Music

04 Jan 2023

Skrillex Drops Ominous New Single ‘Rumble’ With Fred Again.. & Flowdan: Listen

Skrillex is ready to “Rumble.” On Wednesday (Jan. 4), the producer dropped a new single, a collaboration with Fred again.. and UK grime MC Flowdan.

The song adopts elements of grime and bass while stretching into the experimental realms of electronic sound design that have been Skrillex’s signature since he exploded into the scene more than a decade ago with his era-defining take on bass music.

While coming in at a petite two minutes and 26 seconds, the song packs a heavy punch with a sinewy, stuttering beat simmered in the deepest vibrations of the low end and a bridge composed of a voice pitched all the way up. Over that, Flowdan delivers an ominous flow about and “killers in the jungle” — a sentiment matched with an almost imperceptible growl.

“Rumble” first saw the light of day (or, ahem, the dark of the club), when Fred again.. dropped it in a series of marquee 2022 sets, including his record-setting Boiler Room show in July. Upon sharing the track today amidst massive hype, Skrillex also revealed that a collaborative single with PinkPantheress and Trippie Redd is coming on Thursday, Jan. 5.

Both of these songs are presumably from Skrillex’s forthcoming double album, which he teased on New Year’s Day. The project will mark his first solo LP since 2014’s Recess, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 in April of 2014 in the apex of the EDM boom. This album announcement read “QFF/DGTC 23,” with the acronyms widely understood to stand for the names of a pair of albums coming in 2023.

Listen to “Rumble” in the video above.

04 Jan 2023

Billie Eilish, Youth Climate Activists Talk Taking Action for Vogue: ‘I Wish I Could Just Make Changes in My Life and Save the World Alone’

Billie Eilish knows what it looks like when a famous pop star who flies around the world to play concerts for tens of thousands of fans starts banging on about saving the environment. She fully understands how hypocritical is can seem, but that has not stopped the 21-year-old global superstar from intensely focusing on reducing her carbon footprint and encouraging others to do the same.

It might also explain why the singer sat down with a group of highly motivated young climate activists for Vogue magazine’s first-ever video cover as part of a lively conversation filmed by Oscar-nominated director Mike Mills.

“I don’t want to be parading around like, Look at me! I’m making a difference. I just want to be making the difference and shutting the f–k up about it,” Eilish told the magazine for its January cover. “I shouldn’t be making any products. I shouldn’t be selling anything. It’s just more s–t to go into the landfill one day. I know that. But no one’s going to stop wearing clothes. No one’s going to stop making stuff. So I just do it in the best way I possibly can.” 

Eilish said she tries very hard to to be “in people’s faces” about her environmental focus, knowing full well that fans don’t respond well to that and that it can end up hurting your cause. But she has been doing her part, which includes not flying private and setting up Eco-Villages at her 2022 Happier Than Ever tour dates in partnership with Reverb where fans can fill up their water bottles for free, register to vote and learn about environmental non-profits.

“I’m still not shoving information down people’s throats,” said the singer, whose efforts to reduce her footprint have resulted in 8.8 million gallons of water saved and 15,000-plus tons of CO2 neutralized according to a Reverb post-tour impact report that noted those figures are equivalent to taking 3,000 homes off the electrical grid for a year. “I’m more like, I’m not going to tell you what to do. I’m just going to tell you why I do this,” Eilish added, laughing, “But you’re also a bad person if you don’t do it.”

Eiilsh and her brother/collaborator Finneas, made a pre-recorded appearance at Prince William’s Earthshot Prize awards ceremony last month in Boston honoring those making efforts to restore nature, clean our polluted air and oceans and build a waste-free world. She also arranged for her run of shows last year at London’s O2 arena to coincide with the climate-awareness event Overheated, which was named for a song from her most recent album.

The Vogue climate summit found Eilish meeting with a group of activists all under 30, including 16-year-old Ryan Berberet, who led a climate strike at her California high school and whose led a campaign to pressure Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a statewide climate emergency. Other attendees included 29-year-old Tori Tsui, a Hong Kong native who spoke at Overheated and whose book on the climate crisis and mental health, It’s Not Just You, will be published later this year by Simon & Schuster.

