Music News

27 Jun 2023

Austin Mahone Sings a Snippet of ‘Kuntry,’ Talks ‘A Lone Star Story’ Album & More

San Antonio, Texas, native Austin Mahone is reconnecting with his roots on A Lone Star Story, and he sat down with Billboard‘s Rania Aniftos to talk about how it all came together.

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“A Lone Star Story is an album I started at the beginning of the pandemic, so it’s definitely been a long time coming,” he says of his new project. “It didn’t necessarily take me three years to finish it, but just because everyone was so separated and I wasn’t trying to finish it on Zoom. That’s just kind of weird. I feel like my album deserves more than that.”

The 27-year-old adds that he’s excited to show his country side to the world. “I just wanted to do something that was more authentic and real to me, and something that would be different for everyone else,” he notes. “I would be pretty nervous [about going in a new direction] if it wasn’t country music that I was meshing with. Because I grew up on country music, I feel very comfortable in that space, even though I’ve never done country music in my life before. It feels right.”

Mahone, who gained recognition through his YouTube and Vine covers as a teenager, shares that “consistency” is what allowed him to break the social media star stigma and get taken seriously as a musical artist. “Once, I had uploaded a Justin Bieber cover of his song ‘Mistletoe,’ and that was the one that got me a lot of recognition. Ryan Seacrest had it on his show and people started picking it up,” Mahone recalls. “From there, that’s when I was getting a bunch of calls from management and labels.”

See the full interview with Austin Mahone above, including a fun acoustic performance of his A Lone Star Story hit, “Kuntry.”

27 Jun 2023

Lizzo Cried When She Saw Her Name Onscreen at Beyoncé Concert

Lizzo had a healing inner child moment when she got to attend her longtime idol Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour — and saw her name on the big screen onstage.

In a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday (June 27), the “Special” singer is seen getting misty-eyed while watching Bey perform her “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix),” in which she shouts out Lizzo by name among 28 other iconic Black women in music. “In that moment I was thinking about baby me, listening to Happy Face by destiny’s child and crying myself to sleep because of bullies… I thought about Beyoncé jumping into the room where Tina Turner was waiting to meet her for the first time,” she captioned the post. “I think of what we all mean to people and how cyclical it is. We are all so infinitesimally and maximally connected and significant. It’s an honor. Thank You @beyonce.”

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Lizzo has credited Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child for inspiring her to become a singer a number of times, telling ELLE UK last year how impactful the girl group was in her life. “Growing up in Houston, the impact that Destiny’s Child had on me making a decision to become an artist was incredible, mostly because I felt like we were so close to it,” she explained. “Everyone had their, ‘I saw Beyoncé when…’ or, ‘I saw Destiny’s Child at this party…’ stories. And that made it seem more accessible. Like, ‘Oh, maybe I can do this too, if I worked hard enough and had the right people around me.’”

Speaking of Beyoncé’s mission with her music, Lizzo added, “she doesn’t just put out music for the sake of putting out music – there’s going to be something real, you know what I mean? A teachable moment. Every time I hear her, it’s like, “Man, I want to make people feel this way. How can I make people feel this way, too?’”

See the sweet full circle moment below.

27 Jun 2023

Kesha Thanks Fans After Settling Dr. Luke Lawsuit, Teases ‘Beautiful Things to Come’

Kesha took to Instagram on Tuesday (June 27) to gush over the support of her fans just days after settling her nine-year lawsuit with Dr. Luke.

“I am humbled and in awe of the support and love y’all have given me,” she captioned a photo of herself onstage, with a fan holding up their hands in a shape of a heart in the crowd. “You have held me and carried me through the past 9 years. I am so full of light and excitement for the beautiful things to come, for shows to play, and art to make to share with you all.”

See her post here.

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Just a week after a New York court issued a key ruling that would have made it harder for Dr. Luke to win the longtime case, Kesha and Dr. Luke settled their bitter legal battle before it was scheduled to go to trial. The producer claimed Kesha defamed him in 2014 when she made the “false and shocking” allegation that he drugged and raped her after a 2005 party.

