the process of launching a skate specifically through Flipper’s. Every year now, during the hot season, we flip Rockefeller Center in New York into a skating rink. We flipped the Hollywood Palladium to a rink for Grammy Week last year, and we’re looking to do more of that. We also opened a rink in London. And I’m working on an official opening of a skating rink here in America. It is so important for people to realize that you need to smile and enjoy yourself. And the only way that I know I can pull that out of everybody is with skates.
Dolce & Gabbana suit, Calvin Klein shirt, ETAI mask, Fear of God gloves and shoes, Versace sunglasses and Jacquie Aiche jewelry.
Sami Drasin
Is your Las Vegas residency on hiatus for now?
Hopefully, we will continue to have a successful festival in Las Vegas with Lovers & Friends. I have roots there. I really did enjoy my time in Las Vegas. Am I going to go back, if I ever do, in the same way? No. I’m not planning on doing that right now. I do love what I’m seeing in Las Vegas with the type of curated experiences that are getting a front stage that they didn’t before. Love what Bruno Mars and Boyz II Men were able to do in Las Vegas and, now, to see New Edition and Wu-Tang [Clan] coming in. I love Vegas. It has an opportunity to be a cultural foundation for experiences that are not just about music but about entertainment, about other ancillary things that you experience. That’s the long of it. The short of it is, I’ll be back in Vegas someday.
Looking back now, what are the takeaways from your 30-years-and-counting career?
I really do enjoy what I do. And I don’t take kindly to the fact that people at times have doubted it. But it has definitely been motivating for me to continue to push to be great. To make something that was great and surround myself with people who don’t just want to see what I saw or what they saw but are invested in what’s happening currently and in the future. They’re invested in affirmations, being able to speak things into existence. To look in the mirror at yourself and say it, believe it. Then have the courage to not just hope but believe in what you were saying and staying invested in that. We’re as powerful as we choose to be. That’s what got me here. I just believed and didn’t pay attention to what anybody else had to say.
Location: 1859 Bel Air Road, Los Angeles @1859BelAirRd. Developer: Sean Balakhani @balakhani_estates. Architect: Mandi Rafati @tagfront. Interior Designer: Cesar Giraldo @cesargiraldodesign. Agents: Aaron Kirman, AKG, Christie’s International Real Estate @AaronKirman and Mauricio Umansky, The Agency RE @Mumansky18.
This story will appear in the Feb. 10, 2024, issue of Billboard.
It’s 30 minutes before the NBA’s Lakers and Clippers tip-off for a late January showdown at their shared home of Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, and rapper BigXthaPlug is sitting in a purchased box suite with his entire crew. Had he wanted, he could’ve showcased his 6’3”, 400-pound frame in personal courtside seats, but for the Dallas native, it’s a small token of appreciation for those who were with him before he could afford such luxuries. “I’m not finna see nothing for the first time without people that was there when I had nothing,” he says.
Lately, BigXthaPlug has had a lot to showcase: the rapper turned in a banner year in 2023, first with the RIAA-certified gold hit “Texas” that reps his home state, and more recently, with the braggadocious “Mmhmm.” The bass-bumping, sonically nostalgic track, which showcases his bellowing voice adlibbing the song’s title throughout the chorus, broke through on a mainstream level and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in December. “You gotta say it with a little more ‘Mmmhmmm,’” BigXthaPlug instructs with a deep southern drawl that sounds naturally chopped-and-screwed.
Born Xavier Landum, the 25-year-old was raised by his mother — also a Texas native — who put him onto southern rap dignitaries ranging from UGK to Lil Wayne, while his father leaned more into the R&B acts like the Isley Brothers. BigXthaPlug grew up with NFL dreams and only began rapping a few years ago, with his self-released Bacc From the Dead project in 2020. The EP drew the attention of UnitedMasters’ A&R Aaron Hunter, who then peppered the rapper with DMs before ultimately flying to Texas for an in-person introduction at a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party for the latter’s cousin.
BigXthaPlug signed a deal with the distributor in 2021, and shortly after, he added a manager in Public Figures Management Group founder Kyle Wilson, who first discovered BigXthaPlug on Instagram through his raw track “Safehouse.” (Co-manager Brandon Farmer, a partner at Solid Foundation Management, joined the team in 2023 after watching the rapper’s SXSW set.) “His stage presence, you just don’t really see that,” Farmer says. “You can tell when somebody is a star. X is a star.”
