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Composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz will host two events at the 2025 ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre Fest, which is returning for a third year at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif., May 5-6. The fest offers a glimpse into the process and craft of musical theater with some of Broadway’s biggest composers.
On Monday, May 5, the fest will present “Songs From the Cutting Room Floor,” a look at unheard gems that didn’t make it into some of Broadway’s biggest shows. Schwartz, together with composers, lyricists and librettists Irene Sankoff & David Hein (Come From Away) and Karey Kirkpatrick (Something Rotten!, Mrs. Doubtfire), will perform and tell stories about songs that had to be sacrificed to better serve the musical. Additional performers will be announced.
The evening is presented with support from the Gary Geld Musical Theatre Foundation.
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On Tuesday, May 6, Schwartz hosts The ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre & Librettist Workshop, featuring a double bill of new musicals. Composers will present excerpts from their new musicals. Following each presentation, Schwartz will host a feedback session with the writers and other masters of the craft.
The workshop will kick off with the creative team of Roslyn Catracchia and Peter Seibert, who will present an excerpt of their new musical Piney Needlesmith and the Road Less Traveled. For the second show, Julian Hornik, Khiyon Hursey and Mark Sonnenblick will present selections from their new musical, WEEKEND.
The concert and workshop double bill are free and open to the public. Reservations are required for both nights and are available at The Wallis’ website. The event is supported by the Kenward Elmslie Fund.
Schwartz, who wrote both music and lyrics to all the songs in Wicked, is set to receive the 2025 Johnny Mercer Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala on Thursday, June 12, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
The award presentation will come near the midpoint between the November 2024 release of Wicked, which quickly became the highest grossing film ever based on a Broadway musical, and the November 2025 release of a sequel, Wicked: For Good. Both films are based on the 2003 stage musical Wicked.
Elton John had an ulterior motive for making his latest album, Who Believes in Angels?, a collaboration with his good friend Brandi Carlile.
The icon wanted to help the nine-time Grammy winner expand her global footprint. “My ambition for her with this album was to break her internationally,” John told Billboard prior to the album’s release. “She’s a well-known artist in America, but in the rest of the world, she has a lot of work to do.”
Mission accomplished. The album, which came out April 4, debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Albums chart, giving Carlile her first No. 1 on the tally and her first to reach the chart’s top 40.
“This is a major milestone and career highlight for Brandi,” says Phantom Management’s Catherine Carlile, Carlile’s manager and wife, who helped orchestrate the campaign. “This is her first ever No. 1 album, and to have achieved this honor with her absolute hero and friend Elton John makes this accomplishment even more profound.”
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In the U.S., the album opened at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, marking the 22nd top 10 for John and the fourth for Carlile.
The album — produced by Andrew Watt and featuring songs written by John, Carlile and Bernie Taupin — also tops both Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts, and starts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales chart and Indie Store Album Sales chart, and No. 3 on Vinyl Albums chart.
Carlile began building her U.K. audience last July when she opened for Stevie Nicks at BTS Hyde Park before an audience of 60,000, then followed with her own headlining acoustic show at the 2,000-seat Drury Lane Theater.
Her extensive U.K. tour in June builds on those dates. “Brandi is a hugely successful touring artist in the U.S., but hasn’t toured in the U.K. for a long time, so we knew we needed to water that garden beyond those two appearances in London,” Catherine Carlile says. “We also knew that Brandi’s album with Elton would shine the spotlight on her globally, so we announced her U.K./[European] tour in February, which sold out instantly.”
The U.K. album campaign was orchestrated by Phantom in conjunction with John’s management team, John’s husband/manager David Furnish and Rachael Paley at Rocket Entertainment, as well as British publicity team DawBell and Universal U.K., and culminated in a live event at the London Palladium on March 26, which featured actor Dan Levy conducting a Q&A with John and Carlile, and the pair playing several songs with a full band. The evening aired on CBS in the U.S. on April 6, and will air on ITV in the U.K. on Saturday (April 19).
“The Palladium special was a total triumph and no small feat,” Catherine Carlile says. “Having partners like Fulwell Entertainment who know exactly how to capture the electricity of live music performances and deliver authentic and moving TV was a dream come true for us.”
The album’s two singles released in the U.K. — “Who Believes in Angels?” and “Swing for the Fences” — have reached a radio audience of more than 175 million, Catherine Carlile says, further building singer Carlile’s U.K. exposure.
Following this summer’s U.K. dates, which include a globally broadcast performance at the Glastonbury Festival, and playing in continental Europe, Carlile will “hopefully [play] other markets — Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South America, etc.,” Catherine Carlile says. “It’s such a gift for an artist of Brandi’s stature to have an opportunity to reach an undiscovered audience outside of the U.S. at this stage in her career. And it’s a challenge she fully embraces.”
Carlile is working on her next solo album, which Catherine Carlile says has been teed up perfectly by Who Believes in Angels?.
“After being uplifted and endorsed by one of the greatest artists of all time, we cannot wait to show the world who Brandi is as an artist, performer, and songwriter,” she says. “This is her moment to shine on what will probably be the most highly anticipated album of her career.”
Long before he got “1900” tattooed across his neck and teamed up with Kodak Black, 1900Rugrat’s life was filled with uncertainty. Hailing from Limestone Creek, Florida, a small town in Palm Beach County with a population just over 1,000 people, Rugrat was kicked out of his adoptive parents’ house as a teen and moved in with his friend Rickfrmdacreek’s family down the block.
