Music News

17 Mar 2023

Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’ Hits No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart

Taylor Swift returns to No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, as “Anti-Hero” rises to the top of the tally dated March 25.

The song, released on Republic Records, becomes Swift’s eighth AC leader, the most among all acts over the 2000s, ’10s and ’20s. In that span, Adele, Michel Bublé and Josh Groban rank second with six No. 1s each.

Swift, meanwhile, joins Bublé as the only artists with AC No. 1s in the ’00s, ’10s and ’20s. She first led with “Love Story” in 2009 and had most recently reigned with “Delicate” in 2018.

Here’s a recap of Swift’s eight AC No. 1s:

  • “Love Story,” six weeks at No. 1, beginning June 6, 2009
  • “You Belong With Me,” 14 weeks, Oct. 31, 2009
  • “Mine,” one week, Dec. 11, 2010
  • “Shake It Off,” nine, Nov. 22, 2014
  • “Blank Space,” four, Feb. 21, 2015
  • “Style,” two, July 11, 2015
  • “Delicate,” 10 weeks, Sept. 15, 2018
  • “Anti-Hero,” one-week to-date, March 25, 2023

“Anti-Hero” topped the Adult Pop Airplay chart for nine weeks, surpassing “Shake It Off” (eight weeks at No. 1 in 2014) for Swift’s longest command at the format among her nine leaders.

“Anti-Hero” also ruled Pop Airplay for three weeks, marking her 10th No. 1 and, as on AC, her first leader since “Delicate.”

“Anti-Hero” is Swift’s first song to triple up with No. 1 ranks on AC, Adult Pop Airplay and Pop Airplay since “Delicate,” and her fifth overall to have led all three lists. Her others (all from her 2014 album 1989): “Style,” “Blank Space” and “Shake It Off.”

“Anti-Hero” debuted atop the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 dated Nov. 5, 2022, as Swift made history as the first artist to infuse the chart’s entire top 10 in a single week, with all tracks all from her latest album, Midnights. The song went on to spend a personal-best eight weeks at No. 1.

All charts dated March 25 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, March 21.

17 Mar 2023

Elmo Channels Taylor Swift by Recreating The Eras Tour Poster: See It

In his Eras era! Elmo took to social media on Friday (March 17) to model his own adorable version of Taylor Swift‘s poster for The Eras Tour.

“Elmo is in Elmo’s Red era! #TheElmosTour,” the Sesame Street fan favorite captioned the post, which features the character posing in 10 multicolored squares coordinated to each of Swift’s albums. For example, in the Red (Taylor’s Version) square, he dons his own beanie and scarf a la “All Too Well,” and in the baby pink square for 2019’s Lover, he shows off a homemade chain of paper hearts. (Apparently Elmo’s Reputation era involves him shh’ing the camera with a single red finger over his mouth while he’s turned with his back to the camera for 2020’s Evermore, copying the vibe of Swift’s own album cover.)

Elmo’s timing couldn’t be more perfect, considering Swift is just hours away from kicking off the long-awaited U.S. tour with two consecutive shows at State Farm Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Especially for the occasion, the city’s mayor, Jerry P. Weiers, ceremonially changed the name of the city temporarily to Swift City.

Ahead of her first live show in four years, the superstar also surprised fans with a gift in the form of three re-recorded songs — “Safe and Sound” featuring Joy Williams and John Paul White, “Eyes Open” from The Hunger Games 2012 soundtrack as well as Speak Now bonus track “If This Was a Movie” — and previously unreleased Lover cut “All of the Girls You Loved Before.”

Billboard also marked the launch of The Eras Tour by revealing our definitive ranking of Swift’s 100 best songs, all the way from 2006’s “Tim McGraw” to 2022’s “Anti-Hero.”

Check out Elmo’s cute recreation of Taylor’s many eras below.

17 Mar 2023

Niall Horan Channels His Inner Hannah Montana for ‘Best of Both Worlds’ Cover

Niall Horan gave fans the ultimate blond pop star crossover when he joined Capital FM on Friday (March 17) for a fun cover of Hannah Montana’s “Best of Both Worlds.”

