Music

28 Mar 2023

Smashing Pumpkins Announce 2023 North American The World Is a Vampire Tour Dates

The Smashing Pumpkins announced a major North American summer tour on Tuesday morning (March 28) that will keep the veteran Chicago band on the road from late July through early September.

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The 26-date Live Nation-produced outing, dubbed The World is a Vampire Tour — a reference to an iconic line from 1995’s “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” — is slated to kick off on July 28 with the first of two dates at The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, followed by gigs in Albuquerque, Dallas, West Palm Beach, Toronto, Ottawa and Franklin, TN before wrapping up on Sept. 9 at the Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, IN.

The tour will feature a rotating cast of opening acts, including Interpol, Stone Temple Pilots and Rival Sons, as well as bouts featuring some of the biggest stars from the Corgan-owned National Wrestling Alliance. The pre-sale for the shows opened on Tuesday and will run through 10 p.m. local time on Thursday (March 30). The General onsale will start on Friday (March 31) at 10 a.m. local time; click here for more information on tickets.

“I grew up in a world where I needed to know bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure existed, it meant there was a place for people like me to hang out and belong,” Corgan said in a statement announcing the tour he hopes will remind fans of some of the classic alternative tours and festivals of the 1990s. “That’s what The World Is A Vampire is about. Bringing back that sense of community. If you don’t fit in, you belong here. It’s about having a shared experience and respecting others, but ultimately having fun. A true alternative festival, where all the self-proclaimed weirdos and outsiders of the world can get together and have a party.”

The Pumpkins’ driving, new wavey new single, “Spellbinding,” got its radio debut on Tuesday morning during Corgan’s appearance on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show, during which the band also played “1979” and “Empires” live in the studio. The final act of the band’s three-part rock opera, ATUM, is slated for release on May 5.

Check out The World Is a Vampire tour dates below:

July 28 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan

July 30 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan

August 1 – Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre *

August 3 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre *

August 5 – Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre *

August 6 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater *

August 7 – Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre *

August 9 – Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre *

August 10 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre *

August 11 – Highland, CA @  Yaamava’ Resort & Casino **

August 13 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheater ^

August 15 – Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavillion ^

August 16 – Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP ^

August 17 – Huntsville, AL @ The Orion Amphitheater ^

August 19 – West Palm Beach, FL @ iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre ^

August 20 – Tampa, FL @ MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre ^

August 22 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion ^

August 24 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center ^

August 25 – Gilford, NH @ Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion ^

August 30 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater ^

August 31 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live ^

Sept. 2 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage ^

Sept. 3 – Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre ^

Sept. 6 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre ^^

Sept. 8 – Franklin, TN @ FirstBank Amphitheater ^

Sept. 9 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Music Center ^

^ w/ Interpol & Rival Sons

* w/ Stone Temple Pilots & Rival Sons

**w/ Stone Temple Pilots

^^ w/ Interpol

28 Mar 2023

Tom Leadon, Mudcrutch Co-Founder, Dies at 70

Tom Leadon, co-founder of Tom Petty‘s band Mudcrutch and brother of Eagles guitarist Bernie Leadon, died on March 22 at age 70. The musician’s family confirmed the news, while Petty’s official fan club released a statement regarding Leadon’s passing.

“It is with great sadness, but profound love and gratitude for his life, that the family of Tom Leadon (Thomas Joseph Leadon) of Nashville, Tenn., and Gainesville, Fla., announce his passing on March 22, 2023 peacefully of natural causes. He was 70,” the statement read.

Mike Campbell, former Mudcrutch and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers member, also shared his thoughts regarding Leadon’s loss. “Tom Leadon was my deepest guitar soul brother, we spent countless hours playing acoustic guitars and teaching each other things,” he wrote. “A kinder soul never walked the earth. I will always miss his spirit and generosity. Sleep peacefully my old friend.”

Leadon’s music career dates back to high school, during which he was a member of the Epics and met Petty (who played bass in the group, while Leadon was on lead guitar). The duo then formed Mudcrutch, which Campbell joined to play guitar, and members Randall Marsh and Jim Lenahan joined for drums and vocals, respectively. Leadon would ultimately leave the band in 1972 following a fight with Petty, but later played in Linda Rondstadt’s band on bass, and joined Silver in 1976. (Silver earned a Billboard top 20 hit with its track “Wham-Bam.”)

Leadon also wrote the Eagles’ “Hollywood Waltz” in 1975; the band released it as part of its One of These Nights. Leadon is credited on the song alongside his brother Bernie, Glenn Lewis Frey and Don Henley.