Also on hand were: Isaias Hernandez, aka “Queer Brown Vegan”; model/ Indigenous rights activist Quannah Chasinghorse; Fridays for Future organizer and Re-Earth Initiative cofounder Xiye Bastida; sustainable clothing designer/animator Maya Penn; Nalleli Cobo, who helped pressure Big Oil to close down a toxic well in her neighborhood; and Wanjiku “Wawa” Gatheru, a Rhodes Scholar and founder of Black Girl Environmentalist.

“I’ve really never gotten to talk to a group of people my age before that I agree with on so many things,” said Eilish. “It was so thrilling to talk to people that share my beliefs and are so smart, you know? They’re my age and they’re doing so much. It made me really, really, really hopeful.” 

Cobo grew up in a South L.A. neighborhood just 30 feet from a toxic oil well that caused a myriad of health problems in her youth, culminating at 19 in a diagnosis of reproductive cancer that required multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation that left her unable to have children. “I listened to ‘Everything I Wanted’ on repeat while filling out my pre-op paperwork,” Cobo said of the song from Eilish’s 2019 debut album that helped her get through the medical crisis. “Something about her music brings me peace.”

Though she was the only true famous name in the room, Eilish told the activists she felt like she didn’t deserve to be there, admitting, “I don’t know much. I’m just learning.” Penn, however, put the singer at ease, saying, “Billie’s excited to take her fans on the journey with her, which is something I feel a lot of pop culture figures are afraid to do. And she really pushes hard for something that I’ve always believed in, which is that it’s cool to care.”

The casual, but intense conversation found the singer and activists sitting on the floor and discussing the actions they’ve taken to lobby and push for climate awareness and talking about the impact of climate change on their lives and the planet amid vivid images of our natural world as well as the devastation caused by industrialization and human activity.

The chat also involved a check-in on the attendees’ mental health and feelings about climate anxiety in light of a 2017 report by the American Psychological Association and ecoAmerica that found that climate worry can lead to feelings of “loss, helplessness and frustration.” Or, in Eilish’s case, “it makes me want to barf all over the floor.”

In the end, Eilish said, the entire group wished they could make a change on their own, in their lives, that could help save the rapidly warming planet. “Grow my own food and live off the grid. Erase my carbon footprint,” she said, laughing at such lofty thoughts. “But all that does is erase me. When really, if every single person just did half of what they should do, we could fix this.”

Watch Mills’ 10-minute Vogue video below.

04 Jan 2023

Billie Eilish Shares Gorgeous Piano Cover of Ben Folds‘ ’Still’: Watch

Based on her new TikTok, Billie Eilish is in her feels — and once you watch it, you’ll probably be too. Just two days after New Year’s, the 21-year-old pop star shared an intimate self-filmed video of herself on Tuesday (Jan. 3)covering Ben Folds’ melancholy 2006 track “Still,” accompanying herself on piano in front of a glowing Christmas tree.

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Backlit by the twinkling tree lights, you can just barely make out Eilish, covered by shadows and wearing a casual T-shirt. She recreates Folds’ swaying piano backgrounds on a keyboard and softly sings the first verse and chorus, adding her trademark, delicate runs to several of the lines.

The “Happier Than Ever” singer also wrote Folds’ lyrics in white lettering over the video: “I must give the impression that I have the answers for everything/ You were so disappointed to see me unravel so easily/ It’s only change.” Eilish simply captioned the video with the “You Don’t Know Me” singer-songwriter’s last name: “folds.”

You may recognize the ballad from DreamWorks’ 2006 animated film Over The Hedge, the soundtrack for which Folds contributed “Still” along with two other original songs, “Heist” and “Family of Me.” He then included a version of the track on his compilation album Supersunnyspeedgraphic, the LP later that year. 

Eilish’s quiet video comes on the heels of an exceptionally busy month for the seven-time Grammy winner. In December, she wrapped up a trio of victory lap concerts at the Kia Forum and celebrated her 21st birthday by partying with The Neighbourhood’s Jesse Rutherford, her boyfriend, and Justin and Hailey Bieber.

