Music

03 May 2024

5 Things to Watch Out for at Eurovision 2024, According to the Song Contest’s Executive Supervisor

At last year’s Eurovision Song Contest, Graham Norton identified him as “Mr. Eurovision” and said he just calls him “the boss.” While almost everyone on the production team for the Eurovision Song Contest does their work behind the cameras, the European Broadcasting Union’s executive supervisor Martin Österdahl is visible every year on the live broadcast. When it comes time to reveal the votes of the participating countries, the hosts turn to Österdahl to confirm that the votes of the juries and the public are checked and that there is a verified result. He then tells the hosts that they are “good to go.”

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Before he was named executive supervisor in 2020, Österdahl was executive producer of the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 and 2016, both produced by Sveriges Television (SVT) following Sweden’s victories in 2012 and 2015. He has also produced past versions of Melodifestivalen, Sweden’s televised national final to select the country’s entry for the annual Eurovision competition.

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To find out what to watch for in the 2024 contest airing next week, Billboard talked to Österdahl via Zoom to get a preview of this year’s 68th edition of the popular pan-European event.

How are things in Malmö with just a few days to go before the two semi-finals and grand final of the 2024 contest?

The rehearsals are going really well. All the delegations are here now. I wish the world could see what the atmosphere is like. People are hugging, high-fiving. It’s great to be together again and great to be getting the job done.

What are five things we should be looking out for this year?

The first thing is that for the first time ever, we are finally going to see the Big Five and the host country perform full-length performances on stage [in the semi-finals], which is great. We’ve never done that before, as you know. It will give more entertainment to the viewers and more value to the fans, so I think that’s a great change.

In recent history, the Big Five (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom – the five countries that contribute the most to the production budget) don’t have to compete in the semi-finals to qualify for the grand final, so we would only see snippets in the two semi-finals. Why was this change made?

We’re very much about the even playing field and we have felt from time to time that the Big Five perhaps had a disadvantage. We’ve looked at ways to correct that. The Big Five have been doing much better recently, but still we feel the time is right to make this change now. And it has to do with [the second thing to watch out for].

That is to increase the engagement in this show. For an entertainment show in Europe, we have a lot of young viewers. We’re quadrupling the channel average when it comes to reach and the youth segments, which is fantastic, but the voting system is quite old fashioned with SMS [texting] and televoting and also the fact you had to wait for two hours before you can cast your vote. So we’re trying out this new thing this year where you can vote in the grand final from the very top of the show. If you see something that you like, you can cast your vote, which is something that is more in line with the behavior of young people today, who are used to interacting straightaway with the shows.

We introduced the rest-of-the-world vote last year and we’re increasing the window for that to be 24 hours before the show, so that people in Asia and in South America don’t have to sit up and watch this live on Central European Time. We get votes from 180 countries around the world in the show, so we want to embrace that love for Eurovision in other parts of the world.

How did that rest-of-the-world vote work last year?

Very well. We do a show called the Junior Eurovision Song Contest as well and we’ve had an online voting platform for that. We did a show in Warsaw a couple of years ago during the darkest days of the pandemic, so we couldn’t have the delegations on site. There were pre-recorded performances from the different countries. And then we had a studio in Warsaw where I sat with the presenters and the interval acts and Polish TV did a great job with that.

But when we saw the online voting come in, it was a real eye-opener for me, because there were 12 participating countries as opposed to 40 in Eurovision and it’s a kid show. We saw the votes coming in from 180 countries around the world on this European kids’ show. It was amazing, so I thought, “We need to tap into this.” My expectations are high when it comes to the engagement here.

Does the fact that U.S. viewers can watch live on Peacock greatly increase the number of people watching?

Yes, the engagement from the U.S. is great. The United States is the second biggest ticket buyer [for the live shows]. If you forget about [host country] Sweden, the biggest country of ticket buyers is the U.K. followed by the U.S. Amazing, right? We have ticket buyers from 89 countries coming to Malmö.

And what is the third thing we should watch out for?

Celebration. We have so much to celebrate this year. Sweden has taken the number one position now alongside Ireland with seven wins in history. Loreen is only the second ever female artist to win twice and she and Johnny Logan are the only artists to have won twice, so we’re celebrating that. And of course, it’s 50 years since ABBA won with “Waterloo” and we’re going to celebrate all these things in the show, so that’s another one to look out for.

