Music News

15 Sep 2023

Travis Scott’s Song Is the Perfect Soundtrack to the New ‘Goosebumps’ Trailer

We get those goosebumps every time we see the new trailer for Disney+’s Goosebumps that arrived on Thursday (Sept. 14).

The two-minute clip introduces Justin Long’s character Nathan Bratt, a teacher who becomes possessed by a dark entity. The teaser then shows the journey of five high schoolers (played by Zack Morris, Isa Briones, Miles McKenna, Ana Yi Puig and Will Price) “as they embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle – while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past,” according to the film’s description.

Travis Scott‘s 2016 hit “Goosebumps” fittingly soundtracks the trailer for the new series, as a number of jump scares and bone-chilling scenes weave across the screen. Goosebumps, which is inspired by R.L. Stine’s beloved book series, will unveil its five episodes on Disney+ and Hulu on the spookiest date of the year, Friday, Oct. 13.

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The Kendrick Lamar-assisted “Goosebumps” was made a single three months after Scott’s Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight release in September 2016. While the song peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, the track remains known as one of the rapper’s biggest career hits.

Watch the Goosebumps trailer below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=sIiUwbBxZo8&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

15 Sep 2023

Bailey Zimmerman Celebrates HARDY at ACM Honors With ‘Signed, Sober You’ Performance

HARDY will be presented with the ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Year award at next week’s Academy of Country Music Honors, and his pal Bailey Zimmerman celebrated the accomplishment with a soulful performance of “Signed, Sober You,” shared exclusively with Billboard.

In the snippet from the performance, Zimmerman delivers the track backed by just an acoustic guitar, letting his heartfelt vocals shine through.

The 16th annual ACM Honors, hosted by Carly Pearce for the third year, will recognize a number of today’s biggest and most significant country stars, including ACM Triple Crown Award recipient Chris Stapleton, ACM Poet’s Award recipients Clint Black, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and K.T. Oslin, ACM international Award recipient Kane Brown, and ACM Icon Award recipient Tim McGraw. 

HARDY is the recipient of the Artist-Songwriter of the Year Award, which is presented to a person known as both an artist and songwriter selected by a panel of judges.

Besides Zimmerman, the evening’s host Pearce will grace the stage for a performance. BRELAND, Chris Janson, Lady A, Keith Urban, Trisha Yearwood, Brandy Clark, Jordan Davis, Emily Shackelton, Anne Wilson and more will be taking the stage as well.

Watch the clip of Zimmerman singing “Signed, Sober You” below, and catch the ACM Honors on Monday (Sept. 18) at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=I-Dg5EGIn34&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

15 Sep 2023

V Shares Behind-the-Scenes Moments From ‘Layover’ Visuals in ‘For Us’ Music Video: Watch

The final music video from V‘s Layover has finally arrived. On Friday (Sept. 15), the BTS vocalist released his “For Us” music video, which offers fans a behind-the-scenes look at the memories he created while filming videos for the previous tracks “Love Me Again,” “Slow Dancing,” “Rainy Days” and “Blue.”

The video kicks off with camcorder footage from the filming of “Slow Dancing,” which sees V and the extras featured in the video enjoying their day at a secluded beach. The scene cuts to V sitting in a chair off set wearing the sparkling gold outfit from the “Love Me Again” video, as he soulfully sings along to “For Us.”

The rest of the visual includes the moments that didn’t make the final cut of V’s previous music videos, like the candid moments that he shared with the cast and filming crew. In one shot, filmed with night vision, V throws up a peace sign at the camera, and while behind the scenes of “Blue,” V cuddles with his black Pomeranian, Yeontan. The clip concludes with a roll of the credits of the people who helped on the album and in his videos, set to the video of him plastering V posters over graffitied walls.

With the Sept. 8 release of Layover, V became the final member of BTS to share solo material, following recent chart-topping releases from Jung Kook and Jimin. Layover will impact Billboard‘s charts next week.

Watch the music for “For Us” above.

15 Sep 2023

Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From RL Grime, TSHA & Ellie Goulding, Camelphat, More

This week in dance music: Kah-Lo wrote about the sometimes rocky path that led to the release of her debut album, Calvin Harris got hitched, we spoke with Peggy Gou about her viral hit “It Goes Like (Nanana),” Alesso signed with CAA, Gou signed with WME, on the 10-year anniversary of Avicii’s True we talked to the label exec who signed the album, and Splash House shared nine hours worth of sets from its August editions.

