Music

Billie Eilish Unveils Eco-Friendy Gucci Campaign & Vegan Handbag

Billie Eilish is here to prove that accessories can be both designer and eco-conscious. In a Monday (Oct. 30) series of Instagram posts, the 21-year-old pop star unveiled a new campaign with Gucci, debuting the luxury fashion house’s premiere “Demetra” product.

Available in two designs, the Horsebit 1955 handbag co-stars alongside Eilish in photos and video for the product’s launch. Decked out in Gucci clothes, tailored to match her trademark oversized look, the “Happier Than Ever” singer models the purses in a cinematic video set to her Barbie song “What Was I Made For?” while riding hands-free in the back of a speeding pickup truck and posing with a sleek red electric guitar.

“Starring Billie Eilish, a new campaign showcases the House’s first handbag crafted in Demetra, Gucci’s innovative animal-free material made in-house with 75% plant-derived raw material sources,” read the video’s caption.

The asymmetrical handbags come in either a black, faux-leather design with a silver chain or a tan, Gucci logo-patterned design. The former is priced at $3,500 on the brand’s website, while the latter is available for $3,200.

“Capturing candid moments, Billie Eilish showcases the new Horsebit 1955 bag,” reads a tagline on the site, “exemplifying both the House’s and her commitment to a more ethical fashion future.”

It’s no mystery why Gucci would choose Eilish to usher in its eco-friendly new product, as the Grammy winner has long been a vocal advocate for climate action. Earlier this year, she hosted a conversation with climate activists for Vogue, and is known for her partnership with Reverb, which set up Eco-Villages, free water stations and educational opportunities about environmental non-profits at her 2022 Happier Than Ever tour stops.

See photos and video of Eilish’s new Gucci campaign below.

The Rolling Stones Are First Act With Billboard 200 Top 10 Albums Each Decade Since the 1960s

The Rolling Stones become the first act with newly-charted top 10 titles on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the 1960s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and now the ‘20s. The band’s new studio album, Hackney Diamonds, debuts at No. 3 on the chart dated Nov. 4. It’s the group’s first album of original material since 2005’s A Bigger Bang (which also debuted, and peaked, at No. 3).

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The new Nov. 4-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Oct. 31.

Additionally, The Rolling Stones extend its record for the most top 10 albums, overall, among all artists in the Billboard 200’s history, which dates back to March 1956 (when the tally began publishing on a regular, weekly basis), as Hackney Diamonds marks the act’s 38th top 10-charting set. Barbra Streisand has the second-most, with 34, while The Beatles and Frank Sinatra are tied with the third-most, each with 32.

Hackney Diamonds is The Rolling Stones’ first album since the death of their drummer, Charlie Watts, in 2021, which left the group a trio comprising Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood. Before his passing, Watts worked on the new project, and he appears on two of the album’s songs (“Mess It Up” and “Live by the Sword”). Former bandmember Bill Wyman also appears on “Sword,” playing bass guitar. The 12-song album also features contributions from Elton John, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder, among others.

The Rolling Stones claimed their first top 10 album on the Billboard 200 with 12 x 5, which reached the top 10 dated Dec. 12, 1964 (climbing 11-3, its peak position). The Stones logged 13 top 10 albums in the 1960s (12 x 5; The Rolling Stones, Now!; Out of Our Heads; December’s Children [And Everybody’s]; Big Hits [High Tide and Green Grass]; Aftermath; Got Live If You Want It!; Between the Buttons; Flowers; Their Satanic Majesties Request; Beggars Banquet; Through the Past, Darkly [Big Hits Vol. 2] and Let It Bleed), 12 in the ‘70s (‘Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out!,’ Sticky Fingers, Hot Rocks 1964-1971, Exile on Main St., More Hot Rocks [Big Hits & Fazed Cookies], Goats Head Soup, It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll, Made in the Shade, Metamorphosis, Black and Blue, Love You Live and Some Girls), six in the ‘80s (Emotional Rescue, Tattoo You, ‘Still Life’ [American Concert 1981], Undercover, Dirty Work and Steel Wheels), three in the ‘90s (Voodoo Lounge, Stripped and Bridges to Babylon), two in the 2000s (Forty Licks and A Bigger Bang), one in the ‘10s (Blue & Lonesome) and now one, so far, in the ‘20s (Hackney Diamonds).