In a joint press release on social media, the two shared their own statements, with Kesha noting that “only god knows what happened that night.”

“As I have always said, I cannot recount everything that happened,” the singer wrote. “I am looking forward to closing the door on this chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I wish nothing but peace to all parties involved.”

Dr. Luke added in his own statement that he was “absolutely certain that nothing happened” that night in 2005: “I never drugged or assaulted her and would never do that to anyone. For the sake of my family, I have vigorously fought to clear my name for nearly 10 years. It is time for me to put this difficult matter behind me and move on with my life. I wish Kesha well.”

27 Jun 2023

Peso Pluma Lands First Top 10 on a Billboard Album Chart With ‘Génesis’

After an unquestionably fruitful performance across Billboard’s charts, Peso Pluma scores his first top 10 on an album chart as Génesis, his third studio set, debuts at No. 10 on the Regional Mexican Albums ranking (dated July 1). The debut comes after less than one day of activity, following its off-cycle release late on Thursday, June 22 — the final day of the chart’s tracking week.

The set is bound to move up the tally on the July 8-dated list, once it has its first full chart tracking week captured. (Albums are typically released on a Friday.)

Génesis was released via Double P, and according to Luminate, the set starts with a little over 3,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending June 22. Streaming accounts for the majority of the 14-track album’s first-week results, which equates to 4.3 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs.

Génesis follows Sembrando (EP), Pluma’s first appearance on an albums chart, which took him to No. 13 on Regional Mexican Albums (May 13-dated tally) and No. 48 on Top Latin Albums (May 6). Génesis concurrently debuts at No. 35 on Top Latin Albums, a ranking that will likely change next week after the album’s first official tracking week.

Pluma’s first top 10 album arrives following a strong performance across the Billboard charts, placing 20 songs throughout in just over a year, an impressive achievement for a regional Mexican artist.

Further, the 24-year-old changed the regional Mexican music conversation as he took over Hot Latin Songs with 16 simultaneous songs on the May 20-dated list, the most ever for a regional Mexican artist in the chart’s 37-year-old history. Plus, he logged a historic top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 thanks to Eslabon Armado’s “Ella Baila Sola,” as the collab became the first regional Mexican top 10 in the chart’s 64-year history.

“Ella” has also paid additional dividends for both Eslabon and Pluma, becoming the first regional Mexican tune to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart (April 29). The song has since, remained atop the tally for six weeks, and counting.

Génesis was preceded by three songs on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs list: “Rosa Pastel,” with Jasiel Nuñez, peaked at No. 24 (May 6), “77,” with Eladio Carrión, reached No. 34 (May 20), while “Bye” holds at its No. 7 high for a third week.

Peso Pluma’s first top 10 album foray on the Billboard charts comes on the heels of his first U.S. tour, Double P Summer tour, which kicked-off July 20 in Inglewood, Calif., and will wrap on Oct. 20 in Anaheim, Calif.

27 Jun 2023

Bobby Osbourne, Bluegrass Musician Who Helped Popularize ‘Rocky Top,’ Dies at 91

Bluegrass musician Bobby Osborne, who helped popularize the song “Rocky Top,” died early Tuesday, according to a statement from the college where he worked. He was 91.

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Osborne and his brother Sonny made up The Osborne Brothers, and their version of the song “Rocky Top” in 1967 became an official state song of Tennessee, his website said. Osborne was a member of the Grand Ole Opry and the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.

“To say he was a legend falls short of the impact he had on all of us,” said Paul Schiminger, interim executive director at the International Bluegrass Music Association. “An innovative musical pioneer, Bobby set and held the gold standard for bluegrass vocals.”

While Osborne and his brother will be remembered by many for the song “Rocky Top,” Schiminger said that barely scratches the surface of the many songs they recorded and performed.

A native of Hyden, Kentucky, Osborne taught at the Hazard Community and Technical College’s Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music in Leslie County for several years.

In January, he received the Governor’s Awards in the Arts for his dedication to sharing Kentucky’s rich history in the arts around the world.

Osborne was still performing and teaching last year when he told WYMT-TV that “as long as I can open my mouth and sing, I ain’t going to quit.”

