Music News

31 Jan 2024

Sabrina Carpenter Scores Her First Top 40 Hit on Billboard Hot 100 With ‘Feather’

Sabrina Carpenter notches her first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 as “Feather” flies to No. 37, from No. 56, on the chart dated Feb. 3.

The song drew 22.7 million in radio airplay audience (up 24%) and 7.8 million official streams (up 14%) in the U.S. Jan. 19-25, according to Luminate.

Newly helping spark the song’s profile, Carpenter is set to play both Coachella (April 12) and Governors Ball (June 8) this year; the lineups for each festival were announced Jan. 16.

“Feather” concurrently climbs 17-15 on the Pop Airplay chart and 40-33 on the all-format Radio Songs survey and debuts No. 49 on Streaming Songs.

With the single, released on Island/Republic Records, Carpenter bests the peaks of her two prior Hot 100 hits: “Nonsense” rose to No. 56 in February 2023 and “Skin” reached No. 48 in February 2021.

“Nonsense” also became Carpenter’s first Pop Airplay top 10, hitting No. 10.

“Feather” — which Carpenter co-wrote with Amy Allen and the song’s producer, John Ryan — is from the deluxe version, released in March 2023, of Carpenter’s album Emails I Can’t Send. The set, which debuted at its No. 23 high on the Billboard 200 in July 2022, claims Greatest Gainer honors on the latest list (137-76), up 42% to 12,000 equivalent album units.

Carpenter, who broke through in 2014 starring in Disney Channel’s Girl Meets World, opened on the South American run of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour last August-November. She’s scheduled to reprise her role in February-March on dates in Australia and Singapore.

“It’s so funny,” Carpenter told Billboard last summer of Republic labelmate Swift. “I’ve been growing up with her advice in her songs because it’s very much a how-to book on how to survive as a young woman, which is really special. Watching her in and of itself is how you learn. I admire her work ethic and her talent and she’s just so amazing.”

31 Jan 2024

Travis & Jason Kelce Joke About Taylor Swift’s Incredible ‘Rookie Year’ With the Chiefs

Taylor Swift may not actually be on the Kansas City Chiefs, but as far as Travis Kelce is concerned, she’s the MVP. 

On the latest episode of their joint podcast New Heights, Travis and his older brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, reflected on the Chiefs’ Sunday (Jan. 28) AFC Championship win against the Baltimore Ravens. Swift was in the crowd along with the tight end’s family at M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland from start to finish, and afterward joined the younger Kelce on the field to celebrate his team being Super Bowl-bound for the second year in a row. 

“Shout-out to the newest members of the Chiefs Kingdom,” Jason joked on the Wednesday (Jan. 31) podcast. “Taylor Swift, who has officially reached the Super Bowl in her rookie year.” 

“Shout-out to Tay!” Travis added. “Thanks for joining the team!” 

The pop star’s fans are still reeling after Sunday’s emotional post-game celebrations, from the moment Swift kissed Travis on live TV to the way No. 87 audibly told her “I love you” on the field. At one point, the “Anti-Hero” singer also shared a moment with Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who singled her out in the crowd while he was onstage accepting the AFC trophy with Travis and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. 

“It was a cool moment to see afterwards,” Travis said, showing a photo of Reid and Swift affectionately pointing at each other. “I didn’t get to see it because I was up on stage screaming ‘Fight for your right,’ but yeah, that was a cool one.” 

The brothers have previously spoken about how Reid has been a friend of Swift’s family since before the musician and her parents moved to Nashville from the Philadelphia area, where Big Red once worked for the Eagles.  

“That was the last thing Trav wanted to hear, that I knew her before him,” Reid boasted on Let’s Go With Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray earlier this week. “She told him, ‘I know your coach. And he went, ‘Oh, God, come on!’” 

“Obviously we’ve already talked about how they kinda know each other from the Philly days,” Travis rehashed on his podcast, before giving a shout-out to the 12-time Grammy winner’s dad. “Scott Swift, shout-out to big Scott. Him and Andy are good friends.”  

Watch the episode of New Heights above. 

31 Jan 2024

Jimmy Kimmel Breaks Down MAGA Meltdown Over Taylor Swift/Pres. Biden Super Bowl LVIII Conspiracy Theories

All eyes are on Taylor Swift and boyfriend Travis Kelce as the tight end’s team prepares to go to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five years. And while the Kansas City Chiefs more than earned their ticket to Feb. 11’s Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas with excellent play and one of the best records in the NFL this season, there are some who think it’s all a conspiracy, man.

