Music News

21 Jul 2023

Here’s How SZA Reacted to Barack Obama Putting ‘Snooze’ on His 2023 Summer Playlist

It’s that time of year again — former president Barack Obama took to his Twitter account on Friday (July 21) to share all the songs that ended up on his summer playlist this year. And one artist in particular could not hold her excitement at being recognized by president No. 44.

“Like I do every year, here are some songs I’ve been listening to this summer — a mix of old and new. Look forward to hearing what I’ve missed,” Obama tweeted, along with a list of all the tracks in his rotation. Of the many included, SZA‘s “Snooze” made the list.

Upon seeing her inclusion, SZA took to her Instagram Stories and wrote, “My forever president said hurry up w the video and I heard him,” she wrote over his post, potentially hinting at corresponding visuals for the track.

Also included on the former president’s playlist were: J Hus and Drake’s “Who Told You,” Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro’s “Vampiros,” Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s “Princess Diana” and Janelle Monáe’s “Only Have Eyes 42.” Obama also had country represented in the rotation with Luke Combs’ chart-topping take on Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” along with indie rock with Boygenius single “Not Strong Enough.”

SZA wasn’t the only who reacted to being included. Lucy Dacus — who is one third of boygenius alongside Phoebe Bridgers and Julien Baker — took to Twitter to retweet the playlist, and wrote that Obama is a “war criminal :(” in response. (She did not specify what Obama’s war crimes were in her tweet.)

See SZA’s response to being included in Obama’s playlist below.

21 Jul 2023

JAY-Z’s Shawn Carter Foundation Teams With Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism to Stop Book Bans

On the heels of the stunning Book of HOV exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library, JAY-Z’s The Shawn Carter Foundation & Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism have joined forces for an initial $2 million fund to stop the spread of book bans. The announcement arrived today (July 21) via a press release.

Through the foundations’ collaboration, the Brooklyn Public Library will receive $1.5 million to bolster the library’s overall operations and support its Books Unbanned initiative, a nationwide campaign dedicated to providing young people with free access to books without restrictions. The funds will also provide much-needed support to a wide range of the library’s programs, including teen and children’s programs, justice initiatives, entrepreneurial support, and efforts to combat censorship.

Since the launch of The Book of HOV — a sprawling exhibit honoring Jay-Z’s life, legacy, and career — opened to the public at the library’s central branch on July 14, the Brooklyn Public Library has experienced a massive surge in attendance. The donations from the Shawn Carter Foundation and Robert Kraft’s Foundation to Combat Antisemitism will support the influx of patrons, a figure that has tripled in size since the exhibit’s debut. Book bans have become a hot political topic in recent years as various state and local governments seek to censor books that deal with marginalized identities and histories,

Last week, also on July 14, the Shawn Carter Foundation, co-founded by the “99 Problems” rapper and his mother, Gloria Carter, raised $20 million through their 20-year anniversary black-tie charity gala. Notable celebrities in attendance included Beyoncé, Babyface, Blue Ivy, Jeff Bezos, and Jack Dorsey.

21 Jul 2023

Matty Healy Says The 1975 Is Banned From Kuala Lumpur After Onstage Kiss

The 1975 took the stage at Good Vibes Festival in Malaysia on Friday (July 21), but the set came to an abrupt end after the band’s frontman Matty Healy spoke out against the country’s stances on LGBTQ+ rights.

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“I’m f–ing furious, and that’s not fair on you because you’re not representative of your government,” the 34-year-old singer-songwriter is heard telling the crowd in videos circulating social media. “Because you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool. So, I pulled the show yesterday, I pulled the show yesterday, and we had a conversation and we said, ‘You know what, we can’t let the kids down because they’re not the government.’ But, I’ve done this before. I’ve gone to a country where it’s — I don’t know what it f—ing is. Ridiculous. F—ing ridiculous to tell people what they can do with that and that. If you want to invite me here to do a show, you can f— off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good, and I’m f—ed off.”

After the rant, Healy challenged the anti-LGBTQ+ laws even further, kissing bandmate Ross MacDonald for an extended period of time. The set then ended half an hour early, with Healy telling the audience before leaving the stage: “Alright, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur, see you later.”

A source tells Billboard, “Matty has a long-time record of advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and the band wanted to stand up for their LGBTQ+ fans and community.” Back in 2019, the musician broke an anti-LGBTQ law in United Arab Emirates by going into the crowd during their show in Dubai and kissing a male concertgoer.

