Music

08 May 2023

Thirty Seconds to Mars Announces New Album, Unveils Lead Single ‘Stuck’

Thirty Seconds to Mars is back. The group, consisting of brothers Shannon and Jared Leto, revealed on Monday (May 8) that their upcoming sixth studio album, It’s the End of the World But It’s a Beautiful Day, is set for release this September via Concord Records.

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To celebrate the announcement, the band unveiled the album’s lead single, a powerful, high-energy track called “Stuck.” The accompanying, Jared-directed music video is inspired by the human form and combines high fashion with art for a sleek, minimalistic result.

“Thanks to my incredibly creative mother, my brother and I were instilled with a love for art and photography from a very young age,” Jared said in a press statement. “The video for ‘Stuck,’ our first new song in five years, is a love letter to some of my favorite photographers. Artists who made a very deep impact on me like Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Robert Mapplethorpe, Diane Arbus, Herb Ritts and more. Artists whose work changed the way I saw things and showed me new possibilities at every turn.”

“Stuck” marks Thirty Seconds to Mars’ first new music in five years, and It’s the End of the World follows the group’s 2018 album, America. Later this month, Thirty Seconds to Mars will be taking the main stage at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend and, in August, the band will be making their return to Lollapalooza for the first time since 2006. They’re also set to perform at When We Were Young Festival in Las Vegas in October.

Watch the “Stuck” music video below.

08 May 2023

Grupo Frontera & Bad Bunny’s ‘Un x100to’ Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard Global Charts

Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “Un x100to” adds a second week at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated May 13). A week earlier, it became the first leader on each list for Grupo Frontera and the second for Bad Bunny.

Meanwhile, Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid” becomes the group’s first top five Global 200 hit, jumping 8-5.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

‘100’ No. 1 Again on Global 200

Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “Un x100to” notches a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200, with 99.5 million streams (down 10%) and 3,000 sold (down 28%) worldwide April 28-May 4.

Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” keeps at No. 2 on the Global 200, two weeks after it hit No. 1, and Yng Lvcas and Peso Pluma’s “La Bebe” holds at its No. 3 best. Thanks to “Un x100to,” “Ella Baila Sola” and “La Bebe,” regional Mexican (and Spanish-language) songs place at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 simultaneously for a second straight week, a triple that had not previously been achieved until a week ago.

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” is steady at No. 4 on the Global 200, after 12 weeks on top in January-April.

Rounding out the Global 200’s top five, South Korea’s Fifty Fifty reaches the region for the first time as its breakthrough hit “Cupid” soars 8-5, bounding by 38% to 77.7 million streams and 54% to 4,000 sold globally.

The quartet – Aran, Keena, Saena and Sio – becomes the third K-pop group to have hit the Global 200’s top five, joining BTS (eight top five hits) and BLACKPINK (three).

Meanwhile, “Cupid” sparks history on the Official U.K. Singles chart: It surges 18-9, making Fifty Fifty, formed last year by South Korean entertainment agency ATTRAKT, the first all-female K-pop group to have hit the tally’s top 10.

Grupo Frontera & Bad Bunny Hold Atop Global Excl. U.S.

Grupo Frontera and Bad Bunny’s “Un x100to” concurrently crowns the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for a second week, led by 75.4 million streams (down 8%) outside the U.S. April 28-May 4.

Peso Pluma ranks at Nos. 2 and 3 on Global Excl. U.S.: “La Bebe,” with Yng Lvcas, rebounds to its No. 2 high, from No. 3, and “Ella Baila Sola,” with Eslabon Armado, dips to No. 3, from its No. 2 best.

As on the Global 200, thanks to “Un x100to,” “La Bebe” and “Ella Baila Sola,” regional Mexican (and Spanish-language) songs rank at Nos. 1-3 on Global Excl. U.S. simultaneously for a second straight week, likewise the only two such frames in the chart’s history so far.

