Music

23 Jul 2023

Fans Choose Britney Spears & Will.i.am’s ‘Mind Your Business’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Britney Spears and Will.i.am‘s “Mind Your Business” has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (July 21) on Billboard, choosing the collaboration between the pop superstar and Grammy-winning producer as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Mind Your Business” brought in nearly 48% of the vote, beating out new music by Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd (“K-Pop”); the Barbie movie soundtrack; Chris Stapleton (“White Horse”); ZAYN (“Love Like This”); and others.

After giving fans just a one-day heads up, the two all-star musicians dropped their new single “– a full decade after first working together on 2012’s “Scream & Shout.”

On the track, Brit and the Black Eyed Peas founder riff over spacey synth ripples, with the Princess of Pop declaring, “Mind your business, b—-.” “Mind Your Business” also recycles a tagline featured throughout “Scream & Shout”: “You are now rockin’ with Will.i.am and Britney, b—-.”

The project was only announced one day ahead of time, with Will.i.am simply tweeting out a 16-second snippet of the electronic dance track. “UH OH!!! You are now NOW rocking with will.i.am and @britneyspears…,” he captioned the sneak peek.

Trailing behind “Mind Your Business” on the poll is Scott, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd’s collaboration “K-Pop,” which brought in 15% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

23 Jul 2023

‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200

Taylor Swift’s third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), spends a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated July 29). It’s the first time a re-recorded Swift album has spent its first two weeks at No. 1. The pop superstar’s re-recorded Fearless and Red each bowed at No. 1 in 2021, and then fell from the top slot in their second frames — though the former returned to No. 1 six months later after its release on vinyl and signed CD.

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) earned 121,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending July 20 (down 83%), according to Luminate.

Swift leads a quiet top 10, where the region hosts zero debuts for the first time in six months. The top 10 was last absent of debuts on the Jan. 28-dated list, when SZA’s SOS led the chart for a sixth week.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new July 29, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (July 25). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’s 121,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending July 20, SEA units comprise 73,000 (down 65%, equaling 95.6 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 22 songs), album sales comprise 47,000 (down 91%) and TEA units comprise 1,000 (down 72%).

For a second week in a row, Swift has four albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200. A week ago, she became the first living artist to chart four albums in the top 10 at the same time since 1966. On the latest chart, those same four sets (all former No. 1s) are still in the top 10, as Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is joined by Midnights (rising 5-4 with 51,000 units; down 7%), Lover (7-6 with 44,000; down 2%) and Folklore (a non-mover at No. 10 with 34,000; up 5%).

Morgan Wallen’s former No. 1 One Thing at a Time is stationary at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 105,000 equivalent album units (up 2%). One Thing at a Time has earned in excess of 100,000 equivalent album units in all 20 of its chart weeks. It extends its own record as the album with the most weeks of 100,000-plus units since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by units in December of 2014.

Peso Pluma’s Génesis returns to its peak, rising 4-3 (55,000 equivalent album units; down 5%); Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album climbs 6-5 (48,000; up 3%); SZA’s SOS ascends 8-7 (43,000; down 1%); Lil Uzi Vert’s former leader Pink Tape dips 3-8 (40,000; down 34%); and Gunna’s A Gift & a Curse is steady at No. 9 (nearly 40,000; down 6%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

23 Jul 2023

The 1975 Cancels Shows in Indonesia and Taiwan Following Malaysia LGBTQ Controversy

The 1975 are canceling shows in Indonesia and Taiwan after the band’s set was cut at a Malaysia music festival following frontman Matty Healy‘s comments about the country’s anti-gay laws and kissing his bandmate on stage.

The British pop-rock group was scheduled to perform at Jakarta’s We the Fest on Sunday (July 23) and at the Taipei Music Center on Tuesday (July 25) as part of their 2023 Asia tour. The band announced in a statement on Sunday that both performances have been called off.

