Music News

01 Feb 2023

Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On a Prayer’ Video Joins YouTube’s Billion-Views Club

Talk about way more than halfway there! The music video for Bon Jovi‘s classic single “Livin’ On a Prayer” officially crossed the billion view milestone on YouTube Wednesday (Feb. 1).

As the second single off the band’s 1986 breakthrough album Slippery When Wet, “Living On a Prayer” followed “You Give Love a Bad Name” as the New Jersey rockers’ second consecutive No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 and dominated the chart for four consecutive weeks in February and March of 1987, sandwiched between Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” and “Jacob’s Ladder” by Huey Lewis and the News.

The music video, meanwhile, was filmed at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles and finds frontman Jon Bon Jovi belting out, “Tommy used to work on the docks/ Union’s been on strike, he’s down on luck/ It’s tough, so tough/ Gina works a diner all day/ Working for her man/ She brings home her pay for love, for love” as his bandmates flail above the stage on a fly system.

According to YouTube, the black-and-white visual filled with pyrotechnics becomes Bon Jovi’s second video to achieve the nine-digit viewership feat after 2000’s “It’s My Life.”

Last June, Alec John Such, Bon Jovi’s founding member and bassist from 1983 to 1994, sadly passed away at the age of 70. At the time, his former bandmates paid emotional tribute to him on social media, writing, “He was an original. As a founding member of Bon Jovi, Alec was integral to the formation of the band. To be honest, we found our way to each other thru him – He was a childhood friend of Tico and brought Richie to see us perform…Today those special memories bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. We’ll miss him dearly.”

Revisit Bon Jovi’s music video for “Livin’ On a Prayer” in the video above.

01 Feb 2023

Who’s Your Favorite Latin Artist to Watch of 2023? Vote!

Billboard‘s Latin & Spanish Artists to Watch Class of 2023 has been unveiled.

The 23 artists that comprise the wide-ranging list include Mexican artist Bratty, who will be performing at the 2023 Coachella Festival; Victor Cibrian, whose raspy voice is bringing a fresh take to the corrido movement; and Grupo Frontera, who since going viral last year, has become the only Regional Mexican act to achieve three songs on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart, to name a few. 

Representing Brazil is powerhouse performer Ludmilla, who has been rising to the top with her baile funk versatility that spans pop, trap, R&B and more. “I think of funk as an agent of change, especially in the lives of so many peripheral people who don’t have opportunities,” she told Billboard Español. 

From Spain, there’s acts such as Rels B who’s monthly listeners on Spotify rose from 15.6 million in November to 17.6 million today, and placed two songs on Spain’s Promusicae year-end charts: the more urban “Mi Luz” alongside RVFV at No. 21 and his urban/pop “Cómo dormiste” at No. 86.

Every year, Billboard’s Latin staff compiles a list of artists to watch in the coming months. In honor of 2023, we are spotlighting 23 Latin and Spanish acts that cover a broad variety of Latin music genres, from pop to reggaetón to R&B, música Mexicana and rock. 

We want to know which of 2023’s Latin & Spanish Artist to Watch is your favorite. You can check out the list here, and vote in the poll below.

01 Feb 2023

Brad Pitt Isn’t Mad That Shania Twain Replaced Him With Ryan Reynolds: ‘We Can Share the Wealth’

Brad Pitt has a shelf full of awards and enough big screen highlights to spread across four careers. So when Shania Twain took away a tiny little bragging right embedded in her 1998 single “That Don’t Impress Me Much” during her performance at December’s 2022 People Choice Awards, well, that didn’t impact him much.

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One of the highlights of her performance — which included her breakthrough 1995 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Any Man of Mine,” her crossover late-’90s pop smashes “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “Impress,” as well as her latest single “Waking Up Dreaming” — was when the pink-haired singer swapped the famous spoken-word “Brad Pitt” line from “Impress” for a fellow Canadian star.

“OK, so you’re Ryan Reynolds!/ That don’t impress me much,” she said sassily as the cameras cut to the surprised Deadpool star, who was on hand to accept the People’s Icon award later in the evening. Reynolds mouthed, “Oh my God, me?!” from the audience.

During a new interview to promote his new film Babylon with the Movie Dweeb site, host Daniel Merrifield complimented director Damien Chazelle on the all-star film that tells the story of debauchery in the transition from silent to talkie films in the 1920s. He also jokingly said the only thing that would have made the soundtrack better is if it had featured Twain’s Pitt/Reynolds-hyping tune.

