Music News

22 May 2024

Watch Trailer for ‘How Music Got Free’ Documentary Produced by Eminem & LeBron James

Ohio and Michigan are setting their rivalry aside as Detroit’s Eminem and Akron’s LeBron James are producing a documentary about music piracy together for Paramount+.

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The two-part series premiered at SXSW earlier this year and “details the fascinating, and often funny, inside story of the technology-driven disruption that changed music during the late-’90s and early-2000s,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. The doc looks at the technology that enabled millions of young people to quench their thirst for new music by just downloading it for free.

How Music Got Free features interviews from Em (who hilariously thought Yahoo! was a person), record exec Steve Stoute (who also serves as an executive producer), 50 Cent, Timbaland, Jimmy Iovine, Rocsi Diaz and Rhymefest, among others. They also speak with Dell Glover, who is often referred to as “Patient Zero of Internet Piracy” because he was one of the first factory workers to smuggle CDs out of a manufacturing plant.

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Alexandria Stapleton directs the doc, which is produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television, LeBron’s SpringHill, Interscope Films and Shady Films.

The director had this to say about her approach: “As a filmmaker, I wanted to challenge the narrow lens of who we regard as tech innovators. How Music Got Free is a story that proves brilliant minds can be found in unlikely places, like the rural, forgotten factory town of Shelby, North Carolina.”

There’s also a book of the same name released in 2015 by Stephen Witt if you want to do your own research before the doc drops Tuesday, June 11. There’s still time.

22 May 2024

Morgan Wallen Denied Signage for His Bar by Nashville Metro Council

The Nashville Metro Council may have far exceeded its reach when it voted to not allow Morgan Wallen’s This Bar and Tennessee Kitchen to have external signage with his name on it, according to a prominent Nashville attorney.

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On Tuesday (May 21), the council voted to reject plans for Wallen’s 20-foot external sign to appear on the six-story venue, which is slated to open Memorial Day weekend. Only three members voted in favor of the sign, with 30 members voting against. Four council members abstained. Some members of the council cited Wallen’s past controversial incidents as reasons for rejecting the sign.

Signage requests for the outside of buildings that hang over public property — including sidewalks — are required to obtain council approval. “I don’t want to see a billboard up with the name of a person who’s throwing chairs off of balconies and who is saying racial slurs,” at-large council member Delishia Porterfield said, according to The Tennessean.

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“Mr. Wallen is a fellow East Tennessean. He gives all of us a bad name,” District 14 ouncil member Jordan Huffman added. “His comments are hateful; his actions are harmful.”

However, such a decision is a case of government overreach, says the attorney: “You can’t as the government take negative action against something someone said. The Council was way out on a limb. It violates the First Amendment to say, ‘You used the N-word therefore you can’t put your name on a building.’”

Porterfield is referencing Wallen’s January 2021 use of a racial slur that was caught on video, as well as his most recent arrest on April 7, when he was taken into custody on April 7 for allegedly throwing a chair off of the rooftop of Eric Church’s six-story Chief’s bar in downtown Nashville. Wallen was booked on three felony counts of reckless endangerment and one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. Wallen is slated to appear before a Nashville court in August.

Wallen’s bar and restaurant, located at 107 4th Ave. N., adjacent to the Ryman Auditorium just off Nashville’s Lower Broadway, is a partnership between Wallen and TC Restaurant Group, which licensed his name for the project. TC Restaurant Group is also behind other celebrity bars in downtown Nashville including Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink and Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar.

The next step, says the attorney, is for TC Restaurant Group to take action in federal or chancery court against the Council. “[TC Restaurant Group] has bought the right to use [Wallen’s] name,” the attorney says. “Basically the city has taken that piece of property away from them. They can’t do that without due process of law.”

A representative for Wallen declined to comment on the council’s decision, as did Wallen’s manager. Representatives for TC Restaurant Group declined to comment, adding only that the company is “focused on This Bar’s opening.”

Additional reporting by Melinda Newman.

22 May 2024

5 Times Electronic Artists Remixed Taylor Swift Songs

Electronic realm favorite Blond:ish got a major global profile boost yesterday (May 21) with the release of her official edit of Taylor Swift’s “Fortnight.”

