Music

01 Feb 2023

HARDY & Maneskin Crown Rock Album Charts With New Releases

Two sets start atop Billboard’s rock album charts dated Feb. 4, as HARDY’s The Mockingbird & the Crow and Måneskin’s Rush! open atop the lists.

HARDY’s Crow, a hybrid between the country and rock genres, debuts at No. 1 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums tallies with 55,000 equivalent album units earned Jan. 20-26, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 34,000 units are from streaming and 20,000 via album sales.

The former total is the best for any title on Top Hard Rock Albums since it adopted a consumption methodology in 2017, while Crow’s overall unit count is the biggest on the chart since Slipknot’s The End, So Far bowed with 59,000 units (Oct. 15, 2022).

Crow is HARDY’s first No. 1 on each chart, achieved in his first appearance on each (as his previous albums were more fully within the country genre). It’s also his first Top Country Albums ruler, surpassing the No. 4 debut and peak of A Rock in 2020.

On the all-format Billboard 200, Crow bows at No. 4, becoming HARDY’s first top 10. Its predecessor, A Rock, reached No. 24.

Meanwhile, Måneskin’s Rush! starts at No. 1 on the Top Alternative Albums chart with 18,000 units earned. It’s the Italian rockers’ first leader in their first appearance.

The set also begins at Nos. 2, 4 and 4 on the Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts, respectively.

It’s the band’s first top 20 title on the Billboard 200, beginning at No. 18.

Tracks from both new sets concurrently rank on the multimetric Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, paced by HARDY’s “Radio Song,” featuring A Day to Remember’s Jeremy McKinnon, at No. 25. In the latest tracking week, “Radio” earned 2.3 million official U.S. streams and sold 1,000 downloads.

Seven songs from HARDY’s Crow appear on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, with “Radio” followed by “Jack” at No. 27.

Måneskin’s Rush!, meanwhile, boasts an appearance in “The Loneliest,” which lifts 40-34 with 2.3 million radio audience impressions and 1.9 million streams. Prior to the album’s arrival, two cuts included on Rush! reached Hot Rock & Alternative Songs: “Supermodel” (No. 13 peak last July) and “Mammamia” (No. 21, October 2021).

“Loneliest” is the current radio single from Rush!, concurrently charting at its No. 6 best on Alternative Airplay. Crow’s current rock radio single, “Jack,” ranks at its No. 11 high on Mainstream Rock Airplay. The latter’s country single, “Wait in the Truck,” featuring Lainey Wilson, likewise holds the No. 11 spot, its top rank so far, on Country Airplay.

01 Feb 2023

Missy Elliott Calls 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nomination ‘An Incredible Honor’

It’s fitting that on Wednesday morning (Feb. 1) Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott became the first-ever female hip-hop artist to be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility. The pioneering rapper/songwriter/producer celebrated the news in a statement in which she said, “This is an incredible honor. I’m so humbled and grateful to be counted amongst all the incredible honorees.”

Elliott joined a list of 2023 nominees that also included Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Cyndi Lauper, Iron Maiden, JoyDivision/New Order, The Spinners, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon.

“I’ve spent my career making the kind of music I love and it means so much to know that I have touched others as well,” Elliott added. “But to hear that I am the first female hip hop artist to EVER be nominated into the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame?!? Wow!! This one hits extra different as I hope it opens doors for other female emcees to be recognized!”

To be eligible for the RRHOF, an artist’s first commercial release must have come out at least 25 years prior to the nomination year. After making a name for herself in her early 20s writing and rapping on songs by Raven-Symoné, Jodeci, SWV and Aaliyah, Elliott’s genre-expanding debut, Supa Dupa Fly, dropped in 1997, featuring the psychedelic video for “The Rain,” her first of many eye-popping collaborations with director Hype Williams.

Elliott won a Grammy — one of four she’s earned to date — for best rap solo performance in 2002 for her landmark hit “Get Ur Freak On” and hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with her 2003 single “Work It.” In addition to her six solo albums, Elliott has continued to be one of the most in-demand producers and songwriters in the business, working with everyone from Mary J. Blige and TLC to Beyoncé, Ciara, Fantasia, Jazmine Sullivan, Monica and Fifth Harmony, among many others.

