Music News

01 Jul 2024

Imagine Dragons’ ‘LOOM’ Up Against Dua Lipa’s Post-Glastonbury Surge for U.K. No. 1

Imagine Dragons and Dua Lipa are locked in a close race for the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart No. 1 spot this week, each experiencing significant midweek chart momentum.

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Imagine Dragons’ sixth studio album, LOOM, is currently on track to debut at No. 1. This would be the band’s second No. 1 album in the U.K., following their 2015 release Smoke & Mirrors. Known for hits like “Radioactive” and “Believer,” Imagine Dragons have a strong chart history with four other top 10 albums: Night Visions (No. 2) in 2013, Evolve (No. 3) in 2017, Origins (No. 9) in 2018, and Mercury – Act 1 (No. 7) in 2021.

Dua Lipa, fresh off a headline performance at Glastonbury 2024, sees her album Radical Optimism surging up the chart. The former No. 1 album is projected to jump 25 places to No. 2, fueled by the buzz from her Pyramid Stage set. Additionally, Dua’s earlier albums are experiencing renewed interest, with Future Nostalgia (No. 9) and her self-titled debut Dua Lipa (No. 13) expected to re-enter the top 40.

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Camila Cabello’s latest project, C,XOXO, is also making a splash, currently tracking to secure the No. 7 spot. This would be Cabello’s third U.K. top 10 album, adding to her successful discography which includes Camila (No. 2) in 2018, Romance (No. 14) in 2019, and Familia (No. 9) in 2022.

Johnny Cash’s posthumous album Songwriter, featuring unreleased tracks from 1993, is expected to debut at No. 11. Beyoncé’s COWBOY CARTER is also making a notable return, climbing 85 places to No. 14 following its vinyl release.

Shania Twain’s Greatest Hits is experiencing a revival, aiming for the No. 18 spot after her highly anticipated performance at Glastonbury. This would mark the album’s first time in the top 40 since its initial release in 2005.

Elsewhere on the midweek chart, Madness’ 2023 No. 1 album Theatre of the Absurd presents C’est La Vie could re-enter the top 40 at No. 26 thanks to a new deluxe reissue. Mexican rock band The Warning is poised to earn their first-ever Official Albums Chart placement with their fourth album, Keep Me Fed, debuting at No. 37.

Stay tuned for the final chart results late Friday (July 5) to see which albums come out on top.

01 Jul 2024

Gracie Abrams Scores First No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart With ‘The Secret of Us’

Gracie Abrams notches her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated July 6) with her largest sales week ever, as The Secret of Us arrives atop the tally. The set, her second full-length studio effort, sold 50,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending June 27, according to Luminate.

Abrams’ previous high-water mark came when her first full-length release, Good Riddance, peaked at No. 7 on the July 1, 2023-dated chart with 10,000 sold – powered by its arrival on vinyl that week. That same week also marked her best sales week until the debut of The Secret of Us.

The first-week sales of The Secret of Us was supported by the album’s availability across seven vinyl variants (all color variations, two of which were signed and exclusive to Abrams’ webstore, as well as one that was exclusive to Target with an alternative cover). Vinyl sales accounted for 41,000 of the album’s total sales for the week – her best week on vinyl, and the sixth-largest week for a vinyl set in 2024. Secret also starts at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.

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Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart: Ariana Grande’s chart-topping Eternal Sunshine re-enters at No. 3 thanks to sales of a signed edition, a 50th anniversary reissue of Grateful Dead’s From the Mars Hotel arrives, the all-star covers tribute to Tom Petty, Petty Country, debuts, and The Story So Far’s new album I Want to Disappear enters.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new July 6, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 2. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping The Tortured Poets Department holds at No. 2 with 28,000 copies sold (down 16%).

Ariana Grande’s former leader Eternal Sunshine re-enters at No. 3 with 17,000 copies sold (up 598%). Its surge is owed largely to sales of a signed CD sold exclusively in Grande’s webstore for a limited time.

Chappell Roan’s buzzy The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess hits a new peak, vaulting 14-4 with 15,000 sold (her best sales week yet). The sales are largely from the vinyl edition of the album (9,000 sold – up 131%, it’s No. 2 on Vinyl Albums), which continues to be available in four variants (a standard black vinyl, a “collector’s edition” in expanded packaging [also in black vinyl], and two color editions).

Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary expanded reissue of its 1974 live album From the Mars Hotel enters at No. 4 on Top Album Sales at No. 5 with 14,000 sold (up from a negligible sum the week prior). The set was remastered and reissued across four vinyl variants, a three-CD set and a deluxe digital download (the latter two included a bevy of bonus tracks). All versions of the album, old and new, are combined for charting and tracking purposes. The original release of the album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 in August of 1974.

Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft slips 5-6 on Top Album Sales with 13,000 sold (down 21%).

The all-star compilation album Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, starts at No. 7 on Top Album Sales with nearly 11,000 sold. The 20-track Petty Country collection boasts country covers of Petty tunes, including Chris Stapleton’s “I Should Have Known It,” Dolly Parton’s “Southern Accents” and Luke Combs’ “Runnin’ Down a Dream.”

With almost 11,000 sold, Petty Country collects the biggest-selling week for any compilation album in well over a year, since A Philly Special Christmas shifted about 100 copies more on the Jan. 7, 2023-dated chart. In terms of country music compilations, no compilation has sold as much as Petty Country in a single week in six years, since Now That’s What I Call Country, Volume 11, debuted with 12,000 copies on the June 23, 2018 chart.

Petty Country was issued on across four vinyl variants (all color variations), CD and digital download.

ATEEZ’s chart-topping Golden Hour: Part.1 rises 10-8 on Top Album Sales with 10,000 (down 13%) while NAYEON’s NA falls 1-9 in its second week with just over 9,000 (down 78%).

The Story So Far rounds out the top 10, as its new album I Want To Disappear debuts at No. 10 with 9,000. It’s the second top 10-charting effort for the rock band, and fifth entry overall. The new set’s sales was bolstered by its availability across five color vinyl variants, in addition to a standard CD and digital download album.

01 Jul 2024

Drake Rocks Toronto Raptors Gear as He Wishes Fans a Happy Canada Day

July 1 is Canada Day, and Drake is celebrating his home country with a social media message to fans.

“Happy Canada Day,” he said on his Instagram Stories, wearing a Toronto Raptors T-shirt, before lifting up a cocktail. “Cheers to the whole country.”

He also shared a post captioned: “Custom design fine rhymes into salary. All the way from T-Dot to the Van City all stars.”

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Drake recently appeared on two tracks on Camila Cabello’s recently released album, C,XOXO: “Hot Uptown” and “Uuugly.”

Cabello opened up about collaborating with Drizzy in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, noting that it all started in the DMs. “I feel like, at least from what I know of myself, I feel like we’re musically aligned in a lot of ways,” she said of herself and Drake. “I think we have a lot of the same taste, and lyrically as well. I actually slid into his DMs too, and I was like, ‘I’ve been listening to you so much for this album,’ a lot of the wordplay and my aspiration for bars.”

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She continued, “I DMed him and then I played him my album and he f—d with it. I sent the idea for ‘Hot Uptown,’ and I wrote my part. I sent it back to him, and we chopped it to it felt like a duet. Then when he re-worked on his parts again, he gave me an outro which was the ‘UUUgly part,’” she recalled.

Watch Drake’s Canada Day message above.

01 Jul 2024

Eminem Announces ‘The Death of Slim Shady’ Album Release Date With Horrifying Trailer

Shady’s back, back again. Eminem has revealed the release date of his 12th studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce).

The LP will arrive on July 12 and Em made the announcement on Monday (July 1) in Slim Shady fashion with a horrifying trailer featuring the birth of a demon baby.

“OH SH*T!!! THE DEATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) 7/12,” Eminem captioned the clip.

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The frightening trailer finds a woman giving birth to a baby and it’s a scary situation with the baby not breathing until the doctor gives it a few slaps to wake up.

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But they realize they’re not in the clear and dealing with a different type of being when the baby opens its eyes and they’re completely black.

Watching on in shock, the newborn slithers its tongue and grows a pair of horns as everyone in the room shouts, “Holy s–t!” “Houdini” provides the soundtrack on the outro with the name of the album and release date officially revealed.

“I have not felt this much excitement for an album in so long,” one fan replied on X.

It’s a busy first half of July for Eminem, who is delivering a second single and “Houdini” follow-up with “Tobey” on Wednesday (July 3) featuring fellow Detroit natives Big Sean and Babytron. A Cole Bennett-directed visual to the Tobey Maguire-inspired track will be released on Friday (July 5).

“Houdini” proved to be a victory on the charts for Eminem with the lead single earning him his highest-charting Hot 100 hit of the decade, as the track debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Watch Em’s album announcement trailer below.

01 Jul 2024

‘Wicked’ Is Hitting Theaters a Week Earlier Than Planned

We’ll be heading to Oz sooner than we thought!

Universal Pictures announced on Monday (July 1) that the first part of director Jon M. Chu‘s Wicked film adaptation will hit theaters Nov. 22, five days earlier than its original Nov. 27 release date. It will now arrive on the same date as Gladiator II.

