Music News

01 Jun 2023

Dave Matthews Band & Ghost Lead Rock Album Charts

New releases from Dave Matthews Band and Ghost top Billboard’s rock album charts dated June 3.

Walk Around the Moon, Dave Matthews Band’s 10th studio set, bows at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums tallies with 44,000 equivalent album units earned May 19-25, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 40,000 are via album sales.

The set is frontman Matthews’ seventh No. 1 on both surveys, which began in 2006. (Five leaders are billed as by Dave Matthews Band; two are credited to Matthews and DMB guitarist Tim Reynolds.) He boasts the third-most rulers in the history of both charts, behind only John Mayer and Bruce Springsteen (solo and with the E Street Band), each with eight.

Most No. 1s, Top Rock & Alternative Albums:

  • 8, John Mayer
  • 8, Bruce Springsteen (solo and with the E Street Band)
  • 7, Dave Matthews (solo and with Dave Matthews Band)
  • 6, The Beatles
  • 6, Coldplay
  • 6, Grateful Dead
  • 6, Tom Petty (solo and with the Heartbreakers)

Dave Matthews Band first commanded Top Rock & Alternative Albums in 2006 with The Best of What’s Around, Vol. 01. Until its latest No. 1, the group had last led with 2018’s Come Tomorrow.

Walk Around the Moon’s 40,000-unit sales mark also slots the set at No. 1 on the all-genre Top Album Sales chart, where it’s the band’s eighth leader. On the Billboard 200, it begins at No. 5, marking Matthews’ 13th top five entry, a run that began with Dave Matthews Band’s Crash in May 1996.

Concurrently, “Monsters,” the second radio single from Walk Around the Moon, lifts 12-11 on Adult Alternative Airplay. “Madman’s Eyes” reached No. 4 in March.

Meanwhile, Phantomime, Ghost’s new all-covers EP, starts at No. 1 on Top Hard Rock Albums with 36,000 units, with 34,000 from album sales.

The five-song set features the rockers’ renditions of music from Genesis, Iron Maiden, The Stranglers, Television and Tina Turner.

It’s Ghost’s fifth Top Hard Rock Albums ruler. The band first led with Infestissumam in May 2013 and had most recently reigned with Impera in March 2022.

Phantomime also begins at No. 2 on both Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums. On the Billboard 200, it arrives as the Tobias Forge-led outfit’s fourth top 10, at No. 7.

The EP’s lead single, Ghost’s cover of Genesis’ “Jesus He Knows Me,” rises 18-16 on Mainstream Rock Airplay. It has outperformed the Phil Collins-sung original, which hit No. 24 in 1992.

01 Jun 2023

Lil Dicky Talks Topping Cameo-Packed Third Season of ‘Dave’ With a Pair of Ultimate Superstar Walk-Ons

Warning: This story contains spoilers for the season 3 finale of Dave.

Dave Burd managed to wrap up the over-the-top third season of his series Dave with the most unexpected, how-did-he-pull-that-off stunt yet. After a two-episode will-they-or-won’t-they arc starring Rachel McAdams as a potential paramour for his rap alter ego Lil Dicky, the just-aired season finale opened with Dicky in bed with McAdams during the video shoot for his homage to The Notebook star, “Mr. McAdams.”

In another scene, Dicky raps, “Maybe I’m your Brad Pitt,” and in keeping with Dave‘s unpredictable, cameo-stuffed run, of course the real Brad Pitt then pops up. But Pitt doesn’t just do a drive-by, he hangs around playing a Brad Pitt type who is interested in getting into the music game only to get stuck in a hostage situation. There’s a shooting accident with a Looking for Love prop crossbow and an escape thanks to bear mace and Dave’s $7,000 set doll.

But the most important question is: How did they get Pitt? (And Drake, for that matter.)

Star Burd and co-star GaTa spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the surprise superstar cameos and why they decided to keep Pitt’s fate a secret.

“There was a lot of debate about how to play it. We even shot several versions of that outcome with Drake with us talking about, ‘Oh, he’s dead’ and like, ‘No, he’s alive,’” said Burd. “We had every iteration at our fingertips, but I chose to keep it slightly ambiguous. For me, as a viewer, if you look closely as the paramedics are running in, you can kind of see Brad’s hand go up and start to give the thumbs up. So, I take that as an indication that Brad will live on.”

