Music

17 Mar 2023

Jonas Brothers Just Performed Miley Cyrus Duet ‘Before the Storm’ For the First Time in a Decade

The Jonas Brothers hit the Broadway stage on Thursday (March 16) for the third night of their ongoing Broadway residency, and trotted out their Miley Cyrus collab “Before the Storm” especially for the occasion.

The performance marked the first time the siblings had performed the album cut from 2009’s Lines, Vines and Trying Times since at least 2013, though they decided to only run through the first part of the song, sans Cyrus’ opening verse. “I don’t want to lose her/ Don’t wanna let her go,” Nick Jonas belted out before urging the audience, “Sing it out, c’mon!” and letting the packed crowd sing along for the chorus.

“The ONLY part of Before The Storm Nick could tolerate to sing lol,” a fan on Twitter captioned the video she posted of the number. Of course, the youngest Jonas has quite the history with the Endless Summer Vacation singer, considering they dated in their Disney Channel days as teens and Cyrus allegedly based her 2008 hit “7 Things” on their relationship.

For the third night of their takeover at the Marquis Theatre, the JoBros performed the entirety of their fourth studio studio set in full, including a snippet of Common collab “Don’t Charge Me for the Crime” and the live debut of album closer “Keep It Real.”

On Friday night (March 17), they’re set to highlight 2019’s Happiness Begins before the live premiere of their soon-to-be released new LP, The Album, on Saturday (March 18).

Watch the Jonas Brothers sing “Before the Storm” sans Miley Cyrus below.

17 Mar 2023

De La Soul’s Catalog Nets 12 Million U.S. Streams After Digital Release

The long, long wait for De La Soul’s early catalog to reach digital retail and streaming services yields big results for the group on the newest round of Billboard charts. After years of internal label conflicts and issues with sampling clearances, the trio’s first six studio albums became available across digital retail and streamers on March 3 and generated a swell of activity. In the tracking week of March 3 -9, the De La Soul catalog registered 12.5 million official on-demand U.S. song streams in the week ending March 9 and sold 28,000 albums (both digital download and physical copies combined), according to Luminate.

The six studio albums had long been out of print on physical formats in the U.S., and all were reintroduced on CD, vinyl and cassette on March 3.

De La Soul is comprised of Kelvin “Posnudos” Mercer, Vincent “Maseo” Mason and the late David “Trugoy the Dove,” Jolicoeur, who died on Feb. 12 at age 54. The trio formed in Long Island in 1988 and released its debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, on March 3, 1989, exactly 34 years before the early catalog’s digital and streaming debuts. In addition to 3 Feet High and Rising, the March 3 digital and streaming premiere included rollouts for De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), Stakes Is High (1996), Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) and AOI: Bionix (2001).

3 Feet is easily De La Soul’s biggest album for the week. The set returns to the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at No. 8 with 26,000 equivalent album units. It previously spent 36 weeks on the list in 1989-90, including five frames at No. 1, helped by the hit single “Me, Myself and I,” which topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for one week in June 1989, and follow-up hits “Say No Go” (No. 32) and “Buddy” (No. 18).

Most of the 3 Feet activity this week – 21,000 units – comes from album sales, with 4,000 in streaming-equivalent album units and the remaining 1,000 balance from track-equivalent album units. 14,000 of the sales sum came from vinyl LP sales alone — across multiple variants. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)

In addition to its top 10 re-entry on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, 3 Feet debuts at No. 4 on the Top Rap Albums chart, which began in 2004, and re-enters at No. 15 on the all-genre Billboard 200 for its 20th total week on the survey.

Unsurprisingly, “Me, Myself and I,” the trio’s biggest hit from their biggest album, leads the recap of De La Soul’s most streamed songs, with 1 million on-demand streams (including user-generated content [UGC], which does not count toward Billboard’s charts). More 3 Feet cuts, “The Magic Number,” which featured in the credits of the 2021 film Spider-Man: No Way Home, and “Eye Know,” rank second and third, respectively, with 618,000 clicks for the former and 511,000 streams for the latter. “Stakes Is High,” the title track of the trio’s 1996 album, lands in fourth place with 289,000 streams, while “Change in Speak,” another 3 Feet tune, rounds out the top five with 287,000 plays.

