Music

15 Mar 2023

HYBE Says There Is No Set Date for BTS Comeback, Asks for Respect for Members’ Privacy

Bang Si-hyuk, HYBE label chairman, made an appearance on Wednesday (March 15) at the Gwanhun Forum, where he shared a speech and held a press Q&A, discussing the company’s plans to expand K-pop globally. He also touched on plans for BTS following their mandatory military enlist.

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Bang revealed that there is no set date for BTS’ comeback as a group, and requested respect for the band’s privacy regarding military service and their plans for their careers. In October, HYBE’s BIGHIT Music said all seven members would serve in the military and the group is expected to reconvene in 2025, though now that date is not confirmed.

Bang also revealed that BTS haven’t yet renewed their contract with HYBE, adding that the company “still has time left” until the boy band’s contracts expire, according to The K-Pop Herald. “We’ll discuss [contract renewal with the members] within the time, and I believe it will be right for us to speak about it after the discussion ends,” he explained.

Just days after the release of their anthology album Proof — released as a celebration of the septet’s ninth anniversary — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook shared in a video posted in June 2022 that they plan to take a break from group activities so they can all have time to work on personal and solo endeavors.

In January, 30-year-old Jin became the first member of the septet to begin his mandatory 18-month stint in the South Korean army. At press time it had not yet been announced when Jin’s bandmates will begin their service.

Additional reporting By Jeyup S. Kwaak.

15 Mar 2023

Kelly Clarkson Declares It’s ‘My Life’ With Her Billy Joel Cover: Watch

Kelly Clarkson gave one of Billy Joel‘s many classic songs a spin for the Wednesday (March 15) episode of her namesake talk show, opting for the Piano Man’s 1978 track “My Life” for the program’s Kellyoke segment.

Accompanied by her band Y’all, the American Idol alum injected the popular track with her signature belt and stunning vibrato, and even gave the camera a knowing wink while singing her rendition.

“I don’t need you to worry for me ’cause I’m alright/ I don’t want you to tell me it’s time to come home/ I don’t care what you say anymore this is my life/ Go ahead with your own life leave me alone,” The Voice coach sang on the chorus.

“My Life” was released as the first single from Joel’s sixth studio album, 52nd Street. The track made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1978, and peaked at No. 3 on the all-genre tally in January 1979. The track spent 18 weeks on the Hot 100. 52nd Street was a smash, spending a total of 76 weeks on the Billboard 200, eight of which were at the top of the chart.

In the past few weeks, Clarkson has covered Smashing Pumpkins’ “1979,” Death Cab for Cutie’s “You Are a Tourist” and more.

Watch Kelly Clarkson take on Billy Joel’s “My Life” in the video above.

15 Mar 2023

Esther Phillips, Josh White & More Inducted into Blues Hall of Fame: Full List of 2023 Inductees

R&B and blues singer Esther Phillips is among the 2023 inductees into The Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame. Phillips had two top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 — “Release Me” (1962, when she was known as “Little Esther” Phillips) and a remake of Dinah Washington’s “What a Diff’rence a Day Makes” (1975). Phillips didn’t live to see her induction. She died in 1984 at age 48.

Josh White, who went from being a Piedmont blues artist to an important voice in the folk music world of the 1940s, was also inducted. White, who died in 1969 at age 55, received the Folk Alliance International’s 2023 lifetime achievement award for a legacy (deceased) artist on Feb. 1 in Kansas City, Mo. Leyla McCalla and Josh White Jr. performed in tribute to White at that event. McCalla performed “I Gave My Love a Cherry (The Riddle Song).” White Jr. sang “One Meatball.”

This year’s other Blues Hall of Fame honorees include four Chicago bluesmen (Carey Bell, John Primer, Snooky Pryor and Fenton Robinson) and a Mississippi juke joint king (Junior Kimbrough).

Of the seven artists being inducted this year, four (Bell, Phillips, Primer and Robinson) had been nominated for Grammy awards, but none had won (which suggests the need for these specialized awards). Phillips was a four-time nominee for best R&B vocal performance, female. She lost three times to Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin.

Of the seven artists, only Primer is still living. He is 78.

Since its inception in 1980, The Blues Foundation has inducted more than 400 industry professionals, recordings, and works of literature into the Blues Hall of Fame. Members are inducted in five categories: performers, individuals, classic of blues literature, classic of blues recording (song), and classic of blues recording (album).

