Music

17 May 2024

Luis Fonsi’s ‘El Viaje,’ & More: Which Is Your Favorite New Latin Music Release This Week? Vote!

This week, Billboard’s New Music Latin roundup and playlist — curated by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors — features fresh new albums from artists such as Luis Fonsi, Nora Gonzalez, and LAGOS, to name a few.

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Fonsi immerses us in a journey around the world with his album El Viaje, where each song is titled after a different city, such as “Santa Marta” in collaboration with the Colombian Carlos Vives and “Roma” with Italian Laura Pausini.

On the other hand, the “Charra Millenial” Nora González presents the 7-song EP Mariachi Bebecín, in which “the artist shows off that sublime and powerful voice that earned her a Latin Grammy nomination,” comments the deputy editor of Billboard Español, Sigal Ratner-Arias.

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Three years after their debut album, LAGOS released their second studio album Alta Fidelidad. With this, they manage to link the past with the present with elements of 80’s pop and a contemporary sound that captivates from beginning to end, while solidifying their essence and bringing a breath of fresh air to the current music scene.

Other new releases this week include Bacilos’ new álbum Pequeños Romances, “Ya Te Superé” from Xavi and Tony Aguirre, and Alejo’s album En Este Nos Fuimos Lejos, among others.

Last week, the song “La Durango” by Peso Pluma, Junior H, and Eslabon Armado received almost 70% of the votes, surpassing Grupo Frontera’s album, Jugando A Que No Pasa Nada, and Ryan Castro’s new set, El Cantante del Ghetto, to mention a few.

Who should win this week? Vote among other new releases:


17 May 2024

Taylor Swift Releases Limited Edition ‘Tortured Poets’ Albums Featuring First Draft Voice Memos

With her latest deluxe edition of The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift — aka the Chairman — is showing fans what some of the album’s songs sounded like before they left her desk.

The pop star unveiled three limited versions of her new album Thursday (May 16), featuring three first draft voice memos of “The Black Dog,” “Cassandra” and “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” The finished versions of the songs already appear on the 31-track anthology version of Tortured Poets, but the new audio notes show listeners what they sounded like midway through Swift’s writing process.

The digital copies are available for $5.99 each on the “Fortnight” singer’s website. The sale ends Friday evening (May 17).

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The drop comes amid Tortured Poets‘ third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, where it demonstrated the largest streaming week ever recorded since the chart first started measuring by units in December 2014 upon its debut. The album has also broken several other records since it dropped April 19, including her own previous benchmark for single-week vinyl sales.

Last week, Swift resumed her global Eras Tour, playing her first set of concerts since releasing Tortured Poets in Paris. While there, she debuted several new numbers from the album — including “Down Bad,” “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” and “So High School” — which she’ll continue performing at each of the remaining stops on the trek, including this weekend’s shows in Stockholm.

The new Tortured Poets set earned praise from many Swifties, as well as Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce. “It is absolutely unbelievable,” the Kansas City Chiefs tight end said on a recent episode of his New Heights podcast. “I enjoyed every bit of it … I don’t know if they’re just getting better or if I just keep forgetting how they are. It was electric in there. Paris was on a whole other level.”

17 May 2024

Diddy Appears to Assault Then-Girlfriend Cassie Ventura in 2016 Video

A 2016 surveillance video appears to show Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel, mirroring an assault allegation Ventura made in a now-settled lawsuit she filed against the hip-hop mogul in November.

In the video, obtained by CNN and dated March 5, 2016, Combs appears to shove Ventura to the ground near an elevator bank, kick her several times while she lies on the ground and drag her down a hallway.

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After briefly dragging Ventura down the hallway, Combs, wrapped only in a bath towel, appears to release his grip. Ventura is then seen standing up before gathering some of her things from the floor and moving toward a phone in the hallway near the elevators. Combs can then be seen returning and appearing to shove Ventura. Just seconds later, he sits in a chair, grabs something off of a table and appears to throw it at her. He then walks away before turning toward Ventura once more, just as one of the elevator doors opens and someone is seen walking out.

“The gut-wrenching video has only further confirmed the disturbing and predatory behavior of Mr. Combs,” said Ventura’s attorney, Douglas Wigdor, in a statement sent to Billboard. “Words cannot express the courage and fortitude that Ms. Ventura has shown in coming forward to bring this to light.”

