Music

18 Oct 2023

Watch Anitta Teach Self-Defense in New ‘Élite’ Season 7 Trailer

Netflix has released the trailer for the seventh season of Elite, and Brazilian star Anitta takes centerstage as fictional elite high school Las Encinas’ new self-defense teacher. The nearly two-minute clip showcases new drama brewing in the already tumultuous lives of the school’s students.

Anitta appears early on in the trailer, training her students. “One, two, if you know how to deal with it, the pain you are about to receive becomes your strength,” she declares sternly.

According to the press release, Élite’s new season — available Friday, Oct. 20 — will tackle mental health and “how most of us neglect it out of fear or ignorance.” The seventh season is created by Carlos Montero and Jaime Vaca, and stars Omar Ayuso, André Lamoglia, Valentina Zenere, Ana Bokesa, Álvaro de Juana, Ander Puig and Anitta, among others.

Anitta’s participation in season seven was announced earlier this year via a collaborative Instagram post between the “Envolver” singer and Élite Netflix. “A girl from Rio you may already know… is about to make an entrance at Las Encinas. @Anitta is joining the #Élite7 cast,” read the post. 

In September, Anitta performed “Used to Be” at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards along with “Funk Rave,” both of which are featured on her summer release, Funk Generation: A Favela Love Story. Now signed to Republic Records, she’s set to release her new song, “Mil Veces,” on Thursday (Oct. 19).

18 Oct 2023

Eminem Thanked Fans For All Their 51st Birthday Wishes in Most Eminem Way Possible: ‘Suck It!!!!!’

Surely you weren’t expecting Eminem to get all soft and sentimental on his 51st birthday? Marshall Mathers, born on Oct. 17, 1972, celebrated his half century plus one with a classic Slim Shady-ish post on Tuesday in which he posed in a black t-shirt and matching pants in front of a black background with a pointy birthday hat and a celebratory scowl.

“Thanks 2 everyone for all the bday wishes!!!,” he wrote, adding “suck it!!!!!”

While the Detroit legend didn’t get all mushy on his born day, his longtime pal 50 Cent did, posting a series of classic pics of the dynamic duo through the years — on stage, back stage and at 50’s 2020 Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony — along with the message, “Happy Birthday to the living legend @eminem love you to death man, God bless wishing you many more.”

Last month, 50 brought Em out in Detroit as a surprise guest on his Final Lap tour, teasing fans with his verse from 2003’s “Patiently Waiting” before Marshall hopped on stage, hoodie on, of course, to drop his classic lines to the hometown crowd’s delight. The two then amped things up even further by performing their Grammy-winning 2009 hit “Crack a Bottle,” though the third leg of their titanic triumvirate, Dr. Dre was, unfortunately, did not join them.

“Detroit, make some noise for one of the best friends I’ve ever known: 50 Cent!” Eminem said. “Make some noise for hip-hop’s 50th birthday, y’all — it’s still hip-hop’s 50th birthday. Detroit, I love y’all!”

Check out Em and 50’s bday posts below.

18 Oct 2023

Charli XCX Says Seeing Avalanche of Hateful Comments Aimed at Sam Smith Has Been ‘Really Disheartening’

As she gears up to release a joint single with Sam Smith, Charli XCX is opening up about the dark underbelly of hate that she has witnessed online aimed at her after announcing an upcoming joint single, “In the City,” with her longtime friend and collaborator. In a confessional TikTok, the “Speed Drive” singer praised Smith’s ability to rise above the rude and hurtful comments hurled their way by online haters.

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“Hi everyone. I’m about to release a song with Sam Smith, and the experience has been really interesting,” Charli said in street-shot selfie video in which she is wearing a robe and clips in her hair on what looks like a video set. “Never in my life have I seen someone receive so many hateful comments online. It’s been really disheartening.”

While Charli did not point to any specific comments or posts, she gave Smith props for not letting the bile get to them. “At the same time, I am so proud of Sam’s ability to withstand that because I know I certainly couldn’t withstand it. So, I want to say: Sam, I love you, I love our song together, and I am in awe of your strength,” she said.

After a tease last week, over the weekend, Smith and XCX announced that “In the City” will drop on Thursday (Oct. 19). The first taste of the song included a street-side lip-synch video in which Smith strutted down an alley in Osaka, Japan singing over a dance-pop track. “I knew the night that I met you/ Underneath the New York City lights,” they sang. “Baby, don’t matter what I do/ There’s an angel standing by my side.”