Watch Billie Eilish cover Ben Folds below:

04 Jan 2023

Here Are the Likely Winners in the Grammys’ Big Four Categories Now That Voting Is Closing

Final-round voting for the 65th annual Grammy Awards closes on Wednesday (Jan. 4) at 6 p.m. PT. At that point, Grammy nominees can relax. They will no longer have to worry that an ill-considered tweet may go viral and hurt their chances. No matter what happens between now and Feb. 5 when the awards are presented at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, voting will be locked.

That means it’s time to predict the likely winners in the Big Four categories. This little game has never been easy, but it’s gotten considerably harder in recent years for two reasons. The Recording Academy membership is undergoing rapid change. And we’re all still trying to figure out how the expansion of the number of nominees in each of the Big Four categories from five to eight and now 10 is affecting the dynamics of these races.

The Academy welcomed a new member class of “nearly 2,000 diverse music creators and professionals” in September. This was the fourth new member class since the Academy transitioned to a “community-driven and peer-reviewed annual cycle” to create, in its words, “a more diverse and engaged membership base representative of the evolving musical landscape.” Since implementing the new model, the number of women members has increased by 19%, while membership among “traditionally underrepresented communities” (read: nonwhite members) has increased by 38%.

This is the second year in a row that there are 10 nominees in each of the Big Four categories. That’s a lot, so we started by dividing the contenders into three categories: little chance of winning (entries that were lucky just to be nominated), long-shots (entries that have a shot at winning, but probably won’t) and front-runners. Within these three categories, the nominees are listed alphabetically.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Little chance of winning: ABBA’s “Don’t Shut Me Down,” Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous,” Brandi Carlile featuring Lucius’ “You and Me on the Rock”

Long-shots: Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” Doja Cat’s “Woman,” Kendrick Lamar’s “The Heart Part 5”

Front-runners: Adele’s “Easy on Me,” Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit,” Lizzo’s “About Damn Time,” Harry Styles’ “As It Was”

Notes: All 10 nominees are also nominated in their respective performance categories, which is another indication of support. There are no fluke nominations here.

This is the eighth nomination in the category (an all-time record) for Beyoncé; the fourth for Adele; the third for Carlile, Doja and Lamar; the second for ABBA, Blige and Lizzo; and the first for Lucius, Lacy and Styles.

Adele is a two-time winner in the category. If she were to win for the third time, she would tie Paul Simon and Bruno Mars for the most wins in the history of the category. None of the other nominees have won in this category before.

Five of the nominees were No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – “Easy on Me,” “Break My Soul,” “Bad Habit,” “About Damn Time” and “As It Was.” A sixth, “Woman,” cracked the top 10 (peaking at No. 7).

Many will want to see Beyoncé finally win in this category. As was widely reported, “Break My Soul” became her first solo No. 1 on the Hot 100 since “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” 14 years ago. But the presence of Lizzo’s similarly ebullient “About Damn Time” in the category may cause these hits to split their votes. Besides, Beyoncé has a better chance in album of the year.

“Bad Habit” manages to sound progressive, but also familiar enough to not put off more traditional Grammy voters. Lacy’s smash ranked No. 1 on the Billboard staff’s list of the 100 best songs of 2022. In his assessment of the song for that list, Andrew Unterberger called it “the perfect pop song for 2022, and more crucially, just a perfect pop song in general. Kicking in partway through its opening chorus, ‘Bad Habit’ has a casualness to its liquid grooves and ping-ponging vocals that almost makes it feel tossed off, spontaneous. But the craft on display here is actually impossibly high-level.”

Lizzo and Styles are both proven Grammy favorites. Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” won best pop solo performance three years ago – resulting in Billie Eilish’s only loss on her big night, where she became the first artist in 39 years to sweep the Big Four categories. Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar” won in that highly-competitive category the following year. Styles’ smash inexplicably wasn’t nominated for record of the year, but in that performance category, it beat three records that were – including the eventual winner, Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted.” You could make a good case that both Lizzo and Styles are overdue for a record of the year win. 