BigXthaPlug photographed on January 22, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Daniel Dorsa
BigXthaPlug photographed on January 22, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Daniel Dorsa
But just as the pieces of his team were coming into place, BigXthaPlug was arrested on unlawful carrying of weapons and marijuana possession charges and served a 2022 jail stint in solitary confinement. The experience was a wake-up call: instead of spending the hours in monotony, he wrote rhymes on medically issued med-line paper and read the dictionary. “I tried to read the Bible but I couldn’t do it,” he says.
He was released later that year, and by 2023, BigXthaPlug translated inspiration into action: he launched his own independent record label, 600 Entertainment, and subsequently added artists Ro$ama and Yung Hood to the roster. He joined rapper Key Glock on tour that April, where he met hip-hop producer Bandplay and immediately established a rapport. In June, the two went on a creative retreat in Arizona, and one of the first songs that came about during the two-week Airbnb stay was “Mmhmm.” Bandplay first cooked up the funky beat in 2020 after hearing The Whispers’ “And The Beat Goes On” while watching a movie. But upon initially hearing the beat in Arizona — which samples the 1979 track also prominently used in Will Smith’s 1998 single “Miami” — it didn’t register with BigXthaPlug.
“I’m a groovy-ass person,” BigXthaPlug recalls. “Bandplay was playing it and me and [songwriter Ro$ama] got to dancing. Bandplay stopped it and was like, ‘Y’all know what sample this is?’ We was like, ‘Hell nah.’” Still, within 30 minutes, the hit took form.
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BigXthaPlug saw the track as an opportunity to put his friend in a position to win: in a genre where many are shy about their collaborative writing process, he asked Ro$ama to pen the song’s heavy-flexing opening verse. “I had already wrote a verse — the second is my verse,” BigXthaPlug says. “I [told him], ‘Write a verse, and if it’s good, you could get points and get paid.’ A lot of these rappers are using writers. Even if you don’t end up the biggest artist in the world, you might be the biggest writer. It made me bring the energy.”
After finishing the track, BigXthaPlug headed to nightclubs across the country to crystallize his instincts that he had a mainstream hit on his hands. “I’ll go to the club every day of the week to make sure my songs are getting played,” he says. As an unreleased version of “Mmhmm” began to dominate club venues, UnitedMasters had him pump the brakes for the rest of the summer to make sure the licensing rights were in order. But as BigXthaPlug says, he “doesn’t mind paying that bag to get sh-t cleared,” and upon getting the green light, he officially released “Mmhmm” to streaming services through UnitedMasters last October.
Two months later, he released EP The Biggest, which included a remix of the song featuring fellow Texan Finesse2Tymes. By mid-December, amid the influx of holiday songs on the all-genre chart, “Mmhmm” debuted on the Hot 100 where it has since reached a No. 65 high and compiled 75.5 million total on-demand official U.S. streams through Jan. 25, according to Luminate — and importantly, served as a means of validation for the rapper. “I always like to have reassurance,” BigXthaPlug admits. “Sometimes I catch myself like, ‘Why are you still rapping? You know you not a rapper.’ Then you get a Billboard [Hot 100 entry].”
From left: Kyle Wilson, BigXthaPlug, and Brandon Farmer photographed on January 22, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Daniel Dorsa
BigXthaPlug photographed on January 22, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Daniel Dorsa
The song’s success propelled “Texas” and featured turn on NLE Choppa’s “Pistol Paccin” onto Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and as the rapper turns the page to 2024, he isn’t resting on his laurels. He will release a collaborative EP with 600 Entertainment artists and follow it with a solo album. He also says he has a collaboration with Rod Wave, and that Megan Thee Stallion recently reached out, too.
It’s all humbling for BigXthaPlug, who’s still getting accustomed to the buzz — but teases everything will get bigger, and better, this year. He’s a Texan, after all. “I didn’t even want to make [‘Texas’],” he reflects. “If I can do this when I didn’t wanna do it, what the f–k could I do when I want to do it?”