Mudcrutch would see a reconciliation in 2007, when Petty got the group back together with Leadon, Marsh, Campbell and the Heartbeakers’ Benmont Tench. The reunited group would record two albums — Mudcrutch and Mudcrutch 2, which charted at Nos. 8 and 10 on the Billboard 200, respectively. The group disbanded upon Petty’s death in 2016.

“He was a dear friend of Tom and the fellas in the band and our entire family. He was part of the brotherhood,” Petty’s daughter, Adria, also shared in a statement on the late rocker’s official Instagram account. “He was an excellent and accomplished musician and was the reason Tom reformed Mudcrutch, so that the band could enjoy more time and more music together. Tom loved him deeply.”

28 Mar 2023

Mariah Carey Rang in Her Latest ‘Anniversary’ With a ‘Celebratory Splash’

Don’t call it a birthday, dahhlings! Mariah Carey celebrated her latest “anniversary” on Monday (March 27) with a trip to quite the tropical locale.

Though the Elusive Chanteuse didn’t reveal where she’s vacationing, she did post a fun video of herself marking the day by casually jumping off the side of her yacht. “Celebratory splash at 3:27 on 3.27!” she captioned the clip set to the Def Club Mix of her 1997 No. 1 single “Honey.” After landing in the clear blue water, the superstar showed off her mermaid skills in a pink and black wetsuit and modern shades.

A few hours later, Carey shared another clip showing a shark swimming right next to the yacht. “Wait look! It’s a shark in the water, you guys! Hello!” she shouts to everyone else on the boat.

“Oh my gosh, I’ve been swimming with sharks my whole life and I still am,” she continued, before putting on a posh accent to implore, “Please, Mr. Shark, don’t hurt me, baby!”

Mariah certainly seemed to feel the love from the Lambily throughout the day, tweeting, “Sitting here looking at all these videos and comments..I promise you I’m by myself sitting on the stairs in tears of happiness like..OMG the lambs have always been and still are UNPARALLELED!!!!! ‘Please make a note of it!’” and later adding, “I want to like and repost and comment on every one of your tweets!!!! It’s so overwhelming in a positive way” with a series of crying emojis.

To prove her point about how she views birthdays, the icon also shared a fan account’s tweet using a resurfaced interview in which she explains, “I don’t have birthdays. No, well, I just have anniversaries. I decided to do that. And I’ve noticed that people who decide not to have birthdays, they just don’t have them.”

Get a look at how Mariah spent her “anniversary,” “shark moment” and all, below.

28 Mar 2023

Ariana Grande Shares Josh Gad’s Incensed Post About Nashville School Mass Shooting: ‘Every F—ing Day Another Child Is Killed By Guns’

Ariana Grande re-posted an emotional message from Josh Gad on Tuesday morning (March 28) in reaction to the nation’s latest horrific mass school shooting on Monday. Grande added Gad’s comments to her Instagram Story less than 24 hours after police said a 28-year-old former student entered a private Christian elementary school in Nashville and killed three nine-year-olds and three adult staff members before police fatally shot the attacker.

“Today THREE 9-year-old children were massacred alongside three adults,” wrote Gad. “There have been 140 mass shootings in American and it is March. When does this madness end? How are books being banned and not assault weapons? Drag hasn’t killed a single child but politicians are spending all of their time and energy making sure it’s banned, but every f—ing day another child is killed by guns,” Gad continued, referencing the barrage of recent and in-process laws backed by Republican politicians across the country aimed at banning drag story times and targeting the trans community.

Gad then went on to angrily brush aside the typical statements offered up by gun control-averse conservative politicians after yet another mass killing using semi-automatic weapons of war. “Spare me the ‘buts,’ spare me the ‘it’s mental illness,’ spare me all the faux outrage over emails and drag shows and pictures of a naked statue,” he wrote of the right wing media’s focus on stories about Hunter Biden’s laptop, drag performers and the firing last week of a principal at a Florida charter school after some parents complained that they weren’t given a sufficient heads up about a sixth grade lesson on Michelangelo’s iconic David statue.

“Every single politician who takes a stand on all the bull—t but silently continues to accept money from the NRA isn’t simply a coward, they are complicit in the ongoing murder of our children, Gad’s note continued. “When do we say enough? When are we going to be angry enough to say our children shouldn’t have to fear every day at school being their last? When will it f—ing end?”

