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A performance years in the making became dazzling reality in August at Burning Man, when DJ-producer Mita Gami played with conductor Meir Briskman and an orchestra assembled especially for the occasion.
The hour-and 15-minute performance happened mid-week at Burning Man 2024 on the festival’s famed Mayan Warrior art car, a new version of which made its debut at the event this year after the original was destroyed in a fire in April 2023.
The Israeli conductor came up with the idea for the performance years ago and brought it to Gami, with the pair performing together since 2022 with an electronic/classical fusion show for which Briskman wrote and conducted the orchestral elements, with Gami producing and performing the electronic components.
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For Burning Man, the orchestra was assembled after the pair put a call out to players, with 123 people applying to be in the orchestra and 37 of them ultimately selected to perform. On Instagram, Briskman wrote that the performance came together “after 3 years of work, 1467 phone calls, 4356 emails [and] 5942 WhatsApp messages”
“Our search to find classically trained players that were going to Burning Man began through posting via our instagram stories,” the pair tell Billboard in a joint statement. “The message rapidly spread, and we received an overwhelming number of responses. Despite the limited rehearsal time, we embraced the challenge and turned our dream into a magical reality, delivering a complex performance that flowed effortlessly.”
The performance was managed by Amal Medina, a member of Gami’s management team, a co-talent buyer for Los Angeles-based electronic events company Stranger Than and the talent buyer/events coordinator for Mayan Warrior. Medina helped manage the orchestra and handled logistics such as vetting the musicians, organizing rehearsals in San Francisco and at Burning Man and sourcing equipment and instruments and managing the orchestra. Tal Ohana of Stranger Than helped gather equipment and staging elements for the performance, The Mayan Warrior team worked on onsite and sound and lighting elements.
The performance was well-aligned with the goals of the new edition of Mayan Warrior, with the art car’s founder Pablo Gonzalez Vargas telling Billboard in 2023 that the team was planning to “slowly transition into a more diverse spectrum of musical and cultural performances. The goal over time is to have more live acts with real instruments that can provide new experiences.”
Other performers on Mayan Warrior during Burning Man included Rüfüs du Sol, whose set is also up now.
Watch the Mita Gami & Meir Briskman Orchestra Set exclusively on Billboard.com below:
After a years-long hiatus, FORM Arcosanti is returning to Arizona on Oct. 4-6, with the festival today (Sept. 26) announcing that Beck is joining the lineup as a Friday night headliner. Esteemed duo Ho99o9 has also been added to the Friday night bill.
Happening at the artist community of Arcosanti, two hours from Phoenix, the weekend’s lineup also includes heavy hitters like Kim Gordon, Thundercat, Skrillex, Floating Points, James Blake, Empress Of, Bonobo, Kevin Morby and many others. See set times for the weekend below.
Programming highlights include Friday’s late night shows, which will feature a four-hour b2b set from Four Tet and Floating Points from 10-2 a.m. On Saturday, Jamie xx will close out the dancefloor from 12-2a.m., and on Sunday, James Blake will give a sunset hour performance that will be immediately followed by a performance from Thundercat. Later that night, Skrillex will perform from 11-2 a.m.
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“In such a crowded festival landscape it’s a privilege to do a show with so much support from the artists themselves,” Zach Tetreault, who founded the festival with his band Hundred Waters in 2014, tells Billboard. “At only 2,500 capacity we don’t have the budget of other festivals, but we do have the heart. That’s clearly resonating, which is so inspiring. This year’s program has some of my favorite artists across genres from earth-shattering poets Aja Monet and Mustafa; to the most powerful living songwriters like Jessica Pratt, Angel Olsen and Sir Chloe; to my favorite DJs on the planet, Four Tet, Skrillex and Jamie xx. I feel like FORM attendees will take an emotional journey each day that ends in the best party ever each night.”
Along with the music, FORM will host daytime cultural programming that includes a discussion on global spiritual spaces and intentional communities, a talk on stopping state violence and protecting the freedom of reproductive decision making, a talk on decarbonizing the music industry, a discussion on the mythology of the afterlife, along with pool parties, nightly stargazing, a saxophone meditation session, a listening room presented by Discogs, an installation by land artist Jim Denevan and more.
“FORM celebrates those shaping the world we want to live in, despite the challenges,” cultural program curators Molly Hawkins and Kim Swift tell Billboard. “Through performance, discussion, social spaces, artworks, activities and partnerships, we explore different perspectives on how individual choices and creative acts can have positive and lasting impact on our world.”