Her driving house take turns the BPM up significantly on the The Tortured Poets Department opener, turning the solemn Post Malone duet (which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100) into pure dancefloor fuel that gets progressively richer, brighter, more blissed out and more club-focused as it goes on. (Regarding this sunshine mood, the producer herself wrote “Taylor Swift, but make it summer,” when sharing the track.)

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This isn’t the first time an artist from the electronic world has put their touch on a Swift song. Here are five other times that electronic producers have remixed her work.

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“Anti-Hero (Illenium Remix)”



Dropping a month after the release of Midnights‘ lead single “Anti-Hero”, Illenium’s edit pushed Swift’s work further into the bass realm than ever before. The remix from the Colorado-based producer married the song’s shimmering melody with his signature future bass style, with his fingerprints especially evident in the soaring final third of the remix.

“Our teams had randomly talked about ‘Anti-Hero,’ the producer told Billboard of the remix in March. “They sent me stems… I finished it in like 36 hours and I sent it to them on like, a Monday night. They responded on Tuesday night like, hey this is coming out tomorrow.’ I was like, ‘okay! you do whatever you want’ …. I love Taylor Swift. Back in high school, one of her songs was in my top 25 on iTunes most played.”

Alongside this Illenium remix, Swift also dropped “Anti-Hero” edits by Canadian-born, London-baed house producer Jayda G, French artist Kungs and German singer/songwriter/producer Roosevelt.

“Cruel Summer (LP Giobbi Remix)”

Coming towards the end of the 2023 U.S. Eras Tour (and four years after the release of the original), this official edit by Oregon-born, Austin-based producer LP Giobbi dials up the BPM of the synth pop original and transforms it into a slow-build, blissed out house jam custom-build for a peaktime dancefloor singalong. (Also consider Giobbi’s extended remix, which extends the original by a full minute.)

“I didn’t know when it was coming out actually,” Giobbi told the iHeartRadioCA podcast last October, “and when I woke up I had hundreds and hundreds of text messages and I was like, ‘What happened?’ and then I saw that Taylor Swift posted about me and tagged me, and I realized what had happened. It was a wild moment…I knew she was wildly powerful, but it was wild to see up close just how powerful she is.”

“Lavender Haze (Snakehips Remix)”

British duo Snakehips built their early fanbase with bootleg remixes of artists including Banks and The Weeknd, getting a hot invite into the official remix fold when Swift had them deliver their take on Midnights‘ “Lavander Haze.” Their buoyant, house-oriented take on the song is as light as sunshine burning off haze itself, with the cool outro that makes up the 20 seconds of the edit adding a dose of club thump.

Taylor Swift – …Ready for It? (BloodPop® Remix)

The pre-chorus of 2017’s Reputation opener “..Ready For It” gets beefed up courtesy of producer BloodPop®, who strips the song of its original booming bass and replaces it with layers (and layers) of cotton candy synth.

“Love Story” (Four Tet Remix)


https://youtube.com/watch?v=dFfC92iBxNw&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

While not an official edit, Four Tet put himself into the Swift remix ouevre when he debuted his take on her 2008 classic “Love Story” during his set at Madison Square Garden with Skriillex and Fred again.. in February of 2023. The minimal take puts Swift’s “Romeo, save me” on a loop, turning the vocal into a hypnotic build that eventually gives way to Swift singing about “the lights, the parties, the ball gowns” over a spare, galloping beat.

In a 2023 interview with The Guardian, the producer born Kieran Hebden said he made the edit for (and with instruction by) his young daughter. “She ran up and her and Fred were dancing together,” Hebden said of the MSG show. “She knew I’d made it for her.” The bootleg also roused a crowd singalong when the trio dropped it during their 2023 Coachella headlining set. Hear it at the 38:12 minute mark in the officially released video of the set above.

22 May 2024

Train Mourns ‘Legend’ Charlie Colin: ‘I’ll Always Have a Warm Place for Him in My Heart’

Train is mourning the loss of founding member Charlie Colin, following news that the bassist died at age 58.

