Music News

17 Aug 2023

Lana Del Rey’s Mexico City Concerts: 5 Most Memorable Moments

For the third time in her career, Lana Del Rey performed in Mexico City on Tuesday (Aug. 15), where she offered an unforgettable show at the Foro Sol that gathered 65,000 attendees, according the promoter Ocesa.

It was the first of two concerts in the Mexican capital as part of her international Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd Tour 2023.

The audience responded happily to the warmth that the singer, producer, actress and model brought to the large crowd as soon as she stepped on stage. Lana del Rey’s first performance at the Foro Sol, since her last visit to Mexico in 2016, was marked by the affection and generosity she showed to her fans during the visits she made hours before to various tourist spots in the city, which were shared on social media. 

On Wednesday (Aug. 16), the artist gave her second and last show in Mexico as part of her tour. Her concerts originally scheduled for Aug. 18 and 20 in Guadalajara and Monterrey, respectively, will be rescheduled for dates yet to be announced by Ocesa.

Here are five of the most memorable moments of her show at the iconic Mexican venue, plus the complete setlist!

17 Aug 2023

Post Malone’s ‘Diamond Collection’ Is the Top Debut on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart

Post Malone shines with the week’s top debut on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as The Diamond Collection starts at No. 3 on the list dated Aug. 19. The collection, effectively a greatest hits compilation with many of the rapper-singer’s biggest hits, launches on the chart with 32,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 11, according to Luminate.

Of the 32,000-unit week, just under 31,000 units derives from streaming activity, equal to 43.4 million official on-demand audio and video streams for the album’s songs this week. Album sales contribute 1,000 of the remaining units, with a negligible amount of activity is from track-equivalent units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)

With The Diamond Collection, Post Malone logs his fifth consecutive top five effort on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. His first four visits topped the list: 2016’s Stoney needed nearly a year to assert its three-week run at No. 1 in 2017-18, while Beerbongs & Bentleys (2018), Hollywood’s Bleeding (2019) and Twelve Carat Toothache (2022) all debuted at the summit and ruled for five, seven, and two weeks, respectively.

The Diamond Collection was released on April 21 to celebrate Post Malone’s eight RIAA-certified diamond songs, which comprised in its entire tracklist for its standard edition: “White Iverson,” “Congratulations” featuring Quavo, “I Fall Apart,” “Rockstar” featuring 21 Savage, “Psycho” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, “Better Now,” “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” with Swae Lee and “Circles.” The set was re-issued on July 21 with 10 additional tracks that are not certified diamond, but nonetheless are also some of Post Malone’s most popular and successful cuts from his five studio albums, such as “Wow.,” “Take What You Want” and “I Like You (A Happier Song”) featuring Doja Cat.

Beyond the bonus of new deluxe-edition tracks, The Diamond Collection’s debut traces to it pulling all the track-equivalent units (TEA) and streaming-equivalent units (SEA) for its songs for the week. As all the tracks on The Diamond Collection are also spread across Post Malone’s studio albums, the songs’ sales and streaming activity are assigned to whichever album has the most sales for the week. The Diamond Collection is Post Malone’s second-best-selling album for the week (only his latest release, Austin, sold more), thus, it draws the TEA and SEA activity for all tracks that are shared on Diamond and his non-Austin albums. (Should another album overtake it next week, for example, the songs that the album shares with The Diamond Collection would revert TEA and SEA contributions to that album, instead.) With many of Post Malone’s biggest hits linked to The Diamond Collection this week, Post Malone’s three albums from last week’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart – Hollywood’s Bleeding (No. 10), Beerbongs & Bentleys (No. 34) and Stoney (No. 46) – fall off the list.

Elsewhere, The Diamond Collection begins at No. 2 on the Top Rap Albums chart and at No. 16 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart.

17 Aug 2023

SEVENTEEN’S S.COUPS Tears ACL, Will Undergo Surgery

As SEVENTEEN prepares to bring its Follow Tour to Japan in September, the chart-topping K-pop group experienced a setback. On Thursday (Aug. 17), PLEDIS Entertainment revealed that SEVENTEEN member S.COUPS “will be unable to participate in the majority of official activities for the foreseeable future” due to a torn ACL in his left knee.

“On Aug. 10, S.COUPS sustained an injury to the left knee as he was landing while playing a ball game for a content shoot. He was immediately taken to the hospital where he underwent a comprehensive medical examination including an MRI scan. During the examination, a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was identified in the left knee,” wrote PLEDIS in a statement posted on Weverse. “The artist is receiving necessary medical treatment prior to the surgery as recommended by the medical staff, and will undergo surgery as soon as possible. We will provide another update on the progression of treatments and his rehabilitation schedule at a later time.”

