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Ed Sheeran was joined by surprise guest Chris Hemsworth playing drums on “Thinking Out Loud” Saturday night (Aug. 24) in Bucharest, Romania. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, the moment — surely an unforgettable one for Hemsworth and the concert audience — was filmed for an upcoming episode of the second season of Limitless With Chris […]
Jean-Michel Jarre is set to open and close the Paris Closing Ceremony for the 2024 Paralympics on Sunday, Sept. 8. A pioneer in electronic music, Jarre is a native of France.
The Sept. 8 finale will celebrate 4,400 athletes from 168 Paralympic delegations. Following the athletes’ parade and the handover of the flag from Paris 2024 to Los Angeles 2028, the stadium will host an open-air party for the public at Stade de France.
The much-anticipated musical celebration highlights the French electro scene, with Jarre and a number of other French artists on the lineup, including Agoria, Alan Braxe, Anetha, Boston Bun, Breakbot & Irfane, Busy P, Cassis, Chloe, Chloé Caillet, DJ Falcon, Étienne de Crecy, GЯEG, Irène Drésel, Kavinsky, Kiddy Smile, Kittin Kungs, Martin Solveig, Nathalie Duchene, Ofenbach, Polo & Pan, Tatyana Jane and The Avener.
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A press statement notes the “the concert promises to be a visually and musically festive spectacle, closing the Paris 2024 Games in style.”
Thomas Jolly is artistic director, Victor le Masne is musical director and Romain Pissenem is director/designer of festival.
Speaking with the news publication Le Parisien, Jarre said he considers Pissenem one of the world’s greatest show creators.
In a 2022 interview with Billboard Jarre talked about his French roots, saying his album Oxymore “is a tribute to this French way of approaching the roots of electronic music — by actually dealing with sounds rather than notes and injecting the sound design approach to music composition, people have no idea about how big their contribution is in the way we’re doing the music today.”
Mentor Pierre Schaeffer of Groupe de Recherches Musicale, whom Jarre called “the father of musique concrète,” taught him “two quite important things: Don’t hesitate to go to the unexpected, to mix the sound of a bird with a clarinet, to mix the sound of a washing machine with a trombone … And he said, don’t waste your time experimenting, because your path is to create a bridge between the experimentation we are doing is here in this group and pop music and the audience.”
Linkin Park is counting down to something big. On Saturday (Aug. 24), the rock band shared a mysterious 100-hour countdown timer on its social media accounts, with a link to the group’s official website.
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At press time, LinkinPark.com featured a YouTube livestream with the same timer and an accompanying live chat filled with fan speculation — much of it anticipating the announcement of a new vocalist to replace late lead singer Chester Bennington, who died by suicide in July 2017 at the age of 41.
“I hope they announce the new singer, LP deserves to continue [with their legacy,” one user wrote in the chat. Another fan asked, “If LP has a new singer and it’s female, who do you want it to be?”
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Linkin Park’s countdown timer is scheduled to end on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Earlier this year, several sources close to Linkin Park told Billboard that the band’s three surviving members were mulling a possible 2025 reunion tour and considering hiring a female vocalist to succeed Bennington. In late April, booking agency WME was taking offers for a potential Linkin Park tour along with headlining festival dates featuring LP’s Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Dave Farrell, the sources said. The band had not indicated who would sing on behalf of Bennington, but one source told Billboard that LP was hoping to find a female vocalist to front the reunited group.
Fueling speculation at the time, Orgy’s Jay Gordon said he had heard rumors about a Linkin Park reunion while appearing on Wired in the Empire on KCAL 96.7.
“Very, very cool guys and obviously a great band,” Gordon said. “They’ve been around a long time and they’re still going for it,” he said. “It’s going to be tough without Chester, but we’ll see. I hear they got a girl singer now. That’s what I heard.”
Gordon later issued a statement saying his comments had been taken out of context. “With regards to this linkin park singer thing. I know nothing about any of that,” he wrote.
As previously reported, Shinoda was asked about a possible reunion around the April release of Papercuts (Singles Collection: 2000-2023).
“Rumors always go around. People always ask what’s next for the band, and the best answer I can ever give anybody is when there’s something to tell you, we will tell you,” Shinoda told Revolver magazine. When there’s an announcement to be made, it will be on LinkinPark.com. If you’re hearing it from somebody else, you can trust that information as much as you want to trust it.”
Linkin Park is one of the most successful rock groups from the 2000s, having sold more than 29.4 million albums in the United States, according to Luminate. The band has charted 24 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including three top 10 hits: “In the End” in 2003, “What I’ve Done” in 2007 and “New Divide” in 2009.
