Music

27 Oct 2023

Friday Dance Music Guide: The Week’s Best New Tracks From NERO, DJ Shadow, Red Axes & More

This week in dance music: we ran down ten takeaway points from ADE 2023, St. Martin’s SXM Festival released its phase one lineup, as did Miami’s Ultra Music Festival, Troye Sivan’s Something to Give Each Other debuted at No. 1 on Dance/Electronic Albums, Daft Punk squashed rumors that they’re playing the 2024 Paris Olympics, and we chatted with Marshmello about his new Latin project and checked out the first show of Fred again..’s eight-night residency in Los Angeles.

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And yes, there’s more. These are the best new dance tracks of the week.

NERO, “Truth”

The Label: 2808 Recordings/Create Music Group

The Spiel: One of the sonically hardest acts in electronic music returns from a five-year hiatus with a track as pummeling the output that made them major stars of the EDM era. “Truth” is pure NERO, with the song’s lyrics — musings on nature and the universe from the Neil Gaiman poem “The Mushroom Hunters” — laid over a walloping, industrial production that sounds at once futuristic and classically NERO. The track is the first single from the trio’s forthcoming album, Into The Unknown, which will function as the final piece of a NERO album trilogy that began with 2011’s Welcome Reality. That LP included a now-classic remix of album track “Promises” by the group and Skrillex that won the 2013 grammy for Best Remixed Recording (Non Classical).

Duck Sauce, “LALALA”

The Label: D4 D4NCE

The Spiel: Duck Sauce, the longstanding project from A-Trak and Armand Van Helden, has always balanced a playfully goofy brand identity with music you simply can’t argue with. So it goes on their latest, “LALALA,” a thick slice of shimmering Eurodance that marks the Duck Sauce debut on Defected Records’ D4 D4NCE imprint.

The Label Head Says: “It is with great excitement that we welcome Duck Sauce to D4 D4NCE,” says Defected head Wez Saunders. “For as long as I can remember, Alain and Armand have been pushing boundaries with their music both solo and together, and here they are, still on top of their game. Now delivering eight exciting, quirky, and quite different cuts, we are very much looking forward to unleashing these onto the world.”

Red Axes, One More City

The Label: fabric Records

The Spiel: Israeli indie electronic duo Red Axes have long been a favorite in the underground dance scene for productions that balance funk, blistering guitars, and a sort of spooky, swaggering sex appeal that could be at home at a desert rave or a sweaty underground club in 1983. Standouts on their third album include the deeply cool “High Speed” and the gloriously cacophonous (and very NSFW) “Beast.”

The Artist Says: “We hope you will enjoy the music and it will give you some peace of mind in these extreme times,” the pair wrote on Instagram. “We wish health and good for all innocent people around the world.” 

Sofia Kourtesis, Madres

The Label: Ninja Tune

The Spiel: The depth and meaning embedded in the Peru-born, Berlin-based producer’s gorgeous debut LP is best translated through the two people Kourtesis dedicated it to, her mother and renowned neurosurgeon Peter Vajkoczy. As Kourtesis toured the world, her mom had been diagnosed with cancer and saw her health rapidly declining. A press release recounts that “Kourtesis had spoken to every doctor she could get hold of and all of them told her chances were low, operation was too risky. Having read about Vajkoczy but knowing he was in incredibly high demand, in desperation she posted a music snippet on social media, promising to dedicate the track to Vajkoczy for just a few minutes of his time. Unbelievably he responded and agreed to meet. Vajkoczy agreed to operate. The operation was a success and Kourtesis’s mother’s life is extended further than anyone could have possibly hoped.”

The Artist Says: “Life goes by quickly. Life is fragile,” Kourtesis wrote on Instagram. “I have very hard years behind me. I lost my father. My mother got very sick. But I learned not to give up. Every minute I spent with my mother is a holy present.” 