FORM Arcosanti
Courtesy of FORM Arcosanti
FORM Arcosanti
Courtesy of FORM Arcosanti
FORM Arcosanti
Courtesy of FORM Arcosanti
A week after its strong No. 2 debut on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart dated Sept. 21, BabyChiefDoit’s “Rollin’” is the ranking’s latest No. 1, lifting 2-1 on the tally dated Sept. 28.
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The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity from Sept. 16-22. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“Rollin’” reigns thanks largely to lip-synchs set to the song’s “Don’t slip, don’t trip, don’t fall/ Come to the crib and take off your drawers” lyric, as well as a dance.
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In the latest Billboard chart tracking week ending Sept. 19, “Rollin’” earned 1.1 million official U.S. streams, a gain of 135%, according to Luminate. So far, the TikTok Billboard Top 50 is the only chart on which the song appears, and it became BabyChiefDoit’s first Billboard appearance overall upon its Sept. 21 bow.
Like many of the chart’s top-performing songs these days, some of the highest ranking TikTok uploads using “Rollin’” also set the song to footage from the Nickelodeon live action series Henry Danger, which aired between 2014-20. The song that originally sparked the trend of Henry Danger-related memes, Ashanti’s “Rain on Me,” concurrently remains at its No. 5 peak.
Alphaville’s 1984 single “Forever Young” follows “Rollin’,” leaping 7-2 for a new peak after previously rising as high as No. 4. The song, which eventually rose as high as No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 four years after its release in 1988, has fluctuated on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 the past month; after debuting at No. 50 on the Aug. 3 survey, it initially broke into the top 10 the following week and then rose into the top five on the Sept. 7 list.
Trends involving “Forever Young” have ranged from one where one person lifts the other in the air and spins them around while water sprays down on top of them from a bottle, to general content about getting older and reminiscing about one’s younger days, to edits of content about fictional characters who passed on early in their respective universes.
IV of Spades’ “Come Inside of My Heart” ranks at No. 3, jumping into the top 10 after debuting at No. 13 on the Sept. 21 tally. The song was released as part of IV of Spades’ 2019 album CLAPCLAPCLAP! and has largely been used in general viral content rather than with a major throughline trend. The track concurrently jumps 63% to 215,000 streams in the week ending Sept. 19.
Jack Johnson’s “Upside Down,” which peaked at No. 38 on the Hot 100 in 2006, debuts at No. 4 on the latest TikTok Billboard Top 50. Written for that year’s film Curious George, Johnson’s fan favorite nabs a place on the survey with a two-person trend in which one person flips the other upside down – with varying results.
Now that the TikTok Billboard Top 50 has existed for a year, celebrating its first birthday two weeks ago, the chart is sure to see songs connected to or affiliated with certain times of the year make what could be an annual return. This week, it’s Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” which re-enters at No. 13.
“September,” which spikes in all music-related consumption every year due to its opening Sept. 21-related lyric (“do you remember/ the 21st night of September”), debuted at No. 3 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 dated Sept. 30, 2023. It’s back for another round via dances, lip synchs, sketches and other uploads celebrating the track’s yearly bump in attention, 45 years after it peaked on the Hot 100 at No. 8 in February 1979.
As the TikTok Billboard Top 50 tracked the Sept. 16-22 period, overall gains for “September” on the rest of the Billboard charts will be known on the Oct. 5-dated tallies, which comprise the Sept. 20-26 tracking week.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
A new generation of artists are pushing the envelope in Arabic music, striving to explore new ground. Among them is Ayed, who humbly claims no desire to be a pioneer. Instead, he insists that his work merely carries forward the rich legacy established by the many artists who came before him. This young talent has achieved remarkable success in Khaleeji (Gulf) music while becoming the most-listened-to artist among his peer group. As of this publication, he holds the No. 1 position on the Top 50 Khaleeji Songs chart with his hit, “Lammah” (Hints), and ranks No. 9 on Billboard Arabia’s Artist 100. Despite these significant strides, he embodies the humility of the Khaleeji music legends that preceded him, utilizing modern production tools and techniques, which he credits for expanding the reach of his music.
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When asked about his musical style, one that combines the rhythms and melodic structure of Khaleeji music but delivered through a sound that is very much Ayed, he says, “I don’t think I’ve done anything that different. It’s just a continuation of the music of my predecessors; I’ve followed in their footsteps. But let’s say we’re in the digital age now, and maybe that’s what has changed [regarding the sound]. But that aside, it’s the same kind of music.” Ayed aims to continue enriching the Khaleeji pop landscape, hoping to make a lasting contribution to its history. As a fan of the genre, nothing is stopping him from cementing his contributions to the genre as he strives for the excellence of the artists that inspire him be it Mohamed Abdu, Abdel Majid Abdallah, Rabeh Saqr or Rashed Al Majid.
