Music

21 Dec 2022

Merry BlinkMas! Tom DeLonge Says New Blink-182 Album Coming Soon

It’s beginning to look a lot like BlinkMas. Just in time for the holiday season, the reunited Blink-182 revealed they are edging closer to dropping their first new album of music from the longtime lineup. “New Album Coming in a few months,” wrote guitarist/singer Tom DeLonge, who rejoined the trio earlier this year after leaving the band for a second time in 2014.

The album tease featuring a live shot of the band performing below a giant four-letter pyro effect — Blink has not yet announced a firm release date for the follow-up to 2019’s Nine — came with more good news. In celebration of the first single from the album, “Edging,” earning a seventh week at No. 1 at alternative radio, DeLonge announced, “the next single that’s coming is [fire emoji].”

The slow-drip leak of information about the as-yet-untitled album got a boost last week from singer/bassist Mark Hoppus, who also promised that the follow-up to the trio’s last studio album together, 2011’s Neighborhoods, is, well, another fire emoji, followed by a metal salute emoji. Plus, Hoppus added what appeared to be some very on-brand goofball lyrics.

“I like to eat cheese/ In my U-Haul/ And drink so much beer/ I never poop at all/ I put my dog down/ And pulled my grandma’s plug/ I was getting kinda used to be someone you loved,” they read. The latter appeared to reveal that the lyrics may have been a gag (or not), as the last line was cribbed from Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved.” That inclusion inspired the English pop singer to respond, “This is the best day of my life.”

Drummer Travis Barker got in on the action this week too, posting a killer, triple-time drum solo from the studio with the caption, “Anthem Pt. 3.” The first “Anthem” appeared on the group’s 1999 breakthrough Enema of the State album, with the sequel showing up on their follow-up fourth full-length, 2001’s Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.

The upcoming album’s first single, “Edging,” rocked all the way to the top of Billboard‘s Alternative Airplay chart last month after just three weeks, marking the quickest ascent to the top of that tally so far this year. The reunited trio’s massive world tour is slated to kick off on March 11 in Tijuana, Mexico at the Imperial GNP festival and keep the band on the road in South America and Mexico through April 2 before shifting to North America on May 4 with a show at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota; those dates will run through a July 16 gig in Nashville at the Bridgestone Arena and then move on to Europe in September and Australia/New Zealand in early 2024.

See all three members’ posts below.

21 Dec 2022

Dave Grohl, Inara George, Tenacious D Explore ‘The Things We Do For Love’ for 2022 ‘Hanukkah Sessions’

On night three of Hanukkah Dave Grohl and producer Greg Kurstin dipped into an all-time classic from one of their favorites. “Once referred to as the ‘biggest Jewish band to come out of Britain,’ 10cc’s MOTs Godley, Crème and Gouldman recorded a ton of hits — here’s one of the many: ‘The Things We Do For Love’ as sung by Inara George!” they wrote in the description to the latest video from their 2022 “Hanukkah Sessions” series.

Singer George — Kurstin’s partner in the indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee — soared with the swoony ballad, belting out the song’s dreamy lyrics about walking through any kind of weather for love as Kurstin banged out the track’s barroom roll on his piano and Grohl hled down the beat. As a bonus, Tenacious D’s Jack Black and Kyle Gass casually added in some background sweet harmonies.

This is Grohl and Kurstin’s third year posting eight nights of covers of songs made famous by Jewish musicians. In a twist, this year’s efforts were all recorded live at Los Angeles’ intimate Largo on Dec. 5 with a cast of all-star guests taking the stage at the 250-capacity club that also included the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ Karen O and Grohl’s 16-year-old daughter, Violet. Night one featured beloved director Judd Apatow rocking through a cover of Blood, Sweat & Tears’ 1969 Grammy-nominated Billboard Hot 100 No. 2 hit “Spinning Wheel.” On night two, P!nk rolled up to “Get The Party Started” with a run through her signature 20001 bar mitzvah jam.

Grohl and Kurstin released the first “Sessions” in Dec. 2020 in the midst of the first winter of the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping one new cover for each night of the holiday. In the midst of a concerning rise in antisemitic incidents and hate speech in the U.S., proceeds from the Largo night went to the Anti-Defamation League.

Watch “The Things We Do For Love” below.

20 Dec 2022

Ozzy Osbourne Reacts to ‘Patient Number 9′ Grammy Nominations: ‘The Whole Thing Shocked Me’

Ozzy Osbourne earned four Grammy nominations for his Patient Number 9 album, and he tells Billboard that the nods were an unexpected, yet welcome, surprise.