Hazard Community and Technical College President Jennifer Lindon said the school was deeply saddened to learn about Osborne’s death.

“He was a pioneer in the Bluegrass music industry and a champion for Eastern Kentucky,” she said.

27 Jun 2023

Olivia Rodrigo Takes Fans Behind the Scenes of ‘Guts’ Photo Shoot: ‘Your Girl Is Back!’

Olivia Rodrigo continued to spill her guts about her new sophomore album, GUTS, when she uploaded a fun behind-the-scenes video of the promotional photo shoot on Tuesday (June 27).

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“Don’t bug, your girl is back,” the 20-year-old superstar is seen lip syncing to the camera in her TikTok as she gets berry-red lipstick applied to her lips. A montage then plays of various promotional locations throughout a purple colored house.

“my sophomore album GUTS comes out september 8th,” Rodrigo announced on Instagram a day prior, sharing a photo of the project’s artwork. “i am so proud of this record and I can’t wait to share it with you all! u can presave it now! xoxoxoxo❤️???”

Produced by her debut album SOUR’s Dan Nigro, the album will be led by the release of her upcoming single “Vampire,” which Rodrigo announced just a couple weeks ago. The track, arriving June 30, will mark the Grammy winner’s first release since 2021.

In a press release, Rodrigo noted that GUTS will explore “growing pains and trying to figure out who I am at this point in my life.” “I feel like I grew 10 years between the ages of 18 and 20 — it was such an intense period of awkwardness and change,” she continued. “I think that’s all just a natural part of growth, and hopefully the album reflects that.”

Watch the Guts behind-the-scenes video below.

27 Jun 2023

‘The Idol’ Song ‘One of the Girls’ Debuts at No. 1 on Hot Trending Songs Chart

Music from HBO’s The Idol lands at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart as The Weeknd’s “One of the Girls,” with JENNIE and Lily-Rose Depp, crowns the July 1-dated tally.

Billboard’s Hot Trending charts, powered by Twitter, track global music-related trends and conversations in real-time across Twitter, 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 June 16-22

“One of the Girls” paces the July 1 survey after the song was teased prior to its eventual June 23 release. The tune itself was then heard in The Idol’s June 25 episode.

It’s one of two songs from the series to appear on the latest list; The Weeknd’s “Take Me Back,” from the show’s June 18 episode, debuts at No. 10.

A third song from the series, “Popular” (The Weeknd, Playboi Carti and Madonna), reached No. 7 on the June 10-dated chart.

The top non-The idol entry comes from Rauw Alejandro and Bizarrap, whose collaboration “Baby Hello” debuts at No. 2. The song was released June 23, but was teased on June 21 as part of the pair’s other collaboration, “BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 56,” released that day. (It concurrently bows at No. 17 on Hot Trending Songs.)

Music from Chris Brown, NCT DREAM and Lil Tjay round out the top five.

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

27 Jun 2023

Bre Tiesi Praises Nick Cannon As a ‘Supportive’ Co-Parent: ‘He’s Very Present’

With so many kids, it’s a wonder how Nick Cannon evenly splits his time between his children. But according to Bre Tiesi, Selling Sunset star and mother to her and Cannon’s son Legendary Love, co-parenting is not that complicated.

“So, here’s the thing that I know everyone wants to argue with me about — but he makes his own schedule. He can show up every day, when he stops from work. He can come at night,” Tiesi said in a Tuesday (June 27) interview with Entertainment Tonight. “So, he’s here every week, and especially when he’s home, he’s here. So, it’s not a set schedule, we don’t have to plan things, but he’s very present and he’s at anything and everything I ask him to be at. So, I’m very happy. He’s very supportive.”

While some may consider it a unique arrangement, Tiesi finds it to be one that works well for her. “I don’t really feel like there’s anything to adjust to, because I kind of make it however I want. So, I have a nanny during the day. Or, like, the other night, I had to run out and actually show Saweetie a property, and I said, ‘Nick, I need you at 7 p.m. I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’ll be here at 7,’ and he was there,” she added. “So, I don’t really feel like I am struggling or missing anything. It’s all about just communicating and he’s really accommodating, and he’s very helpful. And that man has never told me no.”