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Rugrat, born Miles Spiel, describes himself as a “bad a– kid” doing “stupid s–t,” which led to school suspensions and even legal trouble. He started rapping as an eighth grader after seeing a classmate rhyme while thinking he “could do better,” but Rugrat kept his raps lighthearted as the class clown using his Turtlebeach video game headset and a computer to record.
Then real life began to creep in. Rugrat couldn’t hold a job for more than four months while having stints at Walmart and Tijuana Flats. He became a massive Chief Keef fan, and the drill pioneer’s trap bangers are clearly an influence in Rugrat’s music today.
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Seeing rappers like YNW Melly, Kodak Black and Tay-K blow up when he was in high school provided inspiration that his music dreams could perhaps be within the realm of realistic — even if that seemed far-fetched at the time.
“It made me like, ‘I can do that s–t too.’ It ain’t impossible for somebody to blow up,” Rugrat tells Billboard while getting over a cold that sidelined him temporarily from touring with Bossman Dlow. “You don’t gotta be this completely iced-out motherf—–ing tatted up and rich as hell to blow up.”
He continues: “You could be a regular-a– dude and make some hard s–t and blow up. You could look regular and make some hard s–t. You don’t gotta have a million dollars invested in you.”
His luck changed last year when labels started to call after his TikTok freestyles were going viral. Rugrat’s raspy flow over Rocko’s hypnotic “U.O.E.N.O.” beat exploded on TikTok and “One Take Freestyle” hit streaming services days later in September with a DIY cover art featuring a photo of himself on a highrise apartment balcony. He maniacally confronts being a white rapper with the track’s memorable opening bar: “Cracker got an AR like he shootin’ schools up.”
The 22-year-old continued his ascension in October during a trip to NYC when he asked anyone tied to the music industry he ran into if they could get him in contact with Gape P of On The Radar Radio. Rugrat and five friends pulled up to OTR to perform his “One Take Freestyle,” which further expanded his breakout track’s exposure.
Rugrat ended up inking a joint venture with 300 Entertainment and Remain Solid, which is an imprint founded by his manager, Track. Co-signs have poured in from Kodak Black, who hopped on the “One Take Freestyle (Remix),” Justin Bieber and Lil Uzi Vert. Los Angeles Dodgers MVP Mookie Betts even uses “One Take” as his walk-up song when walking to home plate at Dodger Stadium.
These days, you’ll find Rugrat with plenty of ice on and his bushy eyebrows peering out from under his Chrome Hearts beanie. 1900 continued his momentum into 2025 with the arrival of his Porch 2 the Pent debut project in February and he’s got much more in store for later this year.
Check out the rest of our conversation with Rugrat touching on his Florida roots, why Chief Keef’s music inspires him, being locked up with one of the Island Boys and more.
Billboard: Who were some of your early rap inspirations that helped you get to this point?
When I was really young, I listened to a lot of Lil Wayne, Eminem. Just s–t my folks would play in the crib, like Gucci Mane, Waka Flocka [Flame], obviously Kodak [Black], but that was when I got to more of a teenager. It was Kodak, Chief Keef, when I was 12, 13. I really listen to a lot of Chief Keef. I listen to a lot of different rappers, but one rapper I keep listening to on a daily basis is Sosa (Chief Keef).
What stands out about Chief Keef? Take me back to when you first hit play on that Finally Rich.
I don’t know when it was. That’s when I wasn’t super on Sosa. I f–ked with the Finally Rich album, and I still do to this day. I wasn’t listening to him day-after-day until I was probably 14 or 15. I just really dove into his discography when I heard that Back From the Dead album, and I started listening to all his s–t. I’d go on YouTube and look up “Chief Keef unreleased” and listen to a bunch of his s–t.
I don’t know what it is. I couldn’t put a finger on it, but he’s versatile as hell. His s–t catchy as f–k and he’s funny, too. His punchlines [are] funny as hell if you dive into his music. He got a whole song called “You Already Cute.” He talking a girl, “You don’t need no fake hair, you already cute.” He said some s–t like, “I don’t need no girl making me food with no weave in because you might get hair all in my food. You don’t need that girl.”
How would you talk about growing up in Limestone Creek and Palm Beach?
I was just with my brothers most of the time outside. My folks ain’t want me in the crib when they was at work. I got kicked out of school a lot. So I gotta leave the crib early in the morning and I got in legal trouble with stupid s–t. When it came to when I got caught up with possession. It was robbery with snatching and burglary of an occupied vehicle just cause I ran off on somebody. That was no robbery or burglary and I pleaded guilty to it. I got petty theft and trespassing. Just little stupid s–t and I was back-to-back getting in trouble. My folks would kick me out the crib. They was tired of that s–t. It’s not like I’ma call DCL’s like, “My folks kicked me out.” I’m not tryna go to no damn group home.
I just moved in with my brother, [Rickfrmdacreek]. I know cuz since I was like six. That was my second family for real. When I got kicked out for real and ain’t let me back, they really became my family. My life was different than everybody else. Even my brother, my right hand man, we lived two different lives. If he ever need something, I’m right there. If I go broke today, he’s still gonna be right there. Same with his momma. I was always moving around. Not with one family moving around, I was house-to-house type s–t. That s–t was lame as hell. That s–t just made me disassociate with everything.
