Music News

15 Sep 2023

Sexyy Red Sends Condolences After Fatal Shooting Near Video Set in Florida

After one person was killed and another wounded in a shooting across the street from a video shoot by Sexyy Red and Sukihana, the “Pound Town” rapper released a statement on her Instagram Stories on Thursday night (Sept. 14) clarifying that the violence was unrelated to her project while sending her thoughts to the victim’s family.

“I send my condolences to the family of the man who lost his life and prayers up for the person who was wounded,” Red (born Janae Wherry) wrote in her Story. “But i gotta address the rumors that it happened at my video shoot bc s–t is not true, at all. To be clear it happened at a gas station across the street from my video set.”

Red said that both the Florida Highway Patrol and Broward County Sheriff’s office “confirmed that the shooting wasn’t on my set.” She also assured fans that she was secure, “thanks to my production team getting all the paperwork right and working with the Broward Sheriff’s Office to hire off-duty’s to make sure everyone was safe.”

Red added that the shoot was completed at a different location and that everyone involved was able to go home safely afterwards. “Period. I’m just trying to work hard, make good music, connect with my fans,” she wrote. “Please don’t try to twist narratives and put this on a b–ch.”

WPLG Local 10 reported that the shooting took place near the Oakland Park Flea Market Mall in Oakland Park, FL around 8 p.m., “not far” from the video shoot. Upon arrival, responding deputies found two people suffering from gunshot wounds, with one unnamed victim pronounced dead at the scene and another transported to a local hospital; the station reported that police were seen arresting two people following the shooting.

At press time a spokesperson for the Broward County Sheriff’s office had not returned Billboard‘s request for additional information on the incident.

This week the initial TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart — dated Sept. 16 — featured Red’s rising hit “SkeeYee” as the tally’s first No. 1; the song also came in at No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Sept. 16. Sexyy and Sukihana dropped the video for their “Hood Rats” collaboration last month. It was unclear at press time what video the two were shooting during on Thursday.

14 Sep 2023

Diddy’s ‘The Love Album: Off the Grid’ Has Arrived: Stream It Now

It’s all love in Diddy’s world. The music legend and business mogul unveiled his latest studio effort, The Love Album: Off the Grid, on Friday (Sept. 15).

The jam-packed feature lineup includes notable names such as The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Mary J. Blige, Jazmine Sullivan, H.E.R, Summer Walker, Babyface, John Legend, Teyana Taylor and more. “Music is my first love, and music has given me a second chance at life, so stepping back into the studio to make this album has been a soulful experience that brought me closer to myself and my purpose,” Diddy said in a press release. “This album wasn’t created to feed an algorithm or be relevant with the trends of the times — it was created to touch souls and freely express my story with the best artists, writers and producers shaping the future of R&B.”

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This project marks his first official release under his new label, Love Records, and his first solo album since 2006’s Press Play. Since then, he dropped his 2010 collaborative project Last Train to Paris with Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper as Dirty Money, and his 2015 mixtape MMM (Money Making Mitch).

Diddy is Billboard‘s most recent cover star, and he opened up about the inspiration behind the new release. “This isn’t just an R&B album; it’s an R&B movie [about love],” he said of his project, which he executive-produced and curated. “It’s probably one of the biggest collections of talent ever, all unified on one album. And I happen to be blessed to have The Weeknd’s last feature. The song talks about being unique, in a sense — telling your ex-girl that another one of me won’t come around.”

Listen to The Love Album: Off the Grid in full below.

14 Sep 2023

Demi Lovato Gives Their Hits a Rock Spin on ‘Revamped’ Album: Stream It Now

Demi Lovato is ready to rock! The star unveiled a new album on Friday (Sept. 15) featuring reimagined, rock versions of their old tracks, fittingly titled Revamped.

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The 10-track LP features some of their biggest hits (“Heart Attack,” “Sorry Not Sorry”) alongside fan favorites (“La La Land,” “Tell Me You Love Me”), all with amped-up guitars and a spotlight on Lovato’s powerhouse vocals. “It just feels really good,” they told Billboard. “I’m really proud of the work that we did, and I’m excited for the songs to be out there.”

Lovato continued, “I think it reignited an excitement inside of me for those songs. Like, take ‘Give Your Heart a Break,’ for example: I got really tired of performing that one live, because it had been in my catalog for so long, and it didn’t really reflect any sound that I had anymore. Even when I went more R&B-pop, it just wasn’t the kind of sound I was looking for anymore, because it was just so pop. But when we put together the rock version, I was suddenly having a really fun time on stage performing it.”