Pitt, 59, had a laugh about the celebrity crush swap during the chat when asked if he’d seen the moment and was then asked to look at a screenshot of Reynolds’ shocked reaction from the broadcast. “And I want you to tell him how you think he stole your thunder,” Merrifield said to Pitt.

“He didn’t steal it,” Pitt said confidently. “I think we can share the wealth there. Yeah, Ryan’s a good egg, too. He deserves some love.” In fact, Pitt helpfully suggested that next time Twain should update it again and swap in Golden Globe-winning Elvis star Austin Butler. “Maybe Leo [DiCaprio] in between, and then Austin Butler,” he added, shouting out his pal and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star. Sadly, though, despite Merrifield’s suggestion, Pitt said the host and Chazelle aren’t likely to get in the mix anytime soon.

Check out Merrifield’s TikTok below.

01 Feb 2023

Doja Cat Calls Britney Spears Shaved Head Comparisons ‘Incredibly Disrespectful’

It didn’t take long for the Britney Spears jokes to start rolling in after Doja Cat shaved her head in August last year. It also didn’t take long for the 27-year-old rapper to clap back at people trolling her new look at the time, and in a new interview with Variety — published on Wednesday (Feb. 1) — she’s explaining why she found the Spears comparisons harmful in particular.

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“It’s so incredibly disrespectful for people to be minimizing what Britney went through and make a joke out of something that was very serious and a big deal in her life,” she told the publication. “Every time I see a comment like that, I can’t compute what’s happening, other than it’s just an awful thing.”

It was 2007 when Spears shocked the world by shaving her own head while out in public, an incident that’s since gone down in pop culture history as the moment the “Toxic” singer supposedly had a mental breakdown. The next year, she was placed under a restrictive conservatorship controlled by her father, which she wouldn’t succeed in getting legally terminated until 2021.

Doja similarly shocked her fans when she debuted her buzzcut in a surprise Instagram Live last summer, and shocked them further when she proceeded to shave off her eyebrows on that same livestream. Many were quick to jump to baseless conclusions that the “Woman” musician was mentally ill simply because of her dramatic new style, which she angrily shut down at the time.

“I needed to change something,” she explained to Variety. “I wasn’t working out and wasn’t really taking care of myself in the way that I wanted to. I was like, ‘I need to do something,’ so I just chopped it all off. And I could see the shape of my head. I could see my whole face… it’s the best choice I’ve ever made, and I’ve never felt more beautiful.”

The Grammy winner also hinted at what’s to come for her in the music department, confirming that she’ll release another album by the end of 2023. “I want to explore punk,” she revealed. “But not pop-punk. I feel like we have enough pop-punk artists right now. And if there needs to be more, then let there be more, but I don’t think I’m the one to do it.”

“I want to explore more of a raw, unfiltered, hardcore punk sort of thing,” she continued, also noting she wants to focus more on R&B and rap as opposed to pop and dance music. “It’s just something that I’m doing for my own personal fun — getting some drummers and guitarists together. And I don’t even know if that’s gonna make it out there.”

01 Feb 2023

2023 Grammy Awards Will Feature Tributes to Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie & Takeoff

The In Memoriam segment at the 2023 Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 5, will include breakout tributes to three diverse artists who died last fall — Loretta Lynn, Christine McVie and Takeoff.

Kacey Musgraves will perform Lynn’s 1970 classic “Coal Miner’s Daughter” in tribute to the country music legend, who died on Oct. 4 at age 90; Sheryl Crow, Mick Fleetwood and Bonnie Raitt will team to perform “Songbird” from Fleetwood Mac’s album of the year-winning Rumours to honor McVie, who died on Nov. 30 at age 79; and Maverick City Music will join Quavo for Quavo’s tender ballad “Without You” to honor his Migos colleague Takeoff, who died on Nov. 1 at just 28.

Lynn won three Grammy Awards and also received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2010. McVie won two Grammys as a member of Fleetwood Mac. In 2018, the band became the first group or duo to be honored at the MusiCares’ Person of the Year gala. Takeoff received two Grammy nominations as a member of Migos.

The CMA Awards on Nov. 9, 2022, opened with a tribute to Lynn by Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood. The segment included “Coal Miner’s Daughter” as well as “You Ain’t Woman Enough,” “Don’t Come Home A’Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind)” and “You’re Lookin’ at Country.”