She was also the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2019), the first to receive the MTV VMAs Video Vanguard Award (2019) and with more than 40 Million records sold worldwide she is the best-selling female rapper in Luminate history. 

RRHOF Inductees will be revealed in May, with the induction ceremony taking place this fall. The top five artists selected through fan voting will be tallied along with the ballots from the Rock Hall’s international voting body to determine the Class of 2023. Fans can vote online every day through April 28 at vote.rockhall.com or IRL at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.

01 Feb 2023

Here’s Why Ashton Kutcher Is Apologizing to Harry Styles

It’s hard to imagine anyone not knowing who Harry Styles is nowadays, but when the 29-year-old singer first met Ashton Kutcher, the No Strings Attached star thought the pop star was just another guy at a house party.

In a Tuesday (Jan. 31) video interview with Esquire, Kutcher was asked about his favorite karaoke song — Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” — something that prompted him to recall the time he and wife actress Mila Kunis obliviously met the “As It Was” singer for the first time at a karaoke bash.

“There’s an extraordinarily well-known singer, that is maybe the best singer today, that we happen to be neighbors with,” Kutcher began without naming this famous neighbor. “She was throwing a karaoke party. She gets up and gives this, like, out of this world, bananas [performance], and I’m like, ‘This is so unfair.’”

“Then this other kid gets up and he does this ABBA song. I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this is bananas,’” the 44-year-old actor continued. “So the kid gets offstage, and Mila and I go up to him and we’re like, ‘Man, I gotta tell you something — you’re a ringer. You’re really good. He was like, ‘Thank you, I really appreciate that.’”

When the That ’70s Show costars-turned-couple later raved about the performance to a friend at the party, they realized that the ABBA singer wasn’t just any ordinary karaoke connoisseur. “They’re like, ‘It’s Harry Styles.’ And I’m like, ‘Who’s that?’”

After the friend filled him in on the former boyband star’s claim to fame, Kutcher said he felt “like a jerk.” “He’s a professional singer and we’re trying to tell him he’s a good singer,” he laughed. “And I feel so dumb, so I just really want to say I’m sorry Harry Styles, but you’re really good at karaoke, man. Seriously. Like, really good!”

The singer’s millions of fans would definitely agree with Kutcher’s rave review of Styles, who was just recently honored with a custom banner at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum for his string of 15 sold-out concerts at the venue. One day after Kutcher’s interview was published, the pop star celebrated his 29th birthday.

Kutcher, meanwhile, is gearing up for the Feb. 10 premiere of his and Reese Witherspoon’s new Netflix romcom, Your Place or Mine. He and Kunis also recently returned to their roots and guest-starred on the streaming platform’s ‘70s Show spin-off, That ’90s Show, reprising their respective breakthrough roles of Kelso and Jackie.

Watch Ashton Kutcher talk about the time he unknowingly met Harry Styles at a chance karaoke party above.

01 Feb 2023

Who Should Be Inducted Into the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Vote!

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame unveiled its Class of 2023 nominees on Wednesday (Feb. 1), which includes a total of 14 musicians that are now eligible for induction into the Rock Hall this year.

The 14 artists nominated are Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, The Spinners, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon.

This year’s Rock Hall nominees are rather unique — eight of the 14 artists up for induction into the 2023 Rock Hall are first timers, with two (The White Stripes and Missy Elliott) of the eight making it onto the shortlist in their first year of eligibility. Joy Division and New Order were notably combined into a single nomination, though it is not a first for the Rock Hall: Parliament/Funkadelic were inducted together in 1997, as were the (Young) Rascals (also in 1997) and Small Faces/Faces in 2012.

“This remarkable list of nominees reflects the diverse artists and music that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honors and celebrates,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “These artists have created their own sounds that have impacted generations and influenced countless others that have followed in their footsteps.”

Fans can vote for who they wish to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame through April 28 at vote.rockhall.com or, alternatively, in person at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.

