Music

17 Apr 2023

CMT & mtheory Reveal New Members of Equal Access Development Program

CMT and management services company mtheory have revealed the six new candidates selected to take part in the Equal Access Development Program, its yearlong artist and management training program designed to support underrepresented voices and communities in country music, including Black, Native and Indigenous, Latino, LGBTQ+ and women.

This year’s participants are artists Angie K, Camille Parker and Denitia, as well as music industry executives Ahsaki LaFrance-Chachere, Alex Evelyn and Roberto Martinez.

The Equal Access Program launched in April 2022, spearheaded by mtheory CEO Cameo Carlson and Tiffany Provenzano, as well as CMT senior vp of music & talent Leslie Fram. The program provides funding and training, as well as access to industry leaders, with the goal of creating a multifaceted pipeline of diverse talent in country music.

Angie K previously competed with Team Blake on NBC’s The Voice and is part of CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2023. Her music often blends country with her Latin roots, such as her bilingual release “Real Talk,” which made her a Highway Find on SiriusXM. Parker, a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2022, also recently competed on AppleTV+’s My Kind of Country. Parker is also currently recording her debut EP with producers Chris McClenny and David Phelps. Texas native Denitia is a multi-instrumentalist who has played saxophone, trumpet and guitar and has roots in a myriad of musical genres, including gospel, folk and alternative rock.

LaFrance-Chachere is a Diné (Navajo) tribal member and African-American woman, who aims to demonstrate that Native Americans/Indigenous people are diverse despite stereotypical depictions. Her LaChachere Management & Publishing represents country music artists Dzaki Sukarno, C’ing Jerome and Jay Brown. Evelyn is CEO/founder of management and development company Big Al Management, which includes clients YSA and Khrys Hatch. Evelyn also serves as radio/TV producer/show host at YoCo 96.7 FM in Nashville. Martinez has worked as a songwriter, producer and recording engineer. After a five-year stint at Warner Music Group, Martinez manages artists in multiple genres as CEO of The Exos Group and is partner in Coco’s Backstage.

Carlson, CEO of mtheory, said via a statement, “Research continues to show the enduring racial and gendered hierarchy within the industry, and its ripple effect throughout every facet of the business: radio airplay, songwriting, publishing, streaming, record label signings, artist development, touring and more. Only through deliberate, consistent efforts like Equal Access, will we begin to see stronger representation of underserved groups in the format, and we’re committed to helping this new group of exceptionally talented individuals successfully prepare for careers in country music, particularly in this current legislative environment that has become an increasingly prohibitive place for creativity to grow and flourish. Thank you to all of our supporters for making this program possible, particularly our title sponsors at CMT and across the Paramount companies.”  

Fram added, “CMT, along with Paramount Global and its Content for Change initiative, is proud to partner with mtheory once again and is committed to leading the industry in igniting systemic change. Equal Access accentuates our roster of groundbreaking initiatives including CMT Equal Play and CMT Next Women of Country, and contributes significantly towards leveling the playing field in country music. We look forward to collaborating with this amazing new group of artists and managers to amplify their work to CMT audiences and beyond.” 

The inaugural 2022-23 Equal Access cohort included artists Madeline Edwards, Miko Marks and Valerie Ponzio and music management professionals Charlene Bryant, Kadeem Phillips and Marques Vance.

Over the past year, the 2022-23 Equal Access class members have reached numerous goals. Edwards signed a publishing deal with Sony Music Publishing, a recording deal with Warner Music Nashville and has toured with Chris Stapleton and Ingrid Andress. Marks released the album Feel Like Going Home with music reaching the top five on the Americana Radio Albums chart, while her single “One More Night” reached the top 20. Ponzio released her EP Frontera and had her music featured on the Times Square billboard and on CMT. Marks and Edwards both made their Grand Ole Opry debut performances.

