Music News

23 Aug 2023

Latto & Cardi B’s ‘Floor’ Is on Top of Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Chart

Latto achieves her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart as her Cardi B-assisted “Put It on Da Floor Again” tops the radio list dated Aug. 26. The track ascends from No. 2 after a 7% gain in plays that made it the most played song on U.S. monitored R&B/hip-hop stations in the week ending Aug. 17, according to Luminate.

With her first champ, Latto outdoes her prior best peak of No. 2, which she managed twice. “Big Energy” stopped at the runner-up rank in January 2022, as did “Don’t Play With It,” her collaboration with Lola Brooke and Yung Miami, in April of this year. Notably, her “Put It On Da Floor Again” collaborator, Cardi B, played a role in blocking “Big Energy” from the summit – the No. 1 song that week was Normani’s “Wild Side,” which features the rap superstar.

For Cardi B, “Put It on Da Floor Again” banks the hitmaker an 11th No. 1 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. Here’s a recap of her leaders:

Song Title, Artist (if other than Cardi B), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1

  • “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” nine, Sept. 16, 2017
  • “No Limit,” G-Eazy featuring A$AP Rocky & Cardi B, five, Dec. 9, 2017
  • “I Like It,” with Bad Bunny & J Balvin, one, July 28, 2018
  • “Ring,” featuring Kehlani, one, Nov. 17, 2018
  • “Money,” five, Feb. 2, 2019
  • “Backin’ It Up,” Pardison Fontaine featuring Cardi B, one, March 9, 2019
  • “Please Me,” with Bruno Mars, six, April 13, 2019
  • “Up,” one, March 27, 2021
  • “Wild Side,” Normani featuring Cardi B, three, Jan. 1, 2022
  • “Tomorrow 2,” with GloRilla, 10, Dec. 3, 2022
  • “Put It on Da Floor Again,” Latto featuring Cardi B, one (to date), Aug. 26, 2023

Thanks to her 11th leader, Cardi B ties R. Kelly for the sixth-most No. 1s on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay among all artists since the chart began in 1993. Here are the current standings:

  • 45, Drake
  • 20, Lil Wayne
  • 18, Chris Brown
  • 16, Usher
  • 13, Beyoncé
  • 11, Cardi B
  • 11, R. Kelly
  • 10, JAY-Z
  • 10, Rihanna

Elsewhere, “Put It on Da Floor Again” advances 3-2 on Rhythmic Airplay through a 5% improvement in plays in the latest tracking week. The single also climbs 4-3 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, which ranks songs through combined audience totals on both adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, it added 1% in audience, to reach 15 million, in the weekly tracking window. The song likewise rises one spot, 20-19, on the all-genre Radio Songs chart, where it improved 4% to 27.8 million in total audience across all formats.

23 Aug 2023

Here’s Why Beyoncé Wants Fans to Wear ‘Fabulous Silver Fashions’ for ‘Last Month’ of Renaissance Tour

If you haven’t yet stepped into Beyoncé’s House of Chrome, your time is now. On Wednesday (Aug. 23), Queen Bey took to her Instagram Stories and website to make a very special request to her fans and future Renaissance World Tour attendees.

“Virgo Season is upon us. This tour has been such a joy and as we approach the last month, my birthday wish is to celebrate with you wearing your most fabulous silver fashions to the shows 8.23 – 9.22!” she wrote. “We’ll surround ourselves in a shimmering human disco ball each night. Everybody mirroring each other’s joy. Virgo Season together in the house of chrome. See you there! Your B at [Renaissance World Tour]”

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour, her trek in support of her Billboard 200-topping Renaissance album, has grown into one of the biggest fashion spectacles of the year. From over 100 different costumes that change nearly every night to a fan-driven dress code of disco cowboy hats, silver fringe and tons of chrome and glitter, fashion has anchored the Renaissance Tour just as much as the music, choreography, production and Beyoncé’s voice.

The star, who became the most-awarded act in Grammy history in February, released Renaissance in July 2022. The album spawned a pair of Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles — “Break My Soul” (No. 1) and “Cuff It” (No. 6) — and won four Grammys, including best dance/electronic music album. The opening leg of the album’s accompanying tour, which traveled across Europe from May 10 to June 28, grossed $154 million and sold over one million tickets.