A representative for Combs did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.

Ventura sued Combs on Nov. 16, 2023, claiming that he repeatedly physically abused her over the course of a decade, including one allegation of rape when she tried to leave him in 2018. She also accused Combs of forcing her to have sex with male sex workers while he masturbated. In a statement at the time, Combs’ attorney, Ben Brafman, said the hip-hop giant “vehemently denies these offensive and outrageous allegations,” alleging that Ventura had made a “persistent demand” of a $30 million payout in the six months leading up to her lawsuit. Ventura’s lawyer responded by disputing Brafman’s claim, saying that Combs instead offered Ventura “eight figures to silence her and prevent the filing of this lawsuit.”

The case, which was filed under a newly enacted law in New York that created a limited window for abuse survivors to take legal action over years-old accusations that would otherwise be barred under the statute of limitations, was settled the day after it was filed.

Ventura had an on-again, off-again relationship with Combs for 11 years until they split in 2018. In the lawsuit, she said she met Combs in 2005 when she was 19 and he was 37. After signing to his Bad Boy Records label, Ventura claimed that Combs “lured” her into a romantic relationship in which he “asserted complete control” over her life.

Since Ventura filed her lawsuit, Combs has been hit with four additional sexual misconduct lawsuits. In November, the mogul stepped down as chairman of his digital media company Revolt before reportedly selling his stake in the company in March. Also in March, federal agents conducted raids of Combs’ L.A. and Miami homes “in connection” with a federal sex trafficking investigation, according to CNN.

Combs has strongly denied all allegations of sexual assault made against him. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not do any of the awful things being alleged,” he said in a statement posted to social media on Dec. 6. “I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

17 May 2024

Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From Peggy Gou, Bebe Rexha, John Summit & More

This week in dance music: San Francisco’s Portola festival announced a massive 2024 lineup, we looked at why artists are moving their TikTok remixes off of Spotify, Marshmello and Kane Brown made chart history with their track “Miles On It” becoming the first track to hot the top five of both Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and Hot Country Songs, Chicago announced citywide celebrations for the 40th anniversary of house music, Paramount+ announced that a documentary about the Nova Music Festival massacre will be coming to the platform and French electronic pioneer Jean-Michel Jarre performed with Queen’s Brian May in Slovakia.

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And of course, here are the best new dance tracks of the week.

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Peggy Gou, “Lobster Telephone”

Weeks ahead of the release of her debut album, I Hear You, Peggy Gou has delivered the project’s fourth single, “Lobster Telephone.” Gou’s favorite song from the 10-track album (according to a press release) the dreamy house production also function as the project’s spiritual and aesthetic center, fitting squarely in the wheelhouse of the album’s heavy ’90s dance music influence. In her recent Billboard cover story, Gou said that I Hear You (out June 7 via XL Recordings) will be a success to her if people listen to it and “get a feeling.” Emanating warmth, this one feels a lot like the summer season ahead.

Bebe Rexha, “Chase It (Mmm Da Da Da) “

Bebe Rexha debuted her latest track “Chase” last month at Coachella, and today delivers the song in its most fully realized format, via a slick (and quite sexy) racing-themed video filmed between the L.A. river and a mechanic’s garage. The clip features Rexha and a crew of dancers demonstrating the pop-lock-and-wiggle potential of the song, which was produced by Chris Lake and Sammy Virji (who released their own collaboration “Summertime Blues” late last month), along with Punctual and Marco Straus. This dance-focused project is no surprise, given that Rexha has one biggest dance hits of the last few years with her David Guetta collab “I’m Good (Blue),” which spent 55 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.

Shygirl feat. Danny L. Harle, “Encore”

“Buy a drink, take a shot/ Spill a bit/ Lick it up,” purrs Shygirl on her latest, “Encore.” The track whips up a spirit of hedonism with both these and other mature-themes lyrics in tandem with a thick, skittering electro production that’s well-matched with a music video capturing the type of late night behavior the song is designed to soundtrack and elicit. A collaboration with British producer Danny L. Harle, “Encore” comes from Shygirl’s forthcoming Club Shy Rmx EP, a collection of remixes of her 2024 Club Shy project by artists including VTSS, Logic1000, X-Coast and Fedde Le Grand. (Both projects are out via Because Music.) The London-based artist is on tour in the U.S. and Europe this summer and will go on the road with Charli XCX and Troye Sivan for their ravey 21-date Sweat tour starting in September.

John Summit & Sub Focus feat. Julia Church, “Go Back”

On his latest, “Go Back,” John Summit takes the progressive house style that’s coming to define his growing catalog and injects it with a dose of d’n’b via the help of U.K. genre star Sub Focus. Together, the guys — along with South Africa-born, London-based vocalist Julia Church — create a track with the same sort of ecstasy-laced emotiveness of other Summit hits like “Where You Are,” with this one getting a slightly harder, higher BPM treatment via a final third that’s fully dancefloor d’n’b. Out via Summit’s own Experts Only label, the song will surely be heard during his set EDC Las Vegas this weekend, with this stop coming amid a heavy summer tour schedule and a sold out show at Madison Square Garden on June 29.

Fatboy Slim feat. Dan Diamond & Luca Guerrieri, “Role Model”

The 500th release on Fatboy Slim’s Southern Fried Records is, appropriately, a Fatboy Slim track. Spicy and psychedelic in the style of any given Fatboy Slim set, “Role Model” is all scintillating percussion, cowbell, sirens and a tongue in cheek vocal from Dan Diamond about behaviors that could be considered role model material, depending on the type of person you are. Altogether, it’s high-quality dancefloor fare with an absurdist attitude, classic Fatboy Slim output. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Southern Fried Records was launched to release music by Fatboy Slim’s alias Mighty Dub Katz and over the years has released an eclectic mix of music by artists like Armand van Helden and Crookers.

17 May 2024

Noah Kahan Notches First Adult Pop Airplay Chart No. 1 With ‘Stick Season’

Even with trees abloom and spring having sprung, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” ascends to No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Pop Airplay chart (dated May 25).

The track marks the Strafford, Vt., native’s first leader on the survey – after it first reached a No. 2 peak on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in November 2022 (two stick seasons ago). Kahan boasts two No. 1s on that tally: “Dial Drunk” for two weeks in September 2023, and “Northern Attitude,” with Hozier, for five weeks this January-February.

Also among his radio chart No. 1s, Kahan topped Alternative Airplay for two weeks last September with “Dial Drunk,” as remixed with Post Malone.

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This February, “Stick Season” became Kahan’s first Billboard Hot 100 top 10, rising to a No. 9 best in April. (He first hit the chart last June with “Dial Drunk,” which climbed to No. 25 in August.)

The new leader’s parent album of the same name, on Mercury/Republic Records, has maintained a steady presence on the Billboard 200 albums chart, boosted by multiple extended editions. It debuted at No. 14 in October 2022 and hit a No. 2 high this March. It has spent the past 19 weeks in the top 10, dating to the survey dated Jan. 13. To date, the set has earned 2.3 million equivalent album units in the U.S., according to Luminate.

“It’s been an unbelievable year-and-a-half now … a whirlwind of attention and wonderful outpouring of love from fans,” Kahan told Billboard in September. Of crafting Stick Season through the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, “There was a feeling in the studio of, like, ‘Woah, this is something special.’ I felt so creatively in control … and I think, at the time, I couldn’t see that as a sign of success or relatability. It just felt so right for me that I was fine with whatever happened.”

All Billboard charts dated May 25 will update Tuesday, May 21, on Billboard.com.

17 May 2024

Billie Eilish Calls Ex Jesse Rutherford One of Her ‘Favorite People’ & Jokes She’s ‘Never Dating Again’

Things are all good in the (Neighbour)hood when it comes to Billie Eilish and Jesse Rutherford. The 22-year-old pop star has confirmed that she’s still friends with her rocker ex-boyfriend, whom she dated for about seven months in 2022 and 2023.

“That’s my guy, truly one of my favorite people in the world,” she said of The Neighbourhood frontman in a previously unpublished snippet from her April Rolling Stone cover story, posted by the publication for the first time Friday (May 17).

The “What Was I Made For?” singer went on to say that she doesn’t see herself romancing anyone else in the near future. “I plan on never dating again,” she joked. “That’s not true, obviously. But no, I don’t see myself being serious with anyone until I find someone that really feels right to me, and that is not interesting to me right now.”