YOASOBI’s “Idol” climbs 5-4 for a new Global Excl. U.S. high and Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” falls 4-5, following a record-tying (with Harry Styles’ “As It Was”) 13 weeks at No. 1 beginning upon its debut in January.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated May 13, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (May 9). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

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.

08 May 2023

Nick Cannon Reveals His Huge Annual Salary to Shoot Down ‘Deadbeat Dad’ Allegations

Nick Cannon clapped back at the haters calling him a bad dad in a new interview published on Sunday (May 7) by sharing his yearly salary.

“I’ve been villianized,” he said in a sit-down with The Los Angeles Times regarding his decision to have 12 kids with six different women, including five new additions in the last year. “I hear all the time: ‘You can’t be present for all those children.’ So therefore I get this deadbeat dad title.”

The host of The Masked Singer used the interview to address a report from last fall that he pays $3 million in child support each year. “That’s not a lot of money. When you think about my lifestyle, I have to generate at least $100 million a year,” he countered, before confirming to the paper he brings in $100 million annually. “Everybody thinks Ryan Seacrest has tons of money. I do everything that he does times 10. Well, not times 10 — times three. Because he does a lot.”

Elsewhere during the chat, Cannon also maintained that part of the reason he fathered so many kids in the past year was due to his people-pleasing personality. He said of his partners, “A lot of them are in the same age group” and added, “I just wanted to give them what they desired. I kept saying, ‘I can handle it.’”

Though Cannon is currently juggling multiple projects including The Masked Singer, Wild ‘n Out and his new AMP radio show The Daily Cannon, he’s currently stepping in to guest host FOX’s Beat Shazam while his close pal Jamie Foxx recovers from his recent hospitalization.

08 May 2023

Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ Rules Billboard 200 for Ninth Week

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time continues to lead the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated May 13) for a ninth consecutive, and total, week on top. The set earned 138,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending May 4 (down 8%), according to Luminate. The album bowed at No. 1 on the chart dated March 18 and has yet to depart the top slot.

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The last album to spend nine weeks in a row at No. 1 was Wallen’s last release, Dangerous: The Double Album, which spent its first 10 weeks at No. 1 (its total run atop the list), from the Jan. 23-March 27, 2021-dated charts.

Meanwhile, thanks to extended runs at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in recent months by both One Thing at a Time and SZA’s SOS, there have only been four No. 1 albums in the 21 weeks since the Dec. 24, 2022-dated list.

For the seven weeks from the Dec. 24, 2022, through Feb. 4 charts, SOS was No. 1. Then, on the Feb. 11, 2023 chart, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation debuted at No. 1 and spent one week on top. SOS returned to No. 1 for three weeks (Feb. 18-March 3) and then Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito debuted at No. 1 and spent one week in the lead (March 11). From March 18 onwards, One Thing at a Time has been No. 1.

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, SEVENTEEN, Eslabon Armado and Jack Harlow all see their latest releases debut.

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 May 13, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 9. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 138,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 13, SEA units comprise 130,000 (down 8%, equaling 174.18 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 5,500 (down 7%) and TEA units comprise 2,500 (down 10%).

SEVENTEEN notches its highest charting album yet on the Billboard 200, as 10th Mini Album FML debuts at No. 2. It’s the third top 10, all earned consecutively, for the 13-member Korean pop ensemble. The set bows with 135,000 equivalent album units earned, of which album sales comprise 132,000 (it’s the top-selling album of the week, with the fourth-largest sales week of 2023), SEA units comprise 3,000 (equaling 4.36 million on-demand official streams of the set’s six tracks) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of FML was issued in collectible CD packages (14 total, including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target and the Weverse webstore), each containing a standard set of items and randomized elements (postcards, mini posters, bookmarks and stickers). It was also available as a standard digital download album, as well as via 17 digital download variants that were sold exclusively through the act’s official webstore, each with alternate cover art. Four of them have two bonus tracks — one instrumental track and a voice memo from certain group members — that are different on each album. The remaining 13 alternate digital albums all have the album’s standard tracklist, just with a different cover (one for each of the group members). Of FML’s first-week album sales, 98% were CDs, while the remaining 2% were digital album downloads. The set was not available in any other retail format (such as vinyl or cassette).

Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights rises 4-3 on the Billboard 200 with 57,000 equivalent album units (though down 7%), while SOS climbs 6-4 (56,000; down 5%) and Dangerous skips 7-5 (47,000; down 2%).

Eslabon Armado’s Desvelado debuts at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, making it the highest charting regional Mexican album ever on the list. It’s only the second regional Mexican set to reach the top 10, following the act’s No. 9 debut and peak of Nostalgia on the May 21, 2022-dated list. (Regional Mexican albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums chart.)

Desvelado bows with 44,000 equivalent album units earned, with 43,500 of that sum in SEA units (equaling 63.51 million on-demand streams of the set’s 16 tracks) and album sales and TEA units comprise the remaining 500 units.

The album contains the hit single “Ella Baila Sola,” a co-billed collaboration with Peso Pluma, which ranked at No. 4 on the most recently published all-genre Billboard Hot 100 songs chart (dated May 6). The track — which initially garnered notoriety because of its popularity on TikTok — marks the first regional Mexican song to reach the top 10 on the Hot 100.

Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old bumps 8-7 on the Billboard 200 with 37,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%).

Jack Harlow achieves his third top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200 albums chart as Jackman. enters at No. 8. The set starts with 35,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 33,500 (equaling 43.37 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 10 tracks), album sales comprise 1,500 and TEA units comprise 500.

Jackman. was released with little warning, as it was announced on April 25, just before its April 28 release.

Two former No. 1s round out the top 10 on the new Billboard 200, as Metro Boomin’ Heroes & Villains is a non-mover at No. 9 (34,500 units; down 6%) and Swift’s Lover is stationary at No. 10 (just over 34,000; down 5%).

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.

08 May 2023

Aaron Dessner & Matty Healy Gave Surprise Performances at Taylor Swift’s Nashville Eras Tour Shows

Even though Nashville Swifties faced a downpour of literal midnight rain over the weekend, they still got to enjoy some of the best surprises to come out of Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour yet. In addition to witnessing the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) announcement in person — and not to mention the first ever live performance of the pop star’s “Nothing New” duet with Phoebe Bridgers — fans at the trio of Nissan Stadium shows also got to see a pair of very special guests, Aaron Dessner and The 1975’s Matty Healy.

Healy made his appearance during Saturday night’s (May 6) concert, joining Bridgers on stage during her opening set. He was spotted wearing the “Motion Sickness” singer’s signature band gear — a full-body skeleton suit — and played guitar alongside the rest of Bridgers’ backup musicians. The two stars have performed together in the past, and Bridgers made a cameo in The 1975’s “I’m In Love With You” music video in September.

This came one day after the “Somebody Else” singer was seen watching the first Nashville show from a VIP tent on Friday (May 5), something that some fans took as confirmation of recent rumors that Healy and Swift are dating. The speculation started shortly after multiple publications reported in April that the “Anti-Hero” singer split from Joe Alwyn, her boyfriend of six years

But that’s not all. Following delays caused by massive storms in the area, Swifties were treated late Sunday night (May 7) to one of the most coveted surprise songs — “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” during which Swift brought out co-writer Aaron Dessner to help perform. “It’s one of our favorite songs we’ve done together,” she said as she introduced the track, the National musician standing at her side. “We hear you guys request to play this song all the time, so we figured we’d wait for a really special moment to play it. And you guys have earned it.”

See clips of Swift’s Nashville Eras Tour surprises below:

08 May 2023

Alicia Keys Talks Bringing ‘Magic’ to ‘If I Ain’t Got You’ With All-Female Orchestral Cover: ‘This Is What Our Ancestors Never Experienced’

When Bridgerton first hit Netflix back in 2020, it captivated audiences not only with its stunning Regency-era visuals and romantic storylines, but also with its gorgeous orchestral covers of pop songs that seamlessly connected the characters to its modern viewers.

