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15 Mar 2023

Esther Phillips, Josh White & More Inducted into Blues Hall of Fame: Full List of 2023 Inductees

R&B and blues singer Esther Phillips is among the 2023 inductees into The Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame. Phillips had two top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — “Release Me” (1962, when she was known as “Little Esther” Phillips) and a remake of Dinah Washington’s “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes” (1975). Phillips didn’t live to see her induction. She died in 1984 at age 48.

Josh White, who went from being a Piedmont blues artist to an important voice in the folk music world of the 1940s, was also inducted. White, who died in 1969 at age 55, received the Folk Alliance International’s 2023 lifetime achievement award for a legacy (deceased) artist on Feb. 1 in Kansas City, Mo. Leyla McCalla and Josh White Jr. performed in tribute to White at that event. McCalla performed “I Gave My Love a Cherry (The Riddle Song).” White Jr. sang “One Meatball.”

This year’s other Blues Hall of Fame honorees include four Chicago bluesmen (Carey Bell, John Primer, Snooky Pryor and Fenton Robinson) and a Mississippi juke joint king (Junior Kimbrough).

Of the seven artists being inducted this year, four (Bell, Phillips, Primer and Robinson) had been nominated for Grammy awards, but none had won (which suggests the need for these specialized awards). Phillips was a four-time nominee for best R&B vocal performance, female. She lost three times to Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin.

Of the seven artists, only Primer is still living. He is 78.

Since its inception in 1980, The Blues Foundation has inducted more than 400 industry professionals, recordings, and works of literature into the Blues Hall of Fame. Members are inducted in five categories: performers, individuals, classic of blues literature, classic of blues recording (song), and classic of blues recording (album).

David Evans, who won the award for individuals, is a two-time Grammy winner for best album notes. He won for Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented By William Ferris and Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues – The Worlds of Charley Patton.

One of the five recordings being honored has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. That’s Son House’s 1930 recording “My Black Mama,” which was voted into the Grammy HOF in 2013.

Little Walter: The Complete Chess Masters is 2023’s classic blues recording: album. Hip-O’s five-CD, 126-track compilation was released in 2009.

Entering the Blues Hall of Fame as a classic of blues literature is The Original Blues: The Emergence of the Blues in African American Vaudeville 1899-1926. The book, by Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff, chronicles the minstrel and ragtime traditions in vaudeville theatre that was major public venue for blues in its early years.

The Blues Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held in conjunction with the Blues Music Awards, will take place on Wednesday, May 10, at the Halloran Centre in Memphis. A cocktail reception honoring the BHOF inductees and Blues Music Awards nominees will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the inductions commencing at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, including the ceremony and reception, are $75 each and available with Blues Music Awards tickets.

The Blues Hall of Fame Museum in Memphis will showcase several items representing the 2023 class of inductees. These artifacts will be on display for public viewing beginning the first week of May and will remain on view for the next 12 months.

Here’s a full list of The Blues Foundation’s 2023 Blues Hall of Fame inductees.

Performers

  • Carey Bell
  • Junior Kimbrough
  • Esther Phillips
  • John Primer
  • Snooky Pryor
  • Fenton Robinson
  • Josh White

Individuals – Business, Production, Media, Academic

  • David Evans

Classic of Blues Literature

  • The Original Blues: The Emergence of the Blues in African American Vaudeville 1899-1926 by Lynn Abbott & Doug Seroff (University Press of Mississippi, 2017)

Classic of Blues Recording – Album

  • Little Walter: The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) (Hip-O Select, 2009)

Classics of Blues Recording – Single or Album Track

  • “Black Nights” — Lowell Fulson (Kent, 1965)
  • “I’m Tore Down” — Freddy King (Federal, 1961)
  • “Mojo Hand” — Lightnin’ Hopkins (Fire, 1960)
  • “My Black Mama” — Son House (Paramount, 1930)
  • “The Red Rooster (Little Red Rooster)” — Howlin’ Wolf (Chess, 1961)

15 Mar 2023

Matthew Lawrence Clears Up Comments About Starting a Family With TLC’s Chilli

Matthew Lawrence sat down for a new interview on Wednesday (March 15) to walk back his recent comments about starting a family with girlfriend Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas.

“It’s such an interesting story. Joe and I were commiserating about this plan that we had to have children together…when we were growing up,” he told E! News of a recent conversation with his older brother Joey Lawrence. “And I missed the first go around and now he’s starting a new family and I was thinking, ‘Man, it’d be great if we could do it again, when I didn’t have the chance to raise a family together.’”

