Music News

20 Oct 2022

Halsey Says Gwen Stefani ‘Has Always Been a Huge Inspiration’ for Her Music

Halsey premiered her new Amp radio show Halsey: For the Record this week, and during the debut episode, they opened up about looking up to Gwen Stefani.

“Gwen is definitely one of those artists,” the “I Am Not a Woman, I Am a God” singer said. “When people ask me who inspires my music…Gwen has always been a huge inspiration for me from like wearing white tank tops onstage and low-rise pants to wearing my hair in space buns, to doing my own makeup, because Gwen used to and still does. I think she has a cosmetic company as well. Shout-out Gwen.

“Every night before I go onstage, I watch Tragic Kingdom Live at the Forum,” Halsey continued. “That’s another way that she inspired me – let’s be honest here. [No Doubt‘s] record is called Tragic Kingdom, mine was called Hopeless Fountain Kingdom … those little breadcrumb trails are kind of all over the place.”

No Doubt’s “Spiderwebs” (from Tragic Kingdom) was on the playlist for the first episode, as were PJ Harvey’s “Down by the Water,” BOA’s “Duvet” and Halsey’s own “You Asked for This.”

Stefani and her bandmates dropped their smash third album in October 1995, while Halsey’s sophomore LP was released in November 2017 — though both studio sets served as each artist’s very first (and so far only) No. 1 on the Billboard 200 of their respective careers. (Stefani would go on to score another chart-topper as a solo artist thanks to 2016’s This Is What the Truth Feels Like.)

Back in August, Halsey took part in the viral “Teenage Dirtbag” trend that swept through TikTok. Meanwhile, Stefani is currently battling it out on her sixth season as a coach on The Voice.

Listen to Halsey’s radio show on Amazon’s live radio app here.

20 Oct 2022

Post Malone Twists Ankle Onstage in Atlanta

Post Malone suffered another onstage injury this week while performing at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia — this time, twisting his ankle while performing “Psycho.”

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In a video shared to TikTok, the artist is seen tripping, but catching himself before falling down. He tries to continue performing, but soon begins limping and gets down to his knees to finish the song.

In another video posted to Twitter, Malone addressed the situation. “Tell you what, there’s little holes in the middle of the stage where fire comes out, which is pretty f—ing badass,” he says in the clip. “I just twisted up my ankle a little bit over on that hole there.”

Last month, Posty took a nasty spill during a show in St. Louis on Sept. 17, when he accidentally fell into an open trap door on the stage while performing his Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Circles.”

The singer added that he was taken to the hospital and given a clean bill of health, with manager Dre London later revealing that, luckily, the rapper didn’t break anything, bud did suffer bruised ribs. “They gave me some pain meds and everything, so we can keep kicking ass on the tour,” he said. Malone was strutting down an extended ramp when he accidentally stepped into an uncovered hole that was used to lower his guitar in the incident. After crashing hard onto the stage floor, he clutched his ribcage in immense pain before calling for medical assistance. After leaving the stage for about 15 minutes, the singer returned and thanked the audience for their patience. 

20 Oct 2022

Rosa Linn Makes Hitting No. 1 a ‘Snap’ on Adult Alternative Airplay Chart

TikTok standout and Eurovision entry “Snap” becomes Rosa Linn‘s first No. 1 on a Billboard chart, ascending to the top of the Adult Alternative Airplay tally dated Oct. 22.

The song was initially released as the Armenian entry for the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest and subsequently went viral on TikTok.

“Snap” is one of a trio of songs in the Adult Alternative Airplay top 10 to score significant buzz on TikTok, alongside Steve Lacy‘s “Bad Habit” at No. 7 and Noah Kahan‘s “Stick Season” at No. 10.

Meanwhile, Linn is the first act to reign with a first charted song on Adult Alternative Airplay since Mitski, whose “The Only Heartbreaker” led in March.

“I grew up listening to good music,” Linn told SiriusXM’s Billboard Live on Oct. 18. “My mom loves jazz and my dad is a Beatles fan … Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, everything. That kind of made me different than kids my age. Growing up with that music made me realize that I love what I listen to, and I want to be a part of it.”