A version of this story will appear in the Feb. 10, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Two decades since forming MGMT as Wesleyan University students, Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser haven’t lost their psychedelic puckishness. Despite its grim title, their fifth album, Loss of Life (out Feb. 23), contains some of the duo’s most sincere, hopeful music yet. “Coming out of the pandemic, there was a whole wave of super doom-oriented art and music and apocalyptic shit,” VanWyngarden says of MGMT’s first album since 2018’s Little Dark Age.
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Recorded in 2021 and 2022, Loss of Life is also the act’s Mom + Pop debut (after leaving longtime label Columbia Records) and features “Mother Nature,” MGMT’s first hit on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart since its 2007 smashes “Time To Pretend” and “Kids.” As VanWyngarden says, “This album is more reflective and existential and sort of philosophical. But at the core, it’s about always going back to [the idea of] love being something that you can depend on — and that is sort of indestructible.”
How did you settle on Mom + Pop as your new label home?Goldwasser: It was after the album was completed. We got to shop the record around – it was the first time we’ve ever really done that. One of the people works at the label went to Wesleyan, where we also went, and her faculty advisor was the same as ours. We bonded of that the first time we met, just talking about weird stuff that we did in college.VanWyngarden: We kind of did, like, label speed dating. Everyone we talked to was super, super cool. It could have been great to go with any of them. In the end, Mom + Pop had this sort of ethos that was at the foundation of their label that we were attracted to and related to. Goldie, as [Mom + Pop founder/owner Michael Goldstone] is affectionately known, had been in the music industry for decades before for major labels and came out of it kind of wanting to do something [at Mom + Pop] that was trying to change things up and be more all about the artists, like in a true sense. So we liked that.
You’ve said that your last two records, 2013’s MGMT and 2018’s Little Dark Age, dealt with the paranoia and anxiety of living through the modern era. What was your headspace when making this one?VanWyngarden: We both turned 40 while making this album, and we wanted to find a way to retain our light-hearted, playful approach to things but to challenge ourselves to have more of a sincere and hopeful message. Coming out of the pandemic, there was a whole wave of super doom-oriented art and music and apocalyptic shit. A common condition for humans for, like, the entire history of humanity is that you feel like the world is ending – and it’s probably because you know you’re gonna die. Mortality is an apocalypse that’s common to every human. It’s sure, it’s certain. This album is more reflective and existential and sort of philosophical. But at the core, it’s about always going back to love being something that you can depend on – and that is sort of indestructible.
You reteamed with Little Dark Age producer Patrick Wimberly and longtime studio collaborator Dave Fridmann. What do they bring to the table?Goldwasser: Those are the human beings that we feel most comfortable existing with in the creative process. We just want to feel like uninhibited and natural in the whole process of creating music. Especially having worked with Dave Fridmann since our first record, we just have this level of understanding and communication with him. I don’t know how we would ever build that up with anybody else.VanWyngarden: Considering how naive and new to everything in the music industry we were when we first met [Dave], he’s almost like a dolphin trainer. Like we were these dolphins that came to his complex and he trained. Everything we know traces back to Dave Fridmann. Patrick’s the same, really. He’s a peer; he’s a producer, but more so in the sense of helping preserve the atmosphere and the vibe.
For Loss of Life, you also widened your creative circle compared to your previous albums. Tell me about that decision and how it impacted the record.Goldwasser: Part of that’s a result of us being less precious about the way that we make music. It had been hard for us at a lot of points in time, wanting to be recognized more as producers ourselves and wanting people to know that we’re responsible for the sounds on the records – maybe we’ve had a chip on our shoulder about that in the past. With time and experience, we’ve learned to let go of some of that. The most important thing is to make good music.
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“Mother Nature” has a cool lineup: Oneohtrix Point Never, Danger Mouse and Nels Cline. It’s also your first charting hit on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart since “Time To Pretend” and “Kids.”VanWyngarden: I didn’t even know that.
