Music News

Morgan Wallen Cleared to Return to Stage After Vocal Rest: ‘We Back’

Morgan Wallen had some long-awaited, great news for fans on Wednesday (June 7) morning. After cancelling six weeks of shows on doctor’s orders a month ago to go on vocal rest, the “Last Night” singer announced in an Instagram Story “we back.”

The story included a photo of Wallen sitting on the back seat of his fishing boat, arms outstretched, with the message “Also, the doc cleared me to talk and sing… we back.” That was the best-case scenario after Wallen announced on May 9 that he would have to put his tour on ice for more than a month to rest his strained voice, crossing off shows through June 17.

“I’m just gonna go ahead and get straight to it. I got some bad news from my doctors at the Vanderbilt Voice Center yesterday. After taking 10 days of vocal rest I performed three shows last weekend in Florida and by the third one I felt terrible,” the singer said at the time.

“So I went in and go scoped yesterday and they told me that I re-injured my vocal cords and that I have vocal fold trauma,” he added in the intense video. Wallen said his doctor’s advice was that he go on vocal rest for six weeks.

“They told me that if I do this the right way, I’ll get back to 100% and they also said that if I don’t listen and I keep singing, then I’ll permanently damage my voice,” Wallen said of his doctor’s diagnosis of vocal fold trauma after playing three shows in Florida, where he reinjured his vocal cord. “So for the longevity of my career, this is just a choice I had to make. I hate it. But I love you guys, and I appreciate all the support that you always give me.”

Wallen said his plan was to listen to his doctors, who advised him to not to talk at all, but cleared him to make the tour cancellation announcement. In addition to the cancelled shows, Wallen also had to skip out on last month’s Academy of Country Music Awards and push his 2023 festival appearances to 2024.

At press time the next scheduled date on Wallen’s One Night at a Time tour with HARDY, ERNEST and Bailey Zimmerman — according to the singer’s official website — was a June 22 show at Wrigley Field in Chicago. At the time of the cancellations, a Wallen spokesperson said tickets for the original dates will be honored for all rescheduled performances, with a 30-day refund window open at the point of purchase when the new dates are announced.

Wallen made news after canceling a planned show at Oxford, MS’s Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on April 23 after his opening acts performed and just moments before he was to take the stage. “I thought I was going to be good to go and I just wasn’t,” he said in a message to the 60,000 disappointed fans who were sent home that night without seeing him.

Dave Grohl Thanks Fans For Lifting Foo Fighters Up During Difficult Time in Touching Note: ‘We’ve Always Done This Together’

It’s been an emotional few weeks for the Foo Fighters as the band has played its first run of shows without longtime drummer Taylor Hawkins. After a year of privately mourning their late timekeeper and emotional heartbeat — who died at age 50 last March while the band was on tour in South America — singer/guitarist Dave Grohl posted a heartfelt message to fans on Tuesday (June 6) thanking them for not just showing up, but for lifting up the band during a difficult re-launch.

“Hey, it’s been awhile. Now that we’ve returned from our first run of shows, I felt compelled to reach out and thank you all for being there for us,” Grohl said in the Instagram post. “Every night, when I see you singing, it makes me sing harder. When I see you screaming, it makes me scream louder. When I see your tears, it brings me to tears. And when I see your joy, it brings me joy. But, I see you… and it feels good to see you, churning up these emotions together. Because we’ve always done this together.”

While Grohl hasn’t spoken publicly about the impact of Hawkins’ death, the Foos’ new album, But Here We Are, has earned widespread praise for what Pitchfork said in a review was its spilling of “arena-sized grief, reckoning and resolve” on a moving collection that balances raw emotion with the band’s signature determination to see the light through the darkness.

The note ended with the phrase, “time and time again,” and a “see you soon,” another testament to the Foos’ indomitable” keep on keepin’ on spirit.

The band launched their first tour with new drummer Josh Freese on May 24 in Gilford, N.H. and paid tribute to Hawkins once again during their Boston Calling headlining set two nights later by inviting Hawkins’ teenage son, Shane, to join them on stage for “I’ll Stick Around”; the talented high schooler stole the show in September when he smashed “My Hero” with the Foos at their Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium in London.

