Music News

19 Sep 2023

Ariana Grande, Phoebe Bridgers & More Stars Sign Open Letter Against Book Bans

Ariana Grande, Guillermo del Toro, Phoebe Bridgers and Gabrielle Union are among nearly 200 entertainers who have signed an open letter calling on creatives in Hollywood and beyond to use their platform to challenge book bans, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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Idina Menzel, Ava Max, Natasha Lyonne, Judd Apatow, Zooey Deschanel, Mark Ruffalo, Padma Lakshmi, Billy Porter, Roxane Gay, Sandra Cisneros, Amanda Gorman, Margaret Cho, Sharon Stone and Ron Perlman are also among the list of signees on the letter launched by Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton published on advocacy organization MoveOn Political Action’s website.

The letter reads that the “restrictive behavior” of banning certain books in U.S. school districts “is not just antithetical to free speech and expression but has a chilling effect on the broader creative field. The government cannot and should not create any interference or dictate what people can produce, write, generate, read, listen to or consume.”

Book bans have become a hot political topic in recent years as various state and local governments seek to censor books that deal with marginalized identities and histories. “We cannot stress enough how these censorious efforts will not end with book bans,” the letter continues. “It’s only a matter of time before regressive, suppressive ideologues will shift their focus toward other forms of art and entertainment, to further their attacks and efforts to scapegoat marginalized communities, particularly BIPOC and LGBTQ+ folks.”

“We are calling on everyone to join us in raising their voices to uphold artistic freedom, embrace multicultural history and put a stop once and for all to book bans,” the message concludes.

See the full open letter, which you can also sign, here.

19 Sep 2023

Here’s Why Fans Think Taylor Swift & Nicki Minaj Are Teasing A Collaboration

As 1989 (Taylor’s Version) draws nearer, Taylor Swift is ramping up her teases and Easter eggs. On Tuesday (Sept. 19), Google launched a new pop-up animation in honor of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) — and based on some of the puzzles, fans think a Nicki Minaj collaboration could be imminent.

If you search “Taylor Swift” on the search engine, a new pop-up will offer one of 89 puzzles that fans are tasked with solving to “unlock Taylor’s vault.” Each puzzle asks the user to unscramble a word and then type it into the Google search bar to solve the exercise. Sharing the new feature on her Instagram page, Swift wrote, “You can tell me when the *search* is over… if the high was worth the pain ?,” a reference to “Blank Space,” one of three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles from the original 1989.

One puzzle’s answer, in particular, has captivated the attention of both Swifties and Barbz; “Sagittarius.” Not only is it the ninth astrological sign, but some fans are taking the answer asa hint for a collaboration between the two music powerhouses.

First, Swift and Minaj are both Sagittariuses given their Dec. 13 and Dec. 8 birthdays, respectively. At the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (Sept. 12), after accepting her third trophy from Minaj — who served as the night’s emcee — Swift said, “That’s my favorite Sagittarius over there,” eliciting a giant smile and an enthusiastically affirmative response from the “Last Time I Saw You” rapper. Minaj has been a devoted champion of her star sign for years, so this came as no surprise to her biggest fans.

Last month (Aug. 24), Minaj tweeted, “Fighting the urge to say Sagittarius tingz right now so bad,” when she quoted a tweeted commemorating her and Swift as the only female artists in Billboard chart history to place over 100 entries on the Hot 100. Earlier this year (Mar. 24), the “Super Freaky Girl” rapper tweeted, “Dear Barbz, it must be exhausting always rooting for the Anti-hero,” a reference to both her controversial public persona and Swift’s Hot 100-topping Midnights single.

A collaboration between Swift and Minaj would not be completely out of left field. Swift was an early champion of Minaj’s “Super Bass,” and the two performed a medley of their songs together (Minaj’s “Trini Dem Girls” and “The Night Is Still Young” and Swift’s “Bad Blood”) at the 2015 VMAs after ironing out an argument regarding that year’s nominees for video of the year.

See what the Swifties and Barbz are theorizing about a potential Taylor Swift-Nicki Minaj collaboration:

19 Sep 2023

Fun.’s ‘We Are Young (Feat. Janelle Monae)’ Joins Spotify’s Billion Streams Club

More than a decade following its release, Fun.‘s 2011 single “We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe)” has hit one billion streams on Spotify, the platform confirmed on Monday (Sept. 18).

“[Forever] We Are Young. @OurNameIsFun and @janellemonae’s youth anthem is the newest entry in the #BillionsClub canon,” the music streaming platform tweeted.

The achievement is the latest for the track. In August 2022, YouTube confirmed that the dramatic, slow-motion music video for “We Are Young” hit the one billion views mark on its platform.