While there hasn’t been an official statement confirming The 1975’s band from Malaysia, Billboard has reached out to reps from the festival for more information.

According to Outright International, same-sex relationships are illegal in Malaysia, and in states imposing Islamic Sharia law, gender non-conformity is also criminalized. “Due to these laws, LGBTIQ Malaysians are subject to arbitrary arrests, assault, extortion and privacy violations by police and public officials,” according to the site.

See Healy’s speech as well as the kiss and end of the set via social media below.

21 Jul 2023

Tony Bennett, Legendary Interpreter of Great American Songbook, Dies at 96 | Billboard News

Tony Bennett died at his home in New York on July 21, according to a statement from his management company. He was 96 years old.

Tetris Kelly:
The legendary jazz singer Tony Bennett has died at the age of 96. Tony Bennett’s list of amazing achievements includes 20 Grammys, 23 Hot 100 hits and 44 Billboard 200 albums. Tony began performing in nightclubs in 1946 and will continue to perform to packed crowds all the way up to 2021 at Radio City Music Hall as a celebration of his 95th birthday, even in spite of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2016.

His last performance was with one of his most well-known collaborators, Lady Gaga. The pair released two albums together, both of which took home Grammys.

Tony collaborated with some of the biggest names in music. In addition to Gaga, Tony worked with Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Christina Aguilera, Amy Winehouse, Marc Anthony, John Legend and so many more. Tony Bennett will be greatly missed, but his spectacular music will live on.

Watch the full video above!

21 Jul 2023

Kenzie Opens Up About How Her Vulnerable ‘Anatomy’ Single Allowed for the Ultimate Inner Child Healing: ‘I Got to Let Everything Out’

If you took one look at 19-year-old Kenzie‘s Instagram, you’d see a smiling girl who loves spending time with her friends, playing with her sense of style and cuddling with her boyfriend.

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But, as we all know, social media isn’t always what it seems. “I feel like everyone thinks that all of these people on social media are perfect and don’t go through struggles. We all do,” the singer and dancer tells Billboard.

That’s why Kenzie decided on Friday (July 21) to release “Anatomy,” a heart wrenching ballad about her strained relationship with her father. “It’s just anatomy, you’re only half of me / But still you don’t know me at all / You’ve been my missing piece, so why aren’t you missing me?” she sings in the chorus, her voice nearly trembling in the way it usually does when being so deeply vulnerable for the first time.

The song, which acts as a musical therapy session, started out fittingly as a suggestion from her therapist. “When I turned 18, I started therapy and it was a big moment for me, because I just never trusted anyone to listen to my emotions,” she explains. “It just felt like a weird concept to me, you know, talking to a stranger. As I started doing therapy, she kept telling me write a letter to my dad and I felt that was so weird. So, I ended up just writing a song about it. I sent it to her and I was like, ‘Here’s my letter to my dad. Here’s everything.’”

She continues, “I ended up really loving the song and I hit the realization that there are people who will relate to this and I feel like it could help a lot of people in some way. It also gives people a chance to get to know me better.”

The track arrived along with an equally goosebump-inducing music video, in which the Dance Moms alum dances in an empty studio with the younger version of herself. “I’m healing my inner child for sure,” she says of the clip. “It was really important to me to add a younger version of myself in the video because when I was younger, I didn’t think about all of these issues. I think the second I turned 18, it all literally just came crashing down. I always used to make jokes about it. I’d just be like, “Yeah, well, that’s my life.” You know how kids are. But it’s a real life struggle that people go through and it really didn’t hit me until I was 18. Every time I watch the video, it just makes me cry because she’s so amazing in it.”

Before releasing the track, she showed it to her mother and sister — fellow dancer Maddie Ziegler — and, while she was “nervous,” the result was everything she hoped for. “I sent it to my sister and she just FaceTimed me and didn’t say anything and had tears coming down her face,” Kenzie recalls. “I also played it for my mom which I was a little nervous for because it’s a touchy subject. She’s just so supportive and she obviously cried as well. She just looked at me and was like, ‘that’s the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.’”

In fact, Maddie ended up choreographing the music video. “I mean, she loves it so much because, of course, it’s her childhood too,” Kenzie explains. “It was so special having her there with me because it is a big moment in my life to be talking about this. Just having her be a part of it made me feel at home and comforted.”