In addition to Gad’s note, Grande’s Story included the Everytown statistic that firearms are the #1 leading cause of death for American children and teens, as well as the names of the three fourth graders and three 60-year-old school staff members who were killed at The Covenant School, including the private charter academy’s head of school Katherine Koonce, 60. She also posted a slide urging her followers to contact their elected officials to ask them what they are doing to keep them and their children safe from gun violence, along with a list of organizations supporting common sense gun reforms.

Gad continued sharing his feelings on Twitter, writing, “The GOP have decided that guns are more important than kids. There are no two ways to look at this situation. It doesn’t matter how many children are massacred. They have decided it is okay to let kids die. Not mind you read certain books. That’s unacceptable. But dying is fine.”

Grande and Gad joined a loud chorus of musicians decrying the lack of action from Washington and state leaders to stem the deadly tide of mass shootings, which this year have far surpassed the number of days on the calendar. Kings of Leon drummer and Nashville native Nathan Followill tweeted, “A school shooting just happened near my sons school. Multiple children dead but let’s make sure that the gunman had his 2nd amendment rights. F–k you Bill Lee and f–k the NRA,” he said in reference to Tennessee’s Republican Gov., who tweeted thoughts and prayers on Monday nine months after he said he didn’t support restricting firearms or stronger gun control laws following the May 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas in which the shooter killed 19 children and two teachers.

Christian pop star Lauren Daigle postponed her planned third album preview concert on Monday night and turned the event into a prayer vigil for the victims of the mass killing.

See Gad’s tweet below.

28 Mar 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Eladio Carrión Debuts With Bad Bunny Collab ‘Coco Chanel’

Puerto Rican trap-reggaeton singer Eladio Carrión notches his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated April 1), as his new collaboration with Bad Bunny, “Coco Chanel,” debuts at No. 87.

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The song, released March 17 via Rimas Entertainment, opens with 6.2 million U.S. streams in its opening week, according to Luminate. It concurrently starts at No. 14 on Hot Latin Songs, becoming Carrión’s eighth and highest charting entry.

“Coco Chanel” appears on Carrión’s fourth LP, 3MEN2 KBRN, which debuts at No. 3 on Top Latin Albums and No. 16 on the all-genre Billboard 200 with 25,000 equivalent album units earned. It marks Carrión’s fourth top 10 on Top Latin Albums and highest charting title on the Billboard 200. His previous two sets, Sauce Boyz 2 and SEN2 KBRN, Vol. 2, reached Nos. 92 and 121 in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Carrión has been a consistent hitmaker on Billboard’s Latin chart listings since 2020. He first appeared on a Billboard chart in February 2020, when Sauce Boyz debuted and peaked at No. 6 on Latin Rhythm Albums and No. 8 on Top Latin Albums.

Beyond “Coco Chanel,” Carrión has charted seven other hits on Hot Latin Songs: “Tata,” with J Balvin, Daddy Yankee and Bobby Shmurda (No. 50 peak in 2021); “Sauce Boy Freestyle 5” (No. 47, 2021); “No Te Deseo el Mal,” with Karol G (No. 29, 2021); “Jóvenes Millonarios,” with Myke Towers (No. 44, 2021); “Nunca y Pico,” with Yandel and Maluma (No. 47, 2022); “Mbappe” (No. 21, 2022); and “Gladiador” (No. 39, 2022).

As for Bad Bunny, “Coco Chanel” earns the superstar his 68th entry on the Hot 100, extending his record for the most among acts that record primarily Latin music. It’s also his record-extending 145th hit on Hot Latin Songs.

Billboard’s Hot 100 First-Timers column highlights artists who achieve their first career entries on the Hot 100.

28 Mar 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: FIFTY FIFTY Feels the Love With ‘Cupid’

South Korean girl group FIFTY FIFTY is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting act, as the quartet achieves its first entry on the latest list (dated April 1) with “Cupid.”

The song, released Feb. 24 via Interpark Corporation, debuts at No. 100 with 5.7 million official U.S. streams (up 23%) in the March 17-23 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The track is also a hit around the world, as it jumps 106-65 on the Billboard Global 200 (22.9 million streams, up 39%, worldwide) and 119-69 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S.

Contributing to the song’s streaming surge are three versions: its original recording, a “Twin” mix and an instrumental version. (All versions of “Cupid” roll up into one listing on Billboard’s charts.)

TikTok has been a key factor in the single’s growing profile, as portions of the track have been used in more than 400,000 clips on the platform to-date. The song’s #CupidChallenge hashtag has also been added to more than 65 million videos. (TikTok does not contribute directly to Billboard’s charts.)