“As It Was” topped the Hot 100 for 15 weeks, setting a new record for the longest run at No. 1 by a U.K. artist. Styles achieved success on other fronts, too, with lead roles in two movies (the consensus: he’s no Daniel Day-Lewis, but he didn’t embarrass himself) and a highly successful tour in which he proved to be both a showman and a charmer. The song runs just 2:47, which would make it the shortest record of the year winner (by playing time) since the 5th Dimension’s sunshine pop classic “Up, Up and Away” 55 years ago.

“As It Was” also ranked No. 3 on the Billboard staff’s aforementioned list of the 100 best songs of 2022. Melinda Newman noted of the smash: “If you looked up ‘bop’ in Webster’s, this song would be there — but the propulsive, bouncy beat deceives. … Coming in at a lean 2:47, ‘As It Was’ serves as a broader anthem about how nothing is ‘the same as it was’ before the pandemic, but on a micro level, it turns out Styles isn’t the same either as he grapples with fame and the realization that ‘he’s no good alone’ when left to his own devices and pills.”

Likely winner: “As It Was”

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Little chance of winning: ABBA’s Voyage, Blige’s Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe), Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres

Long-shots: Carlile’s In These Silent Days, Lamar’s Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Lizzo’s Special

Front-runners: Adele’s 30, Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti, Beyoncé’s Renaissance, Styles’ Harry’s House

Notes: Similar to record of the year, all 10 nominees are also nominated in their respective genre album categories.

This is the fourth album of the year nomination for Beyoncé and Lamar; the third for Adele and Coldplay; the second for Carlile and Lizzo; and the first for ABBA, Bad Bunny, Blige and Styles.

Adele has won with her last two studio albums. If she wins again this year, she’ll equal Stevie Wonder’s hallowed record as the only artist to win in this category with three consecutive studio albums.

None of the other nominees have won in this category before. Beyoncé has earned more album of the year nominations than any other woman of color. Lamar is the first rapper to be nominated for album of the year with four consecutive studio albums.

Though Adele has never lost in this category, it seems unlikely she’ll win again this time. In her magnanimous acceptance speech last time, she was so generous to Beyoncé that she left the impression that even she thought Beyoncé should have won the award. That will likely work to Bey’s benefit here.

Bad Bunny’s album is the first Spanish-language album to receive an album of the year nod. It topped the Billboard 200 for 13 nonconsecutive weeks, longer than any other album this year. He won artist of the year at the MTV Video Music Awards in August. Bunny gave his acceptance speech in Spanish – which added to his reputation for authenticity.

In recent years, the Academy has aggressively recruited voters of color, and especially Black voters. Speaking at a Recording Academy online membership meeting in September, CEO Harvey Mason, jr. noted that while there has been a 38% increase in people of color in the Academy over the past four years, there has been a 100% increase in the number of Black members.

Some of them might chafe if a white pop artist, such as Styles or Adele, beat Beyoncé in this category for what would be the fourth time, following her previous losses to Taylor Swift, Beck and Adele. There would probably be less friction if Bunny won, though it would likely be noticed that a Latin artist won on his first album of the year nomination while Beyoncé just keeps getting passed over.

Here’s another factor that’s working in Beyoncé’s favor: Many album of the year winners have a thematic unity that gives them a sense of importance. They’re usually more than just collections of 10 or 12 worthy tracks. Beyoncé’s first post-pandemic studio album was a celebration of dance music, honoring its Black and gay roots.

Beyoncé’s album ranked No. 2 on the Billboard staff’s list of the 50 best albums of 2022, just behind Bad Bunny, but ahead of Lamar at No. 4, Styles at No. 6 and Lizzo at No. 11. As Gail Mitchell wrote in her assessment of the album: “This time around, Beyoncé set her sights on dance music, paying homage to its various iterations, from the house-burning anthem ‘Break My Soul’ to infusions of disco, techno and go-go. … As the album’s fitting title conveys, Beyoncé proves once again that she can always be counted on to pinpoint the cultural zeitgeist, reinvent it and take it to the next level.”

