Music

28 Sep 2023

‘September’ Makes Splash on TikTok Billboard Top 50, ‘Wassup Gwayy Holds at No. 1

FamousSally and YB are the first acts to lead the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart for more than one week, as “Wassup Gwayy” remains at No. 1 on the Sept. 30-dated tally.

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The TikTok Billboard Top 50, which began two weeks ago, is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity Sept. 18-24. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.

“Wassup Gwayy” debuted at No. 1 on the Sept. 23 TikTok Billboard Top 50. In the Sept. 15-21 tracking week, the song earned 495,000 official U.S. streams, according to Luminate.

The song reigns over Doja Cat’s “Paint the Town Red,” which returns to the No. 2 peak it originally attained on the inaugural Sept. 16 survey before it fell to No. 3. Concurrently, the track drops to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, a week after spending its first week at No. 1.

Earth, Wind & Fire’s seminal “September” makes the week’s big move on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, roaring onto the list at No. 3. A No. 8 hit on the Hot 100 in February 1979, the song makes moves each year around Sept. 21, owing to its opening verse namechecking the date. TikTok is no exception, with many users incorporating the track into their routines and videos. “September” jumps by 31% to 5.5 million streams Sept. 15-21.

Odetari and 9lives’ “I Love You Hoe” continues its steady rise on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 at No. 4; it debuted at No. 7 on the inaugural list, followed by a move to No. 5 the following week. At No. 5, in the top five for the first time, is BashfortheWorld’s “Darkest Before Dawn.” While the former has scored further Billboard chart success, including a No. 3 high on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, the latter has yet to make an additional ranking. The rap track was originally released in 2020, but has exploded in recent weeks, snagging 704,000 streams Sept. 15-21, up 75%.

Check out the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart here to see additional debuts from Tate McRae, Dominic Fike, Kenya Grace and more.

28 Sep 2023

Rina Sawayama Reveals She Was Groomed at 17: ‘I Just Felt So Afraid of Things’

Rina Sawayama has spoken at length about the childhood trauma that she wrote about on her sophomore album Hold the Girl, but in a new interview, she revealed how one song came out of a revelation in therapy.

During an interview on BBC Three and BBC World Service’s In Conversation on Thursday (Sept. 28), Sawayama said that a series of sex and relationship therapy sessions helped her understand the truth behind what she once thought was a relationship she had at 17 years old. “I was groomed,” she said. “It was by a school teacher.”

Coming to this realization in her therapy sessions, Sawayama said, “completely broke my whole world apart.” The “Hurricanes” singer said that she experienced intense fallout after being groomed, both by her peers and herself. “I was so badly slut-shamed, that I developed so much shame around my sexuality, and lost completely my sense of self, I detached from my skin like inside,” she said. “I just felt so afraid of things, and I’d have anxiety attacks.”

It wasn’t until her sex and relationship therapy sessions that Sawayama felt capable of acknowledging what had happened to her. “Seventeen to me is a child — you’re in school, you have no autonomy most of the time … If a school teacher is coming on to you, that’s an abuse of power,” she said. “I didn’t realize that until I was his age.”

The revelation led Sawayama to write “Your Age,” the furious mid-album anthem of Hold the Girl, in which she proclaims, “‘Cause now that I’m your age/ I just can’t imagine/ Why did you do it?/ What the hell were you thinking?” Sawayama shared in her interview that writing about her trauma on Hold the Girl turned out to be “one of the most incredible experiences” of her career.

“Now it makes me so happy when I see women or femmes in the audience connecting to [‘Your Age’],” she said. “When I look out to the audience, and I see femmes or women connecting to it, I’m like, ‘Maybe you know what I’m talking about, maybe you’re feeling it right now.’”

The singer is currently coming off of her busy festival season, which saw her hit stages at festivals including Glastonbury, Lollapalooza and dozens of others. At a few of her sets, Sawayama appeared to call out her labelmate Matty Healy for “microaggressions” such as mocking “Asian people on a podcast.” During her NOS Alive set, she turned up her ire, saying, “Why don’t you apologize for once in your life without making it about your f–king self?”

Watch a clip of her interview on BBC News’ TikTok.

If you or someone you know is struggling as a result of sexual assault, please reach out to RAINN’s 24/7 National Sexual Assault Hotline for confidential support and resources.

