Music News

03 Jul 2024

Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj’s ‘Bang Bang’ Notches Two Billion YouTube Views

Those loud bangs you’re hearing are not pre-Fourth of July fireworks, but the sound of Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj‘s 2014 collaboration “Bang Bang” cruising past the two billion views mark on YouTube.

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The high water spot for the official video for the song from J’s third album, Sweet Talker, marks Jessie’s first clip to reach the double billie mark; Grand and Minaj scaled that height earlier thanks to the video for their 2016 collaboration on Ari’s “Side to Side.”

The visual filmed in Los Angeles was directed by Hannah Lux Davis (Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus) and it opens with footage of Grande getting primped, Minaj walking to a helicopter and J exiting a muscle car in black pants, suspenders and a bra on a sweltering afternoon as a group of dancers join her for a traffic-stopping routine. As J makes her way down the boulevard, Grande pulls off her own dance part in a neon-lit bedroom and Minaj flies in to a heliport for a fierce rooftop verse.

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The trio finally unite on top of the building as they dance it out while the city streets are emblazoned with pink lights.

“Bang Bang” was co-written by Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Rickard Göransson, Grande and Minaj and co-produced by Martin, Göransson and Ilya Almanzadeh; the song was also included on the deluxe edition of Grande’s sophomore album, My Everything. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart as well as topping the U.K. singles chart and earning a nomination for best pop duo/group performance at the 57th Grammy Awards.

Watch the “Bang Bang” video below.

03 Jul 2024

Ella Langley’s ‘You Look Like You Love Me’ Breaks Into TikTok Billboard Top 50’s Top 5

The TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart’s top four remains intact from the June 29-dated tally, while a newcomer in Ella Langley joins them in the top five of the July 6 survey.

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The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity June 24-30. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.

Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby” leads the list again, stringing together its eighth week at No. 1, the longest reign of any song since the chart began in September 2023.

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The song is followed by Tinashe’s “Nasty,” Sabrina Carpenter’s “Please Please Please” and Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” at Nos. 2-4, respectively, their same order on the June 29 list.

But not all is the same in the top five. Ella Langley’s “You Look Like You Love Me,” featuring Riley Green, follows its No. 9 debut with a four-spot jump to No. 5.

Its leap is concurrent with the song’s premiere on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100; “You Look Like You Love Me” bows at No. 53, Langley’s first time on the Hot 100 and Green’s highest ranking appearance since Thomas Rhett’s “Half of Me,” on which he was also featured, peaked at No. 52 in 2022.

“You Look Like You Love Me” earned 8.6 million official U.S. streams and sold 3,000 downloads in the June 21-27 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The tune was released June 21 but had been teased on TikTok prior, going as far back as the beginning of May, building pre-release hype. The ensuing trend surrounding the song has involved all forms of love, from pets to significant others to offspring. In particular, many uploads show photo collages of couples on their wedding day.

“You Look Like You Love Me” leapfrogs Jordan Adetunji’s “Kehlani,” which also entered the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s top 10 on the June 29 survey; it lifts 7-6 on the latest list. “Kehlani” is mostly driven by a dance trend on TikTok, though uploads from its namesake artist have also helped the song soar on TikTok and beyond.

“Kehlani” concurrently debuts at No. 70 on the Hot 100; like Langley, it’s Adetunji’s first appearance on the chart. In the week ending June 27, it earned 8.1 million streams and 511,000 radio audience impressions.

A pair of songs populate the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s top 10 for the first time, led by BossMan DLow’s “Shake Dat Ass (Twerk Song),” which follows its No. 25 debut on the June 29 ranking by leaping to No. 9. It’s followed by a debut from BlackMayo, whose “Jus’ Know” starts at No. 10.

“Shake Dat Ass,” featured on the rapper’s 2023 album Too Slippery, has achieved recent TikTok virality via a dance trend. “Jus’ Know,” meanwhile, has been out since 2018 but is also the recipient of a dance-fueled trend, featuring a high-profile upload in the form of newly drafted NBA player Jared McCain, whose video in his Philadelphia 76ers jersey has accumulated over 2 million favorites.

“Jus’ Know” sports a 63% boost in streams to 200,000 in the week ending June 27, while “Shake Dat Ass” achieves a 203% jump to 1.5 million listens.