Days before, Charli teased a very similar-sounding track with the same side-eye and skyline emoji.

Watch Charli’s TikTok below.

18 Oct 2023

Natalie Grant Earns Her Third No. 1 on Top Christian Albums With ‘Seasons’

Natalie Grant debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums survey dated Oct. 21 with Seasons. Released on Oct. 6, the set earned 6,000 equivalent album units, with 5,000 in album sales, in the week ending Oct. 12, according to Luminate.

Seasons marks the ninth chart entry for Grant, who hails from Seattle, and her third No. 1 among seven top 10s.

“You Will Be Found,” with Cory Asbury, was the first single from the new set, presenting the pair’s spin on the song from the musical Dear Evan Hansen. Seasons also contains a new version of “Shackles (Praise You),” with Mary Mary, the gospel duo’s signature song that reached No. 28 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 in 2000.

Among other collaborations on the LP, Dolly Parton duets on an update of Whitney Houston’s “Step by Step” (written by Annie Lennox) and Tasha Cobbs Leonard joins Grant on “Bridge Over Troubled Water”; the original by Simon & Garfunkel ruled the Hot 100 for six frames in 1970.

“I’m just so grateful to continue doing what I love, and that people continue loving what I do,” Grant tells Billboard. “It’s all just such a gift. And to hear how these reimagined versions of classic songs are so deeply affecting people was the purpose behind this record in the first place. So, I feel very fulfilled today.”

Seasons follows Grant’s No Stranger, which debuted at its No. 2 Top Christian Albums high in October 2020 (with 33,000 first-week units, her best one-week total).

Seasons marks Grant’s first No. 1 since Be One opened in the penthouse in December 2015. She first led with Hurricane, which entered on top in November 2013. She posted her first entry in 2003 when Deeper Life started at its No. 25 high. Awaken followed in 2005, debuting at No. 12 before hitting No. 3, awarding Grant her first top 10.

“You Will Be Found” reached No. 6 on Christian Airplay in August, becoming Grant’s 11th top 10, and Asbury’s fourth. On the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs ranking, it hit No. 10, marking their ninth and fourth trips to the top 10, respectively.

The ballad also holds at its No. 14 high on the secular Adult Contemporary chart, having become Grant’s first entry since 2006.

18 Oct 2023

Sabrina Carpenter Strips Taylor Swift’s ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’ All the Way Down For Spotify Singles

Sabrina Carpenter is about to get another front-row seat on Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour. The Emails I Can’t Send singer is gearing up to re-join Swift on the Latin American leg of the record-breaking outing, so as a kind of warm-up she recorded a super stripped-down version of Taylor’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” for Spotify Singles.

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The bouncy Max Martin and Shellback-produced song from Swift’s 2012 Red album gets stripped down to the studs in Carpenter’s hands, with the singer transforming the EDM lite original into a hushed acoustic ballad featuring her breathy vocals floating over pedal steel, subtle drums and atmospheric keyboards.

“And I heard you moved on/ From whispers on the street/ A new notch in your belt/ Is all I’ll ever be,” Carpenter sings achingly before wailing, “And now I see/ Now I see/ Now I see.” The Single batch also features a version of Carpenter’s “Feather,” which appeared on Emails I Can’t Send Fwd, the deluxe edition of her Emails album.

Carpenter will head south with Swift next month when the Eras Tour picks back up with three shows at Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos in Rio de Janeiro. She will also be the opener when the tour jumps to Australia and Singapore in February and March.

Billboard spoke to Carpenter in August as she was hitting the road with her biggest musical inspiration, and the 24-year-old singer could not say enough about the dream honor. “That is one of my main inspirations ever since I was a little girl, and now to just be able to watch that show every night is going to be so special,” she said after making her Eras Tour debut in Mexico City, where she wowed the crowd with a cover of late Mexican-American superstar Selena Quintanilla’s 1995 hit “Dreaming of You.”

“It’s so funny, I’ve been growing up with her advice in her songs because it’s very much a how-to book on how to survive as a young woman, which is really special,” Carpenter added. “Watching her in and of itself is how you learn. I admire her work ethic and her talent and she’s just so amazing.”

