Music News

12 Jun 2023

Bailey Zimmerman Plays Never Have I Ever | Billboard Country Live

Country singer Bailey Zimmerman plays a game of Never Have I Ever at the Billboard Country Live event.

Bailey Zimmerman:
What’s up, y’all? I’m Bailey Zimmerman, and this is Never Have I Ever.

Producer:
Never have I ever lied to get out of a speeding ticket.

Bailey Zimmerman:
I have, my first one. And it didn’t go good. I got a bigger ticket for lying.

Producer:
Never have I ever made a fake social media account.

Bailey Zimmerman:
Never. I’ve made a private one, but not a fake one.

Producer:
Never have I ever dumped someone over text.

Bailey Zimmerman:
I def have. I definitely have dumped somebody over text. And if it was you, I’m so sorry.

Producer:
Never have I ever forgotten lyrics on stage.

Bailey Zimmerman:
I have, almost every night. I get so into the music that I get so into just seeing people just cry and scream and I’m having so much fun that I sometimes forget what I’m singing. But it’s fine. It’s a good time.

Producer:
Never have I ever dated two people at one time.

Bailey Zimmerman:
Never. I’ve never done that — and I will never do that. That sounds awful. Could you imagine trying to keep, oh my gosh, that’d be awful. I don’t do that.

Producer:
Never have I ever seen a ghost.

Bailey Zimmerman:
I want to say I have never seen a ghost, but man, that makes me so scared because what if I do see one now because I said I haven’t?

Producer:
Never have I ever overdrafted my bank account.

Bailey Zimmerman:
Oh, I’m sure I have. I’m sure I have. My bank was just so small town that they never told me about it. They just let it kind of slide, but I’m sure I’ve been over before. Oh yeah. Everybody has! Who hasn’t been red in the bank account? Of course!

Watch Bailey Zimmerman play Never Have I Ever in the video above!

12 Jun 2023

How BTS Took Over the World: A Timeline of the Group’s Biggest Career Moments

Just in time for BTS’ 10th anniversary, here’s a look back at the history-making K-pop group’s decade-long career.

BTS

V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope of BTS attends the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 03, 2022 in Las Vegas.

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BTS has come a long way since releasing their first album in 2013, and in the decade that has passed, the K-pop stars have managed to become the biggest group in the world.

While the 2020s have seen the group’s seven members — RM, Jin, Jungkook, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin and V — releasing solo projects, smashing records (both as a group and in personal endeavors), going on tour or fulfilling their civic duties, the past decade has been a ride for the K-pop group, who, after multiple album and single releases, have created a career that only few storied music acts can dream of.

BTS’ illustrious music career formally kicked off when they debuted with 2 Cool 4 Skool. Though a far stretch from the group’s newer, chart-topping hits like “Butter,” “Dynamite” and “Permission to Dance,” the poppy crossover singles that would later cement the group’s international superstar status, the mini album established the septet as a force to be reckoned with, one that would only continue to grow with the aid of the group’s devoted ARMY fanbase.

Following the release of the new single “Take Two,” the group will celebrate the milestone anniversary, which will consist of a series of fun activities across several landmarks in Seoul, South Korea (where it all started for the septet). And to gear up for the event, Billboard is taking a look back at the past 10 years of BTS.

Have a look back at some of the band’s biggest career milestones in the timeline below.

12 Jun 2023

Kelis Had the Perfect Non-Answer to Questions About Reported Boyfriend Bill Murray

Kelis is keeping her private life private. After it was reported last week that the 43-year-old “Milkshake” singer and chef is dating 72-year-old Ghostbuster star Bill Murray, the internet could not get enough of the alleged May-December romance. And while neither of them have officially confirmed the relationship, Murray was seen watching Kelis’ set at London’s Mighty Hoopla festival last weekend and they posed for a photo together.

