Music

27 Apr 2023

Lindsay Lohan Is All Smiles in Pregnancy Snaps With Friends & Family

Lindsay Lohan is enjoying the “good times” while pregnant. The Just My Luck star took to Instagram on Thursday (April 27) to share a series of happy, smiling photos while showing off her baby bump.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

The photos included selfies in which she’s seen holding her growing stomach, as well as snaps with friends and family from a variety of recent events. “Good times,” she captioned the photo, along with a smiley face and pregnant emoji. “So grateful for all of the wonderful people in my life!”

“So happy for you love!” Paris Hilton — who recently welcomed her first child with husband Carter Reum — commented on the post. Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi also commented in support, writing, “Oh queen you look amazing.”

Lohan revealed last month that she and husband Bader Shammas are expecting their first child. “We are blessed and excited!” she wrote alongside a surprise Instagram photo of a white onesie with the words “Coming Soon …” written on it.

“We are very excited for our new family member to arrive and we are looking forward to this next chapter of our lives,” she later shared in a sweet statement to TMZ. The pregnancy news comes less than a year after Lohan and Shammas tied the knot.

27 Apr 2023

Japan’s Hi-STANDARD Set to Release ‘I’M A RAT’ on Vinyl as Tribute to Late Drummer Akira Tsuneoka

Japanese punk rockers Hi-STANDARD announced that their new single “I’M A RAT,” released digitally April 19, will drop as a 7-inch picture disc via their U.S. label, Fat Wreck Chords.

Originally slated for digital release only, the physical version is a tribute to late drummer Akira Tsuneoka, who died Feb. 14 at the age of 51. All proceeds from the disc will be donated to Tsuneoka’s family.

Fat Mike of NOFX, owner of Fat Wreck Chords, first suggested the new single be released on vinyl to the surviving band members in response to the news of the drummer’s death. “This 7 inch means more to me than anyone can know,” he says. “When NOFX first played with Hi-STANDARD in 1995 in Tokyo, we became lifelong friends. I flew them out to SF in 95 and produced their first album. Then NOFX took them on tour for the next year. We were more than close. Hi-STANDARD are a band that I am truly proud of. What people don’t know is that at one point they were the fucking biggest selling band on Fat Wreck Chords. They are the only FAT band that can sell out STADIUMS!”

“This 7 inch is not about that,” the NOFX frontman continues. “This 7 inch is about the last song Hi-STANDARD ever recorded with their drummer Akira Tsuneoka. What a sweet talented man. He always had a smile on his face, and he was always the first to be in the studio. He was an amazing drummer and he will be missed by all who knew him. I hope you’re hangin out with Bohnam, Barnes, and Moon up in drummer hell! Will never forget you Tsune…. RIP.“

According to the label founder, born Michael Burkett, the picture disc will be “specially designed with the cover art of ‘I’m a Rat’ on the A side and a photo of Akira Tsuneoka printed on the B side.“

27 Apr 2023

Nate Smith on His Debut Album: ‘I Want to Sing Songs That Mean Something’

Burly-voiced vocalist and songwriter Nate Smith is swiftly accumulating career milestones. His debut major label single, “Whiskey on You,” spent two weeks atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, becoming the first multi-week No. 1 debut single on the chart since 2019. He’s nominated for new male vocalist of the year at the upcoming ACM Awards and this weekend he’ll make his first appearance at Indio, California’s Stagecoach Festival.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“This past year has been crazy and a dream come true,” he tells Billboard, seated in an office at the Sony Music Nashville offices, where he shifted to the RCA Nashville imprint after his former Arista Nashville label home folded last month.

But he’s most excited about his self-titled, debut major label album, which comes out Friday (April 28), because he considers it a full-fledged testament to his devotion to writing and finding great songs.

“I want to sing songs that mean something, songs that people can relate to and take hope from,” says Smith, who is managed by The Core Entertainment. “I think of songs I love like Rascal Flatts’ ‘What Hurts the Most,’ and Keith Urban’s ‘Tonight I Wanna Cry.’ Those songs just set the bar.”