David Evans, who won the award for individuals, is a two-time Grammy winner for best album notes. He won for Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented By William Ferris and Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues – The Worlds of Charley Patton.

One of the five recordings being honored has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. That’s Son House’s 1930 recording “My Black Mama,” which was voted into the Grammy HOF in 2013.

Little Walter: The Complete Chess Masters is 2023’s classic blues recording: album. Hip-O’s five-CD, 126-track compilation was released in 2009.

Entering the Blues Hall of Fame as a classic of blues literature is The Original Blues: The Emergence of the Blues in African American Vaudeville 1899-1926. The book, by Lynn Abbott and Doug Seroff, chronicles the minstrel and ragtime traditions in vaudeville theatre that was major public venue for blues in its early years.

The Blues Hall of Fame induction ceremony, held in conjunction with the Blues Music Awards, will take place on Wednesday, May 10, at the Halloran Centre in Memphis. A cocktail reception honoring the BHOF inductees and Blues Music Awards nominees will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the inductions commencing at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, including the ceremony and reception, are $75 each and available with Blues Music Awards tickets.

The Blues Hall of Fame Museum in Memphis will showcase several items representing the 2023 class of inductees. These artifacts will be on display for public viewing beginning the first week of May and will remain on view for the next 12 months.

Here’s a full list of The Blues Foundation’s 2023 Blues Hall of Fame inductees.

Performers

  • Carey Bell
  • Junior Kimbrough
  • Esther Phillips
  • John Primer
  • Snooky Pryor
  • Fenton Robinson
  • Josh White

Individuals – Business, Production, Media, Academic

  • David Evans

Classic of Blues Literature

  • The Original Blues: The Emergence of the Blues in African American Vaudeville 1899-1926 by Lynn Abbott & Doug Seroff (University Press of Mississippi, 2017)

Classic of Blues Recording – Album

  • Little Walter: The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) (Hip-O Select, 2009)

Classics of Blues Recording – Single or Album Track

  • “Black Nights” — Lowell Fulson (Kent, 1965)
  • “I’m Tore Down” — Freddy King (Federal, 1961)
  • “Mojo Hand” — Lightnin’ Hopkins (Fire, 1960)
  • “My Black Mama” — Son House (Paramount, 1930)
  • “The Red Rooster (Little Red Rooster)” — Howlin’ Wolf (Chess, 1961)

15 Mar 2023

Will Morgan Wallen Fend Off No. 1 Challenges from Miley Cyrus & TWICE on the Billboard 200? 

Welcome to The Contenders, a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated March 25), a longtime stateside household name and a growing global force will compete against Morgan Wallen’s blockbuster in its second week.

Miley Cyrus, Endless Summer Vacation (Columbia): You might expect Miley Cyrus’ new album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Cyrus has been a household name for a decade and a half, and she’s coming off her biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit with the six-week No. 1 “Flowers” — and her new album has largely been met with critical acclaim and positive fan response since its Friday release.  

Despite her continued stardom, however, Cyrus has not scored a No. 1 album since 2013’s Bangerz, with her most recent effort (2021’s Plastic Hearts) debuting at No. 2 with 60,000 equivalent album units. A number anywhere near that range would probably not be enough to dethrone Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which debuted at No. 1 with 501,000 units on last week’s Billboard 200 (dated March 18). Even if One Thing posts only 40% of that in its second week, that would still be over three times Plastic Hearts’ first-week tally.  

Vacation is expected to do better than Hearts, though – helped not only by the continued success of “Flowers” (which holds at No. 2 on the Hot 100 this week) and strong early returns for follow-up single “River,” but also by a variety of physical releases. That includes four vinyl variants (including one exclusive to Target, and two exclusive to her web store) and two deluxe box sets exclusive to her web store — one with a puzzle and a CD, the other with a beach towel and a CD.  

TWICE, Ready to Be (JYP/Republic): Though they might not have name recognition as wide as Miley Cyrus in the United States, Korean girl group TWICE might be just as big a threat to Wallen’s place at the top of the Billboard 200 this week. TWICE have reached the chart’s No. 3 spot, well, twice: with 2021 LP Formula of Love: O+T=<3> and 2022 EP Between 1&2. The latter moved over 100,000 units in its first week, thanks largely to robust physical sales numbers that demonstrated the group’s devoted and expanding U.S. fanbase.  