Kelis had a chance to tamp down the rumors or confirm them over the weekend when she posted a series of bikini pics and a shot of her jumping into the ocean from a boat with the caption, “I’m a beach bum.” And while Murray was nowhere to be seen, Kelis kind of addressed the story of their alleged summer love when a user asked, “Ma’am would you care to address these Bill Murray allegations?!? Cuz damn! What he doing with all that??”

The singer did not take the bait, though, choosing instead to go the cheeky route by skirting around the issue and responding, “No babe, I wouldn’t bother at all,” even as fans keep trying to get her to comment on the reported relationship.

Kelis was previously married to rapper Nas from 2005-2009 and in 2018 she alleged that he was physically abusive toward her during their five-year marriage, which Nas has since denied. Kelis’ second husband, Mike Mora, died of stomach cancer in March 2022. Murray was married to Margaret Kelly from 1981 to 1996, and to Jennifer Butler from 1997 to 2008. Butler died suddenly at age 57 in 2021.

See Kelis’ post below.

12 Jun 2023

Songwriter Cynthia Weil Honored at California Memorial By Bill Medley, Dolly Parton, Tony Orlando & More

As guests filed into Sunday’s (June 11) music-filled memorial for Cynthia Weil, they smiled in recognition and sang along to a string of hit songs she co-wrote that were played on speakers in a lush courtyard of the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Weil, the Grammy-winning lyricist who enjoyed a decades-long partnership with husband Barry Mann and helped compose “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” “On Broadway,” “Walking in the Rain” and dozens of other timeless tunes, died last week at age 82.

Singer Tony Orlando, who hosted the private event from a small stage with a grand piano, admonished attendees that despite the cloudy skies the day was not to be mournful, but a sunny celebration.

“I want the applause to be loud!” he said. Orlando performed “Bless You,” the 1961 ballad that gave Weil and Mann their first top 20 hit. They were married within months of the song’s release.

White-coated waiters distributed trays of bright green apple martinis, Weil’s favorite cocktail, to her friends, family members and show business contemporaries. Among those raising their glasses were Mann, record producer Lou Adler, singer Carol Bayer Sager and songwriters Carole King, Jeff Barry, Mike Stoller and Diane Warren.

Weil and Mann were one of popular music’s most successful teams, part of a crew of young songwriters based in Manhattan’s Brill Building neighborhood, near Times Square. With such hit-making duos as King and Gerry Goffin and Barry and Ellie Greenwich, the Brill Building hit factory turned out many of the biggest singles of the ’60s and beyond.

The couple was collaborators with producer Phil Spector on songs for the Ronettes (“Walking in the Rain”), the Crystals (“He’s Sure the Boy I Love”) and other singers, and also provided hits for everyone from Lionel Richie to Leo Sayer.

Their most famous collaboration, a song that would become historic, was “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling,” a soulful anthem produced by Spector with epic strings and sung with desperate intensity by the Righteous Brothers, Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield. “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” topped the charts in 1965 and was covered by numerous other artists.

Appearing at the memorial via a recorded video, Bill Medley said Weil and Mann didn’t just write the Righteous Brothers a hit, “They wrote us a career!” According to Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), no other song was played more on radio and television in the 20th century.

Dolly Parton, who also appeared on video, recalled her career being sent “out into space” when the country star scored a crossover pop hit in 1977 with “Here You Come Again,” written by Weil and Mann.

“She left a great body of work,” Parton said.

Weil and Mann were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. They were supporting characters in the hit Broadway musical about King, “Beautiful,” which opened in 2013 and documented the intense friendship and rivalry between the two married couples. Mann and Weil’s musical “They Wrote That?” had a brief run in 2004.

On Sunday, with Paul Shaffer on piano, King performed “Somewhere Out There,” a song Weil wrote with James Horner for the soundtrack of “An American Tail.” It won Grammys in 1987 for best song and best song for a movie or television, and was nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe.

