Music News

23 Feb 2024

Peso Pluma Cancels Latin American Dates For ‘Personal Reasons’

Peso Pluma canceled his three upcoming Latin American tour stops, including his first appearance at the Viña del Mar International Music Festival slated for March 1.

A spokesperson for the singer confirmed to Billboard that the Mexican star would not play his three scheduled Latin American dates – including stops in Perú and Paraguay — for undisclosed “personal reasons.” In addition to his Viña del Mar date, Pluma was also scheduled to perform on Saturday (Feb. 24) in Asunción, Paraguay and on March 2 in Lima. Paraguay news outlets, including ABC Color, reported the cancelation of his show there, citing “logistic issues.”

However, an official press release sent by Viña del Mar’s press office includes a quote from Peso’s reps which states: “We are sorry to communicate that due to personal reasons, Peso Pluma will not perform in the concerts/festivals slated for Viña del Mar, Lima and Asunción. We hope to return soon to these territories to give them the experience you deserve.”

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In Viña del Mar, Peso Pluma’s headlining slot will be taken over by María Becerra, who was originally scheduled as the second performer of the evening. Becerra is currently on a hot streak, having released a single with Enrique Iglesias, and is prepping for her first stadium show in Argentina. Argentine rapper Trueno will step in to take Becerra’s place as the second act performing on March 1 at the festival.

Peso Pluma’s Latin American tour has been fraught. He was originally scheduled to perform in Paraguay in December of 2023, but that date was later moved to Feb. 24. And, earlier this year, lawmakers in Chile had called for his removal from the Viña del Mar slate of performances, citing concerns over his music “normalizing narcoculture” in the country.

Viña del Mar organizers refused to remove him from the festival. Now, however, Pluma himself has canceled all three shows.

This is not the first time the Mexican singer has canceled performances. Last September, Peso Pluma called off a Tijuana show due to threats from drug cartels. Subsequently, another five shows in Mexico were canceled. Peso Pluma’s upcoming U.S. dates are going on as planned, according to his spokesperson, including performances at Coachella in April.

23 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Takes Stage For First Sydney Eras Tour Show After Weather Evacuation

It was a rollercoaster of a night on Friday (Feb. 23) for Taylor Swift as the singer kicked off her four-show stand at Sydney, Australia’s Accor Stadium in front of 81,000 soggy, determined Swifties. Before the show could kick off, the stadium floor and lower bowl were evacuated due to storms — and a nearby lightning strike — which meant that opening act Sabrina Carpenter‘s set was cancelled in order to get Swift on stage in time.

“Please note, due to weather, show start time has been delayed. Stay undercover until further notice and follow venue screens and staff instructions. Stay safe and remember to be kind to those around you,” the venue announced on X in describing the delay.

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But, according to the Sydney Herald, the show did go on, with Swift taking the stage just before 8 p.m. local, and yes, boyfriend Travis Kelce was in the house, accompanied by Swift’s dad, Scott Swift. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end — wearing an electric blue, wildly patterned matching shorts and t-shirt combo –made his way to his seats accompanied by the rabid screams and shouts from Swifties on the stadium floor. Fans also got excited to see Rita Ora and Katy Perry (as well as Rita’s husband director Taika Waititi and beloved Australian director Baz Luhrmann) sharing a private box and exchanging friendship bracelets with admirers; Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was also in the house.

On to the show, though. According to the Herald, Swift immediately nodded to the resiliency of her audience, telling them, “We have a little bit of a weather situation, a little bit of rain but I have never known an Aussie crowd that let anything get in the way!” Later, in what has become a signature moment in the set, Swift picked a nine-year-old named Scarlett — who was diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer in October — as the recipient of her black hat during “22.”

The show progressed as usual after the storm delay, and the night’s first surprise song was “How You Get the Girl” from 2014’s smash 1989 album. “I kind of pick the song for each individual crowd and hope I get it right,” Swift told the audience of the song she first played during the stripped-down portion of the night in Atlanta last April.

Swift then brought out Carpenter to help her on a mash-up of Fearless‘ “White Horse” and Evermore‘s “Coney Island,” with Taylor telling the crowd that Carpenter “heroically sacrificed her show, which I think is a crime against Sydney.” The singer also took a moment during the surprise piano acoustic section to shout out her new favorite destination: the Sydney Zoo, which she visited the day before with Kelce. “We really love the Sydney Zoo – we’ve been 100 per cent of our days off here,” Swift said of her back-to-back visits. “I don’t think you guys don’t understand how cool kangaroos really are. They are so cool, so strong, so bouncy.”