28 Sep 2023

Mick Jagger Says Potential $500 Million Rolling Stones Catalog Sale Could Go to Doing ‘Some Good in the World’

Like any 80-year-old parent, Mick Jagger is thinking about what he will leave behind for his children. In the Rolling Stones singer’s case, though, that means doing the maths on dividing his fortune amongst his eight children, as well as pondering what to do with a potential blockbuster sale of the band’s hits-packed catalog.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal magazine (pay-walled) this week, Jagger was asked to peer into the future and ponder what kind of payday the band might score if they sold their post-1971 catalog, which includes such landmark albums as Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972) and It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (1974).

At present, Jagger said the group has no plans to follow in the footsteps of such peers as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Stevie Nicks, David Crosby and Paul Simon — who’ve sold all or parts of their publishing in mega deals — in order to support his brood, which ranges in age from 52 to six. Jagger said, “the children don’t need $500 million to live well. Come on,” he told the magazine.

One idea Jagger suggested is that whatever the windfall is it should maybe go to charity. “You maybe do some good in the world,” said the singer who also noted that his decision to oversee the band’s business affairs more than half a century ago was mostly an act of self-preservation. “I don’t actually really like business, you know what I mean?,” added the London School of Economics dropout. “Some people just love it. I just have to do it… Because if you don’t do it, you get f—ed.”

The Stone are gearing up to release their first studio album in 18 years, Hackney Diamonds, on Oct. 20.

28 Sep 2023

SZA’s ‘SOS’ Breaks Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart

SZA’s SOS adds another record to its ever-growing list of achievements on Billboard’s charts, as the blockbuster album collects an unprecedented 41st week at No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart, the most by any project since the list launched in 2013.

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SOS achieves its record week on the list dated Sept. 30, where it earned 53,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week of Sept. 15 – 21, according to Luminate. The album gained 17% in units compared with the prior week, ending Sept. 14, helped by the arrival of a remix with Justin Bieber for the album’s single “Snooze.”

With a 41st week at the summit, SOS takes the title for the longest-running No. 1 from The Weeknd’s After Hours, which clocked 40 weeks in charge from April 2020 – June 2021. Here’s a look at the updated standings for the list’s 11-year history:

Weeks at No. 1, Album Title, Artist, Year(s) at No. 1

  • 41, SOS, SZA, 2022-23
  • 40, After Hours, The Weeknd, 2020-21
  • 33, 24K Magic, Bruno Mars, 2016-18
  • 27, Planet Her, Doja Cat, 2021-22
  • 24, The Highlights, The Weeknd, 2021-22
  • 19, Lemonade, Beyoncé, 2016
  • 18, American Teen, Khalid, 2017-19

The new coronation continues the album’s colossal chart year that began with its No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200, which ranks all albums regardless of genre, and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts last December. While it racked up 10 weeks atop the former, it rolled to 21 weeks at No. 1 on the latter, breaking the record for the longest stay for an album by a woman in the chart’s history and managing the longest run of any LP since 1990. Plus, SOS’ “Kill Bill” single racked up its own 21-week run at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the most of any song since the chart launched in 1958.

On this week’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list, SZA lands her third No. 1 through a featured spot on Drake’s “Slime You Out.” The new champ, which premieres in the top slot, follows her prior leaders “I Hate U” and “Kill Bill.”

28 Sep 2023

Watch Penn Badgley & Kevin Bacon Add Their Own Spin to a Taylor Swift TikTok Challenge

Even in the midst of her Travis Kelce saga and the countdown to her Eras Tour concert film, Taylor Swift is dominating TikTok with a song and trend that aren’t connected to either of those things. On Wednesday (Sept. 27), actors Penn Badgley and Kevin Bacon joined forces for their own spin on the “August” challenge.

For some context, the TikTok challenge finds users twirling their pets to a cinematic version of “August,” a fan-favorite deep cut from Swift’s Grammy-winning Folklore album. In Badgley and Bacon’s video, which was uploaded to the You actor’s TikTok account, Badgley sprints through a hallway where he finds Bacon and spins him around as the Murder in the First actor pulls a hilarious facial expression that sits somewhere between wonder and fright. “Summer nostaligia w/ @Kevin Bacon,” Badgley captioned the photo. The two actors had also recently linked up for an episode of Badgley’s Podcrushed podcast.

Badgley has previously expressed his love for Swift — and he’s used TikTok to do so. Late last year, the actor made his TikTok debut to the tune of Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” the Billboard Hot 100-topping lead single from her Midnights album. He captioned the video, which has since garnered more than 11 million views, simply “#antihero.” While Swift has yet to comment on his team-up with Kevin Bacon, the “Karma” singer did react to his TikTok debut, commenting with a succinct “OMG!!!!?.”

As for Bacon, this is the Footloose actor’s second “August” challenge. On Sept. 22 he pulled off a bait-and-switch in which he set the video up to start spinning a real goat, but ended up twirling around a figurine of one instead. “No actual goats were harmed in making this video,” he joked in the caption.

Check out Penn Badgley and Kevin Bacon’s version of the Taylor Swift TikTok challenge below:

28 Sep 2023

Patrick Mahomes Reveals He Met Taylor Swift at a Chiefs Afterparty: ‘She’s Really Cool’

Taylor Swift is getting tight with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce‘s teammates. During a press conference Wednesday (Sept. 27), Patrick Mahomes revealed that he got to meet the pop star at the team’s game-day afterparty over the weekend, noting that Kelce’s rumored new love interest is “really cool.”

The party in question was reportedly hosted at Prime Social in Kansas City soon after the Chiefs triumphed over the Bears on Sunday, a matchup at Arrowhead Stadium notably attended by Swift. The singer, who was seen cheering Kelce on alongside his mother, Donna, left for the celebration with #87 at her side after the game.

“She’s really cool, good people,” Mahomes recalled.

Shortly before the party, the quarterback had told reporters that he hoped to meet Swift eventually, saying she was “a tremendous singer, tremendous at everything she does.” “I haven’t got to meet her, but I guess if she ends up being with Travis, then I will probably get to meet her at some point,” he said in a postgame interview Sunday. “She seems like a good person. Hopefully, I get to meet her one day.”

Now that he has brushed shoulders with Swift, though, Mahomes says he doesn’t plan on sharing any more about the Grammy winner in the future. “But like Trav said, man, I’m going to let them have their privacy and just keep it moving,” he added Wednesday.

The sentiment echoes Kelce’s own remarks on his recent New Heights podcast episode, in which he told his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, that he’ll be drawing the curtain on his relationship with Swift from now on. “It is my personal life and I want to respect both of our lives,” he said before joking, “She’s not in the media as much as I am, doing this show every single week … I’m enjoying life, and I sure as hell enjoyed this weekend.”

Watch Patrick Mahomes recall meeting Taylor Swift below:

28 Sep 2023

Myke Towers on His First-Ever Studio Session, Learning from Reggaeton Icons | Growing Up

Myke Towers’ rise to the top was the result of time, practice and inspiration from the greats before him. In the newest episode of Growing Up, the hitmaker recalled how he learned about songwriting from his grandmother, his first-ever studio session and how he feels about repping the new generation of reggaeton.

28 Sep 2023

Billboard Launches Playback Music Arcade Game

If you’re into trivia, listen up. Billboard announced on Thursday (Sept. 28) a brand new music trivia game called Playback.

Playback will connect music, charts, artists and fans in an interactive way, as users can showcase their knowledge on music milestones and their favorite artists’ achievements on the Billboard charts. Through their success in the game, users can earn Keys — Billboard loyalty points — in order to redeem them for daily rewards, which include exclusive prizes, gift cards and VIP events. Users can also earn Keys by engaging across brand platforms including Billboard.com, social media accounts and live events.

“We’re incredibly excited to launch Playback,” said Dana Droppo, Chief Brand Officer of Billboard, in a press statement. “This game is a celebration of music, a tribute to our audience, and an opportunity for fans to showcase their musical prowess. We can’t wait to see who will rise to the top of the leaderboard!” 

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“We’re thrilled to partner with Billboard, charting a fresh course in fan loyalty to enhance connections with both each other and their favorite music,” added Harrison Wang, CEO of Unblocked. “Our goal is to deliver an unmatched experience for the music community, providing digital ownership and unique rewards.” 

To experience Playback, head over to billboardplayback.com.