A famed Virgo, Beyoncé has championed her star sign — and astrology in general — for years. From Dangerously In Love deep cut “Signs” to Grammy-nominated Renaissance track “Virgo’s Groove,” Beyoncé has always been about celebrating “Virgo Season.” On her birthday — Sept. 4 — the “America Has a Problem” singer will play her last of three shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

23 Aug 2023

Ice-T & Public Enemy to Headline Free National Celebration of Hip-Hop Concert

Add another entry to the list of events saluting hip-hop’s 50th anniversary. Rap legends Public Enemy and Ice-T will headline The National Celebration of Hip-Hop. The free concert and cultural event will take place in Washington, D.C. — at West Potomac Park on the National Mall — on Oct. 6-7.

Among the two-day event’s highlights will be DJ Hurricane’s Beastie Boys tribute set with special guests. Also joining the aforementioned headliners will be performers Kurtis Blow, Kid ‘n Play, Soulsonic Force, Roxanne Shante, CL Smooth, Melle Mel and Scorpio, The Sugarhill Gang, Peter Gunz, DJ Kevie Kev Rockwell, Mad Skillz, MC Sha-Rock, Busy Bee, Joe Ski Love, Positive K, Boogie Black, Mick Benzo, Gumbo and Donald D.

Additional artists will be announced soon. Rounding out the celebration will be various activities including guest speakers, comedians and public figures, as well as interactive events and exhibits.

The National Celebration of Hip-Hop is presented by executive producers Nathan Parienti and Lauren Bissell of Chasing Live. They’re working collaboration with producer Mickey Bentson’s The Art of Rap, which features Ice-T.

“We are honored to continue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop against the backdrop of America’s capitol with a free event for everyone,” said Public Enemy’s Flavor Flav in a statement. “I can’t wait to get on stage and do our thing.”

Added fellow Public Enemy member Chuck D, “Hip-hop is beyond, not just a musical genre. It’s a cultural movement that has dominated art, fashion, politics, poetry, academia, film and every corner of the world for the past 50 years. This National Celebration brings it all together in one place for the people, by the people.”

Noted Ice-T, “We are coming to the National Mall itself to bring you authentic hip-hop for the 50th celebration!”

VIP pay and travel packages will be available for purchase. And sign-up for free general admission begins Wednesday (Aug. 23). More information can be found on the event’s website.

The-National-Celebration-of-Hip-Hop-poster-2023-billboard-1240

Courtesy Photo

  

23 Aug 2023

Selena Gomez Thinks The Weeknd’s ‘Starboy’ With Her AI Vocals Is ‘Scary’

Ask 100 people how they feel about AI-generated songs and you will likely get 100 different answers. But ask Selena Gomez how she feels about someone who cobbled together an AI version of The Weeknd‘s “Starboy” featuring her computer-generated vocals layered next to those of her ex and, well, her answer is swift and succinct.

“Scary.”

That’s what Gomez commented on a post featuring the reworked 2016 song, in which her face was also added to new artwork for the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single that originally featured Daft Punk. “”House so empty, need a centerpiece/ Twenty racks a table, cut from ebony/ Cut that ivory into skinny pieces/ Then she clean it with her face, man, I love my baby,” Gomez “sings” in the doctored song. The image from the fan account that posted the AI-boosted song featured a caption in Turkish that read: “How did you find Selena’s viral cover of starboy voiced with artificial intelligence?”

“Starboy” was released in November 2016, just a few months before Gomez and Tesfaye were spotted on a date in Los Angeles; the pair broke up less than a year later.

Frankly, Gomez has her own music to think about. Her upcoming single, “Single Soon,” will debut at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Tending Songs chart, powered by X, dated Aug. 26. “Single Soon” is due out on Friday (Aug. 25) and was announced by the singer on the service formerly known as Twitter on Aug. 17 with the tease, “Since I’m not quite done with SG3 [Gomez’s upcoming album], I wanted to put out a fun little song I wrote a while back that’s perfect for the end of summer.”