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The week marks some big releases as well. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.

RL Grime, Play

The Label: Sable Valley

The Spiel: RL Grime returns with a mic drop of a new project, his third LP PLAY. His first album since 2019, PLAY is actually made up of three mini-albums: APEX, GRID and RUSH. Each contains seven tracks highlighting different sound styles, with APEX delivering the same peak-time body-pummeling bass we’ve known and loved the producer (born Henry Steinway) for since the Void days; GRID being comprised largely of slick, smart collabs with artists including 070 Shake and Baauer; and RUSH delving into more experimental “headphones” music that demonstrate the producer’s efficacy with what is for him a newer type of sound. RL Grime will tour the album starting in October, with 17 dates across the U.S. and Canada.

The Artist Says: “Currently sitting in a park reflecting on the last few years and wanted to get some random thoughts down,” the producer wrote this week on Instagram. “From feeling completely stuck and sitting at home with no drive to make music whatsoever, to where we are today, hours away from releasing my third album is something I’m still trying to wrap my head around. It’s hard not to get caught up in the relentless and ever impending content/virality race of the current music industry .. for a long time it weighed down on my creativity and ultimately pushed me away from engaging at all with social media. thankfully this album process set me on a trajectory to regain my confidence not only as a producer but more importantly as a person…want to extended an eternal thank you to everyone involved in this project.”

The Vibe: Three to choose from

TSHA, Ellie Goulding & Gregory Porter, “Somebody”

The Label: Ninja Tune

The Spiel: TSHA checks in with a somber but resolute, and also resonant, collab with Ellie Goulding and Grammy-winning soul singer Gregory Porter. Over the London producer’s shuffling, tinny beat, Goulding references post-pandemic anxieties in singing “Feelin’ older than my years/ But ain’t it so when you’ve been staying home?” with her genuinely contemplative-sounding delivery juxtaposed with Porter’s earnest plea that “I really need somebody.”

The Artist Says: “The idea for this collaboration was sparked by Ellie sliding into my DM’s last year to reach out about a session. I of course jumped at the opportunity in a heartbeat – she’s someone that I’ve admired and respected for a long time, so to have the opportunity to work together was a complete no brainer for me. It’s been an absolute pleasure working together on ‘Somebody’, Ellie’s a real sweetheart and I’m so pleased with how the track has come together. The icing on the cake is the vocals that Gregory Porter has added, which for me really elevate the track and add another dimension to the music. Having a living legend like Gregory featuring on my music is a huge milestone moment for me.“

The Vibe: Lonely and pretty

Camelphat, Spiritual Milk

The Label: When Stars Align

The Spiel: The Liverpool duo, Dave Whelan and Mike Di Scala, have always been adept at making music that’s simultaneously deep, complex and pristinely produced, and that fingerprint is all over their sophomore album, Spiritual Milk. Out via the pair’s own When Stars Align label, the 16-track LP features loads of guests, including Kölsch, Delilah Montague, Shimza, Jake Bugg, London Grammar and Anyma, who all bring different moods to an album that nonetheless feels cohesive and fundamentally Camelphat.

The Artists Say: “We’ve felt a lot less pressure delivering this record possibly due to the fact it’s on our label, but also we’re at a point in our career where we can possibly afford to be more expressive and less fearful about what other people think,” the duo say in a joint statement. “It has definitely come from the heart and feels honest both as writers and musicians. We’ve had fun with it, we’ve made music less with the dance floor in mind and more with our emotions. The whole thing came together surprisingly very easily.”

The Vibe: Raw, whole and yes, in moments kind of creamy

Diplo & Walker & Royce Feat. Channel Tres, “Diamond Therapy”

The Label: Higher Ground

The Spiel: “See me as a ticket to foreign lands, I’m the pathway,” Channel Tres beckons on “Diamond Therapy,” three minutes of pure uncut tech house from Diplo and Walker & Royce. Together, the production trio lay a thumping, sometimes spare foundation for Tres to deliver lyrics about “diamond therapy, carat clarity” in his signature purr, with the hypnotic build leading to a crescendo of thick synth.