Even more surprising, after a season-long arc about Dave looking for love on the road, when it comes down to finally going with his heart and trying to make it work with on-and-off girlfriend Robyn — and after Pitt very clearly warned him about the pitfalls of being a star — Dicky decides to chase after Drake rather than settle down with Robyn.

“What a twist, huh? I wanted to do something that was kind of a surprise,” Burd explained. “Not to oversimplify it, but every season we build toward this big decision. Am I going to do the right thing or the wrong thing?… It’s not just throwing [away] love and not learning anything the whole episode. I’ve been looking for love this whole season and I learned through this experience, and through Brad Pitt, that as confident as my character in his own greatness there’s clearly a gaping void in his soul that needs this validation. Until you actually love yourself and remedy yourself of that void, how can you possibly take on the love of another person?”

Burd said as much as he wanted to find love, he looked at letting Robyn go as a sign that he wasn’t ready for it yet. “That awareness was at the core of that final decision. I think I learned the lessons and was aware enough to realize that’s not where I was yet. So, in the meantime, I’m going to go to Drake,” he said.

As for Pitt’s near-death crossbow incident, GaTa said he never expected to be in that situation. “I was like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. We got Brad Pitt on Pro Tools with auto-tune AND we ’bout to kill this man?,’” he said. “I still can’t believe it. It’s just surreal even talking about it, like we got Brad Pitt doing all this stuff. It’s crazy.”

Asked how he keeps pulling off such amazing cameos — this season also featured Usher, Don Cheadle, Killer Mike, Demi Lovato, Jack Harlow, Rick Ross and many more — while keeping the Pitt pop-in secret, it all comes down to Burd’s persuasive letter-writing according to showrunner Jeff Schaffer. Earlier this year he told THR that he and the show’s other producers thought it was a bridge too far at first.

“None of us thought it was going to work, except Dave,” Schffer said while giving props to Burd’s big ideas. It also helped that two-time Oscar winner Pitt was reportedly a fan of the show. “It really speaks to the greatness of the show that all three of them just independently are huge fans of the show. Everyone who works on the show should feel like they got Brad and Rachel and Drake,” Burd explained. “The reason we got them is because they loved the first two seasons of the show.”

The rapper had never met McAdams or Pitt before, but he’d heard through the grapevine that they were fans. “It was a little reckless to anchor an entire three episode arc with Rachel McAdams and an entire finale on Brad Pitt, but for the themes that we’re talking about there is no one better,” he said, admitting that Drizzy was an especially big swing, since the MC had not done TV since his early days as a teen actor on Degrassi: The Next Generation from 2001-2008 playing Jimmy Brooks.

“What better representation of like hopeless romanticism and love is there than Rachel McAdams, who was like my generation’s dream woman and who has been in films that have totally defined my interpretation of what love is supposed to be? Same with Brad Pitt. What better person to teach you a lesson about fame and validation than like the star of all stars, Brad Pitt? Drake is like the top of the mountain top musically and as a rapper. I had met Drake and he pulled me aside and told me the show is one of the more important shows of our generation and I knew he was a fan.”

01 Jun 2023

Elevation Worship’s ‘Can You Imagine’ Arrives at No. 1 on Top Christian Albums Chart

Elevation Worship, the music collective based in Charlotte, N.C., earns its seventh No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart as its new set, Can You Imagine?, blasts in atop the June 3-dated tally.

Released May 19, the LP earned 8,000 equivalent album units through May 25, according to Luminate.

“We’re blown away by the response to our new album and how it’s pointing people to Jesus,” Chris Brown, the group’s frontman, tells Billboard. “It’s reminding us that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine in and through our lives.”

Concurrently, the album’s “More Than Able,” featuring Chandler Moore and Tiffany Hudson, surges 5-1 on the multimetric Hot Gospel Songs chart. On Hot Christian Songs, it flies 21-7. It drew 2 million official streams (up 102%).

“Able” gives Elevation Worship its fourth No. 1 on Hot Gospel Songs and its 12th top 10 on Hot Christian Songs.

For Moore, who is also a member of Maverick City Music, it’s his third No. 1 on Hot Gospel Songs. On Hot Christian Songs, it marks his third top 10.