SEVENTEEN was in the midst of a very packed year. In April, the group released FML, its tenth EP, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. By July, the group launched its Follow Tour in Seoul, South Korea, with a pair of shows at Gocheok Sky Dome on July 21-22. In addition to prepping for the Japanese leg of the Follow Tour this month, SEVENTEEN is also slated to release Always Yours, their second compilation album, on Aug. 23 in celebration of the five-year anniversary of their Japanese debut.

While SEVENTEEN’s busy year is far from over and S.COUPS “is highly determined to attend all of the group’s prearranged engagements,” according to PLEDIS, he will be moving at much slower pace compared to his bandmates, and “his participation will be adjusted depending on the circumstances.” “S.COUPS will be unable to participate in the majority of official activities for the foreseeable future, and will focus on his recovery through surgery and rehabilitation.”

Even in the midst of sharing the bad news, PLEDIS still sought to empathize with fans, writing, “We would like to extend our deepest apology to his fans for any distress or worry this may have caused.”

SEVENTEEN has earned three top 10 titles on the Billboard 200 from five overall entries: 2022’s SEVENTEEN 4th Album: Face The Sun (No. 7) and SEVENTEEN 4th Album Repackage: ‘Sector 17’ (No. 4) and 2023’s SEVENTEEN 10th Mini Album: FML (No. 2). The group has also scored 22 top 10 hits on World Digital Song Sales, including “Nice Very Nice” (No. 2), “Don’t Wanna Cry” (No. 3) and “Clap” (No. 4).

17 Aug 2023

Selena Gomez Announces New Song ‘Single Soon’ That’s ‘Perfect for the End of Summer’

In one fell swoop, Selena Gomez is returning to music and casting a last-minute bid for song of the summer.

The pop star announced Thursday (Aug. 17) that her new song “Single Soon” is set to arrive next Friday, Aug. 25, tiding fans over until Gomez is able to finish her highly anticipated third album. “Y’all have been asking for new music for a while,” she wrote on Instagram, sharing the track’s glamorous cover art. “Since I’m not quite done with SG3, I wanted to put out a fun little song I wrote a while back that’s perfect for the end of summer.”

“SINGLE SOON,” she added. “August 25th. Presave it now. ?”

Produced by Benny Blanco and Cashmere Cat, “Single Soon” unofficially kicks off Gomez’s new era of music, something fans have spent years waiting and wishing for. She hasn’t released an album since Rare in 2020, though she did drop her all-Spanish EP Revalación the following year. She’s also guested on a handful of sporadic singles since her last full album, including Rema’s 2022 smash “Calm Down,” and released a standalone track “My Mind & Me” in support of her documentary of the same name last year.

In the “Single Soon” cover art, Gomez smolders in front of the camera, posing in the backseat of a car with a glamorous fur jacket. The Only Murders In the Building star also shared a handful of behind-the-scenes photos featuring a couple of friends, a clothing rack filled with costumes and a note reading “I’m sorry I can’t don’t hate me,” possibly hinting at a “Single Soon” music video.

The new music news comes on the heels of Gomez’s Rare Beauty Impact Fund announcement, which she shared last week. In October, the makeup mogul will host a benefit event supporting her business’ philanthropic branch, which aims to maintain openness regarding mental health stigma and provide education to enquiring youth worldwide. Only Murders co-star Martin Short and Gomez’s “Wolves” collaborator Marshmello are both expected to make appearances at the L.A. event.

See Selena’s “Single Soon” announcement below:

17 Aug 2023

Leonard Bernstein’s Family Say They’re ‘Perfectly Fine’ With Bradley Cooper’s Fake Nose in ‘Maestro’ Trailer

The three children of late conductor/composer/pianist Leonard Bernstein have defended Bradley Cooper‘s artistic choices amid criticism that the actor/director’s portrayal of their father in the upcoming biopic Maestro leans into an antisemitic stereotype.

After the first trailer for the long-awaited film starring and directed by Cooper dropped earlier this week, some commenters questioned the star’s choice to wear a large prosthetic nose, an image that they said amplified a hurtful Jewish stereotype.

