Music News

01 Dec 2022

Olivia Rodrigo, Chris Stapleton, Selena Gomez & More Donate Items for ASCAP Foundation Auction

The second annual ASCAP Foundation Silent Auction launched Thursday, Dec. 1, with donations supporting music education and talent development programs throughout the country.

The auction items include an autographed vinyl copy of Olivia Rodrigo‘s album Sour, an autographed collection of Selena Gomez beauty products, dinner with Ashanti, a personalized video from The Chainsmokers, an autographed Fender guitar from Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, a bottle of bourbon signed by Chris Stapleton, a hat signed by Alan Jackson, VIP tickets to a show by DJ Steve Aoki in Las Vegas, and more.

Olivia Rodrigo

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The auction, located at charitybuzz.com, will run through Dec. 16.

“For nearly five decades, The ASCAP Foundation has fulfilled ASCAP’s mission to support aspiring music creators at the most fundamental level, by funding music education and talent development programs in schools and communities across the U.S.,” said Nicole George-Middleton, The ASCAP Foundation Executive Director, via a statement. “We are thrilled to host our silent auction for a second year and hope that music lovers everywhere will join in to support The Foundation and land some one-of-a-kind holiday gifts for their family and friends.”

Other donors include Broadway legend Stephen Schwartz, Shawn Mendes, songwriter and writer advocate Paul Williams, country artists Carly Pearce, Old Dominion and Kelsea Ballerini, actress-author Diane Keaton, NBA champion Kevin Durant, Universal Studios, Nightbird Studios and legendary musician-writer-producer Quincy Jones.

The ASCAP Foundation launched in 1975 and is dedicated to supporting American music creators, through encouraging development via music education, talent development and other programs such as songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, and community outreach programs.

01 Dec 2022

Jake Flint Rep Shuts Down Rumors Around Country Singer’s Cause of Death

Up-and-coming country singer Jake Flint died over the weekend, just hours after getting married.

Following the tragic news, rumors regarding his cause of death started circulating via Instagram on Tuesday that claimed his death was linked to his COVID-19 vaccination record — a claim that Flint’s representative Clif Doyal is now denying.

“I am the official publicist for Jake Flint and his family,” Doyal shared in a statement to E! News on Thursday (Dec. 1). “I can verify from them, and from my own personal knowledge, that Jake Flint’s sudden and tragic death was not related in any way to the COVID-19 vaccine. Pending an official autopsy report there will be no further comment.”

Flint’s cause of death has yet to be revealed, though Doyal did share that the singer died in his sleep on Saturday morning.

Brenda Cline of Route 66 Entertainment, Flint’s manager, was the first to share the news of his death via Facebook: “With a broken heart and in deep grief I must announce that Jake Flint has tragically passed away. I’ve tried several times today to make a post, but you can’t comment on what you can’t process. The photo below is when Jake and I excitedly signed our artist management contract. That was the beginning of a wonderful friendship and partnership. Jake was even more than that to me, I loved him much like a son.”

The country singer’s wife Brenda also shared that she was in mourning, writing, “We should be going through wedding photos but instead I have to pick out clothes to bury my husband in. People aren’t meant to feel this much pain. My heart is gone and I just really need him to come back. I can’t take much more. I need him here.”

01 Dec 2022

Shay Mooney Reveals His Inspiration for Losing More Than 50 Pounds

Singer Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay is looking good and feeling even better. The 30-year-old Arkansas native is down more than 50 pounds on his fitness journey. He stopped by with his bandmate Dan Smyers on the TODAY show on Wednesday (Nov. 30) to perform and discuss what the duo has been up to, and shared his inspiration for losing weight.

The topic came up when TODAY‘s Craig Melvin pointed out the band’s new look, joking that Mooney and Smyers looked like they had “dropped half of Dan and half of Shay.”

Melvin then wanted to know what drove Mooney’s weight loss journey.

“I gotta stand next to this guy all of the time,” the singer began, gesturing to his partner. “I had this moment where I was just not feeling healthy. It wasn’t necessarily for my appearance, but it was to feel healthy. And I’m down about 53 or 54 pounds.”

Melvin complimented Mooney, saying, “Well, you were handsome and sexy before.”

This isn’t the first time Mooney has addressed his weight loss. In October, he took to his Instagram story, telling his followers that he had lost nearly 50 pounds in five months.