Musgraves and Lynn teamed to perform “You’re Lookin’ at Country,” a 1971 Lynn hit, at the CMA awards in 2014.

Other performers set to appear on the Grammy telecast are Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, and Sam Smith and Kim Petras.

This year’s four leading nominees – Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Adele and Brandi Carlile – have yet to be announced as performers, but the Academy may be holding some big names back to build last-minute buzz.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah. The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS. and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards are produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy. Raj Kapoor serves as showrunner and executive producer, alongside Ben Winston and Jesse Collins as executive producers. Phil Heyes joins the team for the first time as director. Eric Cook is co-executive producer with Tabitha Dumo, Tiana Gandelman, Patrick Menton. David Wild is producer.

As previously announced on Wednesday (Feb. 1), first lady Jill Biden and past Grammy Awards hosts James Corden and Billy Crystal will help hand out awards. Other presenters are past Grammy winners Cardi B, Olivia Rodrigo and Shania Twain; current Grammy nominee Viola Davis; and actor Dwayne Johnson.

01 Feb 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Gabito Ballesteros, Peso Pluma & Natanael Cano Arrive With ‘AMG’

Gabito Ballesteros, Peso Pluma and Natanael Cano all team up to score their first appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 as “AMG” debuts at No. 92 on the latest Feb. 4-dated chart.

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The song, which the trio released Nov. 24 via Los CT/Rancho Humilde/Worms/Prajin Parlay/Prajin/Warner Latina, arrives almost entirely from its streaming sum: 5.8 million official U.S. streams (up 24%) in the Jan. 20-26 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The track concurrently jumps 15-10 on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart, becoming the first top hit for Ballesteros and Pluma, and the second for Cano. “AMG” also ascends 62-50 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart and 71-50 on the Billboard Global 200.

TikTok has helped grow the song’s profile, as a portion of it has been used in over 160,000 videos on the platform to date. (TikTok does not contribute to Billboard‘s charts.)

Singer-songwriter Ballesteros is new to Billboard’s charts. “AMG” marked his first appearance when it debuted on Hot Latin Songs (Dec. 10). He scored his second entry last week (charts dated Jan. 28), when his collaboration with Junior H, “Vamos Para Arriba,” opened at No. 32 Hot Latin Songs survey — it dips to No. 36 this week.

Peso Pluma first reached a Billboard chart last April when “El Belicón,” with Raul Vega, debuted at No. 50 on Hot Latin Songs (before peaking at No. 46 two weeks later). The singer-songwriter has since charted four additional Hot Latin Songs hits: “Siempre Pendientes,” with Luis R. Conriquez (No. 27 peak in November); “El Gavilán,” with Conriquez and Tony Aguirre (No. 41, December); “Igualito A Mi Apá,” with Fuerza Regida (No. 45, January); and now “AMG.”

“Siempre Pendientes” also became Peso Pluma’s first global chart hit, as it reached No. 155 on Global Excl. U.S. and No. 174 on the Global 200.

At just 21 years old, Cano is already a fairly seasoned hitmaker on Billboard’s charts. The Mexican rapper-singer has tallied 11 entries on Hot Latin Songs, dating to his first, “Soy El Diablo,” with Bad Bunny, in November 2019. Of those, one has climbed to the top 10: “Amor Tumbado” (No. 8, February 2020). He has also charted seven titles on the Top Latin Albums chart, including two top 10s: Corridos Tumbados (No. 4, 2019) and A Mis 20 (No. 9, 2021).

Corridos Tumbados also spent 31 weeks at No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart. That’s the fourth-longest reign in the chart’s history, after Selena’s Amor Prohibido (97 weeks), Christian Nodal’s Me Dejé Llevar (73) and Eslabon Armado’s Corta Venas (54).

Cano is signed to Republic Records via Rancho Humilde. In May 2022, he signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. “Nata is a unique talent, who, at such a young age, has already secured his legacy in the industry,” WCM’s president, U.S. Latin & Latin America, Gustavo Menéndez said at the time. “He has an incredible delivery with an uncanny penmanship as a songwriter, no matter the genre.”

01 Feb 2023

Shania Twain Recalls How She Missed Out on the Chance to Collaborate With Prince

What could’ve been. Shania Twain opened up in a new interview with Apple Music on Tuesday (Feb. 1) about the time she almost worked with Prince before his death.