Hudson, a member of Elevation Worship, earns her first leader and top 10 as a billed artist on the lists, respectively.

“Able” was penned by Ben Fielding, Steven Furtick, Chandler Moore and Naomi Raine.

Can You Imagine?, which includes eight tracks, was produced by Brown and Furtick. The LP was recorded in front of a live audience at Elevation Church in Charlotte Jan. 13.

The new set follows Elevation Worship’s Live at the Loft, which arrived at its No. 24 peak on Top Christian Albums in September 2022, and Lion, which started at its No. 2 best that March. Before that, Elevation Worship’s collaboration with Maverick City Music, Old Church Basement, arrived atop the Top Christian Albums and Top Gospel Albums chart in May 2021. It dominated the former for five weeks and the latter for 17 frames.

01 Jun 2023

‘Milli Vanilli’ Documentary Coming to Paramount+

A new feature-length documentary detailing the story behind the ill-fated, chart-topping pop duo Milli Vanilli is coming to Paramount+. The project, simply titled Milli Vanilli, will make its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival on June 10 before arriving on the streaming service in the fall.

After rocky upbringings in Germany, Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan joined forces to become one of the biggest pop groups in the world — scoring three Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s (“Blame It on the Rain,” “Girl I’m Gonna Miss You” and “Baby Don’t Forget My Number”) in 1989 and winning the best new artist Grammy in 1990 — before it was revealed that they didn’t actually sing on any of their massive hits. The new film, produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and MRC and directed by Luke Korem, will tell the duo’s “true story,” Morvan (the group’s lone surviving member) promises; Pilatus died of an alcohol and prescription drug overdose in 1998.

“Finally – the true story of Milli Vanilli has been told!” Morvan says in a statement announcing the film’s acquisition. “I’m thankful Luke Korem and his team went to the lengths that they did. The journey I returned to during the filming of this documentary didn’t leave any stone unturned. At last I can close this chapter in peace. … Get ready to take a walk in our steel-toe boots.”

Korem adds in his own statement: “For over 30 years, the story of Milli Vanilli – in particular Rob and Fab – has been reduced to sensational headlines. With this documentary, we pull back the curtain on pop music. Featuring interviews with the real singers, record executives, the producer mastermind behind the deception and exclusive interviews with Rob and Fab, we unveil the truth of this complex, exciting and dramatic story. I’m thrilled that Paramount+ shares our vision and will bring this film to audiences around the world.”

Milli Vanilli — which includes an interview with Billboard contributing writer/editor Gil Kaufman, who wrote an oral history on the group’s rise and fall in 2020 — is directed and produced by Korem and produced by Bradley Jackson, MRC, Keep On Running Pictures and MTV Entertainment Studios. Hanif Abdurraqib and Kim Marlowe are executive producers. The documentary will be available via Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the fall.

01 Jun 2023

Ed Sheeran Blasts Back at Lewis Capaldi’s NSFW Anti-Ed Chant at Festival

One good f-bomb deserves another. Ed Sheeran posted a four-letter response to Lewis Capaldi on Wednesday (May 31) after the “Wish You the Best” singer took a dig at him during his headlining set at BBC Radio One’s Big Weekend in his native Scotland on Sunday.

“I thought we were friends, Lewis. I thought we were friends you f…,” Sheeran said with a smile on his face as he added some saltier bleeped language. The video came with a playful message tweaking Capaldi using his own lyrics, with Sheeran writing, “I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.”

Sheeran also included the original offending video, in which Capaldi tells the capacity crowd, “Ed is not here today… yeah, f–k ’em! Everybody on the count of three say ‘F–k you, Ed!’” The crowd then dutifully followed Capaldi’s command. The two pop stars have playfully poked each other before about a house Sheeran suggested Capaldi buy that created a fake rift between them.

Capaldi had reason to celebrate this week, as his sophomore album, Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent, rocketed to No. 1 in the U.K. According to the Official Charts Company, it was the most streamed, downloaded and physically purchased LP during the latest chart cycle, and it surpassed the 76,000 first week chart units notched by Sheeran’s Subtract album.

The big opening easily bested the chart debut of Lewis’s 2019 debut Divinely Uninspired To A Hellish Extent, which accumulated 89,000 chart units in its first seven days.

Watch Sheeran’s response video below.