The “This Town” crooner chose Miley Cyrus’ Disney Channel alter ego’s theme song for his “Bedroom Covers” rendition and performed it on his acoustic guitar, surrounded by teen idol posters including one of Hannah herself.

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Horan is just months away from releasing his third solo album, The Show, which arrives on June 9. “This album is a piece of work I’m so proud of and now it’s time to pass it over to you to go and make it your own,” Horan wrote on Instagram in a post that featured the cover, in which he is depicted leaning on his elbows in a window and staring up at the title. “Thank you so much for being there for me all this time and I can’t wait to share the next couple of years of this new era with you. I’ve missed you all so much. It’s good to be back.”

The singer’s last full-length album, Heartbreak Weather, contained singles “Nice to Meet Ya,” “Put a Little Love on Me,” “No Judgement” and “Black and White”; the album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 after its March 2020 release.

In the meantime, watch Horan’s “Best of Both Worlds” cover below.

17 Mar 2023

Liam Payne Praises Louis Tomlinson’s Documentary: ‘The Most Beautiful Thing to Experience’

Liam Payne penned a sweet tribute to Louis Tomlinson on Friday (March 17) following the premiere of his new documentary All of Those Voices.

The “Strip That Down” singer was on the scene at London’s Leicester Square for his former bandmate’s big night and posted a giddy photo of the two together at the event on Instagram. “Seeing the world through your eyes last night was the most beautiful thing to experience,” he captioned the snap. “My neck hurts from how much Im looking up to you right now you were already my friend and brother but getting to look through that window into your world and mind I just extends that respect I have for you.

“What you’ve dealt with and how you held it all inside!!” he continued. “I’m so sorry I was so out of my mind and I didn’t do better for you, I feel ashamed in those moments to not be as good of a friend as you have been to me, at least I have time now and I’m me again so will try and make amends.”

Payne added that he felt “emotionally drained” after watching Tomlinson’s vulnerable film and shouted out his fellow One Direction-er’s “will to get up off the canvas every time life beat you down and fight back.”

He finished off the lengthy note by writing, “I’m so thankful to have you in my life mate I feel so lucky and I know you know this but you were part of a small group of people that literally saved my life, you dragged me out of something so dark I’ve never shared it but your approach is something I admire and aspire to so I can one day do the same” before praising Tomlinson for “work[ing] harder than any of us to get here and now the world gets to see that from your side.”

All of Those Voices is set to hit theaters nationwide next Wednesday (March 22) for limited screenings. Check out Payne’s thoughtful note to Tomlinson here.

17 Mar 2023

Nick Cannon Jokes About Rumors That He Died: ‘What Else You Got?’

Don’t believe everything you see on the Internet. Nick Cannon took to Twitter on Friday (March 17) to clear up online rumors that he died.

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Death… They been trying to kill me off for years!!!” he wrote along with a laughing emoji, retweeting an article from an Idoma Voice writer. “What else you got!?”

While he’s certainly not dead, Cannon has been the butt of online jokes surrounding how much life he creates. The father of 12 shares twins Monroe and Moroccan with ex-wife Mariah Carey, and twins Zion and Zillion with Abby De La Rosa, who gave birth to her third baby with Cannon, Beautiful Zeppelin, less than two months prior to his youngest child, daughter Halo’s birth. He shares the 3-month-old with model Alyssa Scott.

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He is also dad to Golden Sagon, Powerful Queen and Rise Messiah, whom he shares with Brittany Bell; Legendary Love, whose mom is Bre Tiesi; and Onyx Ice Cole with LaNisha Cole.

Earlier this month, the host of The Masked Singer dropped the official teaser for a new game show, Who’s Having My Baby With Nick Cannon. Hosted by his close friend Kevin Hart, the series will premiere sometime this spring on E! and, according to the clip, seems to involve trotting out female contestants in front of Cannon for some sort of prize … and actual pyrotechnics.

17 Mar 2023

Taylor Swift, Jimin, Melanie Martinez & More: What’s Your Favorite New Music Release of the Week? Vote!