The Vibe: An actual gem

Chris Lake & Aluna, “More Baby”

The Label: Astralwerks/Black Book Records

The Spiel: We know Chris Lake and Aluna work well together, with their recently released “Beggin’” currently sitting at No. 11 on Dance Mix Show/Airplay. Today, the duo double down with “More Baby,” which Lake previewed during his massive b2b set with FISHER at Coachella this past April, and on which Aluna repeats the titular demand over a bouncy, elastic track co-produced by her, Lake and the duo Parisi, known for their work with Swedish House Mafia, Fred Again… and Black Eyed Peas.

The Vibe: Yes please, more please

15 Sep 2023

SZA’s Manager Pulled Her 2023 VMAs Performance Over ‘Disrespectful’ Artist of the Year Snub

When Ashanti and French Montana presented best R&B at Tuesday night’s MTV Video Music Awards, the category’s winner, SZA, was not present to pick up her Moon Person for “Shirt” — but she didn’t just skip the show for no reason, her manager revealed.

SZA entered the Sept. 12 ceremony as one of the night’s most-nominated artists, with eight nods total, including video of the year (“Kill Bill”), best art direction (“Shirt”) and album of the year (SOS). Despite being one of the most omnipresent artists of the past year, however, SZA’s name was left off the list of nominees for artist of the year.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Friday (Sept. 15), Terrence “Punch” Henderson, SZA’s longtime manager, said, “Obviously, she had one of the best years, if not the best year, of any artist at this point. I don’t see why she wouldn’t be nominated for artist of the year. It just really didn’t make any sense to me. It’s disrespectful.”

SZA released SOS in December, and her critically lauded sophomore studio album has dominated 2023. The record has been present in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 nearly every week this year, spending 10 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 and ranking at No. 2 on Luminate’s 2023 Midyear Music Report. “Kill Bill,” the record’s breakout hit, topped the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and spent months in the chart’s top 10. On Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, “Kill Bill” broke the record for most weeks spent at No. 1 (21 weeks).

SOS also yielded the Hot 100 top 10 singles “Nobody Gets Me” (No. 10) and “Snooze” (No. 7), which reached the top 10 in its 35th week on the chart. Prior to the album’s release, two other singles hit the top 10: “Good Days” (No. 9) and “I Hate U” (No. 7). The VMA-winning “Shirt” peaked at No. 11 and topped both the Rhythmic and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts.

During a call about a potential SZA performance at the show, Punch says MTV “couldn’t give a clear answer as to why she wasn’t [nominated for artist of the year]. It was just, ‘Well, she’s nominated for all these other [awards].’” The nominees for artist of the year at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards were Beyoncé, Karol G, Shakira, Doja Cat, Nicki Minaj and eventual winner Taylor Swift.

The nearly four-hour-long 2023 VMAs ceremony featured an overwhelming amount of performances, none of which included SZA — despite the initial efforts to have her grace the show’s stage. During one of those negotiations, “because there were people on [the call] about logistics for the show who didn’t have anything to do with [the nominations],” Punch said, “they ended up saying, ‘OK, well we could do another call.’” Nonetheless, MTV “didn’t want to discuss artist of the year, which to me was really a slap in the face,” he remarked.

“Why wouldn’t she be nominated for artist of the year? Even with the other artists that were nominated for artist of the year, some of them were even off-cycle. They didn’t have an album out. I mean, no disrespect to them or anybody else; everybody’s great and all of that, but still, you can’t discredit what SOS has done and is currently doing,” Punch added.

Three of the nominees — Doja Cat, Minaj and Shakira — had not released albums since the 2022 VMAs ceremony.

Ultimately, MTV’s failure to provide an explanation for the snub and reach a resolution spurred Punch to pull SZA’s performance. “I figured, why go perform and do this if she’s not going to be respected to the highest level? So it was my call to actually pull out of the performance,” he explained. However, the Top Dawg Entertainment president noted that SZA is “a very sweet person and she’s not for all of the nonsense and the politics and the back-and-forth and all of that. So, our feelings might be a little different.

“Ultimately, I felt it was disrespectful and I was very stern on that and influencing that,” Punch concluded. “If there’s any issues or backlash and all of that, I’m taking all of that.”

Despite the VMAs kerfuffle, SZA is currently powering through the final leg of her SOS headlining arena tour. According to Billboard Boxscore, the tour has grossed $34.5 million and sold 238,000 tickets. On Friday (Sept. 15), the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter released two singles: a Justin Bieber-assisted acoustic reboot of “Snooze” and a highly anticipated Drake collaboration titled “Slime You Out.”