“Single Soon” will be the first new music from the Only Murders in the Building star since her March 2021 Spanish-language EP Revelacion.

23 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift Premieres ‘Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version)’ in ‘Wilderness’ Trailer: Watch

Taylor Swift may be in full 1989 (Taylor’s Version) mode, but Reputation fans just got a big taste of the 2017 album’s lead single.

The 33-year-old pop star debuted a huge chunk of “Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version)” in Prime Video’s new trailer for Wilderness, a psychological thriller arriving on the streaming platform Sept. 15. Starring The Sandman‘s Jenna Coleman and The Haunting of Hill House‘s Oliver Jackson-Cohen, the project explores a woman’s quest for revenge — ahem, a major theme on Reputation — after discovering her husband is having an affair.

“Liv becomes the actress starring in Will’s bad dreams after she learns about his betrayal, and her heartbreak is swiftly followed by another emotion: fury,” reads a description of the show full of Swiftian references. “The couple embark on an American road trip Liv’s fantasized about since she was little, from the Grand Canyon on through Yosemite, before ending up with a hedonistic weekend in Las Vegas.”

“For Will, it’s a chance to make amends; for Liv, it’s a very different prospect — a landscape where accidents happen all the time,” it continues. “The perfect place to get revenge. Look what he made her do…“

“Look What You Made Me Do” is featured heavily throughout the Wilderness trailer, showcasing Swift’s fresh take on the career-shifting track’s chorus and iconic tagline: “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh! ‘Cause she’s dead!”

This isn’t the first glimpse Swifties have gotten of the “Anti-Hero” singer’s imminent Reputation re-record, which hasn’t even been announced yet. During Swift’s preparations to drop 1989 (Taylor’s Version) this October, which will mark the fourth of her six expected “Versions,” she also shared a piece of “Delicate (Taylor’s Version)” in an episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty season two, also a Prime Video project.

Watch the Wilderness trailer, featuring “Look What You Made Me Do (Taylor’s Version),” above.

23 Aug 2023

‘Out of Time?’ More Like Way Out of Tune: The Weeknd Cringes After Handing His Mic to a Fan

It’s a sweet gesture familiar to any fan who regularly attends concerts: a star hands their microphone to an enthusiastic audience member who is visibly psyched to show off their knowledge of the artist’s songs by crooning a few lines. And, if they’re lucky, that fan might just surprise them by actually killing the vocal.

The Weeknd learned the hard way recently that it doesn’t always go to plan. During a show on the current swing of European After Hours Til Dawn shows, the Canadian singer/actor (who now goes by his birth name, Abel Tesfaye) spotted a woman shouting out the lyrics to his 2022 Dawn FM song “Out of Time.”

As seen in a video posted by HipHopDX, he appeared to reach out to the unseen fan and sang the lyrics of the tune directly to her, crooning, “Say I love you girl, but I’m out of time,” before pushing the mic her way, seemingly expecting the woman to seamlessly add the next line.

What came next clearly shook Abel, though. Instead of charming him with her vocal talents, the woman flat-out caterwauled “out of time” in a shriek so shocking that the singer looked genuinely stunned, closing his eyes momentarily, shaking his head and then grasping her hand as he moved on without making eye contact.

The comments on the video said it all: “LMFAO! He’s never gonna do that again. hahahha,” as well as “she had one chance and blew it lmaoo.”

Tesfaye recently announced an extension of the tour, which will now play stadiums in Australia and New Zealand in November and December after breaking attendance records at London’s Wembley Stadium with attendance of 87,000 for a one-night-only show on Aug. 18.

23 Aug 2023

Gael García Bernal & Bad Bunny Star in Lucha Libre Superstar Biopic ‘Cassandro’: Watch the Trailer

Gael García Bernal and Bad Bunny are set to star in Cassandro, the upcoming film based on the life of the wrestling and queer icon also known as the Liberace of Lucha Libre.

Bad Bunny in

Bad Bunny’s ‘Where She Goes’ Blasts In at No. 1 on Billboard Global 200 Chart

In the two-minute clip, the audience is introduced to Saúl Armendáriz (García Bernal) from El Paso, Texas, who dreams of becoming professional luchador after his father first introduced him to the sport. In the process, he transforms into Cassandro, an “exótico” who wrestles in drag.