The 30-year-old singer performed a slew of her rocked-out hits at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards earlier in the week, including “Heart Attack,” “Sorry Not Sorry” and “Cool for the Summer.”

The new album follows Lovato’s 2022 album, Holy Fvck, which introduced their rock musical abilities to fans. The album peaked at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart upon its release, and topped the Billboard Hot Rock Albums chart on September 3, 2022.

Listen to Revamped in full below.

14 Sep 2023

TOMORROW X TOGETHER & Anitta’s ‘Back for More’ Has Arrived: Stream It Now

MOA, the wait is finally over: TOMORROW X TOGETHER and Anitta‘s collaborative new track, “Back For More” arrived on all streaming platforms on Friday (Sept. 15).

Alongside the track’s release, a music video also arrived, which featured the group members — Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai — hitting expert choreography from the stage of an auditorium as they sing of chorus of the track, which dares the object of their affections to either be with them, or prepare to leave them all heartbroken.

“I can see you comin’ back for more/ Comin’ back for more (Yeah)/ If you walk out that door/ I can see you comin’ back for more/ Comin’ back for more (Yeah)/ If you walk out that door,” the boys sing on an infectious chorus.

Anitta provides an assist on the second verse of the track, and proves her endless devotion to the person lucky enough to catch her eyes. “Don’t wanna feel nobody/ If it isn’t you, baby/ They’re gonna call my night/ Been thinking about you, baby,” she seductively sings.

TXT performed “Back For More” alongside Anitta for their debut at the MTV VMAs on Tuesday night (Sept. 12). “Back for More” — the pre-release single for The Name Chapter: FREEFALL (Oct. 13 release date) — will receive a (TXT Ver.), a house remix and an Afrobeats remix, all of which will arrive on Sept. 18.

Listen to “Back For More” below.

14 Sep 2023

Slowdive Scores First Top 10 on Album Sales Chart With ‘Everything Is Alive’

Slowdive scores its first top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Sept. 16) as the band’s new album Everything Is Alive debuts at No. 3. The set launches with 12,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Luminate. It’s the best sales week yet for the British group, and its second chart entry, having previously topped out at No. 22 with its self-titled release 2017.

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Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, the late Jimmy Buffett’s 1985 best-of album Songs You Know by Heart: Jimmy Buffett’s Greatest Hit(s) re-enters the list at No. 1 – its first week atop the 32-year-old tally. Plus, YouTuber and Twitch streamer Dream sees his debut effort To Whoever Wants to Hear launch at No. 8.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Songs You Know by Heart sold 15,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 7 (up from about 200 copies in the previous week), following Buffett’s death on Sept. 1. It’s the best sales week for the album in 24 years, since the chart date of July 3, 1999, when it sold 17,000 copies.

Travis Scott’s chart-topping Utopia holds at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with 12,000 sold (down 58%), while NewJeans’ former leader 2nd EP ‘Get Up’ is a non-mover at No. 4 with 11,000 (down 19%) and Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) rises 6-5 with 10,000 (down 23%). NCT Dream’s ISTJ: The 3rd Album climbs one spot to No. 6 (8,000; down 37%) while Swift’s chart-topping Midnights bumps 9-7 (nearly 8,000; down 24%).

YouTuber and Twitch streamer Dream starts at No. 8 with his first album release, To Whoever Wants to Hear, with nearly 7,000 copies sold. J-Hope’s Jack in the Box slips 8-9 (6,000; down 49%) and Stray Kids’ 5-Star: The 3rd Album rises 15-10 (6,000; down 17%).

In the week ending Sept. 7, there were 1.630 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 2.2% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.287 million (down 3.4%) and digital albums comprised 342,000 (up 2.6%).

There were 543,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Sept. 7 (down 1.5% week-over-week) and 734,000 vinyl albums sold (down 5.1%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 23.826 million (up 1.5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 31.881 million (up 20.1%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 68.831 million (up 6.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 56.075 million (up 11.3%) and digital album sales total 12.756 million (down 9.9%).

14 Sep 2023

Mark Isham & Steve Dorff to Discuss Their Careers During SCL Professional Conferences at 2023 Nashville Film Festival

Composers and songwriters Mark Isham, Steve Dorff, Pinar Toprak, Jeff Rona and Christophe Beck are among the honorees and participants in a series of events being staged by the Society of Composers & Lyricists and Nashville Film Festival from Sept. 28 – Oct. 4. The in-person portion of the conference will be hosted at various festival partner venues.