“Thank you guys so much for all your kind words about me looking healthy,” he wrote at the time. “Really means a lot. Been a little over 5 months, I believe, and I’m down almost 50lbs.”

But what’s the secret?

Mooney added at the time that he’s been eating clean, not drinking alcohol, and walking 7 miles a day with some weight lifting included. “That’s it!” he concluded. “I completely changed my lifestyle and I’ve never felt better physically, mentally, and spiritually.”

Watch Dan + Shay’s TODAY show interview above.

01 Dec 2022

From Harry Styles to Glass Animals, What’s Your Favorite Top Hot 100 Song of 2022? Vote!

Billboard unveiled our year-end Hot 100 chart on Thursday (Dec. 1), and now that you’ve seen the annual top 10, we want to know: Which top track of 2022 did you love the most?

Glass Animals‘ “Heat Waves” topped the tally for the year, thanks in large part to its historic, slow-burning rise to become the English act’s first No. 1 after a stunning 59-week journey to the summit. The psychedelic pop confection also holds the record for the longest-running Hot 100 hit in history at 91 weeks and became the first year-end No. 1 by a group since the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow” way back in 2009.

The only other track this year that could’ve conceivably challenged Glass Animals’ claim to the throne was Harry Styles‘ “As It Was.” Released as the lead single from the former boy bander’s third solo album Harry’s House, the upbeat ditty snowballed into an inescapable pop behemoth over the summer, eventually spending 15 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1, including a five-week streak from Sept. 3 to Oct. 8, when it was unseated by Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit.”

The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber‘s “Stay,” Adele‘s “Easy on Me” and Ed Sheeran‘s “Shivers” take up the next three spots on the 2022 list, rolling over from being released the previous calendar year. And Biebs earns the distinction as the only artist to notch two separate tracks in this year’s top 10 with his Justice-era single “Ghost” also swooping in at No. 8.

Jack Harlow‘s Fergie-sampling “First Class” flew to No. 1 a few weeks after its early April takeoff and lands at No. 7 at the end of the year as only the third track released in 2022 on the tally. Meanwhile, Kodak Black‘s “Super Gremlin” may have only peaked at No. 3, but it rounds out the top 10 at No. 9 just ahead of Elton John and Dua Lipa‘s “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix)” at No. 10.

Vote for your favorite song on Billboard‘s year-end Hot 100 list below.

01 Dec 2022

From Bad Bunny to Taylor Swift, Which Is Your Favorite Top Billboard 200 Album of 2022? Vote!

It’s officially the last month of 2022, which means it’s time for Billboard‘s end-of-year charts to be revealed. But first, we want to know which top album on the Billboard 200 was your favorite this year!

Twenty-three studio sets may have claimed the top spot on the album-centric chart over the course of 2022, but only 10 made Billboard‘s list of top Billboard 200 albums, including a few major holdovers from last year.

No other artist spent longer at the apex of the all-genre chart in 2022 than Bad Bunny, whose Un Verano Sin Ti seemed practically unstoppable as it returned again and again to the No. 1 spot for a total of 13 non-consecutive weeks, in the process becoming the first Spanish-language album to be named the top Billboard 200 album of the year.

As chart fanatics will of course recall, Taylor Swift posted the best first-week sales in nearly seven years, and was the only artist to pass the million-album mark in a single week with the release of Midnights at the end of October.

However, the superstar also became the only artist to notch not one, but two LPs on the year-end tally thanks to the continued love for Red (Taylor’s Version), which was released in November 2021. (For the record, Midnights comes in at No. 4 with the rerecording of 2012’s Red right behind it at No. 5).

Meanwhile, Harry Styles moves into the No. 7 spot, just behind the soundtrack to Disney’s Encanto, and The Weeknd‘s greatest hits collection The Highlights rounds out the top 10 as the first compilation to make a year-end list since Garth Brooks’ 2014 LP Blame It All On My Roots: Five Decades of Influences.

Other studio sets from the previous year to make the list included Adele‘s gargantuan 30 at No. 2, Morgan Wallen‘s Dangerous: The Double Album at No. 3, Olivia Rodrigo‘s smash debut Sour at No. 8 and Drake‘s Certified Lover Boy, which took its place at No. 9 over his more recent releases Honestly, Nevermind and Her Loss with 21 Savage.

