Music News

29 Aug 2023

Oliver Anthony Music’s ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ Crowns Streaming Songs Chart

In its second week on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart, Oliver Anthony Music’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” rises to No. 1 on the Sept. 2-dated survey.

In the Aug. 18-24 tracking week, “Rich Men North of Richmond” earned 22.9 million official U.S. streams, a 31% boost, according to Luminate.

It debuted on the Aug. 26-dated list with 17.5 million streams, starting at No. 4.

It’s Anthony’s first No. 1 on Streaming Songs, coming in his first appearance on the ranking. He’s the first act to top Streaming Songs with their premiere entry since Peso Pluma, whose Eslabon Armado collaboration “Ella Baila Sola” reached No. 1 on the May 13 tally.

In addition to Anthony and Peso Pluma, first-timers in 2023 also include Eslabon Armado, Morgan Wallen, PinkPantheress, Ice Spice and Brenda Lee.

“Rich Men North of Richmond” is the third country song to hit No. 1 on the chart in 2023. Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” started the year atop the ranking (Jan. 7), while Wallen’s “Last Night” has reigned for 19 nonconsecutive weeks, beginning with the March 18 list.

Concurrently, “Rich Men North of Richmond” also rises to No. 1 on Country Streaming Songs, Anthony’s first ruler. The song breaks a 28-week streak at No. 1 for Wallen’s “Last Night,” which reached the top of the list in its second week on the survey (Feb. 18) and had remained there since; it falls to No. 2.

As previously reported, the song spends a second week at No. 1 on the multi-metric Billboard Hot 100.

29 Aug 2023

Nicki Minaj Says She Felt ‘Horrible’ About Arriving Late as Justin Combs’ Sweet 16 Date

Nicki Minaj is still regretting a tardiness mistake from 13 years ago.

In an Instagram Live video recorded and posted by 9MagTV this week, Diddy’s son Justin Combs commented “Hi” in the chat, which Minaj noticed and addressed. “I went to your Sweet 16 with you, right?” she said. “Yo, what was that like me being your Sweet 16 date? I know I was mad late, I can’t remember much but I felt like I just knew that Puffy and Misa were so mad at me.”

Diddy shares Justin, who is 29 years old now, with his ex-girlfriend, fashion designer Misa Hylton. “I could feel it and I was so mad at myself ‘cause all of the dresses I had been trying on that day, I hated every single one. I felt horrible y’all. I felt really horrible,” Minaj continued. “But I can’t believe to this day that I went with him to his Sweet 16. He was trying to get cute in the limo y’all. Anyway, but yes I had a great time and he was so fun and funny and very cute, too.” 

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Justin’s 16th birthday in 2010 was featured in the ninth season of the popular MTV series My Super Sweet 16. The luxurious bash took place at New York City’s M2 Ultra Lounge and featured celebrities like Lil’ Kim and Trey Songz in attendance on the guest list.

29 Aug 2023

Coolio’s Final ‘Futurama’ Appearance as Kwanzaabot Features a New Song & Tribute Message

Coolio‘s legacy continues to live on. The rapper — who died in September 2022 due to an accidental overdose — received a tribute in the Monday (Aug. 28) episode of Hulu’s Futurama, in which he voices Kwanzaabot. The episode, titled “I Know What You Did Next Xmas,” marks Coolio’s final appearance on the show.

In the episode, Kwanzaabot acts as a Robot Santa alongside the Chanukah Zombie. Chanukah Zombie and Kwanzaabot try to educate children about the other holidays, but unfortunately the only holiday the kids care to learn about is Christmas.

In the end credits of the episode, Kwanzaabot returns for a song, in which Coolio raps his “Futurama Xmas list for 3023″: “Gimme 12 Slurms a-slurping/ 11 Benders burping/ 10 episodes dropping/ 9 Scruffys mopping/ 8 Leelas drinking/ 7 Zoidbergs stinking/ Chanukah and Kwanzaa, share a single stanza/ Time traveling chumps/ 40 ounce of nog/ Fry’s dead dog/ 2 turtle-duckens/ And a voice over credit for me.”