How exactly are we going to celebrate “Waterloo” and ABBA in the show?

There’s an easy reply to that. Tune into the show and you’ll see.

I didn’t think you were going to give that one away. And the fourth thing to watch out for?

Number four, you should look out for the new hit phenomena. When I started working on Eurovision a long time ago, we used to refer to the classics like Celine Dion and ABBA when it came to who had the international global hits from this show, but that’s not the case anymore. We churn out international hits every year and you’ve probably seen the success of Duncan Laurence, Rosa Linn and Måneskin. That’s a really exciting trend with modern day Eurovision and I think it’s going to continue. It’s a really strong field this year.

Alright, you’ve given us four things to watch out for. What is the fifth?

Number five is that we’re going to have a really exciting climax to this show. The Eurovision Song Contest voting sequence is arguably one of the longest, but also one of the most nail-biting sequences of any show on TV and I think this year we don’t really have one standout favorite. We’ve got a couple who are talked about a lot but not that one standout. So I think it’s going to be exciting this year and I think it’s going to lead to a really exciting climax.

Speaking of the voting sequence, do you track the ratings on different parts of the show, and if so, how does this part of the contest do?

Normally the voting sequence is the most viewed part of the show.

In the past, some years were runaways and we knew who the winner was going to be long before the final vote was cast. Other years we didn’t know until the last moments.

When Loreen first won in Baku [in 2012], everyone knew 35 minutes before the show ended that she was going to win, because you could do the math. But we still had to go around all of these countries and listen to their 12 and 10 and eight points. It seemed this show deserved a better climax, so that’s when we made that change [to report the juries votes first and add in the public voting at the very end] and now it’s all down to the very last delivery of points.

One last question. As an EBU official, how would you describe your interaction with the production team, which is from the host broadcaster.

My job covers a lot of different areas, but when it comes to the production, this is a co-production between 37 different national broadcasters in Europe and beyond and as such it needs a central coordinator or supervisor for the whole thing and that’s me. That means I have final say in all questions, including all of the show content. I work very closely with the producers every year. My main mission is to transfer knowledge and best practice. Of course, this year it’s special, because the knowledge is already here and it’s my old team. We work together really well.

Viewers in the U.S. can watch the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest live on Peacock (and on demand). The first semi-final will air on Tuesday, May 7 at 3 p.m. ET. The second semi-final will air at the same time on Thursday, May 9. The grand final will also air at the same time, on Saturday, May 11.

03 May 2024

Ana del Castillo, Elder Dayán Díaz, Diego Daza and More Vallenato Artists to Listen To

Vallenato, a folkloric genre with roots in the department of Cesar, northern Colombia, has seen many artists take its essence beyond their homeland. Taking as a basis its typical instruments, such as the accordion, the snare drum, and the guacharaca — and adding modern musical arrangements that have given it a contemporary sound — artists such as Carlos Vives and Silvestre Dangond have been ambassadors of this genre at a national and international level. Behind them comes a new wave of artists with the task of continuing to preserve the legacy and expand its boundaries.

As the Festival de la Leyenda Vallenata 2024 takes place in Colombia, we highlight six artists from the new wave of the genre that you should know. Some of them will be performing at the concerts that will take place within the framework of the festival from May 2 to 4 (See more here).

On the men’s side, Elder Dayán Díaz, Diego Daza, Rafa Pérez, and Mono Zabaleta are some of the new names that are making noise in their native Colombia, and we hope that their echo also resonates strongly outside the country.

On the women’s side, few venture into the world of vallenato, and even fewer singers stand out in this genre mostly dominated by men. Therefore, it is gratifying to see artists like Ana del Castillo and Karen Lizarazo making a space for themselves at the table and embarking on an upward trajectory in this folkloric genre.

“It has been very difficult to have a position because sometimes they did not see it well for a woman to play accordion, sing vallenato, or play guacharaca. But over time they have respected that and I think that after me come many very talented women, sweeping through vallenato,” Ana del Castillo tells Billboard Español.

Below, we present six new exponents of vallenato that you should listen to and know, in alphabetical order by name:

03 May 2024

Kany García Drops ‘García’ Album & More New Music Latin

New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard’s Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.