Of those 38 top 10s, nine have reached No. 1: Out of Our Heads, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St., Goats Head Soup, It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll, Black and Blue, Some Girls, Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You.

Notably, one other act has newly-charted Billboard 200 top 10s in each decade from the ‘60s through the ‘10s: Barbra Streisand, who would match The Rolling Stones’ new achievement with a new top 10 of her own this decade.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Battle the chart experts! Start playing trivia now and see if you can beat the high score.

Tate McRae’s ‘Greedy’ Is an Artistic Turning Point: ‘For the First Time in My Career, It Feels Like 100% My Vision’

Tate McRae got an inkling that her latest single would be huge the night before it was released.

The 20-year-old pop singer began teasing snippets of “Greedy” on TikTok in August, prior to the single arriving in full on Sept. 15. McRae was in the middle of a North American headlining tour in mid-September, and decided to unveil “Greedy” at her Sept. 14 show at The Fillmore in Philadelphia.

“We put it into the set list, and in rehearsals, I was just so nervous and terrified, because it was such a different sound for me,” McRae tells Billboard. “And then the second we premiered it in Philly, the crowd reaction was crazy.” McRae was especially blown away that the crowd knew most of the lyrics to “Greedy,” even though she had only been posting teasers of the track. “It was just very, very validating,” she says.

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McRae has enjoyed crossover hits prior to “Greedy”: The Calgary native scored a top 20 Billboard Hot 100 hit in 2020 with “You Broke Me First,” while singles like “She’s All I Wanna Be” and the Regard/Troye Sivan collaboration “You” also made their presences felt at top 40 radio. Yet “Greedy” is something different, a propulsive self-empowerment anthem built around a firecracker of a pop hook that finds McRae dipping in and out of a falsetto while exuding unshakeable confidence.

The song has earned 71.3 million on-demand official U.S. streams to date, according to Luminate, and by peaking at No. 14 on the Hot 100 thus far (it’s No. 17 on the current tally), “Greedy” is already McRae’s highest-charting hit on the chart. More important to McRae than the commercial achievements, however, is how the song has expanded her sound and pop persona, offering a commanding vocal take amid whooping sound effects and a danceable beat.

“I think I have a pretty good grasp on what my fans like to hear and what they enjoy,” McRae explains. “But I don’t think you ever really know. I was like, ‘This is a big risk for me as an artist’ — turning 20, I felt like I had to make a big change in my life and my sound. And you can only see so much on TikTok. You never know which direction it’s gonna go, or if it’s going to translate. So it’s been pretty special.”

McRae says that she typically writes songs by herself in her bedroom, so creating “Greedy” in the studio with pop veterans Ryan Tedder, Amy Allen and Jasper Harris felt like an effective crash course. “I just try to be a sponge as much as possible, and just see where their instincts go,” she explains. McRae adds that she and that same trio of songwriters have penned a lot more songs together, potentially for her next full-length. “It feels like a little family,” she says, “and we’re just like trying out new sounds and being ballsy and being like, ‘How do we take a bigger risk and say something different?’”



Meanwhile, the “Greedy” music video, which is up to 22 million views on YouTube, highlights a different, yet personally familiar, side of McRae. Set in an empty hockey arena, the clip gives the singer an opportunity to showcase her dance skills — with breakneck choreography, courtesy of the esteemed Sean Bankhead — years after becoming a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance.

“I was a competitive dancer until I was like 17 years old, and it was everything to me,” she says. “And then I had no idea how to dance and sing at the same time, because they were just opposite sides of my brain — one was this emotional teenager who needed to express herself, and then the other side was this super-competitive athletic dancer. So it was really cool for me to be able to put my two passions together.”

Having wrapped up her headlining tour earlier this month, McRae says that she’ll be spending the rest of the year finalizing the next phase of her career — logging more studio time, filming more videos and finishing a body of work to follow last year’s debut album I Used to Think I Could Fly. But she couldn’t have asked for a better start to that phase than “Greedy,” and the way it represents what she wants for herself as a recording artist and performer.

“I feel like for the first time in my career — with the visuals and the single art and the music video and the song — it feels like 100% my vision,” says McRae. “I can look at it on Spotify and I can look at it on YouTube and be like, ‘I’m so proud of this.’ And I think that’s why I’m having a really good time. I’m working beside people that I really admire, and people that really respect me as a young woman, and that feels very satisfying … I just feel very lucky right now, and excited for what’s to come.”

ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews, Allee Willis & More Honored With SONA Warrior Awards

ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews was among those honored on Sunday night, Oct. 29, at the 2023 Songwriters of North America (SONA) Warrior Awards gala in West Hollywood. The event was hosted by Grammy-nominated songwriters Bonnie McKee and Shane Stevens.

The other honorees were songwriter Justin Tranter; country artist and podcast host Rissi Palmer; and the late songwriter Allee Willis, who co-wrote the Friends theme, “I’ll Be There for You.” That song had added resonance on Sunday since Matthew Perry, one of the stars of that long-running sitcom, had died just the day before.

At the event, ASCAP chairman of the board and president Paul Williams and Grammy-winning songwriters and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis lauded Matthews’ achievements. Hit songwriter MoZella performed the Miley Cyrus smash “Wrecking Ball.” (All are ASCAP members.) There were also video tributes to Matthews from Stephen Schwartz, NE-YO, Marcus Miller, Desmond Child, John Platt and Ashley Gorley, among others.

“To be recognized by SONA means the world to me,” Matthews said in accepting the honor. “I know that songwriters are the true musical warriors – unbelievably brave and remaining strong in the face of uncertainty every day as new technology challenges their livelihoods. Yet, songwriters are still able to remain vulnerable and go deep creatively, opening their hearts to write the music that we all love.  I am constantly inspired by songwriters and it has been an honor of a lifetime to work for and alongside music creators.”

“As a friend of Beth’s, I know firsthand how tirelessly she works above and beyond her very very big job of running ASCAP,” said SONA founder and executive director Michelle Lewis. “I want everyone to know what I know and see what I see — that she is the ultimate warrior for creators.”

Tranter, a Grammy nominee for song of the year six years ago for co-writing the Julia Michaels hit “Issues,” has advocated for the LGBTQ+ community and worked with stars such as Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and many more.

In 2007, Palmer became the first African American woman in 20 years to reach Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. She achieved the feat with her single “Country Girl,” which was followed by two more hits, “Hold on to Me” and “No Air,” a cover of the Jordin Sparks/Chris Brown pop smash.

Willis won a Grammy in 1986 for best album of original score written for a motion picture or a television special for co-writing The Pointer Sisters’ hit “Neutron Dance” on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. Her most famous works are the Friends theme and Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” Willis was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2018. She died in 2019 at age 72.

New Kids on the Block Announce 2024 Magic Summer Tour With Paula Abdul, DJ Jazzy Jeff

New Kids on the Block is getting ready to party next summer, as the quintet will embark on Magic Summer Tour 2024, announced on Monday (Oct. 30).

The trek — which will feature guests Paula Abdul and DJ Jazzy Jeff — serves as a reimagination of the group’s sold-out 1990 tour of the same name. The North American tour is slated to kick off next year on June 14, starting in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, at the town’s Blossom Music Center. It will make stops in Denver, Salt Lake City, Philadelphia, Toronto and more before concluding on Aug. 24 at the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Ind.

“The true ‘magic’ of this tour is in the music, the moments and the memories that we get to create – and recreate – with our amazing fans each night,” said member Donnie Wahlberg in a press release about the tour. “Feeling all the nostalgic feels of the original Magic Summer, with the bond that we’ve shared throughout the years, will make for a most magical time indeed.”

Fans looking to get tickets for the tour will be able to do so starting on Wednesday (Nov. 1) through the New Kids on the Block’s official fan club and Citi pre-sales. More pre-sales will hit throughout the week before tickets become available through Live Nation’s general on-sale on Nov. 3 at 10 a.m. local time. Citi cardmembers will receive access to pre-sale tickets starting Nov. 1 at 12 p.m. local time until Thursday, Nov. 2 at 10 p.m.

