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18 Oct 2023

Cher Threatens to Leave the Country If Donald Trump is Re-Elected: ‘I Almost Got an Ulcer the Last time’

Cher has never been shy about her feelings about Donald Trump. The pop icon spent much of Trump’s one-and-done White House term calling out the now four-times indicted former reality TV star for his divisive policies and pronouncements, at one point dubbing DT “President Troll.”

But with Trump still holding a commanding lead over the large group of Republican rivals who are vying against him for the GOP’s nomination in next year’s presidential election — despite the Donald racking up 91 felony counts in four separate cases tied to alleged mishandling of classified documents, falsifying business records, obstructing justice and conspiring to overturn the 2020 election he lost — the “Believe” singer is already making contingency plans.

Speaking to England’s Guardian, Cher, 77, said she is horrified by the possibility that Trump, also 77, could potentially move back into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. if he wins re-election next year in a rematch with President Joe Biden. “I almost got an ulcer the last time,” she said of Trump’s tumultuous four-year term, which concluded with the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capital by Trump’s followers.

“If he get in, who knows?” Cher said. “This time I will leave [the country].” During the 2016 election, Cher threatened to “leave the planet” if then-political neophyte Trump was elected.

The singer who is gearing up to release her first-ever Christmas album, Christmas, also spoke to the Guardian about about the rise in anti-trans legislation. “It’s something like 500 bills they’re trying to pass,” the longtime ally of the LGBTQ community said about the raft of legislation being pushed by conservative lawmakers across the nation over the past year targeting trans people, drag queens and queer culture. “I was with two trans girls the other night – and of course my own child [Chaz is trans]. I was saying ‘We’ve got to stand together.’ I don’t know what their eventual plan is for trans people. I don’t put anything past them.”

The 13-track Christmas album — featuring guests Cyndi Lauper, Michael Bublé, Stevie Wonder and Tyga — is due out on Friday (Oct. 20).

18 Oct 2023

Blake Shelton’s Back to the Honky Tonk Tour Is Returning in 2024: Here Are the Dates

Blake Shelton‘s Back to the Honky Tonk Tour will return in 2024, when it launches in Feb. 22 at the GIANT Center in Hershey, Penn.

The 17-show trek will include stops in the United States and Canada, including shows at Moody Center in Austin, Texas; Little Caesars Arena in Detroit; and three shows in Canada, slated for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Edmonton, Alberta; and Calgary, Alberta, before wrapping March 29 in Wichita, Kan.

Joining Shelton on the 17-show trek in the United States and Canada are Dustin Lynch and Emily Ann Roberts. Lynch recently issued his latest album, Killed the Cowboy, and his current radio single, “Stars Like Confetti,” is currently in the top 10 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart. Roberts, known for her time competing on NBC’s The Voice, recently released the album Can’t Hide Country, which includes not only her song “Walkin’ Shoes,” but “Still Searching,” a collaboration with Vince Gill and Ricky Skaggs.

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The tour’s first run began earlier this year, and featured Carly Pearce and Jackson Dean as openers.

Tickets for all markets, with the exception of Glendale, Ariz., will be available through an exclusive fan presale launching Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. local time and running through Thursday, Oct. 26, at 10 p.m. local time. General onsale will begin Friday, Oct. 27, at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets for Glendale will be available via an exclusive fan presale beginning Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday, Nov. 2, at 10 p.m. local time. The general onsale for Glendale will start on Friday, Nov. 3, at 10 a.m. local time.

See the full lineup of dates for Shelton’s Back to the Honky Tonk Tour, presented by Kubota, below:

  • Feb. 22: Hershey, PA @ GIANT Center
  • Feb. 23: Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
  • Feb. 24: Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
  • Feb. 29: Lafayette, LA @ CAJUNDOME
  • March 1: Austin, TX @ Moody Center
  • March 2: Bossier City, LA @ Brookshire Grocery Arena
  • March 7: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, CAN @ SaskTel Centre
  • March 8: Edmonton, Alberta, CAN @ Rogers Place
  • March 9: Calgary, Alberta, CAN @ Scotiabank Saddledome
  • March 14: Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
  • March 15: Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
  • March 16: Portland, OR @ Moda Center
  • March 21: Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
  • March 22: Palm Springs, CA @ Acrisure Arena
  • March 23: Glendale, AZ @ Desert Diamond Arena
  • March 27: Moline, IL @ Vibrant Arena at The MARK
  • March 29: Wichita, KS @ INTRUST Bank Arena

