Music News

17 Oct 2023

Carla Bley, Prolific Jazz Pianist & Composer, Dead at 87

Carla Bley, leader of the free jazz movement, pianist and composer, has died following complications from brain cancer, according to The New York Times. She was 87 years old.

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The Oakland, Calif., native and five-time Grammy nominee was born Karen Borg, and changed her name to Carla in 1957. She married jazz pianist Paul Bley that same year, and kept his last name even after the couple divorced in 1967. Throughout their marriage, the couple toured together and Paul Bley’s 1964 album Barrage featured Carla’s compositions entirely. 

Throughout her career, Bley released albums as a bandleader and collaborator. She’s had three albums hit the top 20 on Billboard’s Jazz Albums chart, with Carla’s Christmas Carols (in collaboration with Andy Sheppard and The Partyka Brass Quintet) peaking at No. 16 in 2009, Andando El Tiempo (in collaboration with Sheppard and Steve Swallow) peaking at No. 14 in 2019 and Trios (with Sheppard and Swallow) peaking at No. 19 in 2013. Two of her solo albums, Heavy Heart and The Very Big Carla Bley Band, peaked at No. 27 and 25 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums chart, respectively.

She was also prominent in the jazz music business, as she was involved in organizing the Jazz Composers Guild in 1964. She also founded record labels JCOA Records and the ECM-distributed Watt. She worked with Michael Mantler — whom she was married to until 1991 — to open the nonprofit New Music Distribution Service, which expanded JCOA, ECM and other labels to larger audiences.

Bley released her final album, a collaborative project with Sheppard and Swallow titled Life Goes On, in 2020.

She was also decorated with awards throughout her life, receiving the 1972 Guggenheim Fellowship for music composition. In 2015, she received the NEA Jazz Masters Award.

17 Oct 2023

Sportscaster Al Michaels Is All About Taylor Swift’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ Cameo: ‘We Love It, Man’

NFL fans seem to have mixed feelings about all the coverage Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s relationship is getting across various sports broadcasts, but Thursday Night Football announcer Al Michaels is all for it.

“We love it, man,” Michaels told Jimmy Kimmel on Monday night, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Swift attended last week’s Thursday night game between Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos, once again making headlines for sharing a suite with Travis’ mother, Donna Kelce, and hugging Brittany Mahomes, wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“We had to be judicious,” Michaels told Kimmel about figuring out how best to address Swift’s presence on the Prime Video broadcast. “We had the game last Thursday night in Kansas City. We knew she’d be there. So how much do you show her? She’d been on twice, and football fans were going, ‘Enough.’ But we were praying she’d come into the booth and sing for us,” he said with a laugh.

Kimmel played a clip of Michaels fumbling his words while trying to describe Swift on the broadcast, as he settled on calling her Kelce’s “good buddy and girlfriend.”

“So is she his good buddy or his girlfriend, Al?” Kimmel said, ribbing the announcer. “You can’t be both!”

“You know, you’re doing a game like that, I know the Internet’s gonna blow up,” Michaels said. “Page Six is waiting for whatever I say. You know what I really wanted to say? ‘Fiancee.’ I didn’t because I figured Travis would beat me up at the end of the game. … Or [Swift] would have beat me up.”

In the end, Michaels and company wanted to make sure football came first in the broadcast. “It’s hard because people tune in to watch a football game,” he said. “I’m not doing Access Hollywood.”

Following Thursday’s game, Swift and Kelce confirmed their long-rumored relationship by attending the Saturday Night Live afterparty over the weekend hand-in-hand. (Find a full timeline of their relationship so far here.)

Watch Michaels’ Kimmel appearance below:

17 Oct 2023

Venesti Secures First No. 1 on a Billboard Chart With ‘Umaye’: ‘This Brings Me Great Happiness!’

After a top 10 finish for his prior release, Colombian artist Venesti captures his first No. 1 on any Billboard chart as his latest single “Umaye” climbs 9-1 to lead the Latin Airplay ranking (dated Oct. 21). The new champ follows the No. 10-peaking “Pura Maldad” on Latin Rhythm Airplay, his highest rank on any chart until now.

“This recognition brings me great happiness!” Venesti tells Billboard. “I feel like I still haven’t assimilated it, perhaps because it’s not common to see these achievements in new artists, but I also know that it’s a great beginning for what’s coming.”