On Friday, Sept. 29, Isham will discuss his career scoring for film and TV in a session moderated by SCL president Ashley Irwin. Isham won a Grammy for best new age performance in 1991 for his album, Mark Isham, and a Primetime Emmy for outstanding main title theme music for CBS’ EZ Streets in 1997. He received an Oscar nomination for best original score for A River Runs Through It in 1993. With more than 125 film scores, Isham has been hailed as an innovator in electronics and a lush orchestral melodist.

Later that afternoon, Dorff, a 2018 Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, will delve into his decades-long career. The conversation will be moderated by Tracy McKnight, BMI vice president, creative, film, TV & visual media, with a reception to follow.  Dorff received a Grammy nomination in 1980 for best country song for co-writing the Eddie Rabbitt hit “Every Which Way but Loose” and three Primetime Emmy nods for writing songs for the sitcoms Growing Pains and Major Dad. Dorff, the father of actor Stephen Dorff, may be best known for co-writing the top 20 Hot 100 hits “I Just Fall in Love Again” (Anne Murray) and “Through the Years” (Kenny Rogers).

The Society of Composers & Lyricists in association with ASCAP and the Film Musicians Secondary Markets Fund will present the SCL Career Symposium as part of the Nashville Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 30. For the complete schedule, go to https://thescl.com/scl-career-symposium/.

On Saturday evening, Sept. 30, the SCL and Nashville Film Festival will co-host a reception with Electronic Arts Music at Ocean Way Studios in honor of Toprak, who will be awarded the Music City Maestro Award for her continued collaboration with the Nashville scoring community. Toprak received a Primetime Emmy nod in 2020 for the HBO show McMllion$ With her work on Captain Marvel and Fortnite, Pinar is the first female composer to score both a film and video game that have grossed more than $1 billion globally. (Captain Marvel has grossed $1.13 billion globally, according to boxofficemojo.com, with $426.8 million of that coming from the U.S.)

Toprak’s other credits include writing and producing music for Christina Aguilera’s 2019 Xperience Live Show in Las Vegas and conducting Billie Eilish’s performance of “No Time to Die” at the 2022 Oscars ceremony.

On Sunday, Oct. 1, as part of the Nashville Film Festival Awards and Student Awards, The SCL in association with SESAC will present awards for outstanding song and outstanding score for a songwriter and composer in the student film category.

Founded in 1969, the Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm) was one of the first film festivals in the U.S. For more information, visit www.nashfilm.org.

The Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL) is the primary organization for professional film, television, video game, and musical theatre composers and lyricists.

14 Sep 2023

Donald Glover’s ‘Lando’ Will Be a Film

Donald Glover’s Disney+ series is taking a new direction. Lando will now be developed as a Lucasfilm movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Glover played character Lando Calrissian in 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, and his character quickly became a fan-favorite, prompting Disney to announce a spin-off series in the works in 2020. The artist was working on the project with his brother, Stephen Glover, before the writers strikes began in the spring, and he revealed on the Pablo Torres Finds Out podcast on Thursday (Sept. 14) that the duo are currently planning to make Lando a movie, though the plans are paused amid the ongoing strikes.

“I’m not interested in doing anything that is going to be a waste of my time or just a paycheck,” Donald told GQ in April. “I would much rather spend time with people I enjoy. It just has to be the right thing, which I think it could be. Lando is definitely somebody I’d like to hang out with. We’re talking about it. That’s as much as I can say.”

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In other Donald Glover news, the  39-year-old Atlanta actor joined Laverne Cox for E! News on the Golden Globes red carpet in January, where he revealed that music is on its way. “I’m making music right now. I love it,” he shared. “I’m in the studio, bringing people in, secret people, working on little things. I’ve just been making it for fun right now but soon something will happen, I promise.”

“I thought I heard you were retiring Childish Gambino,” Cox said, before Glover replied, “No, that was out in the ether. You don’t have to worry about that. He will be back.”

Glover’s last release as Childish Gambino was his fourth studio album, 3.15.20, which arrived back in March 2020. 

14 Sep 2023

Kourtney Kardashian Says ‘I Miss My Husband’ After Travis Barker Returns to Blink-182 Tour

After an urgent pregnancy complication, Kourtney Kardashian is craving more time with her husband, Travis Barker.