Jimmy Kimmel broke down the QAnon-like meltdown currently racing through the conservative media world on Tuesday night (Jan. 30), pointing out the outrageous tin foil hat-esque theories being amplified on Fox News and other right-wing outlets. “You expect to hear this from a couple of nuts and then it disappears, but if anything it’s picking up steam,” Kimmel said of the phantom dot-connectors he dubbed the “Not-Too-Swifties.”

The host read a Jan. 28 tweet that helped kick off the fantasy football fiction, which posited, “The NFL is totally RIGGED for the Kansas City Chiefs, Taylor Swift, Mr. Pfizer (Travis Kelce). All to spread DEMOCRAT PROPAGANDA. Calling it now, KC wins goes to the Super Bowl, Swift comes out at the halftime show and ‘endorses’ Joe Biden with Kelce at midfield. It’s all been an op since day one.”

He also ran down another tweet suggesting that the Super Bowl is “rigged,” featuring a complaint about the “unneeded” and “unwarranted” Swift coverage during games and calling the Chief’s path to the big game “totally scripted.” That one also conjured a similar image of TNT at the game together and announcing their support for Biden.

For clarity, while Swift has attended a number of Chiefs games this season to support her beau Kelce, and Kelce has appeared in a series of commercials encouraging Americans to get the life-saving COVID-19 vaccine, neither has made any political endorsements in this year’s presidential campaign. And it is still unclear if Swift can, or will, make it back from her Eras Tour show in Japan on the night before the Super Bowl to cheer the tight end on.

In Oct. 2020, Swift made a rare political endorsement when she announced that she would be voting for Biden.

Kimmel continued, reading a tweet suggesting that the Super Bowl will be “rigged [just like our elections],” parroting the incessant refrain from one-term former president Donald Trump falsely claiming that he actually won the 2020 election over President Joe Biden. The bit included a tweet from failed GOP presidential nominee Ohio businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who suggested that “there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall.”

“Let me get this straight,” Kimmel said. “The same people who think that Joe Biden has dementia and needs [Vice President] Kamala Harris to feed him butterscotch tapioca every night also believe that he has somehow planned and executed a diabolically brilliant scheme to fix the NFL playoffs so the biggest pop star in the world could pop up on the JumbTron during the Super Bowl in between a Kia and a Tostitos commercial to hypnotize her 11-year-old fans into voting for Joe Biden.”

Kimmel then ran a series of Fox News, Newsmax and OAN clips from the network’s talking heads begging Swift to “not get involved” in politics, suggesting the whole relationship is a “massive psyop [psychological operation]” and, most outrageously, that her music is a form of “witchcraft” and that “the devil owns her [Swift’s] soul.”

Trump even seemed to get on the Taylor-bashing train, with Rolling Stone reporting this week that unnamed sources said the four-times-indicted former reality TV host has been telling people in his inner circle that he is “more popular” than Swift and that he has more committed fans than she does.

Watch Kimmel’s MAGA meltdown mash-up below (Swift bit begins at 2:49 mark).

31 Jan 2024

Snoop Dogg, Babyface & Kanye West Celebrate Charlie Wilson’s Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Charlie Wilson, aka Uncle Charlie, was the focus of a double celebration in Hollywood this week, aka Grammy Week. The singer-songwriter and former frontman of The Gap Band not only received the 2,770th star on Tinseltown’s legendary Walk of Fame on Jan. 29, he also rang in his 71st birthday that same day. Also joining Wilson for the momentous occasion were fellow music stars Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Babyface, Snoop Dogg, Kanye “Ye” West, Chanté Moore and Tyler, the Creator.

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Upping the occasion’s emotional quotient was the fact that during a very low point in his career, Wilson was an addict living on the streets of Hollywood. Now sober for 29 years, Wilson is also a prostate cancer survivor of 16 years. 

“This star represents not only my journey,” said Wilson, “but the power of resilience, faith and unwavering support of those who believe in you.”

Jimmy “Jam” Harris, one-half of the Grammy-winning production/songwriting team with Terry Lewis, emceed the event, noting, “Charlie’s showmanship remains unmatched.”

Stepping up to the podium to pay additional tribute were Babyface, Snoop Dogg and Wilson’s longtime manager Michael Paran.

Kanye West, Tyler, The Creator, Terry Steven Lewis, Michael Paran, Jimmy Jam, Babyface and Chanté Moore

Kanye West, Tyler, The Creator, Terry Steven Lewis, Jimmy Jam, Babyface and Chanté Moore attend the ceremony as Charlie Wilson is honored with star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Jan. 29, 2024, in Hollywood, Calif.

Monica Schipper/Getty Images

Describing the lessons that Wilson taught him about showmanship, business and family as “a treasure,” Snoop Dogg said, “To have somebody like you to stay in my life and be there for me and my family, it means the world to me, Charlie.”

