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As their third album arrives, New York collective MICHELLE is leaning into boy bands and girl groups for inspiration.
It’s not that their latest, Songs About You Specifically out today via Transgressive Records, particularly sounds like One Direction, Spice Girls or Fifth Harmony, but examples of modern pop with four lead vocalists are hard to come by outside those groups.
“When you’re trying to learn vocal arrangements and trying to reference music that also has this many vocals, the only music you can find are these girl bands,” says Julian Kaufman, who, along with Charlie Kilgore, handles much of the production in the band. “There are girl bands like The Shirelles from the ‘50s and ‘60s that are a singing a little more vintage pop and that’s great. But in the last 30 years, all you really get is the *NSYNCs and the Fifth Harmonies of the world.”
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On Songs About You Specifically, tapping into those inspirations has led to all the voices of MICHELLE singing out in crisp clarity on songs collectively written in the small town of Ojai, Calif. outside of Los Angeles.
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Unlike their previous releases (2018’s HEATWAVE and 2022’s After Dinner We Talk Dreams), their third studio album does not divvy up songs by each singer and features multiple vocalists on each track, which adds a richness to the sextet’s unique brand of indie pop.
“We try very hard to make sure everybody sounds different,” says Kaufman, adding they have the vocalists (Sofia D’Angelo, Layla Ku, Emma Lee, and Jamee Lockard) sing on different mics and took inspiration from mid 2010’s hip-hop where features took on extremely different resonances when they were recorded separately and stitched together in a studio. “[We were] making sure that each singer has a slightly different sense of harmony. The first verse of ‘The Dropout’ and the second verse of the song have the same melody, but one is sung by Layla and one is sung by Jamee and the harmony stacks they sing are different… Can you hear any of this stuff? No, but it all adds up to subtle things in your brain.”
While some contemporary artists might scoff at the bubblegum pop comparisons, D’Angelo loves it. “Wait, so when you listen to MICHELLE, are you like, ‘Oh my god, that’s Emma. Oh my god, that’s Jamee. Oh my god, that’s Layla. Oh my god, that’s Sofia’? Hell yeah,” she says. “I’m freaking out about this, because this is what I would do with One Direction.”
MICHELLE is also leaning into the stage presence of the major pop acts. While a MICHELLE show has never lacked energy, Ku says people can expect more elaborate choreography. “Shout out to overlord Lee. She choreographs everything with great intent,” Ku says. “We’ve been putting so much work into this dancing element of our performance. It’s become very visually pleasing. I see videos of us dancing and I’m like, ‘Yeah, we ate that up.’”
Audiences can also expect live drums, coordinated outfits (not matching just yet, but they tease the possibility) and lots of hairography.
“The last two shows we did [on the Still Woozy tour] we had wind machines or fans at the edge of the stage. Oh boy, did that make a difference,” says Lee. “You’re like, this is just where I stand to sing and then you see a video and…it’s life changing.”
“Those experiences when the fan was in my hair made me realize this is what I’ve always wanted to do for my whole life. This is what I would do with the hair dryer in my bathroom when I was a kid singing Miley Cyrus or Britney Spears or Beyoncé or whatever,” says D’Angelo. “The hair is really the fifth vocalist, the fifth dancer in the band.”
When the group was recording the new record in Ojai, they would split up into writing groups of two or three and whichever group finished their track first would make dinner for everyone else. Having six writers, all from varying backgrounds, genders, sexualities and styles gives MICHELLE the rare ability to create honest music from many perspectives.
“It’s so exciting that we can write about queer relationships or maybe an experience that only two of the members have had, but we can present it under [MICHELLE],” says Lee. “We have this vessel to constantly be tons of different things that are true to different parts of the group.”
MICHELLE has successfully avoided being pigeonholed as just a queer band or just a pop group over the past six years, as their sound has evolved and changed. For their latest, direct inspiration is extremely difficult to pinpoint. There are the ‘90s R&B sounds on “Akira” and the beachy breeziness of “Cathy.” There are traces of late 2000s and early 2010s indie like Phantogram and Phoenix, alongside consistently strong basslines and danceable drumbeats.
“Sonically, it is not very clear what genre this [album] is. That is something we were going for,” says Kaufman. “We were trying to have that thing where you put on this album and it’s not exactly just another pop album. This is MICHELLE. That’s the intention.”
“When we went into writing we wanted to experience catharsis and really express ourselves,” says D’Angelo. “With this record, it was anything goes in terms of what we were bringing into the room. The focus was just crafting great music, helping each other. If someone had an idea, being there for them.”