DJ Shadow, Action Adventure

The Label: Mass Appeal/Liquid Records

The Spiel: The master producer and turntablist returns with his 8th studio album, Action Adventure, a largely instrumental 14-track body of work that evokes the same cerebral, deeply cool sensibilities and precise craftsmanship that defines the artist’s entire catalog.

The Artist Says: “The album has no guests, no collaborations, and no features,” Shadow wrote on Instagram. “As such, it represents a wholly personal artistic statement, albeit one indebted to countless sources of inspiration: the samples I use, the artists I respect, the genres I admire, and those close to me, past and present, who have encouraged me and supported my journey. If there are to be more albums in the future, I’ll be grateful. But if this is to be the last…because indeed, one never knows…it would be a fitting end to a charmed life in music.”

Machinedrum, 4#TRAX’



The Label: Ninja Tune

The Spiel: A lot of the magic of electronic lies in the fact that artists can use machines to make sounds that evoke such human feelings. Machinedrum again demonstrates his mastery of that ability again with his latest, the four-track (and thus aptly titled) EP 4#TRAX. An homage to the artist’s formative years passing productions back and forth on web 1.0 channels, these songs hit your ears like a warm bath, with stuttering drum ‘n’ bass, waves of synth, long builds and right-turn releases and very delicate vocals (from KUČKA, on “Violet”) keeping your attention throughout.

The Artist Says: “4#TRAX is a tribute to #trax, a channel on IRC [Internet Relay Chat – a text-based chat system for instant messaging] that I spent much of my teens in,” the artist says. “#trax was a community of tracker musicians that would share their tracks, throw competitions, start labels, trade samples and give feedback and I figured there was no better way to pay respect to #trax than to make new songs using a tracker. On this EP, I decided to make songs that were created using a hybrid of Impulse Tracker and Ableton Live. This gave the songs a nostalgic feel while at the same time keeping it firmly in the present by utilizing my current strengths in production, composition, sound design, editing and mixing in Ableton Live as well as using newer plugins to modernize the sound a bit.”

27 Oct 2023

‘A Tribute to the Judds’ Honors the Duo’s Timeless Legacy: ‘It’s a Bittersweet Process,’ Says Wynonna

On March 2, 1983, a mother-daughter duo from Kentucky, Naomi and Wynonna Judd, auditioned for then-RCA Nashville label chief Joe Galante, in hopes of scoring a record deal. They had spent months working with producer-writer Brent Maher, finding and recording songs and crafting their twangy, harmony-driven sound.

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“We had a three-song package that we auditioned for Joe and a few of his staff members,” Maher recalls to Billboard. “The three songs we played them were ‘Had a Dream (For the Heart),’ ‘Mama, He’s Crazy’ and ‘John Deere Tractor.’ When ‘John Deere’ finished, I mean to tell you, you could have heard a pin drop in that room. People were trying to start breathing again, because of that beautiful melodic structure and those harmonies.”

Galante ultimately signed The Judds to the RCA Nashville label roster, and the duo’s cover of the Elvis Presley tune “Had a Dream” became their debut single, reaching the top 20 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The song’s follow-up, the tender “Mama, He’s Crazy,” became The Judds’ first No. 1 country hit, signaling the duo’s upward trajectory to stardom. In the five-year span between 1984-1989, The Judds earned 14 No. 1 Hot Country Songs hits, including “Young Love,” “Why Not Me” and “Turn It Loose.” They released six multi-platinum studio albums, were named the Country Music Association’s vocal duo or vocal group of the year seven times, won five Grammys and were ultimately inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022. Maher produced all six of The Judds’ studio albums and worked with Wynonna on some of her solo projects.

Four decades after that fateful audition, and nearly 18 months after the death of The Judds’ matriarch Naomi in April 2022, nearly three dozen artists have come together for A Tribute to the Judds, out Oct. 27 on BMG, recognizing the duo’s significant influence by offering refreshed versions of 14 of the mother-daughter duo’s biggest hits.

