Music News

09 May 2023

Watch Kelly Clarkson Deliver Soulful Rendition of Eva Cassidy’s ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’

Kelly Clarkson took fans back to the ’90s for the Tuesday (May 9) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, performing the Eva Cassidy version of Simon & Garfunkel‘s signature hit “Bridge Over Trouble” for the opening Kellyoke segment.

Accompanied by her band, the three-time Grammy winner put her own spin on the Cassidy’s version of the classic track, using her signature belt to hit flawless high notes and stunning vibrato moments.

“When you’re weary/ Feeling small/ When tears are in your eyes/ I’ll dry them all/ I’m on your side/ Oh, when times get rough/ And friends just can’t be found/ Like a bridge over troubled water/ I will lay me down/ Like a bridge over troubled water/ I will lay me down,” she powerfully sang on the intro verse and well-known chorus.

“Bridge Over Trouble Water” was originally released as the second single from Simon and Garfunkel’s fifth and final studio album of the same name. Released in 1970, the Paul Simon-penned track has become a signature for the folk duo — upon its release, the track spent six weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and a cumulatively 14 weeks on the chart. The track is their group’s most successful to date.

Cassidy’s version of the folk classic arrived in 1996 and appeared on her album, Live at Blues Alley. The LP was recorded live at the Washington, D.C.’s Blues Alley nightclub in January 1996.

Watch Clarkson’s cover of Cassidy’s “Bridge Over Trouble Water” in the video above.

09 May 2023

Colde & RM Snag Hot Trending Songs No. 1 With ‘Don’t Ever Say Love Me’

Colde’s RM collaboration “Don’t Ever Say Love Me” takes the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s May 13-dated Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter.

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 April 28-May 4.

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“Don’t Ever Say Love Me” was released May 4 after being teased for a few days on Korean singer-songwriter Colde’s social media, with some chatter owed to the featured appearance from BTS’ RM.

Concurrently, “Don’t Ever Say Love Me” debuts at No. 4 on the World Digital Song Sales chart thanks to 2,000 downloads, according to Luminate, with more chart appearances possible on the May 20-dated surveys upon the song’s first full seven weeks of tracking. It’s Colde’s second appearance on the chart, following his appearance on RM’s “Hectic,” which peaked at No. 6 in December 2022. As for RM, it’s his seventh appearance, which includes a No. 1 in “No.2” the same month.

“Don’t Ever Say Love Me” is one of eight songs from Colde’s new album Love Part 2. Another, for “Heartbreak Club” (featuring LEE CHANHYUK), received a music video treatment on May 4 as well.

Colde and RM reign over Jack Harlow, whose “They Don’t Love It” bows at No. 2 on Hot Trending Songs. “They Don’t Love It” is the breakout hit from the rapper’s surprise new album Jackman., which concurrently debuts at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 with 36,000 equivalent album units earned, as previously reported. The song itself is also the Billboard Hot 100’s Hot Shot Debut at No. 54, thanks to 8.6 million official U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads.

Nos. 3-5 on Hot Trending Songs are taken up by music from the late Gordon Lightfoot, who died May 1 at age 84. “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” a No. 2 hit on the Hot 100 in November 1976 for Lightfoot, starts at No. 3, followed by his lone Hot 100 No. 1, 1974’s “Sundown” (No. 4) and “If You Could Read My Mind” at No. 5 (also No. 5 on the Hot 100 in February 1971).

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

09 May 2023

The National Notch Fifth Top Rock & Alternative Albums No. 1 in a Row

The National rules Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart dated May 13 for a fifth total and consecutive time with its new album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein.

The release bows with 32,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week, April 28-May 4, including 24,000 via album sales, according to Luminate.

With 15,000 copies sold on vinyl, the set also debuts atop Vinyl Albums, where it’s the group’s fourth No. 1.

The Matt Berninger-fronted band’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums No. 1 streak dates to High Violet in May 2010. In between that set and First Two Pages of Frankenstein, the five-piece reigned with three other sets, also for a week each: Trouble Will Find Me (June 2013), Sleep Well Beast (September 2017) and I Am Easy to Find (June 2019).

The new set also bows at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts.

Concurrently, the LP’s “The Alcott,” featuring Taylor Swift, enters Hot Rock & Alternative Songs at No. 13, thanks to 2.9 million official U.S. streams and 4,000 sold. The song is the album’s next single at adult alternative radio.

The set’s lead single, “Tropic Morning News,” led the Adult Alternative Airplay chart for a career-high five weeks, beginning on the March 18-dated list. It became the band’s second No. 1, among five top 10s, on the tally, after two-week ruler “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness” in August 2017.