Nate Smith offers a hefty mix of heavy-hitter ballads like “I Don’t Miss You” (which Smith calls “the epitome of what I want to hear in a big rock ballad”), uplifting, romantic compositions such as “You Shouldn’t Have To,” and fun fare including “Alright Alright Alright” (inspired by actor Matthew McConaughey’s famous catchphrase in the 1993 movie Dazed and Confused).

“I think my agents have even reached out to [McConaughey’s] team, hoping he will do something with us on it,” Smith says. “It’s a nod to him in a lot of ways—it’s catchy, and people can sing along with it easily.”

As Morgan Wallen continues to top the Billboard charts with back-to-back albums with more than 30 tracks each, Smith’s debut weighs in at 20 tracks. But Smith is already augmenting his album with a deluxe version that also releases on Friday, adding six songs to the mix, because of a last minute addition that he felt passionately about releasing.

“Didn’t you think it would end up just always being singles?” he says, pondering the change in how music is released since the advent of streaming. “And then it moves back to these large albums. I think Morgan [Wallen] pioneered a lot of that.”

Smith wrote 13 of the songs on the 20-track album, and five of the six songs on the deluxe version. One of his co-writes is “Raised Up,” an ode to his small-town roots and growing up, as he sings, “Any time I lose my way, I turned to the way I was raised up.”

“I remember tearing up when we wrote that, because it made me think of home,” Smith says. “Life goes so fast and people get so busy, it’s just a great nod to remembering where you come from.”

But further fueling these songs is Smith’s formidable, rangy and raw vocal power, especially on songs such as the piano-laced “Wreckage” and the HARDY and Taylor Phillips-written “Better Boy.” The latter is among the songs Smith performed when he showcased for country radio professionals during the New Faces Show during March’s Country Radio Seminar. The song offers up an earnest warning to give a relationship a full-hearted effort, and to “never let her think somewhere out there’s a better boy.”

“It’s a miracle that I got that song before anybody else did,” Smith says. “I got the worktape from Taylor. I was listening to it, and it was HARDY singing on it. I felt such a connection to it and they let me cut it.” Growing up in Paradise, Calif., Smith says his interests always slanted toward music rather than sports.

“I went hunting a bit with my dad when I was younger. I tried every sport and I wasn’t good at sports,” Smith says. “I grew up listening to country music, artists like Garth [Brooks] and George Strait, but in junior high and high school, I was more into rock artists like Blink-182.”

At church, he honed his skills by playing worship music on Wednesday nights for his youth group and often favored jam sessions over studying. “In high school, me and my friends would skip school. We knew the secretary in the church and she’d let us sneak in,” he says. “We’d leave school and would be in there jammin’ out. I don’t know how we didn’t get in trouble, but we didn’t.”

Smith moved to Nashville in 2008 and, initially, Smith’s path seemed aligned with contemporary Christian music; he signed a publishing deal with Centricity Music and came close to inking a deal with Word Records. But the soon, the deal fell through, at the time same as Smith was weathering a divorce. The string of obstacles led Smith to return to California in 2011, where he worked as a nursing assistant. But even prior to leaving Nashville, he was already exploring his country roots.

“Before I left Nashville, I made a 10-song album and everyone was like, ‘It sounds kind of country,’” Smith recalls.

In 2018, Smith became one of the 14,000 residences who lost their homes when the Camp Fire raged through Paradise. He poured his pain and perspective into the song “One of These Days,” and was determined to give Nashville another chance. He made a month-long road trip from California to Nashville, playing bars and clubs along the way. Soon after returning to Music City, Smith released the viral track, “Wildfire.” Soon, labels came calling, he signed with Sony Music Nashville and released the radio single “Whiskey on You.”

Another fire-fueled song, “World on Fire,” which Smith wrote with Ashley Gorley, Phillips and Lindsay Rimes in November 2022, led to Smith’s decision to release a deluxe version of his debut album in tandem with the original.

“We weren’t planning on doing a deluxe album at all,” Smith says. “But the demand for ‘World on Fire’ was so high and it was doing so well on socials. We were like, ‘If we add it to the album, it takes away all our pre-saves of the song.’ We could have waited until after the album was done and just dropped it separately, randomly, but opted to include it in a deluxe version. Fans have been asking for this song, so I’m glad to finally release it.”