“The 1975 regret to announce that their forthcoming shows in Jakarta and Taipei will no longer be going ahead as planned,” the 1975 wrote in a statement posted on We the Fest’s Twitter page.

“The band never takes the decision to cancel a show lightly and had been eagerly looking forward to playing for fans in Jakarta and Taipei but unfortunately, due to current circumstances, it is impossible to proceed with the scheduled shows.”

The cancellations come after Healy slammed Malaysia’s LGBTQ laws as “f–king ridiculous” before sharing a prolonged kiss with bassist Ross MacDonald at the country’s Good Vibes Festival in Kuala Lumpur on Friday (July 21). The following day, event organizer Future Sounds Asia announced that the remainder of the three-day fest had been canceled.

Homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia, and those convicted face up to 20 years behind bars.

The 1975’s Good Vibes set was cut short after Healy, who has long been outspoken about LGBTQ rights, ranted about Malaysia’s restrictive laws banning homosexuality.

“Because you are young people, and I’m sure a lot of you are gay and progressive and cool,” he told the crowd in video circulating on social media, noting that he had pulled the show Thursday in protest before deciding not to let fans down. “But, I’ve done this before. I’ve gone to a country where it’s — I don’t know what it f–king is. Ridiculous. F–king ridiculous to tell people what they can do with that and that. If you want to invite me here to do a show, you can f–k off. I’ll take your money, you can ban me, but I’ve done this before and it doesn’t feel good, and I’m f–ked off.”

The set ended early shortly after Healy kissed MacDonald, with the frontman telling festival-goers, “All right, we just got banned from Kuala Lumpur. See you later.”

See the 1975’s Asian tour cancellation announcement below via We the Fest’s Twitter page.

23 Jul 2023

Cody Johnson Offers Support to Jason Aldean Amid ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Controversy

During his concert on Friday night (July 21) in St. Louis, Cody Johnson let his thoughts be known about the controversy surrounding Jason Aldean‘s latest song and video, “Try That in a Small Town,” which was removed from rotation by CMT earlier in the week.

Graham Allen, host of the Dear America podcast, posted a video of “Til ‘You Can’t” hitmaker Johnson coming to Aldean’s defense during the show at St. Louis’ Chaifetz Arena.

“We live in a time where everyone gets p—-ed off at Jason Aldean for putting out a song,” Johnson said, adding, “If you’re videoing this, and Jason Aldean if you’re seeing this video, you keep it up, brother. You do you, boo boo.”

Johnson went on to note his interpretation of the song as a patriotic one, saying, “If being patriotic makes you an outlaw, then by God, I’ll be an outlaw.”

Artists including Travis Tritt, John Rich and Lee Greenwood have spoken out in defense of Aldean, while Aldean’s labelmate Blanco Brown defended Aldean, but emphasized that he strongly disagreed with the song itself. Artists such as Jason Isbell, Adeem the Artist, Margo Price and Sheryl Crow have slammed both the song and Aldean.

Aldean released “Try That in a Small Town” in May, and performed it during his Nissan Stadium set at CMA Fest in June. However, the video for the song was released last week; the clip and the song quickly began to draw criticism on social media from commenters who called the song racist and pro-gun. Commenters also noted the location of the video, which was filmed at the Maury County courthouse in Columbia, Tenn. — the same location where an 18-year-old Black man, Henry Choate, was lynched in 1927. CMT pulled the video from its rotation on Tuesday (July 18), a move that sparked both praise and backlash on social media.

In addition to releasing a statement about the controversy earlier in the week, Aldean also spoke out in a lengthy speech during his own concert on Friday night in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“It’s been a long week and I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that,” Aldean told the crowd in a fan-captured video. “I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to, it doesn’t mean it’s true. What I am is a proud American. I’m proud to be from here. I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls— started happening to us. I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now, he said, as the crowd began to chant “USA! USA!”

He also added, “You guys know how it is this day and age, cancel culture… This day and age, if people don’t like what you say, they try to make sure they can cancel you, which means try to ruin your life. Ruin everything. One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that can see through a lot of the bullshit. I saw country music fans rally like I’ve never seen before and it was pretty badass, I gotta say. Thank you guys so much. I know a lot of you guys grew up like I did. You kind of have the same values, the same principles that I have, which is we want to take our kids to a movie and not worry about some asshole coming in there shooting up the theater.”

Before launching into “Try That in a Small Town,” Aldean told the crowd, “So somebody asked me, ‘Hey man, you think you’re going to play this song tonight?’ The answer was simple. The people have spoken and you guys spoke very, very loudly this week.”

After the controversy erupted, Aldean’s sales and streams have surged, according to preliminary reports from Luminate, and the video has now earned 14 million views on YouTube.

23 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift Debuts ‘No Body, No Crime’ With Haim at Eras Tour Concert in Seattle

Taylor Swift gave the first live performance of her Evermore song “No Body, No Crime” with Haim during her Eras Tour stop at Seattle’s Lumen Field on Saturday (July 22).

To assist with the live unveiling, the pop superstar brought out longtime friends the Haim sisters, who were featured on the studio version of the 2020 track and serve as the opening act for the remainder of her Eras Tour in North America.

“No Body, No Crime” — which peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 2020 — replaced “Tis the Damn Season” during the Evermore portion of Swift’s usual Eras Tour setlist.

Swift’s team-up with Haim in Seattle arrived almost exactly one year after the sibling trio invited Tay to help perform “Gasoline” and “Love Story” at London’s O2 Arena on July 21, 2022. Swift appears on the recorded version of “Gasoline, which was originally on the expanded edition of Haim’s 2020 album, Women in Music Pt. III.

Swift and Haim have been best pals dating back to the 1989 World Tour, when the multi-Grammy winner first had the sister band open for one of her tours. Since then, the four women have collaborated on “No Body, No Crime” and joined forces again in 2022 for Swift’s “Bejweled” music video.

The North American leg of Swift’s Eras Tour will continue at Seattle’s Lumen Field on Sunday (July 23) before heading to Santa Clara, Calif.’s Levi’s Stadium (July 28-29) and closing at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium (Aug. 3-5 and 7-9). Haim is among the opening acts for the remaining dates.

Watch Swift debut “No Body, No Crime” with Haim in Seattle here.

22 Jul 2023

Paramore Postpones San Francisco Concert Hours Before Showtime ‘Due to Sickness’

Just hours before Paramore would be taking the stage Saturday night (July 22), the band canceled a concert at San Francisco’s Chase Center due to illness. The show has already been rescheduled.

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“Due to sickness within the touring party, we will be rescheduling our show tonight at Chase Center in San Francisco to Monday, August 7, 2023,” a statement posted on Paramore’s Twitter account said.

“Previously purchased tickets are valid for the rescheduled date. If you cannot attend the rescheduled date and would like a refund, instructions will be sent to all ticket purchasers and refunds will be offered for the next 7 days,” read the post.

The note, which was also shared on Chase Center’s social media accounts, concluded with “We look forward you all soon at the next Paramore show.”

Paramore’s next concert is scheduled for Monday, July 24 at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena.

The band is currently on its This Is Why Tour in support of its studio album of the same name, and set to wrap the trek in August. It was recently announced that Paramore is heading to Europe as a supporting act on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, beginning on May 9, 2024.

See the full announcement about Saturday night’s concert below and keep up-to-date on all of Paramore’s tour dates here.

22 Jul 2023

The Kid LAROI Performs Surprise Set at Hotel Bar After Malaysia Music Festival Is Canceled

The Kid LAROI didn’t let fans down when Malaysia’s Good Vibes Festival — which he was scheduled to headline Saturday (July 22) — was unexpectedly called off.