FIFTY FIFTY, which also rises 20-19 on the Emerging Artists chart, was formed by South Korean entertainment agency ATTRAKT last year. The group debuted its first single, “Higher,” on its introductory four-track EP, The Fifty, released Nov. 18.

The four-piece comprises Aran, Keena, Saena and Sio.

Billboard’s Hot 100 First-Timers column highlights artists who achieve their first career entries on the Hot 100.

28 Mar 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Yng Lvcas Arrives With ‘La Bebe,’ Sparked by Peso Pluma Remix

Singer-songwriter Yng Lvcas scores his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated April 1), thanks to his breakthrough single “La Bebe,” newly remixed with fellow rising Mexican artist Peso Pluma.

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The song, which Yng Lvcas released independently in December 2021, debuts at No. 77 with 6.8 million U.S. streams (up 128%) in the March 17-23 tracking week, according to Luminate. Its Peso Pluma remix arrived March 17 via Warner Latina. (All versions of the song are combined into a singular listing on Billboard’s charts.)

The track concurrently vaults 35-11 on Hot Latin Songs in its sixth chart week. It also surges 74-20 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and 103-21 on the Billboard Global 200 (32.1 million streams, up 79%, worldwide).

TikTok has been a big factor in the song’s growing profile, as a portion of it has been used in more than 35,000 clips on the platform to date. (TikTok does not contribute directly to Billboard’s charts.)

Yng Lvcas is a newcomer to Billboard’s charts. “La Bebe” became his first chart entry upon its debut on the Hot Latin Songs and Global Excl. U.S. surveys dated Feb. 25.

Outside of the charts, he has released Wup? Mixtape1 and the LP LPM, both in 2021. He also released two EPs last year: Taka Taka Mixtape and Puerqueo EP.

As for newcomer Peso Pluma and recent Hot 100 First-Timer, he scores his fifth Hot 100 hit with “La Bebe.” All five tracks are currently charting on the Hot 100: “Ella Baila Sola” with Eslabon Armado debuts at No. 26, “AMG” with Gabito Ballesteros and Natanael Cano stands at No. 70 (after reaching No. 66 in February), “Por Las Noches” rises 92-72 in its second week on the chart, and “PRC” with Cano rises 95-73 (a new peak),

Billboard’s Hot 100 First-Timers column highlights artists who achieve their first career entries on the Hot 100.

28 Mar 2023

Eslabon Armado & Peso Pluma Earn Career-Highs on Hot Latin Songs & Hot 100 Charts With ‘Ella Baila Sola’

Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma celebrate multiple career chart achievements as their collaborative hit “Ella Baila Sola” earns both artists their highest charting entries on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs and Billboard Hot 100 charts (dated April 1). On the former it starts at No. 2, and at No. 26 on the latter.

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Eslabon Armado’s previous high on Hot Latin Songs came with the No. 3-peaking “Jugaste y Sufri,” featuring Dannylux, in 2021, which also marked its Hot 100 high, climbing to No. 69. For Peso Pluma, the act went as high as No. 6 on Hot Latin Songs with “AMG,” a co-billed collab with Gabito Ballesteros and Natanael Cano, in February. It was also its highest charting hit on the Hot 100, reaching No. 66.

“Ella Baila Sola” is Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s first partnership. It was released March 17 via Prajin Parlay/DEL Records and arrives at No. 2 on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart after its first full tracking week mainly on the strength of streaming activity. The list blends airplay, digital sales, and streaming data.

“Ella Baila Sola” logged 16 million official streams in the U.S. during the March 17-23 tracking week, according to Luminate. The figure makes for a No. 1 start on Latin Streaming Songs and a No. 10 debut on the overall Streaming Songs chart. It’s the second No. 1 on Latin Streaming Songs for Eslabon Armado, and the first leader for Peso Pluma. On the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, it’s the first top 10 for both acts.

Notably, with 16 million streams in its opening week, “Ella Baila” logs the second-largest streaming week for a Latin debut this year thus far, trailing only Karol G x Shakira’s “TQG” which collected 29 million on the March 11-dated list.

While Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” registered 5 million in its opening week (Jan. 21) from only two days of activity — it then posted a 341% gain in its second chart week (and first full week of tracking), with 20 million streams. (It was released Jan. 11 at 7 p.m. ET, and launched with less than two days of activity.)