Galante, Maher and A&R executive Renee Bell spearheaded the new project, which welcomes veterans of the format to today’s chart-toppers, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Dolly Parton, Lainey Wilson, Trisha Yearwood, LeAnn Rimes, Ashley McBryde, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, bluegrassers Trey Hensley, Rob Ickes and Molly Tuttle, Sonya Isaacs (of southern gospel group The Isaacs), and O.N.E the Duo and Wendy Moten. Wilson and Parton perform “Mama, He’s Crazy,” Rimes sings “Have Mercy,” and Johnson and Isaacs offer up “Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Ole Days).”  McEntire, Jennifer Nettles, Carly Pearce and Gabby Barrett helm “Girls Night Out.”

“It’s a bittersweet process to be going through all of this and be seeing things like this happening in the tributes coming in, and it’s just life moving forward,” Wynonna tells Billboard of the project, recalling hearing Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani performing “Love Is Alive.”

“I immediately reached out to Blake — my brother that I never wanted,” Wynonna says with a hint of a grin in her voice. “I still do that song every night onstage. It’s still very much a part of my process and musical journey, so hearing it was strange and wonderful at the same time. It’s like somebody else wearing your clothes or something. When you do a song, you make it your own, you breathe it in. The fact that it is mom’s and my song, makes it interesting to listen to somebody else’s voice on it.”

A few weeks after Naomi’s passing, Bell lighted on the idea of making the tribute album. Maher recalls, “Renee said, ‘Naomi’s battle that she lost with mental illness, we cannot just let that fade away; there’s too much of it going on in the world and in our industry.’ She wanted to bring support and awareness to the issue.”

Toward that aim, the album will support National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI).

“I think we were all stunned when the revelation came out on what happened with Naomi,” Galante tells Billboard. “Being part of the [Country Music Association] board, we have been dealing with mental health in the music industry, as that has been on everybody’s mind since the pandemic. We are doing what we can to honor Naomi’s memory and honor this cause, to help people across the board.”

Maher tracked a number of the songs in the same Nashville studio where The Judds originally recorded many of their hits. Three of the musicians on the tribute album also played on The Judds’ records — drummer Eddie Bayers and pianist Bobby Ogdin and guitarist Don Potter.

“We didn’t want these songs to sound like karaoke tracks,” Maher says. “We wanted all the signature licks — the ‘Why Not Me’ lick or the ‘Grandpa’ lick, but we wanted every song to have a freshness and for the musicians to try new things.”

Wynonna Judd herself sings on one track, a bluesy collaboration with Trisha Yearwood on “Cry Myself to Sleep,” produced by Judd’s husband and bandmate Cactus Moser. Yearwood joined Judd at a studio on her Nashville-area farm, marking the first time Judd and Yearwood had recorded together.

“We sat on the back porch and talked and laughed about life, and then we’d get up and go record together,” Judd recalls. “Nowadays that just doesn’t happen, with all the technology and the way things are flown in and sent over email — so to have her in the studio standing next to me was an absolute joy. At some points, I caught myself listening to the playback and going, ‘Wait, is that me or is that her?”

O.N.E the Duo and Wendy Moten collaborate on The Judds’ debut single, “Had a Dream (For the Heart).”

“We met Wendy not too long after starting our journey as O.N.E the Duo and we are such big fans of her,” the duo’s Prana and Tekitha told Billboard in a statement. “When Brent told us we were gonna do the song with her, we were thrilled. And the fact that the song we did together was ‘Had a Dream,’ which was the Judds’ first single, felt like a really precious task was being handed to us.”

“I was overwhelmed,” Judd said of hearing the song. “Being really honest, my first knee-jerk reaction was ‘Oh my God, this is happening,’ just because of walking through this personal season of loss. That was our first song. I cried and I thought, ‘This is what they mean by a tribute, because we’re done. That chapter’s closed.’ So there was sadness, but also real joy in realizing that someone else is breathing new life into this music, so it is really cool. The most important thing on this project is honoring the legacy from mom and me.”

One of the more curious recordings on the project is a rendition of The Judds’ 1989 hit “Let Me Tell You About Love,” with vocals from Raul Malo, as well as the late rock ‘n roll architect Carl Perkins, who originally wrote the song with Paul Kennerley and Maher.

“This was when Paul was married to Emmylou [Harris], and we wrote this at their house. We had some high-quality microphones and all that, a little analog eight-track machine, so we made the demo there,” Maher says. “Carl played electric guitar and sang on the demo.”

For the updated version, Glen Wharf plays upright bass, Bayers plays drums over the top of the drum machine from the demo and the guitar is Perkins’ original from the demo. “The thing sounds like it was cut yesterday, but everything other than the bass and drums was done the day we wrote it.”

Ella Langley teams with Jamey Johnson on “Young Love.”

“There are only a handful of phone calls you can receive in your artist career that fill your soul with such fulfillment and honor,” Langley told Billboard in a statement. “To record ‘Young Love (Strong Love)’ alongside Jamey Johnson and to be included on this record is an honor of a lifetime.”

The album closes with Jelly Roll teaming with K. Michelle and the Fisk Jubilee Singers offering The Judds’ Grammy-winning, signature hit “Love Can Build a Bridge.” Maher recalls the recording session being one of the most special moments of the album-making process.

“We recorded his vocal on a Sunday afternoon,” Maher says. “He texted me and said, ‘I’m running about 20 minutes late,’ and when he got there, he said, ‘I’m not usually late, but I am so over the moon excited. My 13-year-old daughter just got baptized,’ and I said, ‘Well, I think we picked the right day for this song.’ His voice was so sincere, and that first verse and chorus is just him and a piano. It took my breath away. And he was just so excited to be performing with K. Michelle and The Fisk Jubilee Singers on the song.”

Looking ahead, Wynonna is currently embarking on her Back to Wy Tour, which focuses on her solo catalog of hits. She’s also working with Jelly Roll in the studio, and is looking into releasing a book, a new album and a cookbook.

“We’re just talking about ideas — I’m always cooking something, so 2024 will be one of my busiest years,” Wynonna says. “I was sitting in the car yesterday and Jelly Roll called and asked me to do something with him, so I’m going to his house to work on a song. Everywhere you go, there’s something there, and I’m still included. Right now, I’m just feeling real gratitude, that I’m still included.”

27 Oct 2023

20 Biggest Halloween Songs of All Time on the Hot 100

Halloween songs might not be as celebrated — or profitable — as Christmas music (though that’s changing a bit), but there’s no denying the grave reality that people go batty for spooky songs as Oct. 31 approaches.

Simply put, folks who want to avoid spooky songs around All Hollows’ Eve don’t have a ghost of a chance. And while we all have our favorites, there are some seasonally appropriate songs that loom larger in Billboard Hot 100 history than others.

We decided to round up the 20 Biggest Halloween Songs based on their Hot 100 chart achievements (see below for a detailed explanation). No bones about it — the results might leave some people howling mad. Frightening as it may be to fans of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” doesn’t actually make the top 20 of this list. (“Thriller” peaked at No. 4 in 1984 and spent 22 weeks on the chart.) Although it’s inarguably become a perennial staple – one as essential to the season as those holding Frankenstein’s monster together — it doesn’t quite make the list.

So what did? No need for us to be cryptic – read on and find out.

Billboard’s Biggest Halloween Songs ranking is based on weekly performance on the Hot 100 (through the Oct. 14, 2023-dated charts), and includes Halloween-themed hits or songs with a seasonal word in its title (“spooky,” “devil,” “monster,” “witch,” etc.) Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower spots earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted differently to account for chart turnover rates during various periods.

Additional research by Xander Zellner.

