Music News

07 Feb 2023

Zach Bryan’s Twitter Account Seemingly Deactivated

Zach Bryan, fresh off a collaboration with Maggie Rogers and a nomination for best country solo performance at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, seemingly deactivated his Twitter account on Tuesday (Feb. 7).

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When fans attempt to visit his @zachlanebryan Twitter handle, a message pops up, saying, “This account doesn’t exist,” though his Instagram account is still active.

A rep for Bryan declined to comment on Bryan’s now nonexistent Twitter handle. The deleted Twitter page is interesting, as Bryan is known for having a constant, direct connection with his fans, primarily via social media platforms.

The release of “Dawns,” featuring Rogers, was a promise fulfilled to Bryan’s fans, after he had previously vowed to release the track if the Philadelphia Eagles won against the New York Giants; on Jan. 21, the Eagles triumphed over the Giants, 38-7, writing their ticket to Sunday’s Super Bowl.

Currently, Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” sits atop Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart for a sixth week, while his American Heartbreak album ranks at No. 2 on the Top Country Albums chart, just behind Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album.

He followed American Heartbreak with the EP Summertime Blues and the live album All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live From Red Rocks). True to his album title, Bryan’s upcoming Burn, Burn, Burn Tour will be handled primarily via AXS. The tour launches May 10 at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., and concludes at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Aug. 30 and includes stops in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York and more.

07 Feb 2023

Madonna Blames ‘Ageism & Misogyny’ for Backlash About Her Appearance at 2023 Grammys

Madonna took the stage at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 5) to introduce Sam Smith and Kim Petras‘ performance of their Grammy-winning song, “Unholy,” applauding the duo for being daring, provocative, controversial and dangerous in music.

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However, her powerful speech was thrown to the side following the telecast, as the Internet began to criticize how different the pop icon looked, accusing the “Vogue” singer of botched plastic surgery and generally attacking her appearance.

In a new post shared to Instagram on Tuesday (Feb. 7), Madge fired back at the haters with a series of clips in which she’s seen smiling and partying at the awards show. “It was an honor for me to introduce Kim Petras and Sam Smith at the Grammys. I had wanted to give the last award which was Album of the year, but I thought it was more important that I present the first trans- woman performing at the Grammys— a History making moment!! And on top of that she won a Grammy,” Madonna wrote, before addressing the backlash.

“Many people chose to only talk about Close-up photos of me Taken with a long lens camera By a press photographer that Would distort anyone’s face!!” she wrote. “Once again I am caught in the glare of ageism and misogyny That permeates the world we live in. A world that refuses to celebrate women pass the age of 45 And feels the need to punish her If she continues to be strong willed, hard-working and adventurous.”

Madonna went on to note that she has “never apologized” for her appearance, and she’s “not going to start,” before referencing Beyoncé’s Renaissance hit, “Break My Soul.” “I have been degraded by the media since the beginning of my career but I understand that this is all a test and I am happy to do the trailblazing so that all the women behind me can have an easier time in the years to come,” she wrote.

The icon concluded by fittingly writing, “Bow down b—-es!”

See her full post below.

07 Feb 2023

Diddy Enlists Montell Jordan, Kelis & More to Remake Their Biggest Hits for Uber One Super Bowl Commercial

Diddy doesn’t do jingles, but he sure knows how to make a hit song.

That’s why Uber One tapped the hip-hop/R&B chart-topper for its 2023 Super Bowl commercial, in which Diddy tries to help the food delivery membership service come up with a song sure to convert customers, with a little assistance from his musician friends.

A trio of executives with Uber One assures the producer that jingles are out of the question. “We’re talking about a hit song,” one of them says. “You want a hit?” Diddy replies, before “This Is How We Do It” singer Montell Jordan appears in the booth, singing a new Uber-fied version of his 1995 seven-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit.

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“Uber One can save you/ On rides and eats/ Yeah it’s kinda sweet,” he sings, before the next artist, Donna Lewis, takes her turn in the studio. “Uber One saves you forever/ Rides and eats, save on whatever,” she peacefully sings into the mic to the tune of her 1996 Hot 100 No. 2 track, “I Love You Always Forever.” Diddy approves, happily exclaiming, “OK, Donna!”

