Music

01 Jun 2023

The Weeknd, Madonna & Playboi Carti Come Together on ‘Popular’ Track: Stream It Now

Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye recruits the original pop idol Madonna and Playboi Carti for their new single “Popular,” which dropped Friday (June 2).

The single arrives ahead of The Idol Vol. 1 soundtrack, which is now available for pre-order here, as well as the Sam Levinson-directed HBO series, which is set to premiere this Sunday, June 4. “Popular” joins the soundtrack’s Future-assisted lead single “Double Fantasy,” which Tesfaye first performed during Metro Boomin‘s Coachella set before officially releasing it on April 21. The song peaked at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In the month leading up to the release of “Popular,” Tesfaye posted a photo of Madonna on his Instagram account with a burning heart emoji. Then he properly teased the song while walking alongside his Idol castmates — including Lily-Rose Depp, BLACKPINK‘s Jennie, Troye Sivan, Moses Sumney and more — on the red carpet at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where the controversy-stirring series received a five-minute standing ovation. Tesfaye then confirmed fan theories that he and Carti had collaborated by posting a screenshot of their FaceTime call on Twitter.

“Popular” marks the first time Tesfaye has worked with Madonna and Carti, and it also marks both Madonna and Carti’s first musical releases of 2023. And while his headline-making TV series will officially premiere this weekend, he is also embarking on the second, European and Latin American leg of his After Hours Til Dawn Tour, which officially starts next Tuesday, June 6 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Listen to “Popular” below.

01 Jun 2023

How Kelly Clarkson Went From Singing About Steve Martin to His Unlikely Banjo Cameo on ‘I Hate Love’: Exclusive

While ruminating on her nearly 10-year marriage and recent divorce for her new album, Kelly Clarkson turned to a pair of 2000s-era films to illustrate the difference between idealistic young love and oft-messy adult relationships.

“I hate love, and The Notebook lied,” she sings on the cheeky “I Hate Love,” the latest release from her 10th studio album Chemistry, out June 23. “It’s Complicated is more like what happens, so you can keep Gosling and I’ll take Steve Martin.”

“I feel like both exist,” Clarkson tells Billboard of the love stories from the 2004 Nicholas Sparks-based epic, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams, and the 2009 Nancy Meyers rom-com, starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin — which she calls one of her “favorite movies.” “One is the beginning, when everything is bright and shiny, and It’s Complicated is more the reality,” says Clarkson, who pointed to the tug-of-war Streep’s character goes through with Baldwin’s philandering ex-husband (“She goes back, and she’s like, ‘Why am I doing this?’ ”) and Martin’s affable architect (“This is what you should be looking for and what you do deserve”).

Clarkson’s cinematic inspiration didn’t just impact the song’s lyrics: It also led to an unexpected instrumental cameo. While writing much of the new project in the early days of the pandemic, Clarkson had been watching Martin play his banjo in livestream videos to keep fans entertained during lockdown. She went to “I Hate Love” producer Jesse Shatkin with an idea: Let’s take this lyrical reference a step further and add Martin’s banjo to the anti-love song. “I was like, ‘I know that sounds crazy,’ ” Clarkson recalls. “Jesse was like, ‘I think it sounds rad.’ ”

Shatkin tells Billboard, “Within one or two connections, Kelly can get in touch with anybody” — and she had Martin locked in with one email. “I generally don’t ask because I get very nervous about bothering people,” Clarkson recalls, “but literally, within hours, I got an answer: ‘Oh my God, he’d love to, when are you recording it?’ ” Shatkin ventured to Martin’s house to record his part and encountered a very professional musician, as opposed to the frequent Saturday Night Live guest and film star he’d grown up with (“He did not do any stand-up for us,” Shatkin laughs). “We ultimately went in to do something that could have taken 15 minutes, and we spent a couple hours just kind of jamming on the song,” Shatkin recalls. “He was really, really amazing at banjo but also really, really cared about getting it right.”

The result, as Clarkson describes it, is “a pop-punk song with this really rock’n’roll banjo part.” Shatkin recalls Clarkson’s team wondering aloud during the making of the song: “Could banjo be on the radio?” That remains to be seen — but perhaps Martin could make his first return to the Billboard Hot 100 since the 1970s, when his “King Tut” (billed to Steve Martin and The Toot Uncommons) was a top 20 hit on the chart. “I just love the idea of things happening organically,” Clarkson says of the circuitous route she took to collaborating with Martin. “So many things had to happen in order for that to occur.”

For her part, Clarkson still hasn’t met Martin, but she’s hoping she can lure him to her Emmy-winning The Kelly Clarkson Show now that their song is out in the world. “My ideal moment is him coming on my show and then us performing it — but I’ll take just him coming on my show so we can talk and hang out so I can, like, meet him.”

