Music News

What’s Your Favorite Harry Styles Music Video? Vote!

Harry Styles transforms into a tentacled, bearded sea creature in a fishy new music video for his latest single “Music for a Sushi Restaurant.”

The Harry’s House visual just might be the heartthrob’s most high-concept narrative yet, as he saves himself from the sushi chef’s knives by showing off his enviable pipes and becoming an amphibious lounge singer before, well, you just have to watch how the story ends.

While you’re contemplating making sushi out of Styles, we’ve been taking a stroll down the memory lane of his videography and want to know: Which of the singer’s solo videos do you love the absolute most?

Styles released only two music videos from his self-titled debut solo album back in 2017: the high-flying “Sign of the Times” and the elementary school food fight of “Kiwi” filled with kids, cupcakes and an adorable pack of puppies.

When it came time to introduce his sophomore album Fine Line, he opted for something more sensual in the touchy-feely nighttime party that played out in the “Lights Up” video. From there, he fell into hilarious, The Shape of Water-style love with a goldfish in “Adore You” and played a flooding piano in “Falling.”

The beachy “Watermelon Sugar” provided the perfect memories of summer for Harries around the world, and he later enlisted Phoebe Waller-Bridge to dance with him through the old-fashioned treatment for “Treat People With Kindness.”

So far, Styles’ most recent album has featured three music videos — that is, if you don’t count the one he made for just $300 on The Late Late Show With James Corden for album cut “Daylight.” Do you prefer the giant turntable of No. 1 hit “As It Was” or the magical pillow fort of “Late Night Talking”? Or perhaps you’re a fan of Harry as a sea monster with a golden voice.

Vote for your favorite Harry Styles music video in Billboard‘s poll below!

Motley Crue Guitarist Mick Mars Is Retiring From the Band

After four decades of debauchery, Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars is retiring from the band.

“While change is never easy, we accept Mick’s decision to retire from the band due to the challenges with his health. We have watched Mick manage his Ankylosing Spondylitis for decades and he has always managed it with utmost courage and grace,” Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx said in a joint statement shared with Billboard on Thursday (Oct. 27).

“To say ‘enough is enough’ is the ultimate act of courage. Mick’s sound helped define Mötley Crüe from the minute he plugged in his guitar at our very first rehearsal together,” they continued. “The rest, as they say, is history. We’ll continue to honor his musical legacy.”

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The band noted that per Mars’ wish, Mötley Crüe will continue on with its planned 2023 world tour, and revealed who would be filling in as guitarist. “No doubt will it take an absolutely outstanding musician to fill Mick’s shoes so we are grateful that our good friend John 5 has agreed to come on board and join us moving forward. We’ll see all you Crüeheads out on the road!”

The 71-year-old rocker had said he will continue to be a member of the group, but cannot go on the road anymore due to a lifelong battle with a painful degenerative spinal condition.

The news of his retirement was first reported by Variety on Wednesday (Oct. 26), which quoted a statement from an unnamed Crüe representative. “Mick Mars, co-founder and lead guitarist of the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe for the past 41 years, has announced today that due to his ongoing painful struggle with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.), he will no longer be able to tour with the band,” the rep explained. “Mick will continue as a member of the band, but can no longer handle the rigors of the road.  A.S. is an extremely painful and crippling degenerative disease, which affects the spine.”

The news of his retirement comes just a few days after the metal legends announced the latest leg of their co-headlining tour with Def Leppard, which will run through Latin America and Europe from February to July of 2023.

After announcing a farewell tour in 2014 — which included the band signing a binding pledge that they would not hit the road again — the Crüe hit the road again for a massive stadium tour this summer. That outing with Leppard, Joan Jett and Poison sold 1.3 million tickets and earned $173.5 million after being delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next tour kicks off on Feb. 18 with a show in Mexico City, and is slated to run through a July 16 gig in Glasgow, Scotland.

Mars (born Robert Deal), described his painful struggles with A.S. in the band’s 2001 biography, The Dirt, writing, “My hips started hurting so bad every time I turned my body that it felt like someone was igniting fireworks in my bones. I didn’t have enough money to see a doctor, so I just kept hoping that I could do what I usually do: will it away, through the power of my mind. But it kept getting worse.”

The guitarist wrote of having trouble breathing and intense stomach pain that made it feel like “my whole body was about to fall apart.”

Katy Nichole & Big Daddy Weave Crown Christian Airplay With ‘God Is in This Story’

Katy Nichole and Big Daddy Weave‘s “God Is in This Story” ascends to No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian Airplay chart dated Oct. 29.

In the tracking week ending Oct. 23, the collaboration gained by 1% to 7.2 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.