The fest’s sudden cancelation came after The 1975’s set on Friday, when frontman Matty Healy slammed the country’s restrictive LGBTQ laws as “f—ing ridiculous” and shared a long kiss with bandmate Ross MacDonald on stage. In an official statement, Good Vibes noted the decision adhered to a directive from the Ministry of Communications and Digital, which has an “unwavering stance against any parties that challenge, ridicule, or contravene Malaysian laws.”

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So on Saturday night, with no concert to headline in Kuala Lumpur, LAROI brought an abbreviated version of his show to a local hotel bar.

“Two things, before I start. I’m very drunk, number one. Ever since they canceled the show, I had no other option but to go right to the bar. So here I am,” he told a modest, but enthusiastic, crowd that began gathering.

“I’m with my friends today, and I just figured since everything got canceled and I’m here anyway, I may as well come and do a couple songs,” LAROI said to cheers. “Thanks to the hotel for letting me do this.”

LAROI kicked off his short performance with “Thousand Miles.” Although the hotel bar set list order is unclear, based off of various fan-captured video clips, he also sang “Stay,” “Without You” and “Diva.”

At the end of his impromptu mini set, he joked that had he been able to perform for them on the festival stage that night, “I’d be way better, I wouldn’t be drunk and I’d actually know how to talk to you guys.”

Earlier on his Instagram Stories, LAROI had posted, “touched down & found out the festival is canceled… I love you Malaysia, I’m sorry,” and then shared a selfie with fans at the hotel. He wrote, “Met some new friends what’s uuuupppp.”

“Might sing some songs in the hotel bar fk it,” he announced over Stories.

See several clips from his surprise hotel bar performance below.

22 Jul 2023

Drake Calls Out Fan for Throwing Vape at Him on Stage in Brooklyn: ‘You Got Some Real Life Evaluating to Do’

Another tour, another fan baffling everyone by throwing something directly at the performer on stage. Thursday night (July 20), Drake had to address a concertgoer who made the very questionable decision to toss a vape at him from the crowd at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

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The venue posted a video clip of the unfortunate moment on its social media channels the day after the show, along with a warning in the caption: “Reminder: You cannot vape at Barclays Center.”

“Did you throw a vape up here? Come on,” Drake said at the show, upon seeing the item on the ground by his feet.

He gave a disapproving look at the audience and asked, “Hey … Who threw this? Who threw the vape?”

“There’s no way you’re taking life seriously if you think I’m gonna pick this vape up and vape with you at the f—ing Barclays Center,” Drake scolded.

“You got some real life evaluating to do,” said Drake, taking a closer look at it and continuing, “throwing this f—ing lemon mint vape up here, thinking I’m about to vape with you at the Barclays.”

Sadly, this isn’t the first time Drake has had something thrown at him at a concert this month. He was hit in the arm by a cell phone on the opening night of his All a Blur Tour with 21 Savage in Chicago, though he didn’t comment on the incident from the stage that night.

Out of line audience members throwing things at the artists they’ve come to see live has become a stupid, dangerous trend in recent months. In just June and July: Bebe Rexha was injured when a cell phone was hurled at her face, a fan tossed her dead mother’s ashes up onto P!nk’s stage, Kelsea Ballerini was struck by an object mid-song, someone sent a sex toy flying at Lil Nas X, a mysterious object pelted Harry Styles near the eye and left him wincing in pain, and Latto threatened “Throw it again, I’mma beat your ass” when a fan flung something at her.

When Taylor Swift walked offstage to wave at screaming fans in the obstructed view stands at the end of a recent show, she had to cover her face and dodge friendship bracelets being thrown at her.

See Drake’s reaction to an electronic cigarette being thrown his way in the video below.

22 Jul 2023

YNW Melly Murder Trial Ends in Mistrial after Jury Deadlocks

A deadlocked jury prompted a mistrial Saturday (July 22) in the South Florida trial of rapper YNW Melly on charges that he murdered two of his friends five years ago.