TWICE, which received the Breakthrough Artist award at Billboard’s 2023 Women in Music event, could do even better with its first EP of 2023, Ready to Be. The seven-track set includes the group’s second-ever Hot 100 hit, “Moonlight Sunrise,” and is available in a whopping 11 CD variants (including multiple exclusives for Barnes & Noble and the group’s webstore, and one for Target), each with randomized elements like photo cards and folded posters, as well as two vinyl LP variants. 

IN THE MIX 

Meghan Trainor, Takin’ It Back (Epic): If not for Cyrus, the most noteworthy comeback by a 2010s pop star would be that of bubblegum revivalist Meghan Trainor, whose TikTok-boosted single “Made You Look” became her biggest Hot 100 hit since 2016 when it peaked at No. 11 in February. This week, that single’s album, Takin’ It Back (which debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 last November), could reenter the chart, thanks to the release of its new deluxe edition, which boasts four new tracks, including the “Mr. Sandman”-sampling follow-up single “Mother.”  

15 Mar 2023

Matthew Lawrence Clears Up Comments About Starting a Family With TLC’s Chilli

Matthew Lawrence sat down for a new interview on Wednesday (March 15) to walk back his recent comments about starting a family with girlfriend Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas.

“It’s such an interesting story. Joe and I were commiserating about this plan that we had to have children together…when we were growing up,” he told E! News of a recent conversation with his older brother Joey Lawrence. “And I missed the first go around and now he’s starting a new family and I was thinking, ‘Man, it’d be great if we could do it again, when I didn’t have the chance to raise a family together.’”

However, the middle Lawrence brother was quick to insist that his comments weren’t specific to his new relationship with the TLC member. “So that’s what I meant by that,” he continued. “I didn’t mean to put any pressure on somebody I was dating or anything.”

The Money Plane actor and Chilli have been linked since before the holidays, when they posted an adorable lip sync to a-ha’s “Take On Me” on Instagram wearing matching onesies. In the new interview, Lawrence also raved about his new love, saying, “She’s an amazing person. She’s already a mother, she has an incredible son. I respect so much as to how she’s raised him. She’d be an incredible mother again and I’d be incredibly lucky but that’s way in the future.”

While the couple’s plans for a baby may be on hold, Chilli is set to embark on her Hot Summer Nights Tour with TLC bandmate T-Boz and Shaggy, along with special guests En Vogue and Sean Kingston, starting June 1 in Alabama.

15 Mar 2023

NiziU’s ‘Paradise’ Hits No. 1, Naniwa Danshi’s ’Special Kiss’ Debuts at No. 2 on Japan Hot 100

NiziU’s “Paradise” shoots to No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, tracking the week from Mar. 6 to 12 and released Mar. 15.

The latest track from the nine-member girl group hit No. 1 after debuting at No. 23 on last week’s chart, powered by downloads (No. 1 for the metric). The CD version went on sale this tracking week and the song came in at No. 2 for sales with 168,938 copies sold, while also faring well in the other metrics of the chart’s methodology: No. 3 for downloads, No. 13 for streaming, and No. 4 for video views and radio.

Naniwa Danshi’s “Special Kiss” debuts at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 this week, ruling sales with 512,690 copies but unable to support that advantage in the other metrics — for example, No. 13 for video and No. 24 for radio. 

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Looking at first-week sales figures of both groups’ previous singles, NiziU’s “Blue Moon” sold 207,252 copies, meaning the new single is down by about 18.5 percent. Naniwa Danshi’s “Happy Surprise” sold 517,381 copies, so the new release is also down but only slightly by about 0.9 percent. However, “Blue Moon” came in at No. 46 for downloads, No. 92 in streaming, No. 42 in video, and No. 61 in radio, so the J-pop girl group managed to significantly improve in various other metrics besides sales for their new single to take the top position on the latest song chart.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

For the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Mar. 6 to 12, see here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account. 

15 Mar 2023

Japan’s ONE N’ ONLY Break Down March Single ‘We’ll rise again’

J-pop boy band ONE N’ ONLY dropped a new single called ”We’ll rise again” on March 8, the third in the group’s five-month streak of new releases currently underway celebrating the group’s fifth anniversary, following “YOU???” and “Get That (PT-BR ver.).” “We’ll rise again” is also the six-member group’s first single in about four years to be released in physical form since “Category/My Love” from 2019.

Members EIKU, TETTA, REI, HAYATO, KENSHIN, and NAOYA chatted with Billboard Japan about their March offering and broke down each of the tracks included on the CD single.

