Music News

17 Jul 2023

Nick Carter Is Ready to Explore ‘Creative Personal Expression’ on Upcoming Solo Tour: Exclusive

Nick Carter feels most himself when he’s making music. After touring the world with the Backstreet Boys for the past four years, one might think he’d step back and take a much deserved break — but, in fact, he’s just getting started.

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“When I got back home and was finally able to be with the family, it was so amazing, but I’m a musician, I’m a performer. I love music, and so I decided that I wanted to get back on the road and do what I love,” the 43-year-old superstar tells Billboard.

That’s why he’s heading out on the road for his first solo tour in seven years. The Who I Am tour, announced exclusively via Billboard, aims to capture the music, the stories and the journey that, fittingly, made Carter who he is. “I was born in 1980 and there was a lot of music that influenced me throughout the years to be one of the members of the Backstreet Boys. So, I’m going to perform a lot of songs that I love,” he says of what fans can expect from the 14-show run. “80s songs, 90s songs — songs that that we all grew up with, and then also some solo songs and a lot of the Backstreet Boys songs. It’s just going to be a real fun show.”

The tour kicks off on October 4 in Lexington, Ky., before making its way through cities like Nashville, Tempe and Orlando before wrapping up on October 25 in Las Vegas. While Carter will be honoring his Backstreet Boys pop roots, fans can also expect to see a new side of the singer.

“I’m going to go out with a band, and I play guitar. I’m going to be playing drums throughout the show. So, it has a bit more creative personal expression and is a little bit more organic, I guess you could say,” he says of how his tour differs from a BSB run, before sharing the “surprising” songs he hopes to add into the setlist. “There’s no walls for me when it comes to music,” Carter says with a laugh. “One of the songs I really want to do is Simple Mind’s ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ from The Breakfast Club and another one I want to do is Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted Dead or Alive.’ I’m actually going to do some rap because I grew up listening to rap music. I’m gonna tear up some rap and do my own East Coast versus West Coast!”

Don’t worry, Backstreet Boys fans. Just because Carter is embarking on a solo tour, doesn’t mean he’s not still close with the rest of the guys. “I’m probably going to write a song with AJ [McLean], and I just hung out with Kevin [Richardson] recently. We went to a yoga retreat together,” he says.

Carter’s Who I Am tour comes at a particularly poignant time in the superstar’s life. In November, his younger brother and fellow pop star Aaron Carter died at age 34 after he drowned in the bathtub at his home in Lancaster, Calif., after inhaling difluoroethane and taking alprazolam. His cause of death was deemed accidental.

“It’s been a very rough year for me and my family and losing my brother is still something that I’m processing,” Nick shares. Following Aaron’s death, Nick and his sister Angel launched a donation fund in their late brother’s memory to benefit On Our Sleeves, which advocates to break the stigma surrounding mental health and provides children’s mental health resources to families and teachers nationwide.

“You try to find ways to cope with the things that are being thrown at you in life. Leaning into anything philanthropic or charitable, it makes it about something bigger than yourself,” Nick says of his past few months. “When my sister and I [launched the donation fund], I think that was the only way we were able to process what we’ve been going through. It’s become about how can we turn what we’ve been feeling into something that can hopefully help somebody else, and then we can learn from it and then somebody else can learn from it.”

“I love my brother. He’s my baby brother and I love him. Losing him, it’s been really hard,” he adds, before taking time to offer some advice for those also going through the loss of a loved one. “You just have to take life as it comes and learn from it and, most importantly, just know that you’re not alone.”

Amid the grieving process, Nick has also been facing a new sexual abuse lawsuit from Melissa Schuman – a former member of teen-pop group Dream who has long claimed that she was assaulted by the singer. “I’m a really strong believer in the legal system,” the Backstreet Boys member tells Billboard, noting that he can’t share too many details about the ongoing lawsuit at this time. “I’m confident that justice will be served in the end, and I actually look forward to speaking about it more when it’s all over.”

As for now, Nick says that the Who I Am tour has provided a much welcomed beam of light in a particularly tumultuous year. “I’m a musician. I’m an artist. I’m a performer, but I’m also a human first,” he explains. “Music is therapeutic to me and we all find ways to manage the things that we’re going through in life. Getting out there and performing for fans and just being who I am — it’ll help me during this this time.”

Tickets and exclusive VIP packages for the Who I Am tour go on sale starting July 21 here. See below for the full list of tour dates.