Vote for your favorite top Billboard 200 album of 2022 below.

01 Dec 2022

Twitter Reacts to Kanye West Admitting That He Loves Hitler

Kanye West sent the Internet into shock when he joined alt-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his InfoWars talk show on Thursday (Dec. 1), where he openly admitted that he loves Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

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“Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler. How about that one?” he told Jones, who was noticeably uncomfortable as he tried to tell Ye that he thinks “most Jews are great people.” Jones then told Ye that he has a “bit of a Hitler fetish going on,” to which the rapper replied, “It’s not a fetish. I just like information.”

“I don’t like the word ‘evil’ next to Nazis,” Ye later said, undeterred by Jones’ discomfort. “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.” Later in the interview, Ye reiterated that it’s “time to promote love” by ultimately declaring, “I do love Hitler. I do love the Zionists.”

Following his terrifying remarks, Twitter users expressed their concern and disdain for the comments across the platform — as it’s hardly the first time in recent months that Ye has spread antisemitic hate speech using his platform. Soon enough, “Kanye” was trending on Twitter across the country. See some of the reactions below.

01 Dec 2022

Yung Gravy to Perform on 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards

Yung Gravy will perform his hit “Betty (Get Money)” on the 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards, which will return to a live format at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 4. Yung Gravy’s song, which interpolates Rick Astley’s 1988 smash “Never Gonna Give You Up,” reached No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 in September.

This year’s Streamys will mark the first time the show has livestreamed exclusively on a creator’s channel. Viewers will be able to watch the Streamys on ‘Master of Ceremonies’ Airrack’s YouTube channel at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on YouTube.

Airrack will be joined by creator guests including Cooking with Lynja, Kallmekris, Michelle Khare, RDCWorld and the cheeky boyos. RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Bob the Drag Queen will serve as the show’s live announcer, and MrBeast will make a special video appearance to help kick off the show.

Presenters include Alexa Rivera, Avani Gregg, Blogilates, Brad Mondo, Brandon Rogers, Brent Rivera, Charli D’Amelio, Colin & Samir, Dhar Mann, Enola Bedard, HasanAbi, Howieazy, Ian Boggs, Jarvis Johnson, Jay Shetty, JiDion, Leo González, MissDarcei, Pierson Wodzynski, Quackity, Rhett & Link, SeanDoesMagic, Sheena Melwani & The Real Indian Dad, and Thee BlackBadger.

The 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards, presented by Streamlabs, will also feature the return of Streamys Creator Honors, in which past Streamys winners recognize creators whose work has resonated with them. Creators Jaiden Animations and The Game Theorists will present tributes during this year’s show.

The Creator for Social Good Award will be presented by The Elevate Prize Foundation. The nonprofit organization will award $50,000 to the winner to commit to a worthy cause of their choosing. This year’s Creator for Social Good nominees are Invisible People, MrBallen for the MrBallen Foundation, MrBeast and Mark Rober for #TeamSeas, Ryan Trahan for Feeding America, and The Game Theorists for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

YouTube is also partnering with Benefit Cosmetics’ Game Face program to support and champion female gamers with a Game + Glam Lounge.

The YouTube Streamy Awards registered a YouTube viewership increase of 43% from 2020 to 2021, with the 2021 show garnering more than 9.6 million views.

Now in its 12th year, the Streamys honors excellence in online video and the creators behind it in more than 45 categories. For more information, visit www.streamys.org.

The 2022 YouTube Streamy Awards is produced by dick clark productions and Tubefilter.

01 Dec 2022

Sam Smith & Kim Petras‘ ’Unholy’ Hits No. 1 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay Chart

Sam Smith and Kim Petras parade to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart (dated Dec. 3) with “Unholy.” The song is Smith’s third leader on the list, following “Diamonds” (for a week in December 2020) and “Promises,” with Calvin Harris (two weeks, 2018). Petras scores her first No. 1 on the survey.

“Unholy” drew core-dance airplay, via its Disclosure remix, on Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel, KMVQ-HD2 San Francisco and WZFL (Revolution 93.5) Miami, among other signals, in the Nov. 21-27 tracking week, according to Luminate. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)

Additionally remixed by Acraze, “Unholy” became the first leader for both Smith and Petras on the Oct. 29-dated Billboard Hot 100. Speaking of Acraze – just crowned atop Billboard‘s Top New Dance/Electronic Artists recap for 2022 – “Believe,” featuring Goodboys, debuts on both Dance/Mix Show Airplay (No. 40) and the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (No. 47). It samples Coco Star’s 1996 track “I Need a Miracle,” which was popularized when Fragma sampled it in 2000’s “Toca’s Miracle.”

