Music

21 Jun 2024

Buckingham Palace’s Military Band Plays Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ as Eras Tour Arrives in London

London’s got Taylor Swift on the brain! Buckingham Palace’s military band performed a rendition of the pop superstar’s 2014 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Shake It Off” recently, ahead of Swift’s first Eras Tour show at Wembley Stadium.

“Can’t stop, won’t stop groovin’,” the royal family commented on the performance video — a play on the song’s lyrics — on Instagram Friday (June 21), hours ahead of Swift’s concert.

In the clip, the band members — dressed in their official uniforms — stood on the grounds of Buckingham Palace as they performed the song on saxophones, tubas, trombones and other wind instruments as the conductor guided them. The performance was appropriately named “Changing of the Guard (Taylor’s Version),” according to the Instagram post’s label.

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“Coincidentally the motto of The Rifles is ‘Swift and Bold,’” the British Army also noted in the comments section.

Swift’s Eras Tour is set for three shows at Wembley Stadium June 21-23. Paramore is the special guest for all three shows, with METTE opening the kickoff concert, Griff the second show and Benson Boone the third.

The pop superstar just wrapped a show June 18 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, her first time performing in Wales. “That was truly out of control in the best way – looking out into that massive, bouncing, dancing sea of people… I’ll never forget it,” she captioned a carousel of photos on Instagram after the concert. “I’m absolutely living for these UK crowds.”

Swift, who kicked off the global Eras Tour in March 2023, recently shared with her fans that the long-running trek would be ending. During her June 13 performance in Liverpool, England, she told the crowd at Anfield Stadium, “The celebration of the 100th show means this is the very first time I’ve ever acknowledged to myself and admitted that this tour is going to end in December,” she said. “Like, that’s it.”

Watch Buckingham Palace’s military band celebrate the arrival of Swift’s Eras Tour in London below:

21 Jun 2024

ITZY Open Up About the ‘Energy & Vibe’ They Felt on ‘Born to Be’ Tour: ‘It Was a Very Special Experience for Us’

ITZY is in the midst of their massive Born to Be World Tour, and the group stopped by Billboard‘s studios to discuss the run with host Tetris Kelly.

“The energy and the vibe was so great,” Ryujin shared. “For me, the last tour was learning and this tour was using it, so we really enjoyed it.”

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The spring/summer outing, which kicked off in February, found the quartet hitting 18 countries across Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Europe and North America.

The dates featured the debut live performances of songs from the group’s recent 10-track Born To Be mini album, which is their first release to feature solo songs from each member of the group. The eighth EP from the group comprised of Yeji, Ryujin, Chaeryeong and Yuna — fifth member rapper Lia is currently on hiatus from the group dealing with health issues — includes the title track, as well as “Untouchable,” “Mr. Vampire” and “Dynamite.”

“Lia underwent consultation and examination as she is experiencing extreme tension and anxiety about carrying out her scheduled activities and received medical advice that she needs rest and treatment,” the group’s label, JYP Entertainment shared in a September announcement. “With the artist’s health as our top priority, after careful discussion with the members, we decided that Lia will not participate in scheduled activities starting from today and will take a break for the time being to focus on her treatment.”

Lia followed up the statement with a letter of her own, telling fans, “I felt like I needed to take some time off to love and fill myself first. As I always say, I sincerely hope that MIDZY will be happy. I will work to return in good health.”

Born to Be marks the group’s first Korean-language LP since 2021’s Crazy in Love, which reached No. 11 on the Billboard 200.

Watch Billboard‘s full interview with ITZY above.

21 Jun 2024

Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ at 40: Here’s What Happened When It Stormed Our Charts

Big Brother was supposed to take over in 1984 — not a 5’2”, 26-year-old musical polymath from Minnesota. But with the June 25, 1984, release of Purple Rain, Prince took his throne as a global pop star. The album “was like a magic bullet,” Revolution guitarist Wendy Melvoin tells Billboard ahead of Celebration 2024, a five-day Minneapolis party with performances from The Revolution, Morris Day and New Power Generation. “He knew there was lightning in a bottle.”