I like being by myself. S–t was normal, bruh, we just bada– kids doing stupid s–t. We got ourselves into bulls–t. I got into a bunch of legal trouble and problems with people and then nobody wanna do business with you. You kinda dirty your face. I was f—-d up. I ain’t have no money. I could’ve moved but I had to rap. That’s all I knew how to do. I got to rapping. I was working too, though. I had a one-bedroom apartment. I was 21 — this was like seven months ago. I’m on my feet, but I’m scraping by. I probably would’ve been scraping by right now.
I think I saw a picture of you working at Walmart.
Yeah, but that wasn’t the one I had when I blew up. I never kept a job for more than four months. I was always getting into it with somebody. They be trying to dog your a– around. Then I’m in here for no money and you tryna talk to me. I was at Tijuana Flats.
When did rapping become your thing? I saw some s–t back in the day you were recording using a Turtle Beach Xbox headset.
Yeah, so when I was in 8th grade, I had dropped a bunch of songs. I was a lil’ kid. It was a kid at my school rapping. I was like, “That s–t decent, but I know I could do better than that.” I started rapping. It was on some funny s–t. I was like the class clown. This was when I was more carefree and didn’t have much going on. This is before I got kicked out the crib. I was way happier. I’m making music and the funny s–t. I’m getting decent views too.
Then I started getting into legal trouble. I’m not even really tryna make [music] on my computer no more because technology changes. This s–t sound a–. If I really wanna do this s–t, I gotta figure it out. I got no money to go to the studio. I made a little bit of cheese, but when I went one time I wasn’t tryna make music on my computer.
I started taking the s–t more serious because I had a lot more going on in my life. A lot more to talk about. I started growing up. S–t wasn’t all just fun and games no more. I was going through s–t. I never found my flow like that. I was jumping style-to-style and now I can stay consistent and do another one. S–t been a long journey with music.
What did you think about the Florida rap scene when it started to take off around 2017 with a Kodak Black, YNW Melly, XXXTentacion?
That s–t was crazy. I was a freshman in high school and I remember I heard “Murder on My Mind” when it was just a SoundCloud song. That s–t had this one jit in my class going crazy. I’m listening to it like, “This s–t hard as f–k.” Then a month later, everybody singing that s–t in the school, and everybody know that b—h.
Did that inspire you?
Hell yeah, when you growing up and you seeing a jit that’s doing it. Somebody that’s young, that s–t make you feel like you can too. Even though he was older than I was, I see that the same way I see Tay-K and Duwap Kaine. When they had first blew up that was around the same time. That s–t really inspired me.
What was your experience as a white rapper trying to do it?
I used that s–t to my advantage. I peeped people talking about my skin color so I started talking about it. F–k it. That’s just what it is. At the end of the day, if a jit joke on you, you supposed to use that joke and make it 10 times better. If everybody in the room laugh about some s–t, use it and then you make everybody in the room laugh. Everybody called me “Cracka” growing up. I’m from Florida. I just started referring to myself a such on some funny s–t. Everybody thought that was funny so I put that s–t in my music.
How was signing to 300 Entertainment? [Rugrat’s signed to Remain Solid (founded by his manager, Track) and 300 Entertainment]
I had signed with 300 [Entertainment] and 100K. After talking with everybody from both teams, I knew that I’d be able to do business with them on a personal level. That was my most important thing. I knew I could get a check anywhere. You can get a good contract anywhere. It’s all about is the person you getting that contract with is they gon’ do right by you? People don’t be thinking about it. They just want that check. They not thinking about the long-term. Read contracts first, get a lawyer. I got a really good lawyer. I love my lawyer to death.
What’s the biggest purchase you made since signing?
Probably my car. A Jag.
Mookie Betts on the Dodgers got “One Take Freestyle” as his walk-up song.
Bruh, what the f–k?! I be mad because I don’t be knowing until somebody tell me. I be upset. Somebody just commented that they heard my s–t at Dodger Stadium. I gotta see a video or something, dog. That s–t still be making me cheese.
“One Take Freestyle,” talk about what that record meant to your career and getting Kodak [Black] on there.
I still bump that song and every time I listen to it, I be like, “That’s why I blew up. This b—h hard as f–k.” I barred that b—h up from start to finish. That b—h had so many bars and punch lines. If a b—h say that s–t a–, they lying. I don’t even listen to people when they say my s–t is a–. I don’t give no f–k. It’s like a Skrilla beat. I was rapping on Philly beats on the freestyles I was doing on TikTok. Then I was like, “Okay, now I gotta take one of these b–hes to the booth.” I gotta go to the booth tonight. I’m 100 behind on rent and I’ll make that back. I got a two-hour session and that b—h went on all platforms four days later. Labels was already hitting me before “One Take” blew up.
Then I’m in the meeting with a label under Sony. I get the “One Take” video emailed to me. The first edit of it was a– so it got re-edited. I told them to pull it up on the big screen in the studio and we dropped that b—h right then and there. I logged into YouTube and dropped that motherf—-r. That s–t started going and going. I’m out in NYC and meeting with every label. I’m asking everybody in here, “Who know, Gabe [P from On The Radar]?” One white girl and 300 [Entertainment] got me in touch with Gabe. He said they were all booked up and I’m like, “Please, bro! I’m not finna be able to come back to New York. Just let me do it.” He squeezed me in and I did “One Take [Freestyle].”