This week’s new music Friday is filled with brand new tracks from Taylor Swift, BTS‘ Jimin, Melanie Martinez and more.

To get fans even more hyped up for Swift’s The Eras Tour — which is scheduled to kick off on Friday, March 17, in Glendale, Ariz. — the pop icon released not one, but four tracks: “Taylor’s Version” takes on “If This Was a Movie,” “Safe and Sound” and “Eyes Open,” as well as “All of the Girls You Loved Before,” which is an unreleased track from her Lover era. “Girls” sees the 33-year-old reflecting on her past mistake with an air of appreciation, as it paved the way for a better future for herself. “Every dead-end street, led you straight to me,” she sings on the chorus.

Jimin is the latest member of BTS to go solo, and gave fans a taste of his forthcoming album, FACE (scheduled to arrive on March 24), with the release of its lead single, “Set Me Free, Pt. 2.” Jimin flips off his haters in the defiant hip-hop influenced track about “determination, passion, and overcoming” any obstacles in his way. “I thought it was important that I be the one to set myself free — not someone else,” he said of the track in an interview with Consequence. “In the end, I’m the one who has to set myself free.”

Melanie Martinez also offered a new tune, declaring that she is “back from the dead” on new track “DEATH.” The singer says a farewell to her Crybaby persona, embracing a rebirth — and electronic, synth-driven sound — for her Portals album cycle, which promises to be one of her most ambitious yet.

Kx5, Hozier and Avenged Sevenfold also return this week. With so many to choose from, we want to know: Which release is your favorite? Vote in our poll below.

17 Mar 2023

Jonas Brothers Are Kicking Off the ‘TODAY’ Summer Concert Series

Jonas Brothers announced on Friday (March 17) that they’ll be headlining the first show of TODAY‘s 2023 Citi Concert Series later this spring.

The special concert is set to take place on May 12 — the same day the sibling trio’s latest album, The Album, drops via Republic Records — in New York City’s Rockefeller Plaza. Fans can visit the iconic Manhattan plaza on the day of the show for first come, first serve tickets and also visit the TODAY website for more information, including the full summer lineup to be revealed soon.

During the interview where they shared the news, Nick, Kevin and Joe Jonas also teased The Album, calling it the “most quintessential Jonas Brothers.”

“I think this one does a good job of embodying kind of where we are as fathers, where we are as husbands and just brothers,” Nick said of the forthcoming follow-up to 2019’s Happiness Begins, later adding, “We set out to just say, if you’re gonna listen to any one of our albums we think this is the album you should listen to.”

Currently, the JoBros are in the middle of their ongoing Broadway residency at the Great White Way’s Marquis Theatre. Each successive night, they’ve performed an album in full — from 2007’s Jonas Brothers and 2008’s A Little Bit Longer to 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times and 2019’s Happiness Begins — leading up to the live debut of The Album on Saturday night (March 18). They’re also set to play a one night only show at London’s Royal Albert Hall this coming April.

Check out the Jonas Brothers’ announcement on TODAY below.

17 Mar 2023

Linkin Park Logs 12th Alternative Airplay Chart No. 1 With ‘Lost’

Linkin Park reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart for the first time in more than a decade with “Lost,” which lifts to the top of the March 25-dated survey.

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“Lost” is the band’s 12th No. 1 and first since “Burn It Down,” which ruled for a week in August 2012. In between “Down” and “Lost,” the group charted eight titles, paced by the No. 7-peaking “A Light That Never Comes,” alongside Steve Aoki, in 2013.

The act first led in 2001 with “In the End,” kicking off a run of toppers that included six in a row in 2003-07.

With 12 No. 1s, Linkin Park ties Green Day for the second-most leaders in the Alternative Airplay chart’s 35-year history. Red Hot Chili Peppers lead all acts with 15.

Most No. 1s, Alternative Airplay:

  • 15, Red Hot Chili Peppers
  • 12, Green Day
  • 12, Linkin Park
  • 10, Cage the Elephant
  • 10, Foo Fighters
  • 10, Twenty One Pilots
  • 8, U2
  • 8, Weezer
  • 7, Imagine Dragons

The song marks a return to the top of the charts for Linkin Park, whose frontman Chester Bennington died in 2017. “Lost” is the first posthumous No. 1 on Alternative Airplay for a lead vocalist since Nirvana‘s “You Know You’re Right” in 2002.