“We Are Young” was released as the first single from Fun.’s sophomore studio album, Some Nights, on Sept. 20, 2011. The track made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 on Dec. 24 that year, and hit No. 1 o the following year on March 17-dated chart. The track spent a total of 42 weeks on the all-genre tally, with six weeks at the summit. “We Are Young” is Fun.’s only No. 1 hit on the Hot 100, though the group got fairly close with follow-up single “Some Nights” (No. 3, 56 weeks).

In addition to being Fun.’s signature and most well known track, the song earned Monáe her first chart entry on the Hot 100 chart. The track remains her only No. 1 track on the tally, as well as her only top 10 and top 40 hit.

Stream “We Are Young” below on Spotify:

19 Sep 2023

CRAVITY Crowns Hot Trending Songs Chart With ‘Ready or Not’

CRAVITY reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by X, for the first time, as “Ready or Not” tops the Sept. 23-dated list.

Billboard’s Hot Trending charts, powered by X (formerly known as Twitter), track global music-related trends and conversations in real-time across X, viewable over either the last 24 hours or past seven days. A weekly, 20-position version of the chart, covering activity from Friday through Thursday of each week, posts alongside Billboard’s other weekly charts on Billboard.com each Tuesday, with the latest tracking period running Sept. 8-14.

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“Ready or Not” was released alongside the rest of CRAVITY’s six-song EP SUN SEEKER on Sept. 11. The song’s music video, however, was teased on the StarshipTV YouTube account beginning Sept. 8.

SUN SEEKER is the K-pop group’s second EP in 2023, following Master: Piece, which premiered in March.

Multiple songs by MohBad follow, led by “Peace” at No. 2, following the Nigerian singer and rapper’s Sept. 12 death. The songs “Feel Good” and “Ask About Me” also appear in the top 10 at Nos. 5 and 8, respectively. A cause of death has not yet been released.

“Big Difference,” a track from Nicki Minaj’s upcoming album Pink Friday 2 that was premiered during the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 12, bows at No. 3, and Shakira’s 2002 hit “Objection (Tango)” (No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 that September) starts at No. 4 after it was featured in a medley of tunes she performed at the VMAs when she received the Video Vanguard Award.

Keep visiting Billboard.com for the constantly evolving Hot Trending Songs rankings, and check in each Tuesday for the latest weekly chart.

19 Sep 2023

Ice Spice Clowns Her Own ‘Really Nasty’ Scrambled Eggs After Fans Roast Her Cooking Attempt

This Barbie can’t cook! “Barbie World” rapper Ice Spice is no stranger to going viral, but she’s never taken over the internet because of her cooking — until now.

On Sunday (Sept. 17), Ice posted a now-deleted TikTok of her making some scrambled eggs, and things were rocky from the start. “Uh, I don’t know girl,” she said as she whisked together eggs, raw onion, tomatoes, spinach and a bit of water before scrambling them in an oiled pan. In all fairness, Ice did warn viewers that the eggs might be “really nasty because [she’s] not a cook and it’s [her] first time.”

Naturally, the Internet had to poke some fun at their “Princess Diana,” with one user calling noting that the dish “looks tragic,” according to Us Weekly.

Later that day, a user uploaded Ice’s TikTok to X (formerly Twitter) to the tune of 65.2 million views. “Ice Spice making breakfast and it looks… interesting,” captioned the user. “Well at least she’s eating her spinach ??.” The “In Ha Mood” rapper then quoted the posted, cheekily writing, “pls delete” alongside of slew of queasy emojis.

Ice Spice’s culinary struggles are particularly hilarious considering how connections to food have followed her throughout her young career. She had her breakout moment with a song called “Munch” — although that song is about eating something a bit different from food — and her most recent single bears the title “Deli.”

Of course, all of this pales in comparison to her new Ice Spice Munchkin Drink at Dunkin’, which launched on Sept. 13. The coffee drink — which includes blended up pumpkin spice munchkins — gifted the world a hilarious commercial starring Ice and Oscar-winning actor Ben Affleck. The official spot debuted during the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards (Sept. 12), where Ice was crowd best new artist. In the commercial, the two stars brainstorm the name and concept for the new drink. A hilarious new scene featuring a creepy Munchkin doll was released on Sept. 14.

Ice Spice has earned four top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “Karma” (No. 2, with Taylor Swift), “Princess Diana” (No. 4, with Nicki Minaj), “Barbie World” (No. 7, with Minaj & AQUA), and PinkPantheress duet “Boy’s A Liar, Pt. 2” (No. 3). On the Billboard 200, Like..? — her debut EP — peaked at No. 15.

