Music News

22 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce Visit Sydney Zoo After Tight End’s Global Trek to Australia

Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift didn’t waste any time doing some classic couple stuff ahead of the singer’s upcoming run of Eras Tour shows in Sydney, Australia. According to News.com.au, after the Kansas City Chiefs tight end landed down under on Wednesday, he and Swift took a trip to the Sydney Zoo on Thursday (Feb. 22).

The news outlet dubbed it Swift’s “favourite hotspot,” reporting that it was the second day in a row that the “Karma” singer had visited the animal park. The couple reportedly got a private tour and fed kangaroos during their visit, taking selfies along the way as they held hands and walked around the zoo arm-in-arm.

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Cameras spotted Kelce getting off a private jet the day before, marking the second time the three-time Super Bowl champ has hopped on a plane to go see Swift on her globe-hopping Eras Tour. Swift is slated to play four dates at Sydney’s Accor Stadium beginning on Friday (Feb. 23) through Monday (Feb. 26), with Sabrina Carpenter slated to open the gigs.

According to the Australian news site’s report, Swift visited the city’s Olympic stadium on Wednesday for a sound check ahead of Friday’s kick-off gig, which may be marred by some predicted foul weather. The site said that “heavy hail” is in the forecast for Friday night, with showers and storms predicted amid “scorching hot weather” in the city over the weekend.

The global trip by Kelce is the mirror image of one Swift took two weeks ago when she flew from Tokyo to Las Vegas to support her boyfriend when the Chiefs played the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11. In a testament to the massive frequent flier miles the long distance couple are likely to wrack up over the next year, in November, Kelce flew to Buenos Aires, Argentina to take in one of Swift’s Eras Tour gigs.

22 Feb 2024

Global Citizen NOW Sets First International Edition In Melbourne

Global Citizen NOW will make its international debut in Melbourne, Australia next month, for a two-day program capped with a special performance by Crowded House.

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Set for March 4-6 at Centrepiece, Melbourne Park, the summit will drive action on the climate crisis, gender inequity, innovations in health systems and fighting food insecurity and extreme poverty in the region and around the world, as Australia hosts ASEAN leaders in the Victorian capital.

Speakers include Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Xanana Gusmão, Prime Minister of Timor-Leste. Global Citizen ambassadors Hugh Jackman and Charlie Puth; Julia Gillard, former prime minister of Australia; and Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank, will join virtually.

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Ferguson is co-chair of the event. “I’m coming to Global Citizen NOW: Melbourne to participate in vital intergenerational conversations with young leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region, who are doing frontline, grassroots work to address the climate crisis, the hunger crisis, girls’ education,” she explains in a statement, “and issues perpetuating cycles of extreme poverty. I look forward to listening to them, learning from them, and contributing whatever voice I have to speak up for the future of our planet.”

The inaugural Global Citizen NOW: Melbourne event wraps March 6 with Global Citizen Nights, an “intimate evening of music and storytelling” at the Palais Theatre, headlined by Crowded House.

“We are delighted to be providing a closing performance for Global Citizen, who are bringing together talented and passionate young advocates and innovators to help solve the most urgent problems facing all of us…equity and climate,” comments Crowded House frontman Neil Finn. “Who knows from what distant corners brilliant ideas might come from. Young people’s amazing potential is sometimes hidden from view. We want to be there to help bring it into the light.”

The ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted band is gearing up for the release of Gravity Stairs, their first through a new arrangement with BMG. Due out May 31, it’s the eighth studio album from the beloved folk-rock act which has sold over 15 million records worldwide, won 13 ARIA Awards, eight APRA Awards, a BRIT Award, an MTV VMA and landed No. 1 albums in the U.K. and Australia.

Free tickets to the performance and can be earned by taking action on the Global Citizen app and at globalcitizen.org/nights.