Kelis is the next artist to step into the studio, though she seems unimpressed that Diddy is getting a shape-up to his beard as she provides new lyrics to her 2003 Hot 100 top five hit “Milkshake.” “Your milkshakes cost way less than before/ This membership is better than yours,” she sings, before Diddy asks his barber if he’s a fan of milkshakes.

It isn’t until “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)” singers Ylvis cause chaos in the booth that Diddy brings in the big guns to the studio: “What Is Love” singer Haddaway, who breathes new life into his signature song for Uber One. “Uber One/ Uber One saves me, saves me/ Way more,” he croons, much to Diddy’s delight — but sadly, not the Uber One executives.

Watch Diddy’s Super Bowl commercial for Uber One in the video above.

07 Feb 2023

Lance Bass Talks New Podcast & Why an *NSYNC Reunion Is Possible: ‘We Owe It to the Fans’

Lance Bass sat down with Billboard News on Tuesday (Feb. 7) to spill all the tea about his new podcast, Lance Bass Presents: Frosted Tips, and whether *NSYNC fans might ever get the reunion they’ve always wanted.

Chatting with Billboard‘s own Tetris Kelly, the boy band veteran said he initially conceived of the project as a podcast that “really celebrated the fandom out there,” and it’s the perfect excuse for fans to take a time-traveling trip back to the heyday of the early 2000s.

According to the *NSYNC star, his other goal for the show was to use it as a vehicle for “telling stories we were never allowed to tell before.”

“We had to keep it very PG back in the day,” he said. “And there was a lot of stuff going down behind the curtain. There’s definitely a lot of secrets being told. It’s a really great look at the music industry, especially in that era. You know, how everything went down, what we all experienced. There’s so many similarities. A lot of the issues we were dealing with at the time were kept out of public view because we didn’t want the fans to know.”

So far, the podcast has featured Bass’ bandmates J.C. Chasez and Joey Fatone, as well as A.J. McLean of Backstreet Boys, Jeff Timmons of 98 Degrees and Jonathan Knight of New Kids on the Block.

When Kelly asked about whether a reunion might ever be in the boy band’s future — especially after four-fifths of *NSYNC joined Ariana Grande onstage at Coachella in 2019 — Bass left the door open.

“Never say never,” he said. “I mean, who knew we were going to be doing Coachella a few years ago? I think it just has to be the right time; we all have to be inspired in the moment. But I do think the world needs something again from *NSYNC. I always feel bad that there was no ending, because we didn’t have a final show, we didn’t have a final tour, because we didn’t know it was the final days. I think we owe it to the fans to give them something at some point. I just hope it’s before I’m 80 years old,” he laughed.

Watch more from Bass’ interview with Billboard News, including his thoughts on modern boy bands like BTS, his favorite memories from his *NSYNC days and more, above.

07 Feb 2023

Gustavo Dudamel Moving to New York Philharmonic From L.A. in 2026

Longtime Los Angeles Philharmonic music and artistic director Gustavo Dudamel will move to the New York Philharmonic in the same role starting in 2026, the NY Phil announced Tuesday (Feb. 7).

Dudamel, who has served as music and artistic director at the LA Phil since 2009 and also currently serves as music director of the Opéra National de Paris and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra, will begin a five-year term at the NY Phil starting with the orchestra’s 2026-27 season. He will additionally serve as music director designate during the 2025-26 season.

“Today, above all, I am grateful. I am grateful to the musicians and leadership of the New York Philharmonic as we embark upon this new and beautiful journey together. As the great poet Federico García Lorca said: ‘Every step we take on earth brings us to a new world,’” said Dudamel, adding, “I gaze with joy and excitement at the world that lies before me in New York City.”

Dudamel has guest-conducted 26 concerts at the NY Phil since his debut there in November 2007. He’s slated to return this spring to conduct the orchestra in three performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 9 from May 19-21, which will mark his first time conducting in the reimagined David Geffen Hall’s Wu Tsai Theater.

“This is a dream come true for our musicians, our audience, and certainly for me,” said NY Phil’s Linda and Mitch Hart president/CEO Deborah Borda in a statement. “The coming together of a great orchestra, a visionary Music and Artistic Director, and our transformed hall promises the richest of futures.”

