Music

07 Aug 2024

Juice WRLD’s Video For Psychedelic Emo Rap Classic ‘Lucid Dreams’ Crosses 1 Billion Views on YouTube

If there is a single image that pops to mind in many fan’s brains when they think of late MC Juice WRLD it’s likely of the rapper’s laconic face sticking up from a hole in the floor in the video for his breakthrough 2018 hit “Lucid Dreams.” That might explain why it’s the first one of Juice’s videos to pass the one billion mark on YouTube.

The video service announced the news on Wednesday (August 7), welcoming the rapper born Jarad Anthony Higgins into the club; Juice WRLD died on Dec. 8, 2019 at age 21 of accidental oxycodone and codeine intoxication.

The trippy clip directed by Lyrical Lemonade founder Cole Bennett is as hazy as the interpolation that undergirds the melody, Sting’s 1993 ballad “Shape of My Heart.” It finds Juice trapped in a hole in the floor as he sedately sing/raps, “I still see your shadows in my room/ Can’t take back the love that I gave you/ It’s to the point where I love and I hate you/ And I cannot change you, so I must replace you/ Easier said than done/ I thought you were the one.”

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The hazy visual then finds Juice smoking and singing the song while sitting on steps as a digital skull floats across the screen and the word “dead” flashes in red and a fiery door opens and closes amid images of the MC and a woman in corpse-like makeup. The story, such as it is, never advances beyond the backlit lip synch performance, flashes to the floor-trapped Juice and a final image of his hand joining with what looks like a woman’s hand superimposed with a pulsing heart.

“Lucid Dreams” was originally released on SoundCloud before its inclusion the rapper’s debut full length Goodbye & Good Riddance album; it debuted at No. 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 before peaking at No. 2 and to date has nearly 2.6 million streams on Spotify, putting it at No. 24 on the list of most-streamed songs of all-time on the service.

Watch the “Lucid Dreams” video below.

07 Aug 2024

Drake Reveals How One Woman Provided Inspiration for His Hit ‘Hotline Bling’

Drake’s “Hotline Bling” was inescapable following its release in 2015. The 6 God gave fans a peek behind the curtain with his 100 Gigs drop of content on Tuesday (Aug. 6), which included clips of him at the studio explaining how the diamond-certified hit came to be.

According to the artist, an anonymous woman he was hooking up with actually provided the inspiration behind “Hotline Bling,” as he had stored that phrase as her contact name. The reason? She kept getting calls and messages while the two were hanging out.

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“We used to be in bed together … and her phone would be blowing up. So I saved her name in my phone as ‘Hotline Bling.’ That’s always been her name on my phone,” he said in the drop. “And I was looking at it today, I was like, ‘Hotline Bling’ is a sick name. That should be an artist name.”

Drizzy continued to say that he gave her a heads-up that he recorded a track named after her phone contact nickname. “I was talking to her today. I was like, ‘Yo, your name, your nickname is such a good title for something.’ And then I just told her today, I was like, you know I did a song called ‘Hotline Bling,’ that’s crazy,” Drake added.

The OVO boss was thinking about inviting Future to join him on “Hotline Bling,” but ultimately decided against it. “It’s melody, but it’s a vibe,” he stated. “When I was writing it, I wrote it as a Shy Glizzy song. That’s why I was asking if we should put Future on this s–t.” Drake and Future would connect a few months later for their What a Time to Be Alive joint project.

Produced by Nineteen85, “Hotline Bling” arrived in July 2015, and its vibrant music video featuring Drake’s signature dance spawned an array of viral memes and parodies on social media. The anthem never topped the Billboard Hot 100, but reached a peak of No. 2 on the chart.

Watch the 100 Gigs clips below.

07 Aug 2024

Steph Curry Says He’s Still a ‘Big Drake Guy’ Despite Kendrick Lamar Rap Beef

Steph Curry is Team Drizzy.

The basketball superstar sat down with GQ recently, where he was asked about his thoughts on Drake and Kendrick Lamar’s recent rap beef, in which he was briefly mentioned on Lamar’s “Meet the Grahams.” “Ay, LeBron, keep the family away. Hey, Curry, keep the family away,” Lamar rapped on the track, before adding, “To anybody that embodies the love for the kids, keep the family away. They lookin’ at you too if you standin’ by him, keep the family away.”