I went to On The Radar and first I did “Clean & Dirty.” I was like, “That s–t finna blow up.” I did that “One Take” and that s–t boosted that s–t even more. That s–t went so viral all over Twitter and Facebook. I don’t even have Twitter and Facebook. People like, “Who here from Facebook?” I’m like, “What the f–k?”
Then you got Kodak on the remix.
At first, I seen him vibing to it in the store. A lil video went viral of him vibing to that b—h. I really paid homage to him on the song when I said, “I’m already white hoe, I don’t need no white b—h.” Cus he had said on “Snap Shit:” “I’m already Black/ Don’t need no Black b—h.” All these years I’m like, “I’m finna rip it. I gotta rip it.” I finally did it on the one that went viral. He went and said, “I admit I said a lot of dumba– s–t when I was a youngin’/ I didn’t used to get down with brown b–hes but now I love her.” He went and referenced that s–t.
That’s why I be saying Kodak’s really hard. People just don’t be tuned in like that. It was surreal. I was in the studio with him and he was playing a bunch of unreleased [songs]. We talked about him hopping on the remix. He was with it. That b—h just went and the video was fun as hell. We were out there for 12 hours.
I saw Lil Uzi Vert showing you love, too.
That s–t has me turnt because all my brothers love [Lil] Uzi. Justin Bieber, bruh! That s–t’s wild. He way too fried. That’s what it is. They hating, bruh. His new little snippet he posted when he went live. He slid in that b—h. That s–t be crazy. Lil Baby’s son — that s–t was wild. I was at Lil Baby’s birthday party. I ain’t never seen no club that big. Had to walk a mile to get in there. Florida is small, congested and 1,000 people in that b—h.
What else do you have coming up for the rest of the year? Is there an album coming?
I don’t know if I’ma drop an album this year. I think I might, but I’m in single mode right now. I’m tryna crank singles out right now. I might do a tape with a producer. I wanna focus on singles and do a L.A. Leakers freestyle that’ll go viral. I blew up off freestyling on TikTok so I know it’s gon’ work. A lot of people don’t be remembering. People think it’s the “One Take” s–t, but I had the labels on me. I had 700,000 followers even before “One Take” was a thought. I had “No Makeup” and that “Demure.”
“One Take” was the big one. I’m tryna get one like 10 times bigger than “One Take.” I don’t even want another “One Take.” I want one 20 times bigger than “One Take.” My goal is to get a hard-a– single. Then somewhere down the line get an [Lil Uzi Vert] on like an Auto-Tune. My Auto-Tune flow is so gas, but my fans are not fans of that. Uzi’s fans are, so I know that s–t will go and bring a whole new audience. I want to be able to cater to both audiences. That’s more listeners.
That’s why my album had 13 rap songs, and six had Auto-Tune. I just wanted to show versatility. With my album, I’m doing straight rap. Then I’m finna shift off of that. I don’t think I’ma ever stop rapping ever. I wanna make a full tape of certain styles. On some underground wavy s–t. If you listened to “Molly Girl” or Sosa’s “Let Me Know,” I’ll make a whole album off of that. That’s down the line when I can tell them what’s in and what’s hard. I’m just tryna crank some s–t I know already works.
I saw a viral tweet saying they want Timothée Chalamet to play you in a movie.
That s–t funny as hell. He look like me for real.
When you were locked up, were you in there with one of the Island Boys?
Yeah, they weren’t in my program, but they were in the detention center in Palm Beach. No matter where you get locked up in Palm Beach, you going to the Palm Beach Detention Center. The one off 45th by the train tracks. It was one of the brothers. I never said a word to him. I got kicked off B1 a day or two later for getting into a fight. They put me in confinement and switched me to B2. Jit had little blonde curls and no tattoos or none of that.
What’s 1900Rugrat doing in five or 10 years from now?
Somewhere on an island. I just want to be isolated. Not from the world on some crazy s–t, but I like being in nature and s–t with my phone off. Counting money for real, like overly rich. Like, I got all my businesses running themselves for a week. I got everyone handling some s–t so I can kick back this week and smoke some good dope in Bora Bora and take a deep breath.
Track (Manager): Let me know when you doing that vacation, bro, because I need that one.
The inaugural MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN ceremony, the largest music awards in the country, is set to take place in May in Kyoto. Embodying the theme of “Connecting the world, illuminating the future of music,” the new international music awards is hosted by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), an association jointly established by five major organizations in the Japanese music industry.
This year’s MAJ will recognize works and artists in more than 60 categories, including the six major awards for Song of the Year, Artist of the Year and more, which have gained significant attention and recognition from Jan. 29, 2024 to Jan. 26, 2025. The entries for each category were announced last month and the nominees for each category was revealed Thursday (Apr. 17).
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The third installment of Billboard Japan’s series exploring the trends and characteristics of MAJ will focus on the entries in the Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song category that honors songs written in collaboration between domestic and overseas artists. Let’s take a look at how Japanese music interacts with the world, using data of the entries for this award.
The Artists’ Involvement in the Creative Process is Key
We divided the 50 entries into five types and calculated the percentage of songs in each. “JOINT PERFORMANCE” refers to co-writing as well as joint performances, and “FEATURING” refers to guest appearances (remixes of existing songs fall under “REMIX”). More than half the entries fall under JOINT PERFORMANCE or FEATURING.