How’d it come together, and how have you been reacting to its success?VanWyngarden: I’ve driven around so much listening to classic rock radio, and I recognize that now, in terms of time having passed, we’re like eligible to be on classic rock stations. Along with ’90s Britpop, there’s a lot of classic rock influence [on “Mother Nature”]. When we were first working out the piano riff at the beginning, I always felt like there was a Supertramp feeling to it. It all really came together very naturally and organically on that song. We had known Brian Burton [Danger Mouse] for a really long time and we were we were working in his studio. He was there giving us advice and his opinion and helping work through sections. Then once we developed the song out and invited Oneohtrix Point Never on, he and Ben did a session where they just went hog wild with guitars and made this sort of shoegaze-y bridge. Then we got the song closer to where it ended up when we were working at Sean Lennon’s studio in September 2022. It was in upstate New York and Nels and Yuka [Honda] live close by, and then Oneohtrix Point Never was up there. There was this smorgasbord of amazing musicians. We had Nels go in and just fool around on the guitar and we were like, “Wow, this is incredible.”
Oneohtrix Point Never worked on five of this album’s tracks. Artists from The Weeknd to Soccer Mommy have been collaborating with him lately. How’d you connect with him? What did he add to Loss of Life?Goldwasser: Andrew met him at a party in New York – and didn’t know who he was at the time. They just ended up having a really cool hang. After that, they hung out again. And then we thought it would be fun to get together with him and see what happened. It turned out we have a lot of the same musical references. We just got along really well. He got where we were going with the record. The way that he works is very curatorial – he mines sounds and has an encyclopedia of sounds that he knows, like, this is how you get this sound. I always get a kick out of seeing people’s different approaches to how they work.
“Time To Pretend” features prominently in Saltburn. How did that synch happen?Goldwasser: We were approached by the filmmakers. I had been a fan of [director Emerald Fennell’s] Promising Young Woman — so I knew it was going to be something a little out of the ordinary.VanWyngarden: I don’t remember exactly when it was brought to us; I don’t think I was paying too close of attention. I was like, “OK, another [person] who wants to use ‘Time To Pretend’… I wish they would use one of our newer songs.” But then I saw Saltburn and I was like, “Oh, this is set in 2007, this totally makes sense.” It’s really great to be kind of passively participating in another cultural phenomenon. I’m impressed that there’s Georges Bataille-level wildness happening in this massive pop cultural film — that’s not very common. To have a song in that is cool, because we like being subversive and irreverent too.
You debuted with Oracular Spectacular almost two decades ago – and played it in full at Just Like Heaven festival last year. How do you look back on that time?Goldwasser: It’s pretty wild how things get put into context, the stories that people tell about things over the years. At the time, we weren’t thinking about how people were going to be writing about it 20 years later. We were young and dumb and somehow we…VanWyngarden: Wait, how are you going to finish that?Goldwasser: …are still here.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Jan. 27, 2024, issue of Billboard.
As debate continues over contemporary hip-hop’s ability to top the charts, producer Sean Momberger reached into the past to help the genre regain its pop dominance — and score his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1. “Lovin on Me,” which borrows from a 1990s Detroit hit, became Jack Harlow’s third Hot 100 leader, continuing the Louisville, Ky., rapper’s success […]
In the opening days of 2024, a pioneering new sound vibrated throughout the industry, capturing the top spot on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart. The electrifying corridos track “La Diabla” (“She Devil”) was by newcomer Xavi, a relatively unknown 19-year-old Mexican American artist delivering an equally unknown sound.
The tumbados románticos single — which tells the tale of a bad boy’s romance with a bad girl — is crafted with the crisp strains of a requinto guitar — a signature instrument in regional Mexican music. But it’s Xavi’s combination of the rebellious corridos tumbados spirit with the tenderness of romance that sets him apart.
However, “La Diabla” almost never came to be. “I DM’ed him and he wouldn’t answer me,” recalls Interscope executive vp Nir Seroussi. He discovered Xavi in early 2021 thanks to the label’s A&R executive, Emerson Redd, who shared the soul-stirring guitar ballad “Te Quiero” with him. Intrigued by the artist’s raw emotion, Seroussi was determined to meet the young star — and his persistence paid off.
After two months, Xavi arrived at the Interscope offices in Miami, guitar in hand, and performed for nearly an hour. “It was love at first sight,” says Seroussi, who saw in Xavi not just a musician but an “old soul,” with a profound ability to connect. “He has all those qualities that differentiate a hobbyist from someone who could be a real artist, a career artist. It wasn’t about numbers. I fell in love with Xavi, the artist.” Seroussi signed him to a record deal later that year.