Bryant now manages artist Harper Grae and is a consultant for Universal Music Nashville. Vance began a full-time job with a major label and launched a website to feature his work as a manager and marketing consultant. Phillips launched the Empower the Block website to showcase his work as a manager, publisher, distributor and studio owner, and launched a monthly showcase, Spirit of Country, to highlight country artists of color.

17 Apr 2023

James Corden Teases BLACKPINK’s Carpool Karaoke Segment

Fresh off their jaw-dropping headlining set during Coachella’s first weekend, BLACKPINK is hitting the road with James Corden for one of the talk show host’s final Carpool Karaoke segments.

To tease the upcoming episode, Corden took to Instagram to share a video in which he’s seen in the car asking for “someone to help me get to work.” He then pans the camera to the passenger and back seats, where the stunning girl group is seen smiling and saying in unison, “BLACKPINK in your area!”

The Carpool Karaoke segment featuring Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa and Rosé, airs on Tuesday night (April 18) during CBS’ The Late Late Show With James Corden. The piece will air in one of the late-night show’s final 12 episodes, which will conclude April 27. 

On Saturday (April 15), the global superstars became the first Korean act to headline Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. “So… let me start off with, four years ago we were invited to perform here for you at Coachella at the Sahara tent and that made a mark in all of our hearts,” Rosé told the crowd during their set, which featured performances of hits like “Pink Venom,” “Lovesick Girls,” “DDU-DU DDU-DU” and many more. ”I must say, this is a dream come true … the reason all four of us are here is because of you.”

Read Billboard‘s full recap here.

17 Apr 2023

Did Doja Cat Just Unveil Her Next Album’s Track List?

Fans have been wanting new music from Doja Cat ever since the success of her 2021 album, Planet Her, and their wishes are finally coming true.

The 27-year-old superstar took to her Instagram Stories on Monday (April 17) to drop what looks like a 19-song track list for her upcoming album. Tracks include titles like “Attention,” “Love Life,” “97,” “Wet Vagina,” “Can’t Wait” and an “unfinished” song called “Ouchies.” She has yet to confirm if the post is actually a track listing for her upcoming project.

See her Story before it disappears here. Doja’s Planet Her peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart dated July 10, 2021, and produced a number of long-lasting hits including “Need to Know,” “Woman,” “Ain’t S—” and “Get Into It (Yuh).”

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Earlier in the day, Doja went live on Instagram, where she played one-second snippets of songs set to appear on her forthcoming rap album, tentatively titled Hellmouth, according to TMZ.

In other music news, Doja recently teamed up with her “Kiss Me More” collaborator SZA for a remix of the latter’s S.O.S. hit, “Kill Bill.” The original version of the track reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, between January and the most recently published April 15-dated chart, and its parent LP has logged 10 weeks atop the Billboard 200.

17 Apr 2023

Bebe Rexha Calls Out TikTok Over Weight-Related Search Suggestion: ‘It Just Sucks’

Bebe Rexha is calling out TikTok for highlighting a suggested search questioning her weight.

“Seeing that search bar is so upsetting,” the pop star tweeted above a screenshot from the social app showing “bebe rexha weight” written into the related search history. “I’m not mad cause it’s true. I did gain weight. But it just sucks. Thank you to all the people who love me no matter what.”

The 2023 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards performer had already gotten support from fans in the very screenshot she posted, with one writing, “I [love] her for being so unique and real, she loves herself inside and outside and we can see it” with a heart-hands emoji. Another simply added, “Beautiful she is” to the hundreds of comments on TikTok.

Other Twitter users called out TikTok’s interface for suggesting the search terms in the first place. “Someone at @tiktokus’s policies team need change what comes up on the related search bar, right now! This is toxic and terrible!” wrote popular YouTuber Kandee Johnson. “@TikTokSupport you need to do better. Care about the people on your platform and not making it toxic like this.”

Meanwhile, Rexha’s self-titled third album BEBE is due April 28 via Warner Records, preceded by the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 David Guetta collab “I’m Good (Blue)” and the follow-ups “Heart Wants What It Wants” and “Call on Me.”

Check out Rexha’s tweet about TikTok below.

17 Apr 2023

Ariana Grande Talks ‘Wicked’ & Leaked Demos During R.E.M. Beauty Makeup Tutorial

Ariana Grande is celebrating one year of her makeup brand R.E.M. Beauty being sold at Ulta Beauty, and treated fans to a little makeup tutorial while answering some fan questions.

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The blonde-haired “Positions” singer is in the midst of filming the highly-anticipated movie adaptation of Wicked, in which she plays Glinda the Good Witch. “Life is beautiful and surreal. I’m learning so much and I’m growing so much right now and I’m working my a– off and I’m enjoying and savoring every moment of it,” she shared of her current feelings, putting together a cut-crease eye look using her Midnight Shadows eyeshadow palette in the shade Smitten Kitten.

“It’s weird because it’s exhausting but I’m not tired,” she added of the filming process. “I will do it again right now. Every single thing — I don’t want to stop, I don’t want to do the weekends, I don’t want to go home, I don’t want to leave ever. So, Cynthia [Erivo] and I are — this is the phrase we keep saying — husks. We are shells of people, and I’m savoring every single second humanly possible.”

And yes, Glinda will soon be seen wearing some R.E.M. Beauty products, even though Grande told her makeup artist that she shouldn’t feel pressure to wear makeup from her line. “I don’t want to go into this with any rules or requests,” she explained. “I want us to find [Glinda] from the ground up. I just want to sit down and let you play and we’ll find her together. I wanted to be a new girl.”

Grande even addressed some of the unreleased demos that have been spreading on TikTok, as well as the leaked news that R.E.M. is working on foundations. “You guys have heard every bad song and bulls— demo I’ve ever made,” she said. “Hilarious! It’s impossible to keep things from you. You gotta take some swings and misses.”

Watch the full tutorial and Q&A below.

17 Apr 2023

Fake Drake & The Weeknd Song — Made With AI — Pulled From Streaming After Going Viral

A new song believed to feature AI-generated fake vocals from Drake and The Weeknd that went viral over the weekend has been pulled from most streaming platforms after their label, Universal Music Group, released a statement Monday (April 17) condemning “infringing content created with generative AI.”

Released by an anonymous TikTok user called Ghostwriter977 and credited as Ghostwriter on steaming platforms where it racked up hundreds of thousands of streams, the track “Heart On My Sleeve” features uncannily similar voices to the two superstars — a trick that the creator says was accomplished by using artificial intelligence. It’s unclear if the entire song was created with AI, or just the soundalike vocals.

By Monday afternoon, the song had generated more 600,000 spins on Spotify, and Ghostwriter977’s TikTok videos had been viewed more than 15 million times. A YouTube video had another 275,000 views, with an ominous comment from the creator below it: “This is just the beginning.”

Many music fans seemed impressed. One comment on TikTok with more than 75,000 likes said it was the “first AI song that has actually impressed me.” Another said Ghostwriter was “putting out better drake songs than drake himself.” A third said AI was “getting dangerously good.”

But the end could already be in sight. At time of publishing on Monday evening, “Heart On My Sleeve” had recently been pulled from Spotify, as well as Apple Music, Deezer and TIDAL before it.

Even if short-lived, the sensational success of “Heart On My Sleeve” will no doubt underscore growing concerns over the impact of AI on the music industry. Last week, UMG urged streaming platforms like Spotify to block AI companies from accessing the label’s songs to “train” their machines, and the RIAA has warned that doing so infringes copyrights on a mass scale. Last month, a large coalition of industry organizations warned that AI technology should not be used to “replace or erode” human artistry.

Representatives for Drake and The Weeknd declined to comment on Monday. But in a statement to Billboard, UMG said the viral postings “demonstrate why platforms have a fundamental legal and ethical responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists.”