“The whole thing shocked me,” he says in a new interview with Lyndsey Havens. “I mean, if I won anything for the album I’ll be floored.”

“That’s what I like about the business. It’s never short of — I love surprises,” he adds in the clip of the Q&A above.

Osbourne says he’s “kind of excited for being nominated for the best rock album” for Patient Number 9, which topped Billboard‘s Top Rock Albums chart in September. He’s also nominated for best rock song and best rock performance, for the song “Patient Number 9” featuring Jeff Beck, as well as best metal performance for “Degradation Rules” with Tony Iommi. (A full list of nominations for the 2023 Grammy Awards can be seen here.)

Asked whether he’ll prepare a speech or wing it on Grammy night, should he win any awards, Osbourne admits that giving speeches isn’t really his specialty.

“I’m not good at making speeches,” he says. “I always end up saying it twice or blowing it or whatever. I’m sure my wife will have it worked out. Behind me is my wife. My wife pulls my strings.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the 74-year-old rocker noted that the album’s title, Patient Number 9, is “me, I suppose. The last four years have been sheer hell for me. I’ve been in such a bad… healthwise. Plus I got [a] Parkinson’s diagnosis. But I’m, you know, takes a lot to hold me down.”

Watch the full interview in the video above.

20 Dec 2022

John Mayer Reveals Who ‘Your Body Is a Wonderland‘ Is About on ’Call Her Daddy’ Holiday Special

John Mayer stopped by Call Her Daddy for the hit podcast’s first-ever holiday special and spilled some major tea about his breakout hit “Your Body Is a Wonderland.”

The topic came up when host Alex Cooper asked the rocker what he was like in high school, in an episode that dropped Tuesday night (Dec. 20). “I didn’t have a presence,” Mayer admitted. “So I think that one of the bigger misnomers about me is that there’s like a jocky-ness to me, you know? Like there’s an alpha, musician jocky-ness to me and the bottom line is, like, I went to school to get it over with. And my life began at 3 o’clock in the afternoon when I came home and played guitar.”

Cooper was quick to point out that just a few years after graduating from high school, he was winning his first Grammy for 2002’s “Your Body Is a Wonderland.” And yet, Mayer insisted that — contrary to the mythos surrounding his love life — he was hardly a Hollywood playboy at the time.

“That was about my first girlfriend,” he said of his sophomore single. “That was about the feeling, which I think was already sort of nostalgic… I was 21 when I wrote that song and I was nostalgic for being 16.”

When Cooper pressed that she always thought the sensual smash was about a certain, unnamed celebrity, he responded, “No, that’s one of those things where people just sort of formed that idea, it gets reinforced over the years, no, no, no. I had never met a celebrity when I wrote that song.”

Next year, Mayer will embark on the final Dead & Company tour, starting May 19 at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles.

Stream Mayer’s Call Her Daddy episode on Spotify below.

20 Dec 2022

Anuel AA’s ‘LLNM2’ Debuts at No. 2 on Top Latin Albums Chart

Anuel AA nets his fifth straight top five album on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart as his latest release, LLNM2, debuts at No. 2 on the Dec. 24-dated ranking. The Puerto Rican’s fourth solo studio album boasts the fifth-largest opening sum of 2022 among Latin albums.

LLNM2 starts with 23,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 15, according to Luminate. The 33-track set was released Dec. 9 via Anuel’s label Real Hasta La Muerte.

Among all Latin albums in 2022 (anything that reached the Top Latin Albums chart), LLNM2 posts the fifth-largest opening sum, behind Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti (273,000 units), Eslabon Armado’s Nostalgia (29,000), Daddy Yankee’s Legendaddy (29,000) and Romeo Santos’ Formula, Vol. 3 (26,000).

On the multi-metric Top Latin Albums chart as measured in equivalent album units, each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

Streaming comprises 22,000 of LLNM2’s first-week units, which equates to 33 million on-demand official streams of the album’s songs. The remaining 1,000 stem from traditional album units and track-equivalent album units.

LLNM2 follows Anuel’s fourth-studio album, Las Leyendas Nunca Mueren, which debuted in Dec. 2021 at No. 1, where it remained for two weeks. Notably, Emmanuel, his second entry, holds strong at No. 31 on Top Latin Albums in its 133rd week on the tally.