18 Oct 2023

Watch Anitta Teach Self-Defense in New ‘Élite’ Season 7 Trailer

Netflix has released the trailer for the seventh season of Elite, and Brazilian star Anitta takes centerstage as fictional elite high school Las Encinas’ new self-defense teacher. The nearly two-minute clip showcases new drama brewing in the already tumultuous lives of the school’s students.

Anitta appears early on in the trailer, training her students. “One, two, if you know how to deal with it, the pain you are about to receive becomes your strength,” she declares sternly.

According to the press release, Élite’s new season — available Friday, Oct. 20 — will tackle mental health and “how most of us neglect it out of fear or ignorance.” The seventh season is created by Carlos Montero and Jaime Vaca, and stars Omar Ayuso, André Lamoglia, Valentina Zenere, Ana Bokesa, Álvaro de Juana, Ander Puig and Anitta, among others.

Anitta’s participation in season seven was announced earlier this year via a collaborative Instagram post between the “Envolver” singer and Élite Netflix. “A girl from Rio you may already know… is about to make an entrance at Las Encinas. @Anitta is joining the #Élite7 cast,” read the post. 

In September, Anitta performed “Used to Be” at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards along with “Funk Rave,” both of which are featured on her summer release, Funk Generation: A Favela Love Story. Now signed to Republic Records, she’s set to release her new song, “Mil Veces,” on Thursday (Oct. 19).

18 Oct 2023

Sasha Colby Hopes You ‘Feel the Power’ With Her New Single & Headlining Tour

Your favorite drag queen’s favorite drag queen is ready to give you all the affirmation you could hope for — all she asks is that you match her energy.

On Wednesday (Oct. 18), RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 winner Sasha Colby revealed the release date for her brand new single “Feel the Power.” Featuring producer Glovibes and vocalist Luciana and due out everywhere on Friday (Oct. 20), the house single sees Colby entering her club banger era as she celebrates her own impressive influence.

For fans who want to celebrate the new single with Colby live and in person, the drag icon also announced her upcoming headlining show, Sasha Colby: Stripped Tour, in partnership with Live Nation. Kicking off in February 2024, the 22-date tour will see America’s Next Drag Superstar giving fans live music, drag, dancing and much more.

But what exactly can fans expect to see on this tour? Below, Billboard chats with Colby about plotting out her first-ever headlining run, her debut single and how drag has taken over the mainstream:

Congratulations on the single This is huge. I’m so happy for you. How are you feeling with everything that’s literally just about to happen?

You know, it’s been non-stop, and it’s been amazing. To be able to do a lovely victory lap, as far as Drag Race goes, feels amazing. Like, my bucket list has slowly been checked off. And it hasn’t even been a whole year yet! So I’m really excited. 

Let’s start with the single — “Feel the Power” has these really great house vibes, and it’s so nice to hear you having this much fun. At what point did you know that you wanted to get into music?

Probably about 10 years into my drag career. I already knew, especially watching Drag Race happen for the past 15 seasons and not being on the show trying to figure out ways to to express my art and play bigger venues, more and more people want to come and see me be me instead of me performing other people’s material. That’s always been a big deal for me. Now, the opportunities are coming where I can actually do that. I’m really excited that this is all allowing me to create and find my own sound and experiment with amazing producers. So yeah, I wanted a feel-good party anthem. I wanted something that would help the Drag Race fans ease into what I wanted for my next chapter of me.

What was it about the house genre that immediately felt appealing for your music?

Well, I don’t know if anybody really knows this except for the people from Hawaii, but I used to be part of this group. I danced growing up — ballet, jazz, hip hop, all at a dance studio called Dance Company. After high school and transitioning, my good friend Ruby created this house music night every Sunday in Hawaii in the early 2000s. It was all of our friends having the space to go and dance to house songs; you’d have the B-boys there, people would be voguing, and I would get to be Queen Sasha.

