Music

20 Feb 2024

Jack Harlow’s ‘Lovin on Me’ Adds Sixth Week Atop Hot 100, Beyoncé Leads New Top 10s

Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” lands a sixth nonconsecutive week atop the Billboard Hot 100. With the song, which first led for a week in December, the rapper doubles his previous longest reign, as “First Class” ruled for three weeks in 2022. He has also led with “Industry Baby,” with Lil Nas X, for one week in 2021.

Meanwhile, three songs are new to the Hot 100’s top 10: Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” bounds onto the chart at No. 2; Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” debuts at No. 3; and Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” rises to No. 10, from No. 11.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Feb. 24, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow, Feb. 21 (a day later than usual due to the Presidents’ Day holiday in the U.S. Feb. 19). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Harlow’s “Lovin on Me,” released on Generation Now/Atlantic Records, drew 77.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 2%) and 21.6 million streams (down 7%) and sold 5,000 downloads (down 7%) in the Feb. 9-15 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The single adds a fifth week at No. 1 on the Radio Songs chart, drops 3-5 after five weeks atop Streaming Songs and rebounds 20-11 after two frames atop Digital Song Sales. It concurrently leads the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a 13th week each.

Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” blasts onto the Hot 100 at No. 2, with 19.2 million streams, 4.8 million in airplay audience and 39,000 sold through Feb. 15. The track is one of two that she released Feb. 11 (with instrumental and clean and explicit a cappella versions of the song released Feb. 14), along with “16 Carriages,” which debuts at No. 38 (10.3 million streams; 90,000 in audience; 14,000 sold).

The arrival of both tracks was announced via a Verizon commercial that aired during CBS’ broadcast of Super Bowl LVIII, ahead of the March 29 release of Beyoncé’s album expected to be titled Act II, which follows her 2022 Renaissance LP.

Beyoncé lands her 22nd Hot 100 top 10 with “Texas Hold ‘Em” – which concurrently soars in as her first No. 1 on the multimetric Hot Country Songs chart; “16 Carriages” starts at No. 9 on the latter list, giving her two top 10s with her first two entries on the chart.

As previously reported, “Texas Hold ‘Em” is being promoted to country radio, among other formats, and debuts at No. 54 on the Country Airplay chart. It also begins at No. 38 on Pop Airplay, while additionally drawing play at adult pop, rhythmic, adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop formats.

“Texas Hold ‘Em” concurrently begins at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales, where it’s Beyoncé’s 11th leader.

Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Carnival” enters the Hot 100 at No. 3, with 23.5 million streams and 4,000 sold from its Feb. 10 release on the pair’s collaborative album Vultures 1 through Feb. 15. As previously reported, the album, Ye’s first since his string of hate speech and antisemitic remarks, which resulted in companies including Adidas and Def Jam Recordings distancing themselves from the rapper, premieres at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Ye adds his 21st Hot 100 top 10 and Ty Dolla $ign, his third – and first in a lead role; he previously led for a week in 2018 as featured on Post Malone’s “Psycho” and hit No. 4 in 2016 as featured on Fifth Harmony’s “Work From Home.”

“Carnival” by the pair, billed collaboratively as ¥$: Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign, crowns Streaming Songs, marking Ye’s fourth No. 1 and Ty Dolla $ign’s first.

Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” backtracks to No. 4 from its No. 3 Hot 100 high; Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” falls to No. 5 from its No. 2 best; and Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” slips 4-6, following four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in October.

SZA’s “Snooze” descends 5-7 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2, as it leads the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart for a 29th week.

Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, retreats 6-8 on the Hot 100, after it led for a week upon its debut last September. It tops the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts for a 25th week each.

Tate McRae’s “Greedy” dips 7-9 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 3. It also becomes McRae’s first No. 1 on the Adult Pop Airplay chart, after it dominated Pop Airplay for eight weeks.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” climbs to No. 10, from No. 11, with 17.8 million streams (up 7%), 15.9 million in airplay audience (up 17%) and 2,000 sold.