Listen to Carpenter’s “I Knew You Were Trouble” below.

17 Oct 2023

INXS Reunite For Special Releases, Remember ‘Talented, Dynamic’ Michael Hutchence

INXS got the band back together this week, for a few hours at least, to celebrate the release of several, special new projects.

The surviving band members — Garry Gary Beers, Kirk Pengilly and brothers Andrew, Jon and Tim Farriss — gathered Tuesday (Oct. 17) at Sydney’s Intercontinental Hotel, towering over Sydney Harbour and all its famous landmarks, for a rare reunion — their first since 2017.

The chaps were relaxed and chatty as they flicked through old photos, wound back the years.

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Some of those memories are preserved in Calling All Nations, a new 400-plus “love letter” created by a global fanbase and the band. UMG’s Andrew Kronfeld and Live Nation’s Arthur Fogel contributed essays.

Until the project came together, the artists had “no idea how much it meant to so many individual fans. It wasn’t always about the show,” recounts Pengilly. Those tales include deeper, shared experiences of road trips “driving six hours to meet their friends to get ready to go to the gig. And then, you know, they might just somehow meet us backstage or have an interaction and a look from one of us on stage,” and “they feel a connection. Yeah, I found it really emotional.”

Bass player Beers, now based in California, relished the chance to meet his old bandmates on home soil. He offers a different glimpse at the life of a group on the rise, and their connection with fans. “Being broke and young back in the day, we used to take up offers to go to people’s houses and eat their food. So, you got to meet a lot of people. When you look back at the book, you remember that we did matter to people, not just musically, or for successes. People helped us along in many ways.”

A partnership of Petrol Records, UMe, uDiscover Music and This Day In Music Books, Calling All Nations is available via INXS.com in three configuration — the standard “First Edition” hardback book, a limited-edition “Deluxe” boxset, and an extremely limited-edition “Super Deluxe” box, hand-signed by the members of INXS.

Also on the release slate, All Juiced Up – Part 2, a collection of nine limited edition colored vinyl 12” records featuring remixes of classic INXS songs, including “Need You Tonight,” “Listen Like Thieves” and “New Sensation,” plus the 30th anniversary edition of Full Moon Dirty Hearts, for which Giles Martin has created an exclusive, immersive audio edition; it’s due out Nov. 2.

The last time the surviving band members were in a room together, prior to this week, was for the celebration of their 40th anniversary, in 2017, when they were honored for 50 million global record sales at the State Theatre masquerade party.

Formed in Western Australia in 1977, INXS scaled the highest mountain of popular music with six U.K. top 10 albums (including a No. 1 with Welcome To Wherever You Are from 1992) and five U.S. top 20 albums, a BRIT Award (in 1991 for best international group) and, in 2001, elevation into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

The band’s journey was tragically derailed by the 1997 death of lead singer Michael Hutchence, at the age of just 37, though INXS continued with replacement singers.

In Sydney, talk turned to Hutchence, and “seventh member” Chris Murphy, who died in 2021, aged 66. “Chris was hungry,” recounts Pengilly. “He just took no prisoners”.

The question every fan, or reporter, would ask INXS is on a return to live performances. A tour, perhaps, or a one-off show at an iconic venue. The answer isn’t a flat no.

Beers put his hand up (“I really miss playing with these guys”). Tim Farriss’ fretting hand, however, isn’t what it was following a grim injury to his left ring finger back in 2015. “We loved every bit of it,” notes Pengilly of the band’s journey. “But you know, we did it all.”

INXS called time on touring in 2012, with a gig where it all started – in Perth.

“To be fair to us is that,” comments Andrew Farriss, “as people losing someone as talented, dynamic a frontman as Michael, it became really in the forefront of our minds that, okay, we’ve created this legacy and we own it. And so we’ll decide when we want to play or not. That’s the important point, to not have it dictated to what we can and can’t do when we feel like it.”

The other side of the coin, “which is appealing to me,” he adds, “is who that singer could possibly be. There must be someone that we haven’t even thought of or discovered or found it. That could be an amazing thing to happen.”

In a surprise for the band members, Universal Music Australia president Sean Warner presented INXS with global awards for four billion streams, featuring a powerful Indigenous “full moon” design. A sixth award was forged for the late Hutchence.