Likely winner: Renaissance

SONG OF THE YEAR

Little chance of winning: “abcdefu” (Gayle), “God Did” (DJ Khaled featuring Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, John Legend & Fridayy)

Long-shots: “Break My Soul” (Beyoncé), “Just Like That” (Bonnie Raitt), “The Heart Part 5” (Lamar)

Front-runners: “About Damn Time” (Lizzo), “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” (Taylor Swift), “As It Was” (Styles), “Bad Habit” (Lacy), “Easy on Me” (Adele)

Notes: “God Did” and “The Heart Part 5” are both nominated for best rap song. “Just Like That” is nominated for best American roots song. There is no equivalent award for the other seven contenders, which all come from the pop and dance fields, in which there is no song category.

In the unlikely event that “God Did” wins, it will set a new record as the song of the year winner with the most credited songwriters (nine). The current record is held by Bruno Mars’ “That’s What I Like,” with eight songwriters.

“Just Like That,” which brought Raitt her first song of the year nomination, is a lovely and subtle song about a mother whose son’s organs were harvested to save other lives. The song is a long-shot to win, but then many (including me, I must admit) considered her 1989 album Nick of Time a long-shot to win. It not only won, but made Raitt a star overnight. “Just Like That” is the first song of the year nominee written by just one songwriter since Taylor Swift’s “Lover” three years ago. If it wins, it would become the first song of the year written by a solitary songwriter since Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” 15 years ago.

This is Swift’s sixth song of the year nomination, which puts her in a tie with Paul McCartney and Lionel Richie for the most nominations in the history of the category. Unlike those two songwriting masters, she has yet to win in this category. So, she’s overdue. And if everybody who has called her “the songwriter of her generation” votes for her, she just may take it. But her update of “All Too Well” was passed over for nods for record of the year and best pop solo performance, which seems to show some weakness. Four of its rivals here – “Easy on Me,” “Bad Habit,” “About Damn Time” and “As It Was” – were nominated in both of those categories. Also, Swift’s “Anti-Hero” is already a front-runner for record and song of the year nods a year from now. Some voters may have decided, “Let’s hold off. She’ll probably win next year.”

Beyoncé, The-Dream and Chris “Tricky” Stewart shared the award 13 years ago for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).” If they win again, they’ll join D’Mile as the only writers of color to win twice in this category. But again, this song is competing with the stylistically similar “About Damn Time.”

“About Damn Time” and “Bad Habit” are formidable contenders here for the same reasons they are front-runners for record of the year.

Adele and Kurstin won in this category six years ago for “Hello.” Adele also won in this category with “Rolling in the Deep,” which she co-wrote with Paul Epworth. If she wins again, she’ll become the first three-time winner in the category’s history. Adele had a big year, and not just on the charts. Her TV special Adele One Night Only won five Primetime Emmys. And her Las Vegas residency has gotten rave reviews, including this one from Billboard’s Katie Atkinson.

“Easy on Me” ranked No. 14 on the Billboard critics’ list of the 100 best songs of 2021 (it has been out awhile). In assessing the song, Atkinson (our in-house expert on all things Adele) wrote: “The expectations heading into Adele’s first new music in nearly six years were as sky-high as one of the British singer/songwriter’s patented power notes. But instead of going the bombastic route with 30‘s lead single ‘Easy on Me,’ Adele sent this vulnerable musical message to her son, setting the tone for a beyond open post-divorce project and reintroducing the peerless vocal delivery fans had desperately missed.”

Likely winner: “Easy on Me”

BEST NEW ARTIST

Little chance of winning: DOMi & JD Beck, Tobe Nwigwe

Long-shots: Omar Apollo, Samara Joy, Molly Tuttle, Wet Leg

Front-runners: Anitta, Muni Long, Latto, Måneskin

Notes: This is the first time in six years that none of the best new artist nominees were nominated in any other Big Four category. Lacy, a top contender for both record and song of the year, wasn’t eligible because he had received two previous nominations for what is now called best progressive R&B album – one as a member of The Internet and one solo. If he had been eligible for best new artist, he most likely would have won. Gayle, a song of the year nominee, was eligible for best new artist but was passed over for a nod.