The song is the Strafford, Vt., native’s first Hot 100 top 10. He arrived on the chart last June with “Dial Drunk” (featuring Post Malone), which reached No. 25, and peaked at a No. 14 best among his entries prior to “Stick Season” as featured on Zach Bryan’s “Sarah’s Place” in October. Notably, Kahan wrote “Stick Season” solo, making it any soloist’s first top 10 solely written by that artist since Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” (No. 10, January 2023).

“Stick Season” – which leads the multimetric Hot Alternative Songs chart for a fifth week, after it reached No. 2 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart in November 2022 – is the title track from Kahan’s album released that October. Sparked by its latest deluxe version, the set rebounds to its No. 3 high on the Billboard 200.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on Billboard’s social accounts, and all charts (dated Feb. 24), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Feb. 21).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

20 Feb 2024

Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD & Cécred Fund Announces $500K Cosmetology School Scholarship

Between her blockbuster 2024 Super Bowl commercial with Verizon and her brand new “Texas Hold ‘Em”-led country era, Beyoncé has been the talk of the town — and she hasn’t even revealed all of her cards yet. On Tuesday (Feb. 20), in conjunction with the official launch of her new haircare line, Cécred, Queen Bey announced a $500,000 cosmetology school scholarship fund through her BeyGOOD charity.

“Hairstylists have an immense impact on the people in their chairs,” reads a statement on on BeyGOOD’s website. “They create a sacred space where we can show up how we want and express ourselves through our hair. We’re honored to give back to this amazing community.”

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“Fostering talent, promoting professionalism, and supporting entrepreneurship within the hair industry is deeply important to us,” the message continues. “The Cécred x BeyGOOD Fund … celebrates the influence professional stylists have on hair health and the critical importance of advocating for the salon community. An annual $500,000 will fund cosmetology school scholarships and salon business grants across five cities chosen for their large, diverse community of hair stylists: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and New Jersey.”

The cosmetology schools in each of the five communities must have “inclusive curriculums” to qualify for the fund; they will receive $250,000 to be used toward financial aid student scholarships. Cécred x BeyGOOD-awarded institutions include Beaver Beauty Academy in Atlanta, Trenz Beauty Academy in Chicago, Universal College of Beauty in Los Angeles, Franklin Institute in Houston and Janas Cosmetology Academy in New Jersey.

The other half of the Cécred x BeyGOOD fund will be awarded annually to “qualifying salon business owners” in the same five areas. “We recognize running your own business is difficult, no matter if you rent a booth, operate a salon, or work out of your home,” the statement reads. “Each year, 25 $10,000 grants will be awarded to qualifying salon business owners in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New Jersey so they can continue their transformative impact in the community.”

No stranger to giving back, the new Cécred x BeyGOOD fund echoes the Black Parade Route that accompanied her historic Renaissance World Tour. Initially launched back in 2020, the Black Parade Route dispersed more than $1 million “to celebrate people, communities, and small businesses impacted by economic inequities worldwide” during the sold-out stadium tour.

In addition, the trek also boasted the Renaissance Scholarship Fund, which granted $100,000 to 10 colleges and universities along the production’s route. In 2021, Queen Bey teamed up with husband Jay-Z for a collaboration among BeyGOOD, the Shawn Carter Foundation and Tiffany & Co.; together, the three cultural giants pledged $2 million in scholarship funds for arts students at five select historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

Cécred, Beyoncé’s latest venture, is now live. Featuring a hydrating shampoo and a fermented rice & rose protein ritual, the new haircare line is infused with patent-pending technology and the legacy of Beyoncé and mother Tina Knowles.

“I have vivid memories of my mother working as a hairstylist right from our home. She built a small salon at the back of our house,” the “16 Carriages” singer told Essence. “So much of the fabric of who I am came from her salon. It is something that just connects to all of my senses, and it’s a beautiful place to grow up.”

See the announcement posted on BeyGOOD’s Instagram account:

20 Feb 2024

Usher Is Taking His Past Present Future Tour to Europe: Here Are the Dates

Usher hasn’t forgotten about his overseas fans. Coming off the momentum of his acclaimed Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show performance, the R&B icon revealed on Tuesday (Feb. 20) that he’ll be heading to Europe in April 2025 with his Past Present Future Tour.