Weil’s daughter, Dr. Jenn Mann, said the songwriter died last Thursday at her home in Beverly Hills, California. She remembered her mother Sunday as a loving wife to Mann, a devoted grandmother to her two girls, a lover of animals, and a soft-hearted romantic who could surprise people with her no-nonsense business sense.

While many of Weil’s peers struggled once the Beatles caught on in the mid-1960s, she continued to make hits, sometimes with Mann, or with other partners. Weil helped write the Peabo Bryson ballad “If Ever You’re In My Arms Again”; James Ingram’s “Just Once”; and the Pointer Sisters’ “He’s So Shy.” In 1997, she was in the top 10 again with Hanson’s “I Will Come to You.”

And her talents extended beyond love ballads. She and Mann wrote one of rock’s first anti-drug songs, “Kicks,” a hit for Paul Revere and the Raiders in 1966. The Animals had a hit with her tale of working class frustration, “We’ve Got to Get Out of This Place.” The Crystals’ “Uptown” was a 1961 hit that touched upon race and class in ways not often heard in rock’s early years.

Appearing on video, rocker Paul Stanley of KISS recalled being a fledgling songwriter as a teenager in New York and scouring the credits on his favorite records.

“Invariably, songs that I loved, I would see her name on it,” Stanley said.

12 Jun 2023

Femme It Forward and Google Pixel Establish Femme It Future Scholarship

Femme It Forward, a female-led music and entertainment company, has partnered with Google Pixel to establish the Femme It Future Scholarship. Five mentees from Femme It Forward’s mentorship program for young women of color — Next Gem Femme — will be selected as recipients. The scholarship is being announced in conjunction with Femme It Forward opening the application window for the third year of its mentorship program.

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“This scholarship is our commitment to nurturing the next generation of female leaders who will shatter barriers, break stereotypes and create a future filled with equality and empowerment,” said Femme It Forward president/CEO Heather Lowery in a statement.

“Google Pixel is at the forefront of incorporating diversity and inclusivity in its technology and products. We believe that empowering young women with education and opportunities is the key to unlocking their limitless potential. By offering transformative scholarships and coveted mentorship opportunities, our partnership can create change together that empowers the next generation.”

“We’re thrilled to be partnered with Heather and the team at Femme it Forward,” added Ava Donaldson, Google’s senior marketing manager, U.S. Social, Influencer + Inclusion. “Our mutual mission is centered around helpfulness and supporting the advancement of underrepresented communities, especially women.”

Select students will also receive special care packages comprised of Google and other products sourced exclusively from women-owned businesses.

When Next Gem Femme begins its third year in September, it will be pairing mentors with more than 100 females pursuing undergraduate or graduate degrees or presently working in entry-level positions in the music and entertainment industries. As before, the program plans to award at least half of its mentee openings to students from historically Black colleges and universities.

Encompassing career pursuits such as marketing, publicity, live and touring, business development, talent management and artist relations, the program’s mentors come from various companies including Google, Amazon, Apple Music, CAA, Live Nation, NBC Universal, Netflix and YouTube. Among the female music industry executive mentors Republic Records executive vp Danielle Price, Warner Records senior VP of A&R Ericka Coulter, Virgin Music president Jacqueline Saturn and Roc Nation vp, marketing Bianca Edwards.

“Through powerful relationships and practical education, Next Gem Femme opens so many doors for young women of color, a group that has been overlooked for far too long,” noted Lowery. “We’re thrilled to launch our third year of the program and build on its amazing momentum as we continue leading necessary conversations about the need to improve workplace equity. This brilliant group of mentors will give remarkable young women the wisdom and tools to expand their talents, overcome setbacks and reach their potential.”

The application window for Next Gem Femme closes on Friday, June 16, 2023 (9 p.m. PT). For more information and to apply, visit femmeitforward.com.

Femme It Forward

Courtesy Photo

12 Jun 2023

BTS 10th Anniversary: Seoul Landmarks to be Lit Up to Celebrate K-Pop Band’s Birthday

Skyscrapers, bridges and other landmarks in South Korea’s capital will be lit up in purple on Monday (June 12) as the country begins celebrating the 10th anniversary of K-pop band BTS, whose global popularity is a source of national pride.

The lights will provide the backdrop for various social media-driven events marking the 2013 debut of the seven-member group, which is now taking a hiatus as its singers begin to serve their mandatory military duties.

From Monday evening, numerous Seoul structures, including City Hall, the 123-story Lotte World Tower, several Han River bridges, and the futuristic DDP – a Zaha Hadid-designed aluminum and concrete dome that’s often used for visual art – will be bathed in purple, a color associated with BTS, according to city officials and the group’s management company, Hybe.

Messages congratulating BTS were displayed on digital screens in buildings across Seoul, while postal authorities issued stamps marking the group’s anniversary, which will be available at post offices starting Tuesday.

Seoul officials hope that the celebrations, which will continue for around two weeks, will boost tourism. The city has designated more than a dozen sites associated with BTS, including places where the group held major performances or shot some of their famous videos.

Fireworks are planned at a park near the Han River on Saturday night, hours after one of the BTS singers, RM, holds a live talk with fans that will be broadcast online.

Quickly garnering huge followings in Asia following their debut, BTS’ popularity expanded across the globe with their 2020 megahit “Dynamite,” the band’s first all-English song that made it the first K-pop act to top Billboard’s Hot 100. BTS has since performed in sold-out arenas around the world and was invited to speak at United Nations meetings, supported by a legion of global followers who call themselves the “Army.”

BTS’ activities as a full group are currently on hold as the artists begin to serve in the military. Two BTS singers – Jin and J-Hope – have already started their compulsory 18-month service and other members are to follow in coming months, which likely means the group will reconvene around 2025.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men are required to serve in uniform 18-21 months under a system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

11 Jun 2023

Janet Jackson Brings Fans ‘Together Again’ at Hollywood Bowl Concert

The Hollywood Bowl opened its 2023 season with a hell of party Saturday evening (June 10), thanks to Janet Jackson and her Together Again Tour with special guest Ludacris. It’s Jackson’s first major outing since her 2019 Metamorphosis Las Vegas residency and, later that year, her 30th anniversary celebration of 1989’s Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814.

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Borrowing its name from the hit single featured on Jackson’s 1997 sixth album The Velvet Rope, Together Again fittingly embodied the reunion vibe coursing throughout the multi-generational and multi-racial audience inside the Bowl. Both Jackson and Ludacris kept the sold-out, constantly cheering, sing-along crowd on its feet from beginning to end of their Los Angeles stopover.

Before coming to the Bowl, Jackson and Ludacris performed the night before (June 9) in Irvine, Calif. Additional California stops on the Together Again Tour — which kicked off April 14 — include Chula Vista (San Diego, June 11), San Bernardino (June 14) and Mountain View (June 16) before heading to Portland, Oregon (June 20) and Seattle (June 21), and then wrapping Oct. 27 in Lincoln (Sacramento, Calif.).

Here are five memorable highlights from the Los Angeles show:

Grand Entrance: Jackson prefaced her one hour and 45-minute set with a video compilation of pivotal moments in her life and 50-year career, from growing up as the youngest sister of the famed Jackson 5 brothers to becoming a solo star in her own right. Then several beats after the video ended, followed by flashing colored lights, Jackson walked onto a circular platform in the center of the stage to extended thunderous applause and shout-outs, resplendent in a floor-length, purple-hooded cape tied with a bow at the neck, purple lipstick and a waist-long, top-knotted ponytail. Dropping the cape, she launched into “Love Me” and then “Damita Jo” wearing a gold sparkly jumpsuit and matching boots. As most fans know, the latter song is her middle name and the title of her 2004 album. It’s also one of several songs — including “Enjoy,” “Like You Don’t Love Me” and “Do It 2 Me” — that she’s been performing live for the first time. But no matter how much of the concert has already been covered in reviews thus far, nothing matches being there to experience first-hand the excitement that comes with the start of a Jackson concert. 