The episode ended with a tribute to the late rapper that read “In Memory of Coolio,” with his animated counterpart watching the sun shine over Earth.

After Coolio’s passing, David X. Cohen, producer for Futurama said the rapper “was one of our favorite guests, always upbeat.” Cohen continued, “This news was especially shocking since he looked and sounded great when we saw him in the studio just a few weeks ago, for what was an especially fun session. I thanked him for returning to do the part once again, and he said, ‘Everybody loves KwanzaaBot.’ It was an honor to have gotten the chance to work with him.”

Watch a clip of the new Futurama episode in the video above.

29 Aug 2023

Future Leads Hot Trending Songs Chart Thanks to Viral Groom Video

Future’s “I’m Dat N—-” leads Billboard’s Sept. 2-dated Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by X, over a year after its initial release thanks to a viral video featuring the song.

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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 Aug. 18-24.

“I’m Dat N—-,” from Future’s 2022 album I Never Liked You, rules thanks to a viral video widely shared on X featuring a groom walking out to the song at his wedding.

It becomes Future’s first No. 1 on Hot Trending Songs; the tune previously appeared at No. 2 on the list in February.

The video spurred streaming gains for the song – a 15% gain from 836,000 official on-demand U.S. streams to 958,000 in the Aug. 18-24 tracking week, according to Luminate.

Future leads a slew of songs from Burna Boy’s new album I Told Them…, which occupy Nos. 2-9. They’re led by “Cheat on Me” featuring Dave, which preceded the album with an Aug. 22 release.

I Told Them… was eventually released Aug. 24, with further chart positions for both the album and its songs possible on the Sept. 9-dated Billboard charts encompassing the week of Aug. 25-31.

Victoria Monet’s “Alright” rounds out the top 10 from her new album Jaguar II, released Aug. 25.

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

29 Aug 2023

Beyoncé to Become Honorary Mayor of Santa Clara Ahead of Renaissance Tour Stop

You can now call her Mayor Bey.

Ahead of Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour stop at Levi’s Stadium on Aug. 30, the Santa Clara City Council will be voting on Tuesday night (Aug. 28) to name the superstar honorary mayor for the day and present her with a key to the city, according to The Mercury News.

“The city of Santa Clara is excited about Beyonce’s upcoming visit to the world-renowned Levi’s Stadium,” Santa Clara spokesperson Michelle Templeton told the publication. “Her concerts will certainly bring a great deal of energy and excitement.”

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The news comes just a month after Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour stopped by the California city, and the “Anti-Hero” singer was also named honorary mayor of Santa Clara, which temporarily changed its name to “Swiftie Clara.”

The Renaissance tour has been nothing short of jaw-dropping so far. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, The Renaissance World Tour earned $127.6 million over 11 shows between July 8-30, claiming the largest one-month sum for any artist since the Boxscore archives began in the mid-1980s. Meanwhile, when her five-show run at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium grossed $42.2 million, it was noted that it was the highest grossing engagement ever by a woman, a Black artist, or any American artist.

29 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift Becomes First Female Artist to Reach 100 Million Monthly Listeners on Spotify

The year of Taylor Swift is continuing strong. The superstar broke another record on Spotify on Tuesday (Aug. 29), becoming the first female artist in the streaming platform’s history to reach 100 million monthly listeners.

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Spotify announced the news on social media, fittingly calling the accomplishment “Queen behavior.”

Meanwhile, over on the Billboard charts, Swift spends a record-extending 78th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Sept. 2), thanks to 10 albums on the Billboard 200 and four songs on the Billboard Hot 100. On the Hot 100, Swift charts four songs: “Cruel Summer” (at No. 4 after reaching No. 3), “Karma” featuring Ice Spice (14-15), “Anti-Hero” (20-18) and “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” (71-74).