Global Citizen, the leading advocacy organization, has a strong Australian connection. It’s the brainchild of Australia humanitarian Hugh Evans. “It’s all I’ve ever cared about, since I was literally 12 years old, was the eradication of extreme poverty. It’s the simplest truth about me and our co-founders,” Evans told this reporter in 2022, on a trip to his homeland.

Global Citizen NOW: Melbourne is presented by the State Government of Victoria, with a range of partners including Cisco, Citi and P&G.

Additional performers will be announced in the coming days.

21 Feb 2024

Creepy Nuts’ ‘Bling-Bang-Bang-Born’ Holds for Fourth Week at No. 1 on Japan Hot 100

Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” holds atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100 on the chart dated Feb. 21, extending its record to four consecutive weeks at No. 1.

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The MASHLE Season 2 opener continues to rule downloads and streaming, with the former increasing by 21.4% from last week to 19,980 units and the latter by 8.4% to 21,812,337 streams. The hip-hop banger also climbed 13-7 for radio airplay and jumped 32-9 for karaoke. The song’s momentum continues to grow as it draws increasing attention, with overall points gaining 11.7% from the week before.

Snow Man’s “LOVE TRIGGER” debuts at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 after launching with over a million CDs. The boy band’s 10th single called “LOVE TRIGGER / We’ll go together” dropped on Valentine’s Day and sold 1,224,902 copies in its first week, a record for the nine-member group. The CD is also the first by the group to launch with more than a million copies. The two tracks are the theme songs for drama series featuring members Hikaru Iwamoto and Shota Watanabe, respectively in their first starring roles. The single is off to a good start, coming in at No. 3 for radio and No. 7 for video views. 

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Hikaru Utada’s “A Flower of No Color” debuts at No. 4. The theme song for Fuji TV’s latest “getsu-ku” (Monday nights at 9:00) drama series is the J-pop superstar’s first new release after celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut. The song was unveiled during the drama’s premiere, then digitally released on Feb. 12. It launched at No. 2 for downloads with 11,704 units, No. 1 for radio, and No. 10 for video views. It’s still at No. 40 for streaming with 2,793,660 weekly streams, but the track is expected to gain in this metric as well in the coming weeks.

Omoinotake snags its first top 10 hit with “IKUOKU KONEN,” the theme song for the TBS Tuesday drama Eye Love You. The track moves 13-8 this week, coming in at No. 10 for downloads with 4,441 units, No. 7 for streaming with 6,058,030 streams, No. 11 for radio, and No. 25 for video, collecting points in a balanced way. The piano trio performed this love song on YouTube’s “THE FIRST TAKE” and the video has racked up 1.36 million views in four days after dropping Feb. 16.

WOLF HOWL HARMONY from EXILE TRIBE’s “Frozen Butterfly” debuts at No. 9. The four-member group’s second single hits No. 2 for physical sales with 40,160 CDs sold in its first week, No. 4 for radio and No. 39 for downloads.

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 Feb. 12 to 18, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

21 Feb 2024

J. Cole Previews New Song in Big As the What? Tour Vlog

J. Cole has been hinting at The Fall-Off possibly serving as his final album for years and he’s teased an unreleased song mentioning the elusive project from a burner account.

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The “First Person Shooter” rapper uploaded a 10-minute vlog titled Might Delete Later, Vol. 1 which follows Cole’s unfiltered travels as part of the It’s All A Blur – Big As the What? Tour with Drake in the mold of a classic Smack DVD.

The raw clip has a little bit of everything with cameos from Drake as well as Bas and J. Cole’s manager Ibrahim Hammad.

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About four minutes in, Cole previews the new track where he sounds hungry to make 2024 another banner year as he peppers the ominous production with hard-hitting rhymes.

“There’s not a rap n—a breathing that could outlast/ The Fall-Off is like Hov dropping Reasonable Doubt last” the Dreamville boss raps in an homage to Jay-Z. “We from the South where learn all about stashing.”

Another scene features the North Carolina native complaining about how he hasn’t sharpened his production skills in a while and as a result, his rapping mastery has lapped his dexterity behind the boards. Cole also revealed he’s recently been in the studio with Metro Boomin.