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Now, the show’s recently released prequel series, Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, is following in the same musical footsteps by transforming songs from Beyoncé, SZA, Whitney Houston and, most notably, Alicia Keys. The 15-time Grammy-winning superstar’s 2003 hit, “If I Ain’t Got You,” got an orchestral rearrangement from the Vitamin String Quartet for the series’ soundtrack, but Netflix teamed up with Keys for another incredibly special musical moment.

To celebrate Queen Charlotte and the power of women worldwide, Keys brought together more than 70 female musicians from all over the world — from South Africa, Barbados and Germany to Sweden and Egypt — to create a first-of-its-kind global orchestra made up entirely of women of color. Together, the Queen Charlotte’s Global Orchestra delivered a captivating rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You” to celebrate the song’s 20th anniversary.

Queen Charlotte's Global Orchestra, Alicia Keys

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“The entire idea was quite ambitious,” Keys tells Billboard with a laugh, adding that Netflix was excited to take on the challenge and shift the perspective of what an orchestra looks like. “I feel like it’s going to open the minds of many people to realize that women of color belong everywhere and we’ve always been everywhere. It’s magical.”

The final result, shared exclusively with Billboard on Monday (May 8) is equally magical. The instrumentalists are donned in eloquent 1700s-inspired gowns as they deliver sweeping strings, ethereal percussion and grounding horns — all working together to uplift Keys’ honeyed vocals and piano melody. “I know they’re gonna be very emotional when they see it because the women we who were there were extremely emotional,” Keys recalled. “Our conductor [Ofentse Pitse] said, ‘It feels like when we have an orchestra of all women of color from all over the world, that we’re finally doing something right.’ This is what our ancestors never experienced.”

Pitse, a Tshwane, South Africa, native who is the youngest and first Black African woman to conduct and own an orchestra, shares with Billboard that the experience felt “historic” from the very first moment. “I think I knew the importance of it when I was on the airplane, but when I actually got there, it just really changed my perspective of the reason why we are all there. We should not just be the first and only ones to do something like this.”

Pulling together such an inspiring group of women is nothing out of the ordinary for Keys, who has always been a fierce advocate for gender equality, something that she says she learned from her mother. “My mother is definitely a feminist for sure. She raised me, and that desire for equanimity and fairness was really instilled in me, and then I would see how it will come out in my songs,” she says. “I would see it on ‘A Woman’s Worth,’ or ‘Superwoman’ or ‘Girl on Fire,’ and I know that the majority of those songs and feelings have come from needing a boost, needing that extra energy. Those songs, in a lot of ways, were what I wished and hoped to feel. Then, I was thinking of how beautiful this moment was with Queen Charlotte and how it really felt like what’s possible came to life, and it’s possible to create special moment when you pay attention to what’s needed.”

The “No One” singer is bringing that extra energy and even more special moments to her upcoming Keys to the Summer Tour, which is set to stretch across North America this summer. Keys is certainly no stranger to touring, but is entering this upcoming run with a sense of celebration, self-liberation and a whole lot of love. “We’re all after the ability to be liberated, to just feel comfortable in our skin, to be allowed to be who we are. To demand that from ourselves and to practice that is so important,” she says of the upcoming trek, during which she promises to revisit some deep cuts from her extensive discography and “tune back into them.”

Watch the Queen Charlotte’s Global Orchestra rendition of “If I Ain’t Got You” exclusively via Billboard here, and catch Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story over on Netflix.

08 May 2023

Ed Sheeran Performs New ‘Subtract’ Songs in Surprise NY, Dallas and LA Pop-Up Street Gigs

Ed Sheeran had a lot to celebrate this weekend between Friday’s release of his – (Subtract) album and a win in his high-profile “Thinking Out Loud” plagiarism trial last week. Sheeran blew off some steam by debuting songs from the new collection during surprise pop-up shows on the streets of New York, Dallas and Los Angeles.