In a Wednesday post on her Instagram Story, the Kardashians star shared a video of Barker drumming during a Blink-182 concert and wrote, “I miss my husband.” The feeling is mutual: On his own Instagram Story, Barker re-shared the video she posted and sweetly added, “I miss you my wife.”

Barker took time off of Blink’s tour after the band announced Sept. 1 that the band was postponing shows in Ireland and Scotland due to an “urgent family matter” that required the drummer to return to the United States immediately. Less than a week later, Kardashian shared further details about the situation via Instagram on Sept. 6, revealing that she needed an emergency surgery to save her and Barker’s unborn child.

“I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock,” she wrote. “As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasn’t prepared for the fear of rushing into urgent fetal surgery. I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear. I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant.”

Blink-182’s tour will continue in Europe with dates in Germany, Norway, Italy, Spain, Portugal and more before returning to the States this fall for the When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 21-22.

14 Sep 2023

Justin Timberlake Shares Behind the Scenes Look at *NSYNC in the Studio: ‘So Many Stars Aligned’

*NSYNC are tearin’ up our hearts with news of their reunion single, “Better Place,” and Justin Timberlake kept the buzz going on Thursday (Sept. 14) when he shared footage alongside JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatrick, Joey Fatone and Lance Bass in the studio.

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“So many stars aligned and that’s why I hit y’all and was like, ‘Hey, something came up,’” Timberlake is heard telling his former bandmates in the clip, as scenes of the group laying down vocals and harmonies, before jamming out to their upbeat pop track, weave across the screen. “If we do this song, it’s a love letter to our fans. I would be honored to have the group on this song.”

“I don’t mind that the world spins faster, faster, faster / Just let me take you to a better place,” the boy band sings in the song’s breezy chorus.

The song — which appears to follow in the upbeat footsteps of Trolls lead single “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” and Trolls World Tour opener “The Other Side” — is available to pre-save now but won’t be released until Sept. 29.

The song marks *NSYNC’s first musical release since 2002 (when the Neptunes remix of “Girlfriend,” featuring Nelly, arrived) and it comes just days after the group stepped onstage together at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards to present the award for best pop to Taylor Swift for “Anti-Hero.” The group last took the VMAs stage in 2013, for Timberlake’s Video Vanguard Award medley performance.

Watch the full behind-the-scenes clip on JT’s Instagram page here.

14 Sep 2023

Zach Bryan Calls Noah Kahan the ‘Hardest Working Man in Music’ as They Link Up in the Studio

Even though he’s already topped the Billboard 200, Billboard Hot 100 and Artist 100 with the release of his new self-titled album, it looks like Zach Bryan has a few more musical tricks up his sleeve. In a series of social media posts Thursday (Sept. 14), one of those tricks could be a project with “Dial Drunk” crooner Noah Kahan.

“Hardest working man in music,” Bryan captioned a snap of Kahan, who was petting Jack, Bryan’s pet dog, while holding an acoustic guitar on his lap in what appears to be a home recording studio. “Let’s goooo @noahkahanmusic.”

The Grammy-nominated “Something in the Orange” singer also shared the picture to his X (formerly Twitter) page, writing, “Jack, huge Noah guy.” Kahan reposted Bryan’s snap with the caption “High praise from the [GOAT],” with a goat emoji.

In an Instagram Story posted four hours earlier, Bryan showed he and his collaborators working on some music. “Another hard earned day for Jack at the office,” he wrote.

While it is unclear if Bryan and Kahan are working on anything together, the link-up marks the union of two of 2023’s brightest stars. Earlier this month, Bryan’s self-titled album became his first set to top the Billboard 200 and spawned the Hot 100-topping Kacey Musgraves duet “I Remember Everything.” Zach Bryan opened with the biggest streaming week for a rock album in history. With a debut of over 200,000 units, Zach Bryan also logged the largest consumption week for a rock album in four years.

As for Kahan, following a deluxe reissue, Stick Season — his third studio album, which was originally released in 2022 — reached a new Billboard 200 peak of No. 3, surpassing its previous peak of No. 14. The record also reached No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums and Top Americana/Folk Albums. “Dial Drunk,” the LP’s breakout single, became Kahan’s first Hot 100 hit (No. 25) and received a remix from Post Malone.

Click here to see Zach Bryan and Noah Kahan in the studio.