Further, only one other regional Mexican collaboration has accumulated at least 15 million official streams or more: Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera’s “Bebe Dame” (Feb. 4-dated ranking)

Sales also contribute to “Ella Baila’s” high start on Hot Latin Songs: Although the song sold a little under 1,000 downloads in its initial week, it generated enough to debut at No. 4 on Latin Digital Song Sales.

Global Entry

Elsewhere on the charts, “Ella Baila Sola” makes its first appearance on both Billboard Global charts, which rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate.

The track bows at No. 12 on the Billboard Global 200 with 47 million streams and 1,000 downloads sold. Meanwhile, the song collects 31 million streams and negligible amount in sales which yields a No. 14 launch on Global Excl. U.S. While Eslabon clocks its first entry on the latter, the song earns both acts their highest entry on Global 200.

28 Mar 2023

Morgan Wallen Tallies 10th Week at No. 1 on Artist 100

Morgan Wallen scores a 10th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated April 1), holding as the top musical act in the United States thanks to the continued success of his new LP, One Thing at a Time.

The 36-track album tallies a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 209,000 equivalent album units earned in the March 17-23 tracking week, according to Luminate, after opening with 501,000 units, the largest weekly sum for an album this year. The set became Wallen’s second No. 1, following 2021’s 30-track Dangerous: The Double Album. The latter places at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 (42,000 units).

Contributing to Wallen’s Artist 100 rule are 18 songs on the Billboard Hot 100. Two weeks earlier, he set a one-week record, with 36 songs on the chart, and then claimed the second-most weekly entries last week, with 28, with all from from One Thing at a Time. “Last Night” leads his 18 titles on the latest Hot 100 at No. 2, after becoming his first No. 1 two weeks ago.

Wallen is the 11th artist to reach the 10-week milestone on the Artist 100, dating to the chart’s 2014 inception. Taylor Swift leads with 64 weeks at No. 1, followed by Drake (37), The Weeknd (28), BTS (21), Adele (20), Ariana Grande (15), Justin Bieber, Post Malone and Ed Sheeran (14 each), Billie Eilish (12) and Wallen (10).

U2 re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 5, thanks to its new 40-track LP Songs of Surrender, which starts at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 (46,000 units). It’s the band’s 13th top 10 and makes the Rock & Roll Hall of Famers just the fourth group with new top 10s in the 1980s, ’90s, 2000s, ’10s and ’20s, after AC/DC, Def Leppard and Metallica. U2 topped the Artist 100 for a week in 2017.

Plus, BTS member Jimin debuts at No. 10 on the Artist 100 thanks to his new solo single “Set Me Free, Pt. 2.” The song debuts at No. 30 on the Hot 100 with 6.4 million official U.S. streams and 63,000 downloads sold, as he becomes the first BTS member to score an unaccompanied solo top 40 hit on the Hot 100. He’s the third member of BTS (which re-enters at No. 100) to reach the Artist 100’s top 10, joining RM (No. 6 peak in December) and Jin (No. 10, November).

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multidimensional ranking of artist popularity.

28 Mar 2023

Ben Affleck Praises Jennifer Lopez for ‘Love & Support’ That Made New Movie ‘Air’ Possible

Ben Affleck just sang the praises of Jennifer Lopez, who was right there at her husband’s side Monday (March 27) at Los Angeles’ Regency Village Theatre for the premiere of his new movie, Air.

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While introducing his latest directorial project, which serves a courtside look at the creation of Nike’s famous partnership with basketball legend Michael Jordan, Affleck took a moment to thank the important players who contributed to the making of the film — one of whom, he said, was absolutely his superstar wife.

“I want to say that none of it would be possible — this company, this movie, this joy tonight — without the love and support of my wife who means more to me than anything in the world,” he said moments before Air‘s debut.

“I want to say thank you,” added Affleck, who also stars in the film as Nike founder Phil Knight. “I love you. You mean the world to me. You’re fabulous, you’re amazing, you’re wonderful, good, kind, magnificent and I love you.”

The 50-year-old actor had more to say about Lopez — whom he married in a summertime Las Vegas chapel ceremony last year — while walking the red carpet before Air‘s premiere. “She’s brilliant,” he told ET. “And [she] helps me in every conceivable way.”

The “Let’s Get Loud” singer, whose new album This Is Me … Now arrives this summer, afterward posted about the event on Instagram. With a video montage of clips from the red carpet, she shared footage of her posing with Affleck on the carpet in a neon yellow gown, the Oscar winner signing autographs and hanging out with costar and longtime best friend Matt Damon. See her video below: