Music

04 Oct 2023

Jack Black, Teen Band Ripped Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Mr. Crowley’ For Tom Morello’s Mom’s 100th Birthday

With good reason, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello has been spending the past week celebrating his mom Mary’s 100th birthday. The civil rights and anti-censorship activist who celebrated a century of raging against injustice on Sunday was feted on SiriusXM by her son in a special on Monday during which he played some of her favorite songs by Cypress Hill, Public Enemy and Tina Turner while talking about her life-long support of her Harvard-educated son’s shredding.

But the real party took place when she was honored with a very special command performance from Jack Black, who was joined by a School of Rock-style tween band on one of Mary’s favorite songs, Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley.”

Morello posted a video from the set on Tuesday (Oct. 3), in which Black and company ripped through the song about English occultist Aleister Crowley from Ozzy’s 1980 Blizzard of Ozz album with Morello’s 12-year-old son, Roman, on lead guitar, Japanese prodigy Yoyoka on drums, Roya Feiz on bass and Hugo Weiss on keyboards.

“Mary Morello’s 100th bday celebration featured a stirring rendition of @ozzyosbourne & #RandyRhoads “Mr. Crowley” performed by @jackblack and a kick ass band of 12 & 13 year olds! Mary was pleased!,” Tom Morello wrote in a caption to the video in which Black introduced the song by paying tribute to an “amazing mom and an amazing life.”

The actor and Tenacious D frontman then lit the room up, crooning the devilish heavy metal ballad and giving Morello’s son a chance to shine during a killer solo. Rage drummer Brad Wilk loved it, commenting, “SHREDDING!!!!!!! [three fire emoji], while family friend and PE rapper Chuck D gave the performance — which gave each budding rock star a solo moment to shine — a raised fist emoji.

Watch Black’s performance below.

04 Oct 2023

Ed Sheeran First British Artist to Receive Gold BRIT Billion Award for 10 Billion UK Streams

Ed Sheeran had a lot to celebrate this week. In fact he had 10 billion reasons to pop champagne. The singer became the first British artist to receive the Gold BRIT Billion Award for logging 10 billion UK streams. Sheeran celebrated the milestone by reposting the BRIT’s honor with the one-word reaction “Incredible!”

In an accompanying Instagram video, Sheeran held up the special edition award and told fans, “Thank you so much for all the streams. It’s a pleasure, I love being British.” According to a release announcing the award from the BPI — which represents the UK’s leading record labels and music companies — of the 10 billion streams, over one billion of them came in the last 12 months alone.

“It’s wonderful to receive the first-ever BRIT Billion Award in the UK for 10 billion streams. I want to say a big thank you to my fans. None of this is possible without you guys,” Sheeran said in a statement.

The award was handed to Sheeran by musician/actor/presenter Jordan Stephens, one half of the U.K. hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks. It is not the first record Sheeran has put up on the UK’s Official Charts, following on the heels of him becoming the first artist to have four albums in the official albums chart top 10 for a year, as well as being the first British solo act to score a full year at No. 1 across his catalog on the official singles chart.

“We congratulate Ed Sheeran and his team on this landmark achievement,” BPI chief executive Dr. Jo Twist said in a statement. “Ed may represent the pinnacle of streaming success, but he is also among the thousands of artists who are being streamed in the tens and hundreds of millions in the UK each year and who are thriving thanks to streaming and label support. We look forward to honouring many more artists, including future talent, with a BRIT Billion award.”

Billie Eilish recently had her own BRIT Billion Award ceremony after she became the 20th artist to snag the honor from the BPI thanks to her one billion U.K. streams.

Check out Ed celebrating his Gold BRIT Billion Award below.

04 Oct 2023

Peso Pluma Takes Over Miami For ‘Billboard En Vivo’ Showcase

Peso Pluma took over Miami on Tuesday (Oct. 3) with an intimate showcase at the Faena Theater, just hours after speaking at the Billboard Latin Music Week 2023.

An exclusive show for Latin Music Week attendees, Peso’s “Billboard En Vivo” concert was as expected: packed. The Mexican star delivered a riveting one-hour set to an equally energetic crowd, kicking off with a cinematic intro featuring black-and-white footage of the artist and a giant spider, Peso’s spirit animal.

“Very cool to be here tonight,” Peso said at the beginning of the show. “I want to thank all of you for the support. Let’s sing some corridos because that’s what people want to hear. This is how La Doble P sounds like in Miami.”