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The year 2024 has been remarkable for Ayed, who graces the cover of Billboard Arabia’s September issue. It started with a bang: he netted the “Male Musical Artist of the Year” at the 2024 Joy Awards, a ceremony organized by the General Entertainment Authority that honors achievements in the Arab artist community.
Following this accolade, Ayed collaborated with Khaled Al Muthafar, a Kuwaiti performing artist, in the song “A’lam al-U’shaq” (The World of Lovers). Initially composed for Al Muthafar’s play, “Al’uwl Min Nweih” (The First of its Kind), the duo recorded it together when Ayed heard the song. The song proved a hit, finding virality across social media platforms and climbing the ranks of Billboard Arabia’s Hot 100 and the Top 50 Khaleeji Songs chart.
“I expected the song to be successful, but I didn’t expect this overwhelming success all over the Arab world,” says Ayed. “We were meant to collaborate on a project long ago and thank God I was able to work with him on this project and I hope this is the start of many successes for us together.”
Hot on the heels of this success, “Lammah” (Hints) also went viral a month after its release, quickly climbing to the top of Billboard Arabia’s charts. As of this article, it has held the No. 1 position on the Top 50 Khaleej Songs chart for eight consecutive weeks. It has broken into the top 10 on Billboard Arabia’s Hot 100, prompting Ayed’s return to the top ten on Billboard Arabia’s 100 Artists chart. Ayed always believed in the song’s potential, and its performance on the charts has validated his assumption.
Ayed’s artistic journey began at a young age, with the 2015 launch of “Nasitini” (You Forgot Me) on Instagram. It was remastered and rearranged in January 2016, tallying upwards of 16 million views on YouTube at the time of publishing this article. The song remains close to Ayed’s heart, as he’ll rarely forgo an opportunity to mention it: “It’s special,” he says, “because it marked my beginning. I think your first song always has a special place, regardless of what else you make. It’ll never be a disappointment. If my work ever comes up, that song’s inevitably mentioned, too.”
Ayed continued to evolve his craft in the next eight years. This evolution can be traced through the EP Bel-Mout Ja (A Hard Time Coming), then the two LPs, Thaman Al-Alam (The Price of Pain) and Kol Al-Khata (All the Mistakes), as well as several singles like “Rdy” (transliteration for “Inferior”), a late 2023 release that achieved remarkable success and propelled Ayed to the top of the charts. “Rdy” landed him his debut on Billboard Arabia’s Hot 100, landing the No. 4 spot in the week of Dec. 11, 2023. “Rdy” sparked curiosity about the artist’s love life, prompting Ayed to reaffirm on social media at the time that he keeps his personal life separate from his professional one.
In an exclusive reveal to Billboard Arabia, Ayed says that he is preparing to release an album, “The album will feature songs that, God willing, you will enjoy,” says Ayed. “The composers are diverse, with noted composer Rakan taking the lion’s share, followed by Yasser Buali and Saham. Most lyricists involved are part of a new generation of talent.” The composers Rakan and Yasser Bou Ali have been key to Ayed’s journey, shaping his sense of sound over the years. They’ve allowed him to deliver the essence of the voice of the generation preceding him, like Abdul Majeed Abdullah and Rabeh Saqer, while allowing it to take on a contemporary and dynamic style. Their continued collaboration on Ayed’s upcoming album reflects his commitment to the partnerships he has established and his belief in repeating his successes by drawing on the talent that enabled it.
Ayed
Designlesss/Billboard Arabia
Lady Gaga shook up expectations this week by announcing a Joker: Folie à Deux companion album, Harlequin, just days ahead of its Friday (Sept. 27) release, confirming that it’s an entirely separate project from her highly anticipated seventh studio LP arriving in February. And on the red carpet for the Joker sequel’s London premiere Wednesday […]
Don’t expect to see Lance Bass‘ name on the list of celebrities who’ve attended one of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ parties. The former *NSYNC singer and solo star told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday night (Sept. 25) that after hearing something the disgraced Bad Boy mogul said when Diddy opened for *NSYNC on the group’s final tour in 2002 he had no interest in spending time with Combs.