The superstar played four shows last week at the Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico, to kick off her Eras Tour’s international dates. “After years of wanting to play in Mexico City, just got to play 4 of the most unforgettable shows for the most beautiful and generous fans,” she captioned an Instagram carousel featuring multiple photos of herself performing on stage posted Monday (Aug. 28). “Feeling so grateful for the memories we’re making together on this tour … TE AMO.”

29 Aug 2023

TOMORROW X TOGETHER Announce New Album ‘The Name Chapter: FREEFALL’

TOMORROW X TOGETHER is already ready for a new chapter. On Tuesday (Aug. 29), the five-piece boyband announced that its next album, The Name Chapter: FREEFALL is set to arrive this fall — just three months after the K-pop sensations dropped their last album, Sweet.

The news comes via social media posts on both the band and BigHit Music’s accounts, simply sharing the upcoming album’s title and a mysterious video teaser. In the 24-second clip, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s signature “X” symbol fittingly freefalls through an abyss of animated streaks of color, ending with a sprinkling of eery piano notes.

According to a Weverse statement from BigHit, the record will drop Oct. 13. Pre-orders will be available starting Wednesday (Aug. 30), with more details about the album still to come in a separate notice on TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Weverse.

The Name Chapter: FREEFALL will mark Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai’s fifth studio album, following 2019’s The Dream Chapter: Magic, 2021’s Still Dreaming and The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE and this year’s Sweet, their most recent full-length project. Both Still Dreaming and Sweet are Japanese-language albums, with the latter debuting at No. 3 on the World Albums chart earlier this summer.

The guys of TXT are also fresh off their headlining performance at this year’s Lollapalooza, as well as the release of their joint single with the Jonas Brothers, “Do It Like That,” which dropped July 7 and charted for one week on the Billboard Global 200. The South Korean stars opened up about the collaboration in an interview with Billboard last month, during which Taehyun noted that the JoBros “were even cooler in person.”

“Their friendliness helped us work together in a chill environment,” he continued, with Beomgyu adding, “Jonas Brothers were incredibly welcoming from the moment we met. They were just as enthusiastic as we were about shooting content, which we really appreciated.”

See the announcement for The Name Chapter: Freefall below:

29 Aug 2023

NMIXX Reflects on Baby Being Placed Onstage During Concert: ‘It Looked So Dangerous’

NMIXX traveled stateside once more to perform at this year’s KCON LA, which took place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Aug. 18-20. Backstage at the festivities, the girl group — which consists of members Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo and Kyujin — caught up with Billboard News to talk about the event, as well as a recent viral incident during which a fan placed a baby onstage during their Seattle showcase concert.

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“It looked so dangerous, so I gave the baby back to its mom,” Kyujin recalled of the May incident. Lily elaborated and said that the girls “never had that happen before. It was quite surprising, so we were kinda just likem ‘What should we do?’ But I think Kyujin handled it well.”

NMIXX’s KCON appearance marked their second time performing at the event. “Originally, we went to KCON for the first time last year, and also recently we went to L.A. for our showcase tour and so this is our third time in L.A.,” Lily said on behalf of Jiwoo, who spoke in Korean. “She said that she’s very happy.”

Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly noted how unique it is that NMIXX sings in their filmed dance practices. While it isn’t commonplace, Lily stated there’s a reason for that. “On stage, we’re always with our mics, we always sing live, so I think it’s important for us to also sing offstage just even if we’re practicing dance to do the vocals as well. That way, we can actually do better on stage,” she explained.

As for what’s next for NMIXX, the girls feel the only way they can go is up. “I can feel we’re growing, so I’m looking forward to our future!” Kyujin said.

Watch Billboard‘s full interview with NMIXX in the video above.