Dancing Machine and Other Moves: Further heightening the experience this time is the show’s minimalist set — three video screens, circular platform and upper platform — with Jackson complemented by four energetic male dancers who kept pace with her the whole time. So attendees were given a bird’s eye view of Jackson’s percolating stage presence and still captivating choreography.  Among the songs drawing ecstatic reaction during her 40-song set were “If,” “That’s the Way Love Goes,” “What Have You Done for Me Lately”/“Nasty,” “The Pleasure Principle,” “Control” (which had Ludacris dancing in the crowd), “All for You” and “Miss You Much.” A suite of slow songs (“Let’s Wait Awhile,” “Anytime, Anyplace,” “I Get Lonely”) lent an intimate vibe to the evening, as did Jackson performing “Again” with YOLA (Youth Orchestra Los Angeles) led by conductor Thomas Wilkins.

“It feels so good to be home,” Jackson said before joining YOLA. “Tonight is very special to me because we’re all here to support the LA Phil.” Note: All proceeds from the Bowl’s opening night benefitted the Los Angeles Philharmonic and its learning and community programs.

Ending the show’s second act with “I Get Lonely,” Jackson serenaded one of the dancers and danced suggestively with him — before surprising the crowd by planting him with a full-on kiss and then sashaying offstage wearing a sly smile.

A Colorful Sendoff: Before encoring with “Together Again,” Jackson and crew gave the audience what it had been waiting for … a riveting reprise of one of her most popular and socially conscious hits, “Rhythm Nation.” Decked all in black — with Jackson donning a black T-shirt with RN spelled out across the front — the crew launched into a dance routine that was just as crisp and on-point as it was when Jackson introduced the track and its ground-breaking video back in 1989. A surprise fireworks display illuminating the sky above the Bowl put an exclamation point on the performance.

Shaken and Stirred: Flanked by several video screens frequently emblazoned with his fiery DTP (Disturbing tha Peace) label logo, Ludacris did just that. He didn’t simply warm up the crowd — he fired them up to boiling. With his unique, rapid-fire flow still intact, Luda commandingly strode the stage as he ripped his way through a 40-minute memory-evoking set. As one concertgoer was overheard noting, “You forget just how many records Ludacris has.” With his large Afro bouncing along, the rapper/actor/entrepreneur reeled off 18 songs as he took fans back to day one of his career. Among them: “Southern Fried Intro,” “Welcome to Atlanta,” “Area Codes,” “Lovers & Friends,” “My Chick Bad,” “Money Maker,” first hit single “What’s Your Fantasy,” “Stand Up” (wearing self-described “big ass white shoes”), his verses from Usher’s “Yeah!” and set closer “Get Back.” Honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May this year, Ludacris definitively proved what he declared early into his set: “I was born to be on this damn stage tonight!”

Jamming with Mr. Jam: Spotted in the audience getting his groove on as well was Jimmy Jam. He and partner Terry Lewis are the Grammy-winning songwriters-producers who collaborated with Jackson in crafting a majority of her hits. Watching him, alongside his family, was a cool and unexpected treat. 

11 Jun 2023

Fans Choose Sam Smith and Madonna’s ‘Vulgar’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

In the middle of Pride Month, Sam Smith and Madonna‘s “Vulgar” tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (June 9) on Billboard, choosing the pop pair’s new song as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Vulgar” brought in more than 45% of the vote, beating out new music from BTS, Niall Horan, Rosalía and more.

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The club-ready track, released via Capitol Records on Friday, is a pulsating dance anthem that has Smith proudly proclaiming that “you know you’re beautiful when they call you ‘vulgar.’” Madonna warns, “If you f— with Sam tonight, you’re f—ing with me/ So watch what you say or I’ll split your banana.”