17 Mar 2023

Courtney Love Tells Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to ‘GO TO HELL IN A HANDBAG BRO’ in Scathing Guardian Op-Ed

Courtney Love is legendarily allergic to holding her tongue. The former Hole singer proved it again on Friday (March 17) with yet another broadside aimed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in an op-ed in the Guardian, a follow-up to an Instagram missive earlier this week in which she said she was “so over these ole boys #fixtherockandrollhalloffame.”

The piece, titled, “Why Are Women So Marginalised by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?,” opens with Love describing her lifelong obsession with rock n’ roll by stating, “I got into this business to write great songs and have fun.”

But, she writes, “What no magazine or album could teach me or prepare me for was how exceptional you have to be, as a woman and an artist, to keep your head above water in the music business.” She cites the pioneering work of Big Mama Thornton (“Hound Dog”), who paved the way for Elvis, and, later, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, saying that their songs, and the latter’s “evangelical” guitar playing, changed music forever and helped create rock ‘n’ roll.

She then notes Tharpe didn’t make it into the RRHOF until 2018 — following what she terms a public shaming — more than three decades after 1986’s, all-male group of initial inductees: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

For the record, she adds, Thornton is still not in today, when just 8.48% of inductees are women and only nine women are on the organization’s nominating board. Love also quotes music historian Evelyn McDonnell, a Rock Hall voter, as saying that among the musicians and music industry members on the voting committee, 90% are male.

“If so few women are being inducted into the Rock Hall, then the nominating committee is broken. If so few Black artists, so few women of color, are being inducted, then the voting process needs to be overhauled,” Love writes. “Music is a life force that is constantly evolving – and they can’t keep up.”

Love says this year’s nominations provided another reminder of “just how extraordinary a woman must be to make it into the ol’ boys club,” noting that more women were nominated this year than at any time in the organization’s 40-year history. That group includes Kate Bush, Cyndi Lauper, Sheryl Crow and Missy Elliott, as well as the White Stripes’ drummer Meg White and New Order keyboardist Gillian Gilbert.

However, Love wrote, visionary pop iconoclast Bush is on her fourth nomination (after first becoming eligible in 2004), despite being the first female act to hit No. 1 on the U.K. charts with a song she wrote at 19, “Wuthering Heights.” She didn’t make it onto a ballot until 2018, after the Hall of Fame’s co-founder and then-chairman, Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner, was inducted in 2004.

“Never mind that she was the first woman in pop history to have written every track on a million-selling debut,” Love wrote of 1978′s The Kick Inside. “A pioneer of synthesisers and music videos, she was discovered last year by a new generation of fans when ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ featured in the Netflix hit Stranger Things. She is still making albums.”

The list goes on: 30 years to induct Nina Simone, the 2014 crowning of Linda Ronstadt, who released her debut album in 1969 — acts are eligible 25 years after the release of their first record — and was the first woman to headline stadiums, not to mention Tina Turner finally being ushered in as a solo act 30 years after her first induction with former husband, bandmate and abuser, Ike Turner.

“You can write the Rock Hall off as a ‘boomer tomb’ and argue that it is building a totem to its own irrelevance,” she writes. “Why should we care who is in and who is not? But as scornful as its inductions have been, the Rock Hall is a bulwark against erasure, which every female artist faces whether they long for the honour or want to spit on it. It is still game recognising game, history made and marked.”

Calling the Rock Hall a “king-making force” in the global music industry that can impact an artist’s concert ticket prices, performance guarantees and quality of their reissue campaigns, Love says getting enshrined can be a “life-changing” experience. “The Rock Hall has covered itself in a sheen of gravitas and longevity that the Grammys do not have,” she adds. “Particularly for veteran female artists, induction confers a status that directly affects the living they are able to make. It is one of the only ways, and certainly the most visible, for these women to have their legacy and impact honoured with immediate material effect.”

Love ticks off seven-time nominee funk icon Chaka Khan as another “tragic” miss in the Hall’s induction history and claims that, “The Rock Hall’s canon-making doesn’t just reek of sexist gatekeeping, but also purposeful ignorance and hostility. This year, one voter told Vulture magazine that they barely knew who Bush was – in a year she had a worldwide No 1 single 38 years after she first released it.”