Based on the Broadway musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz, Wicked follows two magical enemies-turned-best friends played by Ariana Grande, who will portray Glinda, and Cynthia Erivo, who will play Elphaba. The project will be split into two separate films. Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum and Bowen Yang are also in the cast, while Marc Platt and David Stone serve as producers.

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In May, Universal Pictures released the film’s official trailer, and the three-and-a-half-minute preview opens with Grande’s voice asking, “Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?”

Behind-the-scenes footage from the films’ 2023 shoot in the U.K. was also dropped, plus clips of Erivo and Grande reacting to the news that they had been cast as the project’s stars. “Oh my God, thank you!” the “We Can’t Be Friends” musician says through tears in the video. “I love [Glinda] so much, I’m gonna take such good care of her!”

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01 Jul 2024

Nicki Minaj Blasts Former Manager for Trying to Squash Lil’ Kim Beef Without Her Consent

Nicki Minaj took to X on Sunday to put her former manager Debra Antney on blast with a lengthy tweet.

Antney, who also happens to be Waka Flocka Flame’s mother, was recently on the Opinionated Truths podcast where she was asked if she were willing to arrange a sit-down between Minaj and her well-documented foes Lil’ Kim and Cardi B. “I think that we all would love to see that, but people would have to be willing to do that,” she replied. “To be perfectly honest with you — she’s gonna kill me for even saying this — but I did reach out to Kim.”

She then shook her head as to say Kim wasn’t receptive to the idea.

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Well, she was right, because Nicki set the record straight on X, saying she didn’t ask her ex-manager to say a thing.

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Read her full statement below:

“Deb, Isn’t it funny how you left out the biggest part of the story? I didn’t ask you to do a THING!

“You told me AFTER THE FACT & I SCREAMED ON YOU & told you if you reach out to ppl now that you’re being seen around me, they will THINK it’s coming FROM ME so to NEVER do that again w/o discussing it with me FIRST. I said I’d never want that & that now she’d think that message came from me which is not cool.

“So yea… You laughed it off & said her & foxy should come out I said no. I’d only want foxy to come out on stage with me, she’s like family to me. No disrespect. God bless everyone & our children!!! Let us all do our thing & thank God for LIFE. Stop using my name for clickbait in 2024. We get it!!!!! I’m dat btch!!!!!!

“How dare you? Interviews? Chiiiiiiiiiiiiii WOO WEE!!!!! This world, man, this world.”

Nicki and Kim have been going back and forth since 2010, when the Pink Friday rapper seemingly took shots at the Queen B on “Roman’s Revenge.” Lil’ Kim then responded to those jabs with the diss track “Black Friday,” and the rest, as they say, is history.

Antney managed Minaj for a good part of her early career, and the two still seem to be on good terms. Deb was spotted with Nicki multiple times during the Pink Friday 2 Tour.

01 Jul 2024

Ye Sued by Former Yeezy Employees Over ‘Discrimination’ & ‘Intolerable Harassment’ Claims

Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) is facing yet another lawsuit. West along with his Yeezy brand and former head of staff Milo Yiannopoulos were sued by eight alleged former employees, who claim they were “subjected to intolerable harassment and discrimination.”

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The sprawling lawsuit was filed in district court with the Central District of California on Saturday (June 29) and has been viewed by Billboard. A portion of the plaintiffs claim they were minors as young as 14 years old while working at Yeezy.

Plaintiffs ranging from ages 14 to 25 came from across the United States and other countries such as the United Kingdom, Hungary and Nigeria to work at Yeezy.

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However, the plaintiffs said they overworked for “inhuman” hours in a segregated working environment where Black and African employees were separated and given “less favorable” work assignments.

Various plaintiffs were tasked with building Ye’s scrapped YZY Porn venture. Minors claim they were exposed to pornographic images pertaining to the x-rated endeavor.

Around April 27, 2024, one employee alleges that Ye’s wife Bianca Censori shared a link to “hardcore pornography” with them slated to be part of the YZY Porn app.

A plaintiff known in the docs as “John Doe 1” claims he was exposed to pornographic images which were disseminated in group chats as part of the team’s communication channels. Another plaintiff who kept their identity hidden is listed as “John Doe 2” in the lawsuit and claims they were subjected to a “highly inappropriate and distressing work environment.”

“Our team looks forward to achieving justice on behalf of our very deserving clients for the
shocking working environment that they were forced to endure,” said Ben Lockyer of Lockyer
Law LLC.

Jordanna Thigpen of Thigpen Legal added: “Discrimination is intolerable anywhere, anytime. We believe a jury will agree that these employers must be accountable.”

All eight former Yeezy employees claim they were not paid for their work during their time working for Ye.

The legal activity has been mounting for Ye in recent months. He was hit with a sexual assault lawsuit in June by former assistant Lauren Pisciotta, who claimed she faced a “systematic” onslaught of sexual harassment and was sent graphic text messages from the “Good Life” rapper.