Purple Rain, which will turn 40 in June, poured onto Billboard’s pages as soon as it came out.

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‘Wet Behind the Ears

When Prince released his debut album, For You, the April 29, 1978, Billboard hailed it as “a one-man gangbuster” from an “18-year-old musical phenomenon who goes only by the name Prince.” The reviewer predicted “across the board appeal,” but only “Soft and Wet” hit the Billboard Hot 100, and it stalled at No. 92. It wasn’t until 1999, his fifth album, that Prince sped to the chart’s top 10 with “Little Red Corvette” and “Delirious.”

Baby, He’s a Star

The June 2, 1984, Billboard called The Jacksons’ Victory the month’s biggest album, with Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A. named the “next hottest.” The same article mentioned two other albums “by acts that hit platinum” — Prince and Jane Fonda. Two weeks later, Billboard identified Prince as a critics’ pick, “viewed with skepticism by pop programmers.” But a headline in the July 7 issue trumpeted that “Prince Keeps Springsteen Humble” as “When Doves Cry” flew to the peak of the Hot 100, shutting out The Boss’ “Dancing in the Dark.” By Aug. 4, Prince & The Revolution overthrew Springsteen atop the Billboard 200, and Purple Rain ruled for an astonishing 24 weeks.

‘Rain’ Storms Theaters

“Seeing Purple Rain makes it clear that the man from Minneapolis is certainly going to give anybody else making music this year a real hard time,” according to a movie preview in the July 28, 1984, Billboard. The next week’s issue called it “the most gripping contemporary rock movie in years,” as well as “the most performance-oriented music exploitation film since the glory days of Richard Lester’s classic Beatles films.” Another article, about the release of the single “Let’s Go Crazy,” reported that Prince had delivered “a second tour de force” — “even before the doves have stopped crying.” It became his second Hot 100 No. 1 in the Sept. 29 issue.

Crowning Achievement

An article in the Dec. 22, 1984, issue declared that the year had been “dominated by the phenomenon of His Purple Badness, thanks to a multimedia blitz of vinyl, video and film soundtracks” that “epitomized the upbeat creative and commercial climate.” “When Doves Cry” was revealed as the “top-selling single of the year.” But mainstream success didn’t clean up Prince’s dirty mind: The same issue noted that growing interest in B-side “Erotic City” — “fueled” by “controversial lyric content” — was forcing radio stations to “wrestle with how to deal with its popularity.”

This story appears in the June 22, 2024, issue of Billboard.

21 Jun 2024

Chart Rewind: In 1974, Waylon Jennings Hit No. 1 for the First ‘Time’

On June 22, 1974, Waylon Jennings’ “This Time” became his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. It was released as the lead single from his same-named LP, which he produced with Willie Nelson.

With “This Time,” which Jennings solely wrote, he achieved his first of 16 Hot Country Songs leaders (with his 31st entry on the chart). He notched his first of 53 top 10s with “(That’s What You Get) For Lovin’ Me,” which reached No. 9 in 1966. Among his No. 1 total, “Highwayman” – by Jennings, Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson – led in 1985.

Jennings was born June 15, 1937, in Littlefield, Texas. His storied career comprised an on-air stint at KLLL Lubbock, Texas, and his famed run as the balladeer on CBS’ The Dukes of Hazzard in 1979-85.

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In 1959, Jennings played bass in Buddy Holly’s band on his Winter Dance Party Tour. He performed with Holly during the latter’s final show at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Holly, J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper) and Ritchie Valens all perished in a plane crash that Feb. 3 following the concert.

Jennings, who played a big part in country music’s Outlaw movement of the 1970s, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001. He died in February 2002 at age 64 at his home in Mesa, Ariz., after a long battle with diabetes.