The street party began in Soho, New York on Friday, when Ed jumped on top of a Volvo to perform half a dozen solo acoustic songs — including “Thinking Out Loud” and his latest single, “Boat” — in the same neighborhood where his limited-time “The Subtract Experience” pop-up shop is located.

In another video, Sheeran manned an ice cream van and handed out some treats to fans in Dallas and performed “Eyes Closed” before kicking off his Mathematics tour at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday night. The weekend also included a pop-up show atop a double-decker tour bus in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. The singer wrapped his big weekend by appearing on Sunday night’s American Idol alongside another guest performer/judge, Alanis Morissette, as fill-ins for panelists Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, who were busy celebrating King Charles III’s coronation.

Sheeran came out on top last week after the family of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” co-writer, Ed Townsend, lost a $100 million case last week in which they claimed that Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” had infringed on the copyright of the Gaye hit.

Watch footage of Sheeran’s New York, Dallas and L.A. surprise shows below.

08 May 2023

UK Taking Hosting 2023 Eurovision Very Seriously

There’s nothing like nearly winning to wake people up. And the U.K.’s second-place position at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest has helped kickstart widespread enthusiasm for 2023’s edition — taking place in Liverpool this week.

Sam Ryder’s “Space Man” restored the nation’s interest last year with his smiling enthusiasm, soaring vocals and great song despite coming on the heels of James Newman in 2021, who received no points at all, and 2019’s Michael Rice, who also came in last.

Normally the winner of the previous contest would host the next one, but that winner was Ukraine, and the ongoing war there has made that impossible. So the U.K., as runnerup, is hosting instead. Singer Rita Ora says Eurovision — the semifinals begin Tuesday (May 9) and the final is Saturday — has received another lease on life in the U.K.

“The Eurovision is suddenly just (becoming) huge again and I’m really here for it,” she said. She’s performing during the interval at a semifinal in Liverpool, but her connection to the event goes back much further: Ora was lined up to represent the U.K. in 2009, but decided not to. After all, until Ryder, competing in Eurovision was no guarantee of a sparkling career for a Brit.

The last time the U.K. won the contest was 1997, thanks to Katrina and the Waves and “Love Shine A Light.” The intervening years have seen five last-place results for the U.K. That could add up to a lot of pressure on this year’s U.K. entry, Mae Muller, but she seems to welcome it.

“The energy feels different,” Muller said.

The London singer-songwriter is representing the U.K. with “I Wrote a Song,” and says Ryder helped change the way people inside and outside the U.K. view its participation in Eurovision.

“I feel like with the U.K., we have the tendency to be quite like self-deprecating,” Muller said. “We don’t take ourselves too seriously and I feel like that might have been like half our problem maybe with Eurovision. And I feel like now we’re like, ‘Let’s take this seriously. Like, let’s do this.’”

Liverpool singer Rebecca Ferguson is performing in her hometown alongside Ukrainian singer Aloysha in a duet during the semifinals interval. Ferguson thinks that the U.K. had become disheartened with the scores, but that being “so close” in 2022 changed things. “The U.K. were like, yeah, OK then … I can get into this,” she said. “We like winning, basically.”

Ukrainian rock star Julia Sánina, the frontwoman of The Hardkiss, is one of this year’s Eurovision hosts and a lifelong fan of the competition. She agrees that the U.K. is taking it more seriously in 2023 “because of Sam Ryder and his musicality.” But in addition to last year’s success, there is added enthusiasm because Liverpool is hosting on behalf of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian entry Kalush Orchestra won in 2022. When the U.K. agreed to host in Ukraine’s place, it promised to celebrate Ukraine’s culture and people in every way. Sánina says she has felt that warm welcome in Liverpool. “Beautiful city, super friendly people. And what was heartwarming for me that I saw lots of Ukrainian flags and Ukrainian blue and yellow colors all over the city,” she said.

