Music News

Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav Sang the National Anthem Before Hawks-Bucks Game and Nailed It

Flavor Flav is known for a lot of things: wearing that giant clock for the past 38 years, serving as Public Enemy rapper Chuck D’s colorful on-stage foil and an unencumbered enthusiasm that helped propel the group into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

But on Sunday (Oct. 29), the Milwaukee Bucks gave Flav a job he said was on his all-time bucket list: performing the National Anthem before the home team’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. “The anthem was a long time bucket list item,,, that was fun!,” Flav wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “I can’t live my life worried about what people might say about me. I won’t let that stop me from trying new things and doing things I wanna do. Some people might not like that. But a sure failure is if you stop trying.”

Wearing a green No. 59 jersey (in honor of the year he was born), sideways white baseball hat, white shades and, of course, his signature big clock, Flav, 64, came out of the gate a bit shaky, but soon overcame his nerves and crooned the notoriously difficult-to-sing anthem in his own inimitable fashion. He wasn’t always near pitch, but Flav stretched out some notes in his nasal croon to the delight of the home crowd and smiling players. And by the time he hit the “home of the brave” line — which he repeated three times — the arena burst out into loud cheers for a job well done.

Check out Flav’s statement and his “Star-Spangled” performance below.

Adele Stopped Her Vegas Show When She Spotted Her OB-GYN In The Crowd: ‘That Man Delivered My Baby!’

Adele has had a number of special guests come through her Las Vegas residency show, but over the weekend someone stopped by who literally stopped the singer in her tracks. In fan-shot video of the moment during Saturday night’s show, Adele was crooning her hit 2015 single “When We Were Young” while wearing her Morticia Addams Halloween costume when she spotted a very, very special VIP in the crowd.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Adele was walking through the audience when she spotted a familiar face. “Shut up!” she said, breaking the smooth flow of the ballad as she ran over to give the man a hug. “Oh my God! Colin! This is my doctor that gave birth to my baby. I haven’t seen you for years,” she said while bursting into tears as the room broke out in “awwww”s.

Her band kept playing, but Adele gave up on continuing the song as she chatted with the MD, eventually returning to the performance and asking the audience, “Will you sing it for me? That man delivered my baby!” she said of the OB-GYN who delivered her son, Angelo, born in 2012 to the singer and her ex-husband, Simon Konecki.

Adele’s Las Vegas residency has been filled with memorable moments, from the time she stopped it to help a couple with their baby gender reveal to revealing her sciatica diagnosis and calling herself boyfriend Rich Paul’s “wife” at a show last month. She also took a moment on Saturday night to pay tribute to late Friends star Matthew Perry, who died earlier in the day at age 54 of undisclosed causes when he was found floating in his Los Angeles hot tub.

“It is always so shocking, especially someone that made you laugh and who brought so much joy to your life that you don’t know,” she told the crowd at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace. “This is what I find so strange, I never met him in my life. There is something, you feel so sad about it especially because you don’t necessarily know what was going on.”

Check out the video of the special moment below.

Charlie Puth Pays Tribute to Matthew Perry With ‘Friends’ Theme Song at Melbourne Show

Charlie Puth was among the many stars and super fans who paid tribute to beloved sitcom actor Matthew Perry over the weekend after the Friends star was found dead on Saturday at age 54 at his home in Los Angeles.

During his show at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday night, Puth got the audience to join him for a piano version of the Rembrandts’ iconic Friends theme song, “I’ll Be there For You.”

“I dedicate this song to another song, so if it makes you think of a person that’s who it’s dedicated to,” Puth told the crowd in fan video of the moment. Puth then began tinkling out the NBC show’s bouncy intro music as the audience joined him in singing the tune’s wistful lyrics, “So no one told you life was gonna be this way/ Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s DOA,” he began as his fans took over the “I’ll be there for you” chorus.

Puth then subtly transitioned into his 2015 smash hit single “See You Again” from the Furious 7 soundtrack, the Wiz Khalifa collab that served as a tribute to late Fast & Furious star Paul Walker; the song was both mens’ biggest hit to date, spending 12 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

A number of artists paid tribute to Perry over the weekend after the sitcom star was reportedly found dead in his hot tub; at press time no cause of death has been announced. Adele honored Perry during one of her Las Vegas residency shows this weekend, telling the crowd, “I’ll remember that character for the rest of my life,” Adele said of Perry’s Friends character Chandler Bing. “He’s probably the best comedic character of all time.”

Watch fan video of Puth’s Perry tribute below.