So, I’ve always loved house music; I love a good chill house and I love a good disco house, but I knew I needed this first single to be a little more amp-y as a good way to show what I want. I even told Luciano and Glovibes when we were coming up with the song that I wanted to it to be “Satisfaction” mixed with Cascada; just all the things that I grew up on.

When you were getting started on this song, what artists did you find yourself looking towards as inspiration, either musically or professionally?

I genuinely don’t think there is a model for someone like myself. I think my model has been my drag persona, and how to extend that through music. For me, my power is when people are watching me live on stage; you can watch me on TV, but there’s something special that I think has a lot to do with my indigenous culture and my hula performance and my storytelling that comes through. A great way to show me live is to have music, so it all kind of coincides.

When I thought of the type of music I want to do, it was very much like “Blame It on the Edit.” That’s kind of where my pocket is, you know? I’m not a singer singer, but I have fun stories to tell and great musicality. I take pride in my performances, because a lot of people will hear a song that they would never hear before they saw me doing it. I like being able to open people’s perceptions.

How did Glovibes and Luciana get involved on “Feel the Power?”

My management team works pretty closely with both Glovibes and Luciana, and we actually met during DragCon! We really just hit it off from the jump, Luciana said, “I would love to do music with you.” They could both feel the energy and really wanted to create something with me. They allowed me to give my input on the song and explain my whole purpose for the song, because “Feel the Power” is my daily motto. Every time I hit the stage, every time I do something that is in the public’s view and for public use, I always want somebody to leave feeling empowered. That’s what the song is about — yes, I’ve got the power, but it is also attainable for everyone else. It’s not just that I got lucky. It’s all about that manifestation, that ascension, all the witchiness that I love.

You also have this headlining show, Sasha Colby: Stripped, that you’re going to be heading out on next year — what can fans expect to see from this show?

This was this is the first time that I got to create a world from scratch. Usually I’m entering another person’s world or another person’s show, so this is really exciting for me to allow people to see the inner workings of my brain and what I find exciting. So, I wanted to do this tour in a way that was devoid of a lot of the high tech, you know? Because really, I feel like I’m most effective when it’s just stripped down — it could be just a bare stage and me creating the world through my drag.

I love watching Sasha Velour do her Nightgowns show and getting to perform in that show, and one of my favorite things is how she stays on stage and watches the other performers. That’s such a special thing. So I wanted, in some way, to bring that essence. What we’re coming up with is actually that my quick change room will never leave the stage — it’s actually on part of the set. It will be opaque, then you’ll get a little silhouette and then it’s fully transparent, and you’ll get to see me and my best friend who is my makeup artist, my other friend who does my hair and my best friend from high school who’s styling me, all in one beautiful dance.

I really like that Nightgowns comparison, because Sasha Velour has really made an effort out of making that stage show such a bold piece of collaborative art.

Exactly, and it’s also just the respect of the person putting this on. Like this is my show. I’m gonna sit right over here and watch what y’all are doing on stage, because that cues the audience to be invested. Also I just really want to see the rest of the show [laughs].

The story for the most part is going to revolve around the past, present and future. So we’ll have things I loved when I was growing up, whether that’s pageants, old school Hollywood, or even my hula performance. And then to make more than a one-woman show, we’re going to do a past, present and future for different each city — so we’re going to have a legend from that city or that area, and then some up-and-coming drag performer guests. I just want to show people that if you like mother, then you’re gonna love what mother likes. You really don’t know the story of drag until you know the history, right? Once you know what what has happened, then you feel more invested.

It’s also worth pointing out that you’re doing this headlining tour in partnership with Live Nation, marking one of the first times they have signed on to promote a drag artist’s solo tour. What does that mean to you, as an artist, having the backing of a tour promoter as massive as Live Nation?

We both have a lot of faith in each other and we’re really excited because we’re kind of making this cool path. A lot of the touring drag shows that do really well are usually focused a little more on comedy, like Trixie [Mattel] or Bianca [del Rio]. They can hold a show on their own, but I think my strong suit is a little different from that. So we’re definitely trying new things.