“We’ll rise again” is featured as the theme of the your movie Battle King! -We’ll rise again-, set for release in Japanese theaters March 10.

HAYATO: This song has been around for a while, but when we were casted as a group in our first starring movie, we changed the lyrics to link it to the film’s content.

Since you knew it would be the theme of the group’s first starring movie, it must have felt different than usual when you were recording it.

EIKU: Yes. We recorded the first verse before we started filming. Then we recorded the second verse after we wrapped, so it helped us put more feeling into it because we could see how faithful the song was to the film and it was like the meaning of the lyrics became clearer.

HAYATO: The scenes came to mind, didn’t it?

EIKU: Yeah. We later re-recorded the first verse and made it even better. The character I play, Genjiro, used to be a delinquent, but he gets into hip-hop dance and finds his dream. There’s this scene where he expresses his determination to the art school principal and it’s a really touching moment. I sang my part with that scene in mind, so my voice sounds more emotional.

TETTA: The movie depicts a future where the characters aim for global success, and singing with that feeling is the same as where we’re at right now as ONE N’ ONLY, so it was easy for me to get into the feeling.

REI: The lyrics are really linked to the story, so I think you can enjoy it twice!

Will fans be able to check out your movie outside of Japan?

TETTA: Unfortunately, there’s no plan for international theatrical release.

HAYATO: But on-demand video streaming services are everywhere now so it’d be nice if people could catch it.

TETTA: We could do our own voice-overs.

NAOYA: Come on, there will be subtitles! [Everyone laughs]

HAYATO: But if it’s dubbed, I’d love to see who does our voices.

NAOYA: The movie version of the drama series I was in called his – Koi suru tsumori nante nakatta – (“I didn’t intend to fall in love”) is being distributed in Brazil with subtitles. I know someone from Brazil who got to know ONE N’ ONLY because of that.

KENSHIN: We could do a Portuguese version of the first rap battle scene.

EIKU: Then we’d have to ask everyone who performed with us to learn Portuguese.

KENSHIN: Sounds like a lot of work, but fun!

“We’ll rise again” will be released on CD along with its digital formats. How do you feel about that?

NAOYA: The last time was “Category/My Love” in 2019, so it’s been a long time.

HAYATO: Putting songs out in physical format is always a great feeling.

Two other songs are included in the CD single. Tell us about “GIFT.”

HAYATO: It’s a gentle love song, following “My Love.” I think our SWAGs also enjoy these kinds of straightforward J-POP numbers. It has a more mature worldview than “My Love,” and the chorus contains a message about the importance of the ordinary things in life. We performed it at our Christmas concert last year, so I’m really looking forward to sharing it with everyone.

REI: The lyrics are straightforward, and the song changes keys so it’s not boring. We sing the lyrics clearly so the message probably comes through.

HAYATO: The choreography is cute too.

REI: It’d be great if people could remember the hand-waving at the end and the hugging gestures since they’re easy to imitate.

NAOYA: The other song, “QUEEN,” is pretty daring for us. It’s the sexiest song we’ve ever done.

HAYATO: It depends on how you look at it, but it’s steamy! [Laughs]

NAOYA: No doubt about it. I want people to see our performance after memorizing the lyrics.

HAYATO: We did a performance using a microphone stand as one of the highlights of our tour, and when you hear it with the song’s content in mind, it’s definitely different!

REI: The lyrics are hard to understand on first listen, aren’t they?

TETTA: We encourage everyone to read the lyrics while listening to it.

REI: People will be like, “Ooh la la!” [Laughs]

TETTA: It’s a song that we can sing because we’re who we are today.

REI: You don’t find many songs like this in Japan. Content like this would be glossed over in other J-pop songs, but here it’s up front, which I think is a message from our songwriters that they expect us to express these kinds of things and compete with our musicality.

KENSHIN: The song is finely broken up for each of our parts, and we try new expressions down to our fingertips, so I’d like people to look out for that, too.

I look forward to seeing these songs live again.

EIKU: They’re tracks that will definitely add more power to our live performances, so I hope everyone enjoys these three songs this month.

—This interview by Kana Yoshida first appeared on Billboard Japan

15 Mar 2023

Beware of Scammers Posing as Billboard Contributors

It’s come to our attention that there are scammers on social media asking people for money in exchange for Billboard coverage. To state it clearly: Billboard contributors never accept money in exchange for Billboard coverage.