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“I never had time to go to a Diddy party,” said Bass, who added that he’d totally forgotten that Diddy had warmed up the stage for *NSYNC until the rapper/producer was arrested in New York on Sept. 16 and accused by prosecutors of operating a criminal enterprise centered on his “pervasive pattern of abuse toward women.” Diddy was been denied bail twice while awaiting trial on the three felony charges of sex trafficking and racketeering that could land him a life sentence.
“It’s kinda horrible, but never kinda liked him because the very last show in Orlando I overheard him talking to Justin [Timberlake] being like, ‘You need to drop these… effers! You need to go solo! And I was like, ‘I don’t like you anymore Diddy.’ I’m like, ‘at my own show? What the hell?’” said Bass.
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Timberlake did, of course, go out on his own after *NSYNC went on hiatus in 2002 and has released six solo albums to date, including this year’s Everything I Thought It Was.
Diddy was hit with another civil sexual abuse lawsuit this week from Thalia Graves, who claimed that Combs and his head of security, Joseph Sherman, drugged and repeatedly sexually abused her at Diddy’s New York City studio in 2001 and filmed the attack, which they allegedly then showed to others. Combs, who has denied all the allegations, has been hit with at least nine other similar civil suits over the past year, with each one accusing him of sexual abuse and other wrongdoing.
The Diddy story was ironic because elsewhere in the interview, Bass was asked by a caller about rumors of a possible *NSYNC reunion tour. “I can finally say we’re in talks right now, we’re actually talking,” Bass said to wild applause about the possibility that he will once again hit the stage with Timberlake, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick.
He added that the renewed interest has been sparked by the beloved boy band’s studio reunion last year for the Trolls Band Together soundtrack song “Better Place” — and Timberlake’s EITIW album track “Paradise” — as well as the catalog bump for the band thanks to the inclusion of the *NSYNC classic “Bye Bye Bye” in the opening credits sequence of Deadpool & Wolverine.
“We’d be stupid not to do something… just hold your breath just a little longer,” Bass teased. “It’s gonna take a little time, but I think something’s coming.”
Watch Bass talk Diddy and potential *NSYNC reunion tour below.
After opening the book on her private life in her expansive, best-selling 2023 memoir My Name is Barbra, Barbra Streisand will dive even deeper into her private life in an upcoming mutli-part documentary. Sony Music Vision, Columbia Records, Jigsaw Productions and the Kennedy/Marshall Company announced on Thursday (Sept. 26) that production has already begun on a definitive biopic about the EGOT winner.
“For years I’ve been thinking about the best way to share the vast amount of content I’ve been safely storing in my vault. These films, photos and music masters — many never seen or heard by the public — hold some of my most cherished memories,” said Streisand in a statement about granting the production unprecedented access to her personal archives, including hundreds of hours of never-before-seen video, photos and audio recordings, as well as personal items from throughout her career.
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“I’m so pleased that producer Alex Gibney and director Frank Marshall have agreed to take this journey with me,” she added of director Marshall (Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story) and Oscar-winning producer Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side). “My appreciation to Tom Mackay, head of Sony Music’s Premium Content team, for his belief in the project. And especially to Sony Music Chairman Rob Stringer who has unwaveringly supported so many of my creative endeavors.”
According to the release announcing the project, the series will “offer an intimate and comprehensive exploration of every facet of the iconic multi-hyphenate, who, in a career spanning six decades, has excelled in every area of entertainment.” The release promises that the access to Streisand’s personal archives alongside contemporary verité will provide an “in-depth look at Streisand’s star-studded past and her current artistic endeavors.”
At press time a title and release date for the doc had not been announced.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Alex again and to have the opportunity to bring Barbra’s incredible life story to the screen,” said Marshall in a statement. “We have been given unprecedented access to archival footage from decades of her groundbreaking career and intimate visibility to the trailblazing she continues to do in life today. Uncovering these remarkable moments illustrate why she has become an enduring icon to a global audience of all generations.”
Producer Gibney added, “People have been talking about the need for the definitive documentary on Barbra Streisand for years. After a series of wonderful conversations and rigorous research, we are moving forward with Frank Marshall at the helm. I am delighted to produce this film on Barbra, a legendary singer, extraordinary actor, director, and political activist who inspires us all. Did I forget to mention that she’s a great storyteller who is funny as hell?”
And baby makes five. Mandy Moore is celebrating the birth of her third child with husband Dawes singer/guitarist Taylor Goldsmith. In a sweet Instagram post on Wednesday (Sept. 25) featuring the smiling singer cradling her newborn and Goldsmith leaning in to share the joy, Moore wrote, “Lou is here! Louise Everett Goldsmith arrived happy, healthy, expeditiously and right in time for Virgo season.”