See Linkin Park’s countdown post on YouTube here and Instagram below.
Slipknot‘s Sid Wilson is on the mend after being involved in a fire accident.
On Friday (Aug. 23), the 47-year-old heavy metal DJ revealed in a pair of videos on social media that he suffered “serious burns” on his face and arms after trying to stoke a bonfire on the Iowa farm he shares with girlfriend Kelly Osbourne.
“My face is burnt and my cheeks,” Wilson said in a clip from his hospital bed. “I had an explosion in my face.”
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After giving a close-up of his injuries, which included charred eyebrows, a blistered lip and burn marks on his arms, the musician assured fans that he was recovering from the incident, despite having a shaky hand while recording the clip on his cell phone.
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“I’m going to be OK, but I did have some serious burns in my face and my arms,” Wilson said, adding that doctors were also taking X-rays of his chest.
Slipknot shared a statement about the accident on the masked metal band’s official Instagram account.
“Our brother Sid Wilson was in an accident today and sustained burns across his body,” the group wrote on Instagram Friday. “He’s recovering with his family and will still join us on stage at Rocklahoma next weekend. He thanks everyone for the well wishes, and will see you all soon.”
Slipknot is scheduled to headline the closing night of Rocklahoma on Sept. 1. The three-day event takes place in Pryor, Okla. The masked group has U.S. tour dates on the books through October.
Wilson’s band members weren’t the only ones who had something to say about the fire explosion. Kelly Osbourne, who shares a young son with the DJ/keyboardist, also had a few choice words about her boyfriend putting himself in harm’s way.
“This is why you don’t f— with burn piles,” Osbourne said in a video from the hospital, posted to her Instagram Story. “He literally set himself on fire and exploded everything.”
The “Papa Don’t Preach” singer first met Wilson in 1999, when Slipknot toured with Ozzfest, the traveling hard-rock music festival founded by her parents. The lovebirds went Instagram official in February 2022.
See Wilson’s updates from his hospital bed on Instagram below.
Celebrating life through the lenses of contemporary African American poetry and lyrical art is the creative force behind the new Atlantic Records album, On Imagination. Produced by award-winning music producer, engineer and singer-songwriter Ebonie Smith, the project features 12 poems performed by legendary Black women artists and cultural icons such as Roberta Flack, Valerie Simpson, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters and Dr. Angela Y. Davis.
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June Jordan, Gwendolyn Bennett, Phillis Wheatley and Georgia Douglas Johnson are among the esteemed poets whose work is showcased on the new project. As noted in On Imagination‘s press package, the premise was to “harness art’s transformative ability to turn grief into joy and resilience, honoring the tradition of music as a life-giving, affirmative revolutionary force while shining a light on language as a pathway to healing within the Black community.”
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Available now, On Imagination was first revealed in commemoration of this year’s Juneteenth celebration with Dr. Angela Y. Davis reciting Jordan’s 1982 poem, “Moving Towards Home.” The full-length album’s cast of performers also includes Valerie June, Danyel Smith, Genesis Be, Lori Lightfoot and Flyana Boss.
Currently an in-house engineer and producer for Atlantic, Smith has also worked on prior projects such as Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer and Cardi B’s Grammy-winning Invasion of Privacy.
In announcing On Imagination’s arrival, Smith stated, “The poems on this album are restorative. They helped me heal and re-center after COVID. The language is challenging, requiring the listener to work for a deeper understanding, but those who make the effort will find the words of these poets truly powerful and transformative. In the wake of [Migos member] Takeoff’s passing, I turned to these poems to help me heal and make sense of the deaths occurring in and around hip-hop culture. The language on this album helped me find strength during that time.”
Another of the album’s notable tracks is the Bennett-penned “Fantasy,” which artist Dawn Richard performs. It’s accompanied by a dance piece choreographed by Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper and filmed in collaboration with Richard and Ailey II alumni Maya Finman-Palmer, Brena K. Thomas and Maggy van den Heuvel with former The Ailey School student Raven Joseph. The “Fantasy” video was filmed at Ailey’s home, the Joan Weill Center for Dance.
Commented Richard, “19 years later I get to step through the doors of Ailey on my own terms. The last time I danced in Ailey’s theater was in [ABC/MTV reality series] Making the Band. To be back here and recreate a world of regality and beauty through femininity and empowerment makes this moment so special. It speaks to the power of womanhood and perseverance. You can shape your own dreams, tell the story you wish to tell and dare to imagine the possibilities you wish to create.”
“It was an absolute pleasure working with Dawn Richard, creating movement and collaborating with her on an anthem celebrating the resilience and power of women of color from the African diaspora,” added Harper. “As Ailey stands on the shoulders of our founder Alvin Ailey, who saw the importance of using dance as a vehicle for change, we are honored to partner with Atlantic Records on this milestone project serving as a testament to the power of art in our lives.”