To be honest, it all feels feels like the culmination of my 20 years of hard work. I’m excited to be able to feel appreciated as a performer, as a trans woman of color and as someone who’s been doing this for so long. To have my voice count and have them invest in me means a lot. This kind of a partnership allows people to be like, ‘Oh, look at what she’s doing’ in a way that they wouldn’t necessarily before.

It also speaks to the fact that we’ve definitely entered a new era of recognition for drag artists in mainstream culture, even when lawmakers around the world are actively trying to legislate against the artform.

Oh, absolutely — I always say that drag has always been a mirror to pop culture, but since Drag Race and RuPaul and the platforming we’ve seen, now we are the tastemakers. We are pop culture instead of just mirroring it, which is so cool. We’re mingling with the same people that are making our clothes and are making clothes for pop stars. Who could have thought in 2023 that this would ever happen?

Tickets for Sasha Colby: Stripped Tour go on-sale Friday, Oct. 20 at 9 a.m. ET on Sasha Colby’s website. Check out the official dates for the tour below:

Feb. 29 — Bella Concert Hall, Calgary, Alberta

March 1 — Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, BC

March 7 — Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, Calif.

March 8 — The Van Buren, Phoenix, Ariz.

March 9 — Palace Theater, Los Angeles, Calif.

March 14 — House of Blues, Houston, Texas

March 16 — House of Blues, Dallas, Texas

March 17 — Emo’s, Austin, Texas

March 20 — The Wilbur, Boston, Mass.*

March 21 — The Fillmore, Philadelphia, Pa.

March 22 — Marathon Music Works, Nashville, Tenn.

March 23 — Buckhead Theater, Atlanta, Ga.

March 27 — Howard Theater, Washington, D.C.

March 28 — Town Hall, New York, N.Y.

March 29 — Theatre Beanfield, Montreal, Quebec

March 30 — Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, Ontario

April 4 — Saint Andrews Hall, Detroit, Mich.

April 6 — Thalia Hall, Chicago, Ill.*

April 7 — The Fillmore, Minneapolis, Minn.

April 12 — Revolution Hall, Portland, Ore.

April 13 — Neptune Theatre, Seattle, Wash.

April 19 — Hawaii Theatre, Honolulu, Hawaii

*Independent shows outside the Live Nation tour

18 Oct 2023

Eminem Thanked Fans For All Their 51st Birthday Wishes in Most Eminem Way Possible: ‘Suck It!!!!!’

Surely you weren’t expecting Eminem to get all soft and sentimental on his 51st birthday? Marshall Mathers, born on Oct. 17, 1972, celebrated his half century plus one with a classic Slim Shady-ish post on Tuesday in which he posed in a black t-shirt and matching pants in front of a black background with a pointy birthday hat and a celebratory scowl.

“Thanks 2 everyone for all the bday wishes!!!,” he wrote, adding “suck it!!!!!”

While the Detroit legend didn’t get all mushy on his born day, his longtime pal 50 Cent did, posting a series of classic pics of the dynamic duo through the years — on stage, back stage and at 50’s 2020 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony — along with the message, “Happy Birthday to the living legend @eminem love you to death man, God bless wishing you many more.”

Last month, 50 brought Em out in Detroit as a surprise guest on his Final Lap tour, teasing fans with his verse from 2003’s “Patiently Waiting” before Marshall hopped on stage, hoodie on, of course, to drop his classic lines to the hometown crowd’s delight. The two then amped things up even further by performing their Grammy-winning 2009 hit “Crack a Bottle,” though the third leg of their titanic triumvirate, Dr. Dre was, unfortunately, did not join them.

“Detroit, make some noise for one of the best friends I’ve ever known: 50 Cent!” Eminem said. “Make some noise for hip-hop’s 50th birthday, y’all — it’s still hip-hop’s 50th birthday. Detroit, I love y’all!”

Check out Em and 50’s bday posts below.

18 Oct 2023

Charli XCX Says Seeing Avalanche of Hateful Comments Aimed at Sam Smith Has Been ‘Really Disheartening’

As she gears up to release a joint single with Sam Smith, Charli XCX is opening up about the dark underbelly of hate that she has witnessed online aimed at her after announcing an upcoming joint single, “In the City,” with her longtime friend and collaborator. In a confessional TikTok, the “Speed Drive” singer praised Smith’s ability to rise above the rude and hurtful comments hurled their way by online haters.