See the announcement and the full list of dates below.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK THE MAGIC SUMMER 2024 TOUR DATES:

June 14, 2024: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio — Blossom Music Center

June 15, 2024: Tinley Park, Ill. — Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre

June 18, 2024: Clarkston, Mich. — Pine Knob Music Theatre

June 19, 2024: Burgettstown, Penn. — The Pavilion at Star Lake

June 21, 2024: Cincinnati, Ohio — Riverbend Music Center

June 22, 2024: Maryland Heights, Mo. — Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – St. Louis

June 23, 2024: Prior Lake, Minn, — Mystic Amphitheater

June 25, 2024: Kansas City, Mo. — Starlight Theatre

June 26, 2024: Rogers, Ark. — Walmart AMP

June 28, 2024: Denver, Colo. — Ball Arena

June 29, 2024: Salt Lake City, Utah — USANA Amphitheatre

July 1, 2024: Highland, Calif. — Yaamava’ Theater*

July 2, 2024: Wheatland, Calif. — Toyota Amphitheatre

July 3, 2024: Mountain View, Calif. — Shoreline Amphitheatre

July 5, 2024: Inglewood, Calif. — Kia Forum

July 6, 2024: Palm Desert, Calif. — Acrisure Arena

July 7, 2024: Chula Vista, Calif. — North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre

July 9, 2024: Phoenix, Ariz. — Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre

July 10, 2024: Albuquerque, N.M. — Isleta Amphitheater

July 12, 2024: Austin, Texas — Germania Insurance Amphitheater

July 13, 2024: The Woodlands, Texas — Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Presented by Huntsman

July 14, 2024: Dallas, Texas — Dos Equis Pavilion

July 16, 2024: Franklin, Tenn. — FirstBank Amphitheater

July 17, 2024: Franklin, Tenn. — FirstBank Amphitheater

July 19, 2024: Tampa, Fla. — MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

July 20, 2024: West Palm Beach, Fla. — iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre

July 21, 2024: Jacksonville, Fla. — Daily’s Place

July 25, 2024: Charleston, S.C. — Credit One Stadium

July 26, 2024: Alpharetta, Ga. — Ameris Bank Amphitheatre

July 27, 2024: Charlotte, N.C. — PNC Music Pavilion

July 28, 2024: Raleigh, N.C. — Coastal Credit Union Music Park

Aug. 1, 2024: Virginia Beach, Va. — Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach

Aug. 2, 2024: Hartford, Conn. — XFINITY Theatre

Aug. 3, 2024: Hershey, Penn. — Hersheypark Stadium

Aug. 4, 2024: Wantagh, N.Y. — Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

Aug. 8, 2024: Holmdel, N.J. — PNC Bank Arts Center

Aug. 9, 2024: Gilford, N.H. — BankNH Pavilion

Aug. 10, 2024: Mansfield, Mass. — Xfinity Center

Aug. 11, 2024: Saratoga Springs, N.Y. — Broadview Stage at SPAC

Aug. 15, 2024: Philadelphia, Penn. — TD Pavilion at the Mann

Aug. 16, 2024: Columbia, Md.— Merriweather Post Pavilion

Aug. 17, 2024: Toronto, ON — Budweiser Stage

Aug. 22, 2024: Darien Center, NY.. — Darien Lake Amphitheater

Aug. 23, 2024: Columbus, Ohio — Nationwide Arena

Aug. 24, 2024: Milwaukee, Wisc. — American Family Insurance Amphitheater

Aug. 25, 2024: Noblesville, Ind. — Ruoff Music Center

* New Kids on the Block only and no Citi pre-sale

Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ Tops Hot 100 for Second Week, Hits No. 1 on Streaming Songs Chart

Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” adds a second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, a week after it became her 10th career No. 1. The song – originally released on Swift’s 2019 Republic Records album Lover before being promoted as a single and gaining new prominence as the superstar has performed it on her The Eras Tour this year – concurrently hits No. 1 on the Streaming Songs chart and returns to the top of the Radio Songs survey.

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 Nov. 4, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 31). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.



In the Oct. 20-26 tracking week, “Cruel Summer,” according to Luminate, drew 80.1 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 3%) and 21.3 million streams (up 14%) and sold 7,000 downloads (down 83%, a week after it benefited from the release of two new mixes).

The single surges 5-1 on Streaming Songs, becoming Swift’s seventh career leader on the list. It follows “Anti-Hero” (two weeks at No. 1, in 2022); “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” (one week, 2021); “Cardigan” (one, 2020); “Look What You Made Me Do” (two, 2017); “Blank Space” (seven, 2014-15); and “Shake It Off” (two, 2014-15). Swift breaks out of a tie with Justin Bieber for the second-most Streaming Songs No. 1s and trails only Drake, the leader with 20.