The group has always billed themselves as a predominantly queer collective and, as the culture embraces LGBTQIA+ artists like Chappell Roan, MUNA, Reneé Rapp, Janelle Monáe and more, MICHELLE sees this as a turning point for queer representation.
“Queer people aren’t going anywhere. Lesbians aren’t going anywhere,” says Lockard. “We finally reached a moment in pop culture where queer people feel comfortable sharing who they are and it’s being well received. It’s just going to continue to grow as younger queer listeners are hearing these artists and writing their own stories.”
“The only element of this moment that I’m looking forward to ending….” Ku adds — pausing while her bandmates laugh, in order to reassure, “Everyone’s going to be like, ‘I feel that’ at the end of my sentence. Don’t worry.
“Whenever there’s rumblings of a cultural shift with young people, there is a quick [instinct to] vulture, to prey, swarm, that companies hop on,” she continues. “The music industry is a huge perpetrator of that — and I look forward to when the commodification of queer aesthetic and art comes to a close. So many of our queer musical predecessors did it in anonymity for so long, and I look forward to when it’s just music and stories being told by these people are accepted and understood to be regular rather than something to profit off of.”
Chappell Roan has dropped out of All Things Go, sharing that she needs to prioritize her health in a statement posted one day ahead of her first of two scheduled performances.
In a message on her Instagram Story Friday (Sept. 27), the 26-year-old wrote, “I apologize to people who have been waiting to see me in NYC & DC this weekend at All Things Go, but I am unable to perform.”
“Things have gotten overwhelming over the past few weeks and I am really feeling it,” Roan continued. “I feel pressures to prioritize a lot of things right now and I need a few days to prioritize my health. I want to be present when I perform and give the best shows possible.”
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“Thank you for understanding,” she added. “Be back soon xox.”
Billboard has reached out to Roan’s rep for comment.
In a statement shared with Billboard on behalf of All Things Go, the festival‘s spokesperson said they were “heartbroken” to see Roan pull out. “While we know how much you were looking forward to the performances, it’s important to remember that health and well-being always comes first,” the statement continued. “All Things Go strongly supports artists prioritizing their well-being and we ask our community to rally around Chappell Roan with love and understanding.”
Roan had been slated to perform at both the New York City and Maryland iterations of the festival, which will occur on back-to-back days this weekend. Featuring headliners Laufey, Bleachers, Janelle Monae, Conan Gray, Renee Rapp and Hozier, the original schedule had the “Hot to Go!” artist scheduled for Saturday (Sept. 28) in New York followed by a second performance in the D.C. area Sunday (Sept. 29).
The VMA winner’s departure from the festival comes amid some backlash from fans unhappy with her recent comments about the 2024 presidential election, which began when she told Rolling Stone she doesn’t “feel pressured to endorse someone” in the race between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump, as she sees “problems on both sides.”
When some people took issue with her choice not to publicly back Harris, with many seeing the VP as the safest choice for LGBTQ issues — something Roan has long been vocal about in her support — the “Good Luck, Babe!” artist responded with a Sept. 24 TikTok video saying that her comments had been “completely taken out of context” and encouraged followers “to use critical thinking skills, learn about what they’re voting for, learn about who they’re voting for, and ask questions.”
When the TikTok sparked even more debate, Roan again posted to the platform Sept. 25. “I’m voting for f–king Kamala,” she said. “But I’m not settling for what has been offered, because that’s questionable … “Obviously, f–k the policies of the right — but also, f–k some of the policies on the left! That’s why I can’t endorse.”
Roan has been open about how overwhelmed she’s felt this year as her stardom has skyrocketed. In June, she paused one of her concerts to level with the audience. “I think my career is just kind of going really fast and it’s really hard to keep up,” she said at the time, appearing emotional. “I’m just being honest … I’m having a hard time today.”
A couple months later, the Missouri native made headlines for speaking out against toxic fan behavior, with Roan detailing experiences with stalking and crossed boundaries she’s faced over the past few months. “I’ve been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you s—t,” she wrote at the time in an Instagram post. “I chose this career path because because I love music and art and honoring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.”
Linkin Park’s “The Emptiness Machine” bounds two spots to No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay charts dated Oct. 5.
The song reigns in just its third week on both lists. It completes the quickest trip to No. 1 on Alternative Airplay in nearly two years, dating to the three weeks that Blink-182’s “Edging” took in November 2022. On Mainstream Rock Airplay, it’s the fastest since Metallica’s “Lux Æterna” needed only two weeks in December 2022.