17 Oct 2023

Troye Sivan Talks ‘Something to Give Each Other’ Album & How Janet Jackson ‘Changed the Trajectory of My Life’

The way pop singer/songwriter Troye Sivan describes his new album Something to Give Each Other, it’s really about “every sort of connection being beautiful in its own way, and of togetherness and community and joy.”

On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen to Sivan’s interview, below), the musician and actor says that he wrote the just-released project “over a long period of time” and realized at one point that “the overarching themes of the last two-and-a-half-three years of my life are mostly really joyous themes.”

Sonically, Sivan says the only intent with the new album was that he knew he was very “drawn to warmth.” He says in the past, it’s “sort of been like this melancholy warmth, and this time I didn’t feel that way.”

“I talk a lot about Janet Jackson,” Sivan tells Pop Shop hosts Katie and Keith, “because she’s so important to me, but I saw her show at the Hollywood Bowl really early on in the process. And, to me, it took me right back to when was I was like, however old I was, I was probably like 7… hearing ‘Together Again’ for the first time. And that melody and those chords and the warmth that’s in that song literally changed the trajectory of my life. The trajectory of my life as a musician and as a songwriter, specifically. And that’s something that I was really really striving for [on the new album]. I wanted something warm.”

The album’s lead single “Rush” brought the warmth – and the heat! – when it was released in July. It reached the top 40 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and hit the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The “scorching” track was accompanied by an equally hot, dance-heavy music video, directed by Gordon von Steiner (who also “creative directed” the album) and lensed by cinematographer Stuart Winecoff (who also photographed Something’s album cover).

But the video didn’t necessarily come easy, Sivan says. “First things first, considering all of my references for a good pop star growing up, were those who made these mega mega mega videos where the budgets were very very different from what they are now. I had so many times, in so many meetings (where people said), like ‘music videos don’t matter, the music is dead,’ and I pushed and pushed and pushed and I’m so grateful that we go to make the music video of my dreams for ‘Rush’ … It went wider than I think anything ever has of mine before, and that’s really cool. I’m very grateful and thankful.”

“Rush” was followed by two more buzzy singles and videos, both from the von Steiner and Winecoff teaming: “Got Me Started” (which features Sivan and his co-stars dancing through Bangkok) and “One of Your Girls” (in which Sivan is seen through a whole new light, alongside his main co-star, musician and actor Ross Lynch).

With Something to Give Each Other now out for fans to listen to, will Sivan bring that special Something on tour soon? Though he doesn’t have a plan yet, he’s thinking about it – and he’s feeling the pressure. “I’m intimidated because … when this tour happens, I want it to be the tour of my life. I really do. And I want to give the big pop show that I think this album is asking for, and these visuals [his music videos] are asking for. And so it’s a big job. … So, I’m gonna take a second and regroup and then figure it out. For some reason, I really really really feel the pressure, I really do.”

Also on the new edition of the Pop Shop Podcast, we’ve got chart news how Drake pulls double-debut duty at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart on Billboard Hot 100 songs chart thanks to For All the Dogs and “First Person Shooter,” featuring J. Cole, respectively. Plus, Keith details his experience being at opening night of Madonna’s The Celebration Tour in London on Oct. 14, while Katie recounts what it was like attending the red carpet premiere of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film on Oct. 12 in Los Angeles.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)  

17 Oct 2023

Carla Bley, Prolific Jazz Pianist & Composer, Dead at 87

Carla Bley, leader of the free jazz movement, pianist and composer, has died following complications from brain cancer, according to The New York Times. She was 87 years old.

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The Oakland, Calif., native and five-time Grammy nominee was born Karen Borg, and changed her name to Carla in 1957. She married jazz pianist Paul Bley that same year, and kept his last name even after the couple divorced in 1967. Throughout their marriage, the couple toured together and Paul Bley’s 1964 album Barrage featured Carla’s compositions entirely. 

Throughout her career, Bley released albums as a bandleader and collaborator. She’s had three albums hit the top 20 on Billboard’s Jazz Albums chart, with Carla’s Christmas Carols (in collaboration with Andy Sheppard and The Partyka Brass Quintet) peaking at No. 16 in 2009, Andando El Tiempo (in collaboration with Sheppard and Steve Swallow) peaking at No. 14 in 2019 and Trios (with Sheppard and Swallow) peaking at No. 19 in 2013. Two of her solo albums, Heavy Heart and The Very Big Carla Bley Band, peaked at No. 27 and 25 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums chart, respectively.