Later this year, Smith will perform many of his new songs as part of Thomas Rhett’s Home Team Tour 2023, which launches May 4. As much a student of the stage as he is of songs, Smith keeps finding new ways to enhance his live show, and says he paid close attention to when he was previously opening shows for Brett Eldredge.

“It feels like Brett’s never in a rush onstage, in a good way,” Smith says. “His transitions between songs are really powerful, but then when it’s just him and an acoustic, it’s magical. He taught me to realize the importance of moments. Also, he doesn’t rush off the stage — he will thank people and take his time getting offstage. And I do that at every show now, and I completely stole that from Brett.”

Looking ahead, Smith teases an upcoming collaboration with Ashley Cooke, and has his sights set on a Saturday Night Live appearance one day.

“I really want to do it because I love being silly,” Smith says. “I would love to act and be on the show and sing and all that. That would be a dream.”

27 Apr 2023

Punk Icons The Damned Return With ‘Darkadelic,’ Weigh in On Banning Artists With ‘Sh-t Stuff in Their Lives’

Dave Vanian says Darkadelic, the title of the Damned’s new album, is meant to be both evocative and open-ended.

“What is it?” the vocalist and band co-founder muses to Billboard. “Perhaps a box of deluxe chocolates full of delicious and surprisingly delightful flavors, a journey to the id, self-expression or discovery. A dark tale of intrigue heavily laced with noir, romantic Gothic melodrama, a first kiss, a dangerous drug, dark love…. Truly it will represent a myriad of things to the individual and is, as it should be, defining but also undefined.”

Guitarist Captain Sensible (aka Raymond Burns) is more succinct, however. “I’m guessing it means it’s dark and it’s psychedelic,” he says with a laugh.

The Damned’s 12th studio album, and first in five years, was “pretty much finished” before the 2022 reunion tour of the original quartet, who were the first U.K. punk band to release a single (“New Rose” in October 1976) and to tour the U.S. Darkadelic reflects the band’s continuing musical evolution; its usual gothic-flavored drama is intact, but filled with intricate instrumental dynamics and textures — particularly on “Western Promise,” a song with soundscapes that are accented by trumpets and sonic nods to ’80s new romantic fare.

“For me, the only criteria was to have this album driven by more pronounced guitars,” says Vanian. “The album took on its own identity compared to our last (2018’s Evil Spirits). Plus, wanting it to sound sonically inspiring when heard on iPad or phone, a slightly more modern sound, if you will, without effecting or compromising what we do.” Sensible notes that, “We always set out to do something a little bit different. We get bored doing the same thing over and over. The first rule of the Damned is there are no rules.” The direction, he adds, “Wasn’t a conscious decision or anything. We just came together with our own demos and certain tracks got chosen and it did take on a life of its own, as they all do, and that’s the album.”

Sensible says Darkadelic was very much a band effort by the current quintet, with drummer Will Taylor making his first appearance on a Damned album. “We chose the tunes and started bashing them out, all five of us, just being a band,” says Sensible, who describes his long relationship with Vanian as friendly but “quite competitive.” “We were in there making our own holy din for most of the day for, I dunno, two weeks. It got quite hot in there.” But he and Taylor did spend some time working out arrangements for the 12 tracks during sessions with producer Thomas Mitchener (La Roux, the Futureheads) at studios near London.

“We actually sat down and we listened to a few Beatles songs, ’cause the songs were so beautifully arranged on those,” says Sensible. “Ringo (Starr), whatever anybody says about his drumming, I think the guy’s immense. He always did the right thing at the right time. We really arranged the drums for what’s right for the song. There was a lot of brainstorming during those two weeks of laying down the basic tracks.”