27 Oct 2023

Taylor Swift Has Entered Her Billionaire Era, According to Bloomberg

Taylor Swift has had the kind of year that most artists could only dream of. And now, according to a new analysis from Bloomberg, the 33-year-old singer has entered rarified air as a pop billionaire. A Bloomberg News analysis chronicling Swift’s rise to the rare status of a reported 10-figure pop singer is thanks to what the magazine said was “her prolific songwriting, negotiations around streaming and shrewd decision to re-record her first six albums” at a time when many other musicians have “lost clout in the industry.”

Swift’s bottom line has and will be boosted by the reported $4.3 billion the blockbuster Eras Tour has added to the U.S.’s gross domestic product so far this year; Forbes predicted in April that the first run of 52 U.S. dates could gross $620 million, of which Taylor could keep $500 million, with further U.S and international dates possibly pushing her take even higher. Plus, there is the No. 1 box office smash movie version of Eras that has packed theaters with singing, dancing, weeping Swifties around the world, not to mention Friday’s (Oct. 27) release of her latest re-record, 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

“Taken together, Swift Inc. is essentially a multinational conglomerate with the world’s most devoted customer base, its most charismatic CEO and significant economic power,” Bloomberg said of the power of Swifties and Taylor’s close relationship, and devotion, to fan service. University of Chicago labor economist Carolyn Sloane told Bloomberg that in addition to being a generational talent, “Swift is a great economist… Taylor has great ideas, is able to scale her ideas and seems to be pretty risk-seeking.”

Bloomberg said its “conservative” analysis of Swift’s net worth is based only on assets and earnings that could be confirmed or tied to publicly disclosed figures, taking into account the estimated value of her music catalog and five homes, earnings from streaming deals, music sales, concert tickets and merchandise. The tally also reportedly took into account the impacts of income tax, tour production and travel costs and commissions to agents and managers.

In a break-down, Bloomberg said the majority of Swift’s reported value ($400m) is from her music catalog, followed by ticket sales and merch ($370m), streaming ($120m), real estate ($110m) and royalties from music sales ($80m). On top of that, in the wake of a number of major veteran acts such as Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan selling their catalogs for mid-nine-figure sums, Bloomberg estimated that a potential Swift catalog sale of all of her music could range from a low of $400 million to $1 billion, pushing her well above recent catalog sales by the likes of contemporaries Justin Bieber ($200m), Katy Perry ($225m) and Justin Timberlake ($100m).

At press time a spokesperson for Swift had not returned Billboard’s request for comment on the Bloomberg report.

“Every endorsement, partnership and business move she makes is part of a broader, meticulously-constructed plan,” Stacy Jones, founder of the Hollywood Branded marketing agency told Bloomberg. “It’s not just impressive, it’s masterful.”

27 Oct 2023

Here’s Why Taylor Swift Fans Are Certain This ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ Vault Track Is About Harry Styles

Remember when Harry Styles hit the brakes too soon? Taylor Swift definitely still does — at least, that’s the leading theory surrounding one of Swift’s new 1989 (Taylor’s Version) “From the Vault” tracks, which is basically a sequel to “Out of the Woods.”

Fans almost immediately connected “Is It Over Now?,” the last of Swift’s five new 1989 vault tracks, to the “Anti-Hero” singer’s decade-old breakup from Styles upon its release Friday (Oct. 27). The two stars dated briefly in 2012 and split in early 2013, back when the “As It Was” singer was still a member of One Direction.

The new track is full of references to “Haylor” lore; in fact, the very first lyric in the song sounds like a nod to the pair’s infamous paper airplane necklaces, which were also referenced in “Out of the Woods,” another song widely believed to be about Styles. “Once the flight had flown,” Swift begins on “Is It Over Now?”

Possibly the most compelling piece of evidence tying “Over Now?” to Styles, however, is the whole second verse: “Whеn you lost control/ Red blood, white snow/ Blue dress on a boat/ Your new girl is my clone.”