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Kany García, GARCÍA (5020 Records)

“García,” the title track of Puerto Rican singer songwriter Kany García’s new album, is a letter from García to herself, addressing the young, vulnerable Kany, and the present day star, equally vulnerable (“Tengo miedo de meterme en esta ola de ficción/I’m afraid of losing myself in this wave of fiction”). García has always delighted us with her beautifully written songs and the storytelling in her lyrics, and here, with the attention turned to herself, we fully get why her songwriting works: Even when she tells other people’s stories, it’s always in her voice and words. That essence is in every track in this meticulous, but very commercial album, which includes previously released collabs with the likes of Young Miko (a longtime fan of García’s who met her at last year’s Billboard Latin Music Week), Carin León and Christian Nodal, a nod to García’s natural inquisitiveness as an artist willing to explore other genres. García the album is happy reminder that quality and commercial success can coexist. — LEILA COBO

Piso 21 & Wisin, “La Misión” (Warner Music México)

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In a first collaborative effort, Piso 21 and Wisin unleash “La Misión” (The Mission). Produced by iCON Music, the track is the perfect blend of both worlds: Piso’s melodic pop sound and Wisin’s ferocious reggaetón beats. In “La Misión,” the Colombian group and Puerto Rican rapper are on the ultimate mission of breaking up a relationship (or rather yet, stealing the girl of their dreams from their partner). “They told me life goes by fast/you’re too much to be with someone so basic/I’m not like that, but I got romantic/I hope she doesn’t say no/if he doesn’t take care of her, I will,” they sing in the infectious chorus. — JESSICA ROIZ

Silvestre Dangond & Carlos Vives, “Tú o Yo” (Sony Music Latin)

“Either you sing to her, or I sing to her,” says the chorus of the catchy vallenato pop “Tú o Yo,” in which Colombian stars Silvestre Dangond and Carlos Vives join forces for the first time. The song, co-written by Vives and Dangond, and produced by Andrés Castro, tells the story of two friends who compete for the love of a woman.

In a statement about the release, Dangond expressed his excitement about the collaboration. “Carlos Vives was my idol and he still is,” he says. “I always saw him, I had him as a reference and I feel very happy, I feel that I achieved something that I had inside, which at any moment I knew was going to happen, but I didn’t know when.” The cheerful music video was recorded in Miami, and starring Mexican actress Bárbara De Regil, shows all the strategies that both use against each other to sabotage any effort to conquer the protagonist. — LUISA CALLE

Fonseca, Tropicalia (Sony Music Latin)

Fonseca presents TROPICALIA, an extraordinary production that pays tribute to his tropical roots and influences, which have inspired his career and are also an intricate part of his sound. The 11-track album features collaborations of remarkable artists, including Juan Luis Guerra, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Chucho Valdés, Alex Cuba and Grupo Niche, marking the first and only collaboration that the iconic band has released.

This set features a diverse mix of tropical sounds that represent Latin American music, from the lively sound of a patio vallenato in the track “Canto a la Vida,” to the upbeat merengue rhythm of “Pedacito de Playa,” which was produced entirely in the Dominican Republic with the help of local musicians such as Janina Rosado (of 4:40) on the piano and her husband “Chocolate” on the drums and the Dominican güira. The album also includes “La Terquedad,” a ranchera that narrates heartaches with melancholic acoustic guitars, violins and trumpets accompanied by mariachi. — INGRID FAJARDO

Lasso & Mau y Ricky, “Bilingües” (Universal Music Group México)

Love may not be as universal a language as it is believed. At least that’s what Lasso implies in his new song with Mau y Ricky, “Bilingües.” The pop rock track — the first single from the upcoming album by the Latin Grammy-winning Venezuelan singer and songwriter — talks about the complicated relationship between a man who only speaks Spanish and a woman who speaks only English. “When you tell me I love you, I know that you don’t feel nothing, nothing, nothing/ You tell me I miss you, and you don’t miss me nothing, nothing, nothing/ I don’t know if you’re playing with my heart, or it’s just a bad translation,” goes part of the earworm chorus. In recent days, Lasso published a series of videos on Instagram titled “The worst time I’ve been rejected in my life,” in which he passionately recounted a failed attempt at a bilingual relationship. Hey, at least it left him with the inspiration to write a really lovely song. — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS

Eladio Carrión, Porque Puedo (Rimas Entertainment)

On his latest EP, Porque Puedo, Eladio Carrión doesn’t just double down on his Latin trap bravado — he fully embodies it, living up to the album’s bold title. After the more mainstream release of Sol María, Carrión returns to the forefront with a display of effortless ingenuity and razor-sharp wordplay across five tracks. From the ominous “Don KBRN Freestyle” to the bilingual prowess of “Códico G,” he flexes his lyrical mastery against menacing beats and riveting hi hat patterns.