Sensible credits “quite a lot of jamming” for the “soundtracky” reach of “Western Skies,” while the first single, “The Invisible Man,” was influenced by an affinity for ’60s garage rock bands such as the Seeds and the Chocolate Watchband. “Follow Me” fuses a modern rockabilly verse with an anthemic chorus, while the explosive “Wake the Dead” came from Vanian and Sensible being 66 and 68 years old, respectively. “We’re of an age now when people you know start kicking the bucket,” the guitarist explains. “I go to funerals more often than I used to. I do dabble in the social networks and you see they played ‘Smash It Up’ at somebody’s funeral or, ‘We played ‘Love Song’ at my dad’s funeral. That was his favorite.’ So I thought, ‘Well, they’re playing these songs ’cause the deceased love the band. Why not write one actually for that purpose?’ So that was the idea, really. It’s a heroic kind of goth song because you’re laughing in the face of mortality. We’re all gonna go, so don’t get depressed about it and overthink it. I always celebrate the life rather than mourn the parting moment…so why not give them a really heroic, ‘F–k the Grim Reaper’ song?”

Also intriguing is the galloping “Leader of the Gang,” a not particularly veiled elegy to disgraced rocker Gary Glitter, who’s back in jail after violating probation conditions related to his child sexual abuse conviction.

“He got caught doing some really sh-t things and spent some time in prison — deservedly so,” Sensible says. “But the thing is the music was absolutely magnificent and so influential. They don’t play his music on the radio anymore in Britain, and for me that’s a shame. His band didn’t do anything wrong, and they can’t get a gig anymore. Do you ban the music or the art? If you ban one person you have to follow that and ban loads of people because some of these creatives have some some pretty sh-t stuff in their lives. [Some of them are] very, very famous people, film directors and politicians… where do you stop?”

After a European tour earlier this year, the Damned come across the pond for a half-dozen U.S. west coast dates starting May 20 in San Francisco before playing New Zealand and Australia during June and the Rebellion Festival in Blackpool, England, in early August. “We haven’t done a lot of gigs with this lineup, so it’s nice things are opening up again,” Sensible says. “Live music’s really taken a hit and a lot of venues didn’t make it. The musicians are just the tip of the iceberg; you don’t see all the support people, the venue staff and the crews and the logistics people. It’s having to revive in a way.”

He’s also amenable to doing more gigs with original bandmates Brian James and Rat Scabies after last fall’s five-show run in the U.K. “They were an absolute revelation, to be quite honest — musically and socially,” Sensible says. “There was a point about 10 years ago when we all stopped slagging each other off; the fact we all made up and like each other again is just incredible to me because it was extremely bitter. (laughs) But we all got on. It was really strange backstage — everyone’s smiling at each other, arms around each other’s shoulders and stuff, really great. So I would love to work with them again, in that or another capacity.”

27 Apr 2023

Jack Black’s ‘Peaches’ Takes ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ From Box Office to Billboard Charts

Among the more unlikely global hitmakers of 2023, Jack Black scores his first entry on the April 29-dated Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, one week after debuting on the Billboard Global 200. “Peaches,” Black’s contribution to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, arrives at No. 91 on the former chart and zooms from No. 106 to No. 48 on the latter.

In the week ending April 20, “Peaches” yielded 18.6 million streams and sold 8,000 downloads worldwide, according to Luminate. Those figures represent a 58% streaming increase and a 10% dip in sales from one week prior.

Concurrently, the original motion picture soundtrack for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which includes “Peaches,” ascends to No. 1 on the U.S.-based Soundtracks chart (9,000 equivalent album units).

“Peaches” was released on April 7, following Mario’s April 5 premiere. In its first week, the song took 70% of its sales and 49% of its streams from the United States. In its second week, those percentages slipped to 68% and 43%, respectively, with the song increasing its international reach as the film continued atop the global box office.

Mario grossed a historic $376 million upon its opening, breaking down to 54% domestic and 46% international. Its second weekend added $194.9 million to its total, and in the weekend of April 21-23, another $132 million. From frame to frame, its international earnings climbed from 46% to 52% to 55%, similar to its standout song’s streams growing from 51% to 57%.

On next week’s May 6-dated global charts, based on the tracking week of April 21-27, international streams for “Peaches” should further outdo its domestic clicks as Mario’s box office followed the same path in its third weekend. The film’s strongest non-U.S. markets include Mexico ($66.2 million through April 24, according to Box Office Mojo), the U.K. ($51.7 million) and Germany ($38 million).

Soundtrack songs have a long history on the Billboard charts. Even within the still-brief two-year-plus history of the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S., Academy Award winning songs by Billie Eilish, Eminem and a Lady Gaga–Bradley Cooper collab have made their stamp. Meanwhile, Black’s global triumph pairs blockbuster associations with the comedy-tinged success of Bo Burnham’s “All Eyes on Me” and “Bezos I,” both of which hit the Global 200 in 2021 on the back of his Netflix special Inside. Black has a history of his own on Billboard’s comedy charts as a member of Tenacious D, though “Peaches” marks his first solo chart hit.

27 Apr 2023

JoJo Learned to Be More ‘Vulnerable and Open’ by Playing Satine in Broadway’s ‘Moulin Rouge!’

“Because you can can can!” is the hedonistic rallying cry of Parisian club owner Harold Zidler at the outset of Broadway’s adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s celebrated 2001 film Moulin Rouge!. And through July 16 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in Manhattan, Joanna “JoJo” Levesque is currently proving she can can can soar in a sumptuous major musical despite no previous credits on the Gay White Way.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Yes, experiencing JoJo in Moulin Rouge! involves a few moments of processing that the Satine in front of you is the same person who, at age of 13 in 2004, earned a No. 1 on Pop Airplay with the punchy “Leave (Get Out).” But that biographical tidbit quickly fades as you lose yourself in Satine’s journey as she sheds her performative shield and embraces love, death and everything in between.

It’s a triumphant transformation that Levesque subtly reveals through shifting reactions to the world around her — while, naturally, showing off her substantial vocal range and a nuanced ability to interpret hit songs from other artists. It’s such a convincing sublimation of her pop star identity that my companion at the Hirschfeld, despite several assurances, refused to believe it was THAT JoJo on stage in front of us and not a Broadway pro (eventually, she was convinced, and cried at the end of the play).

Of course, casting a known pop, film or TV star in a Broadway play is nothing new — and lately, it’s been a boon for theatrical box offices as they recover from the pandemic. Earlier this year, two-time Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon pulled in packed, enthusiastic audiences for Chicago as Mama Morton. But rarely do outsiders make their Broadway debut playing the lead role in a musical, which makes JoJo’s 14-week run as Satine even more impressive – and a sparkling diamond of a delight on Broadway.

Before we talk about the play, I want to ask about your initial reaction to the movie when it came out in 2001.

Obsessed. Baz Luhrmann is one of my favorite filmmakers. I love the energy, the pulse you can feel throbbing in all of his work. Nicole Kidman just shattered me with Satine. I was like 10 years old when it came out, but I revisit it time and time again because it’s so delicious. I saw the Moulin Rouge! musical theater production when it opened in L.A. at the Pantages [in 2021], and I went back and rewatched the movie again I was like, “Ugh, it’s so good!” I’m totally in love with the Baz stuff.

When you auditioned for the role of Satine on Broadway, how did you feel? Were you confident about what you delivered?

I workshopped with the producers and director and I knew that I had prepared as much as I possibly could have. I walked away feeling, “If I don’t get it, I can feel good about the work I did going into it.” And that’s what I’m looking to feel at this point in my life in general: I laid it all out there and come what may. But I was hoping that it would work out, and when it did, I was so relieved. I really wanted the opportunity to use all the different things I love that I’ve been working on since I was a little girl at once: Singing, acting, performing. This is the perfect opportunity for that.

As you rehearsed and prepared for the role, what was the hardest part for you?

The quick costume changes backstage are one of the most challenging components. Some of the changes are 25 seconds and there’s wig changes, shoe changes. That stressed me out a little bit because I didn’t want to throw anybody else off – not hit a mark and set the whole show back. But I learned. There’s a whole squad of people who are there to help it all move seamlessly. And that’s my favorite part of musical theater, the community aspect of it – we’re all parts in this living, breathing organism.

Twice in the musical you descend from the ceiling on a swing. Is that terrifying?

I have a safety harness. Sometimes I don’t click it exactly right and it gets stuck, and that gives me a little nervousness. But being up in the air is okay. It’s fun. I don’t love roller coasters, but it’s the perfect dose of a roller coaster. It sets my character up for the audience to understand who she is at the Moulin Rouge. And it helps me get into character, honestly, coming down from the ceiling. JoJo hasn’t done that before, but Satine does. That makes me feel better. I’m not myself, I’m not Joanna; I’m embodying Satine.