Grammy-winning icon Babyface remarked, “The fact of who showed up here for Charlie shows why he needs a star because he’s got the best students in the world.” 

Paran, also president/CEO of P Music Group, called Wilson “a true powerhouse whose energy comes from his pure hunger to bring joy to others.”

Alongside his late brothers/group co-founders Robert and Ronnie, Wilson scored a string of classic hits during The Gap Band’s ’70s/’80s heyday such as “Burn Rubber on Me,” “Outstanding” and “Yearning for Your Love.” Heading out on his own in 1992, Wilson has since left his own imprint on a host of R&B hits, among them “There Goes My Baby,” “I’m Blessed” featuring T.I., “Charlie, Last Name Wilson,” “One I Got” and his guest turn on Snoop Dogg’s “Beautiful.”

The 13-time Grammy nominee and indefatigable live performer recently released his latest single “Superman.”

31 Jan 2024

Christina Aguilera, Lionel Richie & More Set to Present on 2024 Grammys

Christina Aguilera, Samara Joy, Lenny Kravitz, Maluma, Lionel Richie, Mark Ronson, Meryl Streep, Taylor Tomlinson and Oprah Winfrey are set to present on the 2024 Grammy Awards, set for Sunday, Feb. 4.

Joy was the surprise winner of last year’s award for best new artist. Aguilera won in that same category 24 years ago.

Ronson, a seven-time Grammy-winner, received five nominations this year for his work on Barbie.

Streep is nominated for best audio book, narration and storytelling recording for Big Tree.

Richie won album of the year 39 years ago for Can’t Slow Down. He won song of the year the year after that for “We Are the World,” which he co-wrote with Michael Jackson.

Kravitz has been announced as the first of three 2024 Recording Academy Global Impact Award honorees. The award will be presented at the third annual Recording Academy Honors presented by the Black Music Collective. The event will take place on Thursday (Feb. 1) at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.

Previously announced Grammy performers are Burna Boy, Luke Combs, Billie Eilish, Billy Joel, Dua Lipa, Joni Mitchell, Olivia Rodrigo, Travis Scott, SZA, and U2. Additional performers will be announced in the coming days. The current list of performers can be found here.

U2 is set to take the stage from Sphere in Las Vegas, where the band’s acclaimed U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere show is playing.

Additional performers for the Grammy telecast will be announced. Whether Swift will perform is still unknown.

Trevor Noah will host the Grammys for the fourth consecutive year. He received a nod for best comedy album for I Wish You Would, and is the first Grammy host to be nominated for a Grammy that same year since Queen Latifah in 2005.

The 66th annual Grammy Awards will be held on Sunday, Feb. 4, live on both coasts beginning at 8 p.m. ET on CBS, and will stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs).

The telecast will be produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy for the fourth consecutive year. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins are executive producers.

31 Jan 2024

Taylor Swift Tops Billboard’s Annual Power 100 List for the First Time

Taylor Swift continues to rewrite the rules, coming in at No. 1 on Billboard’s Power 100 list. Not only is this the first time that she’s topped the list, but it’s the just the second time any artist has crowned Billboard’s annual ranking of the most impactful music industry executives and power players (Jay-Z and Beyoncé topped Billboard‘s 2014 Power 100 list).

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Swift, of course, has come in at No. 1 on a cornucopia of Billboard charts before this, topping the Billboard Hot 100 11 times, the Billboard 200 13 times, the Hot Country Songs chart nine times and Pop Airplay 12 times. She was named Woman of the Year twice (2014 and 2011) at Billboard’s annual Women in Music event, and was celebrated as the Woman of the Decade at Billboard Women in Music 2019.

In the latest issue of Billboard, Swift offered a peek into her business acumen, sharing some advice for anyone looking to follow in her trailblazing path. “The piece of advice I would give to the other executives on this list is that the best ideas are usually ones without industry precedent,” Swift told Billboard. “The biggest crossroads moments of my career came down to sticking to my instincts when my ideas were looked at with skepticism. When someone says to me, ‘But that has never been done successfully before,’ it fires me up. We have to take strategic risks every day in this industry, but every once in a while, you have to really trust your gut and take a flying leap. My rerecordings are my favorite example of this, and I’m extremely grateful to my team and fans for taking that leap with me because it absolutely changed my life.”

As Billboard’s Melinda Newman, executive editor, West Coast and Nashville, points out in her Power 100 list entry on Swift, those words are particularly salient in an industry where “instinct has largely been supplanted by metrics and data analysis.”