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“Hi everyone. I’m about to release a song with Sam Smith, and the experience has been really interesting,” Charli said in street-shot selfie video in which she is wearing a robe and clips in her hair on what looks like a video set. “Never in my life have I seen someone receive so many hateful comments online. It’s been really disheartening.”

While Charli did not point to any specific comments or posts, she gave Smith props for not letting the bile get to them. “At the same time, I am so proud of Sam’s ability to withstand that because I know I certainly couldn’t withstand it. So, I want to say: Sam, I love you, I love our song together, and I am in awe of your strength,” she said.

After a tease last week, over the weekend, Smith and XCX announced that “In the City” will drop on Thursday (Oct. 19). The first taste of the song included a street-side lip-synch video in which Smith strutted down an alley in Osaka, Japan singing over a dance-pop track. “I knew the night that I met you/ Underneath the New York City lights,” they sang. “Baby, don’t matter what I do/ There’s an angel standing by my side.”

Days before, Charli teased a very similar-sounding track with the same side-eye and skyline emoji.

Watch Charli’s TikTok below.

18 Oct 2023

Natalie Grant Earns Her Third No. 1 on Top Christian Albums With ‘Seasons’

Natalie Grant debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums survey dated Oct. 21 with Seasons. Released on Oct. 6, the set earned 6,000 equivalent album units, with 5,000 in album sales, in the week ending Oct. 12, according to Luminate.

Seasons marks the ninth chart entry for Grant, who hails from Seattle, and her third No. 1 among seven top 10s.

“You Will Be Found,” with Cory Asbury, was the first single from the new set, presenting the pair’s spin on the song from the musical Dear Evan Hansen. Seasons also contains a new version of “Shackles (Praise You),” with Mary Mary, the gospel duo’s signature song that reached No. 28 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 in 2000.

Among other collaborations on the LP, Dolly Parton duets on an update of Whitney Houston’s “Step by Step” (written by Annie Lennox) and Tasha Cobbs Leonard joins Grant on “Bridge Over Troubled Water”; the original by Simon & Garfunkel ruled the Hot 100 for six frames in 1970.

“I’m just so grateful to continue doing what I love, and that people continue loving what I do,” Grant tells Billboard. “It’s all just such a gift. And to hear how these reimagined versions of classic songs are so deeply affecting people was the purpose behind this record in the first place. So, I feel very fulfilled today.”

Seasons follows Grant’s No Stranger, which debuted at its No. 2 Top Christian Albums high in October 2020 (with 33,000 first-week units, her best one-week total).

Seasons marks Grant’s first No. 1 since Be One opened in the penthouse in December 2015. She first led with Hurricane, which entered on top in November 2013. She posted her first entry in 2003 when Deeper Life started at its No. 25 high. Awaken followed in 2005, debuting at No. 12 before hitting No. 3, awarding Grant her first top 10.

“You Will Be Found” reached No. 6 on Christian Airplay in August, becoming Grant’s 11th top 10, and Asbury’s fourth. On the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs ranking, it hit No. 10, marking their ninth and fourth trips to the top 10, respectively.

The ballad also holds at its No. 14 high on the secular Adult Contemporary chart, having become Grant’s first entry since 2006.

18 Oct 2023

Sabrina Carpenter Strips Taylor Swift’s ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ All the Way Down For Spotify Singles

Sabrina Carpenter is about to get another front-row seat on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour. The Emails I Can’t Send singer is gearing up to re-join Swift on the Latin American leg of the record-breaking outing, so as a kind of warm-up she recorded a super stripped-down version of Taylor’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” for Spotify Singles.

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The bouncy Max Martin and Shellback-produced song from Swift’s 2012 Red album gets stripped down to the studs in Carpenter’s hands, with the singer transforming the EDM lite original into a hushed acoustic ballad featuring her breathy vocals floating over pedal steel, subtle drums and atmospheric keyboards.

“And I heard you moved on/ From whispers on the street/ A new notch in your belt/ Is all I’ll ever be,” Carpenter sings achingly before wailing, “And now I see/ Now I see/ Now I see.” The Single batch also features a version of Carpenter’s “Feather,” which appeared on Emails I Can’t Send Fwd, the deluxe edition of her Emails album.