“PRODUCE” refers to tracks where artists from overseas participate as producers in songs by Japanese artists, and accounts for 24% of the total. This includes Fujii Kaze’s “Feelin’ Go(o)d”, f5ve’s “UFO” (both produced by A.G. Cook), and ONE OR EIGHT’s “Don’t Tell Nobody” (produced by Ryan Tedder of One Republic).
For many of the songs that fall under JOINT PERFORMANCE, FEATURING and PRODUCE, the artists themselves participated in the creative process, such as writing the lyrics and composing the music. In the second installment of this series, we noted that the entries in the Top Global Hits from Japan category seem to be slightly more oriented towards artists who write and perform their own works compared to those up for the Song of the Year award, which honors songs popular in Japan. The same can be said for collaborative works that span countries and regions. It seems that, compared to within Japan, it’s more important for artists to be actively involved in the creative process overseas, both from the perspective of listeners and creators.
Affinity With the Collaborators’ Nationalities
The above shows the share of each country/region excluding Japan, calculated by adding up the number of streams of all entries in the Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song category during the tallying period. The country with the highest share was the United States, and it also leads the list of the collaborators’ nationalities, which we’ll touch on later, but the order below second place didn’t match the collaborators’ nationalities at all. This shows that the collaborators’ nationalities and the countries/regions where the songs are actually listened to do not necessarily match.
For example, “Bekhauf,” the collab between BABYMETAL and the Indian metal band Bloodywood, accounted for 1% of the streaming numbers in India. Meanwhile, “RATATATA,” the collab between BABYMETAL and the German metal band Electric Callboy, accounted for 49% of the streaming numbers in Germany. One reason for this difference is that the market for metal music in Germany is more mature than in India. From this trend, we can see that affinity with the collaborators’ nationality is also an important factor in maximizing the effect of collaborations.
Countries/regions Interested in Collabs Between Japanese and Foreign Acts
Megan Thee Stallion’s “Mamushi (feat. Yuki Chiba)” was the collaborative number with the most streams among this year’s entries, with an large share in multiple countries/regions including the U.S. (68%), the Philippines (79%), India and South Africa (both 87%). When there’s a song with such an overwhelming share, the overall share is greatly influenced by the trend of that song.
So to identify countries/regions with high interest in collaborative songs in general, rather than a specific one, we extracted the top 10 countries/regions for each song’s streaming numbers and compiled the number of songs that charted in the top 10 by country/region. Countries/regions ranked multiple times in the top 10 of each song’s list likely have strong tendencies to consistently support collabs between Japanese and overseas artists.
Top Countries Excl. Japan by Streams According to Luminate
Total Number of Entry Songs in Top 10 by Country/Region
Canada, Indonesia, and Taiwan came in at Nos. 2, 3, and 4. These are all countries/regions that didn’t rank high in terms of collaborators’ nationalities and streaming numbers. These countries/regions are considered to have high interest in songs featuring Japanese artists, regardless of who they collaborate with. Taiwan, in particular, had 32 songs in the top 10 despite its relatively small population.
The Properties of Collaborative Songs
Next, looking at the domestic and international streaming shares of the entries in the Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song category during the tallying period, 78% of the total streaming count for all 50 songs combined came from outside Japan. This is higher than the percentage of overseas streams for the entries in the Top Global Hits from Japan category, an award for Japanese music being listened to outside the country (59%), indicating that collaborative songs are more actively listened to overseas. Approximately 80% of the songs weren’t linked to other works or products, suggesting that whether or not a collaborative song is a tie-in doesn’t influence its popularity.
The chart above shows the genre breakdown of the entries. Soul/R&B accounts for 22% of the total, largely due to the six songs by SIRUP that made the list. Hip-Hop/Rap accounts for 20%, and here, all tracks except for two by Chanmina are by different artists. Notably, the share in this genre is 15% more than the 5% in Top Global Hits from Japan.
The percentage of the collaborators’ nationalities was calculated based on the number of artists. The United States (27%) had the highest percentage, with many collaborations with rappers such as Megan Thee Stallion and Big Sean. The United Kingdom (18%) featured artists associated with Hikaru Utada, such as Sam Smith and A.G. Cook.
South Korea has entries featuring rappers such as ASH ISLAND and Zion.T, as well as collaborative tracks with dance and vocal groups like ATEEZ. Three songs have entered from Thailand: BALLISTIK BOYZ from EXILE TRIBE’s “Meant to be feat. F.HERO & BOOM BOOM CASH,” ATARASHII GAKKO!’s “Drama (feat. MILLI),” and HYBS x SIRUP’s “I’m Blessed.”
Cross-border collaborations are becoming an important channel connecting Japanese music with the world, and the Best Cross-Border Collaboration Song award is a symbolic category that captures this global trend. We hope this award will serve as an opportunity to further enhance the presence of Japanese artists in the international music scene.
John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, the journeyman rockers who brought bar-band authenticity —and hits like the real-life top 10 Billboard Hot 100 smash “On the Dark Side” — to the group portrayed in the 1983 film Eddie and the Cruisers, have returned with Sound of Waves, their first album of all-new songs in […]
After opening for Taylor Swift at some of the biggest venues in the world, Gracie Abrams says she hopes to return as a headliner someday.
In her Billboard cover story published Thursday (April 17), the 25-year-old singer-songwriter was candid when asked by staff writer Hannah Dailey whether she aspired to someday tour through stadiums amid her recent career spike, which has found Abrams leveling up from playing shows in theater-sized venues to full-on arenas in a matter of months.