A version of this article will appear in the June 3, 2023, issue of Billboard.

01 Jun 2023

Latto and Cardi B Join Forces for ‘Put It On Da Floor’ Remix: Stream It Now

Latto is putting it on the floor (again), and bringing Cardi B along for the ride.

After quite literally ripping Cardi out of plastic in a video posted to Instagram on Wednesday (May 31), Latto used the opening line of her bouncy single “Put It On Da Floor” to announce a revamped remix with the “Bodak Yellow” rapper that dropped at midnight (June 2).

Following its April 20 release, the original track amassed over 100k video creations on TikTok, and came as a follow up to Latto’s pop-centric “Lottery.” Now back in her rap bag, the Atlanta-made wordsmith is off to a good start, enlisting Cardi for what may become the song of the summer.

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While some fans attribute the choice to Latto’s recent beef with Cardi’s arch nemesis Nicki Minaj, the “WAP” rapper has proven to be a no-brainer feature, most recently catapulting GloRilla’s “Tomorrow 2,” the single exploding thanks to Cardi’s iconic verse.

“Big Latto Big Bardi ISSA REAL BTCH PARTY!!!” Latto wrote on an Instagram post sharing the single’s cover art which shows a denim-clad Cardi and Latto striking a handful of playful poses, donning matching blonde hairdos.

Latto has had quite the year, being honored as Billboard’s Women In Music Powerhouse, launching her 777 Radio podcast with Apple Music and putting on an acclaimed set at Coachella in April, creative directed by Teyana Taylor. Latto was also nominated for best new artist at the 2023 Grammy Awards and hopped on a few remixes herself, including Tia Corinne’s “Freaky T” and Mello Buckzz’s “Boom Pt. 2.”

Stream “Put It On Da Floor Again” here:

01 Jun 2023

Lewis Capaldi’s ‘Broken’ Bows In Top 10 Billboard’s Album Sales Chart

Lewis Capaldi claims his first top 10-charting effort on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated June 3) as his second studio album, Broken By Desire to Be Heavenly Sent, debuts at No. 4 with his best sales week ever — 20,000 copies sold in the United States in the week ending May 25, according to Luminate.

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Capaldi’s first studio album, Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent, saw its largest sales week in its opening frame, when it sold about 3,500 copies (bowing and peaking at No. 26 on the June 1, 2019-dated chart).

Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Dave Matthews Band notches its eighth No. 1 with the chart-topping bow of Walk Around the Moon, Ghost’s five-song covers set Phantomime enters at No. 2, SZA’s SOS re-enters at No. 3 after its physical release on CD and vinyl, Sleep Token’s Take Me Back to Eden bows at No. 6, (G)I-DLE’s I Feel starts at No. 7 and Def Leppard’s Drastic Symphonies, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, rocks in at No. 8.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of Broken By Desire…’s 20,000 sold, physical sales comprise 15,000 (8,000 on CD, 7,000 on vinyl) and digital download sales comprise 5,000. The set’s first-week sales were supported by its availability across multiple vinyl LPs (including exclusive color variants for Target, independent record stores, Spotify and the artist’s official webstore; as well as a signed vinyl sold through the artist’s webstore), four CD editions (including a Target-exclusive with two bonus tracks, a signed edition sold in his webstore and an Amazon-exclusive variant with an alternative cover), and an iTunes Store-exclusive digital album with two bonus tracks.

Dave Matthews Band’s Walk Around the Moon lands at No. 1 on Top Album Sales, marking the eighth chart-topper for the group. It launches with 40,000 copies sold. The album’s sales were bolstered by its availability across multiple vinyl variants, including exclusive color variants for the band’s fan club, Barnes & Noble, independent record stores and Target.

Ghost’s five-song covers project Phantomime bows at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 34,000 copies sold, supported by its availability across multiple vinyl variants (resulting in 16,500 copies sold on the format – the week’s second-largest selling album on vinyl).

SZA’s SOS, released in December, re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 3 – its first week in the top 10 – following the set’s debut on physical formats (CD and vinyl). It surges back onto the chart with 29,000 copies sold across all of its retail formats. The bulk of that figure comprises vinyl LPs – with 25,000 copies sold on vinyl, marking the largest sales week on vinyl in 2023 for an R&B/hip-hop album. It debuts at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.