“I missed out on that because Prince called me when I got divorced,” the country icon tells Zane Lowe in a clip shared exclusively with Billboard. “We’re on the phone and he said, ‘Shania, why don’t you come to Paisley Park? I want to make the next Rumors album with you.’”

“And that was the weirdest thing he could have ever have said,” she continued, “because Mutt [Lange], his standard of what he thought, of what I could live as a standard was that album, Rumors album. And he said that to me. So when Prince said that to me, I’m like … ‘This is way too ironic what you’re saying.’ Right? And I’m such a major Prince fan.”

However, Twain admitted she found herself “too insecure to go and get with Prince in the studio” because she was still in the process of finding her voice after splitting from Lange, who was not only her husband of 15 years, but also her longtime producer and collaborator on smash albums such as 1997’s Come on Over and its 2002 follow-up, Up!

On their phone call, Prince also laid out some ground rules for his would-be studio time with Twain — namely that there was no swearing allowed at Paisley Park.

“So that was another strike,” Twain joked. “I’m like, ‘Oh no, I love you so much, but I don’t think I could get through writing and recording an album without swearing, somewhere along the way! What are you going to do to me if I swear? I might have to stand in the corner or something.’ I wasn’t sure about that. I don’t think I was ready for what all that was going to mean for me. I didn’t give up on it or anything, but then he died.”

This weekend, the singer — who just dropped her galloping new single “Giddy Up!” — is set to serve as a presenter at the 2023 Grammy Awards along with the likes of Cardi B, Viola Davis, Olivia Rodrigo, Dwayne Johnson and more.

Watch Twain recall her fortuitous missed connection with His Royal Badness below.

01 Feb 2023

HARDY & Maneskin Crown Rock Album Charts With New Releases

Two sets start atop Billboard’s rock album charts dated Feb. 4, as HARDY’s The Mockingbird & the Crow and Måneskin’s Rush! open atop the lists.

HARDY’s Crow, a hybrid between the country and rock genres, debuts at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums tallies with 55,000 equivalent album units earned Jan. 20-26, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 34,000 units are from streaming and 20,000 via album sales.

The former total is the best for any title on Top Hard Rock Albums since it adopted a consumption methodology in 2017, while Crow’s overall unit count is the biggest on the chart since Slipknot’s The End, So Far bowed with 59,000 units (Oct. 15, 2022).

Crow is HARDY’s first No. 1 on each chart, achieved in his first appearance on each (as his previous albums were more fully within the country genre). It’s also his first Top Country Albums ruler, surpassing the No. 4 debut and peak of A Rock in 2020.

On the all-format Billboard 200, Crow bows at No. 4, becoming HARDY’s first top 10. Its predecessor, A Rock, reached No. 24.

Meanwhile, Måneskin’s Rush! starts at No. 1 on the Top Alternative Albums chart with 18,000 units earned. It’s the Italian rockers’ first leader in their first appearance.

The set also begins at Nos. 2, 4 and 4 on the Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts, respectively.

It’s the band’s first top 20 title on the Billboard 200, beginning at No. 18.

Tracks from both new sets concurrently rank on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, paced by HARDY’s “Radio Song,” featuring A Day to Remember’s Jeremy McKinnon, at No. 25. In the latest tracking week, “Radio” earned 2.3 million official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads.

Seven songs from HARDY’s Crow appear on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, with “Radio” followed by “Jack” at No. 27.

Måneskin’s Rush!, meanwhile, boasts an appearance in “The Loneliest,” which lifts 40-34 with 2.3 million radio audience impressions and 1.9 million streams. Prior to the album’s arrival, two cuts included on Rush! reached Hot Rock & Alternative Songs: “Supermodel” (No. 13 peak last July) and “Mammamia” (No. 21, October 2021).

“Loneliest” is the current radio single from Rush!, concurrently charting at its No. 6 best on Alternative Airplay. Crow’s current rock radio single, “Jack,” ranks at its No. 11 high on Mainstream Rock Airplay. The latter’s country single, “Wait in the Truck,” featuring Lainey Wilson, likewise holds the No. 11 spot, its top rank so far, on Country Airplay.