Over four years after its release, “Cruel Summer” completes the longest route, from a title’s release, to No. 1 on Streaming Songs among non-holiday hits. Only two songs, both seasonal standards, have taken longer: Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” jingled to No. 1 for the first time last holiday season following its 1958 release, while Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” spent the first of its 18 weeks at No. 1 to date in the 2018 holiday season, after it was released in 1994.

“Cruel Summer” simultaneously rebounds for a second week atop Radio Songs. Notably, it’s the first song this year to crown the Hot 100 while reigning as both the most-streamed title and most-heard hit on radio. It’s the third song to achieve the feat this decade, following Harry Syles’ “As It Was” (for one week in June 2022) and Adele’s “Easy On Me” (one, November 2021).

On the Digital Song Sales chart, “Cruel Summer” drops to No. 2, a week after it became Swift’s record-extending 27th No. 1.

As previously reported, Swift is set to storm next week’s Billboard 200 albums chart with the arrival of her latest rerecorded set, 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red” holds at No. 2 on the Hot 100, following three nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 beginning in September. It adds an eighth and ninth week, respectively, atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts, which use the same multi-metric methodology as the Hot 100.

SZA’s “Snooze” is steady at No. 3 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 2. It posts a 13th week atop the multi-metric Hot R&B Songs chart.

Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” featuring Kacey Musgraves, bumps 6-4 on the Hot 100, after it led for a week upon its debut in September. It commands the multi-metric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts for a ninth week each and Hot Country Songs for a fifth frame.

Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” rolls 7-5 on the Hot 100, following eight weeks at its No. 2 high; Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” lifts 9-6, following 16 weeks at No. 1 starting in March, the most ever for a non-collaboration; and Wallen’s “Thinkin’ Bout Me” advances 10-7 for a new high, as it logs a second week at No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart.

Rounding out the Hot 100’s top 10, Drake’s “IDGAF,” featuring Yeat, slides 4-8, two weeks after it debuted at No. 2; Bad Bunny’s “Monaco” drops 5-9 in its second week on the chart, as it claims a second week atop the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs ranking; and Gunna’s “Fukumean” rises 11-10 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 4.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Nov. 4), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com tomorrow (Oct. 31).

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.

23-Year-Old Woman Found Dead After Being Kidnapped by Hamas at Israeli Music Festival

Israel has reported that Shani Louk, a 23-year-old German-Israeli woman kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova Music Festival, has been found dead.

The ministry confirmed Louk’s death in a Monday (Oct. 30) statement on X, formerly Twitter. “We are devastated to share that [Louk’s] body,” it read, “was found and identified.” 

The statement alleged that the young woman, prior to her death, was “tortured and paraded around Gaza by Hamas terrorists.”

Louk was one of thousands of festival-goers attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, when the terrorist group surrounded and gunned down Nova attendants that morning and throughout the day. Earlier this month, Louk’s mother, Ricarda, told CNN that she last spoke to her daughter after hearing rockets and alarms sounding in southern Israel. Shani told her mother she was at the festival, but there were few places to hide.

“She was going to her car and they had military people standing by the cars and were shooting so people couldn’t reach their cars, even to go away,” Ricarda said at the time. “And that’s when they took her.”

Per CNN, Louk’s body was captured on video prior to her death, seemingly unconscious in the back of a Hamas truck after the festival attack.

Hundreds of bodies were found onsite after the massacre, which was part of a wider Hamas attack on Israel that claimed approximately 1,400 lives. Around 200 people remain hostages of Hamas.

In retaliation, Israel has since declared war against the terrorist group, launching airstrikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza in Palestine. As of Monday (Oct. 30), the estimated death toll in Gaza stands at more than 8,000, with civilians constituting most of the dead.

As citizens across the world have called for a ceasefire in the Middle East, 120 countries voted last week for a United Nations resolution and “sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza; meanwhile, Israel’s military announced plans to expand ground operations. On Friday (Oct. 27), two survivors of the festival attack — 27-year-old Maya Parizer and 28-year-old Jonathan Diller — spoke about their experiences to a crowd of mostly students at New York University, with Diller describing how “the missiles kept coming and coming.”

6 Must-Hear New Country Songs: ERNEST, Alexandra Kay, Shaboozey & More

This week’s batch of new music includes ERNEST’s bluegrass-tinged latest, a promising debut from Alexandra Kay, a heartfelt, timely song from Frank Ray and Shy Carter, as well as a pair of songs from Red Clay Strays and Shaboozey that are surging on streaming platforms.