Jennings’ legacy is in vogue in 2024. His rebel ways were one of the most talked about elements in the recently released Netflix documentary The Greatest Night in Pop, which chronicles his walking out of the recording of USA for Africa’s megahit, and four-week 1985 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, “We Are the World.”

“Waylon in ’75,” a track on Chayce Beckham’s debut album, Bad for Me, is just one example of today’s artists paying homage to him, Meanwhile, Shooter Jennings, the 45-year-old son of Jennings and Jessi Colter (who married in 1969), has announced that he’s uncovered unreleased music from his father and plans on releasing it in 2025.

21 Jun 2024

Doja Cat Gets Super Frustrated at Wardrobe Malfunction During Amsterdam Concert: Watch

Doja Cat has brought the Scarlet Tour to Europe, and things have been running smoothly until a wardrobe malfunction derailed a part of her Amsterdam show.

The “Say So” singer got noticeably frustrated during Wednesday night’s (June 19) concert at the Ziggo Dome when a white dress got stuck and Doja couldn’t unhook it, keeping her temporarily stationary until a crew member helped her out.

“F–k this dress! B—-h!” she sounded off into the mic. Doja Cat was left only with her corset, with the bottom completely ripped off as she scurried across the stage. Fans were loving it, though, cheering her on in the process of the organic exchange.

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“The walk off has me dyinnggg,” one fan commented on a TikTok clip. Another chimed in: “Me after a minor inconvenience tbh.”

It remains to be seen if the white dress will be part of her show going forward. Doja is set to hit the stage Friday night (June 21) in Paris, and then has a pair of dates in Portugal and Poland to wrap up things in Europe.

Doja Cat is coming off the release of her 2023 Scarlet album, which reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200. The 28-year-old revived the project in May with the Scarlet 2 CLAUDE deluxe featuring A$AP Rocky and Teezo Touchdown, along with seven new tracks.

The Grammy-winner isn’t the only one having problems recently on stage. Chris Brown was left suspended in midair until the crew helped him get down during a recent show in New Jersey. CB was performing “Under the Influence,” which has him glide through the air while hooked into a harness, but he realized he was stuck and was no longer moving, and had to signal for assistance.

Watch Doja Cat express her frustration over the wardrobe malfunction below.

21 Jun 2024

Post Malone & Morgan Wallen’s ‘I Had Some Help’ Makes Quickest Climb to No. 1 on Country Airplay Chart Since 2007

Established pop star Post Malone scores his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “I Had Some Help,” featuring Morgan Wallen, ascends from No. 2 in just its seventh week on the survey (dated June 29).

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The breakup song increased by 6% to 31.5 million audience impressions June 14-20, according to Luminate. Post Malone and Wallen wrote it with Louis Bell, Ernest, Ashley Gorley, Hoskins, Ryan Vojtesa and Chandler Paul Walters.

“Help” wraps the fastest trip to No. 1 on Country Airplay since Garth Brooks’ “More Than a Memory” became the only hit in the survey’s 34-year history to arrive at the summit, in September 2007. Among songs that rose to No. 1 from another rank, “Help” completes the speediest sprint since Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” reached the top in its seventh week in July 2004. Notably, the average rise to No. 1 this decade is 33 chart weeks.

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Post Malone logged one prior Country Airplay entry, as featured on an update of Joe Diffie’s “Pickup Man,” which hit No. 44 in January. (The original dominated for four frames beginning in December 1994.)

Post Malone is set to release his upcoming album, F-1 Trillion, Aug. 16, as he revealed via a billboard in Nashville Tuesday (June 18).

Meanwhile, “Help” grants Wallen his 13th Country Airplay No. 1. He’s charting an additional song in the list’s upper reaches: “Cowgirls,” featuring Ernest, hops 6-3 (26.3 million, up 16%).

“Help” has spent five weeks running at No. 1 on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs (through the charts dated June 22).