The “Caught Up” singer is set to make stops in London for three shows before heading to Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin.

“EU and UK! I couldn’t forget about U! USHER: PAST PRESENT FUTURE tickets go on sale Thursday, 22 Feb @ 12pm local. Sign up at the link to get the code to the FAN PRESALE starting TODAY @ 10am,” he wrote to social media when announcing the extended trek.

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Tickets will be available through Usher’s website as well as Ticketmaster. Mastercard customers are in luck, as they’ll have early access to tickets starting on Tuesday, too.

“This tour is both a celebration of the past 30 years and a glimpse into the future,” Usher said via press release. “We are just getting started!” 

According to Usher, “overwhelming demand” convinced him to expand his original U.S. tour and tack on a slew of extra dates to fulfill fans’ cravings to see him hit the stage.

The global trek will kick off in Atlanta on Aug. 14, and will make stops in D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, Toronto, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Toronto and more before wrapping up the North American leg in Houston with a triumvirate of shows to close out November.

Before rocking the Super Bowl Halftime Show stage in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, Usher continued his banner month with the release of his Coming Home album.

The LP scored Usher his highest charting album on the Billboard 200 in over a decade, as his latest studio release bowed in at No. 2 behind Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 with 91,000 units earned.

Find all of the European Usher: Past Present Future Tour dates below.

  • April 1, 2024 – London, UK @ The O2 Arena
  • April 2, 2025 – London, UK @ The O2 Arena
  • April 5, 2025 – London, UK @The O2 Arena
  • April 15, 2025 – Paris, France @ Accor Arena
  • April 22, 2025 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggo Dome
  • May 1, 2025 – Berlin, Germany @ Uber Arena

usher, tour

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20 Feb 2024

Justin Timberlake Announces Emotional New Single ‘Drown’: Here’s When It Arrives

Justin Timberlake is looking to make waves with his new single “Drown,” which he announced on Instagram Monday (Feb. 19). 

Sharing a video of himself performing a snippet of the song’s emotional lyrics while playing piano, Timberlake confirmed that his new track will drop Friday (Feb. 23). “Showed me exactly who you are and I should’ve believed it/ Leave me alone out in the dark with all of the demons,” he sings in the clip. “Should’ve never followed you this far, now I’m in the deep end.”  

“Made it out to London, still recovering from this flu,” the “SexyBack” singer captioned the post. “But trying to power through. So excited for new music and everything coming this week…” 

“Drown” will mark the Trolls star’s second single release ahead of his sixth studio album Everything I Thought It Was, which arrives March 15. In January, he dropped “Selfish,” earning his highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100 in six years (No. 19). 

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In addition to fans and the charts, the track was also well-received by Britney Spears. The pop star said on Instagram that she was “in love” with her famous ex’s new song just days after “Selfish” dropped, then issued a blanket apology to anyone she may have “offended” with her The Woman in Me memoir, in which Timberlake was mentioned many times, and not always in a flattering light. 

That moment of hatchet-burying was seemingly short-lived, however. At his Memphis concert shortly afterward, the “Cry Me a River” musician declared, “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to absolutely f—king nobody,” which many interpreted as being a dig at Spears. 

Timberlake has been doing a handful of one-night-only concerts in the lead-up to his new album — which will mark his first since 2018’s Man of the Woods — starting with his hometown show in Memphis before performing in New York City. Next up, fans can catch him at the Roundhouse in London Friday (Feb. 23), the same date “Drown” is set to arrive. 

In April, he’ll kick off the North American leg of his Forget Tomorrow World Tour. 

See Timberlake’s “Drown” announcement below. 

20 Feb 2024

8 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Lainey Wilson, Dasha, Breland & More

This week’s roundup of the best new country songs stars Lainey Wilson, who over the past year has been crowned the CMAs’ entertainer of the year and picked up her first Grammy, in addition to notching multiple No. 1 Country Airplay hits. With her latest, she offers an assessment of country music’s current boom. Meanwhile, Dasha earns a viral hit with her new song “Austin,” and newcomer Graham Barham brings some Louisiana swamp-rock feel to his new track.