Check out Ice’s response to her viral cooking video here:

19 Sep 2023

Nick Lachey Opens Up About Tech Issues During Controversial ‘Love Is Blind’ Reunion Special

It’s been five months since Netflix aired the Love Is Blind season 4 reunion, which was riddled with a livestreaming snafu as well as controversy surrounding hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey’s questions towards the contestants.

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Nick Lachey joined his brother and 98 Degrees bandmate, Drew Lachey, on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy recently, where the star opened up about what happened at the reunion, which ended up being delayed 16 hours after some tech issues. “I appreciate what you said after the fact because I think very few people understand like you do what all goes into that and what’s involved,” Nick told Andy Cohen, who is no stranger to reunion specials himself. After the Love Is Blind special in the spring, Cohen said that livestreaming the event was a “bad idea,” given that “there is a lot of grist to go through before you get to the prime beef, and there is a reason they’re edited down.”

Nick added, “To your point, a reunion, there’s so many things you want to flush out, so many things you want to get to and to try to do that in a timetable that’s finite is not the way to go.” 

Following the reunion, Nick and Vanessa received largely negative comments online for asking contestants “unsettling” questions, some of which included Vanessa delving into personal topics like the couples’ reproductive plans for the future. “You’re cutting people off,” Nick told Cohen. “In your ear you’re getting, ‘We’ve got to go, move on!’ So you’re trying to let people flush out their stories and get things off their chest and you’re doing it while you’re being rushed.”

Love Is Blind season 5 heads to Netflix on Friday (Sept. 22). Watch Cohen’s full interview with the Lachey brothers below.

19 Sep 2023

Christina Milian Assures You She Has No Beef With Jennifer Lopez Over ‘Play’ Credits: ‘Hands Down, She Killed It’

For the final time: Christina Milian has no beef with Jennifer Lopez over “Play.” The 41-year-old singer who co-wrote the 2001 JLo hit in 15 minutes when she was just 19-years-old told New York Post gossip site Page Six that the persistent rumors that she has a problem with how she was credited on the song that appeared on the singer/actress’ sophomore album, J.Lo.

Milian said she originally recorded the dance pop track that hit No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 for her own album during the same week she penned her debut single “AM to PM” at a songwriting camp in Sweden with Bloodshy & Avant, Anders Bagge and some other early 2000s songwriting aces.

“Hands down, she killed it. She’s so good. I love that song,” Milian said of Lopez’s version. “And I couldn’t believe at 19 years old I wrote a song for J.Lo.” In fact, Milian said she wrote the track in around 15 minutes after a late night of partying. “I went to bed late that night, woke up the next morning and had to go to the studio. I had the track and I didn’t write anything [to it],” she said. “So I sat down in the bed, I had this track, I was really tired and I played the track and I was like… ‘This sounds too easy.’”

Milian said she really liked both “Play” and “AM to PM,” but thought her then-label, Def Soul, wouldn’t want two party songs on her 2002 self-titled debut. The decision was made for her, though, she said, when former Sony Music Entertainment chairman/CEO Tommy Mottola heard “Play” and claimed it for Lopez, who was signed to his label Epic Records at the time.

“The guy comes in and he hears ‘Play,’ loves it and is like, ‘I want this as her single,’” Milian said. “And the next thing I know, she’s in New York, she’s recording the song and I came in to help rewrite some of the stuff.”

The Post claimed that there are still rumblings today from Milian fans who call out Lopez for including Milian’s sultry backing vocals on the track but not giving her a feature credit. Milian, though, said she doesn’t sweat it. “It’s funny when people talk about this being kind of a thing about me singing on the song with Jennifer. I mean, I have background singers on some of my songs,” she said. “It’s no different than Michael Jackson having background singers on songs or Britney Spears. This is what music is made of. You want a blend of voices. It makes songs better, to me.”

Milian said she doesn’t need the feature credit on top of the songwriting and backing vocal credits because, frankly, she’s just happy that Lopez recorded the song, “because she’s an icon, she’s amazing.”

Lopez is slated to release her ninth studio album, and first as a solo artist in nine years, This Is Me… Now, later this year.

19 Sep 2023

All 7 Members of BTS Have Now Reached the Top 10 of the Artist 100 Chart

V re-enters the latest Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Sept. 23) at No. 3, reaching the top 10 for the first time thanks to his new solo EP Layover.

The set debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 100,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week (Sept. 8-14), according to Luminate. It marks his first solo entry on the chart.