Raised in Phoenix and Sonora, Mexico, the artist born Joshua Xavier Gutiérrez says that his bicultural upbringing deeply influenced his own music, which blends Mexican corridos traditions with modern rhythms. “We are the first generation to move here, to give [ourselves] a better life,” Xavi says in Spanish.
Xavi photographed on January 11, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Daniel Prakopcyk
He drew early inspiration from his grandfather’s church singing — “when he sang, he did so with so much feeling, he sang with love for God” — as well as the emotive voices of Mexican crooners in bands like Camila and Sin Bandera. Still, the first song he learned to play on guitar was “Baby” by Justin Bieber. At just 12 years old, Xavi wrote his first original song; by 16, he started releasing his music to streaming platforms under Baga Music.
Around the same time, the corridos tumbados movement, led by Natanael Cano, had taken the internet by storm, paving the way for hit-makers like Peso Pluma, Fuerza Regida and Luis R Conriquez to break through. In parallel, the moving and melancholic melodies of sad sierreño emerged, led by a new cast of Mexican American Gen Z acts such as Ivan Cornejo, DannyLux and Yahritza y Su Esencia. Xavi navigates between the two with his own strain of tumbados románticos, a subgenre he coined as a musician raised on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. (His striking ruby, pearl and diamond necklace, a quintessential symbol of urbano culture, also symbolizes his fusion of eclectic sounds.)
However, his path to success was anything but smooth. A near-fatal car accident in 2021 that resulted in a cracked skull and an altered facial structure drastically changed his perspective. “It was a bad hit,” Xavi says, “but it changed my life.” Rather than deterring him, it inspired him: In the aftermath of the accident, videos of Xavi, bandaged and playing the guitar while recovering, began circulating on TikTok, fostering a deeper bond between fans and the rising artist.
In early 2022, after his recovery, Xavi channeled his experience into his music, emerging as a tumbados románticos pioneer. Within five months, he released a string of singles under Interscope, each marked by poetic lyrics and haunting acoustic riffs. These solo efforts, interspersed with a few collaborations with Los Primos del Este and Eduardo Soto, culminated in the release of his My Mom’s Playlist EP in May 2023. The seven-track set, an homage to his mother, featured renditions of beloved Latin songs like Maná’s “Rayando el Sol” and Luis Miguel’s “Ahora Te Puedes Marchar” reimagined in his sierreño style. “She’d always ask me to sing these songs she’d play while cleaning in the morning,” he recalls.
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Xavi’s manager, Raczon López, who came on board at the same time, then helped leverage his social presence and shape his biggest hits to date. At the end of December, Xavi debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 with not one but two entries: “La Diabla” and “La Víctima,” which have since reached peaks of No. 22 and No. 55, respectively. His global appeal is further evidenced by his presence on the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, with “La Diabla” reaching the top five on both.
“If you notice, Xavi is a kid who is not on social media much, so there is this mystery in [his] career,” López says. “People are eager to hear what’s next.” He adds that what Xavi has already released is only a preview of his potential: “This kid sings pop, mariachi, R&B — I mean, everything fits him… People will gradually see the different facets of Xavi.”
Having recently signed with WME, Xavi is already preparing for an upcoming tour. But as Seroussi sees it, there’s no rush. He compares Xavi’s development to that of award-winning superstar (and labelmate) Billie Eilish, emphasizing personal growth alongside musical evolution.
“When [Interscope CEO] John Janick signed Billie, she was 14. It took three years to develop her, not just as an artist, but as a person,” Seroussi says. “It’s about the experiences, the life lived that feeds into the maturity of songs and songwriting. That’s what we see in Xavi — a star who was always destined to shine.”
Xavi photographed on January 11, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Daniel Prakopcyk
This story will appear in the Jan. 27, 2024, issue of Billboard.
When Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” debuted in January 2023, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 — and remained there for eight weeks. The album it introduced, Endless Summer Vacation (her eighth full-length and first on Columbia Records), went on to hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200. And a year later, the single and album both remain forces: At the upcoming Grammys, Cyrus (who has yet to win one) has six nominations, including song and record of the year nods for “Flowers” and an album of the year nod for Endless Summer Vacation.
Many of her closest album collaborators spoke to Billboard about how they came to take this creative trip with her — and why her Grammy recognition is long overdue.
All Aboard!