If someone reaches out to you asking for money in exchange for coverage in print or online, please do not send that person money. These social media accounts are not affiliated with Billboard in any fashion, although many of them pretend to be. Many of these accounts post photos, articles and biographical information they’ve copied from real Billboard contributors’ social media accounts.

Please beware of the numerous imposters currently running this scam. While we report these accounts, we do not have the ability to ban or freeze these social media accounts ourselves. If a social media user asks you for payment and promises Billboard coverage, block the user and report the account to the social media platform directly.

You can find Billboard‘s contact information here.

15 Mar 2023

BLACKPINK’s Jennie Stuns as Star of Calvin Klein’s Spring Campaign: Watch

Calvin Klein just released a series of gorgeous photos and videos launching the brand’s new spring campaign, shot in black(pink) and white. And, starring alongside fellow ambassadors FKA Twigs, Kendall Jenner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Michael B. Jordan is BLACKPINK‘s Jennie, continuing her long-running partnership with the fashion house.

In the spring advertisements, the 27-year-old K-pop star stuns with long, dark waves and chopped bangs, paired with simple makeup and different combinations of Calvin Klein looks. In one photo, she stares down the camera wearing a matching sports bra and underwear set, and in another, she wears a jean jacket while posing next an adorable kitten.

Jennie also starred in a solo video for the campaign, expertly modeling more underwear and denim looks to “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself” by The White Stripes. At one point, she sensually bites a petal off a rose flower, a visual nod to one of the song’s lyrics: “Like a summer rose…”

Calvin Klein summarized the focus of the spring campaign in just a couple words — “soft minimalism” — under a couple photos of Jennie posted to the brand’s Instagram account.

By now, the “SOLO” singer is a bonafide Calvin Klein veteran, having starred in the brand’s 2022 spring and fall campaigns. She and her BLACKPINK bandmates Lisa, Jisoo and Rosé are currently in the middle of their Born Pink world tour, supporting their September-released album of the same name. The record debuted atop the Billboard 200 and charted two tracks in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down.”

Watch Jennie work it in Calvin Klein’s new spring campaign above.

15 Mar 2023

Shawn Mendes New Tommy Hilfiger ‘Classics Reborn’ Collection Focuses on Sustainability, Recycled Materials

Shawn Mendes has roped some friends and family into the ad for his new sustainable Tommy Hilfiger collaboration, Tommy X Shawn Classics Reborn. The 28-piece mens and womenswear capsule collection launched on Wednesday (March 15) with an ad featuring sister Aaliyah Mendes, artist/songwriter and friend Jon Vinyl, producer Mike Sabath, artist Ahmad Cissé, author/model Maye Musk, designer Czarina Kwong, models Yvesmark Chery and Jane Pathammavong and champion for change Deprise Lons.

“I’m so excited to be working with my Tommy Hilfiger family on the Classics Reborn  collection,” said Mendes in a statement promoting the line that features materials crafted from recycled textiles and Recycrom, a new dye-making technique that reprocesses fibers by turning pre-consumer factory cutting waste into a colored powder. “The collection is so special to me because I was able to work with Tommy Hilfiger to co-create this range which includes these amazing, high-quality, sustainable versions of their most classic clothing items.” 

“What if we could reinvent what once was tossed aside?,” Mendes asks in the ad for the clothing line that leans into the brand’s signature red, white and blue color palette. “Take it, remake it, change is always vital. There’s not better time to surround yourself with inspiration, with people who move you. With clothing made from discarded fabrics, colored with memories and reborn into new icons.”

The release notes that the collection was inspired by Hilfiger’s take on “pre-90s prep,” with an emphasis on inclusivity across four principles: Color Reborn, Materials Reborn, Self Reborn and Community Reborn. “The Tommy X Shawn Classics Reborn collection marks another step towards realizing our vision for sustainability, as we aim to create fashion that Wastes Nothing and Welcomes All,” said Hilfiger in the statement. “Shawn is an impressive young man and advocate for positive change. We’re proud to partner with him and continue playing our part in creating a more responsible future of fashion.”

To mark the launch of the global campaign, Hilfiger and Mendes are hosting a series of events in London, Berlin, Milan and Mexico City; the pieces are available here and in Tommy Hilfiger stores and retail partners worldwide.

Check out the Tommy X Shawn ad and some images from the campaign below.

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Cass Bird

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Cass Bird