Carpenter will head south with Swift next month when the Eras Tour picks back up with three shows at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro. She will also be the opener when the tour jumps to Australia and Singapore in February and March.

Billboard spoke to Carpenter in August as she was hitting the road with her biggest musical inspiration, and the 24-year-old singer could not say enough about the dream honor. “That is one of my main inspirations ever since I was a little girl, and now to just be able to watch that show every night is going to be so special,” she said after making her Eras Tour debut in Mexico City, where she wowed the crowd with a cover of late Mexican-American superstar Selena Quintanilla’s 1995 hit “Dreaming of You.”

“It’s so funny, 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,” Carpenter added. “Watching her in and of itself is how you learn. I admire her work ethic and her talent and she’s just so amazing.”

Listen to Carpenter’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” below.

17 Oct 2023

INXS Reunite For Special Releases, Remember ‘Talented, Dynamic’ Michael Hutchence

INXS got the band back together this week, for a few hours at least, to celebrate the release of several, special new projects.

The surviving band members — Garry Gary Beers, Kirk Pengilly and brothers Andrew, Jon and Tim Farriss — gathered Tuesday (Oct. 17) at Sydney’s Intercontinental Hotel, towering over Sydney Harbour and all its famous landmarks, for a rare reunion — their first since 2017.

The chaps were relaxed and chatty as they flicked through old photos, wound back the years.

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Some of those memories are preserved in Calling All Nations, a new 400-plus “love letter” created by a global fanbase and the band. UMG’s Andrew Kronfeld and Live Nation’s Arthur Fogel contributed essays.

Until the project came together, the artists had “no idea how much it meant to so many individual fans. It wasn’t always about the show,” recounts Pengilly. Those tales include deeper, shared experiences of road trips “driving six hours to meet their friends to get ready to go to the gig. And then, you know, they might just somehow meet us backstage or have an interaction and a look from one of us on stage,” and “they feel a connection. Yeah, I found it really emotional.”

Bass player Beers, now based in California, relished the chance to meet his old bandmates on home soil. He offers a different glimpse at the life of a group on the rise, and their connection with fans. “Being broke and young back in the day, we used to take up offers to go to people’s houses and eat their food. So, you got to meet a lot of people. When you look back at the book, you remember that we did matter to people, not just musically, or for successes. People helped us along in many ways.”

A partnership of Petrol Records, UMe, uDiscover Music and This Day In Music Books, Calling All Nations is available via INXS.com in three configuration — the standard “First Edition” hardback book, a limited-edition “Deluxe” boxset, and an extremely limited-edition “Super Deluxe” box, hand-signed by the members of INXS.

Also on the release slate, All Juiced Up – Part 2, a collection of nine limited edition colored vinyl 12” records featuring remixes of classic INXS songs, including “Need You Tonight,” “Listen Like Thieves” and “New Sensation,” plus the 30th anniversary edition of Full Moon Dirty Hearts, for which Giles Martin has created an exclusive, immersive audio edition; it’s due out Nov. 2.

The last time the surviving band members were in a room together, prior to this week, was for the celebration of their 40th anniversary, in 2017, when they were honored for 50 million global record sales at the State Theatre masquerade party.

Formed in Western Australia in 1977, INXS scaled the highest mountain of popular music with six U.K. top 10 albums (including a No. 1 with Welcome To Wherever You Are from 1992) and five U.S. top 20 albums, a BRIT Award (in 1991 for best international group) and, in 2001, elevation into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

The band’s journey was tragically derailed by the 1997 death of lead singer Michael Hutchence, at the age of just 37, though INXS continued with replacement singers.

In Sydney, talk turned to Hutchence, and “seventh member” Chris Murphy, who died in 2021, aged 66. “Chris was hungry,” recounts Pengilly. “He just took no prisoners”.

The question every fan, or reporter, would ask INXS is on a return to live performances. A tour, perhaps, or a one-off show at an iconic venue. The answer isn’t a flat no.

Beers put his hand up (“I really miss playing with these guys”). Tim Farriss’ fretting hand, however, isn’t what it was following a grim injury to his left ring finger back in 2015. “We loved every bit of it,” notes Pengilly of the band’s journey. “But you know, we did it all.”

