Music

14 Aug 2024

Chappell Roan & Charli XCX Hit New Highs in Top 5 of Streaming Albums Chart

Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess and Charli XCX’s Brat reach new highs on Billboard’s Top Streaming Albums chart (dated Aug. 17) as the sets climb 4-3 and 10-5, respectively. Both titles also post new one-week highs in streaming-equivalent album units earned, as well their biggest streaming weeks.

Meanwhile, Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time logs an eighth non-consecutive week atop the tally, and Ye (formerly Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 2 flies in at No. 6 as the only debut in the top 10.

The 50-position Top Streaming Albums chart ranks the most-streamed albums of the week in the U.S., as compiled by Luminate. Titles are ranked by streaming equivalent album (SEA) units, where each SEA unit equals 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. If an artist has multiple albums containing the same song, SEA units for that song are generally assigned to whichever album sells the most by traditional album sales in a given week.

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One Thing at a Time holds at No. 1 on Top Streaming Albums with 60,500 SEA units (down 3%; equaling 83.11 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs). Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department bumps 3-2 with 57,500 units (down 3%; 75.43 million on-demand official streams of its songs); it previously spent 11 total and consecutive weeks at No. 1 (May 4-July 13-dated charts).

Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess steps 4-3 with 55,000 SEA units (up 18%, equaling 72.66 million official on-demand streams of its songs), hitting a new peak. It’s the best week, by SEA units and on-demand streams, for the album. The set, which debuted on the tally dated April 27 at No. 34, has been bumping around the Nos. 4-6 positions on the chart in the last six weeks.

Roan has four songs – three from Midwest Princess – on the latest Streaming Songs chart (dated Aug. 17), and all four hit new peaks. The three Midwest tracks gaining new ground are “Hot To Go!” (22-14), “Pink Pony Club” (31-21) and “Red Wine Supernova” (43-32). Meanwhile, the non-album cut “Good Luck, Babe!” climbs 5-4.

Zach Bryan’s former Top Streaming Albums leader The Great American Bar Scene falls 2-4 with 50,000 SEA units (down 16%; equaling 65.53 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs).

Charli XCX’s Brat bounces 10-5 with 49,500 SEA units (up 49%; equaling 65.17 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs). It’s the best week, by SEA units and on-demand streams, for the album. The set surges following the Aug. 1 release of the “Guess” remix, featuring Billie Eilish. “Guess” was originally issued as a solo Charli XCX cut on the deluxe edition of the Brat album. Eilish was added to a new remix on Aug. 1. All versions of the song are combined for charting purposes, and contribute to the Brat album’s SEA total.

Three Brat tunes are on the Top Streaming Albums chart: “Guess,” which debuts at No. 6, “Apple,” new at No. 39 (continuing to bask in its gone-viral dance trend), and “360” (38-41).

The lone debut in the top 10 of the new Top Streaming Albums chart is Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 2, at No. 6 with nearly 46,000 SEA units (59.44 million on-demand official streams of the 16 songs on the streaming edition of the album).

14 Aug 2024

See Photos of Snoop Dogg, Tyler, the Creator, Alicia Keys & More From ‘BIG SHOTS!! Volume Two’ Book

Back in 2017, Phillip Leeds dropped the critically acclaimed photography book BIG SHOTS! that captured the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Jay-Z, Pharrell, David Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Questlove, Andre Leon Talley, Justin Timberlake and more.

Now he’s back with BIG SHOTS!! Volume Two: More Shots From the Worlds of Music, Fashion and Beyond. This second volume features SZA on the cover and a foreword from Pharrell with more than 500 Polaroid portraits inside. Some of those portraits include KAWS, Dave Grohl, George Clinton, James Lipton, Ari Melber, Megan Thee Stallion, John David Washington and a slew of other heavyweights in music, fashion, film and media.

“I met Phillip way back, in ’95 or ’96, and he was always the guy who would say, ‘Let’s take a picture,’” Pharrell said of Phillip Leeds in BIG SHOTS! Volume 1.

Born and raised in New York City, Leeds is a well known vet within the music and fashion scene, but only began publishing his work in 2017 and used the Polaroid Big Shot camera exclusively for these photos. In association with Blurring Books, the photographer is hosting a launch party and exhibit on Friday, Aug. 23 in Los Angeles. BIG SHOTS!! Volume Two is set to drop Tuesday, Aug. 27.