Read Taylor Swift’s full Power 100 list entry here and see who else is on the list.

Swift’s record-shattering Eras Tour picks up its international run on Feb. 7 in Tokyo, the first of four Tokyo Dome dates.

31 Jan 2024

Talking Heads Tribute Album Announced: Stream Paramore’s ‘Burning Down the House’ Cover Now

Just three weeks after first teasing Paramore‘s rollicking cover of Talking Heads‘ “Burning Down the House,” the band’s rendition is finally here.

On Wednesday (Jan. 31), A24 Music officially announced Everyone’s Getting Involved: A Tribute to Stop Making Sense — a tribute album in commemoration of the 40-year anniversary of Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense concert film and accompanying soundtrack.

The tribute album’s track list mirrors that of the original LP, with fresh, new takes on the 16 electrifying tracks from a genre-spanning array of artists. The full list of artists featured on the soundtrack includes Paramore, Miley Cyrus, Lorde, The National, Teezo Touchdown, Kevin Abstract, Jean Dawson, girl in red, BADBADNOTGOOD, Blondshell, The Cavemen., Chicano Batman, Money Mark, DJ Tunez, El Mató a un Policía Motorizado, The Linda Lindas and Toro y Moi.

A24 Music’s new compilation specifically celebrates the recent re-release of Stop Making Sense to theaters nationwide. Originally filmed and released in 1984, the Jonathan Demme-helmed concert film chronicles four nights of performances on the band’s 1983 tour in support of their Speaking in Tongues album, which reached No. 15 on the Billboard 200 that year. Back in 1984, the original Stop Making Sense soundtrack hit No. 41 on the Billboard 200; the set has since spent 119 weeks on the ranking, more than any other Talking Heads title.

Stop Making Sense returned to theaters this January in a restored 4K print. A24 acquired the worldwide rights to the film, and under their guidance, the Stop Making Sense re-release set an IMAX record for highest-grossing live event and eclipsed the gross of the film’s original 10-month U.S. theatrical run in weeks. On Jan. 27, A24 launched a new theatrical residency for the film, hosting monthly screenings in major cities — including Chicago, London and New York — as the concert doc approaches the 40-year anniversary of its original premiere (April 24).

Talking Heads have earned eight career entries on the Billboard Hot 100, including their sole top 10 hit, 1983’s “Burning the House Down” (No. 9). On the Billboard 200, the band’s 12 career entries include 1983’s Speaking in Tongues (No. 15), 1985’s Little Creatures (No. 20) and 1988’s Naked (No. 19).

Check out Paramore’s blazing “Burning the House Down” cover — and a sneak peek at their video — below.

31 Jan 2024

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Booked to Perform Viral ‘Saltburn’ Hit ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ at 2024 BAFTA Awards

The unlikely second act of Sophie Ellis-Bextor‘s 2001 dance pop jam “Murder on the Dancefloor” will get one more spin in the spotlight when the singer performs the song at the upcoming BAFTA Film Awards 2024. The English singer/songwriter’s tune got an unexpected boost when it was featured in the BAFTA-nominated hit Saltburn.

The 23-year-old song co-written by Ellis-Bextor and New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander for the singer’s debut album, Read My Lips, matched its U.K. chart heights earlier this month when it hit No. 2 on the British pop charts while also debuting at No. 98 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Jan. 13.

“I am so excited. I will be performing at the EE BAFTAs 2024,” the singer said in an Instagram video announcement. The BAFTA Awards will air on Feb. 18 on BBC One and iPlayer and BritBox in North America. “I’m already practicing some looks and I cannot wait,” she added.

The nudisco jam “became one of the most talked about moments in cinema this year and a viral sensation, taking the song back into the music charts 22 years after the first release of the song,” BAFTA said in a statement according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Old and new fans are streaming the track which is being used as a trending audio for millions of videos on Instagram and TikTok and [it] continues to mark new achievements on Spotify, YouTube and TikTok globally alongside newfound success in America, where it entered the Billboard Top 100 for the first time and continues to climb.”

The divisive murder sex drama starring Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant was nominated for five BAFTA Awards, including best actor in leading role for Keoghan, best supporting actor for Elordi, best actress for Pike, best original score for Anthony Willis and outstanding British film.

Speaking to Billboard earlier this month about the unexpected revival of the tune, Ellis-Bextor said, “That song took me places I’d never been before, and it was always quite a special one for me. [It] took me to Latin America and Southeast Asia and all around Europe — it was already a song I associated with adventure and new things and a friendly, glorious chapter of my life.”

But the song crashing the Billboard charts, she said, was “glorious, it’s magical, really. But it’s very hard to process, if I’m honest.”

