Music News

05 Dec 2023

BTS’ Jin Thanks Fans for Birthday Wishes & Reflects on Time in South Korean Military: ‘I’ll Be Back Soon’

BTS‘ Jin just had his first birthday as a soldier. And in a sweet message to fans, the newly 31-year-old star — who celebrated his birthday on Dec. 4 — expressed his gratitude while briefly reflecting on his time so far in the South Korean army, just over a week shy of his one-year enlistment anniversary.

“Hello, this is Jin,” he began in a post on Weverse, as translated from Korean to English by Google. “Thank you very much to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I always enjoyed [livestreams] with ARMY on my birthday, but unfortunately I couldn’t enjoy it this year, which breaks my heart.”

“Even though I can’t be with you physically, please know that I am having a good time with you in my heart,” he added.

South Korean law requires all able-bodied men between ages 18-28 serve 18 to 21 months in the military. Jin became the first member of the famous K-pop group to begin his mandatory enlistment on Dec. 13, 2022, just days after he turned 30.

In January, he shared photos of himself in uniform, with CNN reporting at the time that he’d completed his five weeks of basic training and had been selected to serve as an assistant instructor at the Yeoncheon army base in northern Gyeonggi Province. A note at the bottom of his Monday (Dec. 4) Weverse message says that Jin is currently a sergeant as a result of his “outstanding military career.”

Jin’s bandmates J-Hope and Suga began their stints earlier this year. And, as announced Tuesday (Dec. 5), the remaining four members of BTS — Jimin, V, Jung Kook and RM — will be enlisting any day now.

“There’s still a lot of time left, but I’m already excited to be with you,” Jin continued in his note to fans. “Oh, and our members are going to join the army… I hope that time passes quickly and I can have a good time with the members and the ARMYs.”

“Thank you again for wishing me a happy birthday,” he concluded. “I’ll be back soon.”

05 Dec 2023

Baby Keem Drops ‘The Melodic Blue’ Visual on Prime Video, Featuring 3 Unreleased Tracks

Baby Keem unveiled The Melodic Blue visual to go along with his 2021 debut album Tuesday (Dec. 5) on Prime Video.

Directed by Savannah Setten, The Melodic Blue “takes you through Keem’s internal battle and leads you through fragments of memory and temptation as he navigates the depths of The Melodic Blue,” according to a press release. In addition to Baby Keem (real name Hykeem Carter) — who executive produced the visual alongside Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free — Amandla Stenberg, Shakira Ja’nai Paye, Francis Lovehall and Séréna Sy also star in the 20-minute visual. And to close out The Melodic Blue chapter, he presents three previously unreleased songs: “Rock Me,” “Torch” and “White Laces,” which features James Blake. At press time, the songs are not available on DSPs.

Baby Keem's 'The Melodic Blue'

Courtesy Photo

The Melodic Blue (the album) was released on Sept. 10, 2021, via pgLang and Columbia Records. The set debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and its hit single “Family Ties” (alongside his cousin Lamar) won a Grammy for best rap performance at the 2022 awards show. He later dropped its deluxe version, which featured PinkPantheress and Lil Uzi Vert as additional collaborators. But Keem first debuted the trailer for The Melodic Blue (the visual) at Camp Flog Gnaw this year, where he and Lamar headlined night one as The Hillbillies, the Grammy-nominated duo, as its eponymous single earned a best rap performance nod ahead of the 2024 Grammy Awards.

The Melodic Blue was written by pgLang and produced by Jamie Rabineau and Cornell Brown.

Watch The Melodic Blue here.

05 Dec 2023

Nicky Jam Opens Up About Losing 110 Pounds After Gastric Bypass Surgery: ‘I Feel Healthy’

Nicky Jam is sharing how transforming his health habits and making the decision to undergo gastric bypass surgery have positively impacted his life.

The reggaeton star told People this week that he decided to have the procedure — in which the stomach’s size is reduced and re-connected to the small intestine — six months ago. “The reality is I’ve been fighting with my weight my whole life because this is an industry where you have to be in shape, you have to do movies, you have to do videos,” he explained, adding that the surgery was “something he really wanted,” especially after seeing a friend’s successful results.

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Since then, the 42-year-old singer revealed that he lost 110 pounds, which was also facilitated by having an active lifestyle. “Basketball, that’s what helped me. I play basketball every single day,” he shared. “I’m a big fan of basketball, and that’s what I do with my buddies, everywhere I travel. We have an indoor court here. We play every day, and every time we play basketball, I think I lose two pounds!”

Jam also changed up his diet to help maintain his weight. “I used to wake up and I just wanted to eat,” he recalls. “Now I take my time and I eat whenever I want. I feel better. I feel happy. I feel healthy. Two days ago, I did blood work, and I came out better than ever.”

However, the singer revealed that the process hasn’t always been easy. “You have to prepare yourself mentally for what’s coming, and it’s not easy. People say this is the easy way — they’re wrong,” Jam says of undergoing gastric bypass surgery. “Here, you’re obligated to not eat. You can’t even drink liquids and eat at the same time. Because your stomach is so small, you’ll get full [so quickly]. So it’s like you got to learn how to eat, wait 20 minutes, and then you drink some liquid.”

05 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift Praised by Hayley Williams, Tim McGraw & More Stars: ‘She’s Just Getting Started’

Taylor Swift is this year’s “most intriguing person” according to People, and stars such as Hayley Williams, Tim McGraw and Sabrina Carpenter are here to tell you why.

According to the publication, Swift earns this year’s honors for her “record-shattering” Eras Tour, Taylor’s Version rerecords and public intrigue-generating relationships with both her famous friend group (Selena Gomez, Sophie Turner, Gigi Hadid and others) and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. But for Carpenter, a pal of the “Anti-Hero” singer and one of several Eras openers, the secret to Swift’s magic is her ability to connect with fans — although her cookie-making skills don’t hurt either.

“She’s able to connect with every single person in the crowd, like she’s singing to them personally,” the “Nonsense” singer told the publication. “And offstage she is still a superstar, but she’s a superstar who’s really good at baking.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time with her, and I’ve never seen anyone wait on her,” Aaron Dessner, a frequent collaborator of Swift’s, added. “When I have stayed at her house, Taylor herself was cooking everyone breakfast and dinner. She’s legitimately just a very down to earth and hard-working person.”

One of Swift’s former country music peers — and the namesake of her 2006 debut single — Tim McGraw also gave his thoughts on Swift’s character. “She knows when, where, how to promote [her work], but she also knows when, where, how to be normal and be a human just living her life,” he said.

Unsurprisingly, the 12-time Grammy winner is cropping up on quite a few year-end lists. Not only was she named the top artist of 2023 by both Spotify and Apple Music, but she was also recently declared Forbes‘ fifth most powerful woman in the world. The latter publication estimated that she’s ending the year with a net worth of $1.1 billion, comprised of $500 million from royalties and touring, $500 million from her music catalog and some $125 million in real estate.

Swift also scored two new No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 this year — “Is It Over Now?” and “Cruel Summer,” which reached its peak four years after its release — and topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks. And, her Eras Tour film became the highest grossing concert movie of all time — but even with all of that in mind, Hayley Williams thinks it’s only the beginning for the superstar.

“I’m almost afraid to say it,” the Paramore frontwoman told the magazine, “but I kind of think she’s just getting started.”

05 Dec 2023

Jean-Michel Jarre to Perform From Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors on Christmas

Jean Michel-Jarre will have a tres merry Christmas and also offer some joy to the world, with the French electronic pioneer set to perform from Versailles on Dec. 25.

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Presented by UNESCO and the French Ministry of Culture, the performance will happen from the Château de Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors, a UNESCO world heritage site, to celebrate the location’s 400th anniversary.

Called VERSAILLES 400, the show will happen in front of a live performance in the Hall of Mirrors, and also in virtual reality. Jarre will play while wearing a mixed reality headset, with the metaverse version of the show happening in a digital Hall of Mirrors. The virtual audience can connect through VR or on tablets and smartphones.

The show is designed as a tribute to French innovation that brings together current artforms and the art of the 17th century. Tickets for the live performance at Versailles start at 60€, or $65.

The show will be filmed at the Château de Versailles and broadcast on French and international television channels, along with Jarre’s YouTube channel and in VR on the French VRROOM platform, all on Dec. 25, Christmas Day.

“Versailles 400 is a hybrid concert and visual creation broadcast live from one of the world’s most beautiful locations, as well as in virtual reality in the metaverse,” Jarre said in a press release. “I hope the event will help promote our creative savoir faire and bring the world of French immersive creation to the forefront of collective culture.”

The 75-year-old genre legend is not a stranger to playing in exotic locations. In 1981, he was the first Western musician to perform in China, landmark shows captured for the double album The Concerts In China. He was invited again, which he accepted in 2004, whereupon he played the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, concerts which beamed live on national television. Other shows have incorporated skyscrapers and city landmarks.

In 2020, President Emmanuel Macron awarded him the Commander of the Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest order of merit. Earlier, he released the album Amazonia, a musical tribute to the Amazon rain forest, its inhabitants and the threats they face, and the companion to an exhibition by legendary photographer Sebastião Salgado. Jarre’s most recent album, Oxymore, was released in 2022.

05 Dec 2023

Bunnie XO Drops a NSFW Christmas Rap Video & Jelly Roll Approves: Watch ’12 Days of Rizzmas’

Bunnie XO is giving fans an early Christmas present with “12 Days of Rizzmas,” her new NSFW rap song and music video that got an early endorsement from her country star husband, Jelly Roll.

In the video released Sunday (Dec. 3), Bunnie welcomes a classroom of students to “Bad B—h 101,” where she teaches lessons such as “Chin up, dukes up” and “Dry your tears with cash.” Showing off her famous sleeve of tattoos in a form-fitting red dress, the model raps over a heavy bass beat: “On the first day of Christmas I was ballin’/ Had every sugar daddy with a sweet tooth callin.’”

“They wake up in the mornin’/ Thinkin’ bout me, Morgan Wallen,” she continues, referencing a song by the “Last Night” singer. “Wanna spend what’s in their wallet … I just get it how I’m living with my true love.”

The holiday track preaches female empowerment (“need no man’s help” and teaching that “you can’t depend on no man”), but also gets a bit NSFW, when Bunnie raps about her “kitty” and “muffin.”

In an interview with Music Mayhem, the Dumb Blonde podcast host shared that Jelly Roll “couldn’t believe it” when she showed him the music video. “He was like, ‘Baby, this is so good,’” she added. “I don’t let him in my creative process or even tell him what I’m doing until it’s done. I never ask for his help in any of these songs because it challenges me more to try to make it so dope that he’s wowed.”

Bunnie and Jelly first met in 2015 after the YouTuber saw one of the “Son of a Sinner” singer’s performances at Sin City’s Country Saloon in Las Vegas, and the two got married in 2016. Earlier this year, they returned to Vegas to renew their wedding vows.

Check out Bunnie XO’s “12 Days of Rizzmas” below:

05 Dec 2023

‘The Voice’ Singer Nini Iris Stuns With Dramatic Cover of The Cure’s ‘Lovesong’

It’s hard, if not impossible, to out-goth Robert Smith. But on Monday night (Dec. 4), Team Niall’s Nini Iris did her level best to bring all the spooky vibes to her cover of The Cure’s 1989 mope rock ballad “Lovesong” on The Voice.

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The 27-year-old Tbilsi, Georgia native who made it to the live shows on the Georgian version of The Voice in 2012 and then moved to New York in 2016 — where she went from being a cabaret singer to a professional wedding singer — has been on a serious roll since the beginning of the playoff rounds last month.

But on Monday night she kicked it to a new high with her moving, emotive Cure cover. Accompanied by a string quartet and pianist, Iris stood atop a square platform midstage wearing a midnight black dress, long lace gloves and a matching choker and belted out the song’s keening lyrics over the moody arrangement.

Adding a bit of Adele-like soul to the darkly bouncy song from the Cure’s Disintegration album — which became the band’s highest-charting U.S. single when it hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in Oct. 1989 — Iris climbed into her sky-high register to sing the track’s’s haunting refrain: “Whenever I’m alone with you/ You make me feel like I am home again.”

As the music swelled and Iris’ voice took on a gritty growl, she became more animated and held the final “I will always love you” for an extra beat as mentor Horan closed his eyes and watched with pride. “And the Grammy goes to” he joked, dubbing the performance “absolutely spectacular.”

The stunning performance came on the same night that season-long frontrunner Ruby Leigh, 16, posted yet another impressive performance for Team Reba when she sang McEntire’s 1980 single, “You Lie.” With the season 24 grand finale just two weeks away, the competition got real on Monday night when the top 12 semifinalists finally competed for America’s votes.

Other impressive performances from the episode included Team Reba’s Jacquie Roar’s roaring version of Lainey Wilson’s “Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” Team Gwen Stefani’s Kara Tenae doing an elegant cover of Keyshia Cole’s “Love” and Team John Legend singer Lila Forde’s mellow ramble through the Barbie soundtrack Indigo Girls folk rock classic “Closer to Fine.” The show also featured spots from Team Gwen’s Tanner Massey and BIAS, Team Niall’s Huntley and Mara Justine, Team Legend’s Azán and Mac Royals and Team Reba’s Jordan Ranier.

Watch Nini Irish sing “Lovesong” on The Voice below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=SuJRI8rJBGI&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

05 Dec 2023

Taylor Swift Continues Atop Artist 100 Chart, Mariah Carey Returns to Top 10

Taylor Swift spends a record-extending 88th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Dec. 9), thanks to 10 albums on the Billboard 200 – including a landmark five in the top 10 – as well as six songs on the Billboard Hot 100.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) leads Swift’s titles on the Billboard 200, returning to No. 1 with 141,000 equivalent album units earned Nov. 24-30, according to Luminate. Her other albums in the top 10 are Midnights (No. 3), Folklore (No. 5), Lover (No. 6) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (No. 10), as Swift becomes the first living artist to place five albums in the top 10 simultaneously (since the survey combined stereo and mono releases in 1963).