Linkin Park now boasts 13 No. 1s on Alternative Airplay, tying Green Day for the second-most rulers since the chart began in September 1988.
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Most No. 1s, Alternative Airplay:
15, Red Hot Chili Peppers
13, Green Day
13, Linkin Park
12, Cage the Elephant
12, Foo Fighters
10, Twenty One Pilots
8, U2
8, Weezer
7, The Black Keys
7, Imagine Dragons
Linkin Park first reigned in 2001-02 with “In the End.” Prior to “The Emptiness Machine,” it most recently led with “Lost,” for six weeks in March-May 2023. In between its two latest No. 1s, the group’s “Friendly Fire” hit No. 2 this April.
On Mainstream Rock Airplay, “The Emptiness Machine” is Linkin Park’s 11th No. 1, giving the group sole possession of the ninth-most leaders since the chart first published in 1981. The act first led with “Somewhere I Belong” in 2003.
Most No. 1s, Mainstream Rock Airplay:
19, Shinedown
17, Three Days Grace
15, Five Finger Death Punch
14, Foo Fighters
14, Metallica
13, Godsmack
13, Van Halen
12, Disturbed
11, Linkin Park
“The Emptiness Machine” is part of a streak of three No. 1s in a row on the chart for Linkin Park, following “Lost” and “Friendly Fire.” It’s the first such run for the band, after it strung together two straight leaders twice.
Concurrently, “The Emptiness Machine” tops the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart for a third week via 8.6 million audience impressions in the week ending Sept. 26, up 8%, according to Luminate.
The song ruled the most recently published multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs chart (dated Sept. 28, reflecting the tracking week of Sept. 13-19); in addition to its radio airplay, it earned 8.4 million official U.S. streams and sold 3,000 in that span.
“The Emptiness Machine” is the lead single from From Zero, Linkin Park’s eighth studio album, due Nov. 15. It’s the band’s first full-length with new co-singer Emily Armstrong and drummer Colin Brittain, following the death of singer Chester Bennington in 2017 and departure of longtime drummer Rob Bourdon.
All Billboard charts dated Oct. 5 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Lana Dey Rey finally got to wear that white dress she sang about on Chemtrails Over the Country Club. This time it was of the wedding variety, though. People confirmed that the 39-year-old singer born Elizabeth Grant married Louisiana-born alligator tour guide Jeremy Dufrene on Thursday (Sept. 26) after a brief romance that began earlier […]
Luke Combs claims a second week at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated Oct. 5) with “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma.” The song increased by 2% to 30.7 million audience impressions Sept. 20-26, according to Luminate.
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Co-authored by Combs, the hit from the soundtrack Twisters: The Album is the 13th of his 18 Country Airplay leaders to dominate for multiple weeks – and marks another notable career achievement: Combining all his No. 1s, he has now spent more than a year – 53 weeks – at the summit. Kenny Chesney has logged the most weeks at No. 1 (83), dating to the chart’s 1990 start, followed by Tim McGraw (80), George Strait (66), Alan Jackson (60), Blake Shelton (57), Toby Keith and Combs (53 each).
“I’m really blown away,” Combs tells Billboard. “The support from country radio for my music and fans has always been more than I ever could have imagined. I’ve always known they were huge supporters of my music but this proves it in more ways than one.
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“I never thought I would get one week at No. 1, but when I did, I felt like I had won the lottery,” Combs marvels. “So, for my songs to have spent a full year at No. 1 with guys I grew up listening to and admiring is more than I could have ever dreamed of. Thank you, country radio, for letting this young man from North Carolina, who most had never heard of when y’all started playing my music, live out his dreams and do what he loves.”
Combs’ longest-leading Country Airplay No. 1 is “Beautiful Crazy,” which posted a seven-week command beginning in March 2019, followed by “Forever After All” (six weeks, starting in June 2021) and “Fast Car” and “Even Though I’m Leaving” (five each, beginning in July 2023 and November 2019, respectively).
Says Tom Oakes, SummitMedia operations manager and program director of Country Airplay reporter KTTS in Springfield, Mo., Combs’ success “is a testament to his ability to relate to the audience. He comes across as an everyday guy working hard to make his mark, raise a family and overcome the challenges life serves up. It comes through his songs, which speak to listeners on a level which they experience and live every day, whether it’s a serious or more dramatic theme, or just flat-out fun.
“At the core of his staying power is his ability to consistently appeal to listeners, as seen through long-term positive research on his music and his success on the concert circuit,” Oakes adds. “‘Oklahoma’ is different production-wise, as it is a straight-out rocker. Whatever he comes with next will likely be different in style and fresh-sounding.”