“I’m a big Drake guy. I’ve been for a long time,” Curry responded to the publication. “I think obviously you know what it is for the rap industry to have that, but I still rock with Drake. Absolutely. Absolutely.”

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Previously, Steph’s wife, Ayesha, got her own line in Drake’s 2021 album, Certified Lover Boy, on the track “Race My Mind.” “How I’m supposed to wife it?/ You not Ayesha enough,” Drizzy raps on the song.

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Earlier this year, she commented on the shoutout during an episode of Watch What Happens Live. “I think I was dumbfounded,” the cookbook author told host Andy Cohen. “That’s our family, so I think I was appreciative that they respect me so much that they think I’m a great wife.”

07 Aug 2024

Chappell Roan Reacts to Kamala Harris & Tim Walz’s New Campaign Merch Looking Like Hers

If you see a camo-print baseball cap with orange lettering in the wild, it could mean one of two things: The wearer is either a Chappell Roan fan or a voter supporting Kamala Harris and Tim Walz’s 2024 White House bid — unless, of course, they’re both.

Shortly after the sitting VP announced that the Minnesota governor would serve as her running mate, the duo unveiled campaign merch that instantly reminded some people of an item in the “Good Luck, Babe!” artist’s store: a woodsy trucker hat with a neon orange message over the brim. Harris and Walz’s version simply reads their names, while Roan’s says “Midwest Princess,” as a reference to her Billboard 200 top 10 album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.

Upon seeing Harris’ new apparel, Roan simply tweeted Tuesday (Aug. 6): “is this real.”

The LGBTQ+ singer also retweeted someone’s joking comment, which read, “How gay do u have to be to see hunting colors and think it’s a Chappell roan thing.”

Billboard has reached out to a rep for Harris for comment.

For the record, the hat — whether or not it’s a purposeful nod to Roan — is very much real. The item is currently available for $40 on Harris’ campaign website, which reads, “You asked, we answered … The most iconic political hat in America,” digging at the red “Make America Great Again” caps worn by Republican opponent Donald Trump’s supporters. Purchasing the hat counts as a donation to the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee’s Harris Victory Fund.

Roan’s tweet comes about a week after she took the stage at Lollapalooza, drawing an enormous crowd that a spokesperson told CNN was the biggest turnout to a daytime performance that the Chicago event has ever seen. The Missouri native has been on a roll with her headline-making festival performances this year, attracting unanticipated numbers to her sets at Coachella, Boston Calling and Gov Ball.

Speaking of her Gov Ball set, Harris and Walz may have to go the extra mile to add Roan’s endorsement to their growing list of musical supporters. The “Hot to Go” singer previously called out the Biden-Harris administration during her time on stage at the New York City festival, claiming to have turned down the White House’s request for her to perform at its Pride Month celebrations.

“We want liberty, freedom and justice for all,” she said at the time. “When you do that, that’s when I’ll come.”

See Roan’s tweet about the Harris-Walz hats below.

07 Aug 2024

Flea Recalls Wild Story About Almost Getting Into a Brawl While Naked Snowboarding With Woody Harrelson

If there’s one thing that everyone knows about the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ Flea it’s that the veteran funk-punk bass slapper is never shy about letting it all hang out. And while 61-year-old rocker doesn’t hit the stage in the all together as often as he used to back in the band’s sock-only days, while chilling with his pal actor Woody Harrelson on this week’s episode of the Woodman’s SiriusXM Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast with former Cheers co-star Ted Danson, Flea told a chillingly hilarious story about a naked adventure he had with the Triangle of Sadness star.

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Flea opened by asking Harrelson is he remembered the time the two of them went on a nude snowboarding run. “He and I snowboarded naked. I have footage of Woody Harrelson and I snowboarding stark naked down a big snowy mountain,” Flea told Danson about the trip to Utah by the two pals.

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Harrelson said the footage is “great,” with Flea noting that he was ready to post it on Instagram before Woody’s wife, Laura, “cautioned me against it.” Always a gentleman, Danson joked that it was cold, after all, so the footage might have come up short, if you know what he means. Woody added that he and Flea always have a great time and good laughs when they hang out, some of his greatest times, in fact, even though Flea balances his Zen nature with a competitive side.