Lost control? Red blood and snow? Sounds like a callback to the snowmobile accident Swift divulged in her 2014 Rolling Stone cover story, an incident fans have long speculated involved Styles (he was seen with a bandage on his chin around the time it happened). And that “blue dress on a boat” detail? It has to be related to that iconic paparazzi photo of Swift looking sad as she allegedly sailed away from her 2013 Carribbean vacation with Styles, rumors flying that the two had broken up on the trip — right?

And then there’s that “your new girl is my clone” business … sounds pretty similar to Styles’ own “From the Dining Table” lyrics: “Woke up the girl who looked just like you/ I almost said your name.”

Swift has just two more “Taylor’s Version” re-records on the docket now that 1989 has dropped. Having released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, along with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) earlier this year, all that’s left are her 2006 self-titled debut and 2017’s Reputation, the last album she made while with Big Machine Records.

The pop superstar is this year’s leading Billboard Music Awards finalist. You can watch the BBMAs on Nov. 19 on Billboard and the BBMA’s social media channels, as well as here.

See the best fan theories about Taylor, Harry and “Is It Over Now?” below:

27 Oct 2023

Taylor Swift Thanks Kendrick Lamar For Re-Recording Rap on ‘Bad Blood’ Remix For Deluxe ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’: ‘So Much Pride and Gratitude’

Taylor Swift has collaborated with plenty of A-list acts over the years. But in a post on Friday morning (Oct. 27), the singer said that her it meant something extra-special to her that Kendrick Lamar hopped back in the booth to re-record his bars from the remix of Swift’s 1989 single “Bad Blood” for the deluxe edition of her latest Taylor’s Version series.

On the heels of Friday’s release of her fourth catalog revamp, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Taylor also dropped an expanded deluxe edition featuring the refreshed “Blood” remix. “Watching @kendricklamar create and record his verses on the ‘Bad Blood’ remix was one of the most inspiring experiences of my life,” Swift said in an Instagram caption featuring a snap of the dynamic duo in the studio, as well as live footage of Swifties shouting the chorus back to her from a stop on this summer’s Eras Tour and a photo of the deluxe edition cover.

“I still look back on this collaboration with so much pride and gratitude, for the ways Kendrick elevated the song and the way he treats everyone around him,” she added. “Every time the crowds on The Eras Tour would chant his line ‘you forgive, you forget, but you never let it… go!’, I smiled. The reality that Kendrick would go back in and re-record ‘Bad Blood’ so that I could reclaim and own this work I’m so proud of is surreal and bewildering to me.”

The spruced Lamar verse isn’t the only added value on the latest Taylor’s Version, which also features five bonus Vault tracks: “Slut!,” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends” and “Is It Over Now?” A sixth previously unreleased song, “Sweeter Than Fiction,” is available on a Target-only version.

The 1989 re-record follows on the heels of previous Taylor’s Versions of Fearless, Red and Speak Now. Swift celebrated the latest Version with a poetic hand-written message to Swifties in which she wrote, “I was born in 1989, reinvented for the first time in 2014, and a part of me was reclaimed in 2023 with the re-release of this album I love so dearly,” in a note in her the singer’s handwriting.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine the magic you would sprinkle on my life for so long. This moment is a reflection of the woods we’ve wandered through and all this love between us still glowing in the darkest hour. I present to you, with gratitude and wild wonder, my version of 1989. It’s been waiting for you.”

Listen to the re-recorded “Bad Blood” remix and see Swift’s post about Lamar below.

27 Oct 2023

Luck Ra’s ‘La Morocha’ Featuring BM Logs Fifth Week Atop Billboard Argentina Hot 100

Luck Ra’s “La Morocha” featuring BM rebounds 2-1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart (dated Oct. 28) for a fifth week of domination. The song unseats Bizarrap and Milo J’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 57” from the lead after one week in charge.