“It’s like I have a desire like, man, I want to get back to making beats. I want to get back good but then I’m like it’s been so long and I’ve been putting so much work in on the rap s–t that I’m so far behind now on the production. I’m the worst I’ve ever been,” he admitted.

J. Cole’s last album, The Off-Season, arrived in May 2021 and the blockbuster soared to earn himself his sixth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 282,000 total album units sold in the first week.

The rap dignitary is currently trekking across North America with Drake as a guest on his It’s All A Blur — Big As the What? Tour, which invades Ohio this week with shows on tap in Columbus and a pair in Cleveland.

Watch the vlog below and find the unreleased track around the 4:30 mark.

21 Feb 2024

Travis Kelce Lands in Australia for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

Travis Kelce is a supportive boyfriend!

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end was spotted landing in Sydney, Australia, ahead of girlfriend Taylor Swift’s Eras tour dates in the country. In photos shared by Page Six, Kelce is seen walking off his private jet, surrounded by security.

Swift is performing four shows at Sydney’s Accor Stadium from Friday (Feb. 23) to Monday (Feb. 26). Sabrina Carpenter is set to be the opener.

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Swift flew from Tokyo, Japan, to Las Vegas to support Kelce from the stands as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl earlier this month.

Shortly after the Chiefs proved victorious, Kelce gave a passionate post-game speech where he yelled, “Viva Las Vegas” and his borrowed catchphrase, “You gotta fight for your right to party” as Swift, seemingly fighting back happy tears, looked on. She then found the athlete in the crowd and kissed him several times, hugging him close and telling him he’s “unbelievable.” 

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Moments before, cameras had caught the “Karma” musician jumping up and down as her friends collapsed on her in a group hug after quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw the game-winning touchdown.

21 Feb 2024

Machine Gun Kelly Admits He Had a ‘Breakdown’ Before Getting Jarring Tattoo in ‘Dont Let Me Go’ Video: Watch

Machine Gun Kelly returned to the rap side with his piano-laden “Dont Let Me Go” single Wednesday (Feb. 21), which he quickly followed up with an evocative visual.

The desolate tune finds MGK revealing a “breakdown” that led to his new massive blackout tattoo while he also touches on his shattered relationship with his late father, substance abuse, mental health issues and more contributing to his downfall.

 “Just like I wish they would understand me one time/ I had a breakdown and tatted my entire body except one line,” he admits.

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The clip is kept simple for the most part, with MGK looking directly into the lens’ soul with the backdrops jumping from him on the piano to the dark woods and the city skyline of Cleveland.

“Before my dad left to serve/ He made sure I took on every quality I didn’t want/ I was supposed to die at birth/ Gave me a chance and I f—ed it up, give me another one,” Kells raps in brutally honest fashion.

Machine Gun Kelly references the miscarriage his fiancée Megan Fox suffered, which she opened up about in her poetry book last year. “I’ve never been through anything like that in my life,” the actress asserted.

“How can I live with the fact/ That my hand wasn’t on her stomach when we lost the baby?/ I don’t got no one to turn to/ Because everyone’s dead in my life that was tryna raise me,” he raps.

MGK hit the stage at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards and dedicated a performance of Mainstream Sellout‘s “Twin Flame” to his unborn child.

Earlier this week, the “Bloody Valentine” artist blacked out his upper body with a jarring tattoo covering his entire chest and arms. “For spiritual purposes only,” he captioned a post of the new ink. The piece reportedly took 13 different six-hour sessions in Los Angeles to complete.

The Cleveland native’s last rap album came in 2019 with Hotel Diablo, and he appears to be headed down that path once again following his lucrative two-album rock pivot. 2022’s Mainstream Sellout debuted at No. 1 atop the Billboard 200 with 93,000 album units sold.

Watch the “Dont Let Me Go” video below.

21 Feb 2024

Prince Royce & Gabito Ballesteros Drink Their Way to No. 1 on Tropical Airplay With ‘Cosas De La Peda’

Prince Royce and Gabito Ballesteros’ “Cosas De La Peda” finds the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart as their first partnership advances from the runner-up slot to lead the Feb. 24-dated list. That translates into a 24th No. 1 for Royce, while Ballesteros scores his first champ on first try.

“Cosas De La Peda,” Mexican slang for “drunken times,” lifts 2-1 on the tropical radio ranking with by a 37% gain in audience impressions, to 6.2 million earned in the U.S. during the Feb. 9-15 tracking week, according to Luminate. The track trades places with Marc Anthony’s “Punta Cana” which drops 1-2 with an 11% dip in impressions, to 5.2 million.

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Prior to its release, “Cosas De La Peda” received its fair share of promotion. The Bronx-born singer premiered the song live for the first time, with Ballesteros, during Calibash festival at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles on Jan. 12. Plus, a performance on ABC’s Good Morning America followed on Jan. 17.

With “Peda,” Royce collects his 24th No. 1 on Tropical Airplay, continuing with the third-most leaders since the chart’s inception in 1994. Only two soloists stand ahead him: Marc Anthony with 36 No. 1s and Victor Manuelle with 29. Here’s an updated look at the artists with the most No. 1 hits on the almost three-decade-old ranking:

36, Marc Anthony
29, Victor Manuelle
24, Prince Royce
18, Romeo Santos
14, Elvis Crespo
14, Gilberto Santa Rosa
13, Jerry Rivera
12, Juan Luis Guerra 440
11, India

Singer-songwriter Ballesteros, who seasoned “Peda” with his corridos tumbados flair, lands a first No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay —and on any airplay ranking— thanks to the bachata tumbada. The Mexican producer first landed a No. 1 on a Billboard chart as a producer of the the two-week champ “Lady Gaga,” with Peso Pluma and Junior H (last September).

Elsewhere, “Peda” flies 26-11 on the overall Latin Airplay tally. It bests Ballesteros’ previous No. 37 entry with “La Pelinegra,” with La Adictiva, last October.

“De La Peda” is one of 23 songs from Royce’s latest seventh full-length album, Llamada Perdida, released Feb. 16 through Sony Music Latin; it has not entered any Billboard charts yet. The song was produced by Edgar Barrera and Luis Miguel Gómez Castaño, better known as Casta.

21 Feb 2024

Fans Rejoice After Normani’s ‘Dopamine’ Album Announcement: ‘The Drought Is Finally Over’

Few fanbases have had to be more patient for an album announcement than Normani Nation these past six years. But on Wednesday (Feb. 21), an end finally came to more than a half-decade of waiting, with the former Fifth Harmony member at last announcing that Dopamine, her debut solo album, is officially on its way.

Normani broke the news to fans by posting the project’s cover on social media, writing, “cryingg typing this rn. DOPAMINE THE ALBUM.” The artwork features the “Motivation” singer wearing a leathery bikini and straddling a jet-black rocket, plus a parental advisory warning sticker in the bottom left corner.

The announcement closes out exactly five years, seven months and 22 days since Normani first wrote in a now-viral tweet: “I have my album title y’all” — a post that has resurfaced numerous times over the years as more and more time progressed without an album announcement. Since launching her solo career in 2018, the musician has released only seven singles as a lead artist, including top 20 Billboard Hot 100 hits such as the Sam Smith-assisted “Dancing With a Stranger” (No. 7), the Khalid duet “Love Lies” (No. 9) and “Wild Side” featuring Cardi B (No. 14).

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The only thing fans need to wait for now — aside from the actual album, of course — is a release date, which Normani has not yet unveiled. The X Factor alum did, however, make it clear on her website that Dopamine will arrive at some point this year — to the utter delight of her fans.

“I can’t believe we made it yall,” one person posted on X, where Normani’s name was trending throughout the day on Wednesday, shortly after the Dopamine announcement dropped. “the drought is finally over. NORMANI IS COMING.”