A spokesperson for the RRHOF had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment at press time. Billboard has not independently confirmed the statistics or numbers cited by Love in the piece.

“If the Rock Hall is not willing to look at the ways it is replicating the violence of structural racism and sexism that artists face in the music industry, if it cannot properly honour what visionary women artists have created, innovated, revolutionised and contributed to popular music – well, then let it go to hell in a handbag,” Love concludes.

17 Mar 2023

New Music Latin: Listen to Releases From Manuel Turizo, Elena Rose & More

New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.

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Manuel Turizo, 2000 (La Industria Inc./Sony Music Latin)

In 2000, named after his birth year, Manuel Turizo is more experimental than ever — and the first few songs are proof of that. Though he stays truthful to his reggaetón-pop core, the Colombian artist does not shy away from techno beats (as heard in “Triste”) fast-paced merengue (the Marshmello-assisted “El Merengue”) sultry reggae and dancehall fusions (“Jamaica”) and trap (“U Lala”). 2000 is a feel-good, summer-ready production that’s home to 15 track — including the previously released “Extasis” with Maria Becerra and “La Bachata,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Tropical Airplay Chart, Latin Airplay Chart, and most recently, the Argentina Hot 100.

Over energized rhythms and relatable lyrics, the Colombian artist also gets ultra-personal in the notable “Vacio” — a track where he opens up about chasing his dreams at such a young age (Turizo was 15 years old when he dropped his first hit “Una Lady Como Tú”). Further solidifying a very intimate set, the cover art is an actual photo of Turizo when he was a baby. — JESSICA ROIZ

Elena Rose, “El Hombre” (Warner Music Latina)

A groovy pop track is Elena Rose’s first single of the year, which also serves as a preview to her upcoming debut album. As ever, the singer-songwriter’s ethereal vocals — which adapt to whichever style will serve as her canvas — take center stage in this soon-to-be anthem. The sweet, yet poignant “El Hombre” describes an evolved man, one who isn’t scared to be vulnerable and has embraced his softer side. “He’s different from the rest,” she sings, introducing this unicorn of a man. “It’s not the man that opens the door for you, but the one who doesn’t want to close doors for you. A man isn’t the one that loves you but the one who teaches you how to love.” — GRISELDA FLORES

Lupita Infante, “Besarte Así” (Sony Music Latin)

In times when lyrics are getting more and more explicit, it’s refreshing to hear Lupita Infante’s utterly romantic “Besarte Así” (To Kiss You Like This,) the third single from her upcoming album Amor Como En Las Películas de Antes (Love Like in the Old Movies). With a retro sound and very sweet, innocent lyrics, the mariachi ballad (written by Infante with Pedro Dabdoub) imagines what would be the perfect kiss with the perfect someone: “If I get closer, little by little, I feel my voice tremble/ When I say your name what I really want is kissing you,” she sings, in Spanish. The song is about “letting your imagination take you somewhere you’ve never been before,” Infante says in the production notes, adding that the track “lets you envision that one kiss you have dreamed about your entire life, allowing yourself to embrace those loving feelings.” — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS

Isabella Lovestory, “Latina” (Isabella Lovestory)

Freaky urbano purveyor Isabella Lovestory doesn’t mind sharing alcohol, men and lipstick with her Latina comrades — after all, it’s a sisterhood. Buoyed by a glitchy, intoxicating reggaetón beat and her riot grrrl antics, the Honduran-born artist arrives with a powerful mission statement that’s filled with pride and conviction: “Latina.” Her first track of 2023 already sounds like an electrifying art-pop feminist anthem, one that’s empowering mujeres the web over (“I feel beautiful listening to this queen” or “I didn’t ask to be Latina I just got lucky,” commented some online users).