After all, the U.K. does like a party. “Eurovision, in my culture and when I grew up, was everything,” Ora said. The Kosovo-born singer grew up with Albanian parents in London.

“It was like getting around the TV, all the music, like, ‘Everyone shut up,’ when there’s like a song on. There’s drinks flowing, everyone’s having a good time because it’s like, it was almost like rooting for your country or like where you’re from,” she added.

“It’s just a cool way of everyone getting together,” she said.

08 May 2023

The Lottery Winners Hit the U.K. Chart Jackpot With ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’

The Lottery Winners roll to their first U.K. No. 1 with Anxiety Replacement Therapy (Modern Sky), their fifth studio album.

After leading at the halfway mark, the British four-piece (Thom Rylance, Robert Lally, Katie Lloyd and Joe Singleton) completes a tight finish ahead of new albums by Nines, Jessie Ware and the National, the Official Charts Company reports.

Prior to Anxiety Replacement Therapy, the Lottery Winners had never entered the top 10, and impacted the top 40 just twice — with 2020’s The Lottery Winners (No. 23 peak) and 2021’s Something To Leave The House For (No. 11).

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Anxiety Replacement Therapy is the best-selling title on physical formats and digital downloads, the Official Charts Company reports.

Coming in at No. 2 is Londoner Nines with Crop Circle 2 (Warner Records). It’s his fourth top 5 album, following 2017’s One Foot Out (No. 4), 2018’s Crop Circle (No. 5) and 2020 leader Crabs in a Bucket.

Completing the podium is Jessie Ware’s That Feels Good (EMI). It’s new at No. 3, for the British singer and songwriter’s third top 5 album.

The latest albums survey, published May 5, is stacked with new releases. Among them, U.S. alternative rock outfit the National’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein (4AD). Thanks in part to assists from Taylor Swift, Phoebe Bridgers and Sufjan Stevens, the set opens at No. 4, and leads the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.

Meanwhile, Reverend & the Makers’ Heatwave in the Cold North (Distiller) bows at No. 6, for the Sheffield-formed rock act’s first top 10 appearance in 16 years. That’s just one spot adrift of the band’s 2007 album The State of Things, which peaked at No. 5.

Also enjoying top 10 debuts this week are English artist Freya Ridings’ Blood Orange (Good Soldier), new at No. 7 for her second top tier effort; and punk veterans the Damned’s Darkadelic (Ear Music), new at No. 9, also for the English punk veterans’ second stint in the top frame.

08 May 2023

Fifty Fifty’s ‘Cupid’ Flies Into U.K. History Books

With Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid” soaring into the U.K. top 10, South Korea’s latest pop export snags a slice of U.K. chart history.

On the latest Official U.K. Singles Chart, published May 5, “Cupid” improves 18-9, giving Fifty Fifty honors as the first K-pop girl group to appear in the top 10.

True, BlackPink has smashed various records, and chalked up eight U.K. top 40 appearances along the way.

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In the U.K., however, their best showing on the national singles tally is No. 17 for “Sour Candy” their 2020 collaboration with Lady Gaga. BlackPink does, however, boast a No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart with 2022’s Born Pink, and a No. 2 peak for 2020’s The Album.

Comprising Aran, Keena, Saena and Sio, Fifty Fifty was formed in 2022 by South Korean entertainment agency ATTRAKT.

The track caught fire on TikTok, where it has generated more than 8 million TikTok videos, and views on the short-video platform are at about 12 billion.

As “Cupid” opened its wings and took flight on sales and consumption charts last month, Warner Records/Warner Music Group Korea announced a partnership for the group.

Australians, meanwhile, are officiallysmitten with “Cupid”. The track zooms 6-2 on the latest ARIA Chart, also published last Friday. Blackpink already has its flag planted in the land Down Under; their Born Pink hit “Pink Venom” blasted to No. 1 there last August.