That explained how a friendly buff bomb down the mountain almost ended in fisticuffs.

Flea confirmed that he is super-competitive, though he doesn’t really care if he wins or loses, before throwing friendly shade when Harrelson said he also doesn’t care whose on top when they play basketball or race on their snowboards.

“I’ve seen you sulking after losing. I remember one of the last times we went, we were racing, and we were both reckless ’cause let’s face it. We go very fast, but we’re very average snowboarders. We have to admit that we’re average,” Flea said. “Wo we’re racing and I’m like out of control rocketing down this mountain and I nearly take a lady out, but I don’t. I see her and I’m like, ‘Whoa.’ Swerve out of her way and I miss her. All’s good. We’re racing. I can’t remember who won. Probably me, probably me, and we get down there, but then the lady, we’re getting ready to get on the lift and we’re laughing and yelling at each other, and this lady comes up and she’s infuriated.”

Flea said the woman chewed him out for nearly running into her, saying he was out of control and prompting the bassist to apologize and admit she was right. “‘I’m so glad that I didn’t hit you, but I’ll be much more careful next time. Please forgive me. I’m very sorry,’” he said he told her. “As you know, I’m neighborly. I’m polite, I’m considerate.”

When Danson asked if Flea meant it, the Chili Pepper said absolutely, acknowledging that it was probably a bit scary to see a naked man ripping by her on the mountain. “I didn’t even touch her, and she was like, ‘Well, you’re an a–hole.’ Blah, blah, blah, and I was like, ‘Ma’am, I’m very sorry,’” he reiterated. But then things got weird when Flea said the woman stuck her ski pole in his face, which agitated him. That’s when Harrelson skied up and saw the tense pole dance and came to his pal’s defense.

“And then she goes, ‘Well, my husband’s gonna come down here and he is gonna show you what for,’ and then that’s when you’re like, ‘Bring the f–king husband. I want to see her bring the husband,” he said Harrelson told the woman. The pair decided to exit the tense scene and hop on the lift, but not before Harrelson, “itching for a brawl,” started yelling, “‘I’m waiting at the top of the lift. I’ll be waiting up top!’”

Harrelson, who says he’s much more chill now, told Flea at the time, “nothing could make me happier,” than if the woman’s husband joined them at the top of the mountain, acknowledging back then — they didn’t specify when this adventure happened — the time the actor used to derive great joy from “impending chaos.”

Watch Flea and Harrelson tell their naked ski skirmish story below.

07 Aug 2024

New Genesis of a Pop Icon: Ado’s Past, Present & Future Showcased at Japan’s National Stadium

On April 27 and 28, Ado performed two shows at the National Stadium, entitled [Ado SPECIAL LIVE 2024 “Heart”].

She had just finished [Wish], her first world tour, which took her to Asia, Europe, and the U.S. She carried that momentum with her into the “Heart” shows. This was the first time a female solo artist had ever performed at the National Stadium, whose extensive renovation project ended in November 2019. Tickets for the two day event sold out immediately, and 140,000 people were there to see this historic moment. On the first day of the shows, Ado made a vow.

The show began with the sound of a guitar — the bridge part of the song “KokoroToIuNaNoFukakai.” The volume gradually rose, accompanied by the audience clapping in rhythm, creating a sense of unity. The sound of a heartbeat pulsed through the stadium, followed by a dynamic opening movie, raising expectations. And then Ado herself appeared on stage, above the band, in a box-shaped cage. Her intimidating voice boomed out “What is just? What is folly? I’ll show you.” The first song, unleashing a tidal wave of excitement, was her major label debut, “Usseewa.” The heavy, almost metal-sounding instrumentation and the powerful, shouted lyrics blended to produce a new song that went far beyond the original. It was the kind of sonic world that only Ado could create. A song needs to touch your heart. That’s far more important than how intelligible its lyrics are. This was brought home by the song “Tot Musica.” Ado’s awe-inspiring voice was an embodiment of the movement of the smoke shown on the enormous center screen. The impact of her voice commanded the stadium, like venom, a work of art in itself. Although her singing frequently dipped into growling vocals, it maintained an exquisite balance, never sounding coarse. Her aesthetic sensibilities never faltered.