Chappell Roan is speaking out against the “predatory behavior” she’s been experiencing with some of her so-called fans.
On Friday (Aug. 23), the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer — who shot to fame over the past year with her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess — shared a lengthy statement on social media, pleading with fans to respect her boundaries.
“For the past 10 years I’ve been going non-stop to build my project and it’s come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries. I want to be an artist for a very very long time,” Roan wrote on Instagram. “I’ve been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you s—. I chose this career path because because I love music and art and honoring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.”
The 26-year-old artist explained that she’s “at work” when performing on stage, dressed in drag, attending a work event, or doing press. But that in “any other circumstance,” she’s “not in work mode” and “clocked out.”
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“I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out — just because they’re expressing admiration,” Roan said. “Women do not owe you a reason why they don’t want to be touched or talked to.”
The Hot to Go! musician clarified that her note “has nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community” and for the “people who respect my boundaries.”
“I am specifically talking about predatory behavior (disguised as ‘superfan’ behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past,” Roan wrote. “Please do not assume you know a lot about someone’s life, personality, and boundaries because you are familiar with them or their work online.”
She added, “If you’re still asking, ‘Well, if you didn’t want this to happen, then why did you choose a career where you knew you wouldn’t be comfortable with the outcome of success?’—understand this: I embrace the success of the project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have. What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed.”
The “Pink Pony Club” singer explained that she ultimately wants to be able to “love my life, be outside, giggle with my friends, go to the movie theater, feel safe, and do all the things every single person deserves to do,” without her privacy being invaded.
“Please stop touching me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends. Please top assuming things about me. There is always more to the story. I am scared and tired. And please—don’t call me Kayleigh. I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life,” she wrote. “There is a part of myself that I save just for my project and all of you. There is a part of myself that is just for me, and I don’t want that taken away from me. Thank you for reading this. I appreciate your understanding and support.”
Earlier in the week, Roan took to TikTok to share a video of herself calling out “entitled” fans who exhibit “creepy behavior” toward her in public.
Roan is currently sitting at a peak of No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, with Midwest Princess reaching an all-time high so far of No. 2 — just under Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department — on the Billboard 200 chart dated Aug. 24. She has a total of seven songs charting on the first tally, including “Good Luck, Babe!,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Casual,” “Red Wine Supernova,” “Feminineomenon” and “My Kink Is Karma.”
See Roan’s post on Instagram below.
From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
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Cazzu’s Tribute to Selena
This week, Cazzu surprised fans by reappearing on social media — following her very public breakout with Mexican artist Christian Nodal in June. The Argentine rapper was a guest on “Sesiones ¡FA!,” a platform hosted by Argentine actor and musician Mex Urtizberea, where she performed a heartfelt cover of Selena‘s timeless “Como La Flor.” Beyond giving the song a refreshing, reggae twist, the singer seemed happy and healed in the video. Cazzu and Nodal, who have a daughter together, called it splits in June after dating for nearly two years. “I feel the need to let you know that I AM OK, going through it in the best way possible,” she previously said on her Instagram Stories. “I choose to step away from social media for a while to detox and focus on my baby, who is my priority, and on my work.”
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J Balvin to Make Acting Debut
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J Balvin is set to make his acting debut in the forthcoming drug drama Little Lorraine, directed by Andy Hines. Starring Stephen Amell and Sean Astin, the film is “based on true events from the late 1980s, depicting a remote mining and fishing town’s transformation into a hub for a major cocaine smuggling operation,” according to Variety. “I’ve started acting — like real acting, not just cameos — and I just wrapped filming for a movie I’m in that comes out next year,” the Colombian artist, who will portray an Interpol agent investigating a Colombian drug importation ring, said. “I love that side of myself.”
J Balvin
Cesar Buitrago
Chencho Announces Debut Solo Album
After a 25-year trajectory, where he gained success through the popular reggaetón duo Plan B, Chencho Corleone is ready to launch his debut solo album. Earlier this week, the Puerto Rican artist revealed the cover art and release date of his upcoming studio set. “The wait is over…,” he wrote on Instagram, revealing that his album Solo (alone) will be out on Sept. 13. “This album represents my commitment to my fans, who always expect the best from me,” Corleone said in a press statement. “Every track describes a situation that transports you and, at the same time, motivates you to dance. I’m thrilled to finally share ‘Solo’ with my fans and can’t wait to see their reactions.”
LAGOS Supports Venezuelan Immigrants
In efforts to support the Venezuelan community, pop duo LAGOS has partnered with the United Nations to ensure that Venezuelan refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean have access to food, shelter, medical care, education, and formal employment. Proceeds from their Alta Fidelidad 2024 Tour in Mexico will be donated to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. “This is a collaboration that is not only part of our present, but will also be a long-term commitment,” the duo expressed in an Instagram post. “We know that music has the power to unite and heal, and we want to do our bit for those who need it most.” Donations can be made here.
Baby Bieber is here! Justin Bieber posted a photo of his new son’s foot (and presumably wife Hailey Bieber’s beautifully manicured hand), announcing his arrival to Bieber’s 293 million Instagram followers on Friday evening (Aug. 23), declaring “Welcome Home, Jack Blues Bieber” with an adorable emoji of a bear cub face. The arrival comes more than […]
Donald Trump may consider Robert F. Kennedy Jr. his hero, given he played the Foo Fighters’ 1997 anthem “My Hero” to welcome him to the stage at a rally Friday (Aug. 23) in Glendale, Arizona, after the independent presidential candidate suspended his campaign and endorsed the Republican nominee — but the band is calling the move a big zero.
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“Foo Fighters were not asked permission, and if they were, they would not have granted it,” a spokesperson tells Billboard of the unauthorized usage. Furthermore, “appropriate actions are being taken” against the campaign, the spokesperson continues, and any royalties received as a result of this usage will be donated to the Harris/Walz campaign.
“I don’t think too many of you people have heard of him, he’s very low-key,” Trump said before the chorus of “My Hero” began blaring as Kennedy joined Trump onstage and a row of flash pots went off. “He’s a very low-key person, but he’s highly respected. He is a great person. I’ve known him for so long. For the past 16 months. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
Additionally, in a response to being asked by the X account with the name Wu-Tang Is for the Children if the band “let Trump use ‘My Hero’ to welcome RKJ Jr. on stage,” the Foo Fighters account simply replied, “No,” and then posted the exchange, adding, “Let us be clear.”
The move marks the second time this week — and third time this month — Trump’s campaign has run afoul of a superstar for using music without permission. On Tuesday (Aug. 22), Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung posted a 13-second video on his X account of footage of Trump stepping off a plane as Beyoncé’s “Freedom” played. The video arrived long after his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, had been using the song (with permission) for weeks.
On Wednesday (Aug. 21), Beyoncé’s record label and music publisher sent a cease-and-desist notice to Trump’s campaign over its use of “Freedom.” Later that evening, the video was deleted from Cheung’s X account.
Additionally, on Aug. 11, lawyers for the Isaac Hayes estate filed a notice of copyright infringement and threatened further legal action against the Trump campaign over its use of Hayes’ “Hold On, I’m Coming” at multiple Trump rallies without authorization between 2022 and 2024.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Drop, drop, drop. Surprise, more Drake songs have arrived. The 6 God leaked three new tracks on his plottttwistttttt burner Instagram account on Friday (Aug. 23).
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The three-pack, which Elliott Wilson hilariously dubbed Lucian’s Loosies, includes “No Face” featuring an assist from Playboi Carti along with solo tracks “Circadian Rhythm (The Language 2)” and “SOD,” which is a solo version of the “Super Soak” record that Kai Cenat played on his live stream earlier in August.
Except “SOD” has now removed Yachty’s verse from the track. They previously ran into sampling issues when Mr. Hotspot refused to clear vocals due to the song’s explicit nature. DJ Akademiks teased a music video on the way for “SOD” as well.
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“No Face” finds Drake teaming up with Playboi Carti for the first time since “Pain 1993” landed on 2020’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Drizzy floats over the distorted production and addresses those he feels stabbed him in the back.
“They emptied the clip, quick, swapped that s–t out and I came back reloaded/ I’m just so happy that n—s who envied and held that s–t in got to finally show it/ I’m over the moon, yeah, we’ll see you boys soon,” he raps.
Produced by Gordo, “Circadian Rhythm” also serves as a sequel to “The Language,” which originally landed on Nothing Was The Same as a fan-favorite in 2013. Drizzy opens up about how the rap game has planned funerals for him in the past, but he continues to bounce back like a cat with nine lives. “How many funeral dates they plan for me and I dodged it like the truck,” he spews.
This isn’t the first leak of its kind from Drake on the plottttwistttttt account. His first dump came with a trio of songs earlier in August as part of the 100 Gigs delivery featuring collaborations with Latto, 21 Savage and Young Thug. The three-pack eventually hit streaming services and all of the songs debuted on this week’s Billboard Hot 100.
It remains to be seen if the latest drop will land on streaming services in the coming days. Listen to the leaks below.