See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.

03 Jul 2024

Cardi B Says She’ll ‘Never Turn Republican’ Following Her Criticism of Joe Biden

Despite criticizing Joe Biden and possibly sitting out the upcoming presidential election, Cardi B calmed some fans’ worries when it came to where her party allegiance lies in the political realm.

“She may have betrayed our country and turned Republican but at least she found a nice tune,” a member of the Bardi Gang wrote on X earlier this week in response to Cardi teasing a track for her upcoming album.

The Grammy-winning rapper replied early Tuesday (June 2), promising that she’ll never take the red pill and join the Republican party. “I will never turn republican lol,” she assured.

The fan responded back, essentially attempting to guilt trip Cardi. “You might be forced to next year since you’re not voting and discouraging people from voting,” they said.

In her May cover story with Rolling Stone, Cardi B slammed President Biden for the United States’ involvement in the Israel-Hamas war, and also criticized his inaction on the economy.

“I feel like people got betrayed,” she said. “It’s just like, ‘D–n, y’all not caring about nobody.’ Then, it really gets me upset that there is solutions to it. There is a solution. I know there’s a solution because you’re spending billions of dollars on any f–king thing.”

After interviewing and endorsing Biden in the 2020 election, it seems like Cardi may be distancing herself from either candidate in 2024. “I don’t f–k with both of y’all n—-s,” she said of Biden and Trump in her RS interview.

On the music side, Cardi B is still working toward the release of her sophomore album; the long-awaited project remains without a release date. Cardi teased another track possibly on the LP earlier this week, which finds her showing off a softer side while sampling Janet Jackson’s “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun).”

“Yall like this vibe for CB2?” Cardi captioned the video, which shows her in a car.

Cardi put out some good energy into the universe on X over the weekend when it comes to her proving her haters wrong once again. “I have everything planned, locked, and ready to go. Every thing I said I would do this year, I’m going to do it. Nothing is going to stop me. I proved myself before and I’m going to do it again… now rest,” she wrote.

The clock is ticking, as Invasion of Privacy celebrated its sixth anniversary in April. Cardi has also teased pivoting to release a Spanish album following her sophomore effort.

See Cardi’s tweet reassuring fans that she won’t be voting red:

03 Jul 2024

Darius Rucker Says It’s Time To Forgive Morgan Wallen For Using N-Word: ‘[He’s] Tried to Really Better Himself’

Darius Rucker thinks it’s time for fans and critics to forgive Morgan Wallen for his use of a racist slur. In an interview with Rolling Stone‘s Music Now podcast, the Hootie and the Blowfish singer and solo star said three years after Wallen was caught in a video repeatedly using the N-word the 31-year-old “Last Night” singer is a different person.

“I think Morgan’s become a better person since that,” Rucker told RS. “I’ve known Morgan a long time. Since all that happened Morgan’s tried to really better himself and become a better person and see the world in a much better, better was.”

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In a February 2021 video, Wallen was caught yelling the N-word and other expletives while arriving home with some friends. At the time, Wallen apologized, telling TMZ, “I’m embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back. There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using the word. I promise to do better.”

Though Wallen’s career eventually continued apace, even picking up steam, the immediate fallout included his music briefly being pulled from streaming and radio, a suspension from his label and getting dropped by his booking agent, as well as the Academy of Country Music deeming him ineligible for the 56th annual awards.

By the end of that year, though, Wallen’s catalog had racked up more than $8 million in revenue as U.S. sales skyrocketed, he broke a series of records on the Billboard charts, hit the road again and watched his radio airplay more than double. His Dangerous album went on to win album of the year at the 2022 ACM Awards and Wallen collected 11 trophies at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards

Despite that bounce back, Rucker told RS that it feels like Wallen is still living under the cloud of his racist incident. “You know, he’s not forgiven. He’s still not out for CMAs and ACMs,” Rucker said. “They can say what they want, but the fact that Morgan Wallen is not up for entertainer of the year and those things is crazy. No one’s selling more tickets than Morgan.”