In contrast to the energy of these two songs, she set a more mature mood with “Lucky Bruto,” which she sang laying on her back, one leg raised high, and “Domestic De Violence,” which she performed laying down, putting on a sensuous dance. In “Aishite Aishite Aishite,” her natural expressiveness shined to its fullest. As if possessed by the song’s protagonist, she held nothing back, expressing the true tragedy of the piece. Every time her vocals seamlessly shifted from a keen voice, sharp as a blade, to a beautiful singing voice, the audience broke out in goose bumps, breath bated. The song climaxed with her shouting out the lyrics “I am so happy! AAAAHHHH!” The crowd broke out in loud exclamations of admiration as her screams paired with the frenzied, flashing lights and the visuals, which faithfully reproduced the feel of the song’s music video. It was an unforgettable moment.

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Her cage rose into the air as she sang “Kagakushu,” followed by “Motherland,” which featured expert vocalization, supported by the crowd clapping to the rhythm. In “Gira Gira,” her rhythmic steps evoked the image of tap-dancing. The cage came down to its original position and a new arrangement of “Eien No Akuruhi” began. Ado’s voice was a genuine expression of a young girl’s mind, like a princess dancing with a prince at a ball. Then the audience looked up at the night sky as one in a moment of reflection on the memories of their youth. As the ballad drew to an end with a majestic outro that was far longer than anyone had been expecting, drones took to the open sky above the National Stadium, depicting a heart, the line of a heartbeat monitor, and then Ado’s symbol, a blue rose, accompanied by fireworks. The crowd broke out in cheers.

A euphoric Ado then performed “I’m invincible,” wearing a large, billowy dress. Her performance made it evident how deep her understanding of the song was, and showed the richness of her expressive abilities. She reproduced every ounce of feeling that went into the song, down to the finest details. In “Readymade” and “Kura Kura,” the crowd sang along. This was followed by the bittersweet “Chocolat Cadabra,” where a wild spirit and dynamism intertwined. On “Value” and “Hello Signals”, her voice was relaxed and smooth, heightening expectations of what was to come. There were many moments in the show in which one felt oneself drawn in by Ado’s humanity and rich expressiveness, demonstrated not only in her almost scream-like vocals, but also in each and every movement of her vivid dancing. Sometimes powerful, sometimes delicate, her steps were always elegant.

Once freed from her cage, she sang “Ibara,” followed by “Show” and “Odo,” the frenzied peak of the night. Stepping one level lower on the stage, she swaggered from one edge of the stage to the other. Flames shot into the air, the crowd clapping in rhythm along with Ado’s flexible voice. Ado’s vitality was truly moving.

Speaking to the audience, Ado reflected on [Wish], her first world tour, how she used that experience in her “Heart” performance, and how the tour made her come to love Japan even more.

“I came to really feel how important it was for the people of the world to learn about what a wonderful country Japan is, and to learn of our culture. I want to become an even bigger global presence, and I hope people can learn about what a great country this is through me.” “I swore to myself that if I could achieve this, I’d bring joy to the people of Japan, whether it be through music or something else.” 

The title of these shows, “Heart,” represents all of the feelings people have: anger, pain, temptation, transience, sorrow, joy, reminiscence. At the same time, Ado explained, it represented the Vocaloid and utaite culture that led Ado to become a musician. “The next song is the final song. You’re ready for more? You haven’t had enough?? You want more???” With that, as silver confetti fluttered through the air, she sang “New Genesis.” The words to the song, “Let’s go to the New World,” “I’ll show you my dreams,” filled the stadium, inviting listeners to a wonderful future.

There were three special guests on the 27th. Opening DJ TeddyLoid, who worked on “Show” and “Odo,” played remixed versions of Ado songs. In the encore, “DIGNITY,” a giant blue balloon appeared on stage. Inside it were Ado and Tak Matsumoto of B’z, who helped write the song. In “missing,” Ado boarded a birdcage cart that took her around the arena, and then Ado, electrifying the audience with “Backlight” and “FREEDOM,” returned to the stage.

“Vocaloid and utaite are at the center of my heart. I hope these two wonderful cultures will grow around the world. If I can, I want to be a bridge between the two. And now is the moment when I do just that.”