The song, which the 22-year-old Nichole, from Mesa, Ariz., co-wrote with Ethan Hulse and Jeff Pardo, is from her forthcoming first full-length.

It marks the second straight career-opening leader on the list for Nichole and the seventh No. 1 for Big Daddy Weave.

Nichole follows her rookie hit “In Jesus Name (God of Possible),” which dominated Christian Airplay for nine weeks beginning in April. She becomes the second solo woman to lead with her first two entries, after Anne Wilson led for six weeks beginning in August 2021 with her debut hit “My Jesus” and followed with “I Still Believe in Christmas,” which led for a week in the 2021-22 holiday season.

Big Daddy Weave tops Christian Airplay for the first time since “I Know” reigned for three weeks in April-May 2020. Its latest leader is also its milestone 20th top 10, and first since “All Things New” peaked at No. 9 in September 2021.

With seven No. 1s, Big Daddy Weave ties Third Day for eighth place among all acts for the most since Christian Airplay began in 2003. MercyMe leads with 17.

“God Is in This Story” concurrently leads the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs chart for a third week, after it first topped the Oct. 15-dated ranking.

Franklin Ties Record as ‘Kingdom’ Reigns

Maverick City Music and Kirk Franklin’s “Kingdom,” featuring Naomi Raine and Chandler Moore, reaches the Gospel Airplay summit. The song increased by 3% in plays in the tracking week.

Maverick City Music, Raine and Moore each earn their second leader on the list, after the triumvirate led with “Jireh” for two weeks beginning in March.

Meanwhile, Franklin achieves his record-tying ninth Gospel Airplay No. 1, and first since “Strong God” ruled for two weeks in December 2020. He matches Tamela Mann for the most leaders since the chart launched in March 2005. (James Fortune & FIYA follow with eight No. 1s.)

Franklin began his run of leaders with “Looking for You,” which dominated for 18 weeks starting in November 2005.

Finneas Reveals He Is Recovering From Surgery After Severe Electric Bike Accident: ‘I’m Feeling Great’

Finneas took to Instagram on Thursday (Oct. 27) to share the details of a scary accident last week that led to a serious injury and surgery.

“Last Friday, I had the pleasure of crashing my electric bike, flying over the handlebars and absolutely demolishing my collarbone as well as sustaining a radial head fracture to my right elbow,” he wrote alongside a photo of his X-ray, in which you can see clear breaks in his bones. “The severity of the displacement of my collarbone meant I required surgery which I am now on the other side of and I’m feeling great!”

The Grammy winning artist went on to thank the doctors and professionals at the hospital who helped him, as well as his family and longtime girlfriend Claudia Sulewski for their care and support.

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Finneas added that “with hard work,” he will recover enough to be able to take the stage with his sister Billie Eilish for her upcoming “Hometown Encore” shows in Los Angeles on December 13, 15 and 16. The concerts at the Kia Forum will serve as a celebration of Eilish’s successful global tour in support of her Billboard 200 chart-topping album, Happier Than Ever.

“As foolish as I felt after the fall, my prevailing emotion is gratitude. You see, I was not wearing a helmet,” the 25-year-old star concluded his message. “Lesson forever learned. I feel so lucky to still be here. Take care of yourselves, thank your bodies for all that they do for you.”

Read his post in full below.

Music Journalism on Dolly Parton, Woody Guthrie & More Wins at 2022 ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards

The winners of the 53rd annual ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards for outstanding print, broadcast, liner notes, new media and radio coverage of music cover a wide range of musical subjects, from legends such as Dolly Parton and Billie Holiday to less-celebrated figures such as soul and blues singer Denise LaSalle and jazz pianists Hasaan Ibn Ali and Mary Lou Williams.

These awards were established in 1967 to honor the memory of composer, critic and commentator Deems Taylor, who had died the previous year after a distinguished career that included six years as president of ASCAP.

In 2021, the competition opened to articles and liner notes published in 2020. For this year’s 2022 Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award program, books published in 2020 and books, articles and liner notes published in 2021 were accepted.

Nora Guthrie and Robert Santelli were among the winners for their book Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art * Words and Wisdom, published by Chronicle Books. Nora Guthrie is Woody Guthrie’s daughter. Santelli is a noted Guthrie authority. She won a Grammy 15 years ago for best historical album as a compilation producer of The Live Wire — Woody Guthrie in Performance 1949. He received a Grammy nomination 10 years ago in that same category as a compilation producer of Woody at 100: The Woody Guthrie Centennial Collection.