We were given exclusive access to share 10 never-before-seen photos of some of your favorite rappers, singers and DJs like Tyler, the Creator, Snoop Dogg, Swizz Beatz & Alicia Keys, Sister Nancy, No Malice, D-Nice, BIA, RZA, Roxanne Shanté and Redman.

Check ’em out below and preorder the book here.

14 Aug 2024

Billie Eilish Ties Record for Most Hot Rock & Alternative Songs No. 1s

Billie Eilish ties Imagine Dragons for the most No. 1s – five each – in the 15-year history of Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, as “Birds of a Feather” lifts to the top of the Aug. 17-dated survey.

“Birds of a Feather” reigns via 31.8 million radio audience impressions, 22.4 million official U.S. streams and 4,000 downloads sold in the week ending Aug. 8, according to Luminate.

The song follows “Lunch,” which ruled for a week in June, as Eilish’s second leader from her album Hit Me Hard and Soft, released in May.

Eilish first hit No. 1 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs with “My Future” in 2020 and returned to the top with “Happier Than Ever” in 2021 and “What Was I Made For?” in 2023.

Eilish now shares the record for the most leading titles despite often not being eligible for the tally at the onset of her career, as prior to June 2020, the ranking reflected songs specifically within the confines of the rock genre; since then, it has incorporated alternative music that may have roots in a genre other than rock, such as pop, dance and more.

Most No. 1s, Hot Rock & Alternative Songs:
5, Billie Eilish
5, Imagine Dragons
4, Twenty One Pilots
3, Zach Bryan
3, Foo Fighters
3, Linkin Park

Concurrently, “Birds of a Feather” lifts 2-1 on Hot Alternative Songs, likewise marking her fifth leader. Since the chart began in 2020, only Noah Kahan, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift also boast more than one leader, with two apiece.

As previously reported, “Birds of a Feather” becomes Eilish’s first No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts.

On the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, “Birds of a Feather” leaps 10-7 for a new high as the chart’s top Airplay Gainer.

“Birds of a Feather” debuted at No. 4 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs upon the chart arrival of Hit Me Hard and Soft. It has steadily risen since, with eight weeks at No. 2 prior to its coronation, thanks at first to attention on TikTok, followed by gains on radio, where it’s followed “Lunch” as the LP’s latest promoted single. It jumps 11-8 on the Pop Airplay list dated Aug. 17 and 25-16 on Adult Pop Airplay.

Hit Me Hard and Soft debuted at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart dated June 1 and has reigned for eight weeks. It has earned 1.2 million equivalent album units to date.

14 Aug 2024

&TEAM’s ‘Aoarashi’ Bows at No. 1 on Japan Hot 100

&TEAM’s “Aoarashi” debuts atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Aug. 14, giving the nine-member boy band its first No. 1 on the tally.

The title track from the HYBE LABELS JAPAN group’s second single dropped Aug. 7 and sold 461,863 CDs during its first week, more than its first single, to hit No. 1 for sales. The track also comes in at No. 16 for downloads, No. 45 for video views, No. 71 for radio airplay, and No. 78 for streaming.

Staying at No. 2 for the fourth straight week is Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac,” with downloads down slightly at 90% week-over-week, streaming at 99%, and video at 94%, while radio is up 198% and karaoke up 102%.

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Creepy Nuts’ “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” is back at No. 3, seeing increases in downloads, radio, and karaoke, while slowing down in streaming and video. 

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Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora’s “Supea no nai koi” bows at No.4. The title track off the girl group’s third single launched with 68,355 copies after dropping Aug. 7, surpassing both its first and second singles and debuting at the highest position on the Japan Hot 100 for the group.

Kocchinokento’s “Hai Yorokonde” continues to edge up the chart, this week moving 9-5 to break into the top 5. Debuting at No. 97 on the list released June 26, the viral hit has reached its current position after seven week on the tally. While views for the talked-about video is slowing down, downloads and streaming have increased 144% and 112%, respectively, from the previous week.