Next to Ado, who had changed into elegant, flared pants, appeared the night’s final guest, Hatsune Miku. Dancing symmetrically, the two sang “Sakura Biyori to Time Machine,” a new song written by mafumafu debuting for the first time. Ado’s singing voice was tearful, like she remembering the past as she sang. It was a voice of genuine warmth.

Ado began to reflect on her own past. She used to hate herself, and couldn’t allow herself to rely on others. The only place for her in this world was social media. She wasn’t smart, she said, or skilled. She was gloomy. And yet, she had a desire for recognition and approval, stronger than anyone. She was saved from this tumult of emotion by music and singing, her great loves, so she chose to keep singing…

“Nobody knows that the future holds. That’s why I felt, so strongly, that maybe things would work out. My beloved Vocaloid and utaite cultures gave me faith in the future. Now, here I am, standing in that future I so longed for.” “I hope the song (“Sakura Biyori to Time Machine”) I sang with her (Miku), and this show this evening, can give back to the Vocaloid and utaite cultures, and help lead the way to the future. Please, don’t forget these cultures I love so much.”

The encore ended with a passionate performance of “KokoroToIuNaNoFukakai,” a song with a special significance for Ado. The lyrics “How can I decide my emotions?” had a rawness to them that made the audience’s hearts go out to her. Ado bowed deeply and left the stage and, as if in celebration of her birthday, the sky was lit ablaze with gorgeous fireworks. The magic lingered on, even after Ado’s departure. 

This was a night that embodied Ado’s past, present, and future. The most captivating part was her sincere, humble personality. Her character may be why she keeps evolving while never forgetting where she came from, as her performance made so clear. On July 10, she released her second album, Zanmu, and from July 14th she launched her first nationwide arena tour, [Ado JAPAN TOUR 2024 “Mona Lisa’s Profile”]. The passion she exudes never wanes. Her desires have grown to a global scale, as she wants to share the wonders of Japan through the cultures of Vocaloid and utaite. With Ado, we are truly seeing the new genesis of a pop icon.

This article by Mio Komachi first appeared on Billboard Japan.

Full setlist:

1. Usseewa
2. Tot Musica
3. Lucky Bruto
4. Domestic De Violence
5. Aishite Aishite Aishite
6. Kagakushu
7. Motherland
8. Gira Gira
9. Eien No Akuruhi
10. I’m invincible
11. Readymade
12. Kura Kura
13. Chocolat Cadabra
14. Value
15. Hello Signals
16. Ibara
17. Show
18. Odo
19. New Genesis

Encore
20. DIGNITY
21. missing
22. Backlight
23. FREEDOM
24. Sakura Biyori to Time Machine
25. KokoroToIuNaNoFukakai

07 Aug 2024

Snow Man’s ‘BREAKOUT’ Debuts at No. 1 on Japan Hot 100

Snow Man’s “BREAKOUT” blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Aug. 7.

The new single is being featured as the theme song for Honeko Akabane’s Bodyguards, a new movie starring Snow Man member Raul. The track launched with 1,088,373 CDs to rule sales and also hit No. 1 for radio. This is the nine-member boy band’s ninth single to top the Japan Hot 100 and the first since “Dangerholic” released last September.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Lilac” continues to hold at No. 2. This track is still going strong after 17 weeks on the chart, with video views up 135% from the previous week and the consistently climbing karaoke metric up 10% this week. The popular three-man band has 14 songs charting this week including “Lilac.” In particular, “Blue Ambiance (feat. asmi),” released in July 2022, has returned to the top 100 for the first time in three weeks, powered by karaoke.

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At No. 3 is =LOVE’s “Zettai aidoru yamenaide” (meaning “don’t ever quit being an idol”). The single was fueled by physical sales alone; it sold 260,304 copies in its first week — a career-high for the ten-member girl group — to hit No. 2 for the metric, while not ranking in any of the others that count towards the chart’s measurement.

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LIL LEAGUE from EXILE TRIBE’s “Youth Spark” bows at No. 5, selling 62,680 copies to hit No. 3 for sales, while also coming in at No. 7 for radio.