“Tongue-in-cheek and playful, [‘Latina’] is a song that celebrates being Latina without being cliché and ‘dove commercial’ about it,” she says in a press release. “It’s a commentary on the tokenizing of latinidad, reclaiming the uniqueness and poignancy of every experience each Latina has.” Produced by Chicken, Kamixlo and Nick León, the commanding neo-perreo song also coincides with the announcement of her upcoming tour, Laticonica. — ISABELA RAYGOZA

Luis R Conriquez & Grupo Frontera “Dame un Chance” (Kartel Music)

Luis R Conriquez and Grupo Frontera team up to deliver “Dame un Chance.” The contemporary norteño band and the Mexican singer-songwriter offer a fresh regional Mexican fusion that effortlessly combines traditional norteño sounds with the lively rhythm of cumbia. Produced by Edgar Barrera, the song serves as a romantic plea to be given a chance, committing to change (and even to consume less alcoho)l if it would grant them an opportunity with the person they love: “I have a feeling that my life is better with you/ I know very well that they say that I am a mess/ And it’s true I admit it too, but I also know how to love you pretty/ I’ll go down and drink a little so that you can see that I need you.” The accompanying video showcases the artists performing live with an enthusiastic group of men dancing and partying. — LUISA CALLE

Lenier & Yomo, “Corazón Callejero” (Mr. 305 Records)

Cuban singer-songwriter Lenier recruits Puerto Rican artist Yomo to deliver a love letter in “Corazón Callejero.” With a blend of charming melodies and uptempo beats, the heartfelt track — a sweet confession of love — seamlessly balances Yomo’s signature vocals and Lenier’s raspy-yet-soothing voice. “Yo tengo un corazón callejero, un corazón bandolero que de ti se enamoró (I have a street heart, a bandit’s heart that fell in love with you),” they sing in the chorus. — INGRID FAJARDO

Below, stream Billboard’s New Music Latin playlist, also featuring other recent releases from the Latin world.

17 Mar 2023

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Catalog Up 16% in Streams After Gary Rossington’s Death

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s catalog gained in streaming and sales following the death of founding guitarist Gary Rossington March 5.

In the March 3-9 tracking week, the Southern rockers drew 16.4 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. That’s a 16% jump over the previous period of Feb. 24-March 2 (14.1 million).

Pacing the group, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, in overall volume for its songs was “Sweet Home Alabama,” from 1974’s Second Helping. The classic track, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s lone top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 8 peak, October 1974), earned 4.5 million streams March 3-9, up 7% from 4.2 million.

The song is followed by “Simple Man,” from 1973’s (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), at 3.9 million streams, a 5% boost. Next up, “Free Bird” from the same album, with a 11% jump to 3.1 million streams. The latter sports a slightly larger bump than the other songs, unsurprisingly: Rossington was the architect of the hit’s signature slide guitar riff.

A fourth Lynyrd Skynyrd song impacts the week’s top 2,000 streams in the U.S.: “Gimme Three Steps,” also from the 1973 LP, with 1.6 million streams, up 8%.

Those gains are enough for “Alabama,” “Simple” and “Bird” to hit Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts (where older songs are eligible to appear if in the top half and with meaningful reasons for their resurgences). “Alabama” leads at No. 17, followed by “Simple” (No. 21) and “Bird” (No. 24). (“Simple” is in its third consecutive week on the ranking, having re-entered thanks to a viral American Idol audition with the song.)

All three titles also enter Rock Digital Song Sales, each with 1,000 downloads sold. In all, the band’s catalog moved 6,000 song downloads March 3-9, a vault of 103%.

The group’s All Time Greatest Hits concurrently scales Top Rock & Alternative Albums, bounding 28-15 with 11,000 equivalent album units earned, up 19%.

Rossington died March 5 at age 71. His cause of death has not yet been revealed. He had been the final surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose origins date to 1964.

17 Mar 2023

Paul Beasley, Singer for The Blind Boys of Alabama, Dies at 78

Paul Beasley, tenor for The Blind Boys of Alabama, has died at 78, a representative for the singer announced on Thursday (March 16). While a cause of death was not disclosed, the statement revealed that Beasley died on Monday, March 13.