Swift’s Accor stand will continue with shows on Saturday (June 24), Sunday (June 25) and Monday (June 26) before moving on to Singapore on March 2.

22 Feb 2024

Justin Timberlake Dives Into the Deep End With New Song ‘Drown’: Stream It Now

A month after launching the campaign for Everything I Thought It Was with lead single “Selfish,” Justin Timberlake has revealed a new taste of his forthcoming LP.

Co-written and co-produced by Louis Bell, Cirkut, Kenyon Dixon, Amy Allen and Timberlake himself, “Drown” finds the *NSYNC alum squarely at home on an atmospheric electro-pop&B instrumental. “Got caught up in the tide of all the tears you cried/ Yeah, you know I was blinded by my heart, sinking from the start/ Should’ve never followed you this far, now I’m in the deep end/ And you let me drown/ You didn’t even try to save me,” he croons on the chorus.

On Wednesday (Feb. 21), JT took to his Instagram page to share a reel of himself toiling in the studio with some collaborators while a snippet of “Drown,” his new single, plays in the background. “Drown 2/23,” read the caption. Timberlake first teased the song in a Feb. 19 Instagram post captioned: “Made it out to London, still recovering from this flu. But trying to power through. So excited for new music and everything coming this week… DROWN 2/23.”

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“Drown” serves as JT’s official follow-up to “Selfish,” which debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, earning Timberlake his highest debut in six years on Billboard’s marquee singles chart. The lead single from Everything I Thought It Was also marked Timberlake’s 29th top 40 hit as a soloist.

In support of his new LP, Timberlake is set to embark on a headlining North American arena tour. Earlier this month, the “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” singer added 15 more dates to his already sprawling trek. The tour will kick off April 29 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C., and visit major cities such as Las Vegas (May 10-11), New York (Jun. 25-26) and Atlanta (Nov. 16), before concluding Nov. 20 at KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Ky.

Stream “Drown” now:

22 Feb 2024

Linkin Park Announces ‘Papercuts’ Greatest Hits Album, Unveils Never-Before-Released Song ‘Friendly Fire’: Listen

Linkin Park have revealed the details of their first career-spanning greatest hits album: Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000-2023), a 20-song overview of the best-selling band’s two-decade-plus run, will be released on Apr. 12 through Warner Records, the group announced on Friday (Feb. 23).

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In addition, Linkin Park has released “Friendly Fire,” a never-before-heard track that was recorded during the sessions of the band’s final studio album, 2017’s One More Light. Like “Lost,” the previously unreleased track unveiled last year as part of the band’s Meteora 20th anniversary collection, “Friendly Fire” features a powerhouse vocal take from Chester Bennington, who passed away in 2017.

Guitarist Brad Delson says of “Friendly Fire,” “When we started looking for an unreleased track to include on our greatest hits collection, I was blown away by the power of the song, the power of the storytelling, the power of the vocal, the sonic landscape and I actually thought that it was closer than maybe we had realized at the time.”

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Papercuts features a wide swath of Linkin Park hits, from “In the End” to “Burn It Down” to the Jay-Z mash-up “Numb/Encore,” as well as “Lost,” which became the band’s latest top 40 Hot 100 hit upon its 2023 release and helped Meteora return to the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart. For completist fans, Papercuts will also include an official version of “QWERTY,” a sought-after rarity for more than a decade.

“In the making of each Linkin Park album, I want to love and believe in each individual song completely,” says Mike Shinoda. “I hope that if any one track is heard on its own in the world, it is something I can feel proud of, and something that takes root inside the listener and becomes part of the energy that connects us. 
 
“Curating the tracks for Papercuts was a joy,” Shinoda continues. “Each song in this collection is both a singular moment on our timeline and an evolving story that is as much ours as it is yours. From our first release ‘One Step Closer’ to the brand-new ‘Friendly Fire,’ this tracklist spans all our chapters so far. Thank you for being a part of our journey. We hope you enjoy Papercuts.”

Check out the Papercuts (Singles Collection 2000-2023) track list below:

1. Crawling
2. Faint
3. Numb/Encore
4. Papercut
5. Breaking The Habit
6. In The End
7. Bleed It Out
8. Somewhere I Belong
9. Waiting For The End
10. Castle Of Glass
11. One More Light
12. Burn It Down
13. What I’ve Done
14. QWERTY
15. One Step Closer
16. New Divide
17. Leave Out All The Rest
18. Lost
19. Numb
20. Friendly Fire

22 Feb 2024

Enrique Iglesias & Miranda Lambert Team Up for ‘Space in My Heart’: Listen Now

Country music star Miranda Lambert and Latin pop star Enrique Iglesias have teamed up for the romantic collaboration “Space in My Heart.”