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Eilish and Rutherford, who is 32, first sparked dating rumors in October 2022. They went Instagram official later that month, showing off their couple’s Halloween costume that seemingly poked fun at their age gap. (The two-time Oscar winner went as a baby, while the “Sweater Weather” singer dressed as an old man.)

In May 2023, a rep for Eilish confirmed that the couple had broken up in a statement to Page Six. “We can confirm Billie and Jesse did split amicably and remain good friends,” it read. A rep for Rutherford later confirmed to Billboard, noting, “All cheating rumors are false. Both are currently single.”

The newly published interview snippets come on the same day Eilish released her third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, a 10-track set produced by the star’s older brother and longtime collaborator, Finneas. The “Lunch” singer also told the publication that she almost called her LP Patheticville — based on a quote from Mindy Kaling’s character in The Office — before the sibling duo settled on a title inspired by the name of a synth instrument in Logic Pro.

“I just thought that was awesome, and we laughed and we wrote it down,” said Eilish, who previously sampled a piece of dialogue from the Steve Carrell-led show in her 2019 track “My Strange Addiction.” “Then there’s a couple more that we thought of and nothing was really sticking, but I knew it would come. It always comes.”

17 May 2024

Common Rejected ‘At Least 10’ Beats Kanye West Used on ‘Graduation,’ ‘Late Registration’: ‘I Got More Memories of Joints I Passed On’

Common has been a legend in the game for more than three decades. But even with all his success in hip-hop and on the big and little screens, there’s always that nagging “what if?” question about the doors you didn’t open as well as the ones you did.

Sitting down on the 7PM in Brooklyn podcast with Carmelo Anthony and Kid Mero this week, the 52-year-old Chicago-bred MC, chopped it up about the NBA playoffs and his favorite ballers — as well as getting seriously trash-talked to by Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan — but he also shared some previously unheard stories about working with Ye, including the mountain of Kanye West beats he passed on early in his career.

“It’s at least, 10 Ye beats out there that I passed on,” he said of the tracks he didn’t take from fellow Windy City native West. “Even on one of those albums, he like, ‘Common passed on the beat, I turned it into a jam,’” he added in quoting the chorus from “Everything I Am” from Ye’s 2007 Graduation album.

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That wasn’t it, either. Common said he also took a pass on such future Ye tracks as “I Wonder” and “Heard ‘Em Say.”

“It’s crazy because I didn’t take any Ye beats, like in that ’96-’97, when-I-met-him era. But then in 2003, I’m like, ‘Ye, lemme get some beats, like come on!,’” Common said. “I felt like at the time No ID was at such a higher level that I was just like, ‘Ye, these beats ain’t doing it for me yet. You gettin’ there, but you ain’t there yet’… I got more memories of joints I passed on, beats that he made for me, that ended up being, like… a lot of his Late Registration album.”

For example, Common said Ye made the beat for ‘Heard ‘Em Say” just for him, writing the song in front of him in 10 minutes. “I was like, ‘This beat dope.’ He was like, ‘You want it?’ and I was like, ‘Man I gotta…’ because it didn’t feel like it was fitting in my album [Be]… So I was like, ‘Nah, you good.’ He said, ‘Are you sure?’ I was like, ‘Nah I’m good.’” Looking back now, he told the hosts, yes, of course “that beat was dope.”

The pair have worked on plenty of other songs, including 2004’s “The Food” single and 2005’s “The Corner,” as well as Ye appearing alongside Common and John Legend on “They Say” from Common’s 2006 Be album, which was produced by West, how also had a heavy hand in writing the entire LP.

The deep-dive round ball talk also found Common saying that if he had to pick a baller to represent him as a rapper, he’s torn between retired three-time NBA champ Dwayne Wade or power forward-turned-broadcaster and round mound of rebound Charles Barkley. “I say that because D Wade had a lot of success too… but I think sometimes D Wade don’t get all the love [he deserves],” Common said, praising both men for pivoting to other careers after they hung up their jerseys.

For the record, asked how he felt about the recent Drake-Kendrick Lamar lyrical battle, Common said now that the war is over he’s confident calling it a “good heavyweight fight… I respected what each one delivered.”

Watch Common on 7PM in Brooklyn below (Ye talk begins around 51-minute mark).

17 May 2024

Which Is Your Favorite New Music Release of the Week? Vote!

A slew of new music releases hit streaming services right on schedule Friday (May 17), from fresh pop albums to standout rap and country singles.