Concurrently, “Lost” leads Mainstream Rock Airplay for a second week. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, the song is No. 1 for a fifth week, with 9.7 million audience impressions, up 5%, according to Luminate.

On the most recent, March 18-dated multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs tally, “Lost” led for a fourth week. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 2.8 million official streams and sold 1,000 downloads in the United States March 3-9.

“Lost” was recorded during the sessions for Linkin Park’s Meteora, a two-week No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in April 2003. Released at last in February, it will be on the 20th-anniversary reissue of the album, due April 7.

All March 25-dated Billboard charts will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, March 21.

17 Mar 2023

Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde Lambasts Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: ‘Just More Establishment Backslapping’

Add Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde to the list of artists who aren’t interested in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame enshrinement. On the heels of a scathing op-ed from Hole leader Courtney Love on Friday (March 17) lambasting the Rock Hall for its lack of female representation, Hynde posted a similarly dismissive Facebook note offering up her pointed opinion on the Hall.

“I don’t even wanna be associated with it. It’s just more establishment backslapping,” Hynde wrote. “I got in a band so I didn’t have to be part of all that.” The legendary singer said she was living a happy life in Rio De Janeiro when she was informed that the long-running band had been inducted in 2005. Hynde attended the event and performed two songs after being inducted by Neil Young.

She has since, however, thrown dirt on the idea of what she calls the Hall of Fame’s music-as-sport posture and in the FB post said that when she got the news that her band had been tapped her “heart sank because I knew I’d have to go back for it as it would be too much of a kick in the teeth to my parents if I didn’t. I’d upset them enough by then, so it was one of those things that would bail me out from years of disappointing them. ( like moving out of the USA and being arrested at PETA protests and my general personality).”

In fact, other than Young’s generous induction speech, she said the whole thing was, and is, “totally bollocks. It’s absolutely nothing to do with rock ‘n’ roll and anyone who thinks it is is a fool.”

Love’s Guardian op-ed was a continuation of a thread from earlier in the week in which she criticized the Hall for its lack of female representation, repeating the stat that just 8.48% of inductees are women and that there are only 9 women on the organization’s nomination board. She also noted the length of time it’s taken for some legendary women to be nominated, or inducted, as well as some glaring omissions that she says call into question what she dubbed the “ol’ boys club.”

A spokesperson for the RRHOF had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment at press time.

Check out Hynde’s post here.

17 Mar 2023

Jonas Brothers Just Performed Miley Cyrus Duet ‘Before the Storm’ For the First Time in a Decade

The Jonas Brothers hit the Broadway stage on Thursday (March 16) for the third night of their ongoing Broadway residency, and trotted out their Miley Cyrus collab “Before the Storm” especially for the occasion.

The performance marked the first time the siblings had performed the album cut from 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times since at least 2013, though they decided to only run through the first part of the song, sans Cyrus’ opening verse. “I don’t want to lose her/ Don’t wanna let her go,” Nick Jonas belted out before urging the audience, “Sing it out, c’mon!” and letting the packed crowd sing along for the chorus.

“The ONLY part of Before The Storm Nick could tolerate to sing lol,” a fan on Twitter captioned the video she posted of the number. Of course, the youngest Jonas has quite the history with the Endless Summer Vacation singer, considering they dated in their Disney Channel days as teens and Cyrus allegedly based her 2008 hit “7 Things” on their relationship.

For the third night of their takeover at the Marquis Theatre, the JoBros performed the entirety of their fourth studio studio set in full, including a snippet of Common collab “Don’t Charge Me for the Crime” and the live debut of album closer “Keep It Real.”

On Friday night (March 17), they’re set to highlight 2019’s Happiness Begins before the live premiere of their soon-to-be released new LP, The Album, on Saturday (March 18).

Watch the Jonas Brothers sing “Before the Storm” sans Miley Cyrus below.