Notable chart moves outside the top 10 include YOASOBI’s “Butai ni tatte” (“standing on stage”), which jumps 43-16 on the Japan Hot 100 this week. After dropping July 26, streams for the track have increased by about 3 times and radio by about 2.5 times compared to the song’s debut week (though the track only had three days to count towards the chart week then).

Meanwhile, J-pop summer favorites have returned to the chart this week. aiko’s “Hanabi” charted for the first time in 11 months since Sept. 6 of last year after streams went up 111% and karaoke 115% from the week before, and DAOKO x Kenshi Yonezu’s “Uchiage Hanabi” also charted for the first time in a year since Aug. 16, 2023.

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 July 29 to Aug. 4, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

07 Aug 2024

Fuerza Regida’s ‘Pero No Te Enamores’ Debuts at No. 2 on Top Latin Albums

Just six months after Fuerza Regida debuted in the top 10 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart with Dolido Pero No Arrepentido (EP), the group sets foot in the album ranking’s upper region with Pero No Te Enamores, its eighth studio album, which debuts at No. 2 on the Aug. 10-dated list.

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Pero No Te Enamores, released July 25 on Street Mob/Rancho Humilde/ Sony Music Latin, launches with 23,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. during the tracking week ending Aug. 1, according to Luminate. Most of the 15-track set’s first week total is powered by streaming activity equating to 30.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the album’s songs. The album also bows at No. 19 on the all-genre Top Streaming Albums chart, where it ranks as the only Latin album debut of the week. It’s one of two Latin sets in the top 20, behind Peso Pluma’s Éxodo, which lifts 13-11 after its No. 3 debut in July.

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On Top Latin Albums, one unit equals one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.

With Pero No Te Enamores, Fuerza Regida ties regional Mexican music with contrasting genres such as jersey club, Latin rhythmic, pop, dance and drill in collaborations that include Major Lazer and Alok, Maluma with Gordo, Afrojack and Bellakath. The album was also produced by Afrojack, Alok, Gordo and Major Lazer.

Further, as the album debuts at No. 2, Fuerza Regida banks its seventh top 10 and its second No. 2 start, after Pa Las Baby’s y Belikeada (November 2023), which landed at the summit in its 26th week where it held for three consecutive weeks starting the April 27-dated survey. Beyond those two, the San Bernardino, Calif.-based band has collected five other top 10s dating back to 2019 when it earned its first top 10 through the No. 8-peaking Del Barrio Hasta Aquí.

Fuerza Regida becomes the second regional Mexican act to debut in the top two rankings on Top Latin Albums in 2024, trailing only Ivan Cornejo whose album Mirada bowed at No. 1 on last week’s chart (dated Aug. 3). Notably, only two other acts of any genre have debuted that high this year, both female pop artists: Kali Uchis with Orquídeas and Shakira with Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, both which launched at No. 1 on the Jan. 27 and the April 6-dated tallies, respectively.

Elsewhere, Pero No Te Enamores starts at No. 25 on the overall Billboard 200 tally, for the group’s fifth chart entry.

As Pero No Te Enamores arrives, eight of the project’s cuts debut on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, giving Fuerza Regida a total of 46 career visits on the airplay-, streaming- and digital sales-blended list. That said, the Mexican-American act enters an exclusive group of regional Mexican bands with as many or more entries on Hot Latin Songs since its inception in 1986. The list is led by Los Tigres del Norte with 67 total entries, followed by Intocable (57), Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga (54), Los Tucanes de Tijuana (47) and now Fuerza Regida (46).

In addition to the new arrivals on Hot Latin Songs, “Tu Name,” the first single from Fuerza’s Dolido Pero No Arrepentido (EP) holds at No. 6 for a fifth week, after the song reached No. 2 high in March. Here’s the rundown of Fuerza Regida’s simultaneous songs on the current Hot Latin Songs chart:

  • No. 5, “Nel” (debut)
  • No. 6, “Tu Name”
  • No.12, “Pero No Te Enamores” (debut)
  • No. 24, “TUQLO” (debut)
  • No. 27, “Secreto Victoria” (debut)
  • No. 32, “Sofia,” with Major Lazer & Alok, (debut)
  • No. 40, “Kylie” (debut)
  • No. 41, “Bella” (debut)
  • No. 42, “Valeria,” with Maluma featuring Gordo, (debut)