Despite the cold shoulder Rucker said Wallen is still getting, the singer has continued to crank out hits, including his No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 smash “I Had Some Help” with Post Malone. The singer once again courted controversy recently, though, again apologizing to fans in April after he was arrested for allegedly throwing a chair off the roof of a Nashville bar. Wallen was arrested and briefly jailed on April 8 after police said he tossed a chair from the sixth-floor roof of Eric Church’s then-new bar Chief’s, with the seat reportedly landing just a few feet away from two Metro Nashville police officers. Wallen was arrested and charged with three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct.

He later posted a tweet apologizing for the incident, revealing that he’d reached out to Nashville police, his family and the Chief’s crew to make amends. “I’m not proud of my behavior, and I accept responsibility…. I have the utmost respect for the officers working every day to keep us all safe,” he said at the time.

03 Jul 2024

Travis Kelce Reveals It Was His Idea to Join Taylor Swift on Stage & Teases Future Eras Tour Cameos

Turns out, Travis Kelce was the mastermind behind his hilarious Eras Tour cameo at Wembley Stadium in June. On the latest episode of New Heights uploaded Wednesday (July 3), the Kansas City Chiefs tight end finally opened up about how his onstage debut with Taylor Swift came to be, revealing that he was the one who first pitched it to his superstar girlfriend — although she may have made a few tweaks to his plan. 

“I initially mentioned it to Tay,” Travis told his brother and co-host, retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce. “I was like, ‘How funny would it be if I just rolled out on one of the bikes during the 1989 era?’”  

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“She started laughing,” the Ohio native continued. “She was like, ‘Would you seriously be up for doing something like that?’ I was just like, ‘I would love to do that, are you kidding me? I’ve seen the show enough — might as well put me to work here.’ And sure enough, she found the perfect part of the show for me to come in.” 

Swift apparently vetoed his bike-riding bit, as the offensive lineman ended up appearing before “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” during the Tortured Poets Department set as one of her backup dancers, theatrically coaxing her to keep performing even though she feigns being totally drained after singing “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.” “There was no bike, in case I ran into somebody else or hit one of the dancers,” Travis explained, laughing. “It was the safest option.” 

At one point during his cameo in London, Travis picked the 14-time Grammy winner up and carried her over to a couch waiting upstage. And though he’s had quite a bit of practice not fumbling footballs, this was an entirely different ball game.  

“The one thing I told myself was, ‘Do not drop the baby,’” he recalled to Jason. “The golden rule was, ‘Do not drop Taylor. Get her to the couch safely’ … I didn’t disappoint Taylor, so that’s all that really matters.” 

“Shout-out to Tay for letting me jump up on stage with her,” Travis added, before teasing that his onstage appearance may not have been a one-time-only occurrence. “Who knows? Might not be the last time. You guys will have to keep showing up to the Eras Tour to see if I pop out of the stage and whatnot.” 

Travis was present throughout Swift’s three-night stay at Wembley, where he also met Prince William, Princess Charlotte and Prince George as well as danced alongside Tom Cruise, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Greta Gerwig and Hugh Grant in the VIP tent. “It was unbelievable,” the athlete simply gushed about the star-studded group. 

Most recently, Travis caught Swift’s final show in Dublin at Aviva Stadium Sunday (June 30), where he hung out with Stevie Nicks and Julia Roberts in the crowd. When he first arrived, the “Anti-Hero” singer appeared to light up with a big smile the moment she saw him entering, as captured in several adorable fan videos.  

Watch Travis talk about his Eras Tour debut on New Heights below. 

03 Jul 2024

Miranda Lambert Offered a Curated Playlist of Fight Songs After Breaking Up Tussle During Texas Show: ‘Give ‘Em Hell!’

Miranda Lambert had to take a break during a show at Momentum Bank Ballpark in Midland, TX over the weekend when two female fans started scrapping during a performance of her ballad “Tin Man.” In a TikTok of the incident, Lambert is performing the song solo acoustic when she stops to ask if everyone is okay, fearing a fan had passed out in the crowd.

“Are you good? Are y’all fightin’?,” she asked the women at the show on Saturday (June 29). “During this song? Because I will come down there and you don’t want that today. We’re not doin’ that today.” The wrangle took place during a performance of the touching song from Lambert’s 2016 album The Weight of These Wings, in which Lambert tells the Wizard of Oz‘s heart-deficient Tin Man that he’s lucky he can’t ever fall in love and have his ticker blasted to a million little pieces.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday (July 2), Lambert clarified that she has no problem with her fans getting into it during her concert, but if they don’t mind, she would prefer they just pick some different songs to scrap to. “If you want to fight at my shows, I’m all about it. Give ’em hell,” Lambert said in the clip. “I’ve got five songs for you.”