Concurrently, “Snap” bullets at No. 29 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, after reaching No. 25 earlier in October, with 1.3 million audience impressions, up 3%, according to Luminate. The song also ranks at No. 35, after hitting No. 31, on Alternative Airplay.

On the multimetric, all-genre Billboard Hot 100, “Snap” jumps to a new No. 82 high. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 4.5 million official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads in the tracking week ending Oct. 13. It also places at Nos. 24 and 25, respectively, on Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay.

“Snap” continues to score worldwide support, ranking at Nos. 16 and 20 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, respectively.

20 Oct 2022

311’s Nick Hexum, Chad Sexton on Status of Band, Recent Tours: ‘Behind the Setlist’ Podcast

“We went through a bit of a rough time,” 311 singer and guitarist Nick Hexum tells Billboard‘s Behind the Setlist podcast when asked about the band’s status following comments made online by bass player Aaron “P-Nut” Wills.

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In May, founding member P-Nut ignited speculation about his future with the band after saying on Twitter he was “planning on taking a break from the band after I fulfill my obligations,” which extended to 2023 “and slightly beyond.” Five months later, however, the band is on stable ground, says Hexum.

The band members have had “some really good conversations lately about getting getting back on track,” Hexum shares. “And you know, we’re looking forward to the future. Again, I think breaks are healthy, and we have had a fairly intense touring schedule” that has included 62 concerts so far in 2022 and continues with dates in Chicago (Oct. 22 and 23) and Los Angeles (Nov. 11 and 12) before heading south to Slightly Stoopid’s Closer to the Sun festival in Mexico in early December. “Everything feels pretty well on track,” says Hexum. “And we’ve we’ve had some really good talks and discussions lately. We’re excited about the next chapter — P-Nut included.”

This year, 311 made a concerted effort to include secondary markets in the middle of the U.S. as the band returned to the road after two years slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Being from the middle of the country, we’re also in the middle of a lot of different styles,” shares Hexum. “We don’t want to be like elitist in any way, you know what I mean? We want to make it known that everyone’s welcome in our community. And so it was nice to show some love for the smaller towns that we have probably just been neglecting out of, you know, being being pulled to the bigger cities.”

311’s spring and fall tours took them to such cities as Fargo, N.D.; Bozeman and Missoula, Mont.; Green Bay and Superior, Wis.; Garden City, Idaho; Tulsa, Okla.; and Wichita, Kan. “Personally, it’s been a fun year to get to go to play, like, Missoula,” says Hexum. “Who knew that we had a good amount of fans there?”

This fall, 311 is streaming six concerts that each highlights a different album. Fans can purchase livestreams of the album sets and upgrade to bundles that include limited-edition merchandise such as T-shirts, autographed posters and animated NFTs. The band’s two performances at Terminal 5 in New York City on Oct. 1 and 2 featured 1993’s Music and 1994’s’s Grassroots. 311 will perform its breakthrough, self-titled album from 1995 and the successful follow-up, 1997’s Transistor, in Chicago on Oct. 22 and 23, respectively. As the tour continues west, shows in Los Angeles on Nov. 11 and 12 will perform Soundsystem from 1999 and From Chaos from 2001. 

Listen to the entire interview with 311’s Nick Hexum and drummer Chad Sexton at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Amazon Music, Stitcher or Audible.

20 Oct 2022

Which of Taylor Swift’s ‘Midnights’ Lyric Reveals Is Your Favorite So Far?

Swifties, Midnights release day is almost here!

Taylor Swift is unveiling her 10th studio album on Friday (Oct. 21), and leading up to the release, the pop star teamed up with Spotify to plant mysterious electronic billboards in five cities around the world, each of them programmed to display a singular line from an unnamed song on Midnights at the stroke of midnight local time.

From New York and Nashville to Mexico City and London, we want to know which of the Midnights lyric reveals is your favorite. Let us know by voting below.

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20 Oct 2022

Quavo & Takeoff’s ‘Links’ Launches at No. 1 on Top Rap Albums Chart

Quavo and Takeoff’s collaborative album, Built for Infinity Links, yields a No. 1 debut on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart as the project starts atop the list dated Oct. 22. Links earned 33,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Oct. 13, according to Luminate.

