Music News

27 Feb 2023

Twenty One Pilots‘ ’Heathens’ Video Hits 2 Billion Views on YouTube

Twenty One Pilots‘ videography has hit yet another milestone. The group’s video for “Heathens” has now reached two billion views on YouTube, marking its second visual to reach the two billion mark after its smash hit “Stressed Out.”

Originally released as the lead single from the Suicide Squad soundtrack in June 2016, the video features members Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph in Belle Reve, a prison in the DC Comics universe. As Joseph makes his way though the jail, he meets up with Dun at the jail’s center and plays “Heathens” for a group of inmates. Footage of the movie’s cast members (Jared Leto as the Joker, Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn and Will Smith as Deadshot) are interspersed throughout the dark visual.

Following its release, “Heathens” was a success for the rock duo. The track spent a total of 39 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at No. 2. The song marked the band’s second to chart in the No. 2 spot on the all-genre tally, right after its other smash “Stressed Out.”

“Heathens” additionally earned three nominations at the 59th annual Grammy Awards for best rock song, best rock performance and best song written for visual media. While at the Electric Castle Music Festival in Romania in July 2022, Twenty One Pilots performed the song as a mash up with the Stranger Things theme song. “This performance could save me from vecna any day of the week,” the hit Netflix show’s official Twitter account declared.

Revisit the music video for “Heathens” above.

27 Feb 2023

The Kid LAROi Mocks Celebrity Sex Tapes, Paparazzi in ‘I Guess It’s Love?’ Video

The Kid LAROi may only be 19, but the singer has already had plenty of experience with being chased by the paparazzi and seeing fake news about himself in the tabloid press. That dark side of stardom appears to have inspired the satirical video for the singer’s new single, “I Guess It’s Love.”

In the Helmi-directed clip that dropped on Monday (Feb. 27), the Kid stars alongside his influencer/model girlfriend Katarina Deme as a photogenic, young-and-in-love celebrity couple whose every kiss and fight is caught on camera by prying eyes.

Things start off pretty cute, with LAROi pulling pranks on his beloved, jumping on a trampoline with her, sharing salty snacks, exotic vacations, poolside makeouts and plenty of intimate moments rolling around in bed. Some, in fact, seems NSFW, including a barely clothed sauna session, plenty of shots of the pair in their underwear and footage of Deme just barely covered in bubbles in a bath.

Is it real, or is it a set-up?

Things get weird a minute in, when the visuals go wonky and suddenly LAROi seems out of sorts, bloated and rocking a bad goatee and mustache and floppy, unkempt blonde hair. What follows is an avalanche of kissing for the camera shots, a parade of exiting the limo footage and what looks like long-lens snaps of the happy couple in mid blow-out argument.

They keep performing for the camera as their visages get more and more Hollywood, with Deme suddenly developing wildly exaggerated features and lips as she and LAROi rapidly age. Even as they transform into middle-age social media junkies, the pair continue to chronicle every private moment, including their octogenarian wedding.

The dreamy FnZ-produced song is slated to appear on the Kid’s upcoming debut full-length album, The First Time; so far fans have already heard the single “Kids Are Growing Up” and “Love Again.”

Check out the “I Guess It’s Love?” video below.

27 Feb 2023

Austin Butler Recalls Going to the ER the Day ‘Elvis’ Wrapped

Austin Butler has been open about the demanding preparations he underwent for his title role in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, and immediately after filming for the biopic wrapped, it all caught up to him.

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In an interview with People on the SAG Awards red carpet Sunday (Feb. 26), the 31-year-old actor recalled being hospitalized on the very day he finished Elvis. “I didn’t get sick the entire time I filmed, but the day that I finished, I ended up in the emergency room,” he remarked. “I spent a week in bed, then I went to this other job.”

Butler previously shared that the hospitalization was due to his contracting a virus, which simulated the symptoms of appendicitis. “I woke up at 4 in the morning with excruciating pain, and I was rushed to hospital,” he told British GQ before the film came out. “My body just started shutting down the day after I finished Elvis.”

And though he managed to avoid getting sick until his time as The King was over, there were other signs of strain along the way. “We did so many takes,” he said at the SAG Awards, recalling a scene in which he sang “Never Been to Spain” over and over. “At a certain point, I just lost my voice. So then I went on vocal rest for a couple days and I was able to come back.”