01 Feb 2023

Missy Elliott Calls 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nomination ‘An Incredible Honor’

It’s fitting that on Wednesday morning (Feb. 1) Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott became the first-ever female hip-hop artist to be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility. The pioneering rapper/songwriter/producer celebrated the news in a statement in which she said, “This is an incredible honor. I’m so humbled and grateful to be counted amongst all the incredible honorees.”

Elliott joined a list of 2023 nominees that also included Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper, Iron Maiden, JoyDivision/New Order, The Spinners, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon.

“I’ve spent my career making the kind of music I love and it means so much to know that I have touched others as well,” Elliott added. “But to hear that I am the first female hip hop artist to EVER be nominated into the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame?!? Wow!! This one hits extra different as I hope it opens doors for other female emcees to be recognized!”

To be eligible for the RRHOF, an artist’s first commercial release must have come out at least 25 years prior to the nomination year. After making a name for herself in her early 20s writing and rapping on songs by Raven-Symoné, Jodeci, SWV and Aaliyah, Elliott’s genre-expanding debut, Supa Dupa Fly, dropped in 1997, featuring the psychedelic video for “The Rain,” her first of many eye-popping collaborations with director Hype Williams.

Elliott won a Grammy — one of four she’s earned to date — for best rap solo performance in 2002 for her landmark hit “Get Ur Freak On” and hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her 2003 single “Work It.” In addition to her six solo albums, Elliott has continued to be one of the most in-demand producers and songwriters in the business, working with everyone from Mary J. Blige and TLC to Beyoncé, Ciara, Fantasia, Jazmine Sullivan, Monica and Fifth Harmony, among many others.

She was also the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2019), the first to receive the MTV VMAs Video Vanguard Award (2019) and with more than 40 Million records sold worldwide she is the best-selling female rapper in Luminate history. 

RRHOF Inductees will be revealed in May, with the induction ceremony taking place this fall. The top five artists selected through fan voting will be tallied along with the ballots from the Rock Hall’s international voting body to determine the Class of 2023. Fans can vote online every day through April 28 at vote.rockhall.com or IRL at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.

01 Feb 2023

Here’s Why Ashton Kutcher Is Apologizing to Harry Styles

It’s hard to imagine anyone not knowing who Harry Styles is nowadays, but when the 29-year-old singer first met Ashton Kutcher, the No Strings Attached star thought the pop star was just another guy at a house party.

In a Tuesday (Jan. 31) video interview with Esquire, Kutcher was asked about his favorite karaoke song — Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” — something that prompted him to recall the time he and wife actress Mila Kunis obliviously met the “As It Was” singer for the first time at a karaoke bash.

“There’s an extraordinarily well-known singer, that is maybe the best singer today, that we happen to be neighbors with,” Kutcher began without naming this famous neighbor. “She was throwing a karaoke party. She gets up and gives this, like, out of this world, bananas [performance], and I’m like, ‘This is so unfair.’”

“Then this other kid gets up and he does this ABBA song. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is bananas,’” the 44-year-old actor continued. “So the kid gets offstage, and Mila and I go up to him and we’re like, ‘Man, I gotta tell you something — you’re a ringer. You’re really good. He was like, ‘Thank you, I really appreciate that.’”

When the That ’70s Show costars-turned-couple later raved about the performance to a friend at the party, they realized that the ABBA singer wasn’t just any ordinary karaoke connoisseur. “They’re like, ‘It’s Harry Styles.’ And I’m like, ‘Who’s that?’”

After the friend filled him in on the former boyband star’s claim to fame, Kutcher said he felt “like a jerk.” “He’s a professional singer and we’re trying to tell him he’s a good singer,” he laughed. “And I feel so dumb, so I just really want to say I’m sorry Harry Styles, but you’re really good at karaoke, man. Seriously. Like, really good!”

The singer’s millions of fans would definitely agree with Kutcher’s rave review of Styles, who was just recently honored with a custom banner at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum for his string of 15 sold-out concerts at the venue. One day after Kutcher’s interview was published, the pop star celebrated his 29th birthday.

Kutcher, meanwhile, is gearing up for the Feb. 10 premiere of his and Reese Witherspoon’s new Netflix romcom, Your Place or Mine. He and Kunis also recently returned to their roots and guest-starred on the streaming platform’s ‘70s Show spin-off, That ’90s Show, reprising their respective breakthrough roles of Kelso and Jackie.

Watch Ashton Kutcher talk about the time he unknowingly met Harry Styles at a chance karaoke party above.