“When I met Charlie Colin, front left, I fell in love with him,” the band’s frontman Pat Monahan wrote alongside a photo of the OG band on Instagram on Wednesday (May 22). “He was THE sweetest guy and what a handsome chap. Let’s make a band that’s the only reasonable thing to do. His unique bass playing and beautiful guitar work helped get folks to notice us in SF and beyond. I’ll always have a warm place for him in my heart. I always tried to pull him closer but he had a vision of his own. You’re a legend, Charlie. Go charm the pants off those angels.”

See the full post here. Colin helped form Train with lead singer Pat Monahan, Rob Hotchkiss, Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood in the ’90s. 

According to TMZ, who spoke to the musician’s mother, the California-bred musician died after slipping and falling in the shower while house-sitting for a friend in Brussels, Belgium. His mother said it’s unclear when exactly Colin passed away, as his body was found only after his friends returned from their trip approximately five days ago.

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Colin reportedly moved to Brussels to teach a music masterclass and was working on new music for a film at the time of his death. Colin had been documenting his time abroad on social media, where he declared that the city was his “officially [his] favorite city” in a March Instagram post.

22 May 2024

Don Toliver Announces ‘Hardstone Psycho’ Album, Drops ‘Attitude’ Video Featuring Charlie Wilson & Cash Cobain

Don Toliver announced on Wednesday (May 22) that he’ll release his fourth studio album Hardstone Psycho on June 14.

He also released the third single from the album, “Attitude” featuring Charlie Wilson and Cash Cobain, along with the official music video, which maintains the same leather jacket-wearing biker gang aesthetic from his previous visuals and has a subtle cameo by his Cactus Jack label boss Travis Scott. “Attitude” samples Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams and Wilson’s Hot 100 No. 6 smash “Beautiful” from Snoop’s 2002 album Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$. The Houston artist (real name Caleb Zackery Toliver) has previously reworked another Neptunes-produced classic: He sampled Beenie Man and Mýa‘s 2000 hit “Girls Dem Sugar” on “4 Me,” featuring his IRL girlfriend Kali Uchis.

“Attitude” follows Toliver’s previously released singles, the Tame Impala-sampling, Rhythmic Airplay top 10 hit “Bandit” and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs top 40 hit “Deep in the Water. “Bandit” also earned Toliver his first top 10 hit as a lead artist on Hot Rap Songs and debuted in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Hardstone Psycho arrives one year after Toliver’s last album Love Sick, which reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

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Watch Toliver’s “Attitude” music video below, and pre-order Hardstone Psycho here.



22 May 2024

PinkPantheress Is Ready to ‘Turn It Up’ With Sparkly New Single: See When It Arrives

PinkPantheress wrapped up her solo headlining tour to close out April, and she’s got new music on the way before hopping on as a supporting act on Olivia Rodrigo’s arena trek this summer.

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The bedroom pop princess surprised fans on Wednesday (May 22) when she announced a bubbly single on the way titled “Turn It Up,” which is slated to arrive later this week.

“‘Turn it up’ comes out friday presave here,” she wrote to her Instagram Story with a filtered selfie with a hair roller in.

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The “Mosquito” singer also teased a 12-second snippet of the sparkly single on TikTok, and she’s looking to credit whoever inspired her song title. “Im gonna call it turn it up, if anyone can tell me where i got the voice saying ‘turn it up’ from i will literally visit you and shake ur hand,” she captioned the clip.

The TikTok video finds PinkPantheress giving a colorful home tour in the style of MTV Cribs. “Hey it’s me, we been talking twice a week/ I like the speed, it just makes me wanna say (turn it up),” she sings.

“Turn It Up” will serve as the 21-year-old’s first offering of 2024, as she looks to build on the momentum of her Heaven Knows debut from November.

This summer, PinkPantheress is set to join Olivia Rodrigo on her Guts World Tour, which she’ll jump into on July 19 in Philadelphia. Subsequent shows she’s slated to open on include Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland and more.

The 2024 Billboard Women in Music Producer of the Year will also be making a trip down under later this year where she’ll provide support on Coldplay’s tour dates in Australia and New Zealand.

Listen to the “Turn It Up” snippet before the track’s arrival on Friday (May 24) below.