Four of these contenders are nominated for genre album awards. Wet Leg’s Wet Leg is up for best alternative music album; Tuttle’s Crooked Tree for best bluegrass album; Joy’s Linger Awhile for best jazz vocal album; and DOMi & JD Beck’s Not Tight for best contemporary instrumental album.

Apollo and Wet Leg both made the top 10 on the Billboard staff list of the 50 best albums of 2022.

Måneskin has doggedly climbed its way to success in America and is a leading contender here. The band would be the first Italian act to win a Grammy as a lead artist in a Big Four category since Domenico Modugno, the winner for record and song of the year at the very first Grammys for the lounge-lizard classic “Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare).”

The five female solo artists in the race – Anitta, Long, Joy, Latto and Tuttle – may have the inside track. Since 2000, female solo artists have won in this category 14 times. (By way of comparison, in that same period, three male solo artists, five groups and one duo have taken home the prize.)

Latto’s “Big Energy” was by far the biggest hit single from any of these contenders. It reached No. 3 on the Hot 100 in April and ranks No. 7 on the year-end Hot 100. Mariah Carey, the winner in this category 32 years ago, gave “Big Energy” a boost by hopping on a remix. (“Big Energy” and Carey’s “Fantasy” both interpolate Tom Tom Club’s 1982 classic “Genius of Love.”)

Latto would be the third female rapper to win in this category, following Lauryn Hill and Megan Thee Stallion.

Likely winner: Latto

04 Jan 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Fuerza Regida Debuts With Grupo Frontera Collab ‘Bebe Dame’

San Bernardino, Calif.-based regional Mexican band Fuerza Regida scores its first career entry on the Billboard Hot 100, as the group’s new collaboration with Grupo Frontera, “Bebe Dame,” debuts at No. 91 (on the chart dated Jan. 7).

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The song, released via Street Mob/Rancho Humilde/BorderKid/Sony Music Latin, arrives with 7.1 million U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads sold Dec. 23-29, according to Luminate. It also vaults 19-5 in its second week on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart.

TikTok has also aided in the song’s buzz, as a portion of the track’s audio has been used in over 74,000 clips on the platform to date. (TikTok views do not directly contribute to Billboard‘s charts.)

Fuerza Regida has made regular appearances on Billboard’s Latin charts over the past five years. The group has tallied 14 entries on Hot Latin Songs, dating to its first, “Radicamos En South Central,” in 2018 (No. 24 peak). “Bebe Dame” is the group’s first top 10 on the tally.

In a 2020 interview with Billboard, lead singer Jesus Ortiz Paz credited “Radicamos En South Central” as the track that opened doors for the act: “Thanks to that song, Ramon Ruiz from Legado 7 discovered us and we got signed to two labels: his Lumbre Music and Rancho Humilde.”

The group has also logged seven entries on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart, four of which have reached the top 10: “Radicamos En South Central” (No. 10, 2018); “Sigo Chambeando” (No. 5, 2019); “Descansando” (No. 9, February 2022); and “Se Acabo,” with Lenin Ramírez and Banda Renovacion (No. 6, November 2022).

Meanwhile, Fuerza Regida has charted five titles on the Top Latin Albums chart: Del Barrio Hasta Aqui (No. 8, 2019); Pisteando Con La Regida (No. 26, 2019); Adicto (No. 4, 2020); Otro Pedo, Otro Mundo (No. 45, 2020); and Del Barrio Hasta Aqui, Vol. 2 (No. 14, June 2022). Del Barrio Hasta Aqui also spent 18 weeks at No. 1 on the Regional Mexican Albums chart.

In August, the group signed with Sony Music Latin through a partnership with Rancho Humilde Records. Said Sony Music Latin U.S. president Alex Gallardo, “Fuerza Regida represents a new generation of Mexican music. Adding them to our roster of artists only continues our mission to push the future of music forward.”

Fuerza Regida comprises Jose Ortiz Paz (a.k.a. JOP; lead singer), Jose Garcia (tuba), Samuel Jaimez (requinto), Moises Lopez (tololoche) and Khrystian Ramos (guitar). The group, whose name translates in English to the words “strength” and “govern,” formed in East L.A. in 2015, originally as a cover band.