JoJo in Moulin Rouge

JoJo in Moulin Rouge

Evan Zimmerman

What’s your favorite song to perform each night?

I love doing “Elephant Love Medley” with Derek [Klena]. It’s such a cute moment of him trying to win her over and her being like, “You don’t understand what life is actually like, bro. You’re crazy.” But there’s something charming about his purity and how he has not been wounded by life the way she has. I love that moment. It’s when they’re really falling in love and when she decides she’s going to follow her heart for once as opposed to trying to do what she needs to do to survive.

The next time you hit the stage as you, do you think you might incorporate some of the Moulin Rouge! stuff?

I have a festival performance coming up May 6 for Lovers & Friends in Las Vegas, while I’m doing this [Broadway run]. It has informed that. I have a couple ideas I’m going to bring into my set in Vegas. I think this is making me a more well-rounded performer, getting to play with different people every night, sometimes two times a day. I love that repetition and finding freedom within it. And doing your own play on other people’s songs is a treat.

What have you learned about yourself doing this?

I learned how much I was yearning for some aspect of community that I haven’t had in my life before. I started so young as a solo artist and I’m an only child. I still had that sense of being an outsider, the odd girl out, and I was bullied in middle school. I was like, “Will I be embraced?” I did have those fears. And to let myself be vulnerable and be open, let people know my heart and get to know other people’s hearts, that’s been a nice experience. And [I learned] how to pace myself. If you’re doing 7-8 shows a week, you have to learn how to take care of your instrument, your body, everything.

What informs your portrayal of Satine?

I want to always keep in mind how difficult her life has been. The fact that she is performing most of her life, whether it’s on the streets or for men or at the Moulin Rouge, she doesn’t really get a moment to let her guard down. There was a time in my life where that was very much the truth for me. I didn’t even know how to be honest; I didn’t even know how to get in touch with myself. I’m still trying to find the most authentic version of myself.

Do you want to do more acting on Broadway?

I love it here. I love doing stuff like this. If they’ll have me, I’ll be here. I’d love to originate a role, I’d love to be part of writing the music for original shows. To be a part of this has been a highlight of my life. I feel like I’m growing, I’m learning, and that’s what makes me happy: to be where these amazing performers are and where we’re stretching and growing. I could definitely see more of it.

27 Apr 2023

2023 Streamy Awards Set Summer Date, Introduce ‘Rolling Stone’ Sound of the Year Category

The Streamy Awards will return this year on Aug. 27 in Los Angeles, Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter confirmed on Thursday (April 27). The date change marks a move to the summer months, as the awards program has generally taken place in December since 2019.

The 13th annual Streamys, which seeks to honor people within the creator community, will recognize stars within the gaming, beauty, food and music genres. For the first time, the Streamy Awards will launch a sound of the year award in partnership with Rolling Stone, which will honor popular songs across the past year that have dominated the greater pop culture landscape and social media.

“Rolling Stone is thrilled to expand our support of creators to the Streamy Awards, a true celebration of the talent and innovation of this community,” said Rolling Stone CEO Gus Wenner in a statement. “Our shared goals to elevate the voices of creators coupled with music’s undeniable importance across the social media landscape makes for a perfect partnership.”

“Summer Streamys will be a vibe,” added Drew Baldwin, Streamy Awards founder and Tubefilter CEO. “We’re psyched to be partnering with Rolling Stone to launch a new music award that is truly native to social and captures how we discover and share music. I can’t wait to celebrate with our creator community for our thirteenth year together.”

The nominees for each of the Streamy’s over 45 total categories will be revealed in July.

DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.

27 Apr 2023

Marshmello & Farruko Fly Onto Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Chart With ‘Esta Vida’

Marshmello and Farruko score a top 10 debut on Billboard’s multimetric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated April 29) with “Esta Vida” at No. 10. The collab drew 2.2 million official streams and 450,000 radio airplay audience impressions and sold 600 downloads in the April 14-20 tracking week, according to Luminate.