As for how she perceives her relationship with her father now, Kenzie says “Anatomy” (and therapy) has helped her immensely in coming to terms with it. “I was really hesitant to release the song, because I have so much love for my dad no matter what because he is my family. I love very deeply and I don’t hold grudges,” she says. “But it definitely was healing because I just feel so content and I feel so happy with myself. I honestly don’t have these struggles anymore and I think it’s because I was so vulnerable and got to let everything out.”

Moving forward, Kenzie wants to continue being vulnerable in her music — not only to help herself heal, but also to help others. “I just feel like it’s just so personal and I really look up to people that are honest and share their story to other people. It helps other people in many ways,” she shares. “Bottling it up and acting like it doesn’t exist is not always the healthiest way. I think it’s important to talk freely about what you’re going through, and not be afraid to share your feelings. It’s also not embarrassing! That’s how I felt for a long time with my friends that had a mom and dad, and I just felt really embarrassed and left out. I learned that it made me a strong person and it’s made me who I am.”

Watch Kenzie’s “Anatomy” music video below.

21 Jul 2023

10 Times Fans Crossed the Line With Musicians: Phone Throwing, Stage Crashing & More

In the world of modern music, you have your fans. You have your Stans. And then, beyond even that, you have people who are pretty much just one misstep away from a restraining order.

Horror stories about stalkers, trespassers and aggressive admirers are sadly nothing new in the history of music. But in the past few years, oddball behavior from fans seems to have reached a completely new level of nope, with the boundaries between artist and listener blurring more than ever before.

For instance, in the span of just a few months in 2023, artists like Drake, P!nk, Bebe Rexha and Kelsea Ballerini were either hit with items thrown at them — one of them sustaining moderate injuries as a result — or were gifted items that were way, way too personal. And before that, performers like Taylor Swift, Adam Levine and Billie Eilish were unexpectedly grabbed, tackled or kissed (absolutely not, folks!) by unruly fans right in the middle of a concert.

There are plenty of theories as to why these incidents have increased in recent years, with some arguing that in the social media age, constant access and visibility has encouraged inappropriate behavior. It’s also been said that two years (give or take) of isolation in the COVID-19 pandemic made people forget how to act when face-to face with their faves.

But whatever the reason, there’s absolutely no excuse for fans to turn celebrities into targets for airborne objects, unauthorized physical contact or unplanned stage sharing. For a list of what not to do when in the same space as a musician, see 10 examples of times people definitely crossed the line with artists below.

21 Jul 2023

Travis Scott, Bad Bunny x The Weeknd, Britney Spears x Will.i.am & More: What’s Your Favorite Music Release of the Week? Vote!

This week’s new music Friday features a mega collaboration across genres with Travis Scott, The Weeknd and Bad Bunny teaming up for a track, as well as the return of former One Direction member ZAYN and Britney Spears — with help from Will.i.am — for new singles.

Scott, The Weeknd and Bad Bunny’s new single “K-Pop” has none of the trappings from the genre of the same name. Instead, the track opts for Afrobeats for instrumentation as Scott and Benito carry the first half of the song. The Weeknd gets listeners moving toward the end of the track, and ultimately reveals the drug that the title of the track is in reference to.

Spears dips a toe into her Blackout era lyricism with Will.i.am collab “Mind Your Business.” On the single, the pop star sings, “Paparazzi shot me, I am the economy/ Follow me, follow me, follow me,” recalling the hectic swarm of media attention she received in the early aughts as well as the 2020s. Much like their previous collab “Scream & Shout,” “Mind Your Business” is an electro-pop ear worm that has potential to inch its way onto the charts.

Zayn returned on Friday with “Love Like This,” his first offering since releasing his third studio album, Nobody Is Listening, in 2021. Re-energized from a switch to a new label (Mercury Records), the former boy bander tries new sounds through use of U.K. garage instrumentation. The choice is a wise one that allows his vocals to sensually float above the thumping beats, as he sings of giving himself up to a new and enticing romance.

There’s also new material from Ice Spice, Diplo and Chris Stapleton, and the Barbie The Album on Friday. It’s a lot to choose from, but what was your favorite new release of the week? Vote in the poll below.

21 Jul 2023

Lucy Dacus Calls Barack Obama a ‘War Criminal’ After Boygenius Made His Playlist

Barack Obama unveiled his annual summer playlist on Thursday afternoon (July 20), sharing his eclectic mix of music recommendations.