“Vulgar” arrived following a short period of teasing on social media from Smith, who offered some clever new branding for the team-up with Madonna: “S&M.”

Trailing just behind “Vulgar” on the poll is BTS’ “Take Two,” with 41% of the vote, and Horan’s new album The Show, with 9% of the vote.

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

11 Jun 2023

Flavor Flav Is Looking to Hire Taylor Swift Fans to Make Custom Friendship Bracelets

Flavor Flav is in his Swiftie era and asking talented Taylor Swift fans to help him make a large number of custom friendship bracelets before the next Eras Tour concert he attends.

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After catching Swift’s Friday night show at Detroit’s Ford Field and mingling with fans who gifted him handmade friendship bracelets, he seems to be taking Swift’s “You’re on Your Own, Kid” lyric “So make the friendship bracelets/ Take the moment and taste it” to heart. Friendship bracelet trading has become a fun trend for the crowds at Swift’s current tour.

“Swifties,” he wrote on Twitter Sunday afternoon (June 11), “I wanna hire one of y’all to make me some custom Flavor Flav bracelets to trade for the next Eras Tour stop ya boy hits up.”

“Who can help??” he asked.

“Ya boy wants hundreds of bracelets,,, maybe thousands,,, so maybe we hire several of y’all,,, looking for: •ITS•A•CLOCK• + •FLAVOR•FLAV In Navy with Silver Gonna start DMing some of y’all,” he added in a reply.

Hopefuls soon commented with their “resumes” — photos of the friendship bracelets they’ve already made for The Eras Tour — and Flav already seems impressed by the pool of applicants.

“WOWWWWWW!!! These just keep getting better!!!” he said after watching a video clip of a Flavor Flav friendship bracelet one fan created.

The Public Enemy co-founder had the time of his life at his first Eras stop in Detroit, where he found himself “makin new friends.” He posted numerous updates throughout the show on Friday, including a picture of a wrist full of colorful bracelets he’d collected that night.

See his job listing below. Plus, check out the Swift concert reel he posted, featuring his Eras Tour bracelet trading.

11 Jun 2023

Taylor Swift Looks Back on Her 2006 National Anthem Performance in Detroit: ‘I Was Sooo Insanely Nervous’

Taylor Swift is looking back on one of her early live performances.

On Sunday (June 11), the 33-year-old pop superstar took to social media after her two sold-out Eras Tour concerts at Detroit’s Ford Field to reminisce about her first time appearing at the approximately 65,000-capacity stadium when she was just 16.

“Ahhhhh Detroit that was so much fun!! First time I performed at Ford Field was singing the anthem there in 2006 and I remember thinking it felt impossible for a place to be that big, I was sooo insanely nervous,” Swift wrote on Instagram alongside a gallery of snapshots from the Detroit Eras show.

The singer-songwriter took a similar stroll down memory lane during her concert at Ford Field on Friday (June 9). Before performing “Lover” during the show’s opening segment, she reminded Swifties about singing the “Star Spangled Banner” prior to a Detroit Lions game in conjunction with the release of her 2006 self-titled debut album.

“It was, like, the biggest place I’ve ever seen in my life,” Swift recalled, “and now we’re back with the Eras Tour.”

Swift finished her reflective Instagram post, writing, “Thanks to those crowds this weekend for your endless energy and extremely loud scream-singing, you made us feel right at home. See you very soon Pittsburgh.”

Earlier in the week, Ford Field tweeted a photo of Swift’s national anthem performance at the stadium with Lions head coach Dan Campbell (who was a player at the time) standing directly behind her. “Big Ford Field fans,” the venue captioned the post.

Swift will resume her Eras Tour with a two-night stand at Pittsburgh’s Acrisure Stadium on June 16-17.

See the pop star’s post in which she reminisces about performing the national anthem in Detroit on Instagram here.