“Bradley Cooper included the three of us along every step of his amazing journey as he made his film about our father,” Jamie, Alexander, and Nina Bernstein said in a statement; while Cooper is not Jewish, Bernstein was born to Jewish parents. “We were touched to the core to witness the depth of his commitment, his loving embrace of our father’s music, and the sheer open-hearted joy he brought to his exploration. It breaks our hearts to see any misrepresentations or misunderstandings of his efforts.”

They added that, “It happens to be true that Leonard Bernstein had a nice, big nose. Bradley chose to use makeup to amplify his resemblance, and we’re perfectly fine with that. We’re also certain that our dad would have been fine with it as well. Any strident complaints around this issue strike us above all as disingenuous attempts to bring a successful person down a notch — a practice we observed all too often perpetrated on our own father.”

The Netflix film co-written by Cooper as well, is focused on the beloved composer’s relationship with Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), who the conductor married in 1951; the film is co-produced by Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese, among others.

One of those criticizing the choice was Joel Swanson, a Jewish History PhD student at the Univ. of Chicago, who wrote, “This isn’t about making a non-Jewish actor look more like Leonard Bernstein; it’s about making a non-Jewish actor look more like a Jewish stereotype.” After his comment was picked up by a number of major news outlets — including in a Time magazine article that asked a representation question about whether “only actors of a certain ethnicity or marginalized group” should portray characters with that same background — Swanson clarified on Wednesday that he was not advocating for that position.

“I just think the nose is a little gross, that’s all,” Swanson wrote of the use of the nose prosthetics as other commenters noted that when Cooper starred in The Elephant Man on Broadway in 2015 he chose not to wear prosthetics to portray John Merrick, who suffered from severe physical deformities.

Maestro is slated to premiere at the Venice Film Festival later this month and hit select theaters on Nov. 22 and Netflix on Dec. 20. So far Cooper has not made a public statement about the controversy and a spokesperson for Netflix had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.

Bernstein’s children also noted in their post that “at all times” during the making of the film they could “feel the profound respect and yes, the love that Bradley brought to his portrait of Leonard Bernstein and his wife, our mother Felicia. We feel so fortunate to have had this experience with Bradley, and we can’t wait for the world to see his creation.”

See Swanson and the Bernstein’s tweets and the movie trailer below.

17 Aug 2023

Doja Cat’s ‘Paint the Town Red’ Posts Top 10 Debut on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart

Doja Cat splashes into the top 10 of Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart as “Paint the Town Red” opens at No. 6 on the list dated Aug. 19. The track gives the singer-rapper her eighth career top 10 on the chart — which combines streaming, radio airplay and sales data into its rankings — as it bursts onto streaming charts and has a strong premiere at various radio formats.

“Paint the Town Red,” released Aug. 4 through Kemosabe/RCA Records, launches with 14 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Aug. 10, according to Luminate. The eight-figure sum sparks the tune’s No. 4 start (and her ninth career top 10) on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart and a No. 11 arrival on the corresponding, all-genre Streaming Songs list. In the sales market, “Paint the Town Red” begins at No. 5 on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales, with 3,000 downloads in the same tracking week.

Initial radio airplay shows “Paint the Town Red” landing at three radio formats — rhythmic, R&B/hip-hop, and pop — and giving Doja Cat the strongest debut radio week of her catalog. On Rhythmic Airplay, the new single enters at No. 22 to rewrite the mark for Doja Cat’s best debut among her 19 career entries, passing the No. 26 bows of “Like That,” featuring Gucci Mane, in 2020 and “Attention” last month.

Similarly, the superstar captures new career-best debuts on Pop Airplay and Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay – at No. 23 on the former, improving upon the No. 26 opening achieved through her featured turn on Post Malone’s “I Like That (A Happier Song)” in June 2022, while a No. 27 breakthrough on the latter outdoes the No. 29 kickoff for the Doja-assisted “Pussy Talk” by City Girls.

With “Paint the Town Red,” Doja Cat nabs her eighth top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Here’s a review of her collection:

Song Title, Artist (if other than Doja Cat), Peak Position, Peak Date

  • “Say So,” No. 1 (two weeks), May 16, 2020
  • “Streets,” No. 7, Feb. 13, 2021
  • “Best Friend,” Saweetie featuring Doja Cat, No. 6, June 12, 2021
  • “Ain’t Sh-t”, July 10, 2021
  • “You Right,” with The Weeknd, No. 2, Sept. 4, 2021
  • “Woman,” No. 2, March 26, 2022
  • “Get Into It (Yuh),” No. 7, June 25, 2022
  • “Paint the Town Red,” No. 6 (to date), Aug. 19, 2023

Notably, “Paint the Town Red” samples elements of another No. 6 hit, the Dionne Warwick standard “Walk on By,” which reached that peak on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964. Thanks to the inclusion, songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal Davis extend their storied writing careers on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, which includes penning other hits, including many recorded by Warwick, such as “Don’t Make Me Over” (No. 5) and “I Say a Little Prayer” (No. 8).