07 Aug 2024

Today’s Hits Are Born, Not Made: Why ‘Every Song Has to Prove Itself’ Upon Release or Risk Being Abandoned

In April, rising pop singer-songwriter Chappell Roan released “Good Luck, Babe!”, a sleek, synthy single with nonchalant verses and an emphatically dismissive chorus. Her album Midwest Princess had failed to crack the Billboard 200 when it came out the year before, but “Good Luck, Babe!” immediately showed signs of commercial promise, handily out-streaming previous tracks. It chugged onto the Billboard Hot 100, starting at No. 77, and eleven weeks later, with some coaxing, made it all the way to the top 10.

A version of this path used to be commonplace: It took time, usually months, to propel a single into the top 10. Today, however, it’s hard to find a trajectory like Chappell Roan’s; as of the third week of July, 75% of this year’s top 10 hits have debuted in the top 10. Launching a single has become more like launching a new album, or even a new movie — focus on pre-release marketing, live and die by first-week results. 

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This has its advantages. Because so much of pre-release marketing involves teasing songs on social media, artists and labels often know how the public feels about a track before it comes out, so they can spend promotional dollars more efficiently. And unlike movies, songs are relatively cheap to make, so if teasing one fails to arouse interest, an artist can cut bait quickly, or even trash a track and not bother to put it out.

“The industry used to front-load any strategy before they had the confidence that it’s working,” says Nick Bobetsky, who manages Chappell Roan. “You don’t have to do that now.”

But there’s a potential downside, too. Executives say that many artists and labels are often unwilling, or unable, to execute the sort of monthslong campaigns that create hits over time — think Latto‘s “Big Energy,” Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” or Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season,” which all took more than 20 weeks to climb the chart and peak in the top 10.

“If you don’t have a song react immediately, if it doesn’t stream an extraordinary amount right away, everyone’s like, ‘It’s not working,’” says J Grand, a former major label A&R who owns the label 88 Classic. “In the same way we need to be patient building artists, we’ve got to be patient with songs we really believe in.”

Twenty-five years ago, it was nearly impossible for a song to explode off the starting line and debut in the Hot 100’s top 10. Chart position was determined by airplay, which usually grew as radio stations took time to gauge the success of a song in their market, and single sales, which often rose in conjunction with airplay and TV appearances and the release of a music video.

Back in 2000, an average top 10 hit took 11.6 weeks — nearly three months — to reach its peak. “Both the flow of information was slow and purchasing was slow,” says Glenn McDonald, a former Spotify employee and the author of You Have Not Yet Heard Your Favorite Song: How Streaming Changes Music. “It took a while for anybody to know that a thing was happening, and then it’d be a while before they worked up the enthusiasm to actually go to a record store and buy whatever it was.” 

Now, of course, social media ensures that news travels instantly, and the widespread adoption of streaming means that new music is just a click or two away. But an eight- or nine-week climb up the chart was routine until around 2018. 

Planning, funding and executing that climb was the chief function of the record labels. “Back then, it was really governed by whether you went to radio, whether you were on TV, whether you had a big press story, or even whether your release was available at a store for people to buy,” says John Fleckenstein, COO at RCA Records. 

Labels still have these tools at their disposal — RCA took Latto’s “Big Energy” to radio earlier than expected, according to Fleckenstein, after seeing listeners “were skewing a little older than they had on Latto’s previous releases.” “We don’t feel that growing records is a lost art,” he adds. Radio tends to play a crucial role in this process because stations typically add songs, and then play them more frequently, as they see them build, rather than immediately throwing a single into heavy rotation.

But radio doesn’t drive as much music discovery as it used to, especially for young people, and TV viewership is way down; on top of that, driving listeners to a song is considerably harder in a climate where they have seemingly infinite choice.

So the marketing process starts earlier, usually weeks before a track is released, and sometimes before the track is even finished. “You try to get people’s anticipation up for that song to come out,” Fleckenstein says. Otherwise, it’s just another track adrift in “a sea of content.”