“Hell yeah,” the “That’s So True” musician replied immediately, before confessing that she didn’t always feel that way. “I could have never imagined myself admitting to that. I think having had the privilege of opening for Taylor in the stadiums that we played, to now have a visual reference and a real sense of what it feels like to be on a stage in that environment … It’s something that I miss and desperately hope to earn over time,” she added.
The interview comes about two years after Abrams opened her very first show on the “Anti-Hero” singer’s global Eras Tour, which kicked off in spring 2023. In between headlining her own treks for albums Good Riddance (2023) and The Secret of Us (2024), the “Risk” artist would go on to spend a collective six months supporting Swift in stadiums all over North America.
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Shortly after playing her final Eras show in December, Abrams embarked on her first-ever arena trek that began with a month of European shows earlier this year. She’ll continue over the next few months with legs in Asia and Australia, and this summer, she’ll return to the U.S. for more arena dates, including two nights at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
Abrams has been open about how studying Swift on the Eras Tour has taught her ways to improve her own performances, but in her Billboard cover story, the former also shared how simply observing the latter has helped her stay afloat amid the new level of fame she’s hit. “It’s like, I really don’t have it that bad in terms of invasion of privacy, you know what I mean?” Abrams marveled. “I feel like I learned a lot from [Taylor], obviously, but one of the things that I’ve felt lucky to observe is how extreme it can be [for her].”
She added, “It helps right-size my own s–t.”
The Grammy nominee also gushed about another one of her past tourmates: Olivia Rodrigo. “She gave me such a shot, opening for her on the Sour Tour,” Abrams raved of the “Vampire” singer. “I adore her with my whole heart for forever and ever.”
“Gracie has such a singular voice when it comes to songwriting,” Rodrigo said in return. “I think it’s rare to be so young and already have developed your very own lane.”
See Abrams on the cover of Billboard and photos from the shoot below.
Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “KUSUSHIKI” rises 6-1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart released April 16.
The three-man band’s latest single is being featured as the opener for the anime series The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Part 2. The song was digitally released on April 5 and debuted on the chart last week at No. 6 despite having only two days to count towards the chart week. Looking at each metric, the track rules streaming (313% week-over-week) and comes in at No. 2 for downloads (92%) and video views (275%), and No. 4 for radio airplay. Other songs by the hitmakers also only saw slight decreases in points and 17 continue to chart on the Japan Hot 100.
HANA’s “ROSE” drops a notch to No. 2 after bowing atop the chart last week. Downloads and video views for the brand-new girl group’s debut single are down to 42% and 78%, respectively, but streaming and radio have gained to 131% and 168% week-over-week. Perhaps due to the impact of its debut at No. 1 last week, the track is spreading across various platforms.
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Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” slips to No. 3. Logging its 53rd week on the Japan Hot 100, downloads for the Oblivion Battery opener have gained to 112% and only show slight decreases in other metrics: streaming at 99%, radio at 73%, video at 94%, and karaoke at 87% compared to the week before.
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NMB48’s “Chu Strike” bows at No. 4. The group’s 31st single launches with 253,080 CDs, more than its predecessor, to rule sales this week and comes in at No. 63 for radio.
Sakanaction’s “Kaiju” follows at No. 5. Radio airplay for the track is up to 114% compared to last week and karaoke to 118%. The Orb: On the Movements of the Earth opener comes in at No. 14 for downloads, No. 5 for streaming, No. 22 for radio, No. 4 for video, and No. 18 for karaoke.
Snow Man unleashed its catalog on digital platforms during the chart week (April 7) and six tracks by the popular boy band have charted. “Brother Beat” currently leads the pack, hitting No. 48 on the Japan Hot 100 (No. 12 for downloads, No. 51 for streaming), “Tapestry” is at No. 52 (No. 8 for downloads, No. 62 for streaming, No. 93 for video), “Dangerholic” is at No. 64 (No. 23 for downloads, No. 66 for streaming), “D.D.” is at No. 77 (No. 26 for downloads, No. 79 for streaming), “EMPIRE” is at No. 87 (No. 19 for downloads, No. 88 for streaming), and “SBY” is at No. 98 (No. 21 for downloads, No. 57 for streaming).
The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.
See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from April 7 to 13, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.
MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN (MAJ), the largest music awards in the country, is set to take place at the ROHM Theatre Kyoto on May 21 and 22.
With this year’s theme “Connecting with the World, Illuminating the Future of Music,” the inaugural international music awards is hosted by the Japan Culture and Entertainment Industry Promotion Association (CEIPA), jointly established by five major organizations in the Japanese music industry, including Recording Industry Association of Japan, Japan Association of Music Enterprises, the Federation of Music Producers Japan, Music Publishers Association of Japan, and All Japan Concert & Live Entertainment Promoters Conference.
Although the entities are in the same industry, the five organizations have rarely collaborated until now because of differences in business and objectives. But the crisis faced by the entertainment and live music industry due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the spread of streaming services and the success of Japanese entertainment spaces such as the world of anime, prompted the five organizations to unite to work for the future of the country’s music industry.