West settled another suit in June related to his Vultures album when he reached an agreement with Donna Summers’ estate to resolve a copyright lawsuit that accused him of interpolating her 1977 hit “I Feel Love” without permission in his song “Good (Don’t Die).”

Billboard has reached out to Ye’s reps for comment.

01 Jul 2024

Jaden Smith Says He’s ‘Always in the Studio’ With Sister Willow: ‘Stay Tuned’

Jaden Smith has known his biggest collaborator since the day she was born: little sister Willow, with whom he tells Billboard he’s always working on music.

Shortly after releasing his first single in three years, “Roses,” the 25-year-old singer-actor joined Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly for an unorthodox virtual interview posted Monday (July 1). Standing on a sandy dune with a guitar strapped around his shoulders — and occasionally singing lyrics in place of giving spoken answers — Jaden revealed that he and his 23-year-old sibling often take advantage of the fact that they’re both talented musicians.

“We’re always in the studio,” he said of his sister. “I got more songs with Willow than anyone else on the planet. Me and Willow, we’re locked in always, forever.”

He then teased that the Smith children are planning to release a fresh collaboration in the future. The pair previously teamed up on “Summertime in Paris” and “U Know,” both of which dropped in 2019.

“Stay tuned type sh–,” the Karate Kid actor hinted.

Jaden also teased throughout his interview with Billboard that he has more solo music on the way following “Roses,” some of which is inspired by a tough time in his personal life. “I was sad, honestly,” he said. “I wanted to share that.”

“Just to say something through music, I think it’s a lot easier than just straight up saying it,” he added. “It’s really only for the people who want to listen to it, it’s not for everybody. Kids out there sad and stuff, it’s for them.”

01 Jul 2024

Muni Long Talks Working With ‘Icon’ Mariah Carey on ‘Made for Me’ Remix

Muni Long teamed up with Mariah Carey for the remix of her latest hit, “Made for Me,” and she chatted with Billboard on the BET Awards red carpet on Sunday (June 30) about the collaboration.

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“Mariah’s an icon and every chance I get to work with a legend I jump at it,” she explained, before adding, “I’m so grateful every time something happens. I don’t take anything for granted. Every win, I’m just super excited every time.”

During the ceremony Long was nominated for best female R&B/pop artist, though the award ultimately went to SZA. The original version of “Made For Me” was up for the viewer’s choice award, and the award went to Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

After teasing it back in May, the “Made For Me” remix arrived eight months after Long released the original song, earning the artist her second Billboard Hot 100 top 20 appearance following her 2022 breakthrough platinum smash “Hrs and Hrs,” which peaked at No. 16. “Hrs and Hrs” went on to win best R&B performance at the 2023 Grammy Awards, where she was also up for best R&B song (“Hrs and Hrs”) and best new artist.

Long has released other remixes of “Made For Me” featuring Lil Jon & Kronic, BNYX and more. 

Watch Billboard‘s full red carpet interview with Muni Long at the BET Awards above.

01 Jul 2024

Lil Wayne Reveals His Top 5 Rappers of All Time

Lil Wayne would make the cut in a lot of rap fans’ top five lists, but he’s keeping himself out of the mix when revealing his.

Tunechi joined the Not Just Football With Cam Heyward podcast last week and made a couple of tweaks to his top five rappers list compared to the one he shared with Billboard in 2023.

“My top five rappers of all time are Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Eminem, The Notorious B.I.G, and this is no specific order right here — and Drizzy,” he told the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman.

When speaking to Billboard for Hip-Hop 50 last year, Weezy had Missy, Jay and Biggie on his list, but switched out Goodie Mob and UGK for Eminem and his Young Money protégé Drake.

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“It’s because I organically grew up on [them]. You know, when you’re asked, ‘How’d you start listening?,’ there’s a story for everybody … like, someone I know told me to start listening or whatever. But like I said, every decision I make is organic,” he said last August after coming in at No. 7 on Billboard and Vibe‘s Greatest Rappers of All Time list.

Lil Wayne never misses a chance to give Missy Elliott her flowers, and crowned her as one of his top influences when appearing on Fox Sports host Nick Wright’s podcast in 2022. “She’s a huge influence of everything I’ve ever done,” he admitted.

As far as his own career goes, the Young Money boss isn’t slowing down anytime soon. He also revealed to Heyward that he’s got his sights set on Tha Carter VI as his next project, which is coming “soon.”

“It’s soon, though, because it’s what’s next from me,” he said. “It’s coming out next, actually. I’m not sure of the actual date but it is my next project.”

Watch the full interview below with talk of Wayne’s top five starting around 23:40.