“Vida” is Marshmello’s 15th top 10, the fifth-most among all acts since the chart began in January 2013; only Kygo (24), The Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris (22 each) and David Guetta (21) have more. The track is also Marshmello’s 57th total charted title, lifting him out of a tie with Skrillex for the third-most, after Guetta (76) and Kygo (62).

Marshmello owns three Hot Dance/Electronic Songs No. 1s, including “Happier” (with Bastille), which spent a record 69 weeks at the summit in 2018-20.

“Vida” is Farruko’s fifth top 10 on the tally, a collection that includes his 2021 nine-week No. 1 “Pepas.”

The EDM-Latin crossover “Vida” also bows on Latin Pop Digital Song Sales (No. 3), Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (No. 7), Latin Pop Streaming Songs (No. 10) and Hot Latin Songs (No. 42), among other chart placements.

‘A Little’ More

On the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, ILLENIUM and Nina Nesbitt return to No. 1 for a third frame on top (after a one-week hiatus) with “Luv Me a Little.”

Continuing with the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, three team-ups hit the top 10 for the first time. First, Calvin Harris collects his 21st top 10 and Ellie Goulding grabs her 11th with “Miracle” (11-8). With the move, Harris passes Justin Bieber for a solo share of the third-most top 10s since the chart began in August 2003; only David Guetta (34) and Rihanna (24) have more.

“Miracle” is drawing core-dance airplay on Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel, KMVQ-HD2 San Francisco and iHeartRadio’s Pride Radio, among other outlets. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)

The track, for which a remix by Hardwell was released April 14, also earns top Streaming gainer honors on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (at No. 9), up 15% to 2.8 million streams. “Miracle” also improves on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (15-13) and Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales, reaching a new high (11-5; 700 sold, up 59%). Further gains could be reflected on next week’s charts, following the April 21 release of its Mau P remix.

Further on Dance/Mix Show Airplay, the second new top 10 collab belongs to Audien and Codeko with “Antidote,” featuring JT Roach (15-9). The sixth top 10 for Audien, “Antidote” is the first each for Codeko and Roach.

Last but not least, Icona Pop parades to its fifth Dance/Mix Show Airplay top 10, while Galantis gets its ninth, with “I Want You” (12-10).

27 Apr 2023

5 Takeaways From Enrique Bunbury’s Chat With Billboard Español at LAMC 2023

Last year, Enrique Bunbury was on the verge of calling it quits. “I started having a convulsive, nocturnal cough that made me unable to sleep at night,” says the Spanish superstar, who went through his greatest moments of uncertainty while on tour celebrating his 35-year career. “I felt sand in my lungs. I accepted that it was the end of my career on stage.” But he did not retire, and the former frontman of Héroes del Silencio lived to tell the tale.

Bunbury chatted with Billboard during the virtual edition of LAMC 2023 about his upcoming album Greta Garbo, due out in May, why Los Angeles turned out to be the perfect place for him to live in anonymity and why he was on the brink of quitting the stage altogether.

Here are five things we learned from Bunbury, in his own words.

A severe allergy that he was unaware of almost led him to retire from the stage.

The last year has been complicated. The hardest and most traumatic part was at the beginning of 2022, when we started the 35th anniversary tour. I started having a convulsive, nocturnal cough that made me unable to sleep at night. I felt sand in my lungs. I had had a few episodes on previous tours, but it was on this one that I lost my voice and couldn’t sing. We came to the conclusion to end the tour. I accepted that it was the end of my career on stage. After several months of tests with a specialist, [we discovered] that the problem came from a chemical component in the smoke on stage called glycol. [It was] a source of satisfaction to know that I physically had no health problems, other than this reaction to a toxic component. I can lead an absolutely normal life and continue with my work.

His single “Invulnerables” is a sample of what he has experienced during the last year.

Almost all the songs on the new album [Greta Garbo] were composed in this period and have a very direct relationship with what was happening to me. There are some songs that show the most dramatic part and the circumstances of the lowest moments, and others in which I lived a certain euphoria and a certain enthusiasm thinking that nothing is over. In the end you move on to another stage, and there are new horizons that opened up and I started to get excited about the possibilities of expressing myself in other ways, and to be able to continue my career in a new direction. These ups and downs exist and are shown in the album.