Arguably the most highly anticipated project to arrive this week, however, is Billie Eilish’s third studio album Hit Me Hard and Soft, a 10-track follow-up to 2021’s Happier Than Ever produced by Finneas. The LP finds the 22-year-old star at her most comfortable and mature state, from the reflective songs “Wildflower” and “Skinny” to the lovey-dovey ballad “Birds of a Feather” and promiscuous dance-floor banger “Lunch.”

Zayn Malik has also returned with his latest full-length, Room Under the Stairs. Recorded at home in rural Pennsylvania, the former boy band star embraces a rootsier direction with tracks such as “What I Am” and “Alienated” to reflect his newfound independence as a solo artist and single dad.

Plus, Luke Combs — fresh off an ACM Award for single of the year win thanks to his hit cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” — dropped new song “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.” Bronx rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie also shared 21 new tracks on Better Off Alone — which features collaborations with Future, Lil Durk, Young Thug and more — while Saweetie emerged with a strong song of the summer contender titled “NANi.”

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From polished pop to classic country and hip-hop, this week is absolutely saturated with exciting new music releases — and Billboard wants to know which one is your favorite. Whether it’s Eilish, Malik, Combs, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Saweetie or someone else, vote for your top pick in the poll below.

17 May 2024

Lil Yachty Doesn’t Think Drake ‘Won or Lost’ to Kendrick Lamar

On the latest episode of his podcast A Safe Place, Lil Yachty spoke on a variety of topics pertaining to his proximity to the Drake and Kendrick Lamar feud. The Atlanta rapper wasn’t too into being name-dropped by Kendrick on “Euphoria,” telling his producer, “I really didn’t want anything to do with it,” after revealing he received a ton of excited calls and texts from friends. He also knew his name was going to be mentioned before the song came out adding, “I knew that my name was mentioned before it came out. I didn’t hear the record but I had got word that I was mentioned. I wasn’t surprised.”

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However, Boat was also able to appreciate two of rap’s most important figures battling it out, saying, “I got a ton of respect for both of these guys. Honestly, it was a cool thing to watch. I learned so much. It was an honor and blessing to be able to experience it firsthand.”

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In another clip, he gives his opinion on who won or lost, and as of right now, Yachty has it as a draw because the cards were stacked against the Toronto rapper. “Drake dropped great records. But also, let’s be fair: Drake was deemed a loser in this battle before it started because people don’t like him and haven’t,” he said after suggesting Kendrick’s apparent “animosity.” He continued by admitting he thinks Drake will be fine: “I don’t think people are gonna stop listening to Drake and Drake’s career is gonna flush.”

Boat then said he told Drake “I don’t feel like you won or lost” before adding, “Rappers have lost, and then lost everything. But this hasn’t happened to Drake. He will still be in everybody’s Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year and he’ll still drop hits and control the summer. I think Kendrick made very smart moves and I don’t think Drake would disagree.”

Drake and Yachty work together frequently, for what it’s worth.

17 May 2024

T-Pain Delivers Powerful Message About Self-Love With New Song ‘On This Hill’

Shortly after gracing Billboard’s digital cover issue this month, T-Pain hopes to achieve self-love on his latest song, “On This Hill.”

“On This Hill” evokes powerful emotion, with T-Pain singing around a bonfire: “I’m telling you, I’ll die on this hill/ You can’t talk me off the ledge/ And I just gotta lock you out my head/ And baby, how do I love you still.”

“This song is really about refusing to be gaslit anymore. It’s about coming to a realization that I have to stand up for myself,” Pain tells Billboard. “Over the years, that has just been something I’ve had to open my eyes to and learn how to deal with it. So yeah, I’ll die on this hill, ha!”

In a candid conversation with Billboard earlier this month, T-Pain shared some surprising insights. He revealed that he initially had reservations about recording some of his biggest hits, including the chart-topping ‘Buy U a Drank,’ which soared to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007. 

“I didn’t want to do ‘Freeze,’ I didn’t want to do ‘Buy U a Drank,’ I didn’t want to do most of the songs that are my biggest hits. Because, you know, I’m an artiste,” he revealed. “Back then, when I got done with a song, I was always thinking, ‘People are going to like this,’ and not, ‘I like this.’”

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Watch T-Pain’s live performance of “On This Hill” below, and check out his Billboard digital cover here.