“You get through it all,” he added. “There was those days, but it was the greatest ride of my life.”

Though Butler didn’t take home outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role Sunday night — the honor went to Brendan Fraser for The Whale — he did pick up best actor in a drama, motion picture at the Golden Globes in January. He also won best actor Feb. 19 at the BAFTA Awards, and is in the running for best actor at this year’s Oscars.

27 Feb 2023

Every Non-English-Language Song to Reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100

Bizarrap and Shakira’s collaboration “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Jan. 28.

The track, recorded almost entirely in Spanish, earns Bizarrap his first top 10 hit on the Hot 100 and Shakira her fifth, and first since her Beyoncé team-up “Beautiful Liar” in 2007. It also earns the distinction as just the 30th non-English-language song to reach the Hot 100’s top 10 – out of over 5,000 top 10s in the chart’s 64-year history.

Shakira also makes history as the first solo woman to score a Hot 100 top 10 recorded in Spanish. (The group Mocedades’ “Eres Tu [Touch the Wind]” became the first such top 10 with lead female vocals in 1974; see below.)

“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” drew 20.2 million U.S. streams, 7.9 million radio airplay audience impressions and 9,000 downloads sold its first full tracking week (Jan. 13-19), according to Luminate. Shakira’s previous four top 10s are sung primarily in English: “Whenever, Wherever” (No. 6 peak in 2001), “Underneath Your Clothes” (No. 9, 2002), “Hips Don’t Lie,” featuring Wyclef Jean (No. 1 for two weeks, 2006), and “Beautiful Liar,” with Beyoncé (No. 3, 2007).

Looking at the other 29 non-English-language top 10s, Bad Bunny tallies the most, with seven (four of which are from his 2022 smash album Un Verano Sin Ti), followed by BTS (five) and PSY (two).

Nine of the 30 songs have reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, including Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” (featuring Justin Bieber), which spent a then-record-tying 16 weeks at No. 1 in 2017, and Los Del Rio’s “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix),” which ruled for 14 weeks in 1996. The most recent No. 1 is Coldplay and BTS’ “My Universe,” which contains both Korean and English lyrics, from 2021.

Spanish is the most common non-English language listed below (15 of 30 top 10s), followed by Korean (seven), German (three), French and Italian (two each) and Japanese (one).

Meanwhile, 18 of the 30 top 10s have reached the tier since 2012, following a 16-year break between “Macarena” and PSY’s “Gangnam Style.” The influx coincides with music’s increased globalization, as highlighted by hits from Bad Bunny and BTS, among others.

In chronological order of their peak dates, here are all 30 primarily or all non-English-language songs to reach the Hot 100’s top 10 (with thanks to Paul Haney at Joel Whitburn’s Record Research for research assistance). (The list does not include songs with relatively minimal portions in other languages, such as Enrique Iglesias’ “Bailamos” or Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin’s “I Like It.”)

27 Feb 2023

Sorry Summer, Porsche, Bria: Drake Says He Regrets Shouting Out Exes By Name in His Songs

Drake doesn’t have a ton of regrets, but if pressed, he would have to admit that he does wish he could have a lyrics do-over when it comes to two topics in his songs. Chilling in the sand with Lil Yachty for the premiere episode of FUTUREMOOD’s Moody Conversations series, Drizzy, 36, said he feels a bit silly about saying he expected to retire by 35 when he was back in his 20s.

“I hate hearing that s–t, I heard it the other night when we were at the club,” Drake said of the Views song “Weston Road Flows,” on which he rhymes, “The most successful rapper, 35 and under/ I’m assumin’ everybody’s 35 and under/ That’s when I plan to retire man, it’s already funded.”

“I think that and sometimes when I’ve said girls names in songs those are the two things that I look back on and I’m like, ‘maybe I could have done without sh—ing on people for age or disrupting somebody’s life,” he said of lyrics he’d like to rescind.

Though he didn’t name them, it seems Drake was talking about track such as 2013’s “From Time,” off Nothing Was the Same, on which he rattles off names including Porsche, Summer, Bria and Courtney. “The lyrics are never with ill intent,” he explained, noting that someone came up to him once and said that it’s not necessarily what he says on his records, but the fact that he saying anything at all.