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The singer then suggested a handful of other songs from her catalog that might be better options for a hoe down throw down. Among the tracks she offered up: “Fastest Girl in Town,” “Kerosene,” “Gunpowder and Lead,” “Little Red Wagon” and her recent single, “Wrangle.”

She also explained her rationale, adding, “Don’t do it during ‘Tin Man.’ That’s not the time,” she said in the video in which she rocked a white cowboy hat, western shirt and a jewelry box-full of turquoise rings and bracelets. “I know you can hear the s–t talking because it’s a ballad. But that’s not the time. So pick your times. You’ve got five songs. Look at the set list and choose wisely.”

Fans had some ideas as well in the comments, with recommendations including: “Mama’s Broken Heart,” “If I Was a Cowboy,” “Tequila Does” and “The House That Built Me.”

Watch Lambert’s video below.

03 Jul 2024

Tyler Childers & Angelica Hale to Perform at White House’s July 4 Celebration

Light up the sparklers and fire up the grill! Tyler Childers and Angelica Hale will be the performers at the White House’s Fourth of July celebration, Billboard can exclusively report.

The celebration in honor of Independence Day will be held on the South Lawn. In addition to performances by the country singer and America’s Got Talent season 12 runner-up, the event hosted by President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden will have active-duty military service members and their family in attendance for a barbecue, as well as viewing fireworks along the National Mall.

The country artist and young singer-songwriter are fitting choices for the event. Childers made headlines in September 2020 when he surprise released his Grammy-nominated album Long Violent History, which peaked at No. 45 on the Billboard 200. Along with the set came a video of the musician — who is currently on the road for his Mule Pull ’24 Tour — sharing a powerful message about racial inequality for those who didn’t understand or support the Black Lives Matter movement.

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“We’ve all witnessed violent acts of police brutality happen around the nation that have gone unaddressed. In response, we’ve seen protests turn to riots, and riots culminate into acts of violence and destruction of property. From the outsider’s perspective, it’s hard to see where all this visceral anger is coming from,” the Kentucky native said in part in the video, which also referenced Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police while she was in bed. “What I believe to be one of the biggest obstacles in pinpointing the cause of this is our inability to empathize with another individual or group’s plight.”

Hale’s set on Thursday (July 4) will be the 16-year-old’s second time performing for the Biden Administration. The Filipino-American artist — who was only 10 when she competed on AGT — sang the national anthem at the White House in May for an event in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

Attendees at the White House’s Fourth of July concert will also have musical offerings from White Ford Broncos, D.C.’s all-’90s cover band; DJ Mel; and the United States Marine Band.

03 Jul 2024

Jason Mraz Begged Friends to Stop Voting For Him on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Because He Missed His Cat

Jason Mraz is a cat fancier. Like, a seriously devoted feline dad. The singer described just how much he loves his kitty during an appearance this week on actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s On Me podcast, when he revealed that he purposely tried to tank his nearly championship run on the 32nd season of Dancing With the Stars so he could get back home to his fur baby.

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“Two or three weeks in, I realized I’m probably going to be here the whole time, and I’m terrified, and I have to cancel all my plans for the entire rest of the year, and I’m missing my cat terribly,” he said of his epic run on the show last year, in which he hit the runner-up spot and just missed out on the trophy after landing behind Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star Xochitl Gomez. “I start telling my friends, ‘Stop voting for me!’”

The only problem, as it turned out, was that the “I’m Yours” singer has considerable hoofing skills, so he and dance partner Daniella Karagch almost made it to the winner’s circle, even after informing producers at one point “I’m good” and telling them he was ready to leave. “Having made it all the way to the very end, made it to the buzzer, I look back and laugh and think, ‘Well, maybe if I’d actually given a s–t!’” he said. “So, I would do it all over again if I could, and I would try really hard.”