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See all these and more of Billboard‘s selections for the finest new country music of the past week below.

Lainey Wilson, “Country’s Cool Again”

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“Blue collar must’ve caught a new wind,” sings reigning CMA entertainer of the year Wilson on her latest release. In the process, she channels the surge in popularity that has carried country music and Western aesthetics to its current lofty heights. But Louisiana native Wilson also makes it clear that for so many artists like herself, “country” is far from a trend, but rather her birthright — from her unmistakable twang to her working-class roots. Lyrically, the song at times relies too heavily on expected country tropes such as beer and front porches, but sonically, this track is richly layered with sinewy guitar, funky percussion and piled high with soulful backing vocals, all led by Wilson’s charismatic lead vocal. Wilson wrote this track with Aslan Freeman, as well as her frequent co-writers Dallas Wilson and Trannie Anderson, with production from Jay Joyce.

Dasha, “Austin”

This California native has a huge viral hit on her hands with “Austin,” which is currently in the upper ranks of Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50 chart. Not to be confused with the 2001 Blake Shelton hit, Dasha employs handclaps, folksy fiddle and boot-stomping, made-for-line-dancing rhythms to propel this tale of calling out an ex-lover who ghosted her. “Did your boots stop working? Did your truck break down?” her voice drips with sarcasm, before she delivers a caustic blow, making her way back to Los Angeles and telling him, “In 40 years you’ll still be here drunk/ Washed up in Austin.” Dasha wrote the track with Kenneth Travis Heidelman, Adam Wendler and Cheyenne Rose Arnspiger. “Austin” is included on Dasha’s recent album What Happens Now?

Graham Barham, “Bayou Boy”

This is a delightfully churning, swamp-rock stomper praises Louisiana life, from catching beads at Mardi Gras to navigating a fan boat through thick swamp waters and turning up to Sunday morning church in your best Mossy Oak. Meanwhile, Barham’s vocal pulses with urgency and exhilaration. Barham wrote the track with Beau Bailey and Will Bundy, with production by Bundy.

Drake Milligan, Jukebox Songs EP

Across this succinct quartet of songs, Milligan offers a jolt of down-home country flavor, roping listeners in with his honeyed, smooth vocal and an adoration for “that so cool, old-school country sound,” as he puts it on the EP’s “Jukebox Songs and Barstool Beers.” “What I Couldn’t Forget” and “I Got a Problem (Full Length)” sound like classic dancehall staples, while the up-tempo set is tempered by the gently rolling track “Don’t Leave Me Loving You.” Milligan previously proved he’s got plenty of onstage charisma and is adept at a multitude of styles through his time portraying Elvis on the CMT series Sun Records and through his time on American Idol and America’s Got Talent. But here, as with his breakthrough hit “Sounds Like Something I’d Do,” his unabashed love for country and his stone-cold country inspiration is in heavy rotation.

Josh Ross, “Matching Tattoos”

Ross is known for the perky-tempoed “First Taste of Gone” and the soulful “Trouble,” but on his latest, he muses that the ink on his arm remains a permanent reminder of a short-lived romance. Stately, somber piano underscores his vocal shift from fond reminiscing on starry-eyed, youthful promises to wishful hoping that his ex-lover still somehow holds on to a love that mirrors his own. Ross’ voice has an appealing raspy quality, while the ballad’s melody offers ample space to showcase his upper range in the final chorus.

Breland, “Heartbreak & Alcohol”

Over the past couple of years, country music has more heavily embraced pop music’s interpolations trend, with the bulk of country music’s interpolations bringing new life to some country classics. With his latest, the always genre-melding writer-singer-producer Breland interpolates the melody and groove of Lil Wayne’s 2013 trap hit “Love Me” (which featured Drake and Future). There’s little twang to be heard here, as he keeps the song’s smooth R&B-pop melody and groove, but trades the original’s braggadocio-fueled lyrics for words of classic country heartbreak, led by Breland’s honeyed vocal. The combination feels even more organic to the production’s moody atmosphere.