Beasley spent years with Gospel Keynotes and the Mighty Clouds of Joy prior to joining the Blind Boys in 2013 after losing his sight. Known for his unique falsetto tone, Beasley first recorded with the Blind Boys on the group’s 2013 album, I’ll Find a Way, which was produced by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

After Beasley joined the group, the Blind Boys would go on to record four more albums: Talkin’ Christmas! with Taj Mahal, Almost Home, Work to Do with Marc Cohn and I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free with Bela Fleck. Talkin’ Christmas! peaked within the top 10 on the Top Gospel Albums chart at No. 9, and charted five spots higher at No. 4 on the Blues Albums chart. Work to Do peaked at No. 24 on the Independent Albums chart. During his time with the Blind Boys, Beasley earned a total of five Grammy nominations.

“In life there are some things that only come once, and the legacy and voice of Paul Beasley is one of those things. Thank God for him. He was often imitated, but never duplicated,” remaining Blind Boys members Ricky McKinnie, Jimmy Carter, Joey Williams, Rev. Julius Love and Sterling Glass said in a statement. “The Blind Boys have been friends and soulmates with Paul for many years. The memories that we shared are unsurpassed. Our deepest sympathy goes out to all of his family and friends. God bless you all.”

17 Mar 2023

Delilah Belle Talks Debut Single ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’: ‘It’s So Much More Than a Song to Me’

Delilah Belle is still getting used to calling herself a singer. As the 24-year-old model prepares to share her very first single, “Nothing Lasts Forever,” with the world, she’s spending a bizarrely cold Los Angeles day sending out invitations to her release party.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet, really,” she confesses to Billboard of the song’s imminent unveiling, which is taking place at West Hollywood hotspot Hotel Ziggy on Friday night.

The hip location on the Sunset Strip is the perfect setting to mark Delilah’s reinvention as a nascent pop star — particularly given her reality TV roots as the daughter of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills firebrand Lisa Rinna. After all, the boutique hotel was also the site of a party hosted by DJ James Kennedy in the latest season premiere of RHOBH spinoff Vanderpump Rules — this was pre-#Scandoval — and also happens to be just down the road from what used to be L.A.’s iconic Tower Records flagship store.

Fans first met Delilah back in 2014 when her famous mom snagged a diamond in the fan-favorite fifth season of Bravo’s 90210 franchise. (Ironically, in her very first scene, Rinna implores Delilah and her younger sister Amelia Gray, “Tell me about Coachella,” after not allowing the then-teens to go to the festival.)

But just one look at the music video for “Nothing Lasts Forever” lets fans know that Delilah has certainly grown up since her earliest days in front of reality TV cameras. The visual for the downtempo ballad opens with the DNA designer sitting in a milky bath reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s “Lavender Haze” video before she jolts awake, singing, “Feelin’ like I’m dyin’ and it won’t pass/ Feelin’ like I’m lyin’ in a bloodbath/ I could pull the plug, let it drain out/ Or take another drug for the pain now” in a glossy soprano.

The song wades into weighty territory for a debut single, exploring Delilah’s physical and mental health struggles over the past few years. In November 2021, she went live on Instagram to detail living with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety, as well as a particularly bad experience with a Xanax subscription, to her more than 1.6 million followers. (She now boasts, as of press time, closer to 2 million and counting.)

Yet despite its raw edge, the older Hamlin sister says she didn’t think twice about getting vulnerable with the song. “I’ve always been an open book and I’ve never been scared to really share what I’ve gone through.” she says. “That’s just not really who I am.”

Below, Delilah Belle chatted exclusively with Billboard about breaking into music, what she hopes fans take from “Nothing Lasts Forever,” whether she got any advice from her mom’s RHOBH bestie Erika Jayne and more.

What made “Nothing Lasts Forever” the right choice as your debut single?

I want this song to be something that everyone can relate to in one way or another. You know, I’ve written tons of songs about breakups, heartbreak, et cetera, but I feel like this song really is open to interpretation, and I want people to be able to just really relate to it in whatever way they need to in that moment. Because the meaning behind it really is “nothing lasts forever,” whether that be a breakup or really anything.

How did you start writing music in the first place?

I’ve always journaled my entire life and I’ve also always loved singing. And I knew that I wanted to be able to convey and tell my story through music. I thought, you know, “I have a platform. I could just put out an Instagram Story and talk about the struggles I’ve been going through.” But really, I thought that, creatively, the best way to go about telling my story would be through music. “I have a platform. I could just put out an Instagram Story and talk about the struggles I’ve been going through.” But really, I thought that, creatively, the best way to go about telling my story would be through music.