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The content industry, which includes music, is worth 4.7 trillion yen and gaining momentum. That’s a sizable figure compared to the sectors in Japan’s export sales, as the automobile industry is worth 17.3 trillion yen, the semiconductor industry is worth 5.7 trillion and the steel industry is worth 5.1 trillion. The Japan Business Federation has positioned content as a key industry for the country and proposed that it be increased from 4.7 trillion to 20 trillion yen by 2033. The export of entertainment from Japan to the world is set to become a full-fledged industry. And with the aim of supporting and promoting the globalization and sustainable growth of the country’s music industry, CEIPA joined forces with TOYOTA GROUP to launch the MUSIC WAY PROJECT. In March, the project hosted a showcase event in the United States featuring Ado, ATARASHII GAKKO! and YOASOBI called matsuri ’25: Japanese Music Experience LOS ANGELES. It was presented by CEIPA x TOYOTA GROUP “MUSIC WAY PROJECT,” and the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN ceremony is part of this endeavor.
So, why was the MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN created in the first place? The answer lies in the changes in Japan’s unique music market, which sits on the border between opportunity and challenge. According to the RIAJ, physical sales accounted for 62.5% of Japan’s content sales in 2024. According to the IFPI, Japan maintains the world’s second largest market and its market structure differs from that of other countries. The temporary increase in disposable time due to the stay-at-home orders during the pandemic led to the expansion of the streaming market worldwide and a change in market structure has also occurred in Japan. Today, the number of artists gaining recognition in the U.S. and East Asian countries is increasing, and the revenues of the streaming and live music industries continue to rise. The Japanese music industry and companies are seeing potential in the fact that the number of Japanese songs and artists being listened to outside the country are only gaining traction.
When it comes to nominations, MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN places importance on four factors: transparency, global collaboration, celebration and creativity. The awards place the highest importance on trust and fairness, both from the artists and creators involved, as well as from the listeners who support the music. The criteria for selection, including the chart data from Billboard Japan, of approximately 3,000 works entered in the 62 categories include the six major awards for Song of the Year, Artist of the Year and more. The considered works are ones that have gained significant attention and recognition between Jan. 29, 2024, to Jan. 26, 2025. The entries for each category were announced in March, and the nominees will be revealed on Thursday, April 17. The detailed rules and schedule for how these works are selected as final nominees are listed on the website. The overseas voting members include Hannah Karp (Editorial Director, Billboard), Lucian Grainge (Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Group), Rob Stringer (Chairman, Sony Music Group) and Robert Kyncl (CEO, Warner Music Group).
Now, CEIPA is calling on music industry professionals eligible to vote to consider the future of Japan and music when choosing works they think deserve an award. This means there is nothing wrong with artists voting for their own work or for those of other artists. There are also categories where fans can vote for the artists they support, too.
The nominated works chosen through this process have just been announced and can be seen onthe awards’ official website. After another round of voting, the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony, which will be broadcasted live on YouTube so viewers across the world can have the opportunity to hear the selected works. This will be a step toward helping artists in their activities overseas. Although the majority of awards are targeted at Japanese works, there are also awards that celebrate Asian artists in collaboration with other Asian countries, and awards that recognize foreign artists who are listened to in Japan.
As the inaugural awards aim to deepen the connection between Japanese music and the rest of the world, Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO) has been honored with the Symbol of Music Awards Japan 2025. Founded in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono and the late musicians Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, YMO is one of Japan’s most beloved acts who toured successfully overseas from the early days of their career and gained popularity around the world. The “Rydeen” group’s timeless, innovative music, activities and style make them a “symbolic presence that teaches us the future” that the MAJ strives to aim for. A YMO tribute concert will take place at the Kyoto International Conference Center on May 20.
“We want to use matsuri ’25 and MAJ as springboards to promote Japan’s wonderful music content,” Tatsuya Nomura, president of the Federation of Music Producers Japan and chairman of the Music Awards Japan Executive Committee, said at the matsuri ’25 JP Music Industry Mixer & Panel press conference hosted by JETRO. “And we want to create the future of the Japanese music industry through a cycle in which Japanese artists are inspired by these projects and create wonderful works.”
Global music exchange will influence fans around the world and will lead to the enrichment of the global music market as a whole. As the Japanese music industry prepares to make a strong move toward repositioning itself in the world market, it’s surely worth paying attention to the direction it’s taking.
Ben Affleck has nothing but nice things to say about his ex Jennifer Lopez. More than a year after Lopez filed for divorce following the couple’s whirlwind second shot at romance, the actor told Entertainment Tonight that the “Dear Ben, Pt. II” singer remains a vital, loving part of his family’s life.
“For the record, Jennifer Lopez is spectacular, great to my kids, great ongoing relationship with them,” he said on Wednesday night’s (April 17) red carpet for his action-packed sequel to his 2016 drama about an autistic CPA who does forensic accounting for criminal gangs. The praise appeared to be in reference to Lopez’s ties to Affleck’s three children with ex-wife, actress Jennifer Garner, Violet, 17, Seraphina, 16 and Samuel, 13.
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Affleck intimated that he also has affection for Lopez’s children, 17-year-old twins Max and Emme, whom she shares with her ex-husband singer Marc Anthony. “I love her kids. They are wonderful,” he said. “She is enormously important, [a] tremendous person of a lot of integrity who I adore and am grateful to.” The Oscar-winning actor and producer also noted that he was “thrilled” to have his kids and Lopez’s children with him at the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles.
“That’s the kind of thing where the relationship that you have with children like that is a joy in my life,” he said, noting that he was “very excited” to have the whole blended family out with him. “Those kids are amazing and I’m glad that this is a movie they want to come to… I love when all the kids come out.”