“Are you a wrestler?” Bad Bunny asks García Bernal in the film’s new trailer. “Yes,” the Mexican actor responds. That’s the first interaction between the two in the teaser. Later in the clip, they are dancing, and there’s a first look at Bad Bunny as one of Cassandro’s love interests. Roberta Colindrez, Perla de la Rosa, Joaquín Cosío and Raúl Castillo round out the biopic’s cast.

It’s not Bad Bunny’s first role on the big screen. Last year, the Puerto Rican superstar starred in Bullet Train opposite Brad Pitt. The world of wrestling is also familiar to the hitmaker. In 2021, Bad Bunny ventured into the wrestling world by jumping off the top rope at the 2021 Royal Rumble. Most recently, the “Me Porto Bonito” singer defeated Damian Priest in a San Juan Street Fight at WWE’s premium live event Backlash in May.

After making its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival in January, Cassandro is set to hit theaters Sept. 15, and will premiere on Prime Video Sept. 22. 

Watch the film’s new trailer below:



23 Aug 2023

It’s a Cruel Summer For Security Guard Who Went Viral For Singing at Taylor Swift Eras Show: ‘I Was Fired For It’

The security guard who went viral earlier this summer for singing along to “Cruel Summer” at a Taylor Swift Eras Tour show in Minneapolis in June says the spontaneous moment got him fired from his job. In the clip, Calvin Denker gleefully joined in on the 2019 song, revealing in a TikTok video that the sing-along — and his passing notes to Swifties asking them to take pictures of him at work with Swift in the background — got him booted from the gig.

“Long story short: I was fired for it,” he says in the video. “My former security company said they had a rule about taking photos with any of their performers and the main issue they had was with my follow-up video where I said I handed out pieces of paper to the people in front of me to ask to be sent any photos that I made my way into.”

Billboard reached out to BEST Crowd Management for comment on Denker’s reported firing, but had not heard back at press time.

Denker said the HR rep from BEST did not give him any other information on why he was fired “beyond asking for photos, which is what happens at any other concert, with the only exception being that I made sure I got any I was included in.” He said every photo of him from that night was from behind the safety barricade, like any other fan photo, with Denker stressing that he never took his own phone out.

“And above all else, I made sure that Taylor Swift was safe and all the fans had a good time,” he added. Denker also said he asked the HR rep what would happen if he deleted the pics, but did not get an answer as the person he contacted went on vacation and had not responded by the time he got booked to work an Ed Sheeran show on Aug. 12 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

After getting his uniform on and speaking to his bosses — who checked in to make sure he wouldn’t be taking any videos — Denker said he was assigned to roughly the same spot he had for the Swift show near the stage for the Sheeran gig. But shortly before Sheeran took the stage, Denker said a manager moved him to a different spot. After completing his seven-hour shift, Denker said the HR person who had not responded to him about the Swift incident was upset with him for working more shifts before he was let go for good.

Denker ended the clip imploring Swifties not to lash out at BEST and said he still got to work two great shows and holds no grudges.

23 Aug 2023

Oliver Anthony Music Drops Video For ‘I Want to Go Home’ Single in Wake of Historic ‘Rich Men’ Chart Success

On the heels of his history-making No. 1 with the viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond,” Oliver Anthony Music dropped a video for his new single, “I Want To Go Home.” The acoustic ballad — which was originally uploaded to TikTok in March — got a new video on Tuesday (Aug. 22). It is another meditation on what ails the nation, which in Anthony’s telling includes mental illness, fears of war, urban spread, the loss of family farms and the lack of prayer in our lives.

“If it won’t for my old dogs and the good Lord/ They’d have me strung up in the psych ward/ ‘Cause every day livin’ in this new world/ Is one too many days to me,” Anthony sings in the first verse in his signature about-to-break voice in lines that appear to allude to the singer’s talk of pre-fame struggle with mental illness and alcohol use.