With the move, “La Morocha” ties with Ke Personajes, Big One and FMK’s “Un Finde: Big One CROSSOVER #2” for five weeks at No. 1, the third-most in 2023, trailing “Los Del Espacio” (LIT Killah, Maria Becerra, FMK, Rusherking, Duki, Emilia, Tiago PZK and Big One) and Emilia, Big One and Callejero Fino’s “En La Intimidad,” both which ruled for seven weeks, and Myke Towers’ “Lala” (six weeks atop).

The week’s Greatest Gainer goes to Big One, Tini and BM’s “Lagrimas Crossover #4,” which rallies up 62 ranks, from No. 69 to No. 7. The Argentinian singer adds her 17th top 10, the third-most after Maria Becerra’s 24 top 10s and Bizarrap’s 19.

Elsewhere, as Bad Bunny’s Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana album debuts at No. 1 across Billboard charts, the Puerto Rican adds 10 new songs to his Billboard Argentina Hot 100 career, also for his record-extending 70 entries since the chart launched in 2018.

“Monaco” leads the new recruits and notches the Hot Shot Debut of the week, joining at No. 18. Plus, with “Un Preview,” which dips 45-46, and “Un X100to” with Grupo Frontera, which falls 43-50, Benito scores 13 simultaneous songs on the chart.



Let’s look at all of Bad Bunny’s songs on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 survey this week:

  • No. 18, “Monaco” (debut)
  • No. 39, “Perro Negro,” with Feid (debut)
  • No. 42, “Fina,” with Young Miko (debut)
  • No. 46, “Un Preview”
  • No. 50, “Un X100to” with Grupo Frontera (from Frontera’s El Comienzo album)
  • No. 59. “Nadie Sabe” (debut)
  • No. 60, “Hibiki,” with Mora (debut)
  • No. 72, “Seda,” with Bryant Myers (debut)
  • No. 81, “Mr. October” (debut)
  • No. 86, “Teléfono Nuevo,” with Luar La L (debut)
  • No. 87, “Baby Nueva” (debut)
  • No. 93 “Cybertruck” (debut)

27 Oct 2023

Every ‘From The Vault’ Song Ranked on Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’: Critic’s Picks

The arrival of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was always going to be a big deal: after all, her 2014 album was one of Taylor Swift’s critical and commercial high points, scoring three No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 and winning the album of the year Grammy after fully reinventing the country superstar as a pop icon. When 1989 was announced as the fourth of Swift’s six albums to receive the Taylor’s Version treatment, fans understandably turned giddy at the thought of Swift’s new takes on her old classics, plus the “From The Vault” goodies coming from that time of high-wattage, cinematic pop music.

And while 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is landing at a particularly busy time for Swifties — considering the fact that “Cruel Summer” sits atop the current Hot 100 after its months-long viral comeback, the Eras Tour concert film dominated the box office this month and wholesome content of Swift and Travis Kelce is darn near inescapable — the achievement that it represents should not be overlooked, even by the most casual of fans. Perhaps more than any Taylor’s Version release thus far, the re-recorded 1989 subtly tinkers with songs like “Blank Space,” “Welcome to New York,” “Out of the Woods” and “Clean” in compelling new ways, reanimating its gems from a fresh perspective and with a more seasoned pop voice.

Plus, the five “From The Vault” songs — all solo songs, the first time that the “Vault” tracks haven’t featured guest artists — supplement the album’s aesthetic, serving to further complete a vision that Swift had for the era. Some of them sound like surefire hits, and others sound destined to become fiercely beloved fan favorite; whichever lane they find, the “From The Vault” tracks demonstrate the continued power of 1989’s sound and texture, and deserve their day in the sun.

Although all five “From The Vault” songs are worthy new additions to Swift’s catalog, here is our preliminary ranking of the new goodies from Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version).