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Elsewhere in the chat recorded at Mel’s Drive-In in West Hollywood with the former Modern Family star, Mraz, 48, talked about his decision to come out as bisexual later in life due to fear of how the news might be received. “In the ’90s, being gay was like [the] punchline of a joke. And I didn’t want to be the punchline of a joke,” Mraz said of growing up in conservative Mechanicsville, Va, where he said he was bullied as a teen and didn’t have many sexual experiences. “I still took with me the conservative street that I grew up on, and that was very hard to ignore or to break out of. I was very shy and and scared of what my family would say, or what my hometown would think or just whatever.”

So, as a teenager, Mraz said he just tried to keep “my nose down” and searched for a way out of town so he could see the wider world. Mraz first discussed his sexuality in a 2018 Billboard interview, in which the twice-divorced Grammy-winner described having experiences with men even while dating his ex-wife Christina Carano; the pair married in 2015 and divorced in June 2023. And though Mraz said he can’t say he’s finally found love yet, he described “amazing relationships” that have helped him grow and learn a lot about himself and life.

“I love where I am and I feel so much love for myself finally, that can only enhance the next relationship,” he told Ferguson, admitting to still feeling like a “late-bloomer.”

Listen to the full podcast below (discussion about coming out is at the 19-minute mark and the cat tale begins around the 37-minute point).


https://youtube.com/watch?v=AMsWHPy9mak&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

03 Jul 2024

Niall Horan Got Stuck in Toronto Traffic, So He Got Out and Booked It On Foot To His Show

Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands, or feet, as the case might be. That was the case last week when Niall Horan got stuck in one of downtown Toronto’s legendary traffic jams on his way to one of his gigs at Scotiabank Arena. Worried he would be late to the stop on his The Show: Live on Tour outing, Horan hopped out of his ride and booked it to the arena on foot.

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In a video posted on his Instagram on Monday, Horan says, “traffic too crazy in Toronto, so I’m walking to the venue,” as a seemingly endless row of cars sit bumper-to-bumper under an overpass in the city. The sped-up clip set to Scottish duo the Proclaimers’ signature 1988 hit “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” follows the former One Direction singer and solo star as he and a member of his crew casually stroll among fans — who don’t seem to recognize him — to get to the show.

“In all my years of playing shows I don’t think I’ve ever walked into a venue,” Horan said in the clip, letting out a triumphant “we made it!” after walking into a tunnel under the arena. Horan performed at the venue on July 28 and 29. Check out the stroll in the seventh slide of his post.

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Last month, during a show in Nashville at Bridgestone Arena, Horan performed a surprise duet with “Stick Season” singer Noah Kahan on the 1D star’s 2016 solo hit “This Town.” After a few days off, Horan is slated to be back on stage on Sunday (July 7) at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN.

03 Jul 2024

Willie Nelson Returning to Outlaw Music Festival Stage for July 4 Show After Missing Seven Gigs Due to Illness

Willie Nelson will be on stage on the fourth of July on Thursday after skipping the first seven dates of his Outlaw Music Festival due to an unspecified illness. The 91-year-old country icon is slated to perform at the gig in Camden, N.J. after missing Tuesday night’s (July 2) concert in Mansfield, MA at the Xfinity Center.

“Willie Nelson is looking forward to seeing everyone in Camden on July 4,” read an Instagram post on Tuesday. “He will not be performing in Mansfield today. Bob Dylan, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and Celisse will perform as scheduled. In addition, Lukas Nelson and Family, along with some special guests, will once again play his own set that will include Willie’s classics and other songs.”

Thursday’s show will mark the first time in 14 years that Nelson’s annual Fourth of July Picnic will be held outside of Texas, with Maren Morris and Mavis Staples joining the rest of the acts for the festival date. According to Rolling Stone, Nelson’s son, Promise of the Real band leader Lukas Nelson, filled in for his dad on all the Outlaw festival dates so far, performing with Willie’s longtime harmonica player Mickey Raphael and the rest of his father’s band on such classics as “Funny How Time Slips Away” and “On the Road Again.”

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The Outlaw festival kicked off on June 21 in Alpharetta, Ga., with Nelson announcing that he was sitting out the opener “per doctor’s orders,” saying at the time that he’d been ordered to rest for four days. The outing is slated to wrap up with a Sept. 20 show in Gilford, N.H. Nelson released his 75th studio album, The Border, in May.