INXS called time on touring in 2012, with a gig where it all started – in Perth.

“To be fair to us is that,” comments Andrew Farriss, “as people losing someone as talented, dynamic a frontman as Michael, it became really in the forefront of our minds that, okay, we’ve created this legacy and we own it. And so we’ll decide when we want to play or not. That’s the important point, to not have it dictated to what we can and can’t do when we feel like it.”

The other side of the coin, “which is appealing to me,” he adds, “is who that singer could possibly be. There must be someone that we haven’t even thought of or discovered or found it. That could be an amazing thing to happen.”

In a surprise for the band members, Universal Music Australia president Sean Warner presented INXS with global awards for four billion streams, featuring a powerful Indigenous “full moon” design. A sixth award was forged for the late Hutchence.

17 Oct 2023

Troye Sivan Talks ‘Something to Give Each Other’ Album & How Janet Jackson ‘Changed the Trajectory of My Life’

The way pop singer/songwriter Troye Sivan describes his new album Something to Give Each Other, it’s really about “every sort of connection being beautiful in its own way, and of togetherness and community and joy.”

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen to Sivan’s interview, below), the musician and actor says that he wrote the just-released project “over a long period of time” and realized at one point that “the overarching themes of the last two-and-a-half-three years of my life are mostly really joyous themes.”

Sonically, Sivan says the only intent with the new album was that he knew he was very “drawn to warmth.” He says in the past, it’s “sort of been like this melancholy warmth, and this time I didn’t feel that way.”

“I talk a lot about Janet Jackson,” Sivan tells Pop Shop hosts Katie and Keith, “because she’s so important to me, but I saw her show at the Hollywood Bowl really early on in the process. And, to me, it took me right back to when was I was like, however old I was, I was probably like 7… hearing ‘Together Again’ for the first time. And that melody and those chords and the warmth that’s in that song literally changed the trajectory of my life. The trajectory of my life as a musician and as a songwriter, specifically. And that’s something that I was really really striving for [on the new album]. I wanted something warm.”

The album’s lead single “Rush” brought the warmth – and the heat! – when it was released in July. It reached the top 40 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and hit the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The “scorching” track was accompanied by an equally hot, dance-heavy music video, directed by Gordon von Steiner (who also “creative directed” the album) and lensed by cinematographer Stuart Winecoff (who also photographed Something’s album cover).

But the video didn’t necessarily come easy, Sivan says. “First things first, considering all of my references for a good pop star growing up, were those who made these mega mega mega videos where the budgets were very very different from what they are now. I had so many times, in so many meetings (where people said), like ‘music videos don’t matter, the music is dead,’ and I pushed and pushed and pushed and I’m so grateful that we go to make the music video of my dreams for ‘Rush’ … It went wider than I think anything ever has of mine before, and that’s really cool. I’m very grateful and thankful.”

“Rush” was followed by two more buzzy singles and videos, both from the von Steiner and Winecoff teaming: “Got Me Started” (which features Sivan and his co-stars dancing through Bangkok) and “One of Your Girls” (in which Sivan is seen through a whole new light, alongside his main co-star, musician and actor Ross Lynch).

With Something to Give Each Other now out for fans to listen to, will Sivan bring that special Something on tour soon? Though he doesn’t have a plan yet, he’s thinking about it – and he’s feeling the pressure. “I’m intimidated because … when this tour happens, I want it to be the tour of my life. I really do. And I want to give the big pop show that I think this album is asking for, and these visuals [his music videos] are asking for. And so it’s a big job. … So, I’m gonna take a second and regroup and then figure it out. For some reason, I really really really feel the pressure, I really do.”

Also on the new edition of the Pop Shop Podcast, we’ve got chart news how Drake pulls double-debut duty at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on Billboard Hot 100 songs chart thanks to For All the Dogs and “First Person Shooter,” featuring J. Cole, respectively. Plus, Keith details his experience being at opening night of Madonna’s The Celebration Tour in London on Oct. 14, while Katie recounts what it was like attending the red carpet premiere of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film on Oct. 12 in Los Angeles.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)