Mike WiLL Made-It, writer-producer: Since we’ve made so many hits over the years, Miley approached me and said she wanted me involved — she felt like this was going to be her best work yet. She has already explored so many different sounds, and she’s really on her songwriting. It’s always dope to work with her because she’s constantly pushing the envelope.
Michael Pollack, writer-producer: Miley and I had done a few writing sessions in 2021 with no real mention of an album. It wasn’t until we got back in the studio in January of 2022 that the momentum seemed to pick up and I started to notice Miley assembling Endless Summer Vacation.
Tyler Johnson, writer-producer: I think it was just part of being in the system after working on the Harry [Styles album Harry’s House]. And Miley’s team and our team — myself and Kid Harpoon’s teams — wanted to make it happen. We got together for a week at NightBird Studios [in Los Angeles] and wrote the song “Wildcard” and started our relationship with Miley. Six months later, after she heard some music that we had been working on with Kevin Abstract, she came over to do a potential feature on one of the songs.
Kid Harpoon, writer-producer: I’ve always been a fan. I just fanboy when she’s singing. When we [reconnected], she had some songs she liked but she didn’t have a production direction on them. The big thing for her was, “I want to make an album I’m proud of.”
Tobias Jesso Jr., writer: I ran into [Columbia CEO] Ron Perry at Adele [One Night Only] at Griffith [Observatory in L.A.]. He was like, “Hey, I’d really like to get you involved in this Miley thing.” In this particular session, I knew why Ron wanted me there: He wanted me to write a song on the piano with Miley. As soon as all the writers were there — Mike WiLL Made-It, Bibi Bourelly and me and Miley — I was like, “Why don’t we go to the piano and just try some stuff?” I think within 30 minutes, “Thousand Miles” was written.
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Justin Chung
Tyler Johnson
Cedrick Jones
Greg Kurstin, writer-producer: Ron Perry and [Miley’s co-manager] Jonathan Daniel both reached out to me about Miley. We initially got together to write songs and “Jaded” came out of one of our sessions with [writer] Sarah Aarons. We spent a lot of time at my studio. Miley is great to work with because she has a clear vision of what she wants and she doesn’t stop until she gets it. She’s also a lot of fun.
Caitlyn Smith, writer: Since Miley cut our song “High” on her 2020 Plastic Hearts record, she and my co-writer, Jenn Decilveo, had been texting about the three of us getting together and writing a bit for her next record. It was a last-minute “Want to write this week?” in April of last year that led to a day in the studio.
Jenn Decilveo, writer: [Miley] sent me this idea, and then we got together with my friend BJ [Burton] and Caitlyn, and that was the start of “Island.” I think it was at Larrabee in the Valley [in L.A.] — 1-2-3 done. She’s such an incredible songwriter and had so much input melodically, lyrically, productionwise. She was involved in every aspect.
Maxx Morando, writer-producer: We were just hanging out, and I was working on stuff and she was working on stuff, and she heard the instrumental version of “Handstand” and was like, “Oh, I have an idea for the vocal.” I made [it] during COVID-19 — and I don’t even smoke that much weed, but I think I was really high when I made it.
Gregory “Aldae” Hein, writer: [Columbia Records head of A&R Rani Hancock] was a cheerleader for Miley to work with me. Ron Perry FaceTimed me and was like, “Hey, we’re going to bring you in with Miley. This is what we want from you.” I went in with her and it was just instant chemistry. The first day we ever worked [together], we wrote “Used To Be Young” in less than an hour.
Mike WiLL Made-It
Cam Kirk
Michael Pollack
Nesrin Danan
Stopping To Smell The “Flowers”
Pollack: “Flowers” was written in January of 2022 during a week of sessions at Sunset Sound [in L.A.]. The song came together organically, being written in its entirety at the piano. Initially the idea was slower and sadder, but both Greg [Hein] and Miley had the vision to make the song positive and free-spirited. We demo’d the song on Rhodes [piano] and left thinking it was a ballad — or at least I did. Almost immediately after, I remember being told, “ ‘Flowers’ is going to be the first single and it’s going to be produced out as an uptempo.”
Hein: Miley randomly texted us almost a year later, like, “Hey, just so you guys know, you have my first single.” Then she invited me to the music video shoot and I saw the scene where she walks up in the gold dress and I was like, “Oh, this is going to be a thing.”