“In the sense that, ‘you don’t know what it does to me,’” he said he’s come to understand about the unintended consequences of his lyrics. “‘You don’t know who my boyfriend is at the time,’ or ‘you don’t know what my family knows and doesn’t know. And for you to express any discontent for me in a song and call me by name then all of a sudden I’m left to pick up the pieces of my own life that I’ve tried to build up for myself.’”

Drake said he’s tried to stop name-calling in his songs, but said it’s hard because he’s determined to be honest in his lyrics. In fact, when Yachty said he thought Drake was “just making girls’ names up” in all those songs, the 6 God confirmed that those are all real names.

The conversation took place on a chill beach, with the waves crashing behind the two rappers as palm trees swayed in the distance and Drizzy also touched on topics ranging from his mom’s pride at his accomplishments to what big goals are left for him given his fame, success and riches.

In fact, Drake said he’s also been thinking a lot about a “graceful exit,” realizing that being a famous rapper is addictive and competitive and that you can’t stay on top forever. “What’s left for me to is to find a way to gracefully continue… I’m not ready now, but to gracefully continue making projects that are extremely interesting and hopefully cherished by people and then to find the right time to say, ‘I can’t wait to see what the next generation does,’” he said.

But not yet. And when Yachty, 25, tried to bait him by saying that by the time he’s Drake’s age his elder will probably be playing ball using a cane, well, that didn’t fly. “I’m in incredible shape,” Drake assured Yachty.

Check out Drake’s chat with Yachty below.

27 Feb 2023

Doobie Brothers Add 35 Dates to 50th Anniversary U.S. Tour

The Doobie Brothers are not done celebrating half a century of rockin’ down the highway. On Monday (Feb. 27) the veteran group announced 35 new U.S. dates for their ongoing 50th anniversary tour. The shows, which will run from June through October of this year, extends the outing that has brought founding members guitarists Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons and John McFee and singer Michael McDonald back together for the first time in 25 years.

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Tickets for all the new dates will go on sale beginning Friday (March 3) at 10 a.m. local time (with the exception of the shows in Sparks, NV; New Brunswick, NJ; Morristown, NJ; Washington, DC; and Uncasville, CT, which will go on sale beginning March 10 at 10 a.m. local time.)

“We are thrilled to be back on the road in 2023 playing some cities we haven’t gotten to yet on this tour,” said guitarist Johnston in a statement.

The new dates include shows in Kansas City, Des Moines, Louisville, Biloxi, Charleston and Atlantic City. After wrapping the U.S. dates the group is slated to head overseas for shows in Australia, Japan and Singapore.

Check out the dates for the Doobie Brothers’ 50th anniversary extended U.S. tour below.

June 9 — Sparks, NV @ Nugget Event Center*

June 11 — West Valley, UT @ Maverik Center

June 14 — Kansas City, MO @ Starlight Theatre

June 15 — Springfield, MO @ Great Southern Bank Arena

June 17 — Sioux City, IA @ Tyson Events Center

June 18 — Des Moines, IA @ Wells Fargo Arena

June 20 — Duluth, MN @ AMSOIL Arena

June 21 — Madison, WI @ Breese Stevens Field

June 23 — Fort Wayne, IN @ Allen County War Memorial Coliseum

June 24 — Peoria, IL @ Peoria Civic Center

June 26 — Huber Heights, OH @ Rose Music Center at the Heights

June 28 — Youngstown, OH @ The Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre

June 30 — Pikeville, KY @ Appalachian Wireless Arena

July 1 — Louisville, KY @The Palace Theatre

July 3 — Portsmouth, VA @ Atlantic Union Bank Pavilion

July 6 — Reading, PA @ Santander Performing Arts Center

July 8 — New Brunswick, NJ @ State Theatre New Jersey*

July 9 — New Brunswick, NJ @ State Theatre New Jersey*

July 11 — Morristown, NJ @ Mayo Performing Arts Center*

July 12 — Morristown, NJ @ Mayo Performing Arts Center*

August 18 — Waite Park, MN @ The Ledge Amphitheater

August 20 — Lincoln, NE @ Pinewood Bowl Theater

August 23 — Camdenton, MO @ Ozarks Amphitheater

August 26 — Brandon, MS @ Brandon Amphitheater

August 28 — Biloxi, MS @ Mississippi Coast Coliseum

August 30 — Huntsville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater

August 31 — Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater

Sept. 2 — Macon, GA @ Macon Centreplex

Sept. 3 — Savannah, GA @ Enmarket Arena

Sept. 6 — Simpsonville, SC @ CCNB Amphitheatre at Heritage Park

Sept. 7 — Greensboro, NC @ White Oak Amphitheatre

Sept. 9 — Charleston, SC @ Credit One Stadium

Oct. 4 — Washington, DC @ MGM National Harbor*

Oct. 6 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena*

Oct. 8 — Atlantic City, NJ @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