Oct. 4 – Singletary Center for the Arts – Lexington, KY
Oct. 5 – The Family Arena – St. Charles, MO
Oct. 7 – Schermerhorn Symphony Center – Nashville, TN
Oct. 8 – The Classic Center Theatre – Athens, GA
Oct. 9 – Harbison Theatre – Irmo, SC
Oct. 11 – Shaftman Performance Hall Jefferson Center – Roanoke, VA
Oct. 13 – Wilson Center – Wilmington, NC
Oct. 15 – Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center – Orlando, FL
Oct. 17 – Pompano Beach Amphitheater – Pompano Beach, FL
Oct. 19 – Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts – Gainesville, FL
Oct. 20 – Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall – Sarasota, FL
Oct. 22 – Morsani Hall Straz Center for the Performing Arts – Tampa, FL
Oct. 24 – Mullett Arena – Tempe, AZ
Oct. 25 – The Theater at Virgin Hotel Las Vegas – Las Vegas, NV

17 Jul 2023

BTS’ J-Hope Releasing Physical Edition of ‘Jack in the Box’ Album With Live Lollapalooza Tracks

Though BTS‘ J-Hope is in the midst of his mandatory military service, the singer is still giving ARMY something to talk about, and listen to. BIGHIT Music announced on Monday morning (July 17) that a year after its initial release, Hope’s solo debut, Jack in the Box, will be released in a physical version on August 18.

Jack in the Box (HOPE Edition) will feature the original album tracks, along with three new live recordings from Hope’s history-making performance at Lollapalooza in 2022 in Chicago, as well as two instrumental tracks. According to a release, the physical album will also include new concept photos and a number of other “special components.”

At press time the full track listing had not yet been announced.

Back in April, J-Hope’s bandmates gave him an emotional send-off to celebrate his entry into mandatory South Korean military bootcamp to fulfill the country’s 18-month service requirement. Suga, RM, Jung Kook, Jimin and V showed up at the drop-off location to send the rapper off and lift his spirits, lightening the mood by making some playful comments about JH’s new buzz cut.

While JH serves his country, ARMY got another chance to spend time with him last month when a solo documentary, j-hope IN THE BOX, was released to theaters worldwide as part of the k-pop group’s 10th anniversary celebration. A description of the film said it would give viewers, “a close look at the creative process of the artist during the album’s preparation process, as well as front row seats to j-hope’s epic 2022 Lollapalooza performance and the Jack In The Box listening party.”

J-Hope made history last August when he became the first South Korean artist to headline the main stage at a major Ameican music festival.

17 Jul 2023

Luke Combs Stadium Show in Charlotte Paused Due to Lightning Storm

Luke Combs‘ headlining gig at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. was paused on Saturday night when a major storm front rolled through. The lightning alert was posted to Twitter just after 9 p.m., when the venue announced, “Lightning has been detected within an 8-mile radius of us. We are now in our Shelter in Place protocol.”

The note explained to fans that the protocol would remain in effect until no lightning was detected within the 8-mile radius of the stadium for 15 minutes. Combs also alerted his fans in a note on Twitter, writing, “Hey y’all, we’re gonna do our best to get on the stage as soon as we can. The venue will keep you updated every 15 minutes.”

According to WCNC, stadium officials lifted the shelter-in-place protocol shortly after 10 p.m. Earlier in the night, opening act Lainey Wilson was also reportedly impacted by lightning when she told the audience that she’d be performing acoustic because lightning had taken out some of her gear. Charlotte-based journalist Jackie Long tweeted, “lightning took out @laineywilson’s equipment so she just did the Luke Comb’s opener @BofAstadium with an acoustic guitar and one band member.”

Longo later tweeted that Combs had left the stage before his headlining set was slated to begin due to the lightning alert. Combs was was eventually able to hit the stage on Saturday after the lightning delay, which wrapped up an otherwise triumphant weekend for the North Carolina native, who also headlined on Friday night.

See Combs’ note to fans and the show updates below.

17 Jul 2023

Lil Baby Cancels Seven ‘It’s Only Us’ Tour Dates With No Explanation

Lil Baby‘s It’s Only Us tour got a bit shorter this week. The Atlanta rapper appeared to trim more than half a dozen dates from the outing that is currently slated to kick off on July 26 at the Toyota Center in Houston, TX.

According to the Ticketmaster site, shows in Phoenix (August 1), Sacramento (August 9), Salt Lake City (August 14), Denver (August 15), Pittsburgh (Sept. 5), Indianapolis (Sept. 6) and Louisville (Sept. 8) have been cancelled, with no information available at press time on why the shows were pulled. A note on the TM site reads, “Unfortunately, the Event Organizer has had to cancel your event. No action is required to obtain a refund.”

Refunds will be issued for the cancelled shows, which is expected to take place within 30 days. The then-34-date tour was originally announced in April with a swimming pool video in which Baby FaceTimed with some of his opening acts and got them excited about hitting the road with him.