Backed by a live band with instruments — such as a tololoche, trombones and trumpets — that powered Peso’s signature sound, he went on to sing such songs as “Rubicón,” “El Belicón,” “Rosa Pastel” with special guest Jasiel Nuñez, “Bye,” “El Azul,” “Lady Gaga,” “AMG,” “PRC” and “Ella Baila Sola.”

“I want to thank my band because without them, none of this would be possible,” the Jalisco-born artist (real name: Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija) told the audience. “I also want to thank my Billboard family. Thank you to the team for all the support.”

Earlier, Peso joined Yng Lvcas and Grupo Frontera’s Adelaido “Payo” Solís and Juan Javier Cantú for The New Mexican Revolution panel at Billboard Latin Music Week 2023, presented by BMI. There, the singer-songwriter spoke on regional Mexican’s music global growth. “We’re now taking this music global, which were able to do because of unity, has others looking at us now. What we’re doing now will be in the history books of Latin music.”

Celebrated for more than 30 years, the 2023 edition of Latin Music Week includes a Superstar Q&A with Shakira; the Legends on Legends chat with Chencho Corleone and Vico C; Making the Hit Live! with Carin León and Pedro Capó; a panel with RBD’s Christian Chávez, Christopher von Uckermann, and Maite Perroni; Superstar Songwriter discussion with Edgar Barrera and Keityn, and, among many other sessions, Q&As and workshops. See the ultimate Latin Music Week guide here. This year’s Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2-6, also includes showcases by Peso Pluma, Mike Bahía and Greeicy, DannyLux and Fonseca, to name a few. Check out the dates and times for the showcases throughout the week here.

Official partners of the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2-6, include AT&T, Cheetos, CN Bank, Delta Air Lines, Lexus, Netflix, Michelob ULTRA and Smirnoff.

Latin Music Week coincides with the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony, which will broadcast live from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., on Thursday (Oct. 5) and will air on Telemundo. It will also broadcast simultaneously on Universo, Peacock, the Telemundo App, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.

03 Oct 2023

Kylie Minogue’s ‘Tension’ Tops Billboard’s Dance/Electronic Albums Chart

Kylie Minogue collects her second No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart as her new studio release Tension opens atop the tally (dated Oct. 7). She previously led the 22-year-old list with 2020’s Disco.

The new album’s chart-topping debut comes after its lead single, “Padam Padam,” became a viral hit over the summer, and went on to become her first top 10 hit on the 10-year-old Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart in June.

Tension, released Sept. 22 via Darenote/BMG, earned 24,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 28, according to Luminate. That marks Minogue’s best week, by units, since the industry began measuring by that metric in December 2014. On the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, Tension debuts at No. 21, her highest-charting album in over a decade, since Aphrodite hit No. 19 (July 24, 2010-dated chart).

Further, of Tension’s first-week units, album sales comprise 19,500 – the pop star’s biggest sales week for an album in nearly 20 years. She last sold more in a single week with an album when Body Language debuted with 43,500 (Feb. 28, 2004-dated chart). Of Tension’s 19,500 sold, physical sales comprise nearly 14,000 (7,000 on vinyl – her biggest week on vinyl since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991; 6,000 on CD and 1,000 on cassette) and digital album sales comprise about 5,500.

Tension was issued as a standard 11-song album, a 14-track deluxe edition (on CD, digital download and streamers) and in a 16-song edition (sold as a digital download exclusively through Minogue’s webstore). Sales of the album were bolstered by more than 15 physical formats, including seven vinyl variants (all with the same standard 11-song tracklist, with many in different colors with alternative covers – including some retailer-exclusive offerings), five cassettes (four with the album’s standard tracklist, and one with the 14-song tracklist – all in different colors) and five CDs (including a signed edition sold through Newbury Comics, and versions in alternative collectible packaging).

Tension was ushered in by the No. 7-peaking “Padam Padam” on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in June. (The chart ranks the week’s most popular songs of the genre in the U.S., by blending streams, sales and airplay.) The track also became her first entry on the Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs chart (peaking at No. 14) and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart and two weeks atop the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart.

The viral hit went on to earn 34.19 million on-demand official audio and video streams in the U.S. – making it Minogue’s third-biggest streaming song ever in America. “Can’t Get You Out of My Head,” released in 2001, is her most-streamed hit in the U.S. (176.66 million) and her seasonal cover of “Santa Baby,” released in 2000, is in second place (44.62 million). (Minogue made her Billboard chart debut in May of 1988, bowing on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Should Be So Lucky.”)

Following “Padam,” the new album has spun off a second dance hit with the title track, which hit No. 18 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs in September, No. 1 on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales and debuts at No. 7 on Dance/Mix Show Airplay on the Oct. 7-dated chart. Plus, concurrent with the album’s debut on the charts, the set’s “Hold On to Now” bows at No. 32 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and No. 10 on Dance/Electronic Song Sales.

Outside of the dance world, “Padam Padam” gave Minogue her first entry on the Pop Airplay chart since 2004’s “Slow,” and her first hit on the Adult Pop Airplay chart since 2002’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.”

The Billboard 200 and Top Dance/Electronic Albums charts rank, respectively, the week’s most popular overall albums, and dance/electronic albums, 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. Top Album Sales ranks the week’s top-selling albums by traditional album sales (CD, vinyl, cassette, digital download album, etc.).

03 Oct 2023

Selena Gomez Clears Up Those Dua Lipa Feud Rumors After Unfollowing Her on Instagram

Everyone can officially “Calm Down,” because Selena Gomez has put the rumors of her feuding with Dua Lipa to rest. The Rare Beauty mogul sat down for an interview with Fast Company, published Tuesday (Oct. 3), and set the record straight on how she actually feels about the “Levitating” singer after unfollowing her on Instagram over the summer.

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Gomez revealed that unfollowing Lipa was simply a mistake that she didn’t intend to make, let alone for her eagle-eyed followers to catch.

“It was an accident!” she said in the interview. “I was just cleaning up some of my Instagram. Then somebody called me and was like, ‘What happened with Dua?!’”

At the time, Gomez did not make a statement about the matter. She, however, took to Instagram — where the initial misunderstanding took place — and posted a sunny photo of herself wearing a flirty polka-dot and butterfly-printed Versace dress from Dua Lipa’s La Vacanza collaboration, in addition to a pair of the brand’s Medusa Biggie oval sunglasses.

“A little Versace/Dua moment,” the Only Murders in the Building actress captioned the snap, shared to her feed on June 30.

Elsewhere in the interview, Gomez hinted at her forthcoming studio album and revealed that fans should not expect any “sad-girl music” from the record. “I can’t really write that [sad-girl music] if I’m not sad. I’ve had to relearn what being me and being happy looked like. There is not one sad song on this whole album,” she added.

Read Gomez’s full interview here.

03 Oct 2023

Watch Troye Sivan Cover Billie Eilish’s ‘What Was I Made For’ at BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge

Troye Sivan is the latest star to drop by the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, and while he brought the “Rush” with his recent hit single, the 28-year-old star also heightened emotions with a cover of Billie Eilish’s introspective song from the Barbie soundtrack, “What Was I Made For.”

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Backed by a keyboardist and guitar, Sivan mused the thought-provoking lyrics, “I used to float, now I just fall down / I used to know but I’m not sure now / What I was made for / What was I made for?”

The singer is currently gearing up to release his third studio album, Something to Give Each Other. The collection described as a “celebration of sex, dance, sweat, community, queerness, love and friendship” will drop on Oct. 13 via Capitol Records.

The album, which follows 2018’s Bloom and Sivan’s 2020 EP In a Dream, features previously released singles “Rush” and “Got Me Started.” Sivan wrote the album with Oscar Görres (Taylor Swift, Sam Smith), Ian Kirkpatrick (Dua Lipa, Britney Spears), Leland (Selena Gomez, Ava Max) and Styalz Fuego (Khalid, Imagine Dragons). “It’s not lost on me that some of you guys have been following along since i was the kid w the stye in my eye in that first video,” he captioned a series of videos posted to Instagram in June. “Btw — I didn’t mean to take 5 years to make this album.”

Watch Sivan’s cover of Eilish’s “What Was I Made For” below.

03 Oct 2023

Eric Nam Explains How Looking for a Home Led to Writing ‘House on a Hill’ Album

While attempting to write his third studio album, House on a Hill, Eric Nam came across a few creative road blocks after being left with few inspiring experiences during the pandemic, and jumping into touring right after. But one day of home shopping ended up changing the trajectory of his writing, and shaped the album altogether, he reveals in the latest episode of Billboard News.

“I wanted to buy a house and I saw a beautiful house on a hill. Ended up not getting it, but in that songwriting session we started to discuss, ‘Why do we all want a house? Why do we want to own a house?’ It’s multifaceted,” Nam told host Tetris Kelly about how the record began to take shape. “They say it’s the best way to accumulate wealth. Is it a status symbol? Is it a sense of identity and purpose in a physical place? That kind of led us down a spiral of talking about what makes us really happy and what drives us as people.”

House on a Hill sees Nam at his most creatively invested — in addition to being fully involved with the songwriting and production process, he helmed the album’s entire music video production, which as a whole views as a short film.