“The training of generative AI using our artists’ music (which represents both a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law) as well as the availability of infringing content created with generative AI on DSPs, begs the question as to which side of history all stakeholders in the music ecosystem want to be on: the side of artists, fans and human creative expression, or on the side of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation,” a UMG spokesman said in a statement. “We’re encouraged by the engagement of our platform partners on these issues – as they recognize they need to be part of the solution.”

UMG declined to comment on whether it had sent formal takedown requests to streaming services and social media websites.

17 Apr 2023

Billy Joel Brought His Adorable Daughters to Watch (And Meet!) Taylor Swift at The Eras Tour in Tampa

Billy Joel has a pair of Swifties on his hands. The Piano Man took his two young daughters to see Taylor Swift during her Eras Tour stop in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday night, much to their excitement and delight.

The “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant” singer shared a carousel of photos to his personal Instagram page on Sunday, which included images of his wife, Alexis Roderick, and their two little girls, Della Rose, 7, and Remy Anne, 5 — who appeared to be dressed in outfits inspired by the folklore/evermore and Lover eras — posing for pictures before the show and later dancing along as Swift sang “Are You Ready for It?”

“Rockin’ into our new ‘era’ thank you @Taylorswift we loved the show! #swifties #taylorswift #theerastour,” the veteran musician captioned the images. The girls also got an extra special treat: They were able to meet Swift herself backstage alongside their mom and dad.

Joel and his family are far from the first celebrities to geek out at Swift’s Eras tour. Selena Gomez, Jack Antonoff, HAIM, Aaron Dessner, Marcus Mumford, Diplo and Shania Twain are among a handful of the tour’s celebrity attendees (see a full list of all the famous guests at The Eras Tour here).

The Eras Tour is scheduled to continue with a trio of dates at Houston’s NRG Stadium this weekend, with Beabadoobee and Gracie Abrams opening. The tour will make stops in Nashville, Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis and more before concluding at Inglewood, Calif.’s SoFi Stadium on Aug. 9.

See Joel’s pictures from The Eras Tour below.

17 Apr 2023

BLACKPINK’s Jisoo Rocked Out to Frank Ocean, Yungblud, Willow & More at Coachella

Jisoo wasn’t just a Coachella headliner this past weekend; she was also a fan. On Monday (April 17), the BLACKPINK idol shared her reactions to sets by Frank Ocean, Willow and more.

On her Instagram Stories, the K-pop star posted a clip of Ocean’s long-awaited headlining act on Day 3 of the Indio, Calif.-based festival, declaring simply, “Frank Ocean…legendary” above the R&B pioneer belting out Channel Orange fan favorite “Bad Religion.”

Jisoo also spread the love to the likes of Willow and Jaden Smith, Dominic Fike and others, declaring the Smith siblings’ onstage duet of “Summertime in Paris” the “best performance” and writing, “Can’t believe I got to listen to this in person!” of the latter’s performance of new song “Ant Pile” from his forthcoming sophomore studio album.

Earlier in the weekend, the Korean native posted a now-expired Story of herself enjoying Yungblud‘s set at the Outdoor Theatre as the Brit rocker played his 2022 track “Sweet Heroine.”

Of course, Jisoo was on hand at the festival to headline Saturday along with her BLACKPINK bandmates, marking the quartet’s historic return to Coachella just four years after they made their U.S. festival debut in 2019 with a triumphant set that included everything from “Boombayah” and “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du” to “Pink Venom,” “Shut Down” and “Typa Girl.” Each member got her own individual moment in the spotlight as well, with Jisoo performing her newly released solo single “Flower.”

Check out Jisoo’s thrilled fan footage of Ocean, Fike, Willow and more at Coachella before it expires here.

17 Apr 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Jack Black Scores First Solo Hit With ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Ballad ‘Peaches’

Jack Black, actor, comedian and musician, notches his first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as his song “Peaches,” from the new Super Mario Bros. Movie, debuts at No. 83 on the chart dated April 22.