Perhaps due to the scorching summer heat in Japan, points for karaoke have increased across the board this week. The top 24 songs, including Vaundy’s long-running hit “Kaiju no Hanauta” at No. 1, held their respective positions while points increased for all.

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 Aug. 5 to 11, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

14 Aug 2024

J Balvin Reveals Why He Brought Out Will Smith at Coachella After Oscars Slap

It’s been more than two years since the Oscars slap heard around the world, and J Balvin believes in forgiveness.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the Latin superstar opened up about bringing Will Smith out onstage with him during his headlining Coachella set earlier this year. “Will Smith has always been one of my biggest idols. Period. I feel really connected with him. You cannot judge a person for some mistakes,” he told the publication, referring to the backlash Smith faced after slapping Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars ceremony, which led to a 10-year ban from the Academy. “A mistake cannot define who you are because if it’s like that, we all are bad.”

J Balvin continued, “[With] what happened with Will Smith, I felt his pain because I was going through a similar situation when I felt that some part of the world was against me for mistakes.”

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The incident occurred after Rock made an onstage joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, during the Academy Awards ceremony. “Jada, I love you. G.I Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” the comedian said about her shaved head — which is caused by the actress’ struggles with alopecia.

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The King Richard actor then slapped Rock onstage, who attempted to continue his banter before Smith began shouting from his seat, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth.”

Balvin concluded, “My inner child was screaming to have him in my show because there was no one better than him […] I told him my vision. He said, ‘Give me a week.’ And I kept pressuring, man. I kept sending him pictures of me praying, until he called and said he was down, and it was a beautiful moment to see us together, man.”

During Balvin’s set, Smith made a surprise appearance dressed as his Men in Black character, Agent J, and proceeded to rap the iconic film’s theme song.

14 Aug 2024

Muni Long’s ‘Make Me Forget’ Is Her First No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart

“Make Me Forget” is one that Muni Long will always remember.

After two previous No. 2 singles, “Make Me Forget” becomes Muni Long’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart. The track ascends from No. 3 to crown the list dated Aug. 17 after a 21% surge in week-over-week plays made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Aug. 2-8, according to Luminate.

Before she secured her first champ this week, Long managed to earn a pair of No. 2 bests on Adult R&B Airplay. Her breakthrough cut, the Grammy-winning “Hrs and Hrs,” parked in the runner-up spot for six consecutive weeks in 2022, all behind Silk Sonic’s “Love Train.” The next time around, “Made for Me” registered seven nonconsecutive weeks in second place, from December 2023 through May 2024. The song’s unusual span between weeks in the upper region traces to two distinct runs: its initial success as an R&B radio hit in late 2023 before a TikTok-fueled viral moment lifted it to a second wind and renewed radio momentum in 2024.

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With the two prior hits laying the groundwork, “Make Me Forget” races to the Adult R&B Airplay summit in nine weeks, the fastest of any track this year. The last leader to reach No. 1 in nine weeks or less was Mary J. Blige’s “Still Believe in Love,” featuring Vado, which captured the top spot in the final week of 2023.

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Elsewhere, “Make Me Forget” drives 21-18 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, the single reached 5.4 million in audience, up 19% from the prior tracking week.

“Make Me Forget” is likely to appear on Muni Long’s forthcoming album, Revenge, which will arrive on Aug. 30. The set is her first in nearly two years, since Public Displays of Affection dropped in September 2022.

14 Aug 2024

Piso 21 Scores First No. 1 on Latin Pop Airplay With Wisin Collab ‘La Misión’: ‘A Double Triumph For Us’

Piso 21 can cross off a new career milestone thanks to “La Misión,” the group’s first collab with Wisin, which rules Billboard’s Latin Pop Airplay chart. The song, released May 2 via Warner Latina, advances from No. 2 to top the Aug. 17-dated list.

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“Achieving a No. 1 on U.S. radio with a song like ‘La Misión’ is a double triumph for us: collaborating with Wisin was already a dream fulfilled,” Juan David Huertas, better known as El Profe, tells Billboard.

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“La Misión” takes the podium with 4.2 million audience impressions, up 10%, logged in the week ending Aug. 8, according to Luminate. Puerto Rico’s Univision station WKAQ-FM takes the lead among the song’s biggest supporters during the tracking week, while New York’s SBS WSKQ, comes in second.

As “La Misión” lands at the summit on Latin Pop Airplay, Piso 21 achieves its first No. 1 on the tally, and first ruler overall since “Déjala Que Vuelva,” featuring Manuel Turizo, crowned Tropical Airplay for two weeks in March 2022.

“Since ‘Déjala Que Vuelva’ in 2018, we hadn’t reached these heights, and we’re thrilled to be back at the top,” Pablo Mejía, aka, Pablito tells Billboard. “All good things take time, and this is proof once again.”

Back on Latin Pop Airplay, the Colombians previously secured three other top 10s from 13 total chart appearances, the highest being “Más De La Una” with Maluma for a No. 3 high in 2021.

“We’ve spent many years evolving Piso 21’s sound while staying true to its essence and soul,” David Escobar, who goes by Dim, adds. “‘La Misión’ is a testament to that effort.”

In addition to Piso 21, “La Misión’s” success also secures a Latin Pop Airplay achievement for Wisin, who despite being a reggaetón artist, has become a staple in the ranking with 36 total appearances. Among those, six reached No. 1. The Puerto Rican was last in charge through another Colombian partnership, as “Buenos Días” with Camilo ruled for one week in 2022.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported us in this endeavor; we couldn’t have done it without you,” adds Piso 21’s David Lorduy, known as just Lorduy.

Elsewhere, “La Misión” gains territory on the overall Latin Airplay chart, entering the top 20 for the first time, at No. 16. It’s the highest ranking for both acts in over two years.

14 Aug 2024

Post Malone’s Country Collaborators on What It’s Like to Work With the Superstar: ‘He’s the Real Deal’

As Post Malone prepares to release his country album F-1 Trillion on Friday, country artists who have worked with him on the album and other projects are singing his praises. 

“He’s the real deal,” says Keith Urban, who sang  Elvis Presley’s 1959 hit “Baby, What You Want Me to Do” with Post Malone on a 2019 NBC special in one of Post Malone’s first appearances with a country artist. It’s a sentiment shared by others who have worked with him.

The new Mercury/Republic set, produced by Charlie Handsome and Louis Bell, features duets with several country stars, including Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, Brad Paisley, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen, whose collaboration, “I Had Some Help,” topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Country Airplay charts. Current single, “Pour Me a Drink,” featuring Blake Shelton, climbs to No. 14 with a bullet on Country Airplay for the chart dated Aug. 17, while the duet with Combs, “Guy For That,” is No. 36.

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HARDY, who duets with Malone on “Hide My Gun” and performed a Joe Diffie tribute with him and Wallen at last year’s CMA Awards, says the singer approached making a country album “the right way … He spent months and months of his time in Nashville and immersed himself into the songwriting world and put together a really great record that is  amazing.””

“I just want to hang out, have a beer, listen to your ideas,” Post Malone told the New York Times, describing how he approaches collaborations. “I feel like there’s a lot of people set in their ways. I just want to make the song work in the best way for the song.”

The only drawback for some of his writing partners? His late night hours. In a December interview, Wallen confessed that Post Malone’s studio hours were hard for him. “[He] likes to write really, really late at night — and I can’t do that three nights in a row. I can do that one night,” he says with a laugh. “I can start about 5 p.m., but starting at 10 p.m. — that’s rough.”

For the last several months, Malone and his collaborators posted photos from writing sessions and snippets of new songs. The Dallas native has also done a series of country-only gigs, including at Stagecoach, a Bud Light-sponsored event in Nashville and, this past weekend, at San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival. On Wednesday (Aug. 14), he makes his Grand Ole Opry debut. A 21-date F-1 Trillion tour kicks off Sept. 8 in Salt Lake City. 

At his Outside Lands set on Sunday (Aug. 11), Post Malone performed an endearing, if somewhat shambolic cover of Brooks & Dunn’s 1991 classic “Brand New Man,” where he forgot some of the words. Still, it met the approval of the original duo, who openly admit to being fans.

“We were going back and forth about it [Monday night],” says the duo’s Ronnie Dunn. “[Post Malone] goes, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I said, ‘You’ve killed it man.’ And he said, ‘I started reading some guy’s poster and got off on the track and eight Bud Lights didn’t help.’ He’s as cool as they come.”