“News” also hit No. 25 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart and No. 28 on Alternative Airplay.

09 May 2023

Billboard Latin Women in Music 2023: Backstage Polaroids

The inaugural Billboard Mujeres Latinas en la Música (Billboard Latin Women in Music) took place over the weekend in Miami and celebrated Latin female artists, executives and creatives who are proactively working for positive change, inclusion and gender parity in the music industry.

A first of its kind for Latin music, the two-hour music special was co-hosted by Ivy Queen and Jacqueline Bracamontes and aired exclusively on Telemundo and Peacock, honoring seven incredible singer/songwriters in the industry.

In her first public appearance since her recent move to Miami from Spain, Colombian superstar Shakira received the Woman of the Year award. Other honorees included Mexican singer-songwriter Ana Gabriel, with the Living Legend Award; Argentine singer Emilia, with the Rising Star Award; Venezuelan singer, actress and director Evaluna, who received the Tradition and Future Award; Colombian singer Goyo, with the Agent of Change Award; Mexican superstar Thalia, with the Global Powerhouse Award; and Argentine Maria Becerra with the Visionary Award.

The honorees were joined by a star-studded wave of presenters such as Elena Rose, Greeicy and Nicole Zignago, to name a few.

Most of the honorees also took center stage for eclectic performances. Among others, Thalia opened the night with a medley of hits, Ana Gabriel put the whole audience on their feet with her heart-wrenching “Simplemente Amigos,” and Emilia debuted her Brazilian dance funk “No_se_ve.mp3” alongside “Ludmilla.”

With the launch of Billboard Mujeres Latinas en la Música, Billboard and Telemundo aim to further elevate Latin music globally and celebrate the women who have made a concrete impact on Latin music through their artistic achievements, or through tangible, noteworthy actions that have brought measurable recognition and opportunity to women, affecting positive change to the industry as a whole.

Here are some fun Polaroids taken backstage of Shakira, Goyo and more. Many even autographed them.

09 May 2023

Watch Jenna Dewan Stand In for Lady Gaga for Prom-Themed ‘Bad Romance’ Performance on ‘That’s My Jam’

Jenna Dewan was up for any challenge tossed her way during her Monday appearance on NBC’s That’s My Jam, but when host Jimmy Fallon prompted her to give the wheel a spin, she was left a little apprehensive when she found out she had to participate in a game of Baby Got Backup.

“Lady Gaga was supposed to be here tonight,” Fallon joked. “It was gonna be a big performance with costumes, backup dancers, props, everything. Unfortunately, she has a ‘thing’ and she can’t make it. So you’re filling in for her, OK? You have to do your best to lip-sync and keep up with the choreography and everything that she had planned for tonight.”

Dewan was tasked with singing along to Gaga’s 2009 hit “Bad Romance,” set to a prom concept. The Step Up star — who has a lot of experience in dance, thanks to serving as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson in the early 2000s — was able to match the tempo of the other dancers while lip-syncing along to the lyrics with ease.

“I want your love, and I want your revenge/ You and me could write a bad romance/ I want your love and all your lover’s revenge/ You and me could write a bad romance/ Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh/ Caught in a bad romance,” Dewan lip-synced.

“Bad Romance” was released as the lead single from Gaga’s The Fame Monster, the deluxe reissue of her debut album The Fame. The track is one of Gaga’s most recognizable to date and charted for 35 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 2.

Watch Dewan’s lip-sync performance of “Bad Romance” in the video above.

09 May 2023

Every Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductee: A Complete List

Other awards are great, but getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? That’s how you know an artist is a bona fide legend, not just someone with one or two moments in the sun.

Every year since 1986, Rock Hall — a museum and hall of fame that operates out of Cleveland — has elected a new class of music makers and industry leaders into its hallowed halls. Most inductees are enshrined in the “performers” category, which signifies that an artist’s music has somehow impacted the course of rock n’ roll. But deserving innovators can also be welcomed as “early influences” if their work directly inspired the genre’s evolution, or inducted as Ahmet Ertegun Award winners if they’re a non-performing industry professional who had a hand in developing or furthering the art form.

Since 2000, artists, songwriters and producers have also had the chance to be honored by induction under the “musical excellence” category (previously called the “sidemen” category), which goes to those whose originality has had a dramatic impact on music in general. This category has helped in part to diversify the Rock Hall’s roster, something chairman John Sykes thinks is crucial in holistically celebrating the true meaning of rock n’ roll.

“Rock is a part of rock n’ roll, but rock n’ roll was never one sound,” Sykes told Billboard in May 2023. “It was an amalgam of R&B, gospel and country. Really, all roads lead back to 1955 and the creation and explosion of rock n’ roll.”

Almost 400 soloists, bands, players, DJs and executives have been sworn into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Billboard is spotlighting them all. See the name of every inductee, from Chuck Berry to Carly Simon, below (members are listed roughly in the order of their induction).

Note: Once the Class of 2023 has been officially inducted into the Rock Hall, their names will be added to this list.

09 May 2023

Michelle Yeoh Says It’s Been ‘Great’ Working With Ariana Grande & Cynthia Erivo on ‘Wicked’

Michelle Yeoh is set to grace the land of Oz as Madame Morrible in the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked, and the Academy Award-winning actress gave some insight on the current filming process.

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She told ET that filming has been “great” so far. “Really good. Love working with Ariana [Grande] and Cynthia [Erivo],” she added.

She also previously shared how the film’s director Jon M. Chu, who worked with Yeoh on 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, convinced her to take the role. “He said he’s gonna send me the script, [ask me to] consider it,” she recalled. “Then, he goes off. Two days later, I get a message from him, and he has recorded a message from Ariana and Cynthia and him, saying, ‘Hi, Michelle. It’s imperative, imperative, absolutely — what was it? — imperative that you join us now.’”

Chu shared that Yeoh joined the Wicked cast back in December. “It took one tweet to convince the ICON (and dear friend) #MichelleYeoh to play our Madame Morrible in #WickedMovie,” the filmmaker tweeted along with an article by The Hollywood Reporter confirming the casting. “Am I the luckiest director in the world to get to work with her again?! Spoiler alert: yes I am. Welcome to Shiz.”

In the Broadway version of the beloved Wizard of Oz prequel, Yeoh’s character serves as the headmistress of Shiz and promises to introduce Elphaba to the famous Wizard himself, leading into fan-favorite number “The Wizard and I.”

The film adaptation is set to be released in two parts. Wicked Part 1 will be released next Thanksgiving (Nov. 27, 2024), and the second part currently scheduled for Christmas Day (Dec. 25) in 2025.

09 May 2023

Morgan Wallen Tops All 5 Country Charts for Record-Breaking Fourth Week

Morgan Wallen leads all five of Billboard’s country charts (dated May 13), marking the record-rewriting fourth time that the East Tennessee native has achieved the quintuple domination.

He passes Luke Combs, who managed the feat in three distinct weeks.

Wallen’s “Last Night” inhabits the penthouse on the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart for a 13th frame. On Country Airplay, it vaults 5-1, becoming Wallen’s ninth leader, up 21% to 29.5 million in audience April 28-May 4, according to Luminate.

The track also drew 32.4 million official U.S. streams and sold 9,000 downloads, as it rules Country Streaming Songs for a 13th week and Country digital Song Sales for an 11th frame.

Plus, parent album One Thing at a Time commands the Top Country Albums chart for a ninth week (138,000 equivalent album units, down 8%), encompassing its entire run on the ranking so far.

This is the fourth week that Wallen has controlled all five country charts. He first did so on the Feb. 25 dated rankings, thanks to “Last Night” on Hot Country Songs, Country Streaming Songs and Country Digital Song Sales; “Thought You Should Know” on Country Airplay; and his prior LP, Dangerous: The Double Album, on Top Country Albums.

Wallen went on to top all five country surveys with the same titles on the charts dated March 4 and 11.

Prior to Wallen, just two artists accomplished the fivefold feat (dating to the start of Country Streaming Songs in April 2013). Luke Combs dominated the charts dated March 9 and 30 and April 6, 2019, after Kane Brown first achieved the honor on Oct. 28, 2017.

Concurrently, “Last Night” crowns the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 for a fifth week, marking the first song to top both that tally and Country Airplay simultaneously in the 33-year history of the latter chart.

09 May 2023

Ginuwine Laughs Off His Big Fall at Lovers & Friends Festival: ‘Man Down!’

Ginuwine has updated his fans after falling off the stage while performing at the Lovers & Friends festival in Las Vegas over the weekend.

“Shout-out to everybody at Lovers & Friends, that was a crazy, crazy show,” he says in an Instagram video while riding in the back of a car back in Atlanta. “We had so much fun — aside from my little spill,” he adds, before breaking into laughter and shouting, “Man down, man down! And then man got up! You know what I mean?”

At that point in the video, Ginuwine breaks into song to continue the bit, singing, “We fall down/ But we get up/ Yeah!/ We fall down/ But we get up!”