The “In a Minute” rapper posted the updated tour schedule on Instagram on Friday, with the seven cancelled dates pulled out of circulation; the post did not explain the reason for the scotched gigs, though fans had strong reactions in the comments. “F–k this tour since u took my city off,” wrote one, with another adding, “What happened to the Phoenix show?” and a third wondering “WHY DID YOU CANCEL INDIANAPOLIS????”

And while GloRilla, Rylo Rodriguez, Gloss Up and Junxho are still listed as opening acts in the updated poster, fans also noticed that one of the previously announced openers, The Kid LAROI, was no longer listed on the now-24-date roster. The new routing also added shows in Philadelphia (August 29) and New York (August 30) on the tour named for Baby’s third chart-topping album.

Check out the updated It’s Only Us tour routing below.

16 Jul 2023

Paul Rudd Stars in Claud’s ‘A Good Thing’ Music Video After Meeting on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

Claud is such a big fan of Paul Rudd that they actually have a song titled “Paul Rudd” on their album Supermodels. According to the singer-songwriter, the two had a serendipitous encounter on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour that resulted in Rudd being cast in their new music video — for another track, “A Good Thing.”

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Following the release of “A Good Thing,” Claud explained how the unexpected yet delightful collaboration came to be.

“I randomly met him in passing at The Eras Tour, like at the Taylor Swift concert,” they said in a TikTok clip uploaded on Saturday (July 15). “I walked past the VIP tent, and I was like, ‘Paul Rudd, this sounds kinda weird, but there’s a song on my album. The song’s called ‘Paul Rudd.’ I hope this isn’t weird.’”

They continued, “And he was like, so nice about it, and he gave me his email. He was like, ‘Send it to me. I’d love to hear your album.’ So I sent him my album.”

“Can’t believe you trusted me with your email,” Claud added as a side note to Rudd.

“I explained I called this song ‘Paul Rudd’ because it’s me trying to envision myself as this cool and confident and charismatic, lovable character that you play, and that you just are in real life, that I’m often not. And he responded he loved the album.”

Claud took a chance and invited Rudd to the set for an upcoming music video.

“I was like, ‘We’re filming a music video for the song ‘A Good Thing.’ If you happen to be free on this day, would you ever consider stopping by?’ And he came for the whole entire day. He stayed for like five hours,” they said.

“It was the best day of my life,” added Claud.

Claud also shared a selfie with Rudd on Sunday, captioning the snapshot: “Me and Paul meeting at eras tour. Photo creds @phoebebridgers … no sorry you are not going to hear the end of this.”

Watch Claud’s “A Good Thing” music video, starring Rudd as a quirky mailman who’s not very good at delivering mail, below.

16 Jul 2023

Zayn Malik Previews ‘Love Like This’ in New Video Teaser: Watch

Zayn Malik is giving fans another glimpse at “Love Like This,” his first release on Mercury Records, due out on July 21.

The pop star gives viewers a very intense stare in the new sneak peek of the song posted on Instagram Sunday evening (July 16).

He also teased “Love Like This” last week, when he announced the single with a clip of him shirtless and spray-painting the song’s title and release date onto a wall. Prior to that he’d dropped other short videos featuring snippets of the track.

The new single is the former One Direction singer’s first solo release since his 2021 album Nobody Is Listening, which preceded an Ingrid Michaelson collaboration, “To Begin Again,” and a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Angel.” It’s also the first music he’s sharing since departing from RCA Records.

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Sources have told Billboard that Zayn’s music will sound quite different than previous hits like “Pillowtalk” and his Taylor Swift duet “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.”

Watch Zayn’s latest “Love Like This” preview below, and listen to the full song on July 21.

16 Jul 2023

Marcus Mumford Sings Taylor Swift’s ‘Cowboy Like Me’ With Maggie Rogers

Taylor Swift‘s “Cowboy Like Me” found a new partner in crime at the inaugural Sommo Festival this weekend.

Marcus Mumford brought Maggie Rogers to the stage to join him on the Evermore song at the Canada music festival held in Cavendish, on Prince Edward Island, where Rogers headlined Friday night (July 14) and Mumford & Sons headlined Saturday night (July 15).

As part of the encore Mumford joked that there comes a time when “all there is left to do, the only choice we have, is to play a Taylor Swift song.”

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He took the first verse of “Cowboy Like Me.” Rogers came in to harmonize with his vocals and then took over on the second verse: “Never wanted love, just a fancy car/ Now I’m waiting by the phone like I’m sitting in an airport bar,” she sang.

The Mumford & Sons frontman is featured on background vocals on the studio version of “Cowboy Like Me,” which was recorded at Mumford’s Scarlet Pimpernel Studios.

Swift welcomed him to the stage when she debuted the song live during the Las Vegas stop of the The Eras Tour in March. Mumford had previously performed the song solo on his own tour.

Watch Mumford and Rogers’ duet of “Cowboy Like Me” below.