Johnson: Ron Perry was really leading the charge of making sure “Flowers” and “Used To Be Young” were right. Those songs were definitely the priority, especially “Flowers.” But while we were working on that, we were doing other records, and it was actually [album track] “Rose Colored Lenses” that helped us gel.
Kid Harpoon: “Rose Colored Lenses” isn’t necessarily anything single-y, but we just loved it. Those songs are the soul of the record. “Rose Colored” was always the one that felt like the touchstone, but making sure that “Flowers” did its job in relation to that was important.
Johnson: It’s important for artists like Miley to have a level of autobiographical texture to their songs. Then you mix that with something people can move to, that feels new and retro at the same time, and it’s a really powerful cocktail.
Hein: It all comes down to, “I can love me better than you can.” That’s the all-encompassing lyric to me. I was in a city just now called Siguatepeque in Honduras and I was driving to meet a priest for my wedding coming up and there was no music playing in this city but “Flowers.” That one’s reach is just crazy.
Maxx Morando
Eva Pentel
Kid Harpoon
Josiah Van Dien
Vacation Scrapbook
Smith: Miley arrived at the studio wanting to write this idea called “Island.” She talked to us about how being in the spotlight since she was a kid has put her on a bit of an island from the rest of the world and how it’s beautiful but, at times, can be really lonely. I’m obsessed with the hook: “Am I stranded on an island or have I landed in paradise?”
Decilveo: I love that line, which is one she wrote, which I think sums it up. Being uber successful, uber everything — is it paradise, or are you stranded alone? Not being able to go out because you’re so famous and you can’t go to Trader Joe’s because people won’t let you walk down the aisles like a normal person.
Smith: Also, Miley’s mom came by for a bit that day, and she had told us about this “Smoke ’Em If Ya Got ’Em” hat that she had bought. Later that day, we thought it would be a great line to put in the song.
Jesso: I love [on “Thousand Miles”] how country she gets on “Pick up the phone and I call back home, but all I get is a dial tone. And instead of hangin’ up, I hang my head.” It was really cool to see Mike WiLL Made-It be part of that too, because it’s not something you imagine, but he was so into it.
Mike WiLL Made-It: Miley took the song and switched the direction. I was already married to what we made but she took it to Grammy collaboration level. She got Brandi [Carlile] on the song and that was the piece that was missing. That’s how we ended up with the banger “Thousand Miles” we hear today before every Delta flight.
Morando: For “Violet Chemistry,” [Miley] was like, “Do you think you could add some sauce into this song and spice it up?” [My friend Max Taylor-Sheppard and I] thought, “What if we did some Erykah Badu bridge with a stinky bassline and something crazy?” It happened in maybe 15 minutes. We like the idea of throwing a wrench in something — a tasteful wrench.
Kid Harpoon: They’re very similar, Miley and Harry [Styles]. They’re giant pop icons, but their process is like an indie kid that just wants to have fun and doesn’t really give a sh-t about all the pop stuff. They just want to make something creative, so for those kinds of brains, going in and trying to write a pop hit is going to completely destroy all their fun. Me and Tyler [engineered] an environment in the studio where you can just do whatever the f–k you want.
Jesso: Even if you had a day session with Miley, it wouldn’t feel like a day session because she gets real so quick. She has just been so exposed in her life that she’s like, “What have I got to lose?” That’s a very fertile place for creativity to live. You feel a jolt of this creative energy from her, almost at all times. It’s sporadic and it’s crazy and it’s wild — but it’s the best kind.
Jennifer Decilveo
Brantley Gutierrez
Greg Kurstin photographed on November 28, 2022 in Los Angeles.
Austin Hargrave
Destination: Grammys
Smith: She seems to have arrived at a place in her life and her career where she doesn’t want to chase but simply create from the heart. I remember her talking about how even though she was successful and had reached this place and level in her career, it still felt like a treadmill, and she still felt like she was always “chasing the carrot.” She seems to have entered a season of life where she has found some peace and clarity. I think it shows in this record.
Pollack: Over the years we’ve seen so many sides to Miley and her music. Endless Summer Vacation is a representation of what all those elements look like when they come together.