You said they’re up for interpretation, but the song’s lyrics deal with some heavy emotional themes surrounding mental health and anxiety. What inspired that?

Honestly, what I’ve been going through the past couple of years — really most of my life, as I can remember — I’ve felt a certain way. And they definitely are heavy, heavy lyrics. [Pauses] Yeah, I’ve struggled with my mental and my physical health the past couple of years and I wanted to be able to convey my struggles not so, like, blatantly. But at the same time, you know, they are heavy and they really do convey exactly how I was feeling.

Was that a vulnerable process for you to put those ideas down on paper? Did you feel ready to put all this out there?

You know, I honestly did feel ready to put all this out there. I’ve felt ready for a while, especially after I posted this video a couple years ago on my — I guess it was a Live, then I posted it to my IGTV, if that’s what it is. I’m so bad at technology, I literally don’t know what things mean. [Laughs] But yeah, I’ve always been an open book and I’ve never been scared to really share what I’ve gone through. That’s just not really who I am. So going through the process of writing and recording and being able to share my story through storytelling, through music was definitely a cathartic experience. It just felt right. Like, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at any time. I honestly could’ve shared more; I could’ve been even more open. It’s easy for me to open up, and I think it’s important to open up.

What do you hope listeners and new fans take away from the song’s message?

I really, really hope that people can resonate with the lyrics and take what they need from it. Because it’s so much more than just a song to me. I’ve been in very dark, dark moments in my life where I put on a song, or I’ll have the same song or, like, a playlist on repeat that just like that sad playlist. And those always make me cry, and when I’m in those moments, I want to be able to relate to someone else. Or I want to feel heard, I want to feel like I’m not going through this alone.

So number one, I want people to be able to, if they’re sitting on their bathroom floor or laying in bed, feeling like they’re dying and this moment won’t pass, I want them to be able to be like, “OK wait, someone else feels this way.” And whether someone looks up to me or thinks of me in a certain way, I want them to be able to be like, “Oh wait, Delilah also feels that way.” And if that can help someone, that would just be amazing. I want people to know that nothing lasts forever and I also struggle. 

That’s something so many people struggle with and it can be hard to talk about and feel really isolating.

Yeah, and I think people can tell us over and over again that, like, “This too shall pass.” People can tell us all of these clichés, but in reality, it really does take wanting to change. And in my lyrics, I convey, like, “Same me, same girl, same behavior.” I was really just stuck in this one space until I realized, like, I have to change my thinking in order for my life to change…And when you change your thinking and your behavior, then you really do realize that nothing lasts forever. 

Do you have any pop artists you looked to for inspiration as you dove into music?

I honestly didn’t know what my sound was going to be. I’ve written multiple songs and every song is, like, a different sound and could be considered a different genre. So when I think of someone who’s an inspiration to me as a musician, I think of how they tell their story. And I think that that’s something that’s really important to me and that’s such a beautiful thing. So I think of Lady Gaga, I think of Billie Eilish. Lizzo. I think of, you know, going back to Amy Winehouse. I even think of XXXTentacion in the way that he told his story through music, I just think it was very impactful. So I wouldn’t really say when I looked up to musicians I was trying to necessarily embody their sound, but more so the way that they told their stories. 

Considering that you’ve known her for so many years, did you get any advice from Erika Jayne about starting music?

I don’t think I did get any advice from Erika. I don’t think I reached out, to be quite honest with you! [Laughs]

Well maybe we need her on the “Nothing Lasts Forever” remix.

Maybe we do, maybe there’s 10 remixes! I do think I invited her to my release party though. But no, honestly, I kind of did this alone with my little team that I created and love so much. 

Tell me about the concept for the music video.

So the concept for the music video is…sick. [Laughs] I wanted it to be very elevated, ethereal, I wanted it to be high-fashion, I wanted it to be emotional, I wanted it to be so many things. So me, my creative directors and my team — we really thought about it and made it like a dream within a dream. We wanted it to be a work of art, honestly. And also, like I said with the song, open to interpretation. We didn’t want it to be too literal, and that’s what I love about it.