As LLNM2 arrives, four tracks secure a spot on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, three debuts and a reentry, starting with “La Máquina” at No. 23. The song earned 2.75 million clicks in the tracking week ending in Dec. 15. Here are the new recruits:

No. 23, “La Máquina,” with Jowell & Randy & De La Ghetto, featuring Yailin La Mas Viral
No. 40, “BRRR”
No. 44, “Sufro,” with Kodak Black & Nengo Flow
No. 54, “Si Yo Me Muero” (reentry)

Elsewhere, LLNM2 debuts on the all-genre Billboard 200 at No. 30 and at No. 2 on Latin Rhythm Albums.

20 Dec 2022

From GloRilla to Latto, What’s Your Favorite Hip-Hop Song of 2022? Vote!

It’s been a banner year for hip-hop and Billboard recently rounded up our critics’ picks of the genre’s 15 best tracks of 2022. But now that we’ve run through our favorites, we want to know which hip-hop song you loved the most.

The past twelve months have seen newcomers like GloRilla and Ice Spice explode onto the scene and rising stars like Latto finally break through, while hitmakers such as Kendrick Lamar, DJ Khaled, Cardi B and more continued to successfully crank out smash singles and fan-favorite album cuts.

In fact, not one but two tracks by GloRilla have landed in Billboard‘s top 10 picks of the year — “F.N.F. (LET’S GO),” her debut release, at No. 1 and its Cardi B-assisted follow-up “Tomorrow 2” at No. 6. Lamar is another artist who delivered multiple hits this year: “N95” and “Rich Spirit,” both off his fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

While they’ve both been indicted in the sprawling RICO case against YSL, Gunna and Young Thug collaborated with Future on “Pushin P,” which became the highest-charting single off the former’s third studio album, DS4Ever.

Meanwhile, DJ Khaled enlisted an entire entourage of A-listers, from Jay-Z and Rick Ross to Lil Wayne and John Legend, for “God Did,” the title track off his stacked thirteenth studio album that peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 upon its July release.

Other songs that made our list of favorites include Latto’s Tom Tom Club-interpolating “Big Energy,” Vince Staples‘ “When Sparks Fly” and “Hotel Lobby,” the grimy single released by Quavo and Takeoff just one month before the latter’s tragic murder.

Vote for your favorite hip-hop song of the year in Billboard‘s poll below.

20 Dec 2022

Jewel Sings Two of Her Hits Plus Songs by Christina Aguilera, Madonna & More in ‘Song Association’: Watch

Jewel hasn’t let the fear of striking out keep her from playing the game. At least, that’s the attitude the singer-songwriter went in with for Tuesday’s (Dec. 20) episode of Elle‘s “Song Association.”

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Before formally kicking off the game, the “Foolish Games” singer made sure viewers knew that her score was likely going to be a bad one. “Hi, it’s Jewel and i’m going to play a game of song association with Elle. I will be given a word and then I will attempt to sing or rap a song associated with that word,” she said, adding, “I don’t know popular music very well. I only know my own songs, so I’m not going to give myself great odds.”

Jewel made sure her vocals chords were properly warmed up by doing a traditional yodel before getting her first word, which happened to be “torn.” While the singer did not sing out most of the words to correspond to Natalie Imbruglia‘s version of “Torn,” she managed to get “I’m all out of faith” and “torn” to gain a point. “Is there a close enough score?” she inquired.

The 48-year-old continued on a bit of a points streak, gaining one for singing Christina Aguilera‘s “Fighter” for the word “fighter” and an extra point for getting the word “soul,” which appears in her 1995 track “Who Will Save Your Soul.” But by the time the word “slow” rolled around, Jewel forgot that she had “Dancing Slow” from her own catalog to use and failed to secure a point. She redeemed herself by singing “Long Way Around” for “round,” and concluded the game with Madonna‘s “Material Girl,” gaining a point for “material.”

By the end of the video, Jewel scored a not-too-shabby 13 out of 15 possible points, and took to Instagram to share her experience on the show. “Had so much fun on @elleus #songassociation … I was indeed not great but it’s pretty funny,” she captioned a re-shared screen grab of a user’s Instagram Story.

Watch Jewel’s “Song Association” episode in the video below.

20 Dec 2022

Victoria Beckham Shares Sweet Christmas Photo of Herself Dressed as a Snowman

Victoria Beckham traded posh for precious and posted a throwback snapshot of herself rocking a snowman costume over the weekend.

“Check me out!!” the Spice Girls star and fashion designer wrote on Instagram on Sunday (Dec. 18), adding a crying-laughing emoji to her caption for the festive photo.

“The countdown to Christmas is ON! One week to go!!” Beckham said.

A number of fans in the comments pointed out her resemblance to her 20-year-old son, Romeo. Victoria has four children with husband David Beckham: Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper.

Beckham was recently a guest on Watch What Happens Live, where she was asked what her top karaoke pick is. Though her initial answer was the girl group’s classic “Spice Up Your Life,” she shifted gears to “Stop,” as it’s arguably “got a really great little dance routine that goes down a storm when doing karaoke.”

See her cute snowman pose below.

20 Dec 2022

Taylor Swift’s Pal Todrick Hall Shares Sweet Story About Singer’s Kind Gesture to Fan With Cancer

Todrick Hall is sharing a heartwarming story about his good friend Taylor Swift just in time for the holidays.

On Monday, the singer and actor recognized Swift’s kindness toward a superfan who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

“I don’t feel like these stories get shared enough,” Hall begins his video on Instagram. “Seeing as it’s the holidays, I thought this story might warm your heart.”

In the minute-long clip, the 37-year-old artist explains that he received a message in early December from his good friend Holly, who mentioned that her friend Estelle — a “gigantic Taylor Swift fan” — was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in the eye, brain and spine. Holly added that Estelle even had a Swift-themed bridal shower and said her friend’s dream was to receive a personalized message from the “Anti-Hero” singer.

“When I saw the footage of this incredible bridal shower, I was like, ‘OK, Taylor has to see this,’” Hall continues. “So I sent the videos, the footage and the message to Taylor and [she] responded so sweetly and said, ‘I would love to send her something. What is her address?’”

Swift followed through on her promise, according to Hall, and sent Estelle a huge box full of an assortment of merchandise, including colorful Midnights-branded T-shirts and hoodies.

“I know that she has a smile from ear to ear,” Hall says. “She’s been DM’ing me all day. I just wanted you to know there are so many stories like this that that I could tell, but this story in particular warmed my heart. I hope it touched your heart, I hope it put a smile on your face.”

Billboard has reached out to Swift’s representatives for further details about Hall’s touching post.

See Hall’s post on Instagram below.

20 Dec 2022

Country Music Association Names Board of Directors for 2023

The Country Music Association (CMA) has elected its board of directors for 2023, with new board members including songwriter Rhett Akins, Onsite Entertainment executive Debbie Carroll, Pink Dog Entertainment leader Curt Jenkins, Warner Music Nashville co-head Ben Kline, CCLD LLC’s Chris Lisle, BMG Nashville/BBR Music Group leader Jon Loba, Monument Records general manager Katie McCartney, Maverick’s Chris Parr, Grand Ole Opry vp/executive producer Dan Rogers, Sony Music Publishing Nashville executive vp of creative Josh Van Valkenburg, Press On Publicity founder Wes Vause and singer/songwriter/musician Charlie Worsham.

The board officers for 2023 will be chairman Charlie Morgan of Apple Music; president Kella Farris of Farris, Self & Moore; president-elect Jennie Smythe of Girlilla Marketing; and secretary/treasurer Virginia Bunetta of G Major Management.

The CMA’s elected and appointed board members include artist managers, songwriters, radio executives, publicists, music publishers, record label executives and touring/live entertainment executives. See the full list of 2023 CMA Board of Directors at cmaworld.com.

Recently, the CMA revealed the nominees for the upcoming CMA Touring Awards, which will be held Jan. 30 at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works. CMA members in the following membership groups are eligible to vote on the 15 categories up for awards: advertising/public relations/media, affiliated, artist, entertainment services, marketing/digital, musician, personal manager, record label, talent agent, talent buyer/promoter, touring and venue.  

During the recent CMA Awards held in November in Nashville, Luke Combs continued his reign as CMA entertainer of the year, while his album Growin’ Up earned album of the year honors (Combs earned two trophies for this win, as both artist and producer on the project). Combs is the first person to win entertainer of the year and album of the year on the same night since Taylor Swift did so in 2009.

Elsewhere, Chris Stapleton became the first six-time male vocalist of the year winner, surpassing Vince Gill, George Strait and Blake Shelton, each of whom is a five-time winner in the category. Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde also won musical event of the year for “Never Wanted to Be That Girl.” Their win marks the first all-female collaboration to win in 28 years — since Reba McEntire and Linda Davis’ “Does He Love You” in 1994.