NY Phil executive director Gary Ginstlin, who will succeed Borda as president/CEO, added, “With Gustavo Dudamel, the Philharmonic is poised for what I believe will be one of the most exciting chapters in its storied history.”

NY Phil principal trumpet Christopher Martin added that the orchestra feels “an extraordinary connection” with Dudamel. “This moment aligns with the unparalleled artistic tradition of this nation’s oldest orchestra,” he continued. “We look forward to sharing our deepening musical relationship with audiences both in our revitalized David Geffen Hall and on tour around the world.”

07 Feb 2023

Elvis Costello Shares Adorable Photo With Olivia Rodrigo

Elvis Costello and Olivia Rodrigo were both at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday night (Feb. 5), and the rock legend shared the sweet moment he met the pop star.

“Great to finally meet @OliviaRodrigo,” Costello captioned a photo in which the duo pose for a photo, arms around each other and smiling wide.

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Costello has frequently shared his love for Rodrigo’s music, and even defended the 19-year-old singer when the internet pointed out that the “Drivers License” star seemed to have taken some inspiration from his angsty 1978 anthem “Pump It Up.”

The song from Costello’s This Year’s Model album has a driving rhythm that sounds updated by Rodrigo on “Brutal” from her debut album, Sour. When someone tweeted that “first song on the album is a pretty much direct lift from Elvis Costello,” the English icon had the perfect response.

“This is fine by me, Billy,” he responded. “It’s how rock and roll works. You take the broken pieces of another thrill and make a brand new toy. That’s what I did.” Just to put a finer point on it, Costello included the hashtags “#subterreneanhomesickblues” and “#toomuchmonkeybusiness,” in reference to the, respectively, Bob Dylan and Chuck Berry songs that influenced “Pump It Up.”

07 Feb 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Feid Arrives With Ozuna Collab ‘Hey Mor’

Feid scores his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated Feb. 11), as Ozuna’s “Hey Mor,” on which he’s featured, debuts at No. 96.

The song, released Oct. 7 via Aura/Sony Music Latin, enters the Hot 100 with 8.7 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 52%) and 3.7 million official U.S. streams in the Jan. 27-Feb. 2 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The song concurrently surges 15-8 on Latin Airplay, where it becomes Feid’s third top 10, and Ozuna’s 37th. It also pushes 14-11 on Hot Latin Songs.

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TikTok has been a big factor in the song’s growing profile, as the track has been used in more than 800,000 clips on the platform to date. (TikTok does not presently contribute directly to Billboard’s charts.)

Feid (real name: Salomón Villada Hoyos) has maintained a steady presence on Billboard’s charts since he scored his first entry in 2016 with his J Balvin collaboration “Que Raro.” The track reached No. 43 on Latin Airplay and No. 47 on Hot Latin Songs that December.

Since then, he’s charted 10 additional tracks on the Hot Latin Songs chart. As “Hey Mor” climbs to No. 11, it ties his 2020 hit “Porfa,” with J Balvin, Maluma, Nicky Jam, Sech and Justin Quiles, as his highest-charting song on the survey.

Feid concurrently places four other tracks on the latest Hot Latin Songs list: “Yandel 150,” with Yandel (No. 16); “Feliz Cumpleaños Ferxxo” (No. 28); “Chorrito Pa Las Animas” (No. 31); and “En La de Ella,” with Jhayco and Sech (No. 37).

On Latin Airplay, “Hey Mor” marks Feid’s fifth career entry. Prior to the song’s ascent to the top 10 on Feb. 11, he reached the tier with “Porfa” (No. 1 for one week) and “Normal” (No. 4 peak this January).

Feid has additionally sent five titles onto the Top Latin Albums chart, one of which hit the top 10: Feliz Cumpleaños Ferxxo: Te Pirateamos El Álbum (No. 6 peak, October 2022). The set also sparked Feid’s first visit to the Billboard 200 (No. 188 peak).

On Jan. 31, Feid was announced as a headliner at this year’s all-Latin Sueños Music Festival, to be held Chicago’s Grant Park May 27 and 28.