However, the middle Lawrence brother was quick to insist that his comments weren’t specific to his new relationship with the TLC member. “So that’s what I meant by that,” he continued. “I didn’t mean to put any pressure on somebody I was dating or anything.”

The Money Plane actor and Chilli have been linked since before the holidays, when they posted an adorable lip sync to a-ha’s “Take On Me” on Instagram wearing matching onesies. In the new interview, Lawrence also raved about his new love, saying, “She’s an amazing person. She’s already a mother, she has an incredible son. I respect so much as to how she’s raised him. She’d be an incredible mother again and I’d be incredibly lucky but that’s way in the future.”

While the couple’s plans for a baby may be on hold, Chilli is set to embark on her Hot Summer Nights Tour with TLC bandmate T-Boz and Shaggy, along with special guests En Vogue and Sean Kingston, starting June 1 in Alabama.

15 Mar 2023

NiziU’s ‘Paradise’ Hits No. 1, Naniwa Danshi’s ’Special Kiss’ Debuts at No. 2 on Japan Hot 100

NiziU’s “Paradise” shoots to No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, tracking the week from Mar. 6 to 12 and released Mar. 15.

The latest track from the nine-member girl group hit No. 1 after debuting at No. 23 on last week’s chart, powered by downloads (No. 1 for the metric). The CD version went on sale this tracking week and the song came in at No. 2 for sales with 168,938 copies sold, while also faring well in the other metrics of the chart’s methodology: No. 3 for downloads, No. 13 for streaming, and No. 4 for video views and radio.

Naniwa Danshi’s “Special Kiss” debuts at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 this week, ruling sales with 512,690 copies but unable to support that advantage in the other metrics — for example, No. 13 for video and No. 24 for radio. 

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Looking at first-week sales figures of both groups’ previous singles, NiziU’s “Blue Moon” sold 207,252 copies, meaning the new single is down by about 18.5 percent. Naniwa Danshi’s “Happy Surprise” sold 517,381 copies, so the new release is also down but only slightly by about 0.9 percent. However, “Blue Moon” came in at No. 46 for downloads, No. 92 in streaming, No. 42 in video, and No. 61 in radio, so the J-pop girl group managed to significantly improve in various other metrics besides sales for their new single to take the top position on the latest song chart.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

For the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Mar. 6 to 12, see here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account. 

15 Mar 2023

Japan’s ONE N’ ONLY Break Down March Single ‘We’ll rise again’

J-pop boy band ONE N’ ONLY dropped a new single called ”We’ll rise again” on March 8, the third in the group’s five-month streak of new releases currently underway celebrating the group’s fifth anniversary, following “YOU???” and “Get That (PT-BR ver.).” “We’ll rise again” is also the six-member group’s first single in about four years to be released in physical form since “Category/My Love” from 2019.

Members EIKU, TETTA, REI, HAYATO, KENSHIN, and NAOYA chatted with Billboard Japan about their March offering and broke down each of the tracks included on the CD single.

“We’ll rise again” is featured as the theme of the your movie Battle King! -We’ll rise again-, set for release in Japanese theaters March 10.

HAYATO: This song has been around for a while, but when we were casted as a group in our first starring movie, we changed the lyrics to link it to the film’s content.

Since you knew it would be the theme of the group’s first starring movie, it must have felt different than usual when you were recording it.

EIKU: Yes. We recorded the first verse before we started filming. Then we recorded the second verse after we wrapped, so it helped us put more feeling into it because we could see how faithful the song was to the film and it was like the meaning of the lyrics became clearer.

HAYATO: The scenes came to mind, didn’t it?

EIKU: Yeah. We later re-recorded the first verse and made it even better. The character I play, Genjiro, used to be a delinquent, but he gets into hip-hop dance and finds his dream. There’s this scene where he expresses his determination to the art school principal and it’s a really touching moment. I sang my part with that scene in mind, so my voice sounds more emotional.

TETTA: The movie depicts a future where the characters aim for global success, and singing with that feeling is the same as where we’re at right now as ONE N’ ONLY, so it was easy for me to get into the feeling.

REI: The lyrics are really linked to the story, so I think you can enjoy it twice!

Will fans be able to check out your movie outside of Japan?

TETTA: Unfortunately, there’s no plan for international theatrical release.