Dunn notes what a number of country artists who have worked with Post Malone have observed: he’s a veritable country music jukebox. “You see him step out on stage — at The Bluebird Café and stuff — with his guitar and he sings every song verbatim. I’d have to have cue cards all over the floor, but he knows these country songs. He’s like a savant. He’s sincerely a country music fan.”

In addition to his Grand Ole Opry debut, Wednesday say Post Malone receive four nominations for the People’s Choice Country Awards, including song of 2024 with “I Had Some Help.”

14 Aug 2024

Luke Combs Becomes First Artist to Earn Three Diamond Country Singles Certified by RIAA

Luke Combs has made a habit out of making history during his near-decade in the spotlight since breaking through with his multi-week No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hit “Hurricane” in 2017.

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Now, the two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner has earned five new RIAA certification plaques. Most notably, Combs’ songs “When It Rains It Pours” and “Hurricane” have been certified Diamond by the RIAA, making Combs the first artist to have three Diamond country singles certified by the RIAA. These two new Diamond-certified songs join Combs’ “Beautiful Crazy,” which was certified Diamond last year.

The songs also join the handful of other country singles that have earned Diamond certification from the RIAA, including Darius Rucker’s “Wagon Wheel,” Kane Brown’s “Heaven,” Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know” and Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.”

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During a Grand Ole Opry appearance Tuesday night (Aug. 13) celebrating his five years as a member of the Grand Ole Opry (Combs was inducted as a member on July 16, 2019), Combs was also honored for his 2022 album Gettin Old earning Platinum certification, and for his 2019 album What You See Is What You Get being certified 5x Platinum. Additionally, Combs’s Grammy-nominated version of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” was also certified 5x Platinum by the RIAA.

Combs has been out on his headlining Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour for much of this year, and upcoming, has shows including festival dates at Country Thunder Alberta and YQM Country Fest, in addition to his own Bootleggers Bonfire, a special multi-day event just for Combs’s fanclub, set for October in Miramar, Florida.

14 Aug 2024

Usher Postpones Opening Night of Past Present Future Tour in Atlanta

Atlanta fans preparing to see Usher kick off his Past Present Future tour on Wednesday night (Aug. 14) will have to wait as the R&B superstar announced that the opening show at State Farm Arena has been postponed for a later date.

Usher released a statement to social media on Wednesday hours before he was slated to hit the stage where he cited an ailment causing him to slow down and give his “body a second to rest and heal.”

A rep for the singer relayed to Variety that Usher needed extra “time to heal from an unspecified injury.” Billboard has reached out to Usher’s team for comment.

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“For my 30-plus year career, 100% of my blood, sweat and tears has gone into putting on the best performance and creating a memorable experience for my fans. I have every intention of doing that for this tour as well which is why I have to postpone tonight’s show and reschedule it for a later date to give my body a second to rest and heal,” he wrote.

The Grammy-winning singer continued: “You’re still going to get a bit of the past, some of the present and a unique look into the future on the rescheduled date but you’ll also be getting 100% of me. The last thing I want to ever do is disappoint you, the fans who have been eagerly waiting for this tour to start. However, I wouldn’t be the entertainer that I am if I can’t physically give you my best. My team will be sharing news of the rescheduled date soon. I can’t wait to celebrate this legacy with you.”

As of press time, the second and third shows from the original trio of Atlanta dates are still on as scheduled, per Ticketmaster.

The Usher: Past Present Future tour is set to rumble through North America with stops slated for Boston, Toronto, NYC, Detroit, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and will wrap up in Chicago with a pair of shows to close out October.

The trek will cap off what’s been a banner year for the 45-year-old hitmaker, who headlined the Super Bowl LXVIII Halftime Show in Las Vegas back in February, released his ninth studio album Coming Home and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 BET Awards in June.

“Getting here has definitely not been easy, but it has been worth it,” he said while accepting the honor at the BET Awards.

A new date for Wednesday’s show is yet to be announced. Usher’s next scheduled to take the stage in Atlanta for a pair of shows on Friday (Aug. 16) and Saturday (Aug. 17). See his full statement below.