“Umaye” was released May 25 via SDS/AP Global. It lands at No. 1 on Latin Airplay in its 11th week with 9.5 million audience impressions, up 36% from the week prior, earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 12, according to Luminate. The song unseats Maluma’s “Coco Loco” from the summit after one week in charge. The latter drops 4-1 with 8.6 million audience impressions, down 15%.

As mentioned, with “Umaye,” Venesti scores his first ruler on any Billboard list after a top 10 high through “Pura Maldad,” his last appearance on Latin Rhythm Airplay in June. There, the former also rises to No. 1, from No. 5, for a first leader.

Back on Latin Airplay, “Umaye” follows two top 30 entries, both less than a year old: “Necesidad” peaked at No. 22 in Dec. 2022, while “Pura Maldad” reached No. 28 on the June 3-dated survey.

“When I recorded [‘Umaye’], we knew it could generate something in people because of its lyric content and everything behind the word ‘Umaye’,” Venesti adds. “What no one knows is that the song was recorded in a living room of a house with a microphone in hand, and what a mic!”

17 Oct 2023

Cardi B Says WNBA Mascot ‘Put Me to Shame’ With ‘Bongos’ Challenge

Who would’ve thought that a WNBA mascot has some serious moves?

The New York Liberty’s beloved elephant mascot Ellie took TikTok by storm this week by performing the “Bongos” challenge set to the tune of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s latest collaboration. In the clip, the mascot is backed by two dancers as all three flawlessly execute the high-energy choreography from the song’s music video.

Eventually, Cardi herself caught wind of the viral clip and retweeted it, giving her stamp of approval by writing, “Put me to shame …I love it.”

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“Bongos” is Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s second collaboration following their record-breaking “WAP,” but Cardi previously revealed that the new collaboration is not meant to be a part two. “I wonder how people are gonna react to this vibe because they’re really, like, expecting ‘WAP,’ like, ‘oh, here they go again talking this and that,’” she told DJ Whoo Kid during his Whoo’s House podcast. “We are talking a little, you know, about some p—y, but not like ‘WAP’ type of stuff.”

The track peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In the tracking week of Sept. 8 – 14, “Bongos” launched with 16.8 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate, leading to a No. 3 entrance on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart and yields Cardi B’s 14th top five effort and Megan Thee Stallion’s seventh such hit on the list. The song also sold 20,000 downloads in the same period and debuts at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales list. 

17 Oct 2023

Junior H’s ‘$ad Boyz 4 Life II’ Makes Major Debut on Top Latin Albums

Junior H celebrates his highest debut on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart with the No. 2 launch of $ad Boyz 4 Life II on the list dated Oct. 21. His eighth studio album starts with 32,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 12, according to Luminate.

Among regional Mexican albums that debuted with a full seven days of tracking in its first charting week, 4 Life II logs one of the top three biggest weeks, by units, of 2023. It also posts the second-highest debut position among regional Mexican titles this year.

The only regional Mexican album to debut on the chart with a bigger unit total, and at a higher rank, in 2023 was Eslabon Armado’s Desvelado, which launched at No. 1 in May with 44,000 units (May 13-dated chart). Peso Pluma’s Génesis is in the mix as well, as it debuted on the chart dated July 1 at No. 35 from only one day of activity, and then soared to No. 1 the following week, after its first week of chart activity, earning 73,000 units (the biggest week ever, by units, for a regional Mexican album).

Of 4 Life II’s 17-track set’s first-week sum, 31,000 units derive from streaming, equaling 43.12 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs, while the remainder balance is a negligible sum from album sales and track-equivalent album units.

Fifth Top 10: 4 Life II gives Junior H his fifth top 10 on Top Latin Albums, with Atrapado En Un Sueño leading the pack. The corridos tumbados singer-songwriter’s first entry on the Latin albums ranking debuted at No. 5 in April 2020, and became his longest-charting effort, encompassing a 123-week run. Cruisin’ With Junior H followed (No. 10 high, Sept. 2020), $ad Boyz 4 Life (No. 5, Feb. 2021), and Mi Vida En Un Cigarro 2 (No. 4, Feb. 2022).

$ad Boyz 4 Life II, released Oct. 5, is Junior H’s sixth studio album via Rancho Humilde/Warner Latina (two earlier projects were released independently and via the Humilde family only). The set bests its predecessor $ad Boyz 4 Life, which debuted and peaked at No. 5 in 2021.