27 Feb 2023

Katy Perry Breaks Down After ‘American Idol’ Audition From School Shooting Survivor: ‘This Is Not Okay’

Editor’s note: This story features descriptions of gun violence.

The early American Idol audition rounds are where America has met some of their favorite singers over the past two decades. Sometimes they’re not the best vocalists, but they have a certain spark, a twinkle in their eye or a story so intriguing that the judges have to lean in and learn more.

That was definitely the case on Sunday night (Feb. 26) when 21-year-old mattress salesman Trey Louis of Santa Fe, Texas charmed the judges with his calm, playful demeanor and an impressive, twangy run through Whiskey Myers’ 2018 hit “Stone.” Sure, his stories about the NSFW questions mattress shoppers ask him were funny and his vocals had gritty soul, but Louis had much more to say following his impressive performance.

After getting a standing ovation from judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan — with the latter calling Louis’ “perfect” — Bryan asked the singer why he was there. The first reason, Louis said, was because some of his favorite singers have stood on the very same star before the nation learned who they were.

The second, however, was more emotional and it brought Perry to angry tears. Louis noted again that he’s from Santa Fe, Texas, where in May 2018 he survived a mass shooting at Santa Fe High School during which a gunman killed eight students and two teachers. “[I] lost a lot of friends,” Louis said, noting he was in an art classroom when the shooter opened fire next door before making his way into the room Louis was in.

Getting choked up as the judges flashed looks of concern, Louis looked at the ground and said, “It’s just really been negative and Santa Fe’s had a bad rap since 2018.” Bryan’s voice cracked as he praised Louis’ vocals and big heart while Perry slumped forward, sobbing into her hands as Louis asked her what was going on.

“Our country has f–king failed us,” Perry shouted while poking her finger into the judge’s desk as Louis softly added “facts.”

“This is not okay,” Katy continued through tears. “You should be singing here because you love music, not because you had to go through that f–king bulls–t. You don’t have to lose eight friends. I hope that you remind people that we have to change. Cuz, you know, I’m scared too.”

As Bryan and Richie sympathetically reached out to rub Perry on the shoulders, Louis consoled her as well, saying, “it’s terrible, Katy, it’s horrible.”

Richie weighed in as well on the daily toll of mass shootings in the country, saying, “We have tolerated this for so long, for too long. It’s become the norm”; according to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 80 mass shootings so far this year. Perry told Louis that she hoped he could be a leader to combat gun violence in the nation. It was, of course, a yes for Louis, who advanced to the next round after getting loving hugs from all three judges.

Watch Louis’ audition below.

27 Feb 2023

Kodak Black Arrest Warrant Issued in Florida Over Failed Drug Test

A Florida judge has issued an arrest warrant for rapper Kodak Black for failing a drug test while on bail for a drug charge, court records show.

The warrant was issued Thursday after Black, whose legal name is Bill Kapri, did not appear for a scheduled drug test in early February and then days later submitted a sample that tested positive for fentanyl, according to records.

Broward County Judge Barbara Duffy issued the warrant and wrote that the rapper had violated the conditions of his pretrial release for an oxycodone trafficking charge from July. At the time, Black was pulled over by the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) for suspected illegal window tint. After smelling marijuana and searching his SUV, police said they found 31 oxycodone pills and $74,960 in cash, according to an FHP press release. A record check also revealed that Black’s vehicle tag and driver’s license were both expired.

Black had pleaded not guilty to the trafficking charge. At the time, the rapper’s attorney Bradford Cohen told Billboard, “Never judge a case based on an arrest. There are facts and circumstances that give rise to a defense, especially in this case. We negotiated a bond of 75,000 and we will move forward with resolving the matter quickly.”