The duet, which Iglesias wrote years ago with Carlos Paucar, Simon Wilcox, Ross Golan and Nolan Lambroza, is a straightforward love song that includes the lines, “If you ever go/ I will never change/ There’s a space in my heart and it’s just your shape.”

Lambert and Iglesias previously teased the collaboration via social media on Feb. 12, with Lambert saying, “Texas meets Spain! Can’t wait for y’all to hear this one.”

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Iglesias has notched several Billboard Hot 100 hits, including the No. 1 smashes “Bailamos” (1999) and “Be With You” (2000) as well as three other top five hits: “Hero” in 2001 (No. 3), “I Like It” with Pitbull in 2010 (No. 4) and “Tonight (I’m Lovin’ You)” with Ludacris and DJ Frank E in 2011 (No. 4). He was named one of Billboard‘s Top-Grossing Latin Artists of All Time. Additionally, he’s earned eight chart-topping albums on Billboard‘s Top Latin Albums, including 1997’s Vivir (15 weeks at the chart pinnacle) and 2014’s Sex and Love (16 weeks).

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Meanwhile, Lambert has launched seven of her albums to the top of Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart and is the artist with the most Academy of Country Music Awards wins in history, with nearly 40 trophies, including the ACM’s triple crown honor.

Their collaboration adds to a lengthy list of country/Latin collaborations over the decades. Iglesias’ father, Latin music star Julio Iglesias, earned a two-week No. 1 Hot Country Songs hit with the 1984 Willie Nelson duet “To All the Girls I’ve Loved Before”; Iglesias and Nelson won a CMA Award that year for vocal duo of the year. Nelson and Iglesias also earned a top 10 country hit in 1988 with “Spanish Eyes.”

Country trio Midland teamed with Jay De La Cueva for a Spanish-language version of their hit “Drinkin’ Problem.” Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood performed with Latin artist David Bisbal for the bilingual song “Tears of Gold,” while Kane Brown teamed with Becky G for a Spanish remix of “Lost in the Middle of Nowhere,” and more recently with Carin León for “The One (Pero No Como Yo).” Meanwhile, Cuban-American MC and rapper Pitbull has collaborated with country music artists including Zac Brown, Blake Shelton and, most recently, Dolly Parton.

Listen to “Space in My Heart” below:

22 Feb 2024

Selena Gomez Turns Her ‘Love On’ for New Song & Video: Stream It Now

For all you lovers out there, Selena Gomez‘s new single “Love On” has officially arrived.

The track dropped at 6 p.m. ET Thursday (Feb. 22), getting a six-hour jump on the traditional Friday new music model. It marks Gomez’s first release of 2024 and follows “Single Soon,” a carefree ode to independence produced by the Only Murders in the Building star’s now boyfriend, musician Benny Blanco.

Gomez first announced “Love On” last week, sharing the song’s chic cover art and release date on Instagram. “Wait till I turn my love on,” she captioned the post.

Later, the 31-year-old singer-actress unveiled a short teaser for the track’s music video, which also premiered Thursday. In the snippet, Gomez cuddled with a puppy as a group of couples made out nearby, leaving her out of the mix.

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“Qu’est-ce que je vais te nommer? Je vais te nommer. L’amour … L’amour tendre,” a French voice-over said during the clip, a message that translates to: “What shall I name you? I’m gonna name you the love … the tender love.”

Both “Love On” and “Single Soon” — which debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 — are expected to appear on Gomez’s upcoming fourth album, which the Rare Beauty founder has not yet announced. She has, however, confirmed that a new LP is in the works, telling Vanity Fair in February that her follow-up to 2020’s Rare will be “really powerful, strong, very pop.”

She added, “The theme generally is freedom — freedom from relationships, freedom from the darkness.”

Stream Selena Gomez’s new song “Love On” below.

22 Feb 2024

Kelly Clarkson Fesses Up on Chris Stapleton’s ‘I Was Wrong’ Kellyoke Cover: Watch

She may be a New York City gal now, but Kelly Clarkson was still able to get in touch with her country side this week with a performance of Chris Stapleton‘s “I Was Wrong” on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Taking the stage for her Kellyoke cover series, the Texas native looked sultry and mysterious as blue stage lights shone down on her silhouette, clad in an all-black ensemble. Making space for a few epic electric guitar riffs from her band throughout the song, Clarkson added her signature runs and unreal high notes to Stapleton’s regretful lyrics.