01 Jun 2023

Paramore Bring Out Lil Uzi Vert For ‘Misery Business’ at MSG

Paramore usually pick a superfan to join them on stage to perform their signature 2007 hit “Misery Business” during their shows. But on Wednesday night (May 31) they had a very special guest, and true uberfan, on hand to do the honors: Lil Uzi Vert.

According to NME, Singer Hayley Williams took a moment to introduce the “Just Wanna Rock” MC on the second night of their Madison Square Garden stint, saying, “We’ve been talking for a minute but this is the first time we’ve met in person. I love you,” as she hugged the MC while the crowd erupted in cheers.

“You’ve said so many nice things about me. You’re so sweet to me, and to Paramore,” she added. “Can we do this bridge again together? Then we’re going to melt their faces off.”

The dynamic duo then stood face-to face as they sang, “I watched his wildest dreams come true/ Not one of them involving you/ Just watch my wildest dreams come true/ Not one of them involving,” before they danced across the stage, spinning in place as streamers filled the air. They then got the usual full-throated help from the audience on the tune’s soaring chorus, “Who, I never meant to brag/ But I got him where I want him now/ Who, I never meant to brag/ But I got him where I want him now.”

The performance ended with Williams giving Lil Uzi a giant hug. The sweet moment came more than three years after Williams told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that she once turned down a collab with the rapper because she worried that it might bring an unwieldy amount of fame into her life.

“I remember too Uzi asking me to do some stuff with him and I know that fans are going to be so pissed at me for saying this,” she told Lowe. “But I literally wrote him back on Instagram and I was like, ‘Buddy, I love you so much, but I don’t want to be that famous.’” Uzi would not be deterred, however, saying to Complex last year that their dream collab would be “Hayley Williams from Paramore… there’s no one better than Hayley Williams.”

Watch Lil Uzi with Paramore below.

31 May 2023

Tupac Shakur Is Finally Getting His Own Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

The Rose That Grew From Concrete is finally receiving his own sidewalk honor: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On June 7, legendary rapper, poet and actor Tupac Shakur will receive his star in the recording category during a public ceremony at 6212 Hollywood Blvd.

“Tupac Shakur was a rapper, actor, activist, poet, and revolutionary,” says Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “This iconic artist has continued to be part of the zeitgeist for decades after his passing and will continue to be an important cultural figure for many years to come. Surely, as one of L.A.’s own, Tupac’s star will be added to the list of most visited stars.”

Born in New York City but spending his formative years in California, Shakur is revered as a West Coast legend and a cited inspiration to artists across the globe, including Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, J. Cole, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber and countless others.

At the Baltimore School for the Arts, Shakur studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet. In his early career, Shakur was known as MC New York before taking on the moniker 2Pac during his time with rap group Digital Underground.

As a solo artist, Shakur released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991 via Interscope Records. He went on to share three more albums before his fatal shooting at age 25 — all of which charted on the Billboard 200, with All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World topping the chart. Following his death, six posthumous studio albums were released through Amaru Entertainment, started by Shakur’s mother, and Interscope Records.

Both All Eyez on Me and Shakur’s greatest-hits collection are RIAA-certified diamond, surpassing the 10-million mark. In 2017, the rap icon was the first solo hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As an actor, Shakur starred in films including Juice, Poetic Justice, Above The Rim, Gridlock’d and Gang Related.

The Walk of Fame star unveiling will be hosted by L.A. radio host Big Boy and guest speakers will include director Allen Hughes (Hulu documentary series Dear Mama), writer Jamal Joseph and Tupac’s sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, who will accept the star.

The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. PT and will stream live here.

31 May 2023

Disney’s ‘Moana’ Live-Action Remake Taps ‘Hamilton’ Director Thomas Kail

With The Little Mermaid making a splash in theaters this past weekend, news regarding another Disney film’s live-action remake is making waves. On Wednesday (May 31), The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Hamilton and In the Heights director Thomas Kail will helm the upcoming live-action version of Moana.

The film was first announced earlier this spring. Alongside Broadway vet Kail directing, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson — who will will reprise his role as Maui, the demigod of the wind and sea — will produce via his company Seven Bucks productions with Dany and Hiram Garcia. Beau Flynn is also producing via Flynn Picture Co. Jared Bush, the animated movie’s original screenwriter, wrote the script for the live-action movie alongside Dana Ledoux Miller.