Streaming fuels the album’s entrance, with 30,500 of the 33,000 units deriving from the consumption method. The 30,500 streaming-equivalent album units equal 41.1 million official on-demand streams of Links’ songs in the tracking week. Two thousand of the remaining units come from traditional album sales, with the outstanding 500 balance owed to track-equivalent album units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)

Elsewhere, Links debuts at No. 3 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at No. 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

The new champ gives Quavo his second solo chart-topper, after Quavo Huncho ruled for one week upon its debut in October 2018. Takeoff, meanwhile, achieves his first leader, after a prior No. 2 best for his The Last Rocket in November 2018. The pair has also visited the summit as two-thirds of the trio Migos, whose Culture and Culture II led the list in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The group’s future is uncertain – Quavo and Takeoff have said Migos is on an indefinite hiatus, while the trio’s third member, Offset, has announced a solo album for release on Nov. 11.

As Links arrives, three of its tracks debut on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart: “To the Bone,” with YoungBoy Never Broke Again (No. 24), “Nothing Changed” (No. 44) and “Chocolate,” with Gunna (No. 48). “Bone” leads the album’s songs in streaming, with 5.8 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Oct. 13.

In addition, the previously released Links lead single, “Hotel Lobby (Unc & Phew),” rallies 37-19 from the album release’s impact. The track returns to its highest rank since the July 5-dated list (also at No. 19). The track’s 50% surge in streams to reach 5.6 million in the week and 356% swell in sales to 1,000 downloads secure it both the chart’s Streaming Gainer and Digital Gainer callouts.

20 Oct 2022

Kelly Clarkson Jumps Into a Third Eye Blind Hit for Spirit Day

Kelly Clarkson performed Third Eye Blind‘s “Jumper” for her latest Kellyoke number on The Kelly Clarkson Show Thursday (Oct. 20), and it was all for a very special reason.

“Wish you would step back from that ledge my friend/ You could cut ties with all the lies/ That you’ve been living in/ And if you do not want to see me again/ I would understand/ I would understand,” she belted out, playing with the alt-rock classic’s iconic melody while her backing guitarist sang along.

After welcoming the audience to the show, the American Idol winner gave some context for the song’s cryptic lyrics. “The song was tragically inspired by the death of a gay teenager who was bullied. It’s been celebrated for its message of support for the LGBTQ+ community, which is why we chose it for today. Because today is Spirit Day!” she explained. “So my band, me and everyone in our audience is wearing purple in recognition. Spirit Day was created to show support for LGBTQ+ youth and speak out against bullying.”

The song, from the band’s eponymous debut album, peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1999.

During the show, Clarkson invited Margaret Cho to highlight some of her own LGBTQ+ role models — such as Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova — and had a Utah mom share a powerful message about accepting your LGBTQ+ child when he or she comes out.

Other Kellyoke tracks performed by the talk-show host in recent episodes include Jackson Dean’s “Don’t Come Lookin’,” “What a Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston’s “Queen of the Night” and Loretta Lynn’s “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’” with special guest Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Watch Clarkson power through Third Eye Blind’s “Jumper” below.

20 Oct 2022

Macklemore Talks ‘Can’t Hold Us’ Going Double Diamond: ‘Can I Flex?’

This month marks the 10-year history since the release of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis‘ groundbreaking debut album The Heist, but also sees their hit single “Can’t Hold Us” reaching double diamond status by the RIAA.

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The achievement marks their second diamond single from the same album, which only 19 other acts having accomplished the feat in RIAA history. The duo’s 2015 track “Thrift Shop,” featuring Wanz, also has a diamond certification. The awards is given to songs and albums with 10 million sales and streaming equivalents earned.

“It’s amazing. Not everyone has it. I believe only 20 people have it in history. Is that right? Can I flex?” Macklemore recently told Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly of the feat. “It is an amazing accomplishment. The crazy thing is we played those records for record labels, and dudes were like, ‘Yeah, it’s cool. I don’t hear it on the radio, though.’ And here we are with two diamond singles.”