“You know that I still love you/ And you know that I’m so alone,” the three-time Grammy winner belted. “I don’t know why I told you that I didn’t need you/ Can’t you see that, baby, I was wrong?”

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Released in 2017 on Stapleton’s album From A Room: Volume 1, “I Was Wrong” peaked at No. 41 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It’s not the first track from the Kentucky star’s catalog to get a Kellyoke twist. In January 2023, Clarkson performed his 2020 hit “You Should Probably Leave” on the Kelly Clarkson Show stage.

The “Since U Been Gone” singer recently moved her Daytime Emmy-winning talk show to New York, away from its original home in California. Since then, she’s opened up about how walking through the streets of the Big Apple has improved her health, in addition to other lifestyle changes she made after learning from a doctor that she was prediabetic.

“I wasn’t shocked,” she said of her diagnosis and subsequent weight loss on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson show earlier this month. “I was a tiny bit overweight. So, yeah, I wasn’t shocked by it. They were like, ‘You’re prediabetic. You’re right on the borderline.’ And I was like, ‘But I’m not there yet.’ And then I waited two years and then did, however, move into the — I was like, ‘OK, I’ll do something about it.’”

In June, Clarkson released her album Chemistry, which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. The 14-track project featured cameos from Steve Martin and Sheila E., as well as the “Stronger” vocalist’s 9-year-old daughter, River Rose.

Watch Clarkson perform “I Was Wrong” below.

22 Feb 2024

Watch Eddie Vedder & Post Malone Duet on ‘Better Man’ to Help Raise $1 Million for EB Research

Eddie Vedder and Post Malone joined forces — both onstage and off — for a good cause.

The two stars sang a duet of Pearl Jam‘s “Better Man” last week for the second annual Reportin’ for Duty benefit honoring late actor Leslie Jordan, which this year took place at Humble Baron at Nearest Green Distillery in Shelbyville, Tenn., and raised more than $1 million for the EB Research Partnership. And on Thursday (Feb. 22), Posty shared a video of their performance on YouTube, giving fans who didn’t attend a chance to see him take the stage with Vedder.

The clip finds both Vedder and Malone wielding acoustic guitars as they take turns singing lines from the 1994 track, a No. 2 Alternative Airplay hit for Pearl Jam. The event also featured performances from The War and Treaty, Jelly Roll, Ruby Amanfu, Jake Wesley Rogers and Dan Spencer.

“I can’t find words to say how powerful and inspiring it was to be gathered with such incredible musicians under one small roof for a cause that’s so impactful on young people’s lives,” Vedder said in a statement. “I had chills. Had tears. And all the while with a grin of positivity and action.”

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“I love when music connects me to great people like Eddie, and good causes like EB Research Partnership,” added Post. “Eddie is someone I look up to as a dad, a musician, and a person. I’m honored that he’s brought me into the EB community.”

Eddie and Jill Vedder founded EBRP in 2010 alongside a group of parents of children with Epidermolysis Bullosa, a life-threatening genetic skin disorder. According to Mayo Clinic, the condition “causes fragile, blistering skin” in response to “minor injury, even from heat, rubbing or scratching.”

As of now, there is no cure for EB — something the Vedders’ foundation aims to change within the next decade. Eddie continued in his statement, “The generosity of all who were involved is tremendously appreciated and will help us continue to fund research aimed at curing EB by 2030.”

Watch Eddie Vedder and Post Malone perform “Better Man” together below.

22 Feb 2024

After Italy’s Sanremo Song Contest, 7 Contenders Enter Billboard Global Charts

It was already understood that the songs of Sanremo 2024 were a success in streaming — in Italy and globally. In the days following its release, the “Sanremo 2024” Spotify playlist was the most listened-to playlist in the world, and seven of the top 10 tracks on the platform’s Debut Global chart came from the song contest.

Now that Billboard has updated its Global 200 and the Global Excl. US charts, the picture is even more complete. In the charts dated Feb. 24, four and seven songs from Sanremo 2024 appear, respectively.

The Global 200 includes Mahmood’s “Tuta Gold” (No. 52), Geolier’s “I p’ me, tu p’ te” (No. 91), Annalisa’s “Sinceramente” (No. 95) and winner Angelina Mango’s “La Noia” (No. 110).