She was also prominent in the jazz music business, as she was involved in organizing the Jazz Composers Guild in 1964. She also founded record labels JCOA Records and the ECM-distributed Watt. She worked with Michael Mantler — whom she was married to until 1991 — to open the nonprofit New Music Distribution Service, which expanded JCOA, ECM and other labels to larger audiences.

Bley released her final album, a collaborative project with Sheppard and Swallow titled Life Goes On, in 2020.

She was also decorated with awards throughout her life, receiving the 1972 Guggenheim Fellowship for music composition. In 2015, she received the NEA Jazz Masters Award.

17 Oct 2023

Sportscaster Al Michaels Is All About Taylor Swift’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ Cameo: ‘We Love It, Man’

NFL fans seem to have mixed feelings about all the coverage Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s relationship is getting across various sports broadcasts, but Thursday Night Football announcer Al Michaels is all for it.

“We love it, man,” Michaels told Jimmy Kimmel on Monday night, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Swift attended last week’s Thursday night game between Kelce’s Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos, once again making headlines for sharing a suite with Travis’ mother, Donna Kelce, and hugging Brittany Mahomes, wife of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“We had to be judicious,” Michaels told Kimmel about figuring out how best to address Swift’s presence on the Prime Video broadcast. “We had the game last Thursday night in Kansas City. We knew she’d be there. So how much do you show her? She’d been on twice, and football fans were going, ‘Enough.’ But we were praying she’d come into the booth and sing for us,” he said with a laugh.

Kimmel played a clip of Michaels fumbling his words while trying to describe Swift on the broadcast, as he settled on calling her Kelce’s “good buddy and girlfriend.”

“So is she his good buddy or his girlfriend, Al?” Kimmel said, ribbing the announcer. “You can’t be both!”

“You know, you’re doing a game like that, I know the Internet’s gonna blow up,” Michaels said. “Page Six is waiting for whatever I say. You know what I really wanted to say? ‘Fiancee.’ I didn’t because I figured Travis would beat me up at the end of the game. … Or [Swift] would have beat me up.”

In the end, Michaels and company wanted to make sure football came first in the broadcast. “It’s hard because people tune in to watch a football game,” he said. “I’m not doing Access Hollywood.”

Following Thursday’s game, Swift and Kelce confirmed their long-rumored relationship by attending the Saturday Night Live afterparty over the weekend hand-in-hand. (Find a full timeline of their relationship so far here.)

Watch Michaels’ Kimmel appearance below:

17 Oct 2023

Venesti Secures First No. 1 on a Billboard Chart With ‘Umaye’: ‘This Brings Me Great Happiness!’

After a top 10 finish for his prior release, Colombian artist Venesti captures his first No. 1 on any Billboard chart as his latest single “Umaye” climbs 9-1 to lead the Latin Airplay ranking (dated Oct. 21). The new champ follows the No. 10-peaking “Pura Maldad” on Latin Rhythm Airplay, his highest rank on any chart until now.

“This recognition brings me great happiness!” Venesti tells Billboard. “I feel like I still haven’t assimilated it, perhaps because it’s not common to see these achievements in new artists, but I also know that it’s a great beginning for what’s coming.”

“Umaye” was released May 25 via SDS/AP Global. It lands at No. 1 on Latin Airplay in its 11th week with 9.5 million audience impressions, up 36% from the week prior, earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 12, according to Luminate. The song unseats Maluma’s “Coco Loco” from the summit after one week in charge. The latter drops 4-1 with 8.6 million audience impressions, down 15%.

As mentioned, with “Umaye,” Venesti scores his first ruler on any Billboard list after a top 10 high through “Pura Maldad,” his last appearance on Latin Rhythm Airplay in June. There, the former also rises to No. 1, from No. 5, for a first leader.

Back on Latin Airplay, “Umaye” follows two top 30 entries, both less than a year old: “Necesidad” peaked at No. 22 in Dec. 2022, while “Pura Maldad” reached No. 28 on the June 3-dated survey.

“When I recorded [‘Umaye’], we knew it could generate something in people because of its lyric content and everything behind the word ‘Umaye’,” Venesti adds. “What no one knows is that the song was recorded in a living room of a house with a microphone in hand, and what a mic!”