“Believe” is Acraze’s follow-up to “Do It to It” (featuring Cherish), which hit Nos. 2 and 3 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay and Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, respectively.

Staying with the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, Taylor Swift storms into the top 10 with her current Hot 100 leader “Anti-Hero” (11-7). It’s her ninth top 10 among 17 charted titles, dating to the debut of “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (No. 21 peak, 2012). Swift led with “Wildest Dreams,” remixed by R3HAB, for a week in 2015.

“Anti-Hero” has drawn core-dance support for its Kungs remix on iHeartRadio’s Pride Radio and for its Jayda G remix on SiriusXM’s Diplo’s Revolution. The song, additionally remixed by Roosevelt, ILLENIUM and others, is also collecting airplay on Channel Q.

Additionally on Dance/Mix Show Airplay, Regard reaps his sixth top 10 and Drop G earns his first with “No Love for You” (19-8). Plus, Nicki Minaj notches her 10th top 10 with “Super Freaky Girl” (12-9).

Shifting to the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, The Prodigy returns at No. 13 with its breakthrough The Fat of the Land, following its reissue as a 25th-anniversary double silver vinyl release. The 1997 set previously appeared on the chart, also at No. 13, for a week in 2019; its original release pre-dated the tally’s 2001 inception. The Prodigy has notched five Top Dance/Electronic Albums top 10s, including its 2004 two-week No. 1 Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned.

Land, which includes signature songs “Firestarter” (No. 30 on the Hot 100, 1997), “Smack My Bitch Up” (No. 89 on the Hot 100, 1998) and “Breathe” (No. 18 on Alternative Airplay, 1997), earned 3,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in July 1997.

01 Dec 2022

Holiday Savings: How to Redeem Live Nation’s 2-for-1 Concert Ticket Deal

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Countdown to Christmas! If you haven’t quite settled on the perfect Christmas gift or stocking stuffer, give the gift of live music this holiday season.

Live Nation is currently offering a 2-for-1 deal that lets you purchase two tickets for the price of one. The holiday offer launched on Nov. 17 and ends on Dec. 6.

Tickets marked under “2 for 1 Holiday Ticket Offer” are the only passes eligible for the discount (prices and seating may vary depending on the event and venue). According to the Live Nation website, there’s no official ticket limit, but most venues allow you to purchase up to eight tickets at once.

Live Nation 2 for 1 Holiday Offer

$Prices may vary

You can also find a bunch of 2-for-1 deals on concerts and stage productions such as Moulin Rouge and Dancing With the Stars Live! at Ticketmaster.com.

Dionne Warwick’s show at the City National Grove in Anaheim, Calif., on Dec. 15, Nelly’s show at the Oshkosh Arena in Oshkosh, Wis., and Danny Ocean’s concert at the Aztec Theater in San Antonio, Texas, next February are among the more than 250 events listed under Ticketmaster’s 2-for-1 deal (use code: TMN241 to redeem the offer).

Visit Ticketmaster’s 2-for-1 Holiday Ticket page for a list of participating shows.

Looking for more deals? Save up to 50% off tickets with promo code TMNTX, and if you want to buy at least four tickets at once, check out Ticketmaster’s Me + 3 deal to snag tickets to Ed Sheeran’s tour and hundreds of other concerts at a discount.

01 Dec 2022

‘The Masked Singer’ Winners: Which Mystery Musician Won Each Season?

Fox’s The Masked Singer just wrapped its eighth season, so Billboard is going back through every winning artist who unmasked themselves for the grand reveal.

Hosted by Nick Cannon, the singing competition series premiered on Fox in 2019 as a way for celebrity contestants to perform anonymously in head-to-toe costumes while clues about their real identity are given throughout the competition before they’re unmasked one by one.

Judges-turned-detectives Ken Jeong, Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Nicole Scherzinger and Robin Thicke have used clue after clue to get closer to uncovering who’s hiding behind each mask, but the final reveals always leave their jaws on the floor.

Below is a complete list of which mystery musician unmasked themselves to reveal the winner at the end of each season.