HAYATO: But on-demand video streaming services are everywhere now so it’d be nice if people could catch it.

TETTA: We could do our own voice-overs.

NAOYA: Come on, there will be subtitles! [Everyone laughs]

HAYATO: But if it’s dubbed, I’d love to see who does our voices.

NAOYA: The movie version of the drama series I was in called his – Koi suru tsumori nante nakatta – (“I didn’t intend to fall in love”) is being distributed in Brazil with subtitles. I know someone from Brazil who got to know ONE N’ ONLY because of that.

KENSHIN: We could do a Portuguese version of the first rap battle scene.

EIKU: Then we’d have to ask everyone who performed with us to learn Portuguese.

KENSHIN: Sounds like a lot of work, but fun!

“We’ll rise again” will be released on CD along with its digital formats. How do you feel about that?

NAOYA: The last time was “Category/My Love” in 2019, so it’s been a long time.

HAYATO: Putting songs out in physical format is always a great feeling.

Two other songs are included in the CD single. Tell us about “GIFT.”

HAYATO: It’s a gentle love song, following “My Love.” I think our SWAGs also enjoy these kinds of straightforward J-POP numbers. It has a more mature worldview than “My Love,” and the chorus contains a message about the importance of the ordinary things in life. We performed it at our Christmas concert last year, so I’m really looking forward to sharing it with everyone.

REI: The lyrics are straightforward, and the song changes keys so it’s not boring. We sing the lyrics clearly so the message probably comes through.

HAYATO: The choreography is cute too.

REI: It’d be great if people could remember the hand-waving at the end and the hugging gestures since they’re easy to imitate.

NAOYA: The other song, “QUEEN,” is pretty daring for us. It’s the sexiest song we’ve ever done.

HAYATO: It depends on how you look at it, but it’s steamy! [Laughs]

NAOYA: No doubt about it. I want people to see our performance after memorizing the lyrics.

HAYATO: We did a performance using a microphone stand as one of the highlights of our tour, and when you hear it with the song’s content in mind, it’s definitely different!

REI: The lyrics are hard to understand on first listen, aren’t they?

TETTA: We encourage everyone to read the lyrics while listening to it.

REI: People will be like, “Ooh la la!” [Laughs]

TETTA: It’s a song that we can sing because we’re who we are today.

REI: You don’t find many songs like this in Japan. Content like this would be glossed over in other J-pop songs, but here it’s up front, which I think is a message from our songwriters that they expect us to express these kinds of things and compete with our musicality.

KENSHIN: The song is finely broken up for each of our parts, and we try new expressions down to our fingertips, so I’d like people to look out for that, too.

I look forward to seeing these songs live again.

EIKU: They’re tracks that will definitely add more power to our live performances, so I hope everyone enjoys these three songs this month.

—This interview by Kana Yoshida first appeared on Billboard Japan

15 Mar 2023

Beware of Scammers Posing as Billboard Contributors

It’s come to our attention that there are scammers on social media asking people for money in exchange for Billboard coverage. To state it clearly: Billboard contributors never accept money in exchange for Billboard coverage.

If someone reaches out to you asking for money in exchange for coverage in print or online, please do not send that person money. These social media accounts are not affiliated with Billboard in any fashion, although many of them pretend to be. Many of these accounts post photos, articles and biographical information they’ve copied from real Billboard contributors’ social media accounts.

Please beware of the numerous imposters currently running this scam. While we report these accounts, we do not have the ability to ban or freeze these social media accounts ourselves. If a social media user asks you for payment and promises Billboard coverage, block the user and report the account to the social media platform directly.

You can find Billboard‘s contact information here.

15 Mar 2023

BLACKPINK’s Jennie Stuns as Star of Calvin Klein’s Spring Campaign: Watch

Calvin Klein just released a series of gorgeous photos and videos launching the brand’s new spring campaign, shot in black(pink) and white. And, starring alongside fellow ambassadors FKA Twigs, Kendall Jenner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Michael B. Jordan is BLACKPINK‘s Jennie, continuing her long-running partnership with the fashion house.

In the spring advertisements, the 27-year-old K-pop star stuns with long, dark waves and chopped bangs, paired with simple makeup and different combinations of Calvin Klein looks. In one photo, she stares down the camera wearing a matching sports bra and underwear set, and in another, she wears a jean jacket while posing next an adorable kitten.