Here are the winners in various categories:

Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards in pop music for titles published in 2020:

  • Lydia Hamessley, Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton, University of Illinois Press (2020)
  • Denise LaSalle with David Whiteis, Always the Queen: The Denise LaSalle Story, University of Illinois Press (2020)
  • A special recognition award goes to Ashley Kahn for George Harrison on George Harrison: Interviews and Encounters, Chicago Review Press (2020)

Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards in the concert music field for titles published in 2020:

  • Music by Max Steiner, The Epic Life of Hollywood’s Most Influential Composer, Steven C. Smith, Oxford University Press (2020)
  • Sonic Overload: Alfred Schnittke, Valentin Silvestrov, and Polystylism in the Late USSR, by Peter Schmelz, Oxford University Press (2020)

Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for an article in the pop music field:

  • Jon Ross for “Marion Brown’s Musical Portrait of Georgia,” published in The Bitter Southerner.

Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Award for an article in the concert music field:

  • Rita Pyrillis for “Native Sounds,” published by Symphony.

Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism in the pop music field:

  • Lewis Porter for “The United States vs. Billie Holiday vs. the Truth,” published in JazzTimes.

Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism in the concert music field:

  • Nancy Malitz for her Symphony article, “Musicians in the Spotlight.”

Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards in pop:

  • Nora Guthrie and Robert Santelli for Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art * Words and Wisdom, published by Chronicle Books
  • Deanna Witkowski for Mary Lou Williams: Music for the Soul, published by Liturgical Press
  • A special recognition award goes to David Hajdu and John Carey for A Revolution in Three Acts: The Radical Vaudeville of Bert Williams, Eva Tanguay, and Julian Eltinge, published by Columbia University Press

Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Awards in the concert field:

  • Bryan Simms and Charlotte Erwin for Berg, published by Oxford University Press
  • Joseph Horowitz’ Dvořák’s Prophecy: and the Vexed Fate of Black Classical Music, published by W. W. Norton & Company

ASCAP Foundation Paul Williams “Loved the Liner Notes” Award in pop music:

  • Alan Sukoenig for Retrospect in Retirement of Delay: The Solo Recordings by Hasaan Ibn Ali on Omnivore Recordings.

(This award was established in 2016 and is funded by Paul Williams, president of The ASCAP Foundation.)

A special recognition award is given to Ted Olson for Doc Watson’s– Life’s Work: A Retrospective on Craft Recordings.

Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Broadcast/Media Award in concert music:

  • The Houston Symphony streaming concerts, for their creative ensembles during the lockdowns and the uninterrupted continuation of their programming.

Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Broadcast/Media Award in pop music:

  • Toward Castle Films’ The Songpoet (Paul Lamont, producer/director and Scott Sackett, producer), a biographical documentary on Eric Andersen, a singer-songwriter in the vanguard of the folk music scene in the ’60s whose career continues to the present day.

The ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards are made possible by the generous support of the Virgil Thomson Foundation. Virgil Thomson (1896 – 1989) was a top American composer and critic of the 20th century, and a former member of the ASCAP board of directors. 

The ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards judging panel is comprised of ASCAP members Stella Sung, Paul Moravec, (2020/21 concert), Terry Radigan and Dom Flemons, (2021 pop), Julie Flanders and David Massengill (2020 pop). Former ASCAP executive Jim Steinblatt provided professional guidance and advice.

Founded in 1975, The ASCAP Foundation is a charitable organization dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. This encompasses songwriting workshops, grants, scholarships, awards, recognition and community outreach programs for songwriters, composers and lyricists.

The purpose of the Virgil Thomson Foundation is to further and promote the performance, preservation, dissemination and public appreciation of serious music in general and the music and writings of Virgil Thomson in particular.

More information about The ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards is available here.

Steve Lacy to Make ‘Saturday Night Live’ Debut as Musical Guest

Steve Lacy is coming to Saturday Night Live, bad habits and all. As announced Thursday (Oct. 27), the 24-year-old singer-songwriter will make his debut on the show when he performs as the musical guest during the Nov. 5 show, which will be hosted by Amy Schumer.

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Lacy, who’s currently embarked on his Give You the World Tour, posted the news to his Instagram — but revealed that it comes with a slight downside. “Good news is..swipe right..,” he wrote, prompting fans to swipe to view a photo of SNL‘s announcement of his performance date. “Bad news is.. i have to move some shows around for me to do it ? more information soon sorry in advance luv u.” 

“APOLOGIES TO THE WEST COAST,” he then wrote on Instagram stories. “WE NEED TO MOVE SD, SF, OAK, BC, SEA, PDX TO MAKE IT TO SNL. WE R STILL GONNA DO THE SHOWS JUST A NEW DATE!! STAY TUNED.”