22 May 2024

Creepy Nuts’ ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ Stays at No. 1, Ae! group Bows at No. 2 on Japan Hot 100

Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” holds at No. 1 for the 16th week on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart dated May 22.

The MASHLE season 2 opener shows signs of slowing down in all metrics except radio airplay this week, though only slightly. The viral rap banger continues to dominate multiple metrics this week — streaming, video views, and karaoke — while coming in at No. 3 for downloads and No. 37 for radio. 

Ae! group’s “《A》BEGINNING” bows at No. 2. It’s the lead track off the debut single by the five-member STARTO ENTERTAINMENT boy band, released May 15. The CD launched with 782,835 copies and hits No. 1 for sales and comes in at No. 3 for radio and No. 46 for video.

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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” rises a notch to No. 3 this week. Streaming, video, and karaoke for the Oblivion Battery opener are up 102%, 105%, and 118%, respectively. Other songs by the popular three-man band continue to rise up the chart this week:  “Que Sera Sera” moves 14-13, “Ao to Natsu” 24-23, and “Magic” 38-37. Points for “Boku no koto” increased 1.4 times and the track climbs 78-47.

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Juice=Juice’s “Tokyo Blur” debuts at No. 7, selling 73,185 CDs in its first week to hit No. 2 for sales. The girl group’s 18th single also comes in at No. 13 for downloads and No. 17 for radio.

Debuting at No. 9 after being digitally released May 13 is MY FIRST STORY x HYDE’s “Mugen.” The opening theme song for the Hashira Training arc of the popular TV anime series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba rules downloads and hits No. 33 for streaming and No. 61 for radio.

Outside the top 10, Noa’s “Hatsukoi Killer” jumps 42-17. Points for the track increased in all the metrics of the chart’s measurement, but streaming in particular gained 1.7 times from the week before. The total is at 169% week-over-week.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from May 13 to 19, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

22 May 2024

Nelly Furtado Lands First Music Video in YouTube’s Billion Views Club

Nelly Furtado is officially a member of YouTube‘s Billion Views Club. The singer’s “Say It Right” music video featuring Timbaland becomes her first-ever visual to hit the milestone, just shy of 15 years after it was first uploaded.

Posted on the platform in June 2009, “Say It Right” finds Furtado performing the track atop a Los Angeles skyscraper, standing on a helicopter pad emblazoned with her name. Clips of a trio of male dancers performing choreography, as well as scenes of Timbaland providing the song’s signature backup vocals, are spliced in between the Canadian artist singing to the camera.

“In the day, in the night/ Say it right, say it all/ You either got it or you don’t/ You either stand or you fall,” she croons on the track, which snagged Furtado a Grammy nomination at the 50th annual awards for best female pop vocal performance. “But you got what it takes to set me free/ Oh, you could mean everything to me.”

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Released as a single from Furtado’s third studio album Loose, “Say It Right” peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007 and assisted the LP in debuting atop the Billboard 200. The album also features the Timbaland-assisted hit “Promiscuous,” which spent six weeks atop the Hot 100.

Fifteen years later, Furtado is six albums deep into her music career. Her newest single “Love Bites” featuring Tove Lo and SG Lewis arrived Wednesday (May 22), following March’s “Gala y Dalí” with Juanes and 2023’s “Keep Going Up” with Timbaland and Justin Timberlake.

Watch the “Say It Right” music video above.

22 May 2024

After Claiming ILLIT’s Label Plagiarized NewJeans, ADOR CEO Sued for Defamation by HYBE Imprint

The latest escalation in the power struggle between HYBE and Min Hee-jin, the CEO of its subsidiary label ADOR, has arrived in the form of legal action from a separate label under the Korean conglomerate.

In a statement released Wednesday (May 22) local time in Seoul, HYBE label BELIFT LAB announced it is taking legal action against Min for defamation over her claims that the BELIFT team behind girl group ILLIT plagiarized her and ADOR’s work with NewJeans. The label is accusing Min of “obstruction of business and defamation,” according to the statement.