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In the Global Excl. US chart, these same songs appear higher up (at Nos. 19, 33, 36 and 51, respectively), followed by three other songs of Sanremo 2024: Ghali’s “Casa Mia” (No. 87), Irama’s “Tu No” (No. 100) and The Kolors’ “Un ragazzo una ragazza” (No. 179).

Data provided by Luminate allows a more analytical look. The company traced the global streaming trends (audio and video) of Sanremo songs during the festival in the 50 most relevant markets worldwide (Italy and the United States included).

From Feb. 7-10 (the festival started Feb. 6 and crowned a winner Feb. 10), the first three positions were constantly dominated — in various orders — by Geolier, Mahmood and Annalisa. Only on Feb. 11 does winner Angelina Mango make her appearance.

Below are the top three positions day by day.

  • Feb. 7: “I p’ me, tu p’ te” by Geolier (3.4 million global audio and video streams), “Sinceramente” by Annalisa (3 million), “Tuta Gold” by Mahmood (2.6 million)
  • Feb. 8: “I p’ me, tu p’ te” by Geolier (3.4 million), “Tuta Gold” by Mahmood (3.2 million), “Sinceramente” by Annalisa (2.9 million)
  • Feb. 9: “Tuta Gold” by Mahmood (3.7 million), “I p’ me, tu p’ te” by Geolier (3.5 million), “Sinceramente” by Annalisa (3.1 million)
  • Feb. 10: “I p’ me, tu p’ te” by Geolier (3.85 million), “Tuta Gold” by Mahmood (3.78 million), “Sinceramente” by Annalisa (3.3 million)
  • Feb. 11: “Tuta Gold” by Mahmood (4.1 million), “I p’ me, tu p’ te” by Geolier (4.07 million), “La Noia” by Angelina Mango (3.9 million). These are also the highest figures on a daily basis

Since Billboard launched the two global charts in 2020, the most successful songs of Sanremo have regularly appeared. It has been a constant phenomenon since the 2021 edition, the first in which the Global 200 and Global Excl. US charts were active.

Last year, Lazza’s “Cenere” (No. 68), winner Marco Mengoni’s “Due Vite” (No. 80) and Mr.Rain’s “Supereroi” (No. 97) entered the Global 200. In the Global Excl. US, these songs appeared at Nos. 29, 32 and 42, followed by Madame’s “Il Bene nel Male” (No. 104) and Tananai’s “Tango” (No. 195).

In 2022, “Brividi” by Mahmood and Blanco (who won that edition) came close to the top 10, in 15th position. It was followed at a distance by Irama’s “Ovunque Sarai” (No. 118) and La Rappresentante di Lista’s “Ciao Ciao” (No. 158). On the Global Excl. US chart, those songs reached Nos. 7, 56, and 112, followed by Sangiovanni’s “Farfalle” (n. 112), Dargen D’Amico’s “Dove Si Balla” (n. 126) and Rkomi’s “Insuperabile” (n. 149).

22 Feb 2024

Daft Punk to Livestream Its 2003 Film ‘Interstella 5555’ in Honor of Daft Punk Day

Three years ago today, on Feb. 22, 2021, Daft Punk rattled the world with the announcement the duo was breaking up after 28 years together. The French icons have since marked the anniversary of this occasion by releasing a trinket from the vast Daft Punk vault on Feb. 22 in the two years since.

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And that date has come around again. To celebrate their unparalleled legacy, the French duo is screening its 2003 film, Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, on its Twitch channel today. The screening begins precisely at 5:22 p.m. ET.

Overseen by Japanese animation legend Leiji Matsumoto and written and scored by Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo and Thomas Bangalter, Interstella 5555 is an hour-long “space opera” completing the story begun by the videos of singles “One More Time,” “Aerodynamic,” “Digital Love” and “Harder Better Faster Stronger,” all from the duo’s era-defining 2001 album, Discovery.

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In those videos, an evil impresario kidnaps and brainwashes an extra-terrestrial rock group, transforms them into prefabricated pop stars, brings them back to Earth and manipulates them to the top of the charts. Each “movement” of this silent film is accompanied by a track from Discovery.

“The project was born in 2000, when we flew out to Tokyo with an hour of music and our own script,” Bangalter said upon the film’s release in 2003. “Leiji gave us a warm reception, and after listening to the music, he came on board immediately. Three years later, our dream has come true.”

In terms of comeback rumblings, the French duo was said to be playing the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, a rumor that was quickly shot down by their team last fall. The pair did kinda sorta satiate the ongoing public demand for fresh Daft Punk material by releasing the “drumless” edition of 2013 classic Random Access Memories in November, in conjunction with the album’s 10-year anniversary.