The clouds grow darker in the second verse, where he sings, “Son, we’re on the brink of the next world war/ And I don’t think nobody’s prayin’ no more/ And I ain’t sayin I know it for sure/ I’m just down on my knees,” before breaking into the chorus, which closes a circle by alluding to his breakthrough hit while providing a more personal perspective.

“Beggin’, Lord, take me home/ I wanna go home/ I don’t know which road to go
It’s been so long/ I just know I didn’t used to wake up feelin’ this way/ Cussin’ myself every damn day/ There’s always some kind of bill to pay/ People just doin’ what the rich men say/ I wanna go home,” he croons in the plainspoken visual, in which he strums an acoustic guitar in the woods surrounded by his pickup truck and his trusty dog.

The final verse laments the loss of long-held family farms sold to out-of-town speculators who clear-cut trees to make room for more asphalt jungles. As the final note rings out in the video, the screen fills with a Bible quote from Mark 8:36 about the folly of choosing material riches over salvation: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the world, and lose his own soul?”

Previously unknown former factory worker from Virginia Anthony (born Christopher Anthony Lunsford) made a historic jump to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart this week, leaping past such pop megastars as Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa in addition to more established country stars Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs. In doing so, the singer became the first unsigned artist to make that jump directly to the top, as well as the first to run straight to No. 1 without any prior chart history in any form thanks to the song that has been embraced and boosted by right-wing pundits and Fox News.

“I Want To Go Home” is among a dozen originals and covers Anthony has uploaded over the past three years and though the singer’s just-folks style and focus on heartland issues have instantly boosted his working man profile, Billboard estimated this week that he’s earned over $350,000 in royalties so far thanks to his “Rich Men” breakthrough.

“In our opinion, God has chosen to speak through Oliver and to speak to all Americans through his music, all around the world,” the singer’s co-manager Draven Riffe told Billboard over the weekend in explaining his client’s shock success. “We’ve gotten comments from Zimbabwe, every country you could think of.” 

Though Anthony has kept a low profile during his rocket rise, mostly eschewing promotional social media teases and posts while preferring to let “Rich Men” do the talking, he did grant an interview to right-wing channel Fox News over the weekend at the site of his free show in Moyock, N.C.

“We are the melting pot of the world,” he said in the chat, adding, “and that’s what makes us strong, our diversity. And we need to learn to harness that and appreciate it and not use it as a political tool to keep everyone separate from it.” The inclusive comment struck a bum note for some conservatives, however, who accused the singer of turning his back on them.

“Such a let down. Did he sell out already to the rich men north of Richmond?,” wrote one. “Damn, though we had a real one. He switched up fast,” said another.

Watch the “I Want To Go Home” video below.

22 Aug 2023

Erika Jayne Hints at What Fans Can Expect From Her Bet It All on Blonde Las Vegas Residency

Erika Jayne is getting ready to start up her very own Las Vegas residency, Bet It All on Blonde. The star will kick off her five-week stay at the House of Blues starting Friday (Aug. 25), but before gracing the stage, she sat down with Billboard News to tell fans what they can expect of her show.

“The show is based around my six-word mantra — which is how I created Erika Jayne — which is fantasy, love, escape, and then I added glitz, glamour and fun some years later,” Jayne tells Billboard News host Catrise J. “So that’s really what the Vegas show is about, so we’ll have my old stuff, new stuff, and we’ll do a clever cover or two just for nostalgia purposes, and it’s going to be great. I’m super excited to get back out and perform. I have not performed for three years.”

Other surprises during the residency will include a nod to Jayne’s appearance as Roxie Hart in Chicago (the production shuttered after two months due to COVID-19 in 2020). “We will give a nod to [Bob] Fosse in our own way,” she says. “Probably we’ll see it via costume and choreography.”

Jayne says she couldn’t believe the production got the green light in the first place after a few personal hiccups. “Well, honestly, to be really truthful, I was like: Really? I almost felt like this can’t possibly be happening,” she recalls. “I’ve gone through such a rough patch and all I was getting was bad news, so that when actually good news came through the door, I seriously for a hot second was like, is this real?”

Blame It All on Blonde will take place Aug. 25 for a run of 11 dates over five weekends through Dec. 2 at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay. Watch Jayne’s Billboard News interview in full in the video above.