The Masked Singer host also shares twins Monroe and Moroccan with ex-wife Mariah Carey; twin sons Zion and Zillion, as well as daughter Beautiful Zeppelin with Abby De La Rosa; Golden Sagon, Powerful Queen and Rise Messiah with Brittany Bell; Zen — who died in December 2021 — and Halo Marie with Alyssa Scott; and Onyx Ice Cole with LaNisha Cole.

Meanwhile, Tiesi and Cannon’s plans to expand their family are yet to be determined. For the time being, she would like to focus as much attention as she can on their son. “He’s open to whatever, always, but I just — I feel like if I can’t do it a 100 percent, I don’t want to do that,” the reality television star explained to ET. “I don’t want to take more attention away from my son than I already do, working like I do, so I’m really trying to figure out how to manage that, and I think adding in another aspect of another human would be very hard.”

27 Jun 2023

Madeon, DJ Snake, NGHTMRE & Alan Walker Lead Lineup for Breakaway Bay Area 2023

Breakaway, the touring dance music festival, has released the lineup for its fall edition in San Francisco.

The lineup, shared on Tuesday (June 27) is led by masked Norwegian producer Alan Walker, the always hyphy DJ Snake, French artiste Madeon and bass favorite NGHTMRE, along with saxophone infused jammy duo Big Gigantic, house pair Walker & Royce, multi-genre mainstay What So Not and the Grammy-nominated Wuki. The show will also include stage takeover from L.A. trendsetters Brownies & Lemonade, along with a silent disco presented by White Claw and other fun activations.

The festival takes place Oct. 13-14 at San Francisco’s historic Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. Tickets are on sale now. The show is produced by San Francisco’s Another Planet Entertainment.

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“We’re thrilled for Breakaway Bay Area to return to Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for year two,” Bryan Duquette, the company’s vp of concerts and festivals, said of the event’s return. “There is no other event that will utilize the venue to this level, activating the building with three stages of programming across multiple floors. Breakaway’s return to Bill Graham Civic Auditorium continues to solidify its status as the premiere venue for electronic music in the country.”

Breakaway is the dance world’s only touring festival, with a North Carolina edition happening this past May, and stops in Kansas City, Michigan, Ohio, Boston and another North Carolina show happening between July and late September. Each event features a different lineup, with the Bay Area show serving as Breakaways second edition in that market after its debut last October.

See the full 2023 lineup for Breakaway Bay Area below.

BREAKAWAY BAY AREA 2023

Courtesy Photo

27 Jun 2023

H.E.R. Announces Third Annual Lights On Festival With Jazmine Sullivan, Don Toliver & More

After missing out on her third annual Lights On Festival last year, H.E.R. is ready to bring the R&B vibes and excitement back this September with her star-studded lineup.

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Slated to kick off Sept. 16 and 17 at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Calif., H.E.R. will tap the likes of PARTYNEXTDOOR, Jazmine Sullivan, Don Toliver, Doechii, DVSN, Alina Baraz and more for her two-day festivities. Partnering with Live Nation Urban, presales go live this Thursday (June 29) at 12 p.m. PT and will end on at 10 p.m. PT. General on-sale launches Friday, June 30, at 12 p.m. PT. Tickets are available here.

“I’m so excited Lights On Festival will be making its return,” H.E.R. said in a press release. “It’s my favorite way to wind down the summer by having two days filled with great R&B music. I am so proud to reveal the extraordinary talent we have on the bill this year and can’t wait for everyone to see what’s to come!”

H.E.R.’s Lights On Festival debuted in 2019 and included performances by Jhene Aiko, Daniel Caesar, Summer Walker, Ari Lennox and Lucky Daye. The festival returned in 2021 after missing 2020 due to the pandemic and housed concerts in California and New York. Held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, H.E.R. enlisted Maxwell, 6LACK, Bryson Tiller, Chloe Bailey and Queen Naija.

Fans can check out the rest of the lineup below, including newcomers Ayra Starr, Ravyn Lenae, Uncle Waffles, Flo, Symba and Leon Thomas.