Last week (Sept. 8), SZA announced a deluxe edition of SOS titled LANA at a surprise event at New York’s Brooklyn Navy Yard. The expanded version of her triple-platinum album will arrive “this fall.”

SZA, an Academy Award-nominated songwriter, has earned eight top 10 hits on the Hot 100 from 40 career entries. On the Billboard 200, she has earned two top five albums: 2017’s Ctrl (No. 3) — which has spent a whopping 326 weeks on the ranking — and 2022’s SOS (No. 1).

The revelation of SZA’s situation comes after another R&B artist — Grammy-nominated “On My Mama” singer Victoria Monét — revealed to fans that MTV told her team that it was “too early in [her] story” to perform at the VMAs. Monét is a three-time Grammy nominee with writing credits for a range of artists including Ariana Grande and BLACKPINK. She has also charted a pair of albums on the Billboard 200 and two songs on the Hot 100; Monét made her recording debut in 2014.

15 Sep 2023

Justin Tranter, Allee Willis & More to be Honored at 2023 SONA Warrior Awards

Songwriters Justin Tranter and the late Allee Willis, country artist and podcast host Rissi Palmer and ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews will be honored at the 2023 SONA Warrior Awards, which will be held on Oct. 29 at 1 Hotel in West Hollywood, California. Songwriters Bonnie McKee and Shane Stevens are set to host the show.

McKee is known for her 2013 Billboard Hot 100 hit “American Girl,” as well as for co-writing hits by Katy Perry, Taio Cruz, Britney Spears, Kesha and others. Stevens has written for numerous country and pop acts, including Lady Antebellum, Selena Gomez, Carrie Underwood and Sara Evans.

Performers on the show are Brenda Russell (in honor of Willis), Miko Marks (in honor of Palmer) and Kitchen Swanky Band (representing Songwriters of North America’s – SONA’s –  work in the Caribbean).

The SONA Warrior Awards celebrate the talent and hard work of individuals known for their accomplishments within the music industry, while also honoring their efforts advocating for songwriters’ rights.

SONA brings together music creatives and industry professionals to reimagine the music industry in the 21st century. The organization’s main issues are: a right to fair pay in the age of digital media, the ability to advocate for themselves, the right to safety and equity within their workplaces.

SONA has long tried to unionize and stand for the rights of music artists/songwriters in the same way that the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild fight for the rights of writers and actors, respectively. SONA’s contention is that, just like the talent in those fields, songwriters are often paid unfairly and left uncredited for their work. For more information on SONA, go here.

Here’s some background on this year’s honorees:

15 Sep 2023

Percy Jackson Is Coming Back to Bookshelves: How to Preorder the New Rick Riordan Book

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The fates have spoken and your favorite demigod is back for a new adventure in the upcoming book Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods. The new book is set to come out Sept. 26, but for those who don’t want to miss their opportunity to read it the moment it’s released, you can preorder it on Amazon — and for 10% off!

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This only adds to the excitement for fans of Percy Jackson & The Olympians as Disney+ has a new television adaptation of the series in the works. While the new show isn’t set to drop until sometime in 2024, this fresh story can tide you over until the series premieres.

This time around, Percy will face one of his biggest challenges yet: getting into college. It doesn’t help that the Gods are facing him with another quest, but thankfully he’ll have the help of Annabel and Grover to succeed — especially if he wants to get his three required letters of recommendation from Mount Olympus. The quest at hand? Oh, just to make sure Zeus’ cup-bearer retrieves his goblet before it falls into the wrong hands. Easy.

Keep reading to preorder the book below or click here.

blue book cover

Amazon

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods” by Rick Riordan

$17.99 $19.99 10% OFF

After 10 years of waiting, fans can enjoy the new book that takes place after the initial events of the first five books in the Percy Jackson series. It will be from Percy’s point of view, and you can snag it on Amazon for less than $20. Barnes & Noble has their own exclusive edition available for preorder, which includes bonus material.

For more book product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best female musician memoirs, music books and Taylor Swift recommended books.

15 Sep 2023

Justin Bieber Shares Behind-the-Scenes Look at Recording Surprise SZA Collaboration

SZA surprised fans on Friday (Sept. 15) with a gentle, stripped-back version of her S.O.S. hit “Snooze” featuring a slick new verse from Justin Bieber, who made an appearance on the original song’s music video last month.