How did shooting the music video compare to all of your experience modeling?

When I model, I would bring emotion if that’s what was asked of me. But in the music video, in every shot I was thinking a lot, and thinking heavily about things that have happened throughout my life — and the last couple of years especially. So there was a lot of emotion filming it. I mean, I went through, I don’t know if it’s a hundred percent conveyed, but for me, I was very emotional filming that. And it was also kind of like acting? Which I’ve not really done in so long, since I was in, like, theater school when I was younger. It was awesome because it was something that I was kind of also directing. Obviously there was a director, my creative directors, but it was something that I was directing with my emotions and my thoughts. So it was a bit different in that aspect.

You’re definitely a little more in the driver’s seat than on a modeling shoot, I assume.

Yes, which I love because I’m very creative.

So can people expect more music coming soon from you? A full-length album, perhaps?

What can I tease? Hmmm. [Laughs] I’m definitely planning on a hundred percent releasing more music in the future. I… Yeah, I will leave you with that. Yeah, I don’t know yet. We’ll see.

17 Mar 2023

BTS’ Jimin Says ‘Intense’ Solo Single ‘Set Me Free Pt. 2’ Is, Of Course, About ‘Setting Myself Free’

Breaking out on your own from one of the most successful pop groups on the planet must surely come with untold trepidation and anxiety about whether your fanbase will follow you down a new path. But for BTS‘ Jimin, releasing his solo single “Set Me Free Pt. 2” amounts to a kind of liberation (or, as he puts it, a “new starting point”), as well as a chance to establish an identity apart from the global superstar septet.

“When this song was made, I felt really attached to it,” he told Consequence of Sound about his first solo project. “I went to the U.S. myself for the choir recording, and listening to it right next to them was truly amazing. I remember it as a really good memory.”

The song — which features majestic choir backing, a booming hip-hop beat and urgent Auto-Tuned vocals — is slated to appear on Jimin’s upcoming solo album, FACE, which is due out on March 24. And though it is tagged as a sequel, any ARMY member can tell you that there is, in fact, no original “Set Me Free” in Jimin’s discography. The singer explained to CoS that the title is a wink a song on bandmate Suga’s 2020 D-2 mixtape from alter ego Agust D.

“There isn’t a connection, and we weren’t trying to divide part one or part two,” he said. “But since it turns out my song talks about freedom and moving forward, and SUGA’s song talks about some of the stories that come before, I thought it would be good to come after that.”

Asked to break down the message of the track — which he described as having a light/dark, black/white energy — Jimin said he focused on the concepts of “determination, passion, and overcoming” and that the title is about him, well, setting himself free. “So I thought it was important that I be the one to set myself free — not someone else,” he said. “In the end, I’m the one who has to set myself free.”

As the latest member of the group to break out during the band’s yearslong pause to allow all seven to focus on their solo careers (as well as attend mandatory South Korean army service), Jimin said all his bandmates were nervous before dropping their albums and singles, but luckily, “their results were absolutely great.”

He’s nervous too, but mostly he just wants to make the other guys proud. “I don’t want to be an embarrassment to my members,” he said. “I want to be a proud member of BTS.” He doesn’t appear to have much to worry about, as “Set Me Free Pt. 2” was announced with a flashy, choreography-heavy video directed by Oui Kim.

As for what fans can expect from FACE, Jimin promised that the album talks about how he can look back on his past and, “how I overcame… If people understand the emotions I’m trying to express, I’ll consider the album a success.”

Watch “Set Me Free Pt. 2” below.

17 Mar 2023

First Stream: New Music From Taylor Swift, Kx5, Hozier and More

Billboard’s First Stream serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, Taylor Swift unveils some secret songs, Kx5 points toward the dance floor and Hozier makes a long-awaited return. Check out all of this week’s First Stream picks below:

Taylor Swift, “All of the Girls You Loved Before” 

To celebrate the kickoff of her Eras stadium tour on Friday (Mar. 17), Taylor Swift has cracked her vault open and given fans a few unexpected goodies: the “Taylor’s Version” takes on previously released tracks “If This Was a Movie,” “Safe and Sound” and “Eyes Open,” as well as “All of the Girls You Loved Before,” an unreleased gem from her Lover era. Like the best moments on that 2019 album, “Girls” crackles with rhythm and romance, as Swift sings about how past mistakes have created a better reality and concludes on the swaying chorus, “Every dead-end street, led you straight to me.”