Jennie also starred in a solo video for the campaign, expertly modeling more underwear and denim looks to “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself” by The White Stripes. At one point, she sensually bites a petal off a rose flower, a visual nod to one of the song’s lyrics: “Like a summer rose…”

Calvin Klein summarized the focus of the spring campaign in just a couple words — “soft minimalism” — under a couple photos of Jennie posted to the brand’s Instagram account.

By now, the “SOLO” singer is a bonafide Calvin Klein veteran, having starred in the brand’s 2022 spring and fall campaigns. She and her BLACKPINK bandmates Lisa, Jisoo and Rosé are currently in the middle of their Born Pink world tour, supporting their September-released album of the same name. The record debuted atop the Billboard 200 and charted two tracks in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down.”

Watch Jennie work it in Calvin Klein’s new spring campaign above.

15 Mar 2023

Shawn Mendes New Tommy Hilfiger ‘Classics Reborn’ Collection Focuses on Sustainability, Recycled Materials

Shawn Mendes has roped some friends and family into the ad for his new sustainable Tommy Hilfiger collaboration, Tommy X Shawn Classics Reborn. The 28-piece mens and womenswear capsule collection launched on Wednesday (March 15) with an ad featuring sister Aaliyah Mendes, artist/songwriter and friend Jon Vinyl, producer Mike Sabath, artist Ahmad Cissé, author/model Maye Musk, designer Czarina Kwong, models Yvesmark Chery and Jane Pathammavong and champion for change Deprise Lons.

“I’m so excited to be working with my Tommy Hilfiger family on the Classics Reborn  collection,” said Mendes in a statement promoting the line that features materials crafted from recycled textiles and Recycrom, a new dye-making technique that reprocesses fibers by turning pre-consumer factory cutting waste into a colored powder. “The collection is so special to me because I was able to work with Tommy Hilfiger to co-create this range which includes these amazing, high-quality, sustainable versions of their most classic clothing items.” 

“What if we could reinvent what once was tossed aside?,” Mendes asks in the ad for the clothing line that leans into the brand’s signature red, white and blue color palette. “Take it, remake it, change is always vital. There’s not better time to surround yourself with inspiration, with people who move you. With clothing made from discarded fabrics, colored with memories and reborn into new icons.”

The release notes that the collection was inspired by Hilfiger’s take on “pre-90s prep,” with an emphasis on inclusivity across four principles: Color Reborn, Materials Reborn, Self Reborn and Community Reborn. “The Tommy X Shawn Classics Reborn collection marks another step towards realizing our vision for sustainability, as we aim to create fashion that Wastes Nothing and Welcomes All,” said Hilfiger in the statement. “Shawn is an impressive young man and advocate for positive change. We’re proud to partner with him and continue playing our part in creating a more responsible future of fashion.”

To mark the launch of the global campaign, Hilfiger and Mendes are hosting a series of events in London, Berlin, Milan and Mexico City; the pieces are available here and in Tommy Hilfiger stores and retail partners worldwide.

Check out the Tommy X Shawn ad and some images from the campaign below.

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Cass Bird

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Cass Bird

15 Mar 2023

Rina Sawayama Calls Working on ‘John Wick 4’ a ‘Dream Situation’: Keanu Reeves ‘Was So Sweet’

Rina Sawayama is gearing up to make her feature film debut in John Wick 4 this spring. Ahead of the release of the movie on May 27, the “Hold the Girl” singer sat down for an interview with Good Morning America on Wednesday (March 15) to talk about how she was cast, what the stunt work was like and her experience working with Keanu Reeves.

“It was honestly like a Hollywood dream situation,” the pop star said of being cast as Akira Shimazu in the movie. “I’d been doing self tapes in the background for a couple years. I’ve never actually landed anything. I came very close, though, actually getting The Matrix, which is a whole different story. I actually got a called out of the blue from Chad Stahelski, the director. He said, ‘I’m trying to find this role and I’ve seen your music videos, and I see that you act and I can see that you do dance and choreography and fight scenes … What are you doing for the next three months?’”

Two days later, Sawayama said, she was in Berlin filming for John Wick 4. Her time on set came to a brief halt early on after sustaining a minor injury while trying to perform the action choreography, and needed to take a week off to recover.

“Chad and John Wick …the style of shooting of action is that you shoot from start to finish. It’s not very choppy in terms of the cuts, and so you need to learn the choreography from start to finish,” she explained. “It’s long sequences, and actually on the first week, I pinched a nerve in my back just doing the most basic moves, so that was so not cool. After a week, I had the best medical treatment and got better and I was able to learn it all. Five weeks, it felt like it wasn’t long enough. I wanted more time.”

Of working with the movie’s star, Keanu Reeves, Sawayama revealed that decades-long reports of him being kind and easy to work with are indeed true. “He was so sweet. Obviously knowing it was my first role, [he was] just looking after me behind the scenes,” she explained, adding that when the cameras stop rolling, Reeves is humble. “He’s not a very showy person. He does things a lot behind the scenes to make sure everyone is feeling OK. So kind, and honestly, he can turn off the celebrity, which is a weird thing to say. You think someone like Keanu walking around on set has an air of celebrity around them constantly, but he’s just there to work. I didn’t feel intimidated at all.”

During the summer, the pop star will hit up the music festival circuit. She’s also set to perform at Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, Roskilde, Mad Cool and others before concluding at Lollapalooza Berlin in September.

Watch Sawayama talk about filming John Wick 4 in the video above.

15 Mar 2023

Boygenius Performs Surprise Show at Austin Airport Baggage Claim

On Tuesday (March 14), amid Austin’s South By Southwest music conference and festival, a few lucky Boygenius fans were treated to quite the special treatment upon landing in the city.

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At the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, the band had set up shop at baggage claim. The trio of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker surprised fans with an acoustic set of new material off its upcoming album, including singles “True Blue,” “Emily I’m Sorry” and “Not Strong Enough.”

Performing in front of a simple backdrop with the official SXSW 2023 banner and a white poster that read “boygenius,” the supergroup proved how little they need to deliver a stunning set.

For Bridgers, it’s just the latest in a series of surprise performances. She joined SZA on stage this month at New York’s Madison Square Garden, performed alongside Billie Eilish in December at the Los Angeles Forum, and guested with The 1975 and Lorde in separate appearances in November.

Boygenius formed in 2018 and released its self-titled EP that October. Its upcoming debut album, The Record, will be released on Interscope March 31.

As for the rest of the week in Austin at SXSW, Billboard has returned for three nights of star-studded concerts: Billboard Presents The Stage at SXSW. Lil Yachty (presented by Doritos) will get things going on Thursday, March 16, with opening acts Lola Brooke and Armani White; Latin stars Feid and Eladio Carrión (presented by Samsung Galaxy) will perform on Friday, March 17; and electronic giants Kaskade and deadmau5 will perform as Kx5 (presented by Carnival) on Saturday, March 18.

Each show will take place at Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park in Austin. Tickets are available here.

Check out a clip from Boygenius’ airport set below:

15 Mar 2023

BLACKPINK’s Jisoo Stuns in Elegant Visual Teaser for Solo Debut ‘ME’

Jisoo dropped the first visual teaser of her upcoming solo project ME on Wednesday (March 15) and the result is simply stunning.

The breathtaking clip shows the BLACKPINK singer wielding a giant poppy while draped in a feathery high-fashion ensemble of black-and-white striped fur. To complement the look, the idol also shows off a long, white manicure and keeps her makeup editorial yet sparse with a pale pink lip and small black lines drawn above her eyelids.

With its focus on fashion, the preview doesn’t give fans much of a hint at what Jisoo’s solo debut will sound like, with only a few spare, drawn-out notes playing before the scene fades to black to reveal the single album’s title in bold, red font.

Still, Jisoo’s more than 70 million followers couldn’t get enough of the gorgeous visual. “They need to change the name of the color red to jisoo,” one Blink raved in the comments. Another wrote, “I have no words. You are just killing me. I can’t wait for this,” while a fan page dedicated to the idol’s bandmate Lisa declared, “This giving me goosebumps.”

Several others utilized a new feature on Instagram to drop their favorite gifs of Jisoo from various BLACKPINK music videos in the comments section.

ME is set for release on March 31 via YG Entertainment and Interscope Records, and will follow the solo debuts of Jisoo’s bandmates in recent years, including both Lisa’s LALISA and Rosé’s -R- in 2021, and Jennie’s swaggering track “SOLO” in 2018.

In fact, Rosé marked the two-year anniversary of her mini album, which contained the record-breaking “On the Ground” and “Gone,” on her Instagram feed earlier this week, writing, “It’s been two years since the release of my first single album -R- ♡ thank you for all the love and support to all my fans. I love you all eternally.”

Watch Jisoo’s beautiful visual film teaser for ME above.