07 Feb 2023

TOMORROW X TOGETHER Tops Billboard Artist 100 Chart for First Time

TOMORROW X TOGETHER re-enter the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Feb. 11) at No. 1, becoming the top musical act in the U.S. for the first time, thanks to the group’s new EP The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION.

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The set debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 161,000 equivalent album units earned in the Jan. 27-Feb. 2 tracking week, according to Luminate. It earns the South Korean vocal group its first No. 1 on the ranking.

TXT is the first K-pop act to top the Artist 100 chart in 2023 and the first since Stray Kids scored its second week on top in October. The other K-pop acts to top the Artist 100 are BTS (21 weeks at No. 1), BLACKPINK (two), SuperM (one) and TWICE (one).

Elsewhere on the Artist 100, Sam Smith vaults 47-9, returning to the top 10 for the first time since November 2020. Smith’s return to the tier is powered by their new album Gloria, which debuts at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 (39,000 units). Smith has spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Artist 100—three in 2014 and one in 2017.

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

07 Feb 2023

Missy Elliott Praises Lil Wayne, Lizzo & More After Receiving Congrats for Global Impact Grammy Award

Missy Elliott was a 2023 recipient of the Recording Academy’s global impact award. The singer received the award — alongside fellow honorees Lil Wayne and Dr. Dre — ahead of the 65th annual Grammy Awards at Thursday’s Black Music Collective event last week, and she’s taking a moment after soaking up praise from her peers to extend a few kind words of her own.

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In a video posted to Missy’s feed, Lil Wayne spoke of how honored he felt to be presented with the global impact award alongside one of his idols. “You already know Missy is one of my biggest inspirations in music … because Missy showed it was OK to be you,” he said in the clip. “Missy as an artist, as a rapper, as a musician — that’s a genius.”

Missy, touched by the message, responded in a heartfelt tweet of her own, stating that she is happy Lil Wayne and his talents are being recognized on such a grand scale. “@LilTunechi people don’t see artist go through many ups & downs..it’s not all glamor & glitz but the greatest thing is when you are recognized & I am so happy your getting Your BOUQUET because YOU TRULY DESERVE it also! Love you LEGEND & i am always GRATEFUL 4 your words,” she wrote on Tuesday (Feb. 7).

Timbaland shared a video congratulating his close friend. “You doin’ it big, sis,” he said in the video, which prompted Elliott to share a sweet throwback story about their friendship that predates their careers taking off.

“@Timbaland We come a long way & BLESSED to be from VA,” she shared. “Remember I would come to your house after school and we would do 5 to 6 songs a day until yo daddy would say I gotta get up 4 work y’all gotta go home naw .. Wow those days paid off! I love you bro.”

Lizzo, a fierce and public supporter of Missy and her work, also shared a congratulatory message: “I tell you all the time how much you are my icon, and now you’re getting an award for the global icon of Black music, all music … your impact will forever change music, period,” the “About Damn Time” singer said.

“@lizzo 1st Congratulations on all of your success… Many don’t know the struggles artist endure behind the scenes.. But I watched your come up & hard work & you DESERVE the APPLAUDS. I thank you 4 always being there for me & your kind words I am humbly Grateful,” Elliott wrote in response to Lizzo’s sweet video message.

And while Flavor Flav and Jay-Z did not have their personal video messages shared to Missy’s Twitter feed, she did share a fun moment of the trio interacting backstage at the Grammys with a fun throwback story.

“@SC fun fact Jay said the 1st time he ever rode in a Lambo car was mines over 20 yrs ago now look he probably own a damn spaceship with a alien driver. He always showed me love & @FlavorFlav
is always such GREAT ENERGY! Humbled to be around so many LEGENDS,” Elliott concluded her list of thank yous.

See all of the videos from Missy’s Twitter below.

07 Feb 2023

Here’s Every Time Lizzo & Harry Styles Showed Each Other Love

Over the past few years, Lizzo and Harry Styles have become the besties we never knew we needed.

The two advocates for self-love and acceptance have been paying tribute to each other with covers of their songs, and surprise performances together, and fans on Twitter have affectionately given the unlikely duo the nickname Hizzo. 

See below for all the times #Hizzo were the most adorable BFFs you ever did see.