04 Jan 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Carin Leon Arrives With Grupo Frontera Collab ‘Que Vuelvas’

Mexican singer-songwriter Carin León scores his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 (chart dated Jan. 7), as his collab with Grupo Frontera, “Que Vuelvas,” opens at No. 83.

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The song, released Dec. 9 via BorderKid/Sony Music Latin, debuts with 7.9 million official streams (up 10%), 5.4 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 53%) and 1,000 downloads sold (up 2%) in the U.S. Dec. 23-29, according to Luminate. It also rises 5-4 on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, 16-8 on Regional Mexican Airplay and 34-20 on Latin Airplay.

TikTok has been a factor in the song’s growing popularity, as a portion of the track has been used in over 149,000 clips on the platform to date. León boasts over 2.4 million TikTok followers. (TikTok views do not directly contribute to Billboard‘s charts.)

León first appeared on a Billboard chart on July 27, 2019, when “Me La Avente” debuted at No. 49 on Hot Latin Songs. It peaked at No. 16 six months later and reached No. 6 on Regional Mexican Airplay and No. 19 on Latin Airplay.

Since then, he’s charted eight additional tracks on Hot Latin Songs. “Que Vuelvas” marks his second top 10, after “El Toxico,” with Grupo Firme (No. 9 in 2021).

León has also scored nine entries on Regional Mexican Airplay, all of which have reached the top 10. Two songs, “El Toxico” and 2022’s “Ojos Cerrados,” with Banda MS, climbed to No. 1.

As for Grupo Frontera, the group charted on the Hot 100 once before this week, as its debut entry “No Se Va” hit No. 57 in October. The act’s latest single “Bebe Dame,” with Fuerza Regida, also debuts on the latest Hot 100 at No. 91.

04 Jan 2023

Hugh Jackman Jokingly Begs the Academy Not to ‘Validate’ Ryan Reynolds With a Best Original Song Nomination

Hugh Jackman rang in the new year on Wednesday (Jan. 4) with a very serious and important request for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences … and it has to do with Ryan Reynolds.

“Hey, everybody. It’s 2023 and I really, really wanted to send out a positive message at the beginning of the year, but, umm, recent events have made that impossible,” the actor said with mock seriousness straight to camera. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved Spirited. It’s a great movie, we had a blast, the entire family watched it. I love Will [Ferrell], I love Octavia [Spencer]. Obviously I did The Greatest Showman with Benj [Pasek] and Justin [Paul] — they’re incredible and I love their music … And ‘Good Afternoon,’ by the way, the song ‘Good Afternoon’? I laughed the entire way through, it is absolutely brilliant. However, I’ve just heard the Academy have shortlisted ‘Good Afternoon’ in the best song category.

“Now, Ryan Reynolds getting a nomination in the best song category would make the next year of my life insufferable,” The Music Man star continued. “It would … I mean, I have to spend a year with him shooting Wolverine and Deadpool and … trust me, it would be impossible. It’d be a problem. So, just to recap, love Spirited, love Will, love Octavia, love the song ‘Good Afternoon,’ love Benj and Justin. But please, please, from the bottom of my heart, do not validate Ryan Reynolds in this way. Please.”

Indeed, Jackman is set to step back into the role of Wolverine opposite Reynolds in the upcoming Deadpool 3. His character’s return was first teased in a post-credits scene in 2018’s Deadpool 2.

Other superstars on the Oscars shortlist for best original song this year include Taylor Swift (“Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing), Rihanna (“Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Lady Gaga (“Hold My Hand” from Top Gun: Maverick), The Weeknd (“Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)” from Avatar: The Way of Water) and more.

Watch Jackman’s hilarious plea to the Academy below.

04 Jan 2023

Anitta Calls Her First Grammy Nomination the ‘Foundation’ to Introduce Her Culture

Brazilian powerhouse Anitta is among the nominees for best new artist at the 2023 Grammys, and before she walks down the red carpet in February, Billboard invited her into the studio to talk about her first Grammy nod and much more.