Fans Choose Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Taylor Swift‘s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Oct. 28) on Billboard, choosing the pop icon’s re-recorded album as their favorite new music release of the past week.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) coincidentally brought in 89% of the vote, beating out new music from Brent Faiyaz, David Guetta and more.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Swift, who’s reclaiming her music catalog, released the highly anticipated 2023 re-recording of her hit 1989 album, which originally arrived in 2014. Besides fresh versions of the original track list, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) features five new-to-fans “From the Vault” tracks: “Slut!,” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends” and “Is It Over Now?” See if you agree with Billboard‘s ranking of those new “From the Vault” songs here.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) sold over 250,000 copies in the U.S. on its first day of release, according to initial reports to data tracking firm Luminate. After just one day, the album had the third-largest sales week of 2023. Album sales will increase in the coming days; the current tracking week ends on Thursday, Nov. 2. 

Trailing behind 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on the poll is Brent Faiyaz’s new album Larger Than Life, with 5% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s new music poll below.

Taylor Swift Sends Diane Warren Flowers in Honor of ‘Say Don’t Go’: See Her Note

Taylor Swift sent a sweet note of appreciation to songwriter Diane Warren, who co-wrote the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) vault track “Say Don’t Go” with her.

“Diane, It was a dream come true to write with you. I hope you love ‘Say Don’t Go’ as much as I do!! Sending the biggest hug to you! Love, Taylor,” Swift penned. Warren shared a snapshot of the letter, and a glimpse at the flowers that came along with it, on Instagram Sunday (Oct. 29).

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“Just got this from @taylorswift. Not the cat, I already had that. If U want to know why she is the biggest artist on the planet, this kind of kind gesture is one more reason why,” wrote Warren.

“Say Don’t Go” was written at the end of 2013, and a demo with Swift playing acoustic guitar was recorded on New Year’s Day 2014, but the ballad didn’t make it onto the original track list of 2014’s original release of 1989.

After fans heard it for the first time thanks to its inclusion as one of five “From the Vault” tracks on Swift’s re-recorded 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Warren told Rolling Stone that the song has the same lyrics she remembers from their co-writing sessions nearly a decade ago. “It still stands,” she says. “It’s timeless.”

“Everything has its time, you know? It took a while to see the light of day, but I’m glad it finally did,” Warren said. “It was worth the wait.”

“She was very particular about how she said certain things,” she added, describing what it was like to co-write with Swift. “It was a really interesting experience. She gets her audience. She’s deeply aware of how her fans want to hear something. I can’t explain it, but that’s probably why she’s the biggest f—ing star in the world.”

Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) sold over 250,000 copies in the U.S. on just its first day of release, according to initial reports to data tracking firm Luminate. After just one day, the album had the third-largest sales week of 2023. Sales of the album will continue to increase in the coming days, with the current tracking week ending on Thursday, Nov. 2. 

See the flowers and note Swift sent Warren below. (And get a peek at Warren’s cute cat.)

Ed Sheeran Brings Out Brandon Flowers for Surprise ‘Mr. Brightside’ Performance: ‘My Country’s National Anthem’

The crowd at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium was in for a surprise Saturday night (Oct. 28). They paid to see Ed Sheeran‘s Mathematics Tour and got a bonus: an unannounced appearance by The KillersBrandon Flowers.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Sheeran and Flowers performed a Killers classic, “Mr. Brightside,” which was a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005.

Introducing The Killers frontman to the stage, Sheeran joked, “We’re gonna sing the song that is essentially like my country’s national anthem.”

Sheeran, who was dressed in a Chucky costume for Halloween weekend, played guitar on “Mr. Brightside” and harmonized on the chorus while Flowers led a massive crowd sing-along.

The two artists then sang together on Sheeran’s “Castle on the Hill,” with Flowers joining on the chorus and getting a turn on the second verse and the bridge. The concert was the last North American date on Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour, which picks back up in Japan on in January.

“Mr. Brightside,” a song that’s stood the test of time on the U.K. charts, appeared on the Las Vegas band’s debut album, Hot Fuss, which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 and featured additional singles “Somebody Told Me,” “All These Things That I’ve Done” and “Smile Like You Mean It.”

Watch Sheeran and Flowers’ performance of “Mr. Brightside” and “Castle on the Hill” below. Sheeran also popped in at Vegas nightclub performance by The Chainsmokers this weekend, treating the everyone to some unanticipated “Dancing Queen” karaoke. See a clip from The Chainsmokers’ Instagram.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=5NTn4i-F6RI&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

Boygenius Set as ‘SNL’ Musical Guest, Timothée Chalamet to Return as Host

Timothée Chalamet will host Saturday Night Live for a second time while the women of boygenius make their SNL debut as a group on Nov. 11.