Despite the tabloid-magnet allure of the couple’s relationship over the past few years, Affleck noted that he doesn’t, “read the stuff online much and sometimes I get the sense that people perpetuate this idea of like, I don’t know, they want to find something negative to talk about.” Affleck and Lopez, both 55, first began dating in 2002 and got engaged before calling things off in 2004.
They reunited in 2021 and got married the following year. Lopez filed for divorce in February 2024, just months after the release of This Is Me Now: A Love Story, a movie co-written by the couple that was loosely based on their real-life love story. A candid behind-the-scenes doc, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, was also released at the time, opening up a window into their private lives. The couple’s divorce was finalized in January.
In March of this year, Affleck opened up for the first time about their second split, saying he had “nothing but respect” for Lopez, adding that there was “no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue” about their divorce.
Mewow! Billboard is launching Power Pets, a new feature focusing on musicians’ best friends — no, not the humans — but the furry (and some scaly and feathery!) ones who bring extra joy and companionship to artists. Celebrities will be sharing sweet details about their beloved pets and how their furbabies enrich their lives, and to kick off the first profile is Billboard-charting country star and animal lover Miranda Lambert.
Miranda Lambert may have a Billboard 200-topping album in Platinum, three Grammys, 14 CMAs, 33 ACM Awards and many more accolades to boast about so far in her storied career, but to the country star’s four-legged pals, she’s just Mom.
“All of my animals help keep me grounded,” the singer tells Billboard about her furry family members. “They don’t care what I do for a living. They just love me.”
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Not only that, Lambert — who in 2009 founded her non-profit MuttNation, which works to promote pet adoption and the spaying and neutering of pets — has also learned an important lesson from her now 12-year-old dog Bellamy, whom she adopted in 2013 from Big Dog Ranch in Florida. “Patience,” the singer-songwriter reveals. “Bellamy was very shy in the beginning, but he’s opened up.”
Now, her beloved pooch not only travels and tours with her, but also helps Lambert with promoting MuttNation. “He has done a lot of photo shoots with me for my MuttNation line of pet products at Tractor Supply, and all of my proceeds from the line benefit the MuttNation Foundation,” shares the animal advocate. “He’s really patient and listens well, so he’s great at photo shoots.”
Tractor Supply Company, Lambert explains, is partnered with MuttNation’s Relief for Rescues Fund, a donations-at-checkout initiative which was started in 2023 to support shelters and organizations in recovery efforts after natural disasters. “So far, Relief for Rescues has donated close to $1 million to help animal shelters across the country recover from hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, fires and other disasters,” she shares.
That includes the devastating Los Angeles area wildfires that the Los Angeles Times reports destroyed more than 9,500 single-family homes at the beginning of the year. To help displaced animals, MuttNation partnered with Norman’s Rare Guitars to auction off guitars in an effort to raise money for area animal shelters. “To date, we’ve helped nearly 25 organizations, and we know there will be more to do because the recovery process has really only just begun,” says Lambert.
After all, she points out, pet adoption is at the heart of her organization’s mission. “By adopting a shelter pet, you make a meaningful difference — not only in the life of the pet you adopt, but in helping overcrowded shelters and in lowering pet homelessness,” explains Lambert, who over the years has welcomed not only dogs, but also cats, goats and horses into her family. “And it’s no secret that shelter pets make the best pets. We’re working on a lofty project that we’ll announce later this year to encourage people to adopt, so stay tuned for more on that!”
Until then, learn more about Bellamy from the country superstar below.
Bellamy in 2013.
Miranda Lambert
Name: BellamyAge: 12Hometown: Loxahatchee Groves, Fla.Breed: Comfort retriever muttFavorite food: chickenFavorite toy: He doesn’t really like toys, but he loves cuddling up on his MuttNation throw blanket from Tractor Supply.Favorite nap spot: Wherever I am. He likes to stay close to me!
How did Bellamy come into your life?I adopted Bellamy from a dog rescue, Big Dog Ranch, while I was on tour in 2013. One of my fans, who was super little at the time, made a video asking me to come visit. They gave me a tour of the rescue, and I saw Bellamy and fell in love! He was only about 6 weeks old.
Who is Bellamy’s best friend, aside from you?He only has one fur sibling left, Cher, so they stick together.
How does Bellamy get along with your other animals? Does he have any favorite and/or least favorites?The last few years have been hard on the pack, because I’ve had quite a few dogs pass over the Rainbow Bridge. They really were a unit, so we all felt each loss deeply. Cher and Bellamy are my only two dogs left, so they stick together now. Cher’s more of a diva, but Bellamy goes with the flow, so it works out.
Cher, Bellamy and Miranda Lambert.
Jamie Wright
Does Bellamy join you on tour? If so, what are some of your best adventures together on the road?Yes! Bellamy travels with me a lot. He recently drove out with me to Arizona, where I spent time this winter riding horses. We filmed the music video for “Run” while we were out there, and he had the greatest time. He napped in between takes in the trailer and got to run around the desert and hang out with my horse named Cool while we were filming.
What’s his favorite song?“Old Hippie” by The Bellamy Brothers.
How does Bellamy react when you’re playing your music? He’s so used to it, he doesn’t react at all. He just falls asleep.
What’s your favorite memory of Bellamy so far?I’ve loved getting to see him come out of his shell over the years. Even though I got him when he was a puppy, he was so shy around new people when he was younger. He’s settled into himself now, and is much more confident.
Share a fun fact about Bellamy!He was named after The Bellamy Brothers.