29 Aug 2023

Jay-Z Re-Joins Instagram to Promote ‘The Book of Clarence’ Biblical Epic

Jay-Z is back on Instagram, again. The hip-hop mogul who has long been one of the most prominent A-list holdouts on the service uploaded his first — and so far only — post on Tuesday morning (Aug. 29): the trailer for the Biblical epic The Book of Clarence.

The drama executive produced by Jay stars Atlanta‘s LaKeith Stanfield as Clarence, described as a Jerusalem native who is a “streetwise but down-on-his-luck” man struggling to make a better life for his family while trying to emerge from debt. “Captivated by the power and glory of the rising Messiah and His apostles, [Clarence] risks everything to carve his own path to a divine life, and ultimately discovers that the redemptive power of belief may be his only way out.”

Jay’s posting of the film’s first trailer is significant because it, technically, marks his first Instagram post. But back in 2021, Hov briefly went Instagram official to promote another film he executive produced, the revenge Western The Harder They Fall, before shutting down his page a day later. At the time he accumulated nearly 800,000 followers in just a few hours. At press time the new account hyping Clarence had racked up around 775 followers in its first hour.

The Sony/TriStar Pictures/Legendary Pictures production was directed by Jeymes Samuel, who was also behind the camera for The Harder They Fall, his directorial debut that featured Stanfield. Clarence, due in theaters on Jan. 12, also stars Omar Sy, RJ Cyler, Benedict Cumberbatch, James McAvoy, Anna Diop, David Oyelowo, Alfre Woodard and Teyana Taylor.

“I wanted to tell a Bible story about an everyman,” Samuel told Vanity Fair of his effort to put Black characters at the center of a genre drama in the same way he did with Harder. “I always wanted to explore the Bible stories, but from the angle of the person that sells Jesus his sandals, the woman or man that owns the hair salon.”

Producer Hov told the magazine that he worried that people who heard the the premise might “immediately just focus on the religious aspect of it and not the human story,” with the piece noting that the film doesn’t make fun o religion or Biblical stories, but “rather attempts to expand that world.” The trailer features a reimagined version of Prince’s Purple Rain classic “I Would Die 4 U” over scenes from Clarence’s spiritual awakening, including one in which a Roman soldier asks Clarence to prove his Messianic powers by walking on water. “Damn,” Clarence says before taking the first step.

“This story is about a young man who finds his faith through love and through wanting to become somebody in the world, which is the story of everybody,” Jay said. “Everyone wants to find love and everyone wants to leave this place having accomplished something, having left their mark that they’ve been here and hopefully affected the world in a positive way.”

Check out Jay’s post below.

29 Aug 2023

Georgia State University to Offer Law Course on the Legal Life of Rick Ross

Grammy-nominated MC Rick Ross will be the focus of Georgia State University College of Law’s upcoming class “Legal Life Of…” this fall semester.

Created by professor Mo Ivory, “the class provides law students with the unique opportunity to gain hands-on legal experience in the practice area of entertainment law by studying the career, contracts and legal transactions of Rick Ross,” according to the press release. 

“As a lover of rap music, hip-hop culture, and in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of hip-hop, I could not think of a better time to study the career of a visionary like Rick Ross,” Ivory relays to Billboard. “When I began my research on Ross, I realized early on that my students would learn about a businessman who turned his love of music into an empire that includes massive real estate holdings, food and beverage franchises, investments in the car and bike industry, literary works and corporate equity ownership.”

“The biggest meets the classroom,” Ross tells Billboard. “I’ve always been a student of the game, and I look forward to being able to teach the next generation how to keep hustlin’.”

Students will dive deep into the contracts that built Ross’ business wins, and will receive insight from the lawyers who negotiated them. During the course, they will also gain knowledge in drafting, interpreting and negotiating deals, emphasizing client representation, risk and crisis management.

“Legal Life Of…” was created in 2019 at Georgia State Law. Past subjects for the course have included the legal life of Ludacris, Kandi Burruss and Steve Harvey.