Elsewhere, “Paint the Town Red” begins at No. 15 on the Hot 100, the week’s highest debut, and No. 5 on the Hot Rap Songs chart.

17 Aug 2023

Jamie Foxx Says He’s ‘Finally Startin to Feel Like Myself’ Following Health Scare: ‘GOD IS GOOD’

Jamie Foxx has shared another update following his April health scare, revealing he’s feeling better than ever in the months since his hospitalization.

The 55-year-old movie star took to Instagram Wednesday (Aug. 16) to thank fans for the well wishes, sharing a carousel of photos showing him enjoying some time outdoors. “You’re lookin at a man who is thankful… finally startin to feel like myself…,” he wrote in his caption. “It’s been an unexpected dark journey… but I can see the light…”

“I’m thankful to everyone that reached out and sent well wishes and prayers…,” Foxx continued. “I have a lot of people to thank… u just don’t know how much it meant… I will be thanking all of you personally… and if you didn’t know… GOD IS GOOD… all day every day…”

The post comes about four months after the Strays star was hospitalized for an unknown “medical complication,” as shared by his daughter in April. The family has remained private about the details of Foxx’s illness, though the actor did open up about his experience in a July Instagram video.

“I went through something that I thought I would never ever go through,” he told fans at the time. “I know a lot of people were waiting and, you know, wanting to hear updates but to be honest with you, I just didn’t want you to see me like that.”

Foxx’s latest update follows close behind controversy surrounding a post he made about being “betrayed by a fake friend,” as he later clarified. His word choice in the since-deleted post — “They killed this dude name Jesus … What do you think they’ll do to you???!” — sparked outrage as some thought the star was spreading antisemitic rhetoric.

“I want to apologize to the Jewish community and everyone who was offended by my post,” he responded in a follow-up apology. “I now know my choice of words have caused offense and I’m sorry. That was never my intent. To clarify, I was betrayed by a fake friend and that’s what I meant with ‘they’ not anything more. I only have love in my heart for everyone. I love and support the Jewish community. My deepest apologies to anyone who was offended.”

17 Aug 2023

Post Malone Gets Shout-Out From Allen Iverson After ‘White Iverson’ Notches 1B Spotify Streams: ‘The Whole World Loves This Song’

Post Malone got the ultimate shout-out this week when his debut breakthrough 2016 single, “White Iverson,” crossed the 1 billion streams mark on Spotify and the man who inspired it gave Austin some love.

“Congrats on 1 billion Spotify streams,” retired 11-time NBA All-star Allen Iverson said in a video tribute posted by Spotify. “The whole world loves this song and I’m honored to be a part of it. Keep that same form, Post.”

According to the commemorative clip, “White Iverson” became the 10th song to cross that magic mark back on April 10, a momentous occasion that was celebrated with a memorial plaque sent to the rapper during his two-night stand at London’s O2 Arena in May.

In the video — which was part of Monday’s roll-out of the second episode of Spotify’s Billion Club: The Series show — we see Malone unwrap his latest shiny honor, and in typical fashion he wonders if he could shotgun a whole beer through it. He then promptly sets up a game of Backstage Plaque Pong, using the Spotify honor as an excuse to play his favorite drinking contest. He also takes time to tell the story behind the music.

“I made the beat and I wrote the song but I didn’t know how to work ProTools and so I took it over to my buddy’s house,” he explains as he, of course, pours a full beer into the plaque after promising to find a “cool spot” for his new hardware in the studio he’s building at home.

“It’s such a cool thing looking at something and saying ‘we did that… the team did that and the people like the music that much enough to play it a billion times,’” he said. “I couldn’t be more… I guess grateful is the word I’m looking for. It feels super cool that the song does connect with people, and I’m just happy to bring joy into anyone’s life when I can. It’s an amazing feeling for me, and that really gave me the confidence and courage to keep attempting to do what I love. I just appreciate all the support, and it’s the most beautiful feeling in the world for me.”

Malone also noted that beloved point guard Iverson’s shooting inspired his own legendary lights-out beer pong game — which AI also gave props to in his message — ending with footage of Iverson miming a jumper fading into Posty arcing a perfect shot into the suds-soaked plaque. “White Iverson” debuted on Malone’s SoundCloud channel in 2015 and then served as the lead single from his 2016 debut album, Stoney.