Morando: This has been a long time coming for her. Endless Summer Vacation is a fantastic album; on top of that you have her whole career and everything that she has done before. Now [she’s] at this pinnacle.
Hein: It’s her most mature body of work.
Mike WiLL Made-It: This is the year where she wins album of the year after all the growth and hard work. This album, she found and unlocked another sound, that poster-girl Miley sound that no one can replicate.
Caitlyn Smith
Robert Chavers
Gregory “Aldae” Hein
Sylvain Photos
Jesso: [2013’s] Bangerz was robbed. The Grammys need prison for Bangerz not being nominated for album of the year. Aside from that, I think it’s time for her to get what’s due.
Kid Harpoon: I still love Bangerz. It’s a classic. The thing I’ve always felt with Miley is that everyone wants Miley to win. She represents that part of everyone who doesn’t give a f–k and just wants to enjoy their life. I think this is a culmination of years and years of just being an absolute boss. People think, “Oh, someone writes Miley’s songs,” or “someone tells her where to stand, someone does this, and the record label says this,” but it’s not like that, and it’s a narrative that I just don’t think is helpful. And someone like Taylor [Swift], she’s helped change that narrative. That’s why I’m proud of Miley, because the Grammys will mean more, in a way, [now]. [A Grammy win is] recognition by your creative peers that you created this, and she really did.
Johnson: Without the Grammy, people are [still] singing the song. People are living their lives to this music. That’s the point of it. Grammys are a reflection of that already achieved milestone. We’ve already won — this would just be a bonus.
This story will appear in the Jan. 27, 2024, issue of Billboard.
“Shellback was bored,” ILYA says, reflecting on how he and the Swedish hit-maker ended up working together for the first time — ultimately changing the course of his career. Having grown up in what he calls “the hood of Sweden,” ILYA’s discovery of music production was a bit of a surprise — quite literally, as he found a CD of the music-making program Dance eJay in a cereal box. From there, he says, he “fell in love with creating.”
By his late teens, in 2005, ILYA signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music and remembers “grinding, grinding, grinding… with not a lot happening.” Several years later, he met Shellback (Britney Spears, P!nk, Taylor Swift), who eventually asked ILYA what he was working on, and later suggested to his close collaborator Max Martin that they should all team up. “Coming up to that point, I had a lot of almosts,” recalls ILYA, now 37. “I had songs with One Direction that just fell off and didn’t make the albums. All those years were so important to learn how to act in the room, how to deal with people’s emotions and all these things leading up to when I got the shot from Shellback and Max.”
Almost immediately, ILYA scored a major win as a co-producer and co-writer on Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea’s 2014 smash, “Problem,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. “Every time I make music today, I try to channel the energy I had when we did ‘Problem,’ ” says ILYA, who has continued his relationship with Grande for a decade, leading into her current era. “Making that beat, it was like, ‘I’m just going to do me.’ And when that success finally happened… It was unbelievable.”
Ariana Grande, “Yes, And?”
“This whole song was her idea — she had a vision. I remember we were going through chords and she was like, ‘It needs to be more confident. It has to be more sassy.’ When Ari’s describing an emotion she wants to have, I instantly go, ‘What sounds can make that emotion come to life?’ And to me, the 909 drums are what that vibe is. In the bridge there are all these funny Mellotron sounds that are really ’60s, Beatles-esque, and a flute that Max played that I laugh at every time I hear it. Once we finished it, that’s when I fell in love with it.”
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Tate McRae, “Guilty Conscience”
“The first time I worked with [Tate] she seemed very unsure of everything. There was one song we did so many versions of because she couldn’t decide which one was the best. But I think growing up, she feels much more confident in what she likes, which helps me a lot. I’ve never finished a song as fast as this one… it was all her initiative. We wrote it and then had to turn it in that week or the week after. Everything [came] from whatever happened that day.”
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Conan Gray, “Never Ending Song”
“Conan started working with Max for a few days and they cracked this sonic direction, but not the details. And then Max came to me and was like, ‘Conan would love to work with you for this next round.’ Once the song was done, [Max and I] spent a lot of time running stuff through analog gear. Sometimes it’s cool if a song sounds like it’s made quickly — but the details and tasteful stuff that you can get from analog gear, you can’t beat that.”
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This story will appear in the Jan. 27, 2024, issue of Billboard.