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Also, Texas music mainstay Aaron Watson pairs with several female artists, including Kylie Frey and Jenna Paulette, to honor songs from women artists in various decades.

ERNEST, “Kiss of Death”



On his breakthrough hit “Flower Shops,” the mononymed singer-songwriter drew upon traditional country influences, while his Flower Shops (The Album) was chock-full of twangy songs about heartbreak and alcohol. Here, ERNEST launches his “new era” by wrapping himself in bluegrass harmonies on “Kiss of Death,” with lyrics that find him willingly walking a fine line, willing to accept the inevitable heartbreak his “angel in a fire-red dress will bring,” if it means he gets a single evening of lust-fueled passion. “I think I like the pain/ And if it ends tonight, that’ll be okay,” he sings, on this track he co-wrote with Andy Albert and Ryan Vojtesak.

Alexandra Kay, “Everleave”



Kay follows her breakthrough 2021 hit “That’s What Love Is” with the 11-song debut album All I’ve Ever Known — featuring this vulnerable, solo-penned ballad that traces a woman’s decade spent languishing in an unfulfilling relationship and honors the notion of her resolve to leave. “I can’t keep pouring from a cup so empty/ Then turn my back and try to sleep at night,” Kay sings with both stunning intimacy and verve, underscoring the portrait of someone always giving to a lover who refuses to reciprocate the same kindness. The glossy, piano-led “Everleave,” like the rest of the album, presents Kay as an adept, propitious singer-songwriter.

Aaron Watson, Cover Girl



Texas music circuit mainstay Watson helps spotlight the mighty talents of numerous women artists on his latest project, Cover Girl, filled with duets on many female-fronted, classic country songs (and a pop song or two), spanning different decades. Watson and Jenna Paulette pair up on Rosanne Cash’s “Seven Year Ache,” while he teams with Kylie Frey for Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” Bri Bagwell for a take on Sheryl Crow’s “Can’t Cry Anymore,” Kimberly Kelly for “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma” and with Morgan Myles for Lady Gaga’s “Million Reasons.” The album closes with a familial collaboration, with Watson teaming with his daughter Jolee Kate for a rendition of Taylor Swift’s “Never Grow Up.”

Frank Ray and Shy Carter, “Jesus at the Taco Truck”



Shy Carter and Frank Ray posted a snippet of this song on TikTok last month and the song has quickly amassed over two million views, thanks to a vivid storyline. “Jesus at the Taco Truck” is heartfelt, timely and bridge-building. The lyrics detail meeting a man who made a harrowing journey, walking across the Rio Grande into Texas, and working long hours at a taco truck to help provide for family members still living in Mexico. Crafted by Ray, Carter, Ben Burgess and Nathan Chapman, this is a tender, compassionate tribute to the hardships so many face in a quest for freedom and a better life. This marks a crucial new release from Carter and Ray.

Red Clay Strays, “Wondering Why”



Known for their soul-meets-southern rock stylings, The Red Clay Strays have been on the road over the past year opening shows for Eric Church and Elle King. The quintet’s soulful Alabama roots and fiery live performance style permeate this song. “Wondering Why” was included on the group’s 2022 debut album A Moment of Truth, but it has been surging on streaming platforms of late, landing on Spotify’s all-genre Viral 50 chart. Written by the group’s Brandon Coleman and Drew Nix with songwriter Dan Couch (Kip Moore, Cody Johnson), the song details a highbrow-meets-hardscrabble romance that, on paper, shouldn’t work–but does. Lead singer Coleman’s gruff, impassioned vocal shines here as always, bolstered by the group’s exemplary musicianship.

Shaboozey, “Let It Burn”



“Grab the matches/ start a fire,” Shaboozey sings on this aptly-titled track, as it has been a red-hot track on streaming platforms as of late, appearing on Spotify’s all-genre Viral 50 chart. The song is a heady marriage of guitar-driven country, R&B and hip-hop elements, meshing into a distinct blend of pop melody and empowering message, as the singer-songwriter urges someone to leave bad memories and experiences behind and embrace the courage to seek a brighter future.

Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band Plans to ‘Party On’ Following Singer’s Death

One of Jimmy Buffett’s last messages to his family and friends before his Sept. 1 death from skin cancer was “keep the party going,” and his longtime backing musicians in the Coral Reefer Band now say they plan to do just that. 