“To land two RIAA Diamond singles is no easy feat – it’s a testament to the incredible artists that Ben and Ryan are and to what’s possible through the power of a true partnership, Cat Kreidich, president of ADA, said in a press statement. “ADA is proud to have been by their side from the very beginning and I know I speak for everyone when I say we’re thrilled for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on this much-deserved milestone.”

Macklemore dropped his first single of 2022 in July, “Chant” featuring Tones and I. His new song, “Faithful,” drops on Friday (Oct. 28).

20 Oct 2022

Zach Bryan Shares His Favorite Taylor Swift Song — and the One His Girlfriend Makes Him Sing for Her

Zach Bryan‘s songs have dotted the Billboard country charts over the past year, but he recently revealed he’s also a fan of another singer-songwriter with strong country ties: Taylor Swift.

Bryan recently shared his enthusiasm for Swift’s upcoming album Midnights, which releases Friday, Oct. 21.

“miss swift what are the vibes at midnight good morning everybody and happy almost sweekend, get in we’re going crying,” Bryan tweeted Thursday (Oct. 21). That message prompted one of his followers to ask the singer about his favorite Swift songs.

“‘August,’ for sure,” Bryan responded, referring to a track from Swift’s 2020 album Folklore. He also noted that his girlfriend asks him to cover Swift’s 2006 debut single, “Tim McGraw.”

Like Swift herself, who released albums Folklore and Evermore in 2020, followed by last year’s re-recordings of her previous albums Fearless and Red, Oklahoma native and Navy veteran Bryan has also proven himself a prolific writer.

In May, Bryan’s Warner Records debut album American Heartbreak debuted at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart and at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, while his song “Something in the Orange” has been certified platinum by the RIAA, and is at No. 44 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart).

In July, Bryan followed American Heartbreak with the release of the nine-song EP Summertime Blues, which debuted at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, as well as at No. 2 on the Top Americana/Folk Albums chart.

Leading up to the release of Midnights, Swift has teased song titles (including “Mastermind,” “Anti-Hero,” and “You’re on Your Own, Kid,” as well as “Snow on the Beach,” a collaboration with Lana Del Rey), lyrics (via a series of Spotify billboards that have popped up in cities around the world), and inspirations for the album.

See Bryan’s tweets about his favorite Taylor Swift song below.

20 Oct 2022

Here’s the Gerard Pique Reference You May Have Missed in Shakira‘s ‘Monotonia’ Video

Shakira has dropped her new single “Monotonía” in collaboration with Ozuna, in which she opens up about the rupture of what seemed to be a perfect relationship.

“It wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t my fault/ It was monotony’s fault/ I never said anything but it hurt/ I knew this would happen,” she chants. 

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Though the song — which marks Shakira’s first single post-breakup with longtime partner and soccer star Gerard Piqué — reveals a very heartbroken singer, the music video also references her ex. 

In the first minute of the emotionally charged clip — co-directed by the Colombian star and designer Jaume de la Iguana — a teary-eyed Shakira has an encounter with a man in a grocery store where he blows up her chest and her heart is ejected from her body. 

Fans on social media were quick to discover that the man in the video is wearing a white hoodie and gray joggers similar to one of the outfits Piqué wore for Shakira’s 2017 video “Me Enamoré,” in which the couple is seen enjoying the puppy-love stage of their romance, and furthermore implying that the man who shoots at Shakira in the new “Monotonía” clip is meant to represent Piqué.

In June, the former couple announced their split. “We regret to confirm that we are separating,” the two said in a joint statement released by Shakira’s public relations firm. “For the well-being of our children, who are our highest priority, we ask that you respect our privacy. Thank you for your understanding.”

Shakira, 45, met the Barcelona defender while she was promoting her 2010 World Cup anthem, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa).” The couple share two children, Sasha and Milan.

“Monotonía” follows the singer-songwriter’s Latin Airplay chart-topping song “Te Felicito” with Rauw Alejandro, in which she calls out her significant other and congratulates him on a stellar performance for making her believe he truly loved her. 

Watch the “Monotonía” and “Me Enamoré” music videos below.