Young’s ‘Young’ Is Top 10

Chris Young achieves his 18th Country Airplay top 10 as “Young Love & Saturday Nights” pushes 11-10 (18.9 million, up 5%). The song, which he co-penned, is his first to hit the tier since his team-up with Mitchell Tenpenny, “At the End of the Bar,” which became Young’s 11th No. 1, for a week in August 2022.

21 Jun 2024

Watch Post Malone Freak Out Over How Typewriters Work in Taylor Swift’s ‘Fortnight’ Behind-the-Scenes Video

Post Malone touched a typewriter for a “Fortnight” there, and now, he’s all about forever with the old-school writing machine. Taylor Swift revealed the amusing moment when she dropped a behind-the-scenes video of the making of her visual for The Tortured Poets Department‘s lead single featuring the song’s collaborator on Friday (June 21).

The clip kicks off with the 14-time Grammy winner filming the scene toward the end in which she throws a white metal cart at the two-way mirror in a stark white room. But unlike in the video, where the cart shatters the glass and Swift stands determined, in this behind-the-scenes look, the cart bounces right back at her causing her to flinch and giggle at the camera.

While in the same room, the camera cuts to the singer-songwriter explaining the first scene. “This is basically, in my mind, taking place in the Tortured Poets Department, which is a government municipal building where they study behaviors and minds of poets,” she explains. “And one of the stereotypical things about poets over the years is that people said they were crazy.”

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She then goes on to explain that the “Circles” artist is on set and would be filming the scene where the two are sitting across from each other, working on their typewriters. While showing Posty how to use the contraption — not one of the more modern electric ones, but a classic typewriter — she moves the paper shelf back to the other side to start a new line. To that, the rapper exclaims delightedly, “All you do is move it! This is amazing! I feel very steampunk!”

Swift, 34, then points out to her 28-year-old collaborator, “We don’t work in typewriters! Millennials don’t see that s–t!”

Not yet done exploring the contraption, Post asks her, “How do you get a shift” — his jaw suddenly drops with surprise — “What the hell! I’m buying this right now! This is too much fun. Ya’ll shouldn’t have let me play!”

That wasn’t the only sweet moment between the two while filming the visual for “Fortnight,” which debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100 on the May 4-dated chart and remained at the summit for two weeks. While Swift, who directed the music video, gives Post directions during a scene, the 10-time Grammy nominee not only listens closely to his instructions, but also gives the pop superstar her due respect. “Yes, ma’am,” he said several times after she gave him guidance.

As the behind-the-scenes video wrapped, Swift reviews a shot with Posty. “Look at this! You don’t see happiness from either of us, and then we come around and find you!” she exclaims. “You went nuts! Look at this! Ooooh! No tats and so happy!”

“It’s f–king amazing! It’s amazing. I think it’s stunning,” Post responds as the pop star screams in delight at how the video is coming together, before congratulating her on her work and high-fiving her. “One Take Tay!”

Watch the “Fortnight” behind-the-scenes video below.

21 Jun 2024

Towa Bird Is Finally Learning to Celebrate Her Own Art: ‘It’s Just Good Music — Maybe’

On a recent trip back to London, rising pop-rock artist Towa Bird visited the house she lived in during university — it’s where she started producing, writing songs and posting videos online — and felt a rare moment of pride upon returning there. “Standing back in that house, it sort of hit me: ‘I have come a long way,’ ” says Bird, 25. “Even though I don’t necessarily let myself believe that, I have.”

Bird’s career has been growing gradually since 2021, when she scored a major-label deal with Interscope and moved from London to Los Angeles. She gained recognition as the towering guitarist who could shred in Olivia Rodrigo’s 2022 Disney+ special, driving home 2 u. In 2023, she scored an opening slot on Reneé Rapp’s Snow Hard Feelings Tour and, in October, released breakout single “Drain Me!,” an electrifying alternative-rock hit about lust that appears on her debut album, American Hero, out June 28.