“The Coral Reefer Band is second family to all of us. We are a family. And Jimmy wants us to continue and we want to continue,” Mac McAnally, longtime Coral Reefer Band singer/guitarist tells Billboard.  How that will look is still being determined, but McAnally says, “there’s ongoing discussions about the best way to do that, the most practical way to do that and how to do it in a way that is worthy of the legacy that we’re part of.” 

The Coral Reefer Band, which has had a rotating cast of musicians — some of whom had played with Buffett for nearly 50 years — began backing the singer-songwriter in concert and in the studio in the ‘70s.

Deciding the best way forward is taking some time. “We’re going to figure it out and we’re going to do something,” McAnally says. “Whatever the best equation arrives from those discussions is what we’re going to do,” he says. “I can’t wait until we [figure it out] because we miss being out there, playing his songs to people and feeling that alternating current go back and forth from the stage to the crowd. I don’t know who’s got more energy, them or us.”

The current members, in addition to McAnally include keyboardist Michael Utley (who has played with Buffett since the ‘70s), steel drummer Robert Greenidge, guitarist/vocalist Peter Mayer, bassist Jim Mayer, drummer Roger Guth, steel pedal guitarist Doyle Grisham, trumpeter John Lovell, percussionist Eric Darken and vocalists Tina Gullickson and Nadirah Shakoor.

The Coral Reefer Band played its last full concert with Buffett on May 6 at San Diego’s Snapdragon Stadium. Buffett’s last time on stage was McAnally’s July 2 show  in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, when Buffett joined him for eight songs, including signature tunes “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” and “Margaritaville.”

Though Buffett was undergoing treatment, he still craved being on stage. “He had been calling through the summertime when the treatments were going,” McAnally says. “I didn’t know how far up or down he was. I hadn’t seen him [in person], though he never called without Facetiming me and I could tell he was losing weight. He couldn’t do a full show, but he kept calling saying, ‘Where are you playing? I’m gonna come sit in.’”

McAnally’s Rhode Island date was a quick flight from Buffett’s house in Sag Harbor, N.Y. and easy for him to fly in for. “We played ‘5 O’Clock Somewhere’ and when it got to [the line], ‘What would Jimmy Buffett do?,’ nobody knew that he was there. Nobody knew and he walked out from behind the stage. It was maybe 400 people there and they all came up out of their seat. It was like somebody hit them with 220 volts,” McAnally remembers. 

But no one was more pleased than Buffett. “I looked back around at him because he was coming up behind me and he was 100% the happiest person on earth because I don’t think he knew if he was going to feel it again and I don’t think he knew that he was never gonna feel it again after that,” McAnally says. “Buffett called McAnally two days later asking if he had other shows that weren’t on his website yet so he could join him again. “He was ready to tour as a guest singer on these little singer-songwriter shows,” McAnally says, but unfortunately, his time ran out.

Diddy Releases Trailer For ‘Off The Grid’ Movie Inspired By ‘The Love Album’

After releasing his new album, The Love Album: Off The Grid, last month, Diddy is upping the ante with his forthcoming film, Off The Grid

The first trailer for the film — powered by the sonics off The Love Album — dropped on Monday morning (Oct. 30) and features Diddy and budding actress Eva Apio in a romantic whirlwind anchored by passion and drama. The chemistry between the two is entrancing as they share moments of vulnerability, endure a high-speed car chase with the cops, and more. 

“Working with Eva Apio was an incredible experience. Her talent and energy brought my vision to life,” Diddy said in a press release. 

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The Love Album: Off The Grid features appearances by Justin Bieber, Abel Tesfaye (formerly known as The Weeknd), Mary J. Blige, Summer Walker, H.E.R., Jazmine Sullivan, and more. Touted as Diddy’s comeback effort, The Love Album became his sixth top 10 project on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums last month and debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200. It also peaked at No. 2 on the Top R&B Albums chart. 

“This isn’t just an R&B album; it’s an R&B movie [about love],” he said of his project during his cover story conversation with Billboard last month. “It’s probably one of the biggest collections of talent ever, all unified on one album. And I happen to be blessed to have The Weeknd’s last feature. The song talks about being unique, in a sense — telling your ex-girl that another one of me won’t come around.”

The Off The Grid film has yet to have a release date but will hit theaters soon. Watch the trailer below.