The news is just the latest development in a saga that has seen HYBE file a police report accusing Min of a “breach of trust” via an alleged plan to take over management control of ADOR, which was followed by an emotionally charged press conference on April 25 during which Min refuted the allegations.

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One of Min’s most widely discussed claims from the press conference was that BELIFT LAB “copied all the formulas that we had with NewJeans” for the recently launched ILLIT, including musical concept, fashion collaborations and more. As reported by the Korea JoongAng Daily, Min said the members of ILLIT are “innocent” and “it’s the adults that have sinned.”

Since that claim, online fighting between fans and social-media users on both sides of the conflict has brought various claims against multiple parties within the HYBE LABELS system, from artists to executives.

Further in its May 22 statement, BELIFT LAB declared that “Min’s accusations of plagiarism are not true” and that the label is “vigorously pursuing all necessary legal avenues to clarify the facts,” noting that the claims are Min’s opinions. The agency, which also houses boy band ENHYPEN, touched on the five members of ILLIT, noting that Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee and Iroha “have been facing unjustified malicious attacks, ridicule, and slander,” adding that they “strongly urge these defamatory actions, ill-willed slander, the spreading of misinformation, and any form of personal attacks to stop.”

The news comes amid a major week for HYBE, as the company prepares for the highly anticipated releases of both Right Place, Wrong Person — the latest solo album from BTS‘ RM released under BIGHIT MUSIC — and How Sweet, a two-track single from NewJeans under ADOR, both out on Friday (May 24).

See the official English-language version of BELIFT LAB’s statement, as provided to Billboard by HYBE:

Hello,
This is BELIFT LAB.

Today, May 22, our company has formally submitted a letter of complaint against Hee Jin Min for obstruction of business and defamation. This action follows Min’s unfounded and erroneous allegations against ILLIT, a group of artists represented by BELIFT LAB. 

We would like to make it clear that Min’s accusations of plagiarism are not true. We have provided conclusive evidence to the appropriate judicial authority to refute them. We are committed to vigorously pursuing all necessary legal avenues to clarify the facts, regardless of the time it will take.

It is important to note that claims of plagiarism should not be determined by an individual’s biased opinions but should instead be assessed through established legal standards and processes. It is regrettable that our artists and employees are being subjected to unwarranted speculation and misinformation, impacting their hard work and integrity.

Additionally, members of ILLIT have been facing unjustified malicious attacks, ridicule, and slander, in spite of the fact that the members are unrelated to the accusations at hand. We strongly urge these defamatory actions, ill-willed slander, the spreading of misinformation, and any form of personal attacks to stop.

BELIFT LAB will spare no effort to protect our artists and employees.

Thank you.

22 May 2024

Sabrina Carpenter Fan Helps Brother Shoot His Shot by Rewriting ‘Espresso’: Watch

He looks so cute, wrapped around Sabrina Carpenter‘s finger.

A fan named Emmyn Calleiro — who makes music under the moniker Games We Play — is going viral for cleverly assisting his brother in wooing the “Espresso” singer, thanks to his hilarious reimagining of her biggest hit.

In a recent TikTok, Calleiro begins by standing in front of his brother on a porch and telling the camera, “Sabrina Carpenter, please watch this video.”

He then performs his own version of “Espresso,” altering the lyrics to advertise his brother’s interest in the Girl Meets World alum. “I know you got a boyfriend but this is my brother,” Calleiro sings, ripping off his laughing sibling’s shirt. “He is so, so single/ He’s 6’5″ and you’re really short, you’re so, so little.”

“He’s working late and he goes to the gym,” Calleiro continues. “He’s got tattoos and he’s never had a girlfriend.”

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As mentioned by the indie punk-rock artist, Carpenter indeed has a boyfriend. The “Feather” musician has been dating actor Barry Keoghan since the beginning of the year, and the pair recently attended the 2024 Met Gala together.

Calleiro’s take on “Espresso” comes amid the song’s fifth straight week on the Billboard Hot 100, where it reached its current peak of No. 4 on the chart dated May 11. Upon its debut, the single became Carpenter’s first top 10 hit on the ranking. The track has also logged three weeks at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, a first for the Work It actress.

Watch Calleiro’s TikTok below.