Who do you think should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Vote in our poll bellow.

01 Feb 2023

Romeo Santos & Rosalía’s ‘El Pañuelo’ Leads Tropical Airplay Chart

Romeo Santos and Rosalía add new career No. 1s on Billboard’s Tropical Airplay chart as their first collaboration, “El Pañuelo,” rules the Feb. 4-dated ranking.

The song rises 3-1 with 9.9 million audience impressions, an 8% gain, earned in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 26, according to Luminate.

Rosalía scores her third straight No. 1, and second through a bachata. Thanks to “El Pañuelo,” Santos becomes the fourth artist to accumulate at least 18 No. 1s since Tropical Airplay chart launched in 1994. He joins Marc Anthony, who leads with 35, followed by Victor Manuelle (29), and Prince Royce (22).

The new No. 1 also marks the 10th time a pair-up comprising a female and a male on lead role has reached No. 1 since the chart’s inception. Let’s look back:

Peak Date, Title, Artist, Weeks at No. 1

  • Aug. 15, 1998, “Corazón Encadenado,” Gisselle & Sergio Vargas, one
  • June 26, 1999, “No Me Ames,” Jennifer López & Marc Anthony, seven
  • June 18, 2016, “La Bicicleta,” Carlos Vives & Shakira, one
  • Dec. 31, 2016, “Olvídame y Pega La Vuelta,” Jennifer López & Marc Anthony, two
  • April 29, 2017, “Deja Vu,” Prince Royce & Shakira, 11
  • Oct. 26, 2019, “La Mejor Versión de Mí,” Natti Natasha & Romeo Santos, 15
  • May 29, 2021, “Víctimas Las Dos,” Victor Manuelle & La India, one
  • May 28, 2022, “Te Espero,” Prince Royce & Maria Becerra, four
  • Dec. 3, 2022, “Monotonía,” Shakira & Ozuna, nine
  • Feb. 4, 2023, “El Pañuelo,” Romeo Santos & Rosalía

Further, Santos also unlocks another achievement on the current chart: “Solo Conmigo,” his latest single, takes the Greatest Gainer award, rising 19-12 with a lofty 310% gain in audience, to 2 million. Plus, “Sin Fin,” with Justin Timberlake, holds at No. 9 for a second week (after its previous No. 1 debut last September), while “Siri,” with Chris Lebron, dips 18-22. All songs are on Santos’ latest album, Formula, Vol. 3, which crowned Tropical Albums for 15 weeks.

Beyond its Tropical Airplay coronation, “El Pañuelo” bests its previous Latin Airplay ranking with a 3-2 jump.

01 Feb 2023

YoungBoy Never Broke Again Is Considering a Mormon Baptism

In 2022, only Taylor Swift and Drake streamed more than YoungBoy Never Broke Again. But even with his enormous popularity and wildly prolific output (he released eight full-lengths last year), the rapper hasn’t revealed much about his personal life.

Now, in a candid, lengthy Billboard cover story written by Meaghan Garvey, the 23-year-old rapper opens up about his new life in snowy Utah, where he currently resides under house arrest. And while a security team limits his visitors to three pre-approved people at a time, YoungBoy has been entertaining some unexpected guests: Mormon missionaries.

The Louisiana rapper turned them away the first time they swung by his home in late 2022. But when they returned, he decided to them in: “I wanted help very badly. I needed a friend. And it hit me,” he recalls.

“It was just cool to see someone with a different mindset that had nothing to do with business or money — just these wonderful souls,” he tells Billboard. The missionaries now discuss The Book of Mormon with YoungBoy regularly, which accounts for his recent “Hi Haters” video opening with a quote from the Latter Day Saints tome. According to YoungBoy, their visits help him “make sure my heart is in the right space”; he’s planning on being officially baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ the Latter-day Saints after his ankle monitor is removed.

“Even when my negative thoughts come back, when I do want to tell them, ‘Not today,’ I just don’t let nothing stop it,” he explains. The rapper’s potential baptism dovetails with his growing uncertainty over the violent storytelling in his own lyrics. This year’s I Rest My Case (released on Motown, his first since signing with the label) intentionally featured fewer mentions of guns than on previous projects.