Black voices Bowser in the video-game film adaption, and the song serves as the character’s loving ode to Princess Peach (voiced by Anya Taylor-Joy).

“Peaches,” released April 7 via Illumination/Nintendo/Back Lot Music (a subsidiary of Universal Pictures), tallied 5.8 million U.S. streams and 6,000 downloads in its first week, through April 13, according to Luminate. The track also debuts at No. 6 on Digital Song Sales.

The song’s profile has been boosted by an accompanying music video directed by Lyrical Lemonade’s Cole Bennett, in which Black, decked out in a Bowser-green suit, delivers a performance of the song alone in a tower. A framed photo of Peach sits on a piano, along with a bowl of peaches.

The film claimed a historic premiere at the box office, scoring the top opening ever for an animated film with $375.6 million in worldwide ticket sales, according to final numbers. The five-day domestic haul was $204.6 million, including $146.4 million for the three-day weekend, while the overseas tally stands at $171 million from 70 markets, according to final numbers released Monday.

Black previously appeared on the Hot 100 as half of Tenacious D. Along with Kyle Gass, the comedy-rock duo’s seminal hit “The Pick of Destiny” debuted and peaked at No. 78 in November 2006.

Tenacious D has also charted four albums on the Billboard 200: Tenacious D (No. 33 in 2001), The Pick of Destiny soundtrack (No. 8, 2006), Rize of the Fenix (No. 4, 2012) and Post-Apocalypto (No. 93, 2018). The Pick of Destiny and Rize of the Fenix also both hit No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart.

Black and Gass formed Tenacious D in 1994 when they were both members of The Actors’ Gang theater company in Culver City, Calif. Their Spicy Meatball world tour resumes May 6 at the Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta and runs through June 18.

Tenacious D won a Grammy Award in 2015 for best metal performance for “The Last in Line,” from the tribute album Ronnie James Dio, This Is Your Life. Black had previously been Grammy-nominated for best compilation soundtrack album for a motion picture, television or other visual media for School of Rock and best comedy album for Tenacious D’s Rize of the Fenix.

Before this week, Black had tallied one solo entry on Billboard’s charts: “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy,” with Jason Segel, reached No. 45 on the Holiday Digital Song Sales chart in 2010.

Black has starred in numerous blockbuster films, including The Holiday (2006), King Kong (2005), School of Rock (2003), High Fidelity (2000) and the Kung Fu Panda and Jumanji franchises.

17 Apr 2023

Madonna Adds Mexico City Show to Celebration Tour

Madonna is taking her massive Celebration Tour to Mexico. The icon revealed that she will be stopping to perform in Mexico City on January 25, 2024, marking her first non-U.S. or Europe dates of the tour.

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Tickets for the new date at Palacio De Los Deportes will go on sale on Friday (April 21) at 11 a.m. local time here. Legacy members of Madonna’s official fan club will have access to a pre-sale beginning on Monday (April 17) at 1 p.m. local time. CitiBanamex cardmembers’ presale begins on Thursday (April 20) at 11 a.m. local time.

The Celebration Tour — which will honor her four decades of hits — is set to span from July 15 all the way through Dec. 1. The first North American leg of the tour will kick off Saturday, July 15, at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver and will make additional stops in Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta, Toronto, Montreal and more before concluding at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Oct. 8. The tour’s European leg will pick up with a pair of dates at The O2 arena on Oct. 14-15 and will make stops in Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Berlin and more before concluding in Amsterdam on Dec. 1 at the Ziggo Dome. The tour then picks back up in Brooklyn on Dec. 13, and stretches through Jan. 20 in Phoenix, Ariz. As previously announced, Bob the Drag Queen will be a special guest on the tour.

“This is a good time for me — I’m gathering ideas, getting inspired, hanging out with creative people, watching films, seeing art, listening to music,” Madonna shared of getting back onstage in a recent feature with Vanity Fair.