27 Oct 2023

Sam Asghari Says Britney Spears’ High Praise for Him in ‘The Woman in Me’ Memoir ‘Made Me Smile’

It seems safe to assume that not everyone mentioned in Britney Spears‘ The Woman in Me memoir is going to rush out to check the index for their name. But one person who seems pleased with how they are portrayed in the tell-all memoir from the pop princess is her ex-husband Sam Asghari.

TMZ talked to the model/actor this week following the book’s release and he was reportedly elated, telling the gossip outlet that he was “freaking proud” of his former wife for putting her life on display in the book, saying, “That made me smile, to be honest… I hope she takes over the world.”

He had reason to feel good based on an excerpt from the book published by People, in which Spears wrote that she has “an appreciation for how stable he is,” noting that she also loves that Asghari “doesn’t drink. He’s a gift from God.” Asghari, 29, filed for divorce from Spears in August after 14 months of marriage. With the book dropping two months after the divorce filing, the end of the couple’s marriage is not covered in the book that takes readers from Spears’ early career as a child actress/singer through the restrictive 13-year conservatorship that she was freed from in November 2021.

Britney also had nice words for Asghari for helping her dial up the courage to fight for her freedom from the conservatorship, writing “I look up to him — his consistency with working out and being a good man and being healthy and taking care of me and helping me learn we can take care of each other.

The Woman in Me also takes on the singer’s 55-hour marriage to childhood friend Jason Alexander — Spears said she was “just honestly very drunk” during the impromptu Vegas nuptials — and her fling with actor Colin Farrell. Of the latter, she wrote, “We wound up having a two-week brawl … Brawl is the only word for it — we were all over each other, grappling so passionately it was like we were in a street fight.”

It also tackles her romance with Justin Timberlake, which lasted from 1999-2002, until JT allegedly called it quits via a break-up text. She said the breakup left her “devastated… I could barely speak for months,” coming as it did after she said she got an abortion because Timberlake wasn’t ready for fatherhood; she also admitted to cheating on Justin with choreographer Wade Robson in the book after finding out about the “Cry Me a River” singer’s alleged affairs with other women.

In an Instagram post on Thursday — the day of the book’s release — Spears posted on Instagram about the memoir’s success and thanked her fans for their support. She said it was already “the highest selling celebrity memoir in history” on its first day on shelves. “And it’s only day 1 !!!” she added. “Thank you to the fans who have been so supportive !!! Love you all ? !!!” According to Amazon.com, The Woman in Me is the No. 1 on its list of most read and sold non-fiction books.

27 Oct 2023

Jack Black Stripped To His Tighty Whities For Charity Cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Anti-Hero’

Jack Black never met a shirt he couldn’t shed. The Tenacious D frontman and comedic whirlwind was bare-chested again on Wednesday night (Oct. 25), but this time it was for a good cause. Black stripped down to his colorful boxers (and matching socks) during the all-star Give Back-ular Spectacular fundraiser at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles to raise money for SAG-AFTRA members affected by the actors strike, which has now dragged on for more than 100 days.

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After doing some light crowd work — Black asked a guy up front where he was from and he said “L.A.” — the comedian asked the crowd what they wanted to hear. Rejecting the first suggestion (“can’t do that one, we’re in a strike”), Black seemed to cotton to a second one. “I know that one! Everyone knows that f—ing song!”

Black then ripped into Taylor Swift‘s “Anti-Hero,” tip-toeing and high-kicking his way through the “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem it’s me” chorus, before digging into, well, a series of nonsense scatty phrases because he clearly didn’t know any of the other lyrics.

The event to raise money for an emergency relief fund for union and non-union members in Hollywood affected by the ongoing strike was also slated to feature appearances from Jason Alexander, Rachel Bloom, Bryan Cranston, Lil Dicky, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Dax Shepard, Lily Tomlin and The Bear star Jeremy Allen White, among others.

Weeks after Hollywood writers reached an agreement with the studios, representatives for the actors were said to be cautiously optimistic about revived talks on Friday (Oct. 27) between the actors guild and studios.

Watch a video of the moment below.