“I think I’ve always been pretty involved in my album, but this one was particularly involved because not only was it the music and the entire songwriting and production process, but it also extended to the multiple music videos, the short film, the photos and everything,” he explained. “I think naturally as an ambitious person, I try to elevate and upgrade every album. So, ‘How do we beat the last album?’ That was my biggest homework for this project.”

Nam stated that the most arduous process of bringing the album to life was making a music video for multiple songs on House on a Hill “wasn’t easy” due to being an independent artist.

“I come from the world of K-pop. When you look at K-pop videos, there’s always CGI with things flying in outer space with fighting imaginary monsters. … I, as a solo artist and an independent artist, don’t have the ability to do that. I was like, ‘What can I do that can allow me to flex every muscle of my creative mind?’ I thought, ‘Why not write and script out multiple music videos and then turn it into a short film that plays with the themes of House on a Hill — being happy, finding contentment, being sad, being alone, all those types of emotions,” he explained.

House on a Hill was released Sept. 8 and debuted at No. 66 on Billboard‘s Top Album Sales chart. The singer is currently on tour in support of the album, making stops in North and Latin America through Dec. 9 before heading over to Europe, U.K and parts of Asia in 2024.

Watch Nam’s interview with Billboard News in the video above.

03 Oct 2023

Feid Shares His Best Marketing Strategies at Latin Music Week 2023

Feid took center stage at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week to share the secrets behind “The Marketing of Ferxxo” on Tuesday (Oct. 3). 

During the conversation — moderated by AJ Ramos, head of artist partnerships, Latin music and culture at YouTube Music/Google — the Colombian artist was joined by his inner circle: his producer & engineer Esteban Higuita; manager Luis Villamizar; sister and creative director Manuela Villada; lead guitarist Pedro Mejia; and Salomon Palacios III, senior vp marketing and artist strategy, Universal Music Latin. 

Below, check out the best marketing tips Feid and his team shared during the panel:

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1. Less goes a long way: “The best ideas are those that don’t need a budget.” — Feid

2. Be authentic: “Every time I speak a funny thing that occurs to me, it connects with people. I stopped putting on a facade and was myself.” — Feid on his social media strategy

3. Dream big: “We dream first, then we discuss with the team, and later land with the ideas.” — Luis Villamizar

4. Have faith: “Green [Feid’s go-to color] means hope, the mountains of Medellín, where I come from, and why not? Some [dollar] bills. This project has always believed a lot in faith, and my team is clear that something good is going to come.” — Feid

5. Build a team: “I am sure that I am not going to get anywhere alone. I see it as a soccer team. I’ve always wanted us to win together. I have never liked to say ‘I’ did this. This is a team effort.” — Feid

6. Be persistent: “Ever since I met him, his melodies and intentions were very well-formed. He had his own style. He has never given up and that’s the great secret behind Feid.” — Pedro Mejía

Celebrated for more than 30 years, the 2023 edition of Latin Music Week includes a Superstar Q&A with Shakira; the Legends on Legends chat with Chencho Corleone and Vico C; Making the Hit Live! with Carin León and Pedro Capó; a panel with RBD’s Christian Chávez, Christopher von Uckermann, and Maite Perroni; Superstar Songwriter discussion with Edgar Barrera and Keityn, among many other panels, Q&As and workshops. See the ultimate Latin Music Week guide here.

This year’s Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2-6, also includes showcases by Peso Pluma, Mike Bahía and Greeicy, DannyLux and Fonseca, to name a few.  Check out the dates and times for the showcases throughout the week here.

Official partners of the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week include AT&T, Cheetos, CN Bank, Delta Air Lines, Lexus, Netflix, Michelob ULTRA and Smirnoff.

Latin Music Week coincides with the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony, which will broadcast live from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., on Thursday (Oct. 5) and will air on Telemundo. It will also broadcast simultaneously on Universo, Peacock, the Telemundo App, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.

03 Oct 2023

6 Best Quotes From ‘Boys Club No More!’ Panel at Billboard Latin Music Week 2023

As evidenced by our panelists Kany García, María Becerra, Nicki Nicole, Nathy Peluso, Young Miko and GALE, Latin music is no longer just a boys’ club. Women rule, and comprise a new generation of artists dominating the charts.

Moderated by Billboard Español‘s Isabela Raygoza, the aforementioned artists took the Billboard Latin Music Week stage on Tuesday (Oct. 3) for a candid conversation on why the boys club is no longer needed, as García put it. “It’s the fourth time I speak at Latin Music Week and I realize that it’s the first time I’m sitting with five other women that I admire so much,” García shared. “Before I had to share this stage with so many men but you know, women are the future.”

Below, the best and most memorable quotes from the Boys No More Club! panel:

Nicki Nicole on the first woman who supported her: “I had 20 subscribers on YouTube, I released my first song with so much hope, really wanting for it to go places you never expected, but it’s hard for women in the industry. Then, Cazzu was the first one who supported me, and I just had one song. She embraced me and it changed me as a woman and as an artist.”

Young Miko on being inspired by Kany García: “I’m so excited to be here with all of you, but Kany was really the first artist that motivated me to not be scared. I found out we were from the same [LGBTQ+] community and it made me feel comfortable to speak with my mother. Things are now changing, today, thank God, there’s an audience that’s more receptive, there’s an audience that is looking for change.”

Nathy Peluso on discovering her craft: “I know I wanted to dedicate myself to art and communicating. To communicate being a woman is a challenge and a privilege. I stopped singing on the streets to song on stages, and every day I wake up thinking: How can we evolve? When I started rapping, there weren’t many women on the scene, it was a struggle, to create a space for myself. Today, we’re far from those times and I’m grateful for the work of my sisters.”

María Becerra on being experimental: “I decided to start doing trap, dancehall, I really just wanted to do it all because I always liked everything. But that’s what it’s all about: experimenting. At the end of the day, we’re artists.

Kany García on embracing the learning process: “I’m still finding myself 16 years later, as the days pass, you don’t really stop discovering yourself. I’m still walking. I’m still learning.”

GALE on connecting with fans: “It’s always very strong to connect with vulnerability, and since I was a little girl, [I knew how] to embrace the fear that’s always going to be there. It happens to me a lot with songs, being honest, embracing fear in that way is how one connects with others.”

Celebrated for more than 30 years, the 2023 edition of Latin Music Week includes a Superstar Q&A with Shakira; the Legends on Legends chat with Chencho Corleone and Vico C; Making the Hit Live! with Carin León and Pedro Capó; a panel with RBD’s Christian Chávez, Christopher von Uckermann, and Maite Perroni; Superstar Songwriter discussion with Edgar Barrera and Keityn, among many other panels, Q&As and workshops. See the ultimate Latin Music Week guide here.

This year’s Latin Music Week, taking place Oct. 2-6, also includes showcases by Peso Pluma, Mike Bahía and Greeicy, DannyLux and Fonseca, to name a few. Check out the dates and times for the showcases throughout the week here.

Official partners of the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week include AT&T, Cheetos, CN Bank, Delta Air Lines, Lexus, Netflix, Michelob ULTRA and Smirnoff.

Latin Music Week coincides with the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards ceremony, which will broadcast live from the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla., on Thursday (Oct. 5), and will air on Telemundo. It will also broadcast simultaneously on Universo, Peacock, the Telemundo App, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional.

03 Oct 2023

SZA Calls Lizzo a ‘Beautiful Person’ Amid Ongoing Lawsuits: ‘I Just Pray That Everybody Recovers’

SZA is sharing love for Lizzo amid the harassment lawsuit brought by three of the “Special” singer’s former dancers in August.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, SZA declined to comment on the legal issues directly, but she did have positive things to say about her good friend and musical collaborator. “I’m just saying, based on the values and the energy that I see in my friend, I just really think that she’s a beautiful person,” she said. “I just really pray that everybody recovers from this because everybody deserves to heal and feel safe and feel loved.”

SZA added, “I just really hope that everybody ends up feeling like that when this is all said and done. Because that’s the bottom line.”

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The lawsuit, filed in August in Los Angeles by dancers Arianna Davis, Crystal Williams and Noelle Rodriguez, accuses Lizzo (real name Melissa Jefferson) and her Big Grrrl Big Touring Inc. of a wide range of legal wrongdoing and included dozens of pages of detailed allegations.

In one allegation, the lawsuit claims that Lizzo pushed the dancers to attend a sex show in Amsterdam’s famed Red Light District and then pressured them to engage with the performers. The lawsuit also detailed alleged outbursts by Lizzo, including an “excruciating re-audition” in April after she accused the dancers of “drinking alcohol before shows”; one dancer claims the ordeal continued for so long that she wet herself because she feared she would be fired if she left the stage. The case also claims Lizzo repeatedly told dancers “none of their jobs were safe” and raised “thinly veiled concerns” about a dancer’s weight gain.

Lizzo denied the claims in a response shared to Twitter, calling them “false allegations” and “sensationalized stories.”