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With his No. 3 return to the Artist 100 (after he hit a prior No. 30 best, in August), V becomes the seventh and final member of BTS to reach the ranking’s top 10 in a solo capacity. Here’s a recap of each member’s highpoint on the chart, listed chronologically of when each peaked in the top 10.

Artist, Peak Position, Peak Date:
Jin, No. 10, Nov. 12, 2022
RM, No. 6, Dec. 31, 2022
Jimin, No. 1, April 8, 2023
Agust D/Suga, No. 3, May 6, 2023
Jung Kook, No. 5, July 29, 2023
J-Hope, No. 6, Sept. 2, 2023
V, No. 3, Sept. 23, 2023

As a group, BTS has spent 21 weeks at No. 1 on the Artist 100, the most among groups and the fourth-most overall (dating to the chart’s 2014 start), after Taylor Swift (79), Drake (37) and The Weeknd (28).

V is also the fifth member of BTS to score a solo top 10 on the Billboard 200, after RM, Agust D/Suga, Jimin and J-Hope. Here’s a recap of every solo project by a BTS member to reach the top 10, sorted chronologically:

Artist, Title, Peak Position, Peak Date:
RM, Indigo, No. 3, Dec. 31, 2022
Agust D, D-Day, No. 2, May 6, 2023
Jimin, Face (EP), No. 2, April 8, 2023
J-Hope, Jack in the Box, No. 6, Sept. 2, 2023
V, Layover (EP), No. 2, Sept. 23, 2023

BTS has tallied seven top 10s as a group on the Billboard 200, including six No. 1s: Love Yourself: Tear, Love Yourself: Answer (both in 2018), Map of the Soul: Persona (2019), Map of the Soul: 7, Be (both in 2020) and Proof (2022).

19 Sep 2023

Seth Troxler & John Summit Lead Costa Rica’s Ocaso Festival Phase 1 Lineup

The seventh edition of Costa Rica’s Ocaso Festival will happen at the turn of the new year, Jan. 4-8, in Playa Lagarto, located in the country’s Pacific-facing Guanacaste region.

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The festival announced its phase one lineup on Tuesday (Sept. 19), with tech house phenom John Summit, underground leader Seth Troxler and techno force Sama’ Abdulhadi all on the bill.

The underground house and techno focused festival will also host a flurry of other globally known dance/electronic artists including 8Kays, Adam Ten, Brina Knauss, Cassian, Deer Jade, Hannah Wants, Hunter/Game, Julya Karma, Konstantin Sibold, Mano Le Tough, Mind Against, Mita Gami, Tini Gessler, Tony Y Not and Zombies In Miami.

Previous iterations of Ocaso have hosted artists including Solomun, Dixon, Âme, Michael Bibi, Maceo Plex, Adriatique, Jamie Jones, Bob Moses and Damian Lazarus.

The phase two festival will be released in the coming months. Tickets for Ocaso 2024 are available now and start at $259.

Moving to a new location in 2024, Ocaso will take place on a 200-acre beachfront ranch, The Bohemian Lagarto, offering overnight camping and beachside glamping options as well as hotel rooms. Shuttle service from the regional airport to the festival is available.

The environmentally-focused festival is plastic free and hosts beach cleanup events during the event. Playa Lagarto is also located roughly two hours from Santa Rosa National Park, where festivalgoers can explore tropical forests, surfing, bird watching and more.

Costa Rica is a relative hotspot for New Year’s-adjacent electronic music festivals, with Envision and BPM both also happening in the country each January.

19 Sep 2023

SEVENTEEN Announces 11th Mini Album ‘SEVENTEENTH Heaven’: Here’s When It Arrives

Move over, 7th Heaven — SEVENTEEN is gearing up to release its 11th mini album, SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN, the K-pop group revealed on social media Tuesday (Sept. 19).

The news of the arrival was shared through a brief 30-second video of a red festival wristband. Upon zooming in, the wristband has the names of the group members — S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mingyu, The8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino — the album title and its Oct. 23 release date.

The album artwork for SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN continues the festival theme, and features bright and sunny outdoor grounds filled with stuffed animals, a Volkswagen-style bus and multiple hot air balloons in the shape of a daisy, jellyfish, sailboats and more.

SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN will have three different versions: The 5:26 AM version centers around the day dawning over the festival, the 2:14 PM captures the festival in full swing and the 10:23 PM version highlights the festival’s flashy, firework-filled finale.

The new mini album follows 10th mini album, FML. The set earned the K-pop group its highest charting releasing on the Billboard 200 to date, peaking at No. 2 and spending a total of nine weeks on the tally. The album’s lead single, “Super,” peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, and spent a total of 17 weeks on the tally.

See the teaser for SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN below.