Upon seeing that Boygenius’ “Not Strong Enough” made the list, the group’s guitarist Lucy Dacus was not thrilled. She took to Twitter to retweet the playlist, writing, “war criminal :(.”

While its not entirely clear what incident Dacus is referring to in her response, the former POTUS came under fire during his presidency for his approval of drone warfare and authorizing the use of strikes in Pakistan and Yemen, which ended up killing hundreds of civilians.

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The 44th commander-in-chief has been known over the past few years to treat followers with at least two playlists — one in the summer and one at the end of each year — every year.

Among the other songs featured on Obama’s 2023 summer playlist included SZA’s “Snooze,” J Hus and Drake’s “Who Told You,” Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro’s “Vampiros,” Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s “Princess Diana” and Janelle Monáe’s “Only Have Eyes 42.” Classics from Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding and Ella Fitzgerald also made the cut.

 “Like I do every year, here are some songs I’ve been listening to this summer — a mix of old and new,” Obama tweeted. “Look forward to hearing what I’ve missed.”

21 Jul 2023

NewJeans Make Triumphant Return With Second EP ‘Get Up’: Stream It Now

Bunnies, the wait is finally over. NewJeans released its second EP, Get Up, to streaming on Friday (July 21).

The 12-minute project features six songs: “New Jeans,” “Super Shy,” “ETA,” “Cool With You,” “Get Up” and “ASAP.”

“Super Shy,” the first single from the EP, is off to a strong start on the Billboard charts: The track hit No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. rankings following its July 7 arrival. “New Jeans,” the pre-release single done in collaboration with Cartoon Network’s Powerpuff Girls, also debuted on both charts at Nos. 32 and 19, respectively.

The EP — which follows the group’s debut EP New Jeans and single album OMG — comes after the release of two cinematic videos for “Cool With You” starring Squid Game‘s HoYeon Jung and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings‘ Tony Leung on Thursday, and a video in collaboration with Apple for “ETA” on Friday morning. A music video for “ASAP,” the final visual for the album, is slated to premiere on July 26.

Get Up serves as a full circle moment for members Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin and Hyein, as it arrives about a year after NewJeans made its formal debut as a group with the release of “Attention.” Up next for the girls is a performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago, which also serves as the group’s first ever performance in the United States.

Stream Get Up below.

21 Jul 2023

Chris Stapleton Releases ‘White Horse,’ the First Glimpse at Upcoming Album ‘Higher’

Chris Stapleton is back with a new song and an upcoming new album.

The country star revealed he will release his new album, Higher, on Nov. 10, and revealed a new song from the album, “White Horse,” which Stapleton wrote with Semisonic’s Dan Wilson. (This isn’t the first time the two have collaborated; they previously worked together on Stapleton’s 2015 track “When the Stars Come Out.”)

Not to be confused with Taylor Swift‘s own mournful 2008 tune, Stapleton’s new blistering, bluesy rock anthem warns a lover that she might have a while to wait before he settles down.

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“If you want a cowboy on a white horse riding off into the sunset/ If that’s the kinda love you wanna wait for/ Hold on tight, girl, I ain’t there yet,” he sings.

Higher will mark the first project from Stapleton since 2021’s Starting Over.

The new album was produced by Stapleton with Morgane Stapleton and Dave Cobb, and recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A. The 14-song album features work from Cobb (acoustic guitar, eclectic guitar), J.T. Cure (bass), Paul Franklin (pedal steel), Derek Mixon (drums), Morgane (background vocals, synthesizer, tambourine) and Lee Pardini (organ, piano).

Stapleton is currently opening for George Strait’s stadium shows, and leading his own headlining All-American Road Show tour. Earlier this year, he showcased his signature burly voice on a global stage, as he performed the national anthem to open the Super Bowl.

Here’s the Higher tracklist:

  1. “What Am I Gonna Do”
  2. “South Dakota”
  3. “Trust”
  4. “It Takes a Woman”
  5. “The Fire”
  6. “Think I’m In Love With You”
  7. “Loving You on My Mind”
  8. “White Horse”
  9. “Higher”
  10. “The Bottom”
  11. “The Day I Die”
  12. “Crosswind”
  13. “Weight of Your World”
  14. “Mountains of My Mind”