However, it’s “Heavyweight” that truly steals the spotlight, as the Humacao rapper unleashes verses about dripping in diamonds and confidence while “smoking heavyweight.” Accompanied by visually grim music video, Carrión exudes laid-back luxury, adorned with his signature rose necklace, against a backdrop of night-vision aesthetics that deepen the EP’s moody atmosphere. The new drop arrived a day prior to his return to the stage at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico on May 2. “As I was home spending time with my family I started to work on music,” Eladio Carrión says in a statement. “It all turned into Porque Puedo, and I thought what perfect timing to give this to my true fans as they get ready to see me at El Choli,” — ISABELA RAYGOZA

Danny Ocean, Reflexa (Atlantic Recording Corp.)

The Venezuelan artist’s music doesn’t sound like anything out there right now, and that’s probably why Danny Ocean is labeling his latest album as pop of the future. The 12-track set, the singer-songwriter’s third studio album, is perhaps Danny’s most personal album yet, but it’s also his most sonically experimental — and yet still manages to sound very much like Danny Ocean.

As he navigates through the life’s most relatable topics — heartbreak, lust, love and the desire to live authentically as yourself — he elevates his signature pop sound in a mishmash with edgier and more in-your-face styles like electro and Middle Eastern influences. Reflexa cements Danny Ocean as an artist who can deliver pop hits without having to rely on lyrics that are trite or borderline cheesy. He’s real, raw and overly honest about life, and a fierce protector of the art he puts out in the world. — GRISELDA FLORES

Listen to more editors’ Latin recommendations in the playlist below:

03 May 2024

Randy Travis Collaborators Talk Using AI to Give Singer His ‘Voice Back’ on First Single Since 2013 Stroke

It has been more than a decade since Randy Travis has recorded new music. But on Friday (May 3) the country legend released the gentle “Where That Came From,” an emotional ballad featuring his signature warm baritone and lovestruck lyrics.

In an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning‘s Lee Cowan slated to air this weekend Travis’ longtime producer describes how the singer’s team constructed the track using artificial intelligence in the wake of the near-fatal 2013 stroke that took away the Grammy-winning country star’s voice.

“It’s Randy Travis. Randy’s on the other side of the microphone … It’s still his vocal,” says Cris Lacey, co-chair/president of Warner Music Nashville in the interview. “There’s no reason he shouldn’t be able to make music … And to deprive him of that, if he still wants to do that, that’s unconscionable to me.”

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While Lacey acknowledges the “chatter about all the negative sides of AI,” he says that when the Travis team began thinking about recording “Where That Came From” using AI they wondered what that would look like for them. “And the first thing that came to mind… was we would give Randy Travis his voice back,” Lacey says.

According to the piece, when Travis suffered the stroke doctors gave him a 2% chance of surviving after discovering that in addition to paralysis the brain attack caused damage to the area of his brain controlling speech and language that had left it nearly beyond repair.

Cowan also spoke with Travis, 64, and wife Mary for the piece that takes viewers behind-the-scenes for a look at how longtime producer Kyle Lehning pieced together the song with the singer’s blessing using old audio tracks of his voice as a launching pad. With another singer pitching in, a custom AI program overlaid Travis’ voice on the new recording, with Lehning using the country legend’s input to “painstakingly” mold the AI-generated vocals into a song that felt authentically Travis.

“It’s not about how it sounds. It’s about how it feels,” Lehning says. “Him being here and him being able to be, you know, a vital part of the decision-making process makes all the difference to me.” If he’s being honest, though, Lehning says when he first realized that the AI experiment was working it, “freaked me out… when I played it back it was like, ‘oh my!’ And I immediately thought, ‘this might work.’”

The more he listened and dug into the nuance, Lehning says the song clearly needed more “massaging,” which required him to approach it “syllable-by-syllable.”

Cowan also observed the moment when Travis’ fellow country music friends and family heard the song for the first time, with stepdaughter Cavanaugh Mauch commenting, “It’s so weird to try and explain everything that goes through your head when you’re listening to it.”

In the wake of the stroke, Travis’ manager Tony Conway cooked up the idea for The Music of Randy Travis tour, which features the singer’s eight-piece band fronted by James Dupré, who played Travis’ son in the 2015 movie The Price. The latest iteration of that show, the More Life tour, is currently on the road, with the next date slated for May 23 at The Paramount in Abilene, Texas.

Travis — who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2016 — has also released a trio of albums post-stroke, including two volumes of covers, Influence Vol. 1: The Man I Am and Influence Vol. 2: The Man I Am, as well as 2020’s Precious Memories (Worship & Faith), a collection of worship songs recorded in Feb. 2003 at the Calvary Assembly of God in Orlando.

The CBS News piece will run on Sunday (May 5) at 9 a.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. Listen to “Where That Came From” and watch a preview of the CBS segment below.

03 May 2024

What’s Your Favorite New Music Release of the Week? Vote!

From radically optimistic pop songs to unflinchingly pessimistic diss tracks, this week has been filled with notable new music releases.

Dua Lipa returned Friday (May 3) with her highly anticipated third album, Radical Optimism, an 11-track dance-pop set that finds the star departing somewhat from her disco-infused Future Nostalgia sheen in favor of a more summery sound. It’s also her most personal project to date, with Lipa telling Billboard, “I felt so free in telling my stories and talking about my experiences.”

Operating on an entirely different wavelength is Kendrick Lamar, who dropped not one, but two vengeful response songs targeted at Drake this week — “Euphoria” and “6:16 in LA.” Not a single aspect of Drizzy’s artistry and personal life goes unaddressed by the “Money Trees” rapper, who spits on the former, “I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk/ I hate the way that you dress/ I hate the way that you sneak diss …”

The week was also full of big collaborations, with Imagine Dragons and J Balvin teaming up for “Eyes Closed,” and Kane Brown joining forces with Marshmello for a follow-up to their 2019 “One Thing Right” duet, “Miles on It.” Plus, Gunna dropped new single “WhatsApp (Wassam)” one week ahead of his fast-approaching album One of Wun, while Willow served up her sixth studio record, Empathogen.

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With such a diverse offering of new music releases this week, it may be hard to choose just one favorite. Regardless, we want to know what your top pick is — so let us know by voting in our poll below.

03 May 2024

Kendrick Lamar Continues Verbal Attack On Drake With “6:16 in LA”

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Kendrick Lamar has clearly had enough for the shots and subliminal messages from Drake, beginning his blitz earlier this week with the blistering “euphoria” track. With Drake still absorbing blows from that salvo, Kendrick Lamar once again fired back with the cleverly titled “6:16 in LA” track and the culture is in a frenzy.

While the issues between Drizzy and K-Dot have long been rumored, nothing to the level of the recent flurry of disses fans have been treated to lately.

Dot took the most measurable shot on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That” track earlier this year and it was clear who the target was. The Canadian superstar hit back with “Push Ups” and “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the latter of which has been served with a takedown notice from the estate of Tupac “2Pac” Shakur.

It was just this past Tuesday (April 30) when “euphoria” dropped and it wasn’t expected that another song was coming. Using Drake’s timestamp title formula, “6:16 in LA” (released Friday, May 3) digs even deeper into the persona of his rival.

From “6:16”:

Have you ever thought that OVO is workin’ for me?
Fake bully, I hate bullies, you must be a terrible person
Everyone inside your team is whispering that you deserve it
Can’t toosie slide up outta this one, it’s just gon’ resurface
Every dog gotta have his day, now live in your purpose
It was fun until you started to put money in the streets
Then lost money ’cause they came back with no receipts
I’m sorry that I live a boring life, I love peace
But war-ready if the world is ready to see you bleed

As it stands, most fans are saying the battle is leaning in favor of Kendrick Lamar, definitely since Drake egged him on to respond. Now, the timeline waits to see what the response will be or if the “Red Button” will be pushed.

Check the reactions below and the track below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=x6fPGumEGoQ&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

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Photo: Getty

03 May 2024

Gunna Releases Turbo-Produced Single ‘WhatsApp (Wassam)’ & Reveals ‘One of Wun’ Release Date

Gunna season has arrived just in time for the summer. The YSL rapper unleashed the second single from his anticipated One of Wun album on Friday (May 3), as “WhatsApp (Wassam)” hit streaming services.

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Gunna reconnects with frequent collaborator Turbo for a slippery chorus, which Turbo tells Billboard is inspired by a six-figure wire transfer the rapper received to perform at a private party.

“Man, wassam/ They sent the wire through WhatsApp (WhatsApp)/ Hope ain’t nobody to cuss at/ S–t changed but it still get pushed back/ I drop, make these little n—as push back,” Gunna raps.

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“WhatsApp (Wassam)” serves as the second single from Gunna’s upcoming album, following the Offset-assisted “Prada Dem.” Gunna also announced that One of Wun is slated to land next Friday (May 10).

“What’s app (wassam) @turbothegreat One of Wun May 10th,” he wrote on Instagram alongside an accompanying clip from the unreleased music video featuring Gunna having a conversation on the phone with Turbo the Great.

One of Wun contains 20 tracks, including the two previously released singles. Prior to the album’s arrival, Gunna will hit the road in support of the LP with The Bittersweet Tour kicking off this weekend in Columbus, Ohio.

Produced by Live Nation, the 16-date trek will make stops in Chicago, Houston, Miami, Denver, Seattle and more major markets before wrapping up with a hometown show at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena.

Gunna’s last album, A Gift & a Curse, was released in June 2023 and served as his first since being released from jail. The effort arrived free of features and topped Billboard‘s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

Listen to “WhatsApp (Wassam)” below.

03 May 2024

Madonna in Rio: Behind the Scenes of the Negotiation for One of the Biggest Shows in History

Imagine the scene: One of the greatest pop artists in history is in the middle of the Palais Garnier, the imposing house of the Paris Opera. Then, with her blue eyes fixed on the camera, she says an entirely off-script phrase: “Brazil, I’m coming.”

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But back then, in November 2023, there was nothing certain, not even close, for Madonna to take her Celebration Tour to Brazil. On the contrary, it was rumored that this would be an almost impossible mission due to technical reasons.

“At the time, we thought: Why don’t we ask her to record the phrase ‘Brazil, I’m coming soon’ as an extra for the commercial?” says Pedro Smith, head of Strategic Brand Relations at Itaú, the biggest bank in Latin America, whose centenary campaign stars Madonna. “She would express a reciprocal interest in making the show happen if she agreed. Well, she recorded that speech, but we still didn’t have a way to use it!”

 It was up to the bank to pull strings to make it happen. But they were running out of time.

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“The day after the shoot, we watched her show in Paris and realized that the structure would be complicated to adapt to a large crowd like the one we wanted. Because of this, Guy Oseary [the singer’s manager] poured cold water on us,” Smith says.

The following week, legendary businessman Luiz Oscar Niemeyer from Bonus Track, a “key player” in the process, appeared on the scene. For those who are not familiar with the intricacies of the music business, Niemeyer is a pioneer in the international concert market in Brazil, responsible for Paul McCartney’s record attendance at Maracanã in 1993 (and for all of McCartney’s subsequent visits to Brazil) and the performance by The Rolling Stones on Copacabana Beach, among many other historic events.

So there were two players: the biggest bank in Latin America that already had a close relationship with Madonna, and an experienced producer used to dealing with the biggest names in showbiz. But destiny sometimes plays tricks.

“I had already tried to bring Madonna in 2006, without success, and I had already been talking to Live Nation, responsible for the Celebration Tour, but Madonna had that health problem last year, and the tour was postponed,” explains Niemeyer, or “LON” for those closest to him.

At the end of 2023, Madonna returned to action, recorded the commercial and sold out dates in Europe, but Niemeyer, who had gone on vacation at the beginning of the year, also had to deal with his own health. The producer suffered a severe accident, was hospitalized and was out of action. “I broke down completely,” he laughs.

In mid-February (just over two months before the show date), negotiations intensified with Niemeyer back on track. “We became very close [to Niemeyer] and exchanged lots of info, like a task force to make this show possible, because Itaú had a contract with Madonna and Bonus Track, with Live Nation,” says Smith. “It was Saturday, Sunday, sometimes 3 am, and Luiz Oscar and I were in meetings with teams from outside Brazil.”

And the teams for everything related to Madonna, of course, are quite rigorous. “We have to deliver a show complying with the level of production that it presents around the world, naturally adapted for a much larger space. Only when we had the resizing of this structure, sponsorships, television broadcasting and technical issues approved was the deal finally closed,” explains Niemeyer, stressing that leaks about the show that took over the Internet in the weeks before the official announcement did not interfere in the negotiations.

According to him, from the beginning, the idea was that the show at Princesinha do Mar would close the Celebration Tour as “a great gift for Brazilian fans.” “It was a great choice – a Saturday, we have a holiday in the middle of the week, and more people can visit the city,” says Niemeyer.

We hope Madonna enjoys it too.

03 May 2024

Bruce Sudano, Donna Summer’s Widower, on Ye Sampling ‘I Feel Love’: ‘Kanye Is a Great Artist, But Wrong Is Still Wrong’

Bruce Sudano is pleased that reaction to his latest solo album, Talkin’ Ugly Truth, Tellin’ Pretty Lies “has probably been the best to any solo record I’ve ever done.” And while the singer, songwriter and Donna Summer widower is “trying to avoid the obvious thing of, ‘I wonder why?,’” he actually has a pretty good idea.

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“I just do my best to write songs,” Sudano tells Billboard from his home in Milan, “but I think the thing about this record is I’m working with a producer (Ken Lewis). Over these past years since Donna passed away (in 2012), I started this solo thing from a very stripped-down acoustic guitar thing. This phase started with the notion of loss; that’s what these original songs started coming out of, and I just wanted them to be songs that I could perform by myself. Now I’ve worked up to a fuller, more of a contemporary type of production. It still starts with a song I could sing just with my guitar and then we produced it afterwards, so maybe that’s why it’s connecting more than what I’ve done before.”

Sudano — whose credits beyond Summer include songs for Jermaine Jackson, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire and others — acknowledges that the eight-song Talkin’ Ugly Truth, his ninth album overall, does move beyond the loss and grieving of its predecessors, casting an outward view of the world he sees, and what he’s thinking about it. “I didn’t start out with that as a concept, it just evolved,” says Sudano, who duets with Valerie Simpson on the track “Two Bleeding Hearts.” “I’ve always written from a place of personal experience and thoughts and emotions, and how I assimilate them and process them is what comes out in a song. But some of these songs definitely deal with people of a certain age and what thoughts, emotions, responses and new things you have to encounter. In every phase of your life, you’re navigating some experience, and when you’re my age (75), you’re navigating a different set of emotions and look at life through a different perspective. That’s a very real part of life.”

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Sudano, who was a co-producer of Broadway’s Summer: The Donna Summer Musical and performs an acoustic version of her “Bad Girls,” which he co-wrote, in concert, does pay homage to Summer with the cover art of the album. It’s an iPhone photo of a portion of a larger painting by Summer, stemming from an idea presented to him during the making of Love to Love You, Donna Summer, the 2023 HBO documentary co-directed by their daughter, Brooklyn Sudano.

“Someone said, ‘Would you consider a piece of Donna’s for a cover?’” recalls Sudano, whose wife, Francesca, is an art gallerist in Milan. “I thought about it and, yes, if it artistically fit in my psyche. And there was this one painting, a really big painting, and I took a picture of a segment of that painting and people said, ‘This looks really great. This would be a great cover.’ It’s from our apartment looking down at the traffic, and I thought it represented that chaos of Talkin’ Ugly Truth.”

Sudano has, of course, been dealing with some chaos in the wider world of the Summer estate, stemming from Kanye West’s attempt to sample “I Feel Love,” her 1977 top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, for the track “Good (Don’t Die)” on his Vultures 1 album with Ty Dolla $ign. Sudano confirms that the estate had turned down West’s request to sample the song, then took action when a version of it was released on Spotify with changed words and another singer, issuing a public statement to label it copyright infringement. The track was subsequently removed from streaming versions of the album but is on the physical edition and was played at public listening parties prior to its release.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation,” says Sudano. “All of these things are very subjective. I try to view it through Donna’s lens and how she would protect her catalog in the right way. Kanye is a great artist, but wrong is still wrong.” He notes that previous samples used by Beyonce — including on “Summer Renaissance” from 2022’s Renaissance — were handled properly, with Beyonce even insisting on having the track played in-person for Sudano rather than simply sending a virtual file.

“Kanye’s people sent me an mp3 and I decided, ‘No, this is not a good fit,’” Sudano relates. “I go back to them and say no, then, ‘How much do you want?’ It’s not about the money. It’s just not a good fit. Then it comes out and it’s no longer Donna singing and he’s changed the lyric and has somebody sing the same melody — now it’s ‘Ooh, I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive,’ and I say this is copyright infringement. And once it’s out, it’s out. So I brought a complaint and we’ll see where that road leads. I respect Kanye as an artist, but this is just wrong.

“The other side of this,” Sudano adds, “is this is not a unique situation. It’s much better than it used to be in terms of samples, but there’s a lot of thievery that still goes on, and not everybody can fight it. This happens to so many people who are not in a position to where they can at least take a stand. So I feel like I have to do this for all those other people as well.”

Sudano says the next thing on the Summer estate docket is a limited biopic series “’cause I think that will give us a little more room to go in different areas,” although details are not yet firm. On his own front he’s eyeballing more live dates in the U.S. during the fall and more videos for other Talkin’ Ugly Truth tracks, including “How’d You Get There.”

“I’m enjoying doing these videos,” Sudano says, “and I’ll do some shows, and along the way I’m always writing here and there. I don’t have any plans to start recording yet — although Ken Lewis has been messaging me about it. (laughs) My thing now is to work this record through the end of the year. That’s my real focus.”

Tour Dates:

9/11- 04 Center, Austin, TX
9/13- Red Dragon Lounge, Baton Rouge, LA
9/14- The People’s Room, Mobile, AL
9/19- Bluebird Cafe, Nashville, TN
9/21- Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge, Madison, TN for Black Oak Artists Day Party for AmericanaFest

03 May 2024

Britney Spears Explains How She Twisted Her Ankle & Shows Off Swollen Foot After Hotel Incident

Britney Spears won’t be doing any heavy dancing or jumping for the next few weeks. Soon after telling fans on Instagram that she twisted her ankle at a Los Angeles hotel — an incident that resulted in an ambulance responding to the scene early Thursday morning (May 2) — the pop star shared videos of her injured foot on Instagram, and they aren’t for the squeamish at heart.

In the clips, Spears gives a close-up of the dark, painful bruises covering her right foot, the skin around her ankle visibly swollen. “It’s so bad,” the musician tells followers from behind the camera. “F–king idiot here tries to do a leap in the living room at the Chateau and I fell and embarrassed myself. That’s it.”

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“Paramedics came to my door and, of course, caused this huge scene,” she continued. “Which was so unnecessary, and all I needed was ice. It is actually pretty bad, but s–t happens.”

The pop star also included a photo of her lawyer, Mathew Rosengart, who served as her attorney during her conservatorship termination case in 2021. “Psss this man is wonderful !!!” Spears wrote in her caption. “He’s like a father to me and he got me through last night !!! I adore you and admire you mister Mathew !!!”

The post came a few hours after Spears confirmed in an Instagram statement that she’d twisted her ankle overnight at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, which resulted in an ambulance being dispatched to the hotel. Photos from the scene captured the “Toxic” singer exiting the building barefoot alongside rumored boyfriend Paul Richard Soliz.

The local fire department later confirmed to Billboard that a 911 call requesting aid for an unspecified adult female had been placed around 12:42 a.m., though it wasn’t clear whether paramedics ever encountered or treated the injured person. According to the LAFD, the dispatched ambulance left around 1:17 a.m., and there was no law enforcement response to the incident.

“Just to let people know … the news is fake !!!” Spears wrote at the time. “I would like respect at this time for people to understand I am getting stronger everyday. … I also twisted my ankle last night and paramedics showed up at my door,” she continued. “They never came in my room but I felt completely harassed. I’m moving to Boston !!!”

Also on Thursday, news broke that the Woman in Me author had settled her divorce from ex-husband Sam Asghari, less than a year after the pair announced they were ending their 14-month marriage. Per court documents obtained by Billboard, the split is bound by “a written agreement” regarding the ex-couple’s property and spousal support arrangements.