While the titular character has yet to be cast for the film, Auli’i Cravalho — who originally starred as the voice of Moana — revealed that she won’t reprise the role but will instead serve as an executive producer on the project.

“When I was cast as Moana at 14, it wonderfully changed my life and started my career,” she said on Instagram earlier this month. “In this live-action retelling, I will not be reprising the role. I believe it is absolutely vital that casting accurately represents the characters and stories we want to tell.”

She continued, “I can’t wait to find the next actress to portray Moana’s courageous spirit, undeniable wit and emotional strength. I’m truly honored to pass this baton to the next woman of Pacific Island descent to honor our incredible Pacific peoples, cultures and communities that help inspire her story, and I look forward to all the beautiful Pacific representation to come. Mahalo.”

31 May 2023

The Linda Lindas Perform at Scripp’s National Spelling Bee

The Linda Lindas performed at the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee this week, marking the competition’s first-ever musical performance.

“Playing the @scrippsnationalspellingbee was an honor and a B-L-A-S-T,” the band wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday (May 30), before wishing luck to “all the spellers.” The National Spelling Bee’s Bee Week takes place this week at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, with the finals airing on Thursday (May 31) on ION network at 8 p.m. ET

The Linda Lindas went viral in 2021 for their powerful performance of their song “Racist, Sexist Boy” at the Los Angeles Public Library, and the all-girl group featuring members Bela Salazar, Eloise Wong, and sisters Lucia and Mila de la Garza released their debut album Growing Up in 2022.

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The group is set to head out on tour as the opening act for select shows on Paramore’s tour this summer. The tour follows the Feb. 10 release of Paramore’s sixth studio album This Is Why, the band’s first LP in almost six years. The record’s lead single — which doubles as the title track — dropped in September.

31 May 2023

Phil Wickham’s ‘This Is Our God’ Tops Christian Airplay Chart

Phil Wickham rolls up his fourth No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart (dated June 3) with “This Is Our God.” In the tracking week ending May 25, the song increased by 5% to 6.4 million impressions, according to Luminate.

The 39-year-old singer-songwriter, from San Diego, co-penned the song with Pat Barrett, Steven Furtick and Brandon Lake. It was produced by Jonathan Smith and will be included on Wickham’s album due this fall.

“‘This Is Our God’ is my favorite song to sing and lead right now,” Wickham tells Billboard. “This song is a declaration of who Jesus is and what He’s done for us. There is so much faith, hope and truth in it. It’s been incredible hearing the church lift it up and sing it out in the past few months since its release. Thanks to everyone who has been listening to, singing and sharing this one!”

Wickham’s fourth Christian Airplay leader completes his fastest trip to the summit: 19 weeks. His “House of the Lord,” which dominated for four weeks starting in October 2021, took 20 weeks to reach the apex. “Battle Belongs,” which likewise reigned for four frames, beginning in April 2021, needed 25 weeks, and his first No. 1, “This Is Amazing Grace,” ruled for 10 frames starting in March 2014, wrapping a 27-week climb.

Wickham’s new Christian Airplay No. 1 follows his duet with Anne Wilson, “Behold,” which hit No. 2 in December 2022. He has notched 10 top 10s, starting with “Safe,” which hit No. 4 in April 2010.

Jones’ First Gospel Airplay No. 1

On Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart, Brent Jones earns his first No. 1, as “Nothing Else Matters (Instead of Complaining, Praise Him),” which he wrote solely, lifts to the top, up 9% in plays.

The Los Angeles native follows “Open Your Mouth and Say Something,” which reached No. 9 in March 2019, and first entry “He Rose” (No. 17, January 2015).

Jones, who is also the Minister of Music at the Friendship Baptist Church in the Los Angeles area, launched his music career as leader of Brent Jones & The T.P. Mobb in the 1990s. The act posted three entries on Top Gospel Albums: 1999’s self-titled LP peaked at No. 4, followed by beautiful (No. 7, 2002); and The Ultimate Weekend (No. 14, 2008).

Jones has charted two solo albums on the survey: Joy Comin’ (No. 6, 2014) and Open Your Mouth and Say Somethin’ (No. 3, 2018).