Second-Most Simultaneous Entries on Hot Latin Songs: As 4 Life II arrives, it sparks nine debuts on Hot Latin Songs. With those new recruits plus two other collabs, Junior H places 12 concurrent songs on the multi-metric tally -which blends airplay, streaming and digital data- the second-most after Peso Pluma, who has placed 12 or more throughout multiple charts in 2023.

Here’s a recap of all 12 of Junior H’s song on this week’s Hot Latin Songs chart:

Position, Title, Artists
No. 3, “Lady Gaga,” with Peso Pluma & Gabito Ballesteros
No. 12, “Lloro” (debut)
No. 14, “Bipolar,” with Peso Pluma & Jasiel Nuñez
No. 19, “$ad Boyz II” (debut)
No. 26, “Rockstar” (debut)
No. 31, “La Cherry” (debut)
No. 36, “La Serpiente” (debut)
No. 40, “Las Noches” (debut)
No. 43, “Tres Botellas” (debut)
No. 45, “Miéntele” (debut)
No. 47, “Miles de Rosas” (debut)

Beyond its No. 2 debut on Top Latin Albums 4 Life II gives the Sad Boyz movement creator his highest charting title on the overall Billboard 200 among three entries, at No. 14. Plus, it likewise launches at No. 2 on Regional Mexican Albums.

17 Oct 2023

Liam Payne Banned From Driving for 6 Months in UK After Speeding Conviction

Liam Payne is not allowed to drive in England for the next six months, a ban that stems from a February speeding incident, BBC News reports.

The former One Direction member was hit with a speeding citation on Feb. 24 after driving 43 mph in a 30 mph zone. The 30-year-old was driving in a Ford Ranger pickup truck on the A40 Westway flyover in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, at the time of the incident.

Per BBC, the “Strip That Down” singer was fined £293 ($357 USD) and was additionally ordered to pay a surcharge of £117 ($142 USD) and £90 ($109 USD) in costs.

Billboard has reached out to Payne’s representatives for comment.

On Oct. 3, a spokesperson for the Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court confirmed to The Evening Standard that Payne had pleaded guilty to the offense ahead of his sentencing on Oct. 9.

Payne wrote a letter to the court apologizing for his actions and stated intent to pay the fines associated with his citation. “I did not realize the speed limit and apologize for speeding,” he wrote, later adding that he “will pay any fine imposed within 14 days.”

Payne’s driving ban comes less than two months after postponing his tour of South America in August due to a kidney infection. “It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you that we have no other choice but to postpone my upcoming tour of South America,” the singer wrote at the time. “Over the past week I’ve been in hospital with a serious kidney infection, it’s something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and doctors orders are that I now need to rest and recover.” Payne promised to reschedule the tour and refund tickets.

In Sept. 19, Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, confirmed that he was out of the hospital. “I just want to let everybody know that he’s doing so much better. He’s out of the hospital and he’s in good hands,” she shared via TikTok.

17 Oct 2023

Dutch Festival DGTL to Make Its U.S. Debut in December With New York City & L.A. Shows

Dutch dance festival DGTL will produce its first U.S. editions this December.

DGTL launches in the States with back-to-back days happening on opposite ends of the country. On Friday, Dec. 1, the festival will go down in New York City with a lineup that includes a live set from Danish trio WhoMadeWho, techno titan Ida Engberg, amapiano artist AMÉMÉ, German deep house producer Henrik Schwarz, Irish mainstay Mano Le Tough and South Korean producer Shubostar.

The next day, a similar version of this show will happen 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles, with DGTL’s Dec. 2 lineup also featuring WhoMadeWho, Mano Le Tough, Henrik Schwarz and Shubostar, along with French duo Parallelle.

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Venues for these events have not yet been announced.

Both shows will be put on in partnership with the longstanding New York City-based electronic producer Teksupport, with the Los Angeles show also produced in partnership with Stranger Than. Both companies have established themselves by producing dance events in non-traditional locations in their respective regions.

Originating in Amsterdam, DGTL has also done festivals in Barcelona, Madrid, Tel Aviv, Bengaluru, Mumbai, New Delhi, Santiago, São Paulo and Guadalajara.

Since its launch in The Netherlands in 2013, the festival has become known for its immersive, cutting-edge stage designs. It’s also a leader in sustainable live events, with initiatives including plant-based food options on site, extensive recycling programs and elimination of single-use plastics and residual waste.