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Speaking with Billboard News, Anitta reveals that when she found out she was nominated, she was already in full Grammy mode, as she was hosting the Latin Grammys in Las Vegas. She also shared that the best new artist nomination is something of an irony, given that she began her career in Brazil 12 years ago.

“But here in America,” she says, “I’m just starting right now … It’s so different, it’s so hard for me to get to this other level of jumping into another market and working there that for me it is a new artist, because for me it is a new career from zero.”

She also notes that the last time a Brazilian act was nominated for best new artist was in 1964, when Astrud Gilberto earned a nod on the heels of the hit “Girl From Ipanema,” a song Anitta pays homage to on “Girl From Rio” from her 2022 LP Versions Of Me.

She continues that while it’s been challenging to get non-Brazilian audiences to get used to her native language — Portuguese — global markets are warming up to it via her work, and that’s she’s working on a funk album that will fully showcase the sounds and style of her homeland.

“For me,” she says, “I understand that this whole moment was like the construction of the foundation for me to actually introduce my culture.”

Watch the interview above, and stay tuned for part two of the conversation in the coming weeks.

04 Jan 2023

Kelly Clarkson & Justin Guarini Reminisce on ‘American Idol‘ Days: ’Nobody Knew What Was Up’

It’s been nearly 20 years since American Idol debuted, and its first winner, Kelly Clarkson, has had an impressive career in the time since. The “Since U Been Gone” singer has become a three-time Grammy winner, coach on The Voice and is now a host on her namesake talk show, on which she invited fellow season one Idol alumn Justin Guarini to reminisce about their time on the singing competition for Wednesday’s (Jan. 4) episode.

Clarkson admitted that she often does not remember moments from her time on Idol, but asked Guarini if he had any special memories of his own.

“It’s wild because we got shot out of the cannon, but I just loved being around and the fact that we were at the beginning of things, nobody knew what was up,” he reflected. “The stakes weren’t super high for us. We got to hang out so much.”

Guardini then issued actress Alexandra Daddario, who was also a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, a stern warning. “If you ever have the chance to see Kelly and she says, ‘Hey, do you want to play a card game?’ Don’t,” he advised the actress. “We would hang out and we would play speed because there were huge swaths of time, and I think I may have won twice in the hundreds of time that we played together.”

“I feel like I have natural caffeine in me, so it was really my game,” Clarkson mused, to which Guarini said, “It was ridiculous! I just kept coming back for more.”

Guarini’s was the runner-up in American Idol‘s first season. He has since released two studio albums, two EPs and has appeared on Broadway and television.

Watch Guarini and Clarkson reminisce on their Idol experience above.

04 Jan 2023

Luke Grimes Says He Doesn’t Know How ‘Yellowstone’ Will End

Yellowstone actor Luke Grimes is balancing roles as both singer and actor, portraying Kayce Dutton on the hit television show, while also launching his own music career by recently inking a deal with UMG Nashville, and releasing his current single, “No Horse to Ride.”

Grimes appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday (Jan. 3), telling the late-night host that he does have an album in the works. The artist shared that he begins recording in February and estimates the set will release near the end of March.

As for the ending of the show’s current story arc, Grimes says he does not know how it will end. “I think some of the cast know the end,” he says. “Some have been told, some haven’t.”

He added that he doesn’t want to know how the show ends, but also that Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan doesn’t want him to know. “I don’t think Taylor, who writes our show, wants me to know, either. I don’t know — it might affect the way you do something or play something. And it’s kind of fun to experience it this way, anyway. It’s sort of like life.”

Fallon also asked Grimes to describe his character, noting that many Yellowstone fans have likened Kayce Dutton to Michael Corleone, a character in The Godfather.

“Yeah, that’s kind of a reference throughout, but we’ll have to see. You know, I think that’s what we’re all kind of waiting to see: Can he come up and man up and do the things necessary to help the family keep the place or not? I think that’s what we’re all kind of watching to find out.”

The fifth season of Yellowstone premiered in November 2022, with 12 million viewers tuning in during the premiere’s simulcast. Yellowstone season five is on a mid-season break, and returns this summer. In the meantime, another Yellowstone prequel, 1923, has launched. It follows the Dutton family during Prohibition and the Great Depression.