SEVENTEEN’s former No. 1 SEVENTEEN 10th Mini Album: FML rises 6-5 with a little over 16,000 copies sold (up 2%). Sleep Token’s Take Me Back to Eden debuts at No. 6 with 16,000. (G)I-DLE’s I Feel bows at No. 7 with 16,000, while Def Leppard’s Drastic Symphonies, with the Philharmonic Orchestra, starts at No. 8 with 15,000 sold.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Awesome Mix Vol. 3 soundtrack falls 5-9 with 12,000 (down 37%) and Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights dips 8-10 with 12,000 (down 5%).

In the week ending May 25, there were 1.795 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 1% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.436 million (down 0.8%) and digital albums comprised 359,000 (up 8.6%).

There were 625,000 CD albums sold in the week ending May 25 (up 0.9% week-over-week) and 799,000 vinyl albums sold (down 2.2%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 13.918 million (up 4.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 19.588 million (up 25.8%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 41.127 million (up 9.3% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 33.726 million (up 15.8%) and digital album sales total 7.402 million (down 12.8%).

01 Jun 2023

Madison Beer Announces Sophomore Album ‘Silence Between Songs’

After much anticipation from fans over the past few months, Madison Beer took to Instagram on Thursday (June 1) to confirm that her sophomore album, Silence Between Songs, will be arriving on September 15.

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“i can’t believe i’m finally saying this, tears in my eyes trying to articulate how i feel,” she wrote in the caption, alongside a photo of the singer in a white dress, leaning against a teal-colored wall and gazing off camera. “the closer it gets, the more we’ll talk about it, but i am just so excited to release this record. i’m so excited for it to be yours. i’ll find more words soon…,, :’) for now… SEPTEMBER 15TH!!!!!!!”

The album’s next single, “Home to Another One,” and its out-of-this-world music video, will be arriving on Friday (June 2). See her Silence Between Songs announcement here.

Beer dropped her debut studio album, Life Support, back in Feb. 2021, which featured viral hits like “Baby,” “Good in Goodbye” and “Boys—.” The singer also released a memoir titled The Half of It in April. When discussing the book reveal in an interview with People, she opened up about working on her upcoming sophomore project.

“I am so excited for this next album which will be coming soon,” she teased. “Music has always been my first love; it’s what lead me to this memoir and what drives me daily. I am really excited for what is next with my music this year.”

01 Jun 2023

Burna Boy Is ‘Sittin’ on Top of the World’ in New Song & Music Video: Watch

Burna Boy is back with the new summer anthem “Sittin’ on Top of the World,” which he released Thursday (June 1) via Atlantic Records.

The African Giant makes a triumphant return nearly a year after he released his sixth studio album Love, Damini on July 8, 2022, which peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 and received a 2023 Grammy nomination for best global music album. And after his hit single “Last Last” soundtracked all of last summer, “Sittin’ on Top of the World” aims to do the same for the summer of 2023. Much like “Last Last,” which contains a sample of Toni Braxton‘s 2000 track “He Wasn’t Man Enough,” “Sittin’ on Top of the World” has its own hint of nostalgia: The song features a sample of Brandy‘s 1998 song “Top of the World,” featuring Mase. Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III and LaShawn Daniels have writing credits on Brandy’s “Top of the World” as well as Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough” and therefore have earned credits on Burna’s “Last Last” and “Sittin’ on Top of the World” records.

In the accompanying visual, Burna is seen standing on top of a floating platform at one of his shows during his Love, Damini Tour, and from there, fans follow his journey across the globe, including red-carpet pit stops (like one before the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, where he closed out the show), long walks to private jets, greetings with famous friends from J Balvin to Damson Idris, performances, club appearances and much more.

Burna will perform “Sittin’ on Top of the World” live at his sold-out London Stadium stop on Saturday, June 3. The superstar will make history at his July 8 show at NYC’s Citi Field when he will become the first Nigerian artist to headline a U.S. stadium.

Watch the “Sittin’ on Top of the World” music video below.

01 Jun 2023

Linkin Park’s ‘Numb’ Video Surpasses 2 Billion YouTube Views

It’s been 20 years since Linkin Park rocked the music world with their 2003 hit “Numb,” and this week, the emotionally charged music video hit 2 billion views on YouTube. It’s the band’s first clip to achieve the impressive milestone.

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The “Numb” music video hit one billion views back in 2018, a year after fans launched an unofficial campaign following the death of frontman Chester Bennington on July 20, 2017, to help push the video to the one billion view mark.

The song was Linkin Park’s third single off their 2003 sophomore album, Meteora. “Numb” topped Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart, as did other enduring hits from the project, including “Breaking the Habit,” “Faint,” “Somewhere I Belong” and “Lying From You.”

The album got a 20th Anniversary Edition release back in April, featuring multiple previously unreleased songs, in addition to demos, live shows, B-sides and previously unaired footage with the band.