The biggest stars seem to generate anticipation simply by existing. And since multimetric charts incorporate streams, acts like Taylor Swift or Drake routinely enjoy multiple top 10 debuts on the Hot 100 whenever they release a new full-length; Swift has single-handedly occupied the whole top 10. (Before streaming, there was no way of measuring on-demand listening after the purchase of an album, constraining the amount of songs likely to appear on the Hot 100, particularly simultaneously.)

Lesser known acts typically build excitement by previewing a track on short-form video platforms and encouraging fans to pre-save it, so they’ll listen the instant it arrives. The Swedish singer Benjamin Ingrosso shared snippets of “Look Who’s Laughing Now” 32 times across TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts over five weeks before releasing the track in June. “The entire intention was to collect pre-saves,” says Tim Collins, the singer’s manager. “The whole f–king country knew the song before it came out,” the single’s release date was moved up because fans were clamoring for it on TikTok, and it debuted at No. 1 on the Sweden Songs chart.

In the old regime, labels would pick singles ahead of time and spend lavishly to support those tracks, but they were flying blind, with no indication of how listeners felt about the song. Now that’s unnecessary. “If you throw up a brick, you’re probably not going to get the marketing that you want for your project,” Grand says. 

“Every song has to prove itself,” Bobetsky adds. “And with every new phase, the artist, in a lot of ways, has to re-prove themselves.” This can be mentally taxing — an artist’s position is never safe — and cruelly Darwinian. 

This landscape may also foster a fickle approach to promotion. “Artists who have had a viral moment and leaned into it can be afraid to work other songs that don’t instantly go viral,” says Ethan Curtis, founder and CEO of PushPlay, a management company and marketing agency. 

“They think, ‘It didn’t have the sauce, it’s not that good,'” he explains. But “you might hit a nerve [on TikTok] because there’s a certain topic that’s trending that day, and if you posted that video yesterday, it wouldn’t have gone.”

Persistence paid off for one of Curtis’ management clients, the singer JVKE, whose song “Golden Hour” took 22 weeks to peak in the top 10 early in 2023. “A handful” of initial posts with the track sank like a stone, according to Curtis. Some teams might have moved on. 

But then JVKE generated excitement on TikTok with a clip where he played the song for his childhood piano teacher. After a few more videos in this vein, interest on the app started flagging, so JVKE’s team encouraged other pianists to post their own clips playing the song “to showcase their chops.” 

They made more than two dozen remixes of the single as well – picking collaborators that would expand the song’s geographical reach – then booked JVKE an appearance on The Tonight Show, and paid to push the track to radio. Later, they created their own TikTok fan pages to “repurpose and repost all the content we and others had made,” Curtis says, which “extend[ed] the momentum just long enough to break into the top 10.”

Would other singles benefit from the same sort of patient, sustained, multi-prong push over several months? “I don’t think you should ever give up on a song,” Bobetsky says. Still, he allows, “If you do justice to the song’s promotion and exposure, and it’s not sticky, then trying to keep amplifying it is pretending that we know better than the public.” 

07 Aug 2024

Snoop Dogg’s Best Moments at the 2024 Summer Olympics (So Far)

The rap legend is doing it all at the Paris Games.

Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg attends the Women’s Preliminary Phase Pool C match between Team United States and Team France on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at on July 31, 2024 in Paris, France.

Carl Recine/Getty Images

Snoop Dogg has been a national treasure, delivering wall-to-wall coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris for NBC. As a special correspondent at the Olympics, Snoop has been completing various side quests throughout his time in France.

From serving as the official U.S. torchbearer, to being America’s biggest cheerleader and swimming with Michael Phelps, the West Coast rap legend has been indulging in everything the Olympics have to offer in Paris.

“This opportunity wasn’t nothing but a chance for me to show the world what it’s supposed to look like when you put the right person in the right environment,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “Sports, entertainment, the globe — this is what I do. I do it every day. I want to give a shout-out to all of the executives, because the first thing they did was tell me to be me.”

Snoop’s been going viral nearly daily on social media. Whether it’s his stylish custom American-themed outfits or him just finding something new that piques his interest at the Olympics, viewers can’t get enough of the Grammy-nominated rapper.

“I don’t have a single f–k to give about the Olympics, but I would sit through HOURS of @SnoopDogg living his best life there,” one person tweeted candidly.

Find all of Snoop Dogg’s best moments so far for the 2024 Summer Olympics below.