The singer is currently on tour in support of his Austin album, with the final show on his North American summer tour slated for Saturday (Aug. 19) at Glen Helen Amphitheater in San Bernardino, CA.

Check out the Spotify video below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=Sm9vNQ9ZcYQ&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

17 Aug 2023

Nick Jonas Was Up Above It, Then He Was Down In It: Watch the JoBro Fall Into a Hole on Stage in Boston

Nick Jonas had a rough day at work on Tuesday. The Jonas Brothers singer and solo star was minding his own business during the group’s The Tour date at Boston’s TD Garden gig while singing “Sail Away” when a trap door opened up behind him and, well, there’s no easy way to say it, he fell in.

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While moving backwards to rejoin his bros Kevin and Joe, Nick slipped into the void, but, like any pro who has been doing this most of his life, he jumped back up and kept the party rolling. Idina Menzel thought it was hilarious, reposting footage of the stage drop with the message, “hang in there @nickjonas.”

While Nick didn’t appear to comment on the slip and fall, he did post a series of pics on his Instagram celebrating big bro Joe Jonas’ 34th birthday on Tuesday. “Beautiful night in Boston celebrating @joejonas. See you again for show #2 tonight! #THETOUR,” he wrote alongside a carousel with highlights from the first night at the Garden, including Nick and Kevin presenting Joe with a giant three-tiered birthday cake on stage.

Joe also posted some highlights from the night, including a video of the packed arena crowd serenading him with “Happy Birthday” as he was presented with a comically large birthday card signed by fans. “Celebrated my birthday in Boston with 19,000 of my closest friends,” read the on-screen description of the clip, accompanied by the DNCE-themed caption, “Cake By the Boston. Love you. Thank you!”

Joe also posted pics from a family birthday dinner and his own carousel of snaps with personal highlights from night one of their two-night Beantown stand.

Check out Menzel’s tweet and fans serenading Joe below.

17 Aug 2023

Ed Sheeran Appears to Teases Release Date For ‘Autumn Variations’ Album in Jokey ‘Damper Hamper’ Informercial

Famed Game of Thrones extra Ed Sheeran has flipped the script on Westeros’ favorite wintry warning with his recent “Autumn Is Coming” teaser campaign. Now he’s finally confirmed that his weeks of cryptic Instagram photos and videos — including a bit last week where he worked a shift at a Minneapolis LEGO store and flashed a minifig wearing a shirt with the fall-themed slogan — has a pay-off.

Kind of.

The “Eyes Closed” singer made Sheerios work for it a bit, though. The information came in the form of a fake 90-second informercial from the Gingerbread Man Shopping Channel that dropped on Wednesday (Aug. 16) in which Ed plays a cheesy pitchman whose tagline is: “if you like it a bit damper, check out my hamper!”

In a fast-talking bit where he talks up the wonders of the season of leaves and soggy rain, Sheeran promises a “brand new product” that will help you – yes, you! — deliver the “glum of autumn to the folks you love most.” Okay, so what he technically appears to be selling is an apple box filled with dirty, wet clothes, mashed potatoes, a warm pint, a rake, scarf, frozen pies and other miscellaneous items.

The wind-up leads to what appears to be the album title, Autumn Variations, with an accompanying phone number (917-909-4498) revealing that while all damper hampers are currently sold out, the shop will be re-stocking on Aug. 24. At press time a spokesperson for Sheeran had not returned a request for additional information on the project.

Before the commercial dropped, Sheeran shared more details about the album in an interview with Andy Cohen for his Deep & Shallow SiriusXM podcast. When Cohen asked if “Autumn Is Coming” was a reference to new music coming in October, Sheeran said “not in October. No, but there is new music coming.”

To clarify, Sheeran said, “It’s an album about Autumn and… I kind of have no expectations for it. I sort of, I made it whilst basically I, it was the album I was trying to make and then – (subtract) happened. And then, so I kind of like have finished it over the last year and, yeah, it’s ready to come out, so I’m gonna put it out.”

The interview came ahead of an exclusive show on Monday for SiriusXM subscribers and a group of special guests at Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, NY that included Howard and Beth Stern, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi, John Mayer, Brooke Shields, Paul McCartney, Stella McCartney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cohen, James Corden, Michael J. Fox, Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld and others.  

Sheeran dropped his latest maths-themed album, – (subtract), in May of this year.

Check out Sheeran’s informercial below.