While he’s aware that lyrical shifts could affect his popularity — “What if they don’t like me now?” he mused about his audience during the interview – he refuses to rap about violence merely to satisfy listeners. “I’m not changing. I will not be provoked, I will not be broken, and I’m not going back to who I used to be. Accept it or not — I ain’t going back.”

Read YoungBoy’s full Billboard cover story profile here.

01 Feb 2023

City Winery to Host Fundraiser & Performances for Black History Month & Women’s History Month

This February and March, City Winery will host its inaugural two-month long initiatives titled “Still I Rise” in celebration of Black History Month and “Fierce Light” honoring women and gender justice. Each month will feature a mix of musicians and women thought leaders including Lalah Hathaway, Chrisette Michele, Eric Benét, Vanessa Carlton, Elle Varner and Keke Wyatt.

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“At City Winery, we aim to foster an environment that invites people from all walks of life into our ecosystem and gives everyone a chance to proverbially be onstage,” said Michael Dorf, CEO of City Winery. “We are thrilled to celebrate and recognize diverse voices that empower and inspire during Black History Month and Women’s History Month.”

The initiatives are a part of City Winery’s ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The upscale dining and event space will also donate a portion of select programming proceeds throughout February and March. “Still I Rise” beneficiaries include Black Feminist Future, Black Voters Matter and In Our Own Voice, while “Fierce Light” proceeds will go to Sister Reach, Sister Song and Women’s Refugee Commission.

Guests can support these causes by attending shows throughout the next two months at City Winery’s various locations in New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Nashville and Hudson Valley. The organization will also produce a limited-edition, custom-labeled wine that will be available for purchase online and at the performances. A portion of the proceeds from both ticket sales and wine sales will benefit the aforementioned organizations as well.

Tickets for all shows and panels will be available at City Winery.

city winery

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01 Feb 2023

Cyndi Lauper Calls 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nomination ‘An Honor and a Thrill’

Cyndi Lauper is definitely good enough for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” singer who blazed a technicolor trail through the 1980s with a string of bouncy pop hits and equally colorful videos was overjoyed to celebrate the news that she is among the 2023 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“It’s such an honor and thrill to be recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a nominee,” Lauper tells Billboard about bout joining the 2023 class of nominees that also includes Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Iron Maiden, JoyDivision/New Order, The Spinners, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon

“Seeing my name on this year’s ballot with so many talents that I admire means so much to me,” she adds. “It has been a lifetime privilege to reach so many different kinds of fans with a message of following your own path (and having fun along the way, too).”

First-time nominee Lauper made the list nearly four decades after the release of her smash debut solo album, 1983’s She’s So Unusual, which included such forever hits as “Time After Time,” “She Bop” and her signature empowerment anthem, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Thanks to those hits and covers of new wave band The Brains’ “Money Changes Everything” and Prince’s “When You Were Mine,” the album spun off four straight Billboard Hot 100 top five hits and charted on the Billboard 200 for more than a year.

The Grammy-winning album arrived at a time when MTV was a rising avenue of exposure for visually interesting acts, with Lauper’s technicolor hair, larger-than-life persona and fun-time videos helping to push her to the top of the pop heap. She continued to spin off hits throughout the decade, including “True Colors,” “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough,” “I Drove All Night” and others as she dipped her toe into acting in films and TV (Vibes, Life With Mickey, The Simpsons) while becoming an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ causes and a beacon for a new generation of female rock and pop stars.

Inductees will be revealed in May, with the induction ceremony taking place this fall. The top five artists selected through fan voting will be tallied along with the ballots from the Rock Hall’s international voting body to determine the Class of 2023. Fans can vote online every day through April 28 at vote.rockhall.com or IRL at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland.

01 Feb 2023

Beyoncé Is Going on Tour & Fans Are Anxious About Getting Tickets: See Reactions to Her Announcement

Beyoncé is trending on Twitter. People are posting about their bank accounts and making jokes at Ticketmaster’s expense. The viral “It’s happening!” fire alarm clip from The Office is circulating once again. Could it be? Is it really so?