The musician is fresh off a major career high: earning his first ever No. 1. Nearly three months after his second solo album Gemini Rights was released in July, one of its singles, “Bad Habit,” ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in early October, where it remained for three weeks until being usurped by Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy.”

The “Dark Red” singer’s SNL debut will come the week after Jack Harlow takes on double duty this Saturday (Oct. 29), serving as both the night’s host and musical guest. The last artist to grace the 30 Rockefeller set was Megan Thee Stallion, who also did double duty during her appearance Oct. 15 before the show took a week off.

See the announcement for Steve Lacy’s SNL debut below:

Kourtney Kardashian Says She Was ‘Blackout’ Drunk During Vegas Wedding, Threw Up After

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas — mostly because Kourtney Kardashian can’t remember most of it.

The Poosh founder opened up about her unofficial wedding to Travis Barker in Las Vegas on the newest episode of Hulu‘s The Kardashians, explaining that she had a bit too much to drink.

“I blacked out,” Kourtney tells her friend, Simon Huck in the show, later explaining to the camera, “I didn’t even remember Elvis, like, sang to me walking down the aisle. I didn’t remember I had a bouquet.” 

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The Elvis impersonator also had the reality TV star in a fit of laugher after he couldn’t get her name right, and kept calling her by her sister Khloe’s name. “When Elvis was marrying us, he was like, ‘I, Khloe, take thee, Travis,’ and I just lost my mind, fell straight on the floor, and we couldn’t get up,” she recalls.

While the wedding seemed like a blast, the later part of the evening took a bit of a turn. “I did throw up after, though, and took my top off and unbuttoned my pants,” Kourtney shares. “I had to walk back through the hotel with a million people taking my photo. I was a hot slob kabob.” 

Barker and Kardashian tied the knot earlier this year in an elaborate ceremony in Italy on May 22, 2022, after the unofficial Las Vegas ceremony without a marriage license and their legal marriage in a small ceremony in Santa Barbara, Calif. The over-the-top nuptials were dripping in the couple’s favorite gothic glam aesthetic, with the bride and groom both rocking looks by Dolce & Gabbana on their big day.

Watch the full episode of The Kardashians on Hulu here.

Here’s Why Gwen Stefani Feels ‘Sorry’ for ‘The Voice‘ Fans Amid Blake Shelton’s Departure

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton have been bringing laughter, mentorship and hearty competition to season 22 of The Voice, but the husband and wife duo will go their separate ways — as coaches, not spouses — for the show’s next season. Shelton announced his departure from the long-running NBC singing competition earlier this month, which Stefani revealed on Thursday (Oct. 27) makes her feel sad for fans of the show.

“He’s brought so much joy. He’s so talented,” the “Hollaback Girl” singer told Entertainment Tonight. “I know people just wait around to laugh and watch him on TV, so I feel sorry for everybody [that] he’s gonna be gone.”

“It’s so weird Blake Shelton is leaving The Voice. I wasn’t ready, you know what I mean? I have to figure out who this new Blake’s gonna be,” she added. “I’m just so proud of him.”

Speaking with Extra, Stefani explained that she was initially nervous to be working alongside her husband, as season 22 marks her first time working alongside Shelton on The Voice since they married and after a hiatus from the show.

“I was nervous because I hadn’t been on for a few seasons and I hadn’t been on since we were married, and it is different … It’s like, ‘OK, wait, how are we gonna act?’” Stefani admitted. But once the pair was on set together, her nerves faded away.

She added, “It was like nothing … Blake, he would look so handsome because he’s all made up … It was like a flow of, like, memories from meeting him on ‘The Voice’… It was just super natural.”

Watch Stefani talk about Shelton and The Voice below.

‘Good’ Job: David Guetta & Bebe Rexha Hit No. 1 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay Chart

David Guetta and Bebe Rexha ascend to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart (dated Oct. 29) with “I’m Good (Blue).” Guetta gets his record-tying 12th No. 1, matching Calvin Harris and Rihanna for the most dating to the chart’s August 2003 inception. Rexha achieves her first leader on the list.

“Good” is scoring core-dance airplay on KMVQ-HD2 San Francisco, SiriusXM’s BPM and KNHC (C89.5) Seattle, among other stations. (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.)

Here’s a look at Guetta’s dozen dominations on Dance/Mix Show Airplay:

Title, Artists, Year (weeks at No. 1, if more than one)

  • “The World Is Mine,” feat. JD Davis, 2007 (two)
  • “Love Is Gone,” with Chris Willis, 2007
  • “When Love Takes Over,” feat. Kelly Rowland, 2009 (nine)
  • “Sexy Chick,” featuring Akon, 2009 (six)
  • “Gettin’ Over You,” with Chris Willis, feat. Fergie & LMFAO, 2010 (two)
  • “Without You,” feat. Usher, 2011 (two)
  • “Turn Me On,” feat. Nicki Minaj, 2012 (three)
  • “Stay (Don’t Go Away),” feat. RAYE, 2019
  • “Let’s Love,” with SIA, 2020
  • “Bed,” with Joel Corry x RAYE, 2021 (three)
  • “Heartbreak Anthem,” with Galantis & Little Mix, 2021
  • “I’m Good (Blue),” with Bebe Rexha, 2022

“Good,” which interpolates Eiffel 65’s classic “Blue (Da Ba Dee),” a No. 6 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 2000, also leads the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (for a fifth week), Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (sixth) and Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (also sixth). “Good” garnered 26.8 million all-format radio airplay audience impressions, 11.5 million official streams, and 7,000 downloads sold in the U.S. Oct. 14-20, according to Luminate.

The song concurrently pushes to a new No. 13 Hot 100 high. On Pop Airplay, its hits the top 10 (11-10), becoming Guetta’s seventh top 10 (and first since 2015) and Rexha’s fifth (and first since 2018).

Speaking of the Hot 100, the chart’s new No. 1, Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy,” surges to the Dance/Mix Show Airplay top 10 (22-10). Smith’s seventh top 10 and Petras’ second, the collab is drawing significant core-dance airplay on SiriusXM’s Diplo’s Revolution, among other outlets, thanks to Disclosure’s remix.

“Unholy” is only the third song to reach the Dance/Mix Show Airplay top 10 in just two frames this year, joining Diplo and Miguel’s “Don’t Forget My Love” (12-3, in March) and Drake’s “Massive” (17-9, July).

On the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz’s “Miss You” also rises in its second week (10-7), earning top Streaming Gainer honors. The track, whose profile has been boosted by TikTok, tallied 5.1 million streams, up 174%. Concurrently, “Miss” lifts 5-4 on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs, marking Oliver Tree’s first top 10 and Schulz’s third.

Further on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Farruko flies in with “Viaje,” the chart’s leading debut (No. 23). Starting with 942,000 streams, his latest Latin-EDM crossover follows three consecutive top 10s (which upped his career total to four): “Nazareno” (No. 7, this June); “El Incomprendido,” with Victor Cardenas and DJ Adoni (No. 4, October 2021); and “Pepas” (No. 1 for nine weeks, beginning in August 2021).

Plus, Tove Lo and SG Lewis team on two Hot Dance/Electronic Songs debuts: “Call On Me” ( No. 27) and “Pineapple Slice” (No. 48). Tove Lo’s 10thand 11th appearances and Lewis’ 11th and 12th, the former starts with 836,000 streams and the latter with 484,000. Both cuts are from Tove Lo’s Dirt Femme, which debuts on Independent Albums (No. 24) and the Billboard 200 (No. 153), among other surveys.

Beach Weather Rides TikTok Virality to No. 1 on Alternative Airplay Chart

Beach Weather‘s “Sex, Drugs, Etc.” was originally released in 2016, and now it’s No. 1 on Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart dated Oct. 29, 2022.

The track scored TikTok virality beginning earlier this year, leading to its servicing to radio and eventual chart run.

“Sex” is Beach Weather’s first Alternative Airplay No. 1, in the Massachusetts band’s first trip to the chart. The act is the second to rule with an initial entry in 2022, following BoyWithUke, whose “Toxic” led for a week in July. Like “Sex,” “Toxic” also went viral on TikTok.

“We never thought ‘Sex, Drugs, Etc.’ would be the song people gravitate to,” Beach Weather frontman Nick Santino, from Braintree, Mass., said in a release. “I can relate to the meaning of it personally. It’s about having anxiety. I don’t really go out. I’m not a big party guy. I’m the opposite; I’m a homebody. It’s amazing to see a lot of listeners identify with it.”

Concurrently, “Sex” bullets at its No. 6 high on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 3 million audience impressions, up 6%, according to Luminate.

While it initially appeared on Alternative Airplay in August, “Sex” debuted on the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart in July at No. 43; it’s since risen to No. 17, where it spends a second frame on the latest list. In addition to its radio airplay, the song drew 3.8 million official U.S. streams in the Oct. 14-20 tracking week, up 2%. The song also ranks at its highs of No. 12 on Hot Alternative Songs and at No. 15 on Hot Rock Songs.

“Sex” was first released on Beach Weather’s 2016 six-song collection Chit Chat. The band had not since released new material until this August, when it premiered the song “Unlovable.”