DGTL Festival

Courtesy Photo

DGTL Festival

Courtesy Photo

17 Oct 2023

Green Day & Latto Join ‘Thursday Night Football’ Programming as Headliners for ‘Amazon Music Live’ Season 2

Amazon Music Live is continuing its Thursday Night Football programming throughout the fall, and Amazon Music revealed its upcoming string of star-studded headliners.

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Hosted by 2 Chainz, Amazon Music’s weekly livestreamed concert series after Thursday Night Football will feature Peso Pluma as the performer on Oct. 19 and Green Day on Oct. 26, before Latto headlines on Nov. 2.

“We created Amazon Music Live to bring sports and music fans together on Thursday nights for a brand-new, can’t-miss event celebrating new music after the biggest game of the week,” Ryan Redington, GM of Amazon Music, previously said in a press statement. “Available to fans around the world on Prime Video and Twitch, AML became a massive new stage for artists to share their culture-defining new music after Thursday Night Football, and this year we’re going even bigger.”

The latest season of Amazon Music Live has already featured A-list stars like Ed Sheeran, Lil Durk, Feid and more. The performances are broadcast live from Los Angeles and air on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch at 9 p.m. PST on Thursdays.

For even more content, fans can tune into the Amazon Music Live pre show hosted by journalist Gia Peppers, pop culture host Natasha Alexis Martinez and NBA personality Christian Crosby. The preshow broadcast features interviews, special guests, and other surprises, and will air on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch starting at 8 p.m. PST.

17 Oct 2023

Kourtney Kardashian Details Emergency Ultrasound That ‘Saved’ Her & Travis Barker’s Baby

Kourtney Kardashian is more than grateful for the ultrasound that saved the life of her and Travis Barker‘s forthcoming baby. The Kardashians star opened up about the ultrasound in a Tuesday (Oct. 17) interview with Vogue and said it “saved my baby’s life.”

In the interview, the Poosh founder revealed that her current pregnancy — which is classed as geriatric — has come with more restrictions than her previous ones, restrictions that are, in part, due to the urgent fetal surgery she underwent in September. At the time, Barker flew home from Blink-182’s tour that was scheduled to make stops in Ireland and Scotland “due to an urgent family matter,” the group said at the time.

“That experience opened my eyes to a whole new world of pregnancy that I didn’t know about in the past,” Kardashian recalled of the incident. “It was terrifying. After, I learned that insurance typically only covers two ultrasounds when you’re pregnant, I had no idea. I’ve always been lucky enough to do more than what insurance covers, and it’s one of those ultrasounds that saved my baby’s life.” 

Now, the reality star is trying to embrace joy in the remaining months of her pregnancy. “I’ve finally been able to let go of the fear and worry that everybody else put in us because of this pregnancy,” she said. “I’m ready to go in, have the baby, and have the experience we’re meant to have.” 

Kardashian — who is pregnant with a baby boy — is also mom to Mason, Penelope and Reign, whom she shared with ex-boyfriend Scott Disick; Barker is dad to Landon and Alabama and stepdad to Atiana, whom he shares with ex-wife Shanna Moakler.

17 Oct 2023

SEVENTEEN Continues ‘SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN’ Rollout With Album Highlight Medley: Listen

CARATs, there’s just five more days to go until SEVENTEEN releases its 11th mini album, SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN.

The K-pop group — which includes S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino — shared a highlight medley that contained each track from the album on Tuesday (Oct. 17), to further drum up anticipation for the project’s release.

Fans hoping for poppy tracks on the album are in luck, as several songs on SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN contain upbeat production. “SOS (Prod. Marshmello)” kicks off the highlight medley video, and sees the K-pop stars dabbling in Jersey club and rock music. Lead single “God of Music” contains funk-infused, bright melodies and instrumentation, fit for the album’s festival theme. “Diamond Days” and “Headliner” touches on the group’s relationship with their fans, while the performance unit shines on “Back 2 Back,” the hip-hop unit goes aggressive for “Monster,” and the vocal unit soothes with “Yawn.”

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Scheduled to arrive on Monday, Oct. 23, fans have their choice of three versions of SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN. The 5:26 AM version focuses on the excitement over the day dawning; 2:14 PM captures the festival at its peak; and the 10:23 PM version highlight’s the festival’s finale, complete with fireworks.

SEVENTEEN’s previous release, FML, arrived in April. The set marked the K-pop group’s its highest-charting release on the Billboard 200, finishing at No. 2 and spending a total of nine weeks mon the chart.

Listen to the highlight medley for SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN in the video above.