It is. After keeping fans waiting for months, Beyoncé has finally announced plans to go on tour in support of Renaissance, posting the news on Instagram Wednesday (Feb. 1) with an elegant outtake from the album’s cover shoot. Dates for the trek also went live on the 41-year-old pop star’s website, showing that she’ll kick off the tour in Stockholm on May 10, and will make stops through numerous stadiums and across Europe before moving over to North America.

She’ll then perform at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on July 8, weave her way through the United States and Canada, and close out the North American leg with a Sept. 27 gig at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

Naturally, the tour news has the Beyhive absolutely buzzing with excitement … as well as anxiety. As Taylor Swift and SZA fans could tell you, securing tickets to see big name artists live has never felt so difficult — or expensive — what with issues such as scalpers, bots, dynamic pricing, overcrowded presales and so on.

Many are already tweeting to share their thoughts in anticipation of Bey’s Verified Fan presales, open now for registration in partnership Ticketmaster, who has recently been the target of fan lawsuits and a Senate Judiciary hearing following the platform’s alleged mishandling of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour presale.

“Ticketmaster watching the beyoncé fans coming after just dealing with taylor fans,” tweeted one fan, sharing a viral clip of Euphoria‘s Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, looking absolutely terrified.

“Swifties I need you to explain ticketmaster to me QUICKLY,” tweeted another.

Other Bey fans are more concerned with how much the tickets will set them back financially. “Me at beyonce’s tour after selling my kidney to buy the tickets,” posted one, along with a gif of a model walking down the runway with an IV bag in tow.

The overarching theme of all of their posts, however, is sheer excitement at the chance of seeing Bey live. See some of the best reactions below:

01 Feb 2023

Here Are Presenters for the 2023 Grammy Awards

First lady Jill Biden and past Grammy Awards hosts James Corden and Billy Crystal will help hand out awards at the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 5.

Other presenters announced on Wednesday (Feb. 1) are current Grammy nominee Viola Davis, past Grammy winners Cardi B, Olivia Rodrigo and Shania Twain, and actor Dwayne Johnson. Davis will become an EGOT if she wins in her category, best audio book, narration, and storytelling recording, on Sunday.

Corden hosted the Grammy telecast in 2017-18. Crystal hosted from 1987-89 (after which he went on to host the Oscars nine times.) He won a Primetime Emmy for hosting the 1989 Grammy telecast.

Performers set to appear on the show are Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy and Sam Smith & Kim Petras.

The Recording Academy made its first performers announcement a week ago. It added a big name – Styles – on Sunday, Jan. 29. The announcement was made during the fourth quarter of the AFC Championship game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs. The game aired on CBS, the Grammys’ network since 1973.

This year’s four leading nominees – Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Adele and Brandi Carlile – have yet to be announced as performers, but the Academy may be holding some big names back to build last-minute buzz. The Academy is expected to announce additional performers in the remaining days before the big show.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards will air live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and will be hosted for the third year in a row by Emmy-winning comedian Trevor Noah. The show will be broadcast live on Sunday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

The 65th Annual Grammy Awards are produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy. Raj Kapoor serves as showrunner and executive producer, alongside Ben Winston and Jesse Collins as executive producers. Phil Heyes joins the team for the first time as director. Eric Cook is co-executive producer with Tabitha Dumo, Tiana Gandelman, Patrick Menton. David Wild is producer.

Prior to the telecast, the Grammy Awards Premiere Ceremony will be broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT, and it will be streamed live on live.Grammy.com. Randy Rainbow, a first-time Grammy nominee this year for best comedy album for A Little Brains, A Little Talent, is co-hosting the show. His co-host has yet to be named.

Performers at the Premiere Ceremony include Arroj Aftab, Madison Cunningham, Samara Joy, Anoushka Shankar, Carlos Vives and The Blind Boys of Alabama with La Santa Cecilia.

Presenters at the Premiere Ceremony include Babyface, Domi and JD Beck, Myles Frost, Arturo O’Farrill, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Jimmy Jam.