Boygenius — the supergroup helmed by Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker — will appear as musical guest, just weeks after the release of new four-track EP The Rest. Bridgers previously served as musical guest for her solo work, in April 2021, and memorably destroyed her guitar on stage in Studio 8H.

Boygenius’ reaction to the SNL news Sunday (Oct. 29) on Instagram said a lot, with no words: “!!!”

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The group’s debut studio album, The Record, debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in April.

“We were told, if we were lucky, maybe we were going to break top 10. And then it was, actually, maybe we could break top five. And the fact that it’s [No. 4] is cool,” Dacus told Billboard, explaining that Bridgers was the one to tell them the news during band practice. “We celebrated by playing the songs.”

Chalamet is no stranger to SNL, having hosted the Dec. 12, 2020 episode. When he starred as host on the late-night sketch show, he played Harry Styles in a hilarious bit about the pop star being interviewed by Ego Nwodim’s Dionne Warwick.

The actor takes on the title role in the upcoming musical Wonka, which is scheduled to arrive Dec. 15.

See the latest SNL lineup announcement below.

Foo Fighters’ Dress as ‘Wizard of Oz’ Characters, Dave Grohl Makes Hilarious Cameos on ‘SNL’: Watch

Foo Fighters brought a little taste of Halloween to Studio 8H.

In a brief promo shot leading up to their first Saturday Night Live musical performance on Oct. 28, the Dave Grohl-led rock outfit dressed up as the main characters from the classic 1939 film.

The Foos also shared a brief video of their fantastic Wizard of Oz costumes on the band’s Instagram page, with Grohl as Dorothy Gale, Chris Shiflett as Tin Man, Nate Mendel as the Cowardly Lion, Pat Smear as the Wizard of Oz, Josh Freese as Scarecrow, and Rami Jaffee as Glinda.

“Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!” the band captioned the clip on Instagram.

During Nate Bargatze-hosted episode of SNL, the Foo Fighters opened with the hard rocking “Rescued,” followed by the emotional track “The Glass,” with help from H.E.R. on vocals and guitar. Both tracks are from the act’s 11th album, But Here We Are. Unfortunately, the group didn’t rock their Wizard of Oz costumes while on stage.

Grohl did, however, lend his comedy skills to a couple of sketches, appearing as a pretend doctor in a skit about a woman on the verge of giving birth while on a plane, and portraying a corn hole champ in a pre-recorded musical sketch featuring a country trio singing about their favorite “lake beach.”

See Foo Fighters’ Wizard of Oz costumes and watch Grohl’s SNL cameos in the videos below. Check out more celebs’ Halloween costumes from 2023 here.




https://youtube.com/watch?v=POwQHfpv6HE&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

Taylor Swift Shows Appreciation to ‘Precious Young Son’ Jack Antonoff in ‘Sweeter Than Fiction’ Post

Taylor Swift is honoring her longtime friend and musical collaborator Jack Antonoff.

On Sunday (Oct. 29), the pop superstar shared a heartwarming message on social media in appreciation of the Grammy-winning producer, whom she’s partnered with on numerous popular songs over the years, including 2013 track “Sweeter Than Fiction.”

“There you’ll stand ten feet tall, I will say ‘I knew it all along,’” Swift captioned photos on Instagram of herself embracing Antonoff. “This song has always made me think of my friend Jack. It was the first song we made together and watching him challenge himself and make beautiful art over the years has been the thrill of a lifetime. How can he be 6 years older than me and also somehow still be my precocious young son? We may never know.”

Swift concluded her post by alerting Swifties that “Sweeter Than Fiction (My Version)” is available exclusively at Target on Tangerine vinyl.

“Sweeter Than Fiction,” which was co-written with Antonoff, reached No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2013. The peppy rock-tinged song appeared on the soundtrack for British film One Chance.

Antonoff recently opened up about his journey with the superstar in a new interview with Today‘s Willie Geist.

“I could quantify our relationship in very reductive ways about the things we agree on, the sounds we like. But the truth is, we’ve just grown together. She put an amazing amount of belief in me. And it’s powerful,” he said.