Growing up in Hong Kong and later London, the half-Filipino, half-English artist was raised on alternative and classic rock, identifying most with guitarists (her idols include Jimi Hendrix and Prince). “Hearing the way that guitarists would manipulate the instrument, making it sound just as strong and present as the lead vocal, I was attracted to that,” Bird says. By 12, she was learning how to play on her father’s old guitar, “which I think had like three strings on it,” she recalls. “But I definitely tried to make it functional.”

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Two years later, Bird formed her first band, The Glass Onions, and started performing at local Hong Kong dives. Yet, despite her early strides, Bird assures she wanted to be everything but a full-time artist — namely because she never felt empowered or allowed to be one at all. “I don’t think anyone in my family thought that [this] would be the case — including myself,” she says. “I thought it’d be a cute hobby.”

Sound, Towa Bird

Nicole Nodland

She went on to attend Goldsmiths, University of London, but dropped out in 2020 just before the pandemic. Shortly after to pass the time, Bird started uploading videos of herself shredding over other artists’ songs on TikTok and soon “fell into” writing, producing and playing guitar for more emerging acts. Never feeling like she had “permission” — mostly from herself — to be an artist, Bird preferred working outside of the limelight. But what she didn’t expect was that through those sessions — many of which were done on Zoom late at night in London with artists in L.A. — she felt the authority she had always sought. “Just being in the scene and being seen was good,” she says.

Around the same time, Bird met music managers Jacob Epstein and Zack Morgenroth (of Lighthouse Management, whose clients include Rodrigo) “through the internet,” as she says, and signed with the pair. She figured a publishing deal would follow, but despite being “too scared to sing,” Epstein and Morgenroth were simultaneously setting up label meetings for Bird as an artist. The interest she received piqued her own, saying the encouragement and support from major labels “gave me a little kick up the ass” to focus on her own music. In 2021, she signed an artist deal with Interscope and moved to L.A.

Bird has since emerged as an urgent voice in rock music, whether through her singing or shredding. And most often, it’s both. She believes that in the last few years, there has been a groundswell of interest in live instruments again, especially among her generation. She credits the resurgence in part to her pal Rodrigo. “Olivia really opened doors for me,” Bird says, referring to the Disney+ special that earned her early praise and press. “It was really cool of her to see a young female artist and be like, ‘I want to highlight you.’ ”

Sound, Towa Bird

Nicole Nodland

Last year, Bird had another peer (and labelmate) give her a boost when Rapp enlisted her to play guitar on “Tummy Hurts,” off Rapp’s debut album, Snow Angel. She then brought Bird on her 2023 tour, which allowed the singer-guitarist to meet her fans in person for the first time — and to spend time with singer-songwriter-producer Alexander 23, a fellow Rapp tourmate and friend of Bird’s whom she worked with on American Hero.

Across the album’s 13 tracks, Bird reflects on a range of relatable 20-something woes: raging over how expensive life is and the lacking U.S. health care system on “B.I.L.L.S.”; adjusting to life in L.A. and a career in music on “This Isn’t Me”; and feeling fearful about falling in love with a friend on “Sorry Sorry.”

“I was never like, ‘Oh, I’m going to write a gay song today,’ ” she says of her approach to writing. “It was just like, ‘I want to write a good song about love or sex,’ or whatever I was feeling. It’s funny how [my music has] been labeled as queer music or whatever people decide to label it as, but for me, I think it’s just good music — maybe.”

Sound, Towa Bird

Nicole Nodland

True to form, Bird struggles to celebrate the victories she has had so far. She can’t even say the word “success” without using air quotes. She insists she’s trying to get better at acknowledging her wins along the way — which now include a slate of summer festival gigs — and already has an idea of how to celebrate her album’s release. “I’ll sit and listen to the full thing, front to back. And then probably cry and get aggressively drunk,” she says with a laugh.

But in spite of feeling “sh-t scared” about its release, Bird recognizes its importance. While she never felt like she had permission to land exactly where she has, with American Hero, she gives that runway to anyone who listens. “It’s something that I clearly still continue to lack,” Bird says. “I mean, what young woman will tell you that that [support is] something they received growing up? Probably none. Especially in this industry. So if I can help in any sort of way, even inadvertently, then that’s great.”

This story will appear in the June 22, 2024, issue of Billboard.

21 Jun 2024

Friday Music Guide: Peso Pluma, Gracie Abrams, Post Malone & More

Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, Gracie Abrams’ much-anticipated second LP arrives with a famous friend in tow, Peso Pluma bows in grand 24-track fashion, and Ariana Grande and Charli XCX’s new remixes land with headline-capturing guest stars. Check out all of this week’s picks below.

Peso Pluma, Éxodo



The biggest name in música Mexicana returns this week with his sophomore LP Éxodo, a star-studded, 24-track, two-disc affair. The first disc is full of familiar names like Junior H, Natanael Cano, Gabito Ballesteros and “Ella Baila Sola” co-stars Eslabon Armado, while relying mostly on the sort of corridos tumbados that made him a star in 2023 — albeit with some new elements, like heavier guitar on “La Patrulla” and bookending piano on “Bruce Wayne.” Then, the second disc includes some different sounds and first-time collaborators, like English-language rappers Rich the Kid, Cardi B and Quavo on the trappy first three tracks, respectively, as well as Ryan Castro, Anitta and DJ Snake on songs that lean more reggaetón and/or EDM. It’s an interesting juxtaposition, and both discs still end up sounding quite naturally Peso, proving we’ve only really seen the beginning of what he can do in global pop music. (Read our ranking of all 24 tracks here.)

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Gracie Abrams, The Secret of Us



Hot off her first Billboard Hot 100 hit as an unaccompanied solo artist, with the long-teased synth-pop banger “Close to You,” Gracie Abrams arrives with her sophomore LP The Secret of Us. It’s an expert collection of pop confections and folky ballads — and folky pop confections — mostly co-written and co-penned by indie-pop superproducer Aaron Dessner. The new song that will get the most attention is undoubtedly the power ballad “Us,” which features Abrams’ Eras Tour headliner Taylor Swift, but highlights also include the humming “Let It Happen,” the sighing “Good Luck Charlie” and the pulse-racing “Free Now.” “This album has meant so much to me because it has supported me through a period of transitions,” Abrams told Billboard about Secret earlier this month.

Ariana Grande feat. Brandy & Monica, “The Boy Is Mine”



We probably should’ve known: You just don’t give a song the title “The Boy Is Mine” if you don’t plan on getting Brandy & Monica involved somewhere along the line. The two ’90s R&B icons both make appearances alongside Ariana Grande on her new remix to the Eternal Sunshine single, with Brandy kicking off the first verse, Monica leading the second, and both sharing the harmony-laden bridge, including the lyric, “I told you once before, I’ll tell you once more, the boy is still mine.” Shoutout to Grande doing the right thing here — as always, pretty much — and to Brandy and Monica for giving longtime fans the semi-official “The Boy Is Mine” sequel they’ve waited over a quarter-century for.

Post Malone feat. Blake Shelton, “Pour Me a Drink”



After his Morgan Wallen collab “I Had Some Help” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent its first five weeks on the chart in pole position, Post Malone returns with his next country-era team-up. This time, longtime genre stalwart Blake Shelton is in tow to help out on with the down-on-our-luck singalong “Pour Me a Drink,” with the two co-stars splitting vocal responsibilities in fairly equal measure on both the chorus and the verses, Post’s resonant warble meshing surprisingly well with Shelton’s twangy croon. Without Wallen’s contemporary commercial clout, it might not be quite as immediate a chart super-smash, but it certainly sounds like it’s gonna end up being two-for-two for Country Posty.