At press time Moore had not revealed when the baby was born, but the 40-year-old singer and This Is Us star is clearly smitten with her bundle of joy. “She is our absolute dream girl and her big brothers are already as obsessed with her as we are,” Moore said of the newborn who joins her two big brothers, Gus, 3 and Ozzie, 1. “Endlessly grateful for our family of 5 (and our very own big three) and soaking in every moment of this special time.”
Back in May, Moore posted a pic of the boys (with Gus rocking a “Big” T-shirt and Ozzie holding his hand and wearing a “middle” shirt) with the caption, “Sometimes life imitates art. The third in our own Big Three coming soon. Can’t wait for these boys to have a baby sister.”
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Moore got lots of love from former This Is Us co-star Chrissy Metz, who commented, “Awww, Lou! Congratulationssssss!!!,” with additional congratulations from Zachary Levi (“You got your own little Rapunzel!!!!”), Sophia Bush, Ashley Tisdale, Chelsea Handler and many more.
Last year, Moore appeared in Disney’s live-action/animated crossover comedy short Once Upon a Studio as Rapunzel (see joke above). She also co-starred in the second season of the Peacock true crime anthology Dr. Death, which focused on disgraced Italian thoracic surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who was convicted in 2022 of research-related crimes in Italy and Sweden involving synthetic trachea transplants.
Moore’s most recent album was 2022’s In Real Life; the video for the album’s title track featured the singer and Goldsmith playing music and taking care of Gus while joined by a bunch of celebrity friends, including This Is Us co-stars, Matthew Koma and Hilary Duff, Wilmer and Christian Valderrama, Amanda Kloots and Karamo Brown and others.
Check out Moore’s baby pic here.
Halsey has been an open book lately about the series of health issues she’s been dealing with over the past few years. But on Wednesday (Sept. 25) they sparked some worry from fans when they posted a video from a hospital room in which the singer was seen laying in a gurney with an IV, with fiancé Avon Jogia across the room laying in his own bed.
“Happy late Bi Visibility Day,” Halsey wrote in an Instagram post. “This year I’m celebrating by dying with a man by my side (for legal reasons that’s a joke).” In the accompanying video, the couple both wished viewers a Happy Bi Visibility Day, with Halsey adding, “we had a whole plan [for you guys],” while laughing and throwing up a peace sign.
Later, in an X Q&A with fans, after someone asked how her health was, Halsey replied, “I’m home from the hospital now after a few days, so a win is a win!,” further revealing “I had a seizure! Very scary! Don’t recommend it!” when another fan wondered if the hospitalization was related to their chronic health issues or something new.
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In June, Halsey revealed they had been diagnosed with Lupus and a rare T-cell disorder. “In 2022, I was first diagnosed with Lupus SLE and then a rare T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder. Both of which are currently being managed or in remission; and both of which I will likely have for the duration of my life,” Halsey wrote, adding that things were “rocky” at first, but thanks to her doctors they were on the mend.
Halsey has discussed other health struggles in the past, including a battle with endometriosis, as well as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Sjögren’s syndrome, mast cell activation syndrome and POTS diagnoses.
At press time a spokesperson for Halsey could not be reached for additional comment.
The singer’s fifth studio album, The Great Impersonator, is due out on Oct. 25. In a statement announcing the project earlier this month, Halsey wrote, “I made this record in the space between life and death. And it feels like I’ve waited an eternity for you to have it. I’ll wait a bit longer. I’ve waited a decade, already.”
Halsey revealed the track list for The Great Impersonator on Wednesday in a clever video featuring a deck of cards, each of which featured one of the album’s song titles, including: previously released singles “The End,” “Lucky,” “Lonely Is the Muse” and, most recently, “Ego,” as well as “Only Girl Living in LA,” “Dog Years,” “Panic Attack,” “I Believe in Magic,” “Hometown,” “I Never Loved You,” “Darwinism,” “Arsonist,” “Life of the Spider (DRAFT)” and “Hurt Feelings.”
Check out Halsey’s posts below.
A month after his shocking death following a collapse at a concert in Connecticut, that state’s medical examiner’s office has released the cause of death for beloved rapper/hype man Fatman Scoop. According to People magazine, the Connecticut Medical Examiner’s Office announced on Wednesday (Sept. 25) that Scoop (born Isaac Freeman III) died due to hypertensive […]