Here’s a recap of Swift’s 10 current Billboard 200-charting albums:

  • No. 1, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 3, Midnights
  • No. 5, Folklore
  • No. 6, Lover
  • No. 10, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 19, Red (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 27, Reputation
  • No. 34, Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
  • No. 36, Evermore
  • No. 76, 1989

On the Hot 100, Swift charts six songs, led by “Cruel Summer” at No. 7, following four weeks on top. Next up, all from 1989 (Taylor’s Version): “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” (No. 21, after spending one week at No. 1); “You’re Losing Me (From the Vault)” (a debut at No. 46); “Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” (No. 74); “Slut! (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” (No. 98); and “Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” (No. 100).

Rounding out the top five of the Artist 100, Morgan Wallen climbs 4-2, Drake drops 2-3, Olivia Rodrigo rises 7-4 and Zach Bryan bumps 6-5.

Mariah Carey surges from No. 20 to No. 10 on the Artist 100, returning to the top 10 for the first time since last holiday season, thanks to the latest gains for her holiday catalog, led by “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The 1994 classic rises 4-2 on the Hot 100, having spent 12 total weeks at No. 1 between 2019 and last year’s holidays.

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

05 Dec 2023

Cardi B’s Cryptic Posts Spark Offset Breakup Rumors: ‘I Gotta Put Myself First’

Rap’s biggest couple may be in trouble again. Fans are speculating that Cardi B and Offset are splitting up after the “WAP” artist shared some cryptic posts about outgrowing relationships, with some noticing that the pair seem to have unfollowed one another on Instagram.

On Monday (Dec. 4) via Instagram Stories, Cardi posted two written messages typed over a blank black background. “You know when you just out grow relationships,” read the first, followed by, “I’m tired of protecting peoples feelings…I GOTTA PUT MYSELF FIRST!”

The posts that followed were business as usual, with the Grammy winner showing followers her Chick-fil-A order. But that hasn’t stopped fans from thinking that something is awry in the Cardi-Offset household. “Ooh they over,” tweeted one X user. Added another, “If offset fumbled Cardi B that’s gonna be worse than that world cup miss that woman been nothing but loyal to that man.”

While the “Up” rapper and Migos star — who’ve been married since 2017 and share two kids together — do not appear to be following each other on Instagram at press time, they are still following each other on X.

Billboard has reached out to Cardi B’s and Offset’s reps for comment.

Cardi and Offset have had a tumultuous relationship, announcing their split several times over the years, and even coming close to ending their marriage in 2020. (Cardi filed for divorce that September, but it was later dismissed by a judge.) Offset has also previously opened up about being unfaithful to his wife and how he regained her trust.

The latest breakup rumors come about five months after the couple made headlines for a social media spat in June, which started with Offset seemingly implying that Cardi had cheated on him — an accusation she quickly shut down. The next month, they teamed up for a joint song titled “Jealousy” and appeared alongside their daughter Kulture and son Wave in the track’s music video.

See what fans are saying about the Cardi and Offset breakup rumors below:

05 Dec 2023

The Weeknd to Headline New Fortnite Music Experience ‘The Weeknd x Fortnite Festival’: Watch Trailer

The Weeknd stars in a new trailer for Festival, a game from Rock Band studio Harmonix in which the singer — who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye — is the headliner in a music-experience slated to launch inside Fortnite on Saturday (Dec. 9).

Like Harmonix’s most beloved games, Festival lets fans tap notes along to the song playing in the game as they watch the Weeknd rock the stage, with users able to either jam with the band or take a solo.

The 44-second trailer opens with the sound of thumping dance club bass swirling around a hooded figure who reaches out his hand into the light, which transports him to an actual club. The mysterious figure — wearing a shiny Dr. Doom-style metal mask — slowly makes his way to the stage as a punk-haired audience member tosses a microphone into the air. The high-energy clip ends with the digital image of Tesfaye, who wears different skins while dancing on stage to his Dawn FM song “Take My Breath,” as he’s backed by a futuristic band.

According to Hypebeast, leaks of the game promise that The Weeknd x Fortnite Festival will feature a new microphone design, two new bass designs, three songs, a keytar design and a Weeknd skin available through a Festival Pass.

The Weeknd is the latest artist to team up with Fortnite for a music event, following on the heels of virtual concerts by the likes of Eminem, Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Marshmello and Kid Cudi. In April, Coachella also teamed up with Fortnite for a game called Coachella Island, which featured a virtual world inside the Fortnite universe with mini-games, Coachella-themed merch, art installations and virtual versions of some of the beloved festival’s iconic ferris wheel and trippy Spectra building.

Fortnite Festival is the first specifically music-focused mode in the game that has been downloaded more than 129 million times on the App Store and Google Play.

Check out the Weekend x Fortnite Festival trailer below.