Kx5, Kx5 

“It was literally a product of us saying, ‘F–k it,’” deadmau5 told Billboard of the formation of Kx5, his superstar team-up with Kaskade. “I’m not saying we don’t love it, but we don’t need it, financially speaking. It’s just something we want.” That carefree desire is imprinted across new album Kx5, as the duo of dance music titans use these 10 tracks try things out in the context of their respective styles, and more often than not — from the breathless groove of the AR/CO collaboration “Bright Lights” to the strobing, dance-siren emotion of “Escape” with Hayla — that process of saying “f–k it” pays dividends.

Hozier, Eat Your Young EP 

Hozier has been able to transcend the success of breakthrough smash “Take Me To Church” due to his songwriting panache — it’s the reason why he’s headlining Madison Square Garden later this year instead of being relegated to one-hit wonder status. Eat Your Young, a new three-song EP that precedes his upcoming third album Unreal Unearth, references Dante’s Inferno and the sins of gluttony and heresy, but does in a way that draws in the listener without preening like a college paper: the title track, for instance, charms with a strings-laden, bluesy chorus, letting its message seep in slowly and effectively.

Melanie Martinez, “Death” 

Melanie Martinez is the type of artist that does not drop by between album cycles for one-off singles and tossed-off collaborations: the avant-garde pop auteur instead creates bold, expansive worlds with each project, and when one is complete, she stows away for a few years to make another. “I’m back from the dead, back from the dead,” Martinez declares on the chorus of “Death,” the lead single to upcoming album Portals, and while the dramatic five-minute track can be connected to her artistic reawakening with every project, the kinetic drums and electronic elements will also make listeners feel reborn, too.

Avenged Sevenfold, “Nobody” 

On their first new single since 2016, hard-rock veterans Avenged Sevenfold try to make up for lost time by seemingly deploying all of their finely crafted skills in six minutes — guitar chugs morph into searing solos, pummeling verses lead into sky-high hooks, and the groove conveys a nervousness before all of the tension is eventually released. “Nobody” evolves around M. Shadows’ philosophical prodding, his voice heavy with the weight of his life questions — but that man can howl like no other, and his vocals still take hold of the listener after a long layoff.

17 Mar 2023

Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie & Paul McCartney Are the Only Writers With 6 Grammy Nods for Song of the Year: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Taylor Swift has a reputation as one of the finest songwriters of her generation. Grammy voters seem to agree – she has received six song of the year nominations since 2009, which puts her in a tie with Lionel Richie and Paul McCartney for the most by any songwriter in Grammy history.

Richie wrote five of his six song of the year nominees by himself. He teamed with Michael Jackson to write his sixth, “We Are the World.”

By contrast, Swift and McCartney wrote just one of their song of the year nominees by themselves. Swift was the sole writer of “Lover.” McCartney was the sole writer of “Ebony and Ivory.”

Swift teamed with Liz Rose to write two of her nominated songs; with Max Martin and Shellback to write two others; and with Aaron Dessner to write one. McCartney and John Lennon were credited as co-writers of all five nominated songs that were recorded by The Beatles.

“Anti-Hero,” which Swift co-wrote with Jack Antonoff, seems very likely to be nominated for song of the year when the nods for the 66th annual Grammy Awards are announced later this year. That would give her a tiebreaking seventh nomination.

Unlike McCartney and Richie, Swift has yet to win in the category. McCartney won on his third nomination, for “Michelle,” a charming tune from The Beatles’ Rubber Soul that few would regard as one of his or their greatest songs. Richie won on his sixth nomination, for USA for Africa‘s “We Are the World.” That song raised millions to fight starvation in Africa and hunger here in the U.S., but it’s more admired for its purpose and intentions than its songcraft.

As Swift launches her 52-date The Eras Tour in Glendale, Ariz. on Friday (March 17), we have prepared this list showing you each of these songwriters’ six Grammy nominations – in a handy, side-by-side format.