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The 12-member panel could not reach a unanimous verdict after three days of deliberations. Broward County prosecutors, who had been seeking the death penalty, will likely choose to retry the case with a new jury. A unanimous verdict is required to convict or acquit a defendant.

Broward Circuit Judge John Murphy twice asked the jurors to keep deliberating after they said they were deadlocked, but relented after they came back a third time.

Prosecutors say YNW Melly, whose legal name is Jamell Demons, shot Anthony Williams and Christopher Thomas Jr. while they were all inside a Jeep. Williams and Thomas were both part of the YNW collective, known respectively as YNW Sakchaser and YNW Juvy.

Prosecutors said the shooting was part of a gang action, while defense attorneys said that claim lacks credibility because Demons and the victims were close friends.

According to prosecutors, Demons, Williams and Thomas were riding in a Jeep driven by Cortland Henry, known as YNW Bortlen, after a recording session in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 26, 2018. They say Demons fatally shot Williams and Thomas. Henry is charged as an accomplice in the case and will be tried separately.

After killing Williams and Thomas, prosecutors said Demons and Henry drove the bodies to an area near the Everglades, where they shot at the back and passenger sides of Henry’s Jeep from the outside to make it look like Williams and Thomas had been the victims of a drive-by shooting.

But prosecutors say ballistics tests show the pair were shot from inside the Jeep.

Defense lawyers focused on the fact that the gun was never recovered. They also told jurors that YNW Melly had no apparent motive for the crime.

YNW Melly had his breakout in 2017 and went on to work with Kanye West on “Mixed Personalities,” which was released in January 2019, a month before Demons, 24, was arrested on murder charges.

22 Jul 2023

Jason Aldean Addresses ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Controversy at Cincinnati Concert

Jason Aldean addressed the backlash of his new song “Try That in a Small Town” during his Ohio concert on Friday (July 21).

The 46-year-old country star took a moment during his Highway Desperado Tour stop at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center to reflect on the recent controversy that erupted surrounding the track and its corresponding music video. Many have called the lyrics and imagery racist and anti-protest.

“It’s been a long week and I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that,” Aldean told the crowd in a fan-captured video. “I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to, it doesn’t mean it’s true.”

He added, “What I am is a proud American. I’m proud to be from here. I love our country. I want to see it restored to what it once was before all this bulls— started happening to us. I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now.”

Aldean’s words were met by roaring cheers from the audience and a chant of “USA! USA!”

Earlier this week, a CMT representative confirmed to Billboard that the outlet had pulled the video for “Try That in a Small Town” after playing it for three days, but did not comment further. The controversial clip features footage of an American flag burning, protesters having confrontations with police, looters breaking a display case and thieves robbing a convenience store.

After releasing a statement on Tuesday (July 18) in response to claims that “Try That in a Small Town” is pro-gun, pro-violence and a “modern lynching song,” Aldean further expanded on the backlash from the stage during his Cincinnati show.

“You guys know how it is this day and age, cancel culture is a thing. If people don’t like what you say, they try to make sure that they can cancel you, which means try and ruin your life, ruin everything,” the singer told audience members. “One thing I saw this week was a bunch of country music fans that can see through a lot of the bulls—. I saw country music fans rally like I’ve never seen before and it was pretty bada– to watch. Thank you guys so much.”

Prior to performing “Try That in a Small Town,” Aldean noted that many people had asked him whether he’d be performing the song live.

“I said, ‘You know, people that come to my shows, you guys know what I’m about. You know what I stand for.’ I never shied away from that at all,” he said. “You have the same values, the same principles that I have, which is we we want to take our kids to a movie and not worry about some a–hole coming in there shooting up the theater, right? So when somebody asked me, ‘Hey man, do you think you’re going to play the song tonight?’ The answer is simple. The people have spoken and you guys spoke very, very loudly this week.”

Watch Aldean address the “Try That in a Small Town” backlash on Twitter below.