This summer, singer-songwriter Yeison Jimenez achieved his lifelong dream of selling out the coveted Movistar Arena in Bogotá, Colombia — not once, but three times, with more than 40,000 collective fans attending the shows. The feat was not only historic for Jimenez, but for any música popular (regional Colombian) artist. “No one in the genre has been able to [sell out] a solo arena throughout Colombia,” he says.
Música popular — which fuses ranchera and the string music known as carrilera in Colombia — was born more than five decades ago in the country’s coffee region, which has four departments: Caldas (where Jimenez was born), Quindío, Risaralda and Tolima. Initially known as música de carrilera or música de cantina, its inspiration derived from regional Mexican music and first gained traction in small towns and local bars with the help of genre pioneers including Darío Gómez, Luis Alberto Posada and El Charrito Negro.
As Jimenez tells it, música popular traces back to Gómez in particular. The former notes that when the latter arrived at radio stations with the newborn fusion in the ’70s, they told him he was crazy.
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“This is not like vallenato, which is something authentically ours — we did not invent this,” música popular singer Pipe Bueno says. “We are a subgenre that comes from Mexico but with our essence and our flavor. The fact that we are Colombian gives it a different color.”
Lyrically, a regional Colombian song will often focus on despecho (heartbreak) or rejoicing in good times. Sonically, the arrangements can mirror the instrumentation of mariachi and ranchera music, such as trumpets, violins and the guitarrón (six-string acoustic bass), blended with the accordion, commonly used in vallenato.
As part of the new wave, Bueno and Jimenez — alongside artists including Paola Jara, Luis Alfonso, Jessi Uribe and Arelys Henao — have not only given the genre a modern twist but also propelled it to an international scale. Jimenez first reached Billboard’s Latin Airplay and Regional Mexican Airplay charts with “Tu Amante” in 2021, and he’s now touring nightclubs and theaters across the United States. Bueno, who entered the Latin Digital Song Sales and Latin Rhythm Airplay charts with his 2014 song “La Invitación” (featuring Maluma), has since collaborated with Grupo Firme and inked a deal with Warner Music Latina earlier this year.
“We are an aspirational genre,” Bueno says. “We have been at the top of the streaming charts alongside Peso Pluma. We are filling arenas. It wasn’t like this [when I started my career].”
“When we came into the game, we wanted to make music that would reach other countries and, above all, other generations,” Jimenez adds. “On one hand, there’s a lot of admiration. On the other hand, we are criticized a bit… I don’t pigeonhole myself because we are in another era.”
This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.
While accepting best crossover song at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards Thursday (Sept. 26), MGK (formerly Machine Gun Kelly) gave the biggest thank you to someone he used to have bad blood with: Jelly Roll.
Now, the two are both friends and collaborators, with their July duet “Lonely Road” taking home the crossover award at the ceremony, which the “Son of a Sinner” star didn’t attend. “Dude, Jelly Roll. Bubba!” MGK cheered on the stage on behalf of his song partner. “Jelly, I love you. We went from 10 years ago, hating each other, to elevating each other.”
“Comparison is the thief of joy,” the rapper-turned-rocker added, holding up his trophy. “There’s enough room on this couch for everybody. We found camaraderie in the chaos.”
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Jelly and the “My Ex’s Best Friend” singer previously addressed their decade-old feud in a Sept. 13 vodcast episode, helping Spotify launch its musician-focused Countdown To series. “It is so funny how much I love you now,” MGK said during their conversation, sitting face to face with the country star. “God, I hated you so much back then.”
“You gotta understand there was only like seven white rappers on Earth at this time, so it was so competitive when you was in that pool, that we were kind of automatically forced against each other anyways,” Jelly added with a laugh at the time. “You were just like, just skinny and handsome. So I was like, I was just a hater. I was just a hater, dude! It’s hard to grow up in front of the whole world.”
In addition to dropping “Lonely Road” in July, Jelly and MGK also shot a music video costarring their respective partners, Bunnie XO and Megan Fox. The visual finds the musicians struggling to provide for their families, so they organize a heist that ends with MGK behind bars, leaving the Jennifer’s Body actress to raise their fictional newborn baby without him.
Watch MGK thank Jelly Roll at the People’s Choice Country Awards below.