Watch Ellis-Bextor announce the good news below.

31 Jan 2024

Ice Spice Says Her Debut Album, ‘Y2K,’ Is Due Out This Year

Ice Spice is bringing new millennium freak out back. The “Think U the S— (Fart)” rapper revealed on The Today Show on Tuesday (Jan. 30) that she’s planning to release her full-length debut album, Y2K, “this year.”

“Yes, there’s gonna be an album,” the MC told co-hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. “I’m so excited,” the Bronx spitter added about the album whose title is reference to her birthday, Jan. 1, 2000. If you’re old enough to remember, in the years leading up to the calendar flip to the new millennium there was a global freakout over fears that the world’s computers and energy grids would melt down catastrophically due to a glitch in their internal calendar systems that experts feared would re-set them to 1900 instead of 2000.

Spoiler: that didn’t happen.

But Ice Spice’s album is happening, though the rapper didn’t reveal a specific release date for the record she said is “almost finished.” She also said that she has “a crazy collaboration that just got locked in, like two days ago,” again not divulging any specifics.

In November, Ice Spice posted an image of her new lower back tat with the caption “Y2K! ?/?/24.”

The debut album tease came just days after the 24-year-old rapper dropped the Miami-based video for her new single, “Think U the S— (Fart).” In the clip, Ice twerks and parties all around the city, flashing stacks of cash while cruising in luxury rides and hanging with her friends on luxury car-shaped watercraft. “B—-es be quick, but I’m quicker / B—-es be thick, but I’m thicker / She could be rich, but I’m richer,” she raps on the hook.

It’s been a busy few months for Ice, who dropped “Pretty Girl” with Afrobeats star Rema in October, which they performed during her Saturday Night Live debut. She is also up for four Grammys at the 66th annual awards — best new artist, best pop duo/group performance for “Karma” with Taylor Swift, best rap song and best song written for visual media with “Barbie World” with Nicki Minaj — which take place this Sunday (Feb. 4).

Watch Ice Spice talk about her new album on The Today Show below.

31 Jan 2024

Adele Sets Summer Shows In Germany

It’s not a tour, though Adele is officially playing concerts in Europe this summer.

The British pop superstar announces four exclusive dates in Munich, Germany on Aug. 2 and 3, then the following weekend of Aug. 9 and 10, for her first shows on the Continent since 2016.

The “Hello” singer will perform at a bespoke 80,000-capacity venue, an “open-air environment that has been exclusively created for these special shows,” reads a statement.

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The development comes just months out from Adele completing her Weekends With Adele residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, dates that kicked off in Nov. 2022 and were extended through mid-June.

“So a few months ago I got a call about a summer run of shows. I’ve been content as anything with my shows in London’s Hyde Park and my residency in Vegas, so I hadn’t had any other plans,” she writes on Instagram, “However, I was too curious to not follow up and indulge in this idea – a one off, bespoke pop-up stadium designed around whatever show I want to put on.”

Though Germany gets the prize with this run of shows, Adele has teased a broader trek, and just maybe, new music. “I just don’t think I’m gonna write an album for quite some time,” Adele said in a video posted recently by fans. “But next time I do,” she continued, “I’ll come to wherever it is you live.”

Adele is, without question, one of the most popular artists on the planet when she’s locked-in for an album or touring cycle. She has landed five No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100, including 10-week runs for “Hello” and “Easy On Me,” and three of her four albums have logged extensive time at the top of the Billboard 200. Few records deliver the goods quite like her sophomore smash 21, which reigned over the chart for 24 weeks following its release in 2011.

Following the release of her third album, 25, Adele was crowned IFPI’s Global Recording Artist of the Year in 2015.

It’s a similar tale in her homeland, the U.K., where Adele has four No. 1 singles and three No. 1 albums, with 21 recognized by the Official Charts Company as No. 4 on the list of all-time bestselling albums and, in 2021, was named the best-selling album of all time in the U.K. by a female artist.

The Londoner has amassed 16 Grammy Awards, including seven in the “Big Four” categories.

Adele has discussed her battles with stage fright and admittedly doesn’t have easy relationship with full-scale touring. Those dates on the Strip, however, have been “really, really, really” fun, and might have changed her mind on the touring process.

In a social media post last October, Adele explained the drill of two shows each weekend had awoken something in her. “I’ve felt so much and learned so much about myself and you. It’s humanized everything I thought was scary,” she wrote. “Mostly though – it’s just made me realize how much I really enjoy being on stage, that I’m bloody good at it and that it is 100% where I belong!”

Ticket registration for the Munich shows are open now at Adele.com and closes next Monday, Feb. 5.