Coldplay, “feelslikeimfallinginlove”



A mouthful for a one-word song title, but “feelslikeimfallinginlove” isn’t really nearly as frenzied or smushed together as its name might imply. Rather, it’s Coldplay generally doing what they do best: love songs with moody verses and blood-rush choruses that you can remember after a single listen. Much of the same superteam of producers behind 2022’s Music of the Spheres, including Max Martin and Oscar Holter, return for the new song, so you know it’s got the same top 40 crackle and sparkle of that album’s highlights — and should get fans excited for the band’s upcoming 10-track set Moon Music, recently announced and due in October.

Kehlani, Crash



R&B star singer-songwriter Kehlani has been one of the more consistent albums (and mixtapes) artists of the past decade, so it’s always a good Friday to be getting a new set from her — as it is today with her eclectic and spellbinding Crash LP. You already know about the coolie dance riddim lift (via Nina Sky’s 2004 dancehall classic “Move Ya Body”) on the viral hit “After Hours,” but the lustful “What I Want” also includes an inspired pitched-up sample of Christina Aguilera’s TRL-era Hot 100-topper “What a Girl Wants” (and the even-more-inspired chorus hook “I need all the pretty girls to the shower”). Meanwhile, “Vegas” is her biggest-sounding pop killer in years, and the grungy, guitar-driven title track is a real lighter-waver, a future setlist closer to be sure. Perhaps in this month of longtime cult favorites experiencing overdue pop success, Kehlani can follow her fellow Crash artist to the top tier of the charts this June.

Charli XCX feat. Lorde, “The Girl, So Confusing Version With Lorde”



Speaking of Kehlani’s fellow party Crash-er, Charli is back this week with a new Brat remix — and if you thought her “Club Classics” redo with Robyn and Yung Lean was clever, just wait till you see who she’s got on her “Girl, So Confusing” Pt. 2. Lorde, the longtime peer of Charli’s who many believed to be the subject of the original love/hate-themed “Girl,” appears to answer the latter’s call to “work it out on the remix,” running through her own mixed feelings about their relationship (as well as her own body and self-image issues) before concluding “I ride for you, Charli.” And unsurprisingly — as Charli predicted on the original — the internet is indeed already going crazy for it.

21 Jun 2024

Gracie Abrams Shares ‘Us’ Featuring Taylor Swift: Stream It Now

Gracie Abrams is known and loved by Swifties everywhere for her opening support spot on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour.

TayTay returns the favor on the collaborative new single “Us,” which dropped at the stroke of midnight along with the rest of Abrams’ new album The Secret of Us.

Abrams and Swift co-wrote “Us,” the crown jewel of Abrams’ 13-track sophomore studio LP, with musical input from producer, collaborator and mutual friend Aaron Dessner of the National.

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“Us” is an anthemic folk number, with a polished pop production. And it’s unmistakably the work of TayTay.

On it, Abrams and Swift sing, “I know you know/ It felt like somethin’ old / It felt like somethin’ holy, like souls bleedin’ / So, it fеlt like what I’ve known/ You’re twеnty-nine years old / So how can you be cold when I open my home?”

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“It was just really fun to watch the chemistry of Gracie and Taylor bouncing off each other,” Dessner tells Billboard, “Gracie in total wonder and awe watching how Taylor records and produces her vocal performances and builds the world.” Stream “Us” below.

The 24-year-old Abrams spent the summer opening for Swift’s The Eras Tour, a role she’ll reprise on select dates in North America later this fall. She’ll head out on her very own headlining tour of theater-sized venues across the United States, starting Sept. 5 in Portland.

“Taylor’s brilliant at synthesizing a whole story,” Dessner continues over his Zoom with Billboard. “Us” just “brought everything” about Gracie’s album “into focus in a beautiful way.”

The Secret of Us features the previously-released tracks “Risk” and “Close to You,” which debuted at No. 49 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it’s the followup to Abrams’ debut record Good Riddance, which arrived February 2023, peaking at No. 52 on the Billboard 200.

Stream The Secret of Us below.