Ginuwine added in the caption of the IG video: “I buss my ass I am constantly laughing with the funnies but we right back at it ATL stand up next year im windmillin so don’t mis it lolololol I got it prepared already but yeah I’m good about to do what I do one mo gin,” along with the hashtags #loversandfriends #wine and #90s and red wine emoji. “GOE GINUWINE Over Everything,” he concluded the caption.

In fan-captured footage from the Vegas festival, Ginuwine can be seen hopping off the stage and grabbing onto a sign-language interpreter before falling backward and disappearing completely from view.

Plenty of fans reacted to the video in the comments on TikTok, writing things like, “Now that was genuine,” and, “The fact he tried to grab that man and sacrifice him too,” along with lots of laugh-crying emojis. However, on his follow-up post, Ginuwine got support from industry friends like Tweet, Eric Benét, Claudia Jordan and more. Rapper David Banner commented, “My man ain’t never missed a step! He’s one of the best and the GOAT. A living #Legend so deal with it! Glad he’s safe and well. Haters will hate!!”

Check out Ginuwine’s fall at Lovers & Friends as well as his hilarious reaction afterwards in the videos below.

09 May 2023

Eslabon Armado Make History With ‘Desvelado’ No. 1 Debut on Top Latin Albums Chart: ‘It Means A Lot’

Eslabon Armado make history with the No. 1 debut of their full-length album Desvelado on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart (dated May 13). With 44,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week, the set scores the largest week for a regional Mexican album since the survey started measuring titles by units in February 2017.

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“It means a lot being No. 1 on Top Latin Albums,” Pedro Tovar tells Billboard. “It’s probably our favorite album, but we didn’t expect it to go that high! Mainly because I know that people don’t like something at first, but when four, five, six months or a whole year pass by, there’s always that one song that hits, and then everybody is like, ‘Oh, this is my favorite album!’”

Desvelado was released April 27 via DEL Records. The 16-track effort starts with 44,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. during the April 28-May 4 tracking week, according to Luminate.

As its predecessor (Nostalgia, 2022), nearly all of Desvelado’s first-week total was fueled by streaming-equivalent album units, with 43,000 stemming from the metric. In total, its songs drew 63.51 million official U.S. streams – the most in a week ever for a regional Mexican album.

The set also boasts the fifth biggest streaming opening week among Latin albums, after Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti (365.55 million official streams, May 2022), YHLQMDLG (201.37 million, March 2020) and El Último Tour del Mundo (145.94 million, Dec. 2020), as well as Karol G’s Mañana Sera Bonito (118.73 million streams, March 11-dated list).

On the all-genre Billboard 200, Desvelado opens at No. 6, becoming the highest rank ever for a regional Mexican album, since the ranking started measuring by units in December 2014. It also becomes the second album to hit the top 10, surpassing Eslabon Armado’s No. 9-peaking Nostalgia in May 2022.

“The hardest challenge producing and recording this album was the timing,” Tovar remembers. “We wanted to release it on the 27th and we had such a short time to record everything. Plus, I didn’t really get much time to put in the final touches, so I put it on God’s hands. The result was amazing.”

As Desvelado arrives at the summit on Top Latin Albums, Eslabon Armado maintain their perfect run of six straight top 10s among six chart appearances. Out of those, one other album took the quartet up the penthouse: the one-week ruler VIbras de Noche in August 2020. Plus, Eslabon’s sixth studio effort sends Benito’s Un Verano Sin Ti to No. 2 after its 46-nonconsecutive-week domination. (Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito crowned for five weeks in between.)

Desvelado was preceded by the No. 1 viral hit “Ella Baila Sola” with Peso Pluma — in its fourth week in charge on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart. It concurrently reaches No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart, with 34.6 million official U.S. streams, up 2%. It’s the first regional Mexican song to lead the list and the first No. 1 on the chart for both acts. Elsewhere, “Ella Baila” rises 20-9 on the all-Latin-genre Latin Airplay tally with 6.7 million in audience impressions earned during the same tracking week, a first top 10 for Peso Pluma there.

Meanwhile, among the new recruits on Hot Latin Songs, “Así Lo Quiso Dios,” with Luis R. Conriquez, bows at No. 24. “Quédate Conmigo,” with Grupo Frontera, follows at No. 25, while “Quiés Es El?” starts at No. 33.

“Honestly, ‘Quédate Conmigo,’ with Grupo Frontera, is the song I relate to with the most,” Tovar muses. “It’s super romantic and it fits me perfectly because now I am in love. In a way, I am kind of dedicating that song to a special someone.”

About Desvelado’s eight collaborations, Tovar concludes: “I think the best one is with Peso Pluma, mainly because it’s the No. 1 song. Everywhere I go I hear it… everywhere! I don’t get tired of singing that song at all.”