Antonoff also shared his thoughts on working with Swift to Billboard. “When I work with Taylor, there’s still just this person who has these life experiences and this remarkable gift of writing about them,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is already off to a big start after its first day of release on Friday (Oct. 27). The singer’s fourth re-recorded album sold more than 250,000 copies in the U.S. on in the first 24 hours of release, according to initial reports to data tracking firm Luminate. Further news of initial sales, streaming and track-equivalent activity for the album will be reported in the coming days.

See Swift’s “Sweeter Than Fiction” post on Instagram below.

Blink-182 Reunion Album ‘One More Time’ Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200

Blink-182’s One More Time bows atop the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Nov. 4), securing the rock trio its third chart-topping set. The new full-length studio album begins with 125,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 26, according to Luminate, largely powered by traditional album sales.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

One More Time is Blink-182’s first album with the group’s longtime lineup of drummer Travis Barker, vocalist/bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge since DeLonge departed the group in 2015 for seven years, and the first studio effort from that trio since 2012’s Dogs Eating Dogs EP. (Barker, Hoppus and DeLonge comprised Blink-182 during the band’s mainstream breakthrough in 1999 through 2014.)

Blink-182 previously hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 2016’s California (with the lineup of Barker, Hoppus and guitarist/vocalist Matt Skiba) and 2001’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.

One More Time was led by a pair of No. 1s on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart: “Edging” (No. 1 for 13 consecutive weeks in 2022-23, the band’s longest run at No. 1 with any of its five leaders) and the title track (No. 1 for two weeks, thus far, including on the most recently published chart, dated Oct. 28). “Edging” marked the first No. 1 for Blink-182 on the Alternative Airplay chart since 2016’s “Bored to Death,” and One More Time is the first Blink-182 album to generate at least two No. 1s on the survey. Both “Edging” and “One More Time” also reached the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100, hitting Nos. 61 and 62, respectively – the band’s highest-charting Hot 100 entries since 2004’s “I Miss You” reached No. 42.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, The Rolling Stones extend their record for the most top 10-charting albums in the history of the list, as Hackney Diamonds debuts at No. 3, marking the group’s 38th top 10 effort. It’s the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s first studio album of all-original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Nov. 4, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (Oct. 31). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One More Time’s 125,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Oct. 26, album sales comprise 101,000 (making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 23,000 (equaling 30.19 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 1,000.

Sales of One More Time were bolstered by its availability across 11 vinyl variants (which combined to sell 49,000 copies — the largest sales week for a rock album on vinyl in 2023), a standard CD, a cassette, and a deluxe boxed set with a branded shirt and a CD contained inside. The trio also released a late-in-the-week deluxe digital edition of the album, exclusively sold on the band’s webstore beginning on Oct. 25, which boasts two new bonus songs.

Drake’s chart-topping For All the Dogs is a non-mover at No. 2 with 120,000 equivalent album units earned (down 27%). It also scores its first frame at No. 1 on the recently launched Top Streaming Albums chart.

The Rolling Stones’ new studio album Hackney Diamonds debuts at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 101,000 equivalent album units earned. It’s the band’s first effort of all-original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang, which debuted and peaked at No. 3. Hackney Diamonds marks the Stones’ 38th top 10-charting album, extending the group’s record for the most top 10 albums on the chart (since the list began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in 1956). Hackney Diamonds boasts special guests Lady Gaga, Elton John, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. The set was led by the singles “Angry” and “Sweet Sounds of Heaven” with Gaga. Both reached the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, while “Angry” has also reached the top 10 of the Adult Alternative Airplay tally.   

Of Hackney Diamonds’ first-week units, album sales comprise 94,000, SEA units comprise 6,000 (equaling 8.41 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs) and TEA units comprise 1,000. The album’s sales were enhanced by its availability across more than 30 vinyl variants (totaling 36,000 sold), two deluxe boxed sets (with either a branded shirt or a hat, plus a CD), a digipack CD, a CD/blu-ray box set and a standard CD and download album.

Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana falls 1-4 in its second week on the Billboard 200 with 97,000 equivalent album units earned (down 47%).

The rest of the top 10 on the new Billboard 200 consists of former No. 1s, as Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time climbs 6-5 (69,000; up less than 1%); Taylor Swift’s Midnights rises 9-6 (52,000; up 3%); Swift’s Lover ascends 8-7 (52,000; down less than 1%); Zach Bryan’s self-titled album falls 4-8 (just over 51,000; down 29%); Rod Wave’s Nostalgia dips 7-9 (51,000; down 4%); and Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts is a non-mover at No. 10 (45,000; down 9%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.