Watch Linkin Park’s “Numb” music video below.

01 Jun 2023

Beyoncé Gives Her Sunglasses Back to a Fan After Security Tried to Take Them Away

Beyoncé‘s got her fans’ backs. TikToker Global Valentino documented an iconic moment during the superstar’s show this week at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, in which she threw him the sunglasses she was wearing.

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Valentino, who was in the front row, showed the moment in which Bey hilariously checked the brand before tossing him the Off-White glasses during her “Diva” performance. However, security intervened after the social media user seemed to have gotten in a small altercation with a nearby fan who also caught the glasses at the same time.

“When [the sunglasses] were thrown, initially my friend Khalid caught them, but there was a girl next to him who, I think, might have also caught them,” Valentino told Buzzfeed of the incident. “The girl who tried to snatch the glasses away from my friend called security over. She was really just on the side of, ‘If I’m not gonna have them, no one will.’”

But fear not! Bey came by later in the show during “Heated” and tossed Global Valentino the glasses once more. Valentino was told that the sleek, futuristic looking shades are estimated to be worth around $53,000.

The star’s Renaissance tour will make its long-awaited touchdown in the United States on July 12, starting with Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field and making stops in Chicago, East Rutherford, N.J., Atlanta, Houston and more before concluding Sept. 27 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Watch the whole sunglasses situation via TikTok below.

01 Jun 2023

Watch BLACKPINK’s Jennie Show Off What’s Inside Her Many Chanel Bags

As a member of BLACKPINK — and a cast member on The Weeknd’s upcoming HBO show The Idol — Jennie has to keep a series of items with her at all times. So the K-pop star sat down with Vogue Japan in a Thursday (June 1) video to discuss what’s in her bag.

“I’m in the middle of our tour right now, so I require a lot of stuff in my bag because I’m always traveling,” she explained, pulling out her cell phone, a hair tie and Apple Airpods. “I listen to meditating music when I travel in cars or in airplanes — just plug it in and zone out.”

Jennie pulled out multiple Chanel pouches from her Chanel bags and realized that she often has a tendency to carry more items than necessary, just in case. “I’m like a mom when it comes to bags. I think moms always have everything ’emergency’ in their bags when they go out with their children, so I’m like a mom to myself,” she said, later pulling out a hair claw clip, a cat pouch, mirror and adhesive bandages for a cut she has on her face.

The 27-year-old has been traveling back and forth recently, performing concert dates on BLACKPINK’s Born Pink World tour and promoting The Idol in Cannes.

Speaking of her role on the television show, Jennie said, “It definitely was a challenge, because I’ve never experienced anything like that before. It was like, breaking a wall for me,” she told Women’s Wear Daily. “[Lily-Rose Depp] really helped me a lot. Telling me about scenes, and it was very comforting to have her there. She just taught me to express myself and be comfortable with myself, to not be scared.”

“The fact that it was about the music industry fascinated me, and I thought I could bring something to the role,” the K-pop star continued. “It was an opportunity to just be myself and be brave. I didn’t really train for it, or prep anything. Sam wanted me to just be myself.”

Watch Jennie show off what’s in her bag in the video above.

01 Jun 2023

Jared Leto Sings BTS, Lil Nas X & More in ‘Song Association’ Challenge

Thirty Seconds to Mars‘ Jared Leto is the latest celebrity to take part in Elle’s popular song association challenge and he showed off his eclectic music taste, which blended old classics and modern hits.

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With 10 seconds to think of and sing a lyric featuring a key word, Leto started off strong by associating the world “please” to the Beatles’ 1965 hit, “Help!” He then breezed through Eddie Murphy’s “Party All the Time” for “party,” Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly” for the word “good,” When In Rome’s “The Promise” for the world “promise,” Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” for “ride” and many more.

Leto even threw in a few Thirty Seconds to Mars songs, opting to sing “A Beautiful Life” for the word “beautiful,” “The Kill” for “free” and “Stuck” for the word “stuck.”

“My brother and I started working right when COVID began,” he recalled. “It was an album that was originally born into COVID and ‘Stuck’ started off as a song about being stuck in a certain part of your life […] then ultimately, that liberation that comes along with breaking out of that period.”

He also proved that he loves BTS, immediately diving into the group’s Hot 100 chart topper “Dynamite” for the word “dynamite.” “BTS, baby, come on!” the rocker exclaimed after singing the chorus. “Got to give it to my boys. We go back.”

He continued, “I think I introduced them at their first award show,” before jokingly adding, “I’m going to pretend even if it’s not true. Now, it’s on my gravestone. BTS, I was there for you.”

Leto’s final “Song Association” score was an impressive 13 out of 15. Watch the whole clip below.