28 Sep 2023

Maya Rudolph & Gretchen Lieberum (aka Princess) Share Their Favorite Prince Songs

Saturday (Sept. 30) at The Rooftop at Pier 17 (one of NYC’s most scenic venues), the
the music and funky fresh magic of Prince will come to life when covers band Princess takes the stage.

While there are plenty of Prince tribute acts, two things make Princess a bit of a glam slam: Prince himself gave them his seal of approval; plus, the outfit is led by SNL GOAT Maya Rudolph and singer-songwriter Gretchen Lieberum.

Friends since college, Rudolph and Lieberum are lifelong devotees of the Purple One. And while they’ll go to bat for his underappreciated comic chops, Princess is a musical endeavor they take as seriously as Morris Day takes his hair in the Purple Rain film.

Billboard asked the band to come up with a list of their favorite Prince songs — a difficult task likely to leave any fan delirious. “It’s like choosing our favorite child,” they joked.

“This list is a reflection of how we’re feeling today, it could change tomorrow,” Rudolph told Billboard of their selections, which include B-sides, deep cuts and a handful of Billboard Hot 100 hits. “There’s some dark sh-t on here.”

“We’ve tried to play a lot of these songs live,” she continued. “The thing about Prince that was so amazing was that if there was a Prince single out, there was always a 12-inch version out. You were always going down this extra road, like finding out your favorite book has more chapters. His live shows were like that, too, and we try to incorporate that into our live shows to make it a little extra special.”

28 Sep 2023

Bad Bunny Will Perform a New Song at 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards

Bad Bunny is ready to sing a new song live on Oct. 5 for the first time, when he takes the stage at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards.

Billboard and Telemundo announced Thursday (Sept. 28) that the Puerto Rican superstar will be part of the ceremony at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Florida. The show will be broadcast live on Telemundo and simultaneously on the Spanish entertainment cable network Universo, on Peacock and on the Telemundo app. Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, it will be available on Telemundo Internacional.

They didn’t specify what song Bad Bunny will be performing, but it says in a press release that the hitmaker “will set the stage on fire at the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Awards with a worldwide premiere.” His most recent release is the reggaetón banger “Un Preview,” which just came out Monday.

The singer of “Tití Me Preguntó” and “Me Porto Bonito,” a 15-time finalist at this year’s Latin Billboards, joins a stellar list of artists confirmed to sing at the gala, including Calibre 50, Chiquis, Eddy Lover, El Alfa, Eladio Carrión, Farruko, Grupo Frontera, Justin Quiles, La Factoría, Los Ángeles Azules, Manuel Turizo, Marc Anthony, Marshmello, Olga Tañón, Los Sebastianes, Myke Towers, Nicki Nicole, Pepe Aguilar, Peso Pluma, Sky Rompiendo, Sofía Reyes, Tini, Ximena Sariñana, Yandel and Yng Lvcas. 

Mexican music sensation Peso Pluma leads the list of finalists with 21 nods across 15 categories, including Artist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Global 200 Latin Artist of the Year and Top Latin Album of the Year. His collaboration with Eslabon Armado, “Ella Baila Sola,” is up for six awards, including Hot Latin Song of the Year, Global 200 Latin Song of the Year and Sales Song of the Year. And his hit with Yng Lvcas, “La Bebe,” competes in five categories, including Hot Latin Song of the Year and Latin Rhythm Song of the Year.

Following Peso Pluma are Bad Bunny and Grupo Frontera with 15 nods each, including four together for their collab “un X100to,” while Karol G has 13, and Shakira and Fuerza Regida have 12 each. See the complete list of finalists here.

Among the special honorees, Los Ángeles Azules will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Latin Billboard Music Awards 2023, while Ivy Queen will be recognized with the Icon Award. Colombian superstar Karol G will be honored with the Spirit of Hope Award in recognition of her commitment to civic, community and humanitarian causes through her Con Cora Foundation.

As has been the case for more than 20 years, the Billboard Latin Music Awards coincide with Billboard’s annual Latin Music Week, the single largest and most important gathering of the Latin music industry, taking place Oct. 2-6. The event will feature panels, conversations and workshops at the Faena Forum and exclusive performances and fan experiences throughout the week in Miami. Shakira, Myke Towers, Vico C, Grupo Frontera, Peso Pluma, Nicki Nicole, RBD and many more are confirmed to participate.

Purchase tickets to the 2023 Billboard Latin Music Week here.