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Following the new release, Bieber took to his Instagram Stories to give a behind-the-scenes look at recording his part of the track, posting himself running through different vocal takes and moving the microphone in what looks like a stunning home studio. See the clips before they disappear here.

“In a droptop ride with you, I feel like Scarface/ Like that white b–ch with the bob, you’ll be my main one/ Let’s take this argumеnt back up to my place/ Sex rеminds you I’m nonviolent, I’m your day one,” the 29-year-old “Sorry” singer muses on his breezy new verse, supplemented by SZA’s honeyed vocals providing harmonies.

“Snooze” snagged SZA her second No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, topping the list dated July 1. The song was also SZA’s second career No. 1 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay tally.

15 Sep 2023

Hear Exclusive Splash House August 2023 Sets From Aluna, Anna Lunoe, QRTR & More

Most 10-year-olds don’t get poolside bacchanals for their birthday, but Splash House celebrated a decade of music, revelry and pool floaties with a pair of back-to-back bashes last month in Palm Springs, California, for their decade celebration.

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The poolside dance/electronic festival hosted two weekends — Aug. 11-13 and Aug. 18-20 — at hotel properties around Palm Springs, along with evening parties at the Palm Springs Air Museum. These August events followed the June iteration of Splash House, which has been happening annually and biannually in Palm Springs since 2013.

“I’ve been putting on parties probably through grade school,” Splash House Founder Tyler McLean told Billboard in 2017. “Before it was any specific music or genre that people were feeling, it was just about throwing a party and the experience of bringing people in the doors and showing them a great time. As music tastes and all that grow, it all hit for me and I was like, ‘How about I just throw a party in my hometown with great music’ — this is during, like, peak Vegas, that whole big-room club scene — and I thought, ‘Why not throw the opposite experience?’”

Five years later, that “opposite experience” has become the prevailing sounds of global dance music, with Splash House again delivering a pair of cutting-edge and on-trend lineups for the thousands of fans arriving in the Southern California desert oasis.

Here, we’ve got nine hours of Splash House to relive, with exclusive sets from Aluna, on tour behind her sophomore album released in July; Australian house mainstay Anna Lunoe; Brazilian phenom Vintage Culture; QRTR, who’s been opening for ODESZA this summer and who’s playing the stacked Making Time festival in Philadelphia at the end of this month; U.K. powerhouse Sam Divine; and rising London duo JADED.

Dip your toes in below.

Aluna

Anna Lunoe

Vintage Culture

QRTR

Sam Divine

JADED

15 Sep 2023

Drake x SZA, Doja Cat, Demi Lovato & More: What’s Your Favorite Music Release of the Week? Vote!

With one final week left of summer, the heavy hitters in rap, R&B and pop have come out to play, as seen by Drake feat. SZA, Doja Cat, Demi Lovato and more releasing new material this Friday.

After years of floating within the same circles — and even being in a relationship with each other back in 2009 — Drake and SZA have finally joined forces on their first ever collaborative track, “Slime You Out.” The song, which hails from the rapper’s forthcoming studio album For All the Dogs, sees Drake passing SZA the mic (“I’ma fall back and let SZA talk her s–t for a minute”). The singer continues the lyrical themes shown on her No. 1 album, SOS; she doesn’t allow herself to be burned by the men she’s involved herself with, that later reveal themselves to be not worth her time.

Doja Cat’s rollout for Scarlet picks up with new single “Balut.” The rapper gets more contemplative on the song than we’ve seen on previous singles “Attention,” “Paint the Town Red” or “Demons,” but as always, proves that she can still flip the switch and be funny as the drop of a dime. “Is it coke, is it crack, is it meth / What the f–k do she put in them hits?” she raps — something that fans of hers have asked themselves at least once.

Lovato’s new album, Revamped, features several of the former Disney Channel star’s career hits, reimagined through a rock lens — one propelled by the release of the star’s 2022 album, Holy Fvck. “Heart Attack,” “Cool for the Summer” and “Neon Lights” and other early catalogue tracks become even more electric with the addition of heavier guitar, and Lovato’s soaring vocals.

Rod Wave, Diddy and Thirty Seconds to Mars also release new material this week, but which release is your favorite? Vote in our poll below.