The band’s next scheduled date is on June 14 at the Walmart AMP in Rogers, Arkansas.

See Grohl’s note below

Biden Administration Says Roger Waters Has ‘Long Track Record of Using Antisemitic Tropes’

The Biden administration is weighing in on the controversy over Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, saying his recent performances in Germany were antisemitic, an assessment shared by many in Israel and the pro-Israel community.

The State Department said Tuesday (June 6) that Waters has “a long track record of using antisemitic tropes” and a concert he gave late last month in Germany “contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust.”

The comments came in a written response to a question posed at Monday’s State Department press briefing about whether the administration agreed with criticism of Rogers from the U.S. special envoy to combat antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt.

“Special Envoy Lipstadt’s quote-tweet speaks for itself,” the department said.

“The concert in question, which took place in Berlin, contained imagery that is deeply offensive to Jewish people and minimized the Holocaust,” the department said. “The artist in question has a long track record of using antisemitic tropes to denigrate Jewish people.”

In a May 24 tweet after the concert in Berlin, during which Waters appeared on stage in a costume reminiscent of Nazi-era Germany, Lipstadt denounced the musician by echoing comments from EU antisemitism envoy Katharina von Schnurbein, who is German.

“I wholeheartedly concur with @EUAntisemitism ’s condemnation of Roger Waters and his despicable Holocaust distortion,” Lipstadt wrote in reply to a tweet from von Schnurbein.

Von Schnurbein had taken issue with Waters’ performance in Berlin as well as his previous comments related to Israel and the Holocaust.

“I am sick & disgusted by Roger Waters’ obsession to belittle and trivialize the Shoah & the sarcastic way in which he delights in trampling on the victims, systematically murdered by the Nazis,” von Schnurbein wrote. “In Germany. Enough is enough.”

Shortly after the concert, police in Berlin said they had opened an investigation of Waters on suspicion of incitement over the costume he wore. Images on social media showed Waters firing an imitation machine gun while dressed in a long black coat with a red armband. Police confirmed that the costume could constitute a glorification, justification or approval of Nazi rule and therefore a disturbance of the public peace.

Waters rejected those accusations in a statement on Facebook and Instagram, saying “the elements of my performance that have been questioned are quite clearly a statement in opposition to fascism, injustice, and bigotry in all its forms.”

He claimed that ”attempts to portray those elements as something else are disingenuous and politically motivated.” Waters has also drawn the ire of the pro-Israel community for his outspoken support of the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts and sanctions against Israel.

Ernest Presents Jelly Roll With Breakthrough Artist Of The Year Award at Billboard’s 2023 Country Power Players

The Nashville music industry gathered Tuesday (June 6) to celebrate its most influential members and several of its brightest stars.

Hosted by Billboard to celebrate the recently published 2023 Country Power Players list, the event took place at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works, with execs, artists, agents and others mingling in the chic, industrial space.

Billboard’s executive editor, West Coast and Nashville Melinda Newman opened the evening’s awards presentation, first acknowledging Seth England of Big Loud, the recipient of the first ever Billboard Country Power Players Choice Award. Newman then introduced Ernest, who recounted the story of his first time meeting Jelly Roll when a mutual friend of his was selling the singer a truck. “Not long later,” said Ernest said, “he was charting on Billboard.”

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Jelly Roll then took the stage, noting in a funny, impassioned speech that “there’s a story my daddy used to tell that you could work harder than everybody, you can put in more hours than everybody, you can be more talented than everybody, you could be nicer than everybody, you could care more than everybody, but if a little luck don’t show up with you, you are screwed in this world, and I can tell you that God blessed me to be lucky to have friends like Ernest and Hardy and Ashley and these people that have came through and helped me put out my first debut country album that was commemorated by my cover on Billboard.”

Next up was Hardy, who presented the Rookie Of The Year award to Bailey Zimmerman. “I tried singing two and a half years ago and my life completely switched,” Zimmerman said in his speech. “I went from digging ditches and building pipelines to being an artist…Enjoying the moment is something I’ve really been focusing on, and I’ve never had a moment like this.”