16 Jul 2023

Jason Aldean Suffers From ‘Heat Exhaustion,’ Ends Concert Early in Hartford

Jason Aldean‘s summer tour didn’t start off the way he’d planned. The country star, who kicked off his Highway Desperado Tour this weekend, swiftly exited the stage and ended his show early Saturday night (July 15) in Hartford, Connecticut, due to dehydration and heat exhaustion.

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Aldean said on Sunday that he’s doing well now, and his upcoming tour dates will go on as scheduled.

“Yesterday’s Jason Aldean show will be rescheduled for a future date,” read a statement posted by Hartford’s Xfinity Theatre Sunday morning. “We appreciate your patience as we work on rescheduling a new date, as well as the outpouring of well wishes for Jason. A rep has confirmed he is now doing well after experiencing heat stroke during last night’s performance.”

Aldean chimed in himself with a video message to fans on social media later in the day. The clip was uploaded to his Twitter account and on Instagram Stories.

“I’ve had a lot of people checking on me today after hearing about what happened last night at the show in Connecticut,” Aldean said to the camera.

He assured fans that he is “doing fine. Just one of those things. It was hot, I was playing golf all day yesterday and then got to the show. There was a combination of dehydration and just heat exhaustion. I’m hearing a lot of stuff going around, ‘heat stroke,’ all this stuff. I don’t think it was quite that serious, but it was pretty intense last night at the show. Anybody that was at the show knows how hot it was.”

Aldean described the moment he left the stage: “I knew it was coming. I was trying to get through as much of the show as I could, and eventually I knew it wasn’t going to happen and I was trying to just get off stage and figure out what was going on.”

“Not what I was hoping for on our first weekend of the tour by any means,” noted Aldean, who said he was given IV fluids to treat his symptoms.

The singer confirmed that he will perform in Saratoga Springs, New York, Sunday night, and that he will make up the Hartford show.

16 Jul 2023

Fans Choose Jung Kook & Latto’s ‘Seven’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Jung Kook‘s “Seven,” featuring Latto, has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (July 14) on Billboard, choosing the collaboration between the beloved BTS member and rap star as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Seven” brought in nearly 96% of the vote, beating out new music by Billie Eilish (“What Was I Made For?”), Troye Sivan (“Rush”), Post Malone (“Overdrive”), Lil Tjay (222), and others.

The music video for the track finds BTS singer-songwriter engulfed in a heated exchange with Han So-hee, who stars in the clip as his on-screen girlfriend, while the two are out at a high-end dinner. A chandelier then falls from the ceiling, disrupting the other patrons while Jung Kook and Han So-hee remained in their argument. “Weight of the world on your shoulders/ I catch your waist and ease your mind,” Jung Kook croons over sultry guitar licks.

When the news of the team-up first broke, Latto tweeted “S/O to the Army,” alongside three “7” emojis, a reference to both the song’s title and her own jackpot imagery. The announcement adds to the “Big Energy” superstar’s big year, as she’s fresh off the release of her Cardi B-assisted “Put It On Da Floor Again,” which hit No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Jung Kook’s last solo release was “Dreamers,” a song for the 2022 FIFA World Cup soundtrack that peaked at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales.

The breezy pop tune marks the first collaboration between Jung Kook and Latto.

Trailing behind “Seven” on the poll is Eilish’s emotional Barbie soundtrack song “What Was I Made For?” In the track, which brought in nearly 3% of the vote, the 23-year-old ponders her identity and reason for existence.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

16 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift Has Four of the Top 10 Albums on the Billboard 200 Chart

As Taylor Swift achieves her 12th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart (dated July 22) with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), she also populates the top 10 with three of her former No. 1s, marking the first time in nearly 60 years that a living artist has at least four albums at the same time in the top 10.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is joined by her former chart-toppers Midnights (falling 4-5), Lover (8-7) and Folklore (13-10). She is the first living act to have four albums in the top 10 at the same time since the April 2, 1966-dated chart, when Herb Alpert also had four albums in the top 10 (Going Places at No. 2, Whipped Cream & Other Delights at No. 3, South of the Border at No. 9 and The Lonely Bull at No. 10).

Between Alpert and Swift, only one other act has placed at least four titles in the top 10 concurrently, and that was Prince, following his death in 2016, when he had five albums in the top 10 dated May 14, 2016. That week, the Purple One reigned in the top 10 with The Very Best of Prince (falling 1-2), the Purple Rain soundtrack (with The Revolution, 2-3), The Hits/The B-Sides (6-4), Ultimate (61-6) and 1999 (31-7). (Swift is also the only woman with four albums in the top 10 at the same since the Billboard 200 was combined from its previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one all-encompassing list in August of 1963.)

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 22, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 18. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.