Surprisingly, he found anonymity in Los Angeles.

I’ve been living in Los Angeles for 13 years. I’ve been a pretty nomadic person. I’ve moved around to different cities and I like to change houses and locations. It helps to have new perspectives to your outlook regarding music and the profession. I think musicians are observant in that sense. I can live a life of near anonymity. Sitting in a café and being able to observe and write is something I have not been able to do in some places because I have felt observed. Being known in cities in Spain or Latin America has hindered me a little bit. [In Los Angeles] I’ve been fortunate enough to be anonymous enough to be able to go to a supermarket, go to a movie, walk down the street. It’s something I’m especially grateful to the city for. 

At the same time, L.A. is a big capital — it’s a place where a lot of things happen on many levels. Not only Hollywood, there is also independent cinema and porn cinema, there is all kinds of cinema. The same in the music world, there are big and small record labels, and clubs with a very alternative vibe. It is a city where all the big artists want to go. Culturally, it’s a city that offers a lot.

He takes meticulous care of his wardrobe

I try to accompany the music with an image that corresponds to each of the albums or creative moments I’m in. I’ve always liked that artists on stage take care of their stage presence. It seems to me a form of respect for the audience. Dressing, let’s say, is like when you go to a special celebration, when you go to a birthday party, or when you go to a funeral or to a church. You try to dress as dignified as possible. I think there’s something ceremonial and festive about a concert. All that I want to show also with the costumes, with the lights, with the stage. It’s a way of respecting the public, the audience and the profession.

He identified with the Greta Garbo Syndrome.

The title [of my new album] comes from the actress Greta Garbo. At the age of 36 she decided to step away from public life. We call that the Greta Garbo Syndrome. It’s something that flitted through my life during this period. The thought that I wasn’t going to have that contact with the fans made me reflect in many directions. What was going to happen to me? To what extent was it going to be a total farewell? To what extent was it going to isolate me from not having that ceremonial contact with the fans? To what extent am I going to miss it much? Is it going to be a blessing? All these reflections appear on the album. 

Musically, it’s an album that we recorded organically, with analog tape, together with producer Adán Jodorowski. It may seem a bit retro or vintage, [but] I think it’s finally fresh, direct and electric. I have the impression that people are going to pick it up with interest for the fact of seeing me somehow so naked musically and in the texts.

The LAMC 2023 virtual event takes place this week, April 26-28, with back-to-back panels on mental health, music publishing, localization strategies and more. For the fourth year in a row, LAMC is offering free registration for all panels, workshops and presentations. Watch the full virtual program on Twitch.

27 Apr 2023

Nick Cannon Refuses to Believe He ‘Fumbled’ Mariah Carey Marriage

Nick Cannon spoke out on his new radio show on Wednesday (April 26) about the end of his marriage to Mariah Carey.

“Explain to me how I fumbled Mariah,” he asked his The Daily Cannon co-host Courtney Bee Bledsoe after she joked that he was the one to mess up the relationship, which ended in divorce in 2016. “I just know you’re not with her, so that’s a fumble,” his co-host jokingly clarified, leading him to clap back, “Maybe she fumbled me.”

The host of The Masked Singer went on to insist he “was there” to support the superstar — with whom he shares twins Moroccan and Monroe — throughout their eight-year marriage, but he didn’t delve into any details about their high-profile split.

Of course, since breaking up with Carey, Cannon has added a whopping ten more kids to his brood with five other women — including five babies who’ve all been born since last July. The Elusive Chanteuse, meanwhile, has been in a relationship with one-time backup dancer Bryan Tanaka.

On the topic of his ever-expansive gaggle of kids, Cannon bragged about what he referred to as his “super sperm” on Howie Mandel’s podcast just last week. “‘Cause I’ve practiced birth control, and people still got pregnant,” he explained before adding, “But, to say that, I’m trying to be as responsible as I possibly can, learning lessons.”

One of those lessons? That baby making is officially part of his public brand. Look for the media personality to lean even further into the concept of conception with his upcoming E! game show Who’s Having My Baby With Nick Cannon hosted by his pal Kevin Hart.