Austin City Limits (ACL) will celebrate its 50th season with an assist from Texas native and Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves. The season will launch Saturday, Sept. 28, with an hour’s worth of music from Musgraves. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the previously taped appearance, she […]
With the mystery of “LG 6.5” officially solved, Lady Gaga is ready to let fans in on the making of her newest album, Harlequin.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Gaga explained that the idea for her new album of jazz and pop classics came to her after she finished filming Joker: Folie à Deux. After performing for so long as her character Harleen “Lee” Quinzel (aka Harley Quinn), Gaga felt that she still had more to say. “I had such a deep relationship with Lee,” she said. “And when I was done filming the movie, I wasn’t done with her.”
As for why she teased the album as “LG 6.5,” the singer explained that she didn’t want fans to see this only as her next album. “It is my record. It’s a Lady Gaga record, but it’s also inspired by my character and my vision of what a woman can be,” she said. “It’s why the album does not adhere to one genre … it’s not my next studio album that’s a pop record, but it is somewhere in between, and it’s blurring the lines of pop music.”
The new project sees Gaga taking on a series of jazz standards — such as “Get Happy,” “World on a String” and “That’s Life” — much like she did in her Tony Bennett duet albums Cheek to Cheek and Love for Sale. While Gaga says she struggled with not having her friend and collaborator in the studio with her following his death in 2023, she thinks he would have appreciated Harlequin for its shapeshifting nature.
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“If I had put rock n’ roll chords over production in a record that I did with Tony years ago, I don’t know how he would’ve felt about that. Tony didn’t love rock n’ roll, but he would’ve said, ‘Wow, that’s amazing,’” she explained. “He was somebody who loved how risk-taking and different I am, and I always thought that was so cool. He was 60 years older than me, and he would flinch less than young people that I would meet … He was just a really compassionate, inclusive person. So he was definitely with us [in the studio], but he was mostly inside of me.”
As for fans still eager to hear what her long-awaited seventh studio album will sound like, Gaga remained tight-lipped, but offered a small hint. “The pop album is nothing like Chromatica. It’s a completely different record,” she said. “It’s meant to be ingested as a time in my life. And I’m also really excited about this idea that I don’t have to adhere to an era if I don’t want to. I can have a few going at once.”
The Del McCoury Band, Molly Tuttle and Authentic Unlimited were among the big winners during the 35th annual IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards held Thursday evening (Sept. 26).
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The Del McCoury Band was named entertainer of the year, while Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway’s City of Gold project was named album of the year. Authentic Unlimited picked up the lion’s share of the accolades, winning song of the year (for “Fall in Tennessee”), vocal group of the year and tying for music video of the year. The group’s Jesse Brock was also named mandolin player of the year.
The John Cowan and Missy Raines-hosted ceremony was held at the Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh, North Carolina.
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In addition to this year’s winners, previously announced inductees into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame Katy Daley, Jerry Douglas and Alan Munde were celebrated.
See the full list of this year’s IBMA Bluegrass Music Awards winners below:
Entertainer of the year: The Del McCoury Band
Vocal group of the year: Authentic Unlimited
Instrumental group of the year: The Travelin’ McCourys
Song of the year: “Fall in Tennessee,” recorded by Authentic Unlimited; written by John Meador & Bob Minner; produced by Authentic Unlimited; Billy Blue Records
Album of the year: City of Gold, recorded by Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway; produced by Jerry Douglas & Molly Tuttle; Nonesuch Records
Gospel recording of the year: “God Already Has,” recorded by Dale Ann Bradley; written by Mark “Brink” Brinkman & David Stewart; produced by Dale Ann Bradley; Pinecastle Records
Instrumental recording of the year: “Knee Deep in Bluegrass,” recorded by Ashby Frank; written by Terry Baucom; produced by Ashby Frank; Mountain Home Music Company
New artist of the year: East Nash Grass
Collaborative recording of the year: “Brown’s Ferry Blues,” recorded by Tony Trischka with Billy Strings; written by Alton & Rabon Delmore; produced by Béla Fleck; Down the Road Records
Male vocalist of the year: Danny Paisley
Female vocalist of the year: Jaelee Roberts
Banjo player of the year: Rob McCoury
Bass player of the year: Vickie Vaughn
Fiddle player of the year: Deanie Richardson
Resophonic guitar player of the year: Gaven Largent
Guitar player of the year: Cody Kilby
Mandolin player of the year: Jesse Brock
Music video of the year (tie):
“Fall in Tennessee,” Authentic Unlimited
“Alberta Bound,” Special Consensus with Ray Legere, John Reischman, Patrick Sauber, Trisha Gagnon, Pharis & Jason Romero, and Claire Lynch