In January 2020, then-President Donald Trump commuted a three-year federal prison sentence the rapper had for falsifying documents used to buy weapons. Black had served about half his sentence.

Black is nominated for the iHeartRadio Music Awards’ hip-hop artist of the year and has sold more than 30 million singles, with massive hits such as “Super Gremlin,” which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 last year.

26 Feb 2023

Fans Choose The Weeknd & Ariana Grande’s ‘Die for You’ Remix as This Week’s Favorite New Music

The Weeknd and Ariana Grande‘s remix of “Die for You” has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Feb. 24) on Billboard, choosing the collaboration as their favorite new music release of the past week.

The remix of “Die for You” brought in more than 71% of the vote, beating out new music from Karol G, the Jonas Brothers and more.

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The Weeknd and Grande’s remix of the 2016 Starboy track “Die for You” features a swooping verse from Grande. She posted a TikTok video earlier this week teasing her new part on the song, which dropped on Friday: “Wrote and recorded a verse for my friend after a 14 hour day on set. This certain exception had to be made….” she captioned the clip.

Trailing behind the “Die for You” remix on the fan-voted poll is Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito, with 13% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

26 Feb 2023

Cardi B Says Court-Ordered Service Was ‘The Best Thing’ to Happen

Cardi B spoke to girls in a police mentorship program Friday (Feb. 24) as part of what she says has been an eye-opening and emotional week performing court-mandated community service for her role in a pair of brawls at New York City strip clubs in 2018.

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The 30-year-old “Bodak Yellow” singer visited an NYPD “Girls Talk” event at the police training academy in Queens and shared what the department said was “her rags to riches story.” She danced with teens and posed for photos.

Cardi B’s plea deal requires her to perform 15 days of community service by March 1 to avoid a 15-day jail sentence.

“I feel like there’s so many people that make y’all probably feel like, ‘This is what’s cool, this is what’s going on, this is what it takes to be lit, this is what it takes to be fire,’” Cardi B told her young audience.

“Sometimes that’s a little bit of peer pressure like on a girl. Don’t fall into that. You know what I’m saying? Like, be great. Be you. You’re amazing. You’re dope yourself.”

The NYPD posted a video to Twitter showing highlights of the event.

That drew criticism from some people, including a retired police lieutenant, who questioned whether Cardi B was an appropriate role model for children given her sometimes provocative lyrics, criminal record and past admission that she drugged and robbed men while working as a stripper before she got famous.

Cardi B, a New York City native whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, has been chronicling her community service on Twitter all week. On Saturday, she wrote: “Community service has been the best thing that has happened to me.”

She likened the experience to a spiritual journey that sometimes left her in tears. “Those people that we leave behind they just need somebody to talk and a lil push and YOU might be able to change their life forever,” she wrote.

In another post, on her way to the police academy, the multiple-platinum selling artist and mother of two complained about waking up early to perform community service before going to the recording studio, but added: “I did the crime ‘I only have myself to blame’.”

Cardi B agreed in September to a conditional discharge just as her case was about to go to trial. She pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges stemming from the August 2018 fights. Ten other counts, including two felonies, were dismissed. Two co-defendants also pleaded guilty.

In a statement at the time, Cardi B said: “Part of growing up and maturing is being accountable for your actions. As a mother, it’s a practice that I am trying to instill in my children, but the example starts with me. I’ve made some bad decisions in my past that I am not afraid to face and own up to. These moments don’t define me and they are not reflective of who I am now.”

According to prosecutors, Cardi B and her entourage were targeting employees of Angels Strip Club in Flushing, Queens, over an apparent personal dispute. In one fight, chairs, bottles and hookah pipes were thrown as the group argued with a bartender. She and another employee had minor injuries.

In 2019, Cardi B rejected a plea deal that would have given her a conditional discharge. Prosecutors then presented the case to a grand jury and obtained an indictment that included the two felony charges.

NYPD Chief of Training Juanita Holmes created the “Girls Talk” program to build trust and foster mentorships between police officers and girls, with occasional special guests. Ballet dancer Misty Copeland spoke to the group at police headquarters in December 2021.

Cardi B’s chart-topping hits include “I Like It” and the Maroon 5 collaboration “Girls Like You.”