The Steel Wheels, “Sideways”

The title track to the group’s recently-released project, “Sideways” blends superb musicianship, with a latticework of mandolin, guitars, percussion, bass and keyboards. This group has been melding bluegrass, Americana and folk for more than two decades. Here, they offer up shades of soft-focused, jam band rock and polished, ‘70s Laurel Canyon-reminiscent harmonies. Written by The Steel Wheels  vocalist/guitarist/banjo player Trent Wagler, he maintains an urge to seek love and connection without facades and fear, while acknowledging that growth and love rarely evolve in a linear fashion. A superb look into the Virginia-based band’s stellar album.

Tyler Hubbard, “Wish You Would”

Hubbard previously offered an early look at his upcoming second solo album, Strong (out April 12) with his current top 20 Country Airplay hit, the nostalgia-driven “Back Then Right Now.” With “Wish You Would,” he delves deeper into a mesh of hook-filled rock elements. “We been dancin’ around it/ We been walkin’ that edge,” he sings, crafting a narrative of hoping to take a relationship to the next level. From there he catalogs his wishes that she would “wreck my plans, rock my world, be my brown-eyed, blue-jean girl.” While the lyrics feel slightly paint-by-numbers at moments, Hubbard’s warm, laid-back vocals and the hopeful fervor in his delivery make this track feel fresh and conversational. Hubbard wrote the track with frequent collaborators Corey Crowder and Chris LaCorte.

20 Feb 2024

Peso Pluma Announces 2024 Exodo Tour: Here Are the Dates

Mexican star Peso Pluma has unveiled the dates for this 2024 Exodo Tour, set to kick off May 26 at the Sueños Festival in Chicago. Produced by Live Nation, the North American leg of the arena trek will include more than 35 shows, with stops in New York, Miami, Dallas, Las Vegas, San Diego and more before wrapping Oct. 11 in Montville, Conn.

According to a press release, fans can expect an “all-new show, inclusive of a fully reimagined set design and setlist” with his live band in tow. Peso’s upcoming trek follows his first-ever tour last year.

His first reported Boxscore was an April 8 concert at the Toyota Center in Ontario, Calif., where he grossed $988K and sold more than 8,000 tickets, according to Billboard Boxscore. He finished the 2023 tracking period with two $2 million shows in Hidalgo, Texas, and Chula Vista, Calif. His 2023 run landed him at No. 47 in the all-genre Top 100 Tours, grossing a total of $48.8 million across 39 shows, according to Billboard‘s year-end Boxscore charts.

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The 24-year-old artist’s breakthrough year was marked with 26 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, all of which he entered in 2023 alone. His history-making album Génesis peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 — the highest ranking for a regional Mexican album — and he most recently won his first Grammy, taking home the gramophone for best música mexicana album (including tejano) for Génesis.

Tickets are set to go on sale Friday, Feb. 23, at 10 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com. See the complete list of dates for Peso Pluma’s 2024 Exodo Tour below:

  • May 26 – Chicago, IL – Sueños Festival
  • May 28 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center
  • May 30 – Milwaukee, WI – Fiserv Forum
  • May 31 – Indianapolis, IN – Gainbridge Fieldhouse
  • June 1 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
  • June 3 – Toronto, ON – Scotiabank Arena
  • June 4 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
  • June 7 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
  • June 9 – New York, NY – Governor’s Ball**
  • June 10 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
  • June 12 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum
  • June 21- Tampa, FL – Amalie Arena
  • June 23- Miami, FL – Kaseya Center
  • June 26- New Orleans, LA – Smoothie King Center
  • June 28 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
  • June 30 – Fort Worth, TX – Dickies Arena
  • July 17 – San Antonio, TX – Frost Bank Center
  • July 19 – Austin, TX – Moody Center
  • July 23 – Oklahoma City, OK – Paycom Arena
  • July 26 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
  • July 30- Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
  • July 31 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
  • Aug. 3 – Tulsa, OK – BOK Center
  • Aug. 5 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center
  • Aug. 6 – Omaha, NE – CHI Health Center
  • Aug. 9 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
  • Aug. 10 – Rosarito, MX – Baja Beach Fest
  • Aug. 11 – Salt Lake City, UT – Delta Center
  • Aug. 13 – Portland, OR – Moda Center
  • Aug. 16 – Seattle, WA – Climate Pledge Arena
  • Aug. 28 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
  • Sept. 7 – Fresno, CA – Save Mart Center at Fresno State
  • Sept. 17 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena
  • Sept. 12 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
  • Sept. 23 – Phoenix, AZ – Footprint Center
  • Oct. 6 – Chicago, IL – United Center
  • Oct. 9 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
  • Oct. 11 – Montville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena

20 Feb 2024

Foo Fighters to Headline Intimate Power to the Patients Show in D.C.

The Foo Fighters will scale down from stadiums and arenas to perform an intimate, one-night-only private gig in Washington, D.C. in support of Power to the Patients on March 5. The show will be hosted by the non-profit that is fighting for a more affordable, accessible and equitable healthcare system via price transparency.

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“When we were asked by Power to the Patients to help raise awareness of the need for transparency in healthcare pricing, we immediately said yes,” the band said in a statement about the show for congressional leaders and government officials. “People suffering from illness and injury shouldn’t have to worry about being bankrupted by surprise charges for their treatment.”

The show will also feature appearances from Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Fat Joe, both of whom have spoken out in support of the group that has advocated for upfront pricing in the healthcare system. “With more than 100 million Americans suffering from medical debt due to surprise bills and lack of accountability, it’s time for all elected officials to come together and turn the page on our nation’s broken and opaque healthcare system,” the organization said in a release announcing the show.

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The Foos are the latest musicians to travel to the nation’s capital in support of Power to the Patients, joining a list that includes Jelly Roll, Wyclef Jean, French Montana, Rick Ross, Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, Chuck D., Method Man, Lainey Wilson, Valerie June, Everclear and artist Shepard Fairey. Fat Joe has previously visited Capitol Hill to sit with members of Congress in an effort to urge them to pass legislation codifying and expanding healthcare price transparency.

Jelly Roll, Wilson and June appeared in a Super Bowl LVIII commercial for Power to the Patients, just weeks after Jelly joined Fat Joe and Wyclef at a Power to the Patients event in D.C. to advocate for fair billing to a group of 500 government officials and members of Congress.

20 Feb 2024

Billie Eilish & Finneas Could Win Their Second Songwriting Oscar in 3 Years: Who Else Has Done That?

That’s a fast turnaround, but one songwriting team and one individual songwriter did even better, winning back-to-back Oscars.

Billie Eilish and FINNEAS

Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, winner of the Music (Original Song) award for ‘No Time to Die’ at the 94th Academy Awards held at Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood & Highland Center on March 27th, 2022 in Los Angeles.

Gilbert Flores

Billie Eilish and Finneas could be headed for their second Oscar for best original song in three years. The siblings won in that category in 2022 for “No Time to Die” from the James Bond film of the same name. They are nominated this year with “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie.

If they win when the 96th annual Academy Awards are presented on March 10 – as is widely expected – they’ll become the first songwriter or songwriting team to win twice in the space of three years since Tim Rice won in 1993, 1995 and 1997. Rice co-wrote those songs with three different collaborators.

Eilish and Finneas would be the first songwriting team to win twice in the space of three years since Alan Menken & Howard Ashman, who won in 1990 for “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid and in 1992 with the title song from Beauty and the Beast.

“What Was I Made For?” is competing with another song from Barbie, “I’m Just Ken (co-written by Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt). This year’s other nominees for best original song are “The Fire Inside” from Flamin’ Hot (Diane Warren), “It Never Went Away” from American Symphony (Jon Batiste and Dan Wilson) and “Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People)” from Killers of the Flower Moon (Scott George).