“from voting for normani on x-factor to finally witnessing her debut album era commence… I AM EMOTIONAL,” wrote another proud fan, while a third person added, “The grass is greeener, the air is fresher, life is GREAT rn.”

Keep reading to see the best reactions to Normani’s Dopamine album announcement below.

21 Feb 2024

Ye & Ty Dolla $ign Top Streaming Songs Chart With ‘Carnival’

Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart dated Feb. 24, the former’s fourth No. 1 and the latter’s first.

The top-performing song from the duo’s collaborative album Vultures 1 earned 23.5 million official U.S. streams Feb. 9-15, according to Luminate. That’s despite just six days of availability during the tracking week; the album was released Feb. 10.

Ye reigns on Streaming Songs for the first time since “Hurricane” led for a week in September 2021. His other rulers on the list, which began in 2013, include “All Mine” in June 2018 and “I Love It,” with Lil Pump, in September 2018.

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Between “Hurricane” and the release of Vultures 1, which accounts for 13 Streaming Songs appearances in all on the Feb. 24 ranking, Ye’s best rank had been a No. 8 peak with “Hot Shit,” on which he was billed as a lead act alongside Cardi B and Lil Durk, in July 2022.

Meanwhile, Ty Dolla $ign garners his first Streaming Songs leader with “Carnival.” The rapper first reached the chart in 2014 with “Paranoid,” featuring B.O.B (No. 36), and his highest rank on the tally had been his featured turn on Post Malone’s “Psycho,” which debuted and peaked at No. 2 in March 2018. As a lead act, his best had been “Hot Girl Summer,” billed as a lead alongside Megan Thee Stallion and Nicki Minaj, which debuted and peaked at No. 6 in August 2019.

The next-highest debut from the 13-song pack of Vultures 1 debuts is “Fuk Sumn,” which bows at No. 10 via 13.3 million streams.

As part of its No. 1 debut on Streaming Songs, “Carnival” also reigns on R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs and Rap Streaming Songs.

Concurrently, as previously reported, “Carnival” bows at No. 3 on the multi-metric Billboard Hot 100. In addition to its streams, the song also earned 4,000 downloads.

Its parent album, Vultures 1, also scored a No. 1 debut, premiering atop the Billboard 200 via 148,000 equivalent album units earned.

21 Feb 2024

Selena Gomez Shrugs Off Being Single in French Teaser for New Single ‘Love On’: Watch

Selena Gomez has shared a teaser video for her new single “Love On,” and it’s filled with PDA — for everyone except her.

Posted to Instagram on Wednesday (Feb. 21), one day ahead of the song’s release, the trailer finds the singer/actress looking unbothered as she stands at the top of a staircase, holding an adorable puppy in her arms. Meanwhile, several couples lining the steps below her get hot and heavy, which she politely ignores.

In French, a voice-over says, “Qu’est-ce que je vais te nommer? Je vais te nommer. L’amour … L’amour tendre.” Gomez previously shared the phrase — which translates to, “What shall I name you? I’m gonna name you the love … the tender love” — alongside two promotional photos for “Love On” via Instagram.

The new teaser comes six days after the Only Murders in the Building star first announced “Love On,” which arrives Thursday. Last week, she posted the single’s ocean-view cover art and hinted at one of its lyrics: “Wait ‘til I turn my love on.”

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“Love On” will mark Gomez’s first release of the year, following her August 2023 single “Single Soon.” The latter track reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and will likely serve as the lead single off the “Calm Down” singer’s yet-to-be-announced third album.

And while Gomez has nobody to kiss in her “Love On” sneak peek, the same certainly can’t be said for her real life. The Rare Beauty founder is happily in a relationship with Benny Blanco and frequently shares photos of the producer on Instagram. On Valentine’s Day, for instance, she marked the occasion with a couple’s selfie on her Story and the caption, “I love you.”

See Gomez’s new teaser for “Love On” below.