Terri Clark then took the stage to present the Groundbreaker award to her friend, Ashley McBryde. “I’ve had the privilege of watching her build a career that will stand the test of time. She came up to me [once] and said, ‘You know when I was a teenager I was looking to women in country music who I felt like i could relate to, people who were a little bit different, and when I looked to you, I saw that. And now Ashley’s doing that very thing to many little girls and girls with a dream all over the place who want to be country singers.”

McBryde then gave an emotional speech about how when she first moved to Nashville, she was told her hair was too curly, that she had too many tattoos, that she needed to lose weight and that she should be writing different kinds of songs. “It means a lot to receive this,” she said with tears streaming down her face, “because it means betting on yourself is the right thing to do.”

Finally, Newman presented the Executive of the Year award to Rusty Gaston of Sony Music Publishing Nashville, which has earned the top spot on Billboard’s Country Radio Airplay Publishers list for the last three quarters.

“I love this community,” Gaston said in his speech, “and what I love most about country music is that we are a community — we are a group of friends who get to work together to help each other succeed, but we aren’t work friends, we’re life friends.”

ENHYPEN Break Down ‘Fantasy-Like’ New Mini Album ‘Dark Blood’: Exclusive

ENHYPEN‘s series of albums have detailed the septet’s road to becoming an arena-filling boy band with four entries on the Billboard 200 after just two-and-a-half years together. The results speak to the connection the K-pop stars have made with fans, inspiring a magical musical experience for their latest release.

Instead of taking direct inspiration from their professional and personal lives, the K-pop stars to watch used inspiration from meeting their fans—affectionately known as ENGENEs—during their Manifesto World Tour to deliver an elevated emotional experience for DARK BLOOD, which entered World Albums at No. 14 last week and is expected to make a major splash on the Billboard 200 next week after the physical album dropped last Friday, June 2.

“While our previous albums were largely influenced by our personal experiences, DARK BLOOD takes our experience and emotions of having met our fans in person through our tour a step further by incorporating fantasy-like elements to enhance the enjoyment of ENGENEs and listeners alike,” explains group leader Jungwon.

The six-song EP takes inspiration from ENHYPEN’s fantasy novel/webtoon series DARK MOON : THE BLOOD ALTAR, which stars vampire characters inspired by the seven group members. Described in a press release as “a new roadmap for K-pop,” DARK BLOOD rolls ENHYPEN’s growing creative world and IP into its musical, visual and dance world.

“It’s truly a delight to see ENGENEs fully immersed in DARK MOON : THE BLOOD ALTAR and genuinely enjoying the story,” Jake reflects. “With many connections between the webtoon and our album, paying attention to these aspects will definitely make the listening experience more fun.”

Sunoo adds, “Seeing characters based on ourselves was really cool, and it felt like we’re the actual characters in the webtoon. This kind of experience doesn’t come around often, so it’s been a fun and refreshing opportunity for us to connect it to our album and bring something new.”

As new of an experience DARK BLOOD marks for ENHYPEN’s career, the band is also taking the time to remember where they began.

To celebrate the EP’s release, ENHYPEN held a “special showcase” concert for fans in Seoul, where they performed “Into the I-Land,” the theme song of the boy band competition show I-Land that ultimately created the group. Alongside their new single “Bite Me,” plus tracks “Bills” and “Karma,” the performance acted as a reminder that ENHYPEN is as thankful for the ENGENEs with them from the start as those with them today.

“It was a very special performance that served as a reminder for all of us to stay grounded and never forget where we all started,” Ni-ki says before Sunghoon adds, “We knew how much our ENGENEs wanted to see this song performed live, so we especially prepared it just for them; kind of like our way of saying ‘thank you.’”

ENHYPEN will continue to pay it back to fans when they head out on their upcoming FATE World Tour, kicking off next month in Seoul before landing Stateside in October. In the meantime, the guys tell Billboard that they’re hard at work prepping their biggest show yet while also keeping an eye on which songs fans are using across their accounts.”

“I’m on social channels pretty often so I really enjoy seeing how our music is received by the wider audience as well as our fans,” Jake says. “It’s fun and rewarding to watch our fans take part in our challenges or use our music to create their own content.”

Ni-ki is sure to mention that “We are set to begin our second world tour ‘FATE’ this coming July with shows in Seoul and we will be continuing to Japan to host dome concerts an’s full d our U.S. leg includes a stadium venue, so we’re very much looking forward to meeting a bigger number of ENGENEs in one place this time. We’ll be giving it our all to prepare, so please look forward to it!”

Read on for ENHYPEN’s full track-by-track breakdown of DARK MOON including studio stories, song reflections and more.

Jelly Roll Makes Teen Fans’ Week With $1000 Tip

Jelly Roll knows the value of hard work, and that’s why he helped out some fans while stopping for a meal at Whataburger.

In a viral TikTok video, the “Need a Favor” country superstar is seen rolling up into the drive-thru with two friends, when he asks the teenager in the window how many people are working with him. When the young fan says there are five people total working, Jelly Roll explains that he’s going to send him $1000, and he must give each of his coworkers $200.

“My dude don’t believe me y’all, but we’re gonna hit ’em with the big ol’ bank roll,” Jelly Roll joked to the camera before a follow-up video in which the group of teenagers are seen receiving the money and promptly freaking out.

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“New playground, new playmates,” the country star recently told Billboard of his life today, as he graced the cover of the Country Power Players issue. “I live in a totally different space. But I’m always conscious of keeping in touch with where I’m from. My heart is to help.” 

On fans who comment on his social media that his songs have saved their lives, he added, “Who in life can say they really helped somebody in the darkest moment of their life that was fixing to kill themselves? I look at that as something that inspires me to do more.”

See the video of the teens receiving their $1000 tip below.

Lil Tjay Gets Arrested While on Instagram Live: Report

Lil Tjay had fans confused on Tuesday (June 6) when he appeared to get arrested while on Instagram Live.

In the video, which has since been circulating social media, the rapper is seen in New York City, telling police officers not to touch him. “No, bro. Hell no. What’s in the car? I don’t know what’s in the car,” he’s heard saying in the clip. “Don’t touch me. There’s no firearm in the car.”

Tjay is then restrained by multiple officers and handcuffed. The 22-year-old rapper’s lawyer Dawn Florio has since told TMZ that he was filming a music video when the police arrived and arrested him for reckless endangerment — not gun possession as was assumed by fans watching the live video. Billboard has reached out the rapper’s label, Florio and NYPD for confirmation and more information.

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Back in 2019, another clip of Lil Tjay being arrested went viral online, but the scene ended up being part of his music video for “F.N.” In January of this year, the star and four others were arrested after police pulled Tjay over and allegedly found four loaded guns inside his car without valid license. The group, who was on their way to film a music video was Ice Spice, was charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and held on $30,000 cash bail and $90,000 bond by the NYC Department of Corrections.

See the latest clip from Tjay’s Instagram Live below.

Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock Announces Debut Solo Single ‘DSL’

Leigh-Anne is coming. On Monday, Leigh-Anne Pinnock — a member of the Brit Award-winning girl group Little Mix — tweeted the hashtag “#LeighAnneIsComing” with a message encouraging fans to join her Discord. On Tuesday (June 6), fans finally got some clarity.

After wiping her Instagram profile, Leigh-Anne posted a 26-second snippet of her forthcoming debut solo single “DSL.” In the video, Leigh-Anne dons an iridescent bodysuit as she struts through the shadows to the soundtrack of the U.K. garage-inflected snippet.

This “DSL” snippet is the first piece of concrete information regarding the release of solo music from any of the Little Mix ladies who stayed in the group after the departure of Jesy Nelson. “Guys, I’m screaming,” Leigh-Anne wrote on Twitter shortly after launching the snippet. “Can’t believe it’s happening!”

Since Little Mix began their hiatus, Leigh-Anne has been making strides across the entertainment industry. In February of last year, she signed a solo deal with Warner Records and partnered with TaP Music for representation across media. The following month, Leigh-Anne won documentary of the year at the Visionary Honours Awards for her eye-opening Leigh-Anne: Race, Pop & Power film. More recently, in March of this year, Leigh-Anne partnered with Audible UK to narrate The Little Mermaid.

Musically, Leigh-Anne has been angling herself toward R&B, with several lauded covers including renditions of SWV‘s “Weak,” Dionne Warwick‘s “I Say A Little Prayer,” and Coco Jones‘ “ICU.” Little is known regarding the sound and title of Leigh-Anne’s solo debut beyond the snippet and acronymic title, but more news is certainly on the way.

As a member of Little Mix, Leigh-Anne has earned a pair of top 10 titles on the Billboard 200 albums chart, including 2013’s DNA (No. 4) and 2014’s Salute (No. 6). The X Factor-bred vocal group has also reached as high as No. 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 2015’s “Black Magic.”

Taylor Swift Shares Stunning Photos From ‘Epic’ Chicago Eras Shows

A diamond’s gotta shine! Taylor Swift took to social media following her three-night stint at Chicago’s Soldier Field to share a series of stunning photos from the Eras tour stop.

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“Chicago that was sooooo epic. Playing 3 nights at Soldier Field and getting to sing ‘You All Over Me’ with @MarenMorris who I adore. You guys were so much fun to play for, I love you,” Swift wrote alongside four jaw-dropping images of herself onstage in various flowing gowns and sparkling dresses.

The photos were taken by photojournalist Natasha Moustache, who retweeted some of their pictures posted by fan pages. “Appreciate the love y’all,” they tweeted. “It was an incredible experience! Absolute perfection.”

A viral moment from the Chicago shows came on Saturday night (June 3), when Swift almost brought an adorable fan up on stage with her during the “22” performance, when she usually hands her hat to a lucky Swiftie who is escorted up to the front. In a video posted to social media, Swift is seen encouraging the small fan to join her on the actual stage, but suddenly stopped herself, admitted that her brain broke.

“I just had this inclination,” she explained later in the night. “She’s so cute that I wanted to like, I was just like ‘I’m just gonna bring her on the stage, I’m just gonna hug her and put her on the stage.’ And then I remembered we don’t have a safe way to get her off the stage.”

“My brain went completely blank,” she added. “I was just like, ‘You’re so sweet and cute, come up on the stage.’ She was confused. I was confused. So if anybody else was confused, that was because that child was so adorable that I tried to make her a part of the show. I had no control over it.”

Alicia Keys Extends No. 1 Record on Adult R&B Airplay Chart With ‘Come for Me’

Alicia Keys increases her mark for the most No. 1s on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as “Come for Me (Unlocked),” featuring Khalid and Lucky Daye, ascends to the top of the list dated June 10. The song advances from No. 2 thanks to a 1% gain in plays that made it the most-played song on reporting U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the week ending June 1, according to Luminate.

The new champ gives Keys her 14th Adult R&B Airplay No. 1, furthering her record for the most among all artists. As she distances herself yet again from the competition, here’s a look at the artists with the most leaders since the list began in 1993:

14, Alicia Keys
11, Toni Braxton
9, Charlie Wilson
8, Bruno Mars
8, Kem
8, Maxwell
8, Tank
7, Mary J. Blige
7, H.E.R.
7, R. Kelly

For Khalid, “Come for Me” secures the R&B hitmaker’s fourth champ on Adult R&B Airplay, and second visit with Keys. He previously led with his own three-week No. 1 “Location” in 2017 and 12-week smash “Talk” in 2019, before reaching the top in a featured role on Keys’ “So Done” for one week in 2021.

Lucky Daye, meanwhile, lands his first Adult R&B Airplay chart-topper. His prior best was a No. 2 result though a featured turn on Earth, Wind & Fire’s “You Want My Love” in 2021. As a lead artist, the Grammy winner has achieved a No. 8 high with “Roll Some Mo” in 2019.

Elsewhere, “Come for Me” climbs 19-17 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs based on combined audience listenership from both adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, the single rises despite a 3% decline, to 6.3 million. On the Hot R&B Songs chart, which blends radio airplay metrics with streaming and sales figures, “Come for Me” debuts at No. 25.

“Come for Me” appears on the deluxe edition of Keys’ 2021 album Keys, dubbed Keys II, that dropped in August 2022. (All versions of the album are combined for tracking and charting purposes.) The singer-songwriter will soon embark on a tour in support of the set, Keys to the Summer, a 23-date trek that begins June 28 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and wraps Aug. 2 in Inglewood, Calif.