Here are all of the songwriting teams, or individual songwriters, who have won two Oscars for best original song in the space of three years. As you’ll see, one songwriting team and one individual songwriter won back-to-back awards in this category. (Bonus points if you can name them without scrolling ahead.) The years shown are the years of the Oscar ceremonies.

20 Feb 2024

Olivia Rodrigo Celebrates Her Last Day of (Hypothetical) Underage Drinking at Early 21st Birthday Party: See Pics

While today (Feb. 20) is officially Olivia Rodrigo‘s 21st birthday, the singer jokingly celebrated her milestone bday a day earlier with friends in an Instagram post on Monday in which she joked, “Today is my last day of being able to under age drink (hypothetically) !!!!”

The series of snaps included Rodrigo rocking a plunging neckline black dress and blowing out the candles on a funfetti cake during a party with a number of friends, including Tate McRae, The Kid LAROI, actress Iris Apatow and Conan Gray.

Last month, Rodrigo was already gearing up for her big 2-1, telling ET on the red carpet at the 14th annual Governors Awards that she was planning something special. :It is a big birthday,” she said. “I think I’m gonna have a party with my friends and pop some champagne, you know? It’s the 21st!”

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The night before her birthday blowout, at the 2024 People’s Choice Awards on Sunday night, Rodrigo took home two awards for song (“Vampire”) and album (Guts) of the year. The singer is also one of the leading nominees for the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards, set to air live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on April 1 on Fox. While Taylor Swift leads all nominees with nine nods, Rodrigo is just behind with seven noms.

Rodrigo is gearing up to launch her GUTS World Tour, which kicks off on Friday (Feb. 23) with a gig at the Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, CA and is currently slated to keep her on the road through a four-show run at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles on August 13, 14, 16 and 17.

Check out the snaps from Rodrigo’s party below.

20 Feb 2024

Usher Takes Fans Behind-The-Scenes of 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show in Apple Music Mini-Doc

Usher pulls back the curtain on the intense prep he did for his 2024 Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII halftime show in a new mini-doc that dropped over the weekend. The nearly 11-minute black and white film was shot entirely on an iPhone 15 Pro by director Mike Carson.

“I think everybody is blessed with a talent and a time,” Usher says at the top of the film amid images of the intense dance rehearsals for the 13-minute run through the singer’s legendary catalog. “If you put in the work, people will respect what you do.” What follows is black and white footage of Ush perfecting his dance moves while subtly tweaking the vocals on some of his biggest hits to make sure fans get the ultimate experience.

Viewers also get a glimpse of the “Caught Up” performance from the rehearsal studio to the world’s biggest TV stage, as the singer, his band and crew of dancers dial in the high-flying stunts and intense choreography. The 45-year-old star says the physically demanding prep hits differently two decades into his career. Hence, we see Usher getting a cupping treatment and doing a variety of physical and mental challenges to keep his mind and body in game day shape.

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There’s also footage of Usher drilling down into every detail of the performance, offering his team notes on the flow, the camera angles and the sense of intimacy he was hoping to tap into in the performance that aired during the broadcast that broke viewership records. Elsewhere, we see Lil Jon dropping in for a rehearsal of “Yeah!” and Alicia Keys practicing her show-stopping cameo during “My Boo,” in which the old friends work out their playful choreo.

Of course you also get to see Usher putting it on wheels and working out his jaw-dropping rollerskating dance for “OMG.”

“As I put together the songs, like a puzzle piece to represent this type of soulful music, R&B and mixture of this pop that is my own, I think God really blessed me with the right people to help build the artist that I am,” Usher says in the video of the tough task of assembling the super-tight 13-song set list that also included cameos from Will.i.am, Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris. “I’m happy that I’m able to share this moment with them.”

After footage from the performance unspools, a contemplative Usher describes the feeling he had on that massive stage, saying, “You’ll see me from time-to-time look up at the top row. I’m thinking about the little 11-year-old kid that dreamed some day I could play on that big stage.”

Watch Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII halftime show mini-doc below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=j0X8sOdv3bg&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent