Music

06 Dec 2022

SZA Teases ‘Nobody Gets Me’ Ahead of ‘S.O.S’ Release

SZA is just days away from dropping her much-anticipated new album, S.O.S, and the 33-year-old singer-songwriter took to YouTube Shorts on Tuesday (Dec. 6) to tease one of the LP’s tracks titled “Nobody Gets Me.”

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“I don’t want to lose what’s left of you / How am I supposed to tell you / I don’t want to see you with anyone but me / Nobody gets me like you,” SZA muses over an acoustic guitar melody in the clip, which features a behind-the-scenes look at a promotional photoshoot.

Earlier in the week, the star released the official tracklist for the upcoming set, and the 23 songs on the album has a number of guest features including Don Toliver on “Used,” Phoebe Bridgers on “Ghost in the Machine,” Travis Scott on “Open Arms” and Ol’ Dirty Bastard on “Forgiveless.”

S.O.S follows the star’s 2017 debut, Ctrl, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and featured hits like “Love Galore,” “Broken Clocks” and “The Weekend.”

SZA recently covered Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue. In the cover story, she questioned her longevity in music and where she sees her career going forward. “I feel like music, in this capacity, I don’t see longevity,” SZA admitted. “I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody. I’mma take a good swing at it, and I’mma give ’em my absolute best.”

S.O.S is out on Friday (Dec. 9).

06 Dec 2022

Gwen Stefani Gets Emotional Over Final ‘Voice’ Season With Blake Shelton

Gwen Stefani is still having a hard time coming to terms with it being her last season with husband Blake Shelton on The Voice.

Speaking with Entertainment Tonight ahead of Monday night’s episode of the singing competition show, the No Doubt singer got emotional while talking about their time together on season 22 and it swiftly coming to a close.

“It’s just been a really amazing season, too short,” the 53-year-old said just before the show’s semifinals, getting teary-eyed. “It’s mine and Blake’s last season… I can’t even get the words out of my mouth ’cause it sucks.”

She continued, “I never in my lifetime would’ve pictured me doing something like this, and it’s been one of the most fun things I’ve ever done. I love being a coach, I love watching the contestants grow, I love having an impact, it’s super inspiring for me. And then, on top of it, I meet my best friend here, that’s gonna be forever mine.”

The Voice is an integral part of Stefani and Shelton’s relationship. The pair met in 2014 while filming season 7 of the show and later began dating in 2015. After being in a relationship for five years, the pop star and country singer got engaged in October 2020 and tied the knot in July 2021.

While Stefani’s run on The Voice will conclude after the current season, Shelton will depart the show after season 23 and will be joined by The Voice veteran Kelly Clarkson, alongside newcomers Niall Horan and Chance the Rapper.

06 Dec 2022

Lizzo Is Officially a ‘Viral Sensation’ as TikTok’s Top Artist of the Year in U.S.

Consider Lizzo the undisputed queen of TikTok. On Tuesday (Dec. 6), the social media platform revealed in its year-end report that the singer held the title for most video views of the year.

“Viral sensation,” Lizzo put it simply when retweeting a report of the news. The Grammy winner was followed in Nos. 2 through 5 by Bella Poarch, Bad Bunny, Charlie Puth and Doja Cat, while Selena Gomez, Nessa Barrett, Yung Gravy, Billie Eilish and Meghan Trainor rounded out the top 10.

Additionally, Lizzo’s choreography for “About Damn Time” ultimately landed at No. 7 on the list of TikTok’s most viral moments of the year.

The popular app also helped many a newcomer break through this year and released its countdown of the top 10 rising artists of the year and their hit songs, including Ice Spice (“Munch [Feelin’ U]”), JVKE (“Golden Hour”), GloRilla (“F.N.F.”) and Benson Boone (“Stars”). TikTok also played a major role in Steve Lacy earning his first No. 1 with “Bad Habit,” the initial explosion of Latto’s “Big Energy,” Omar Apollo landing his first-ever Hot 100 hit with “Evergreen,” and Muni Long bounding into the top 20 with “Hrs and Hrs.”

In other Lizzo-related news, the singer released her yuletide cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas” exclusively on Amazon Music in recent weeks — which so far has cracked the Hot 100 at No. 94 (chart dated Dec. 10) — and opened up in a new interview about the racism she’s experienced within the pop music industry.

Read Lizzo’s reaction to her latest TikTok achievement below.

06 Dec 2022

Coldplay Share Some of Their Current Favorite Songs While ‘In the Studio’

Coldplay is back in the studio, and frontman Chris Martin took to Twitter on Tuesday (Dec. 6) to give fans an update as well as share some of the songs he’s listening to lately.

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“I hope you’re all doing well. Here are some things I love at the moment,” Martin wrote in a note shared to the social media platform, before listing his current top tracks which include RM‘s “Yun” featuring Erykah Badu, Badu’s live rendition of “Tyrone,” Bayka‘s “She Like It,” The 1975‘s “Looking for Somebody (to Love),” Inhaler‘s “Totally,” Kyoka‘s “Hurt People” and Stormzy‘s “Hide & Seek.”

Martin concluded his message by writing, “We are in the studio. We send you all much love.”

Coldplay unveiled their ninth studio album, Music of the Spheres, in October 2021 via Parlophone and Atlantic Records. The 12-track album featured the BTS collaboration “My Universe,” which blasted onto the Billboard Hot 100 chart at No. 1, marking the Brits’ first leader since 2008’s “Viva La Vida” and giving both groups appearances on the Rock & Alternative Airplay and Alternative Airplay charts.

Music of the Spheres, meanwhile, peaked at No. 4 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart dated October 30, 2021, and spent eight total weeks on the chart.

06 Dec 2022

How Kenny Chesney’s Pandemic-Postponed Tour Returned to a ‘Whole New Level of Demand’

Kenny Chesney was king of the road among country artists in 2022. The touring titan led all country acts reporting to Billboard Boxscore by grossing $135,046,047 from 41 stadium and arena shows on his Here and Now tour.

The total was also enough to land him at No. 9 on the all-genre Billboard Boxscore year-end tally. Additionally, he drew the highest attendance among country acts, attracting 1.3 million people. Chesney last topped the tally in 2018 with $114.3 million from 42 shows on his Trip Around the Sun stadium tour that drew 1.3 million people. (A limited 21-date arena tour in 2019 grossed $19.2 million.)

The Here and Now Tour included dates originally scheduled for 2020 and then 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused cancellations and postponements.

“We had missed each other so much,” Chesney tells Billboard of his fans. “I think we’d almost forgotten how good it was, and once we got there and felt that love – both off the stage and from the people – the word was out. We always have crazy great audiences, but this year, No Shoes Nation wanted  to be there, to share the moment in a way where we were making up for those years we couldn’t come together and rock.”

Chesney’s manager Clint Higham agrees, telling Billboard, “The people of No Shoes Nation are such intense fans, the being together after four years created its own energy and momentum. We found ourselves adding seats in so many markets to try to meet the demand because whether it was the people who’d held their tickets for over 1,000 days in many cases or the people buying those new tickets who felt the buzz and wanted to be there, it was a whole new level of demand based on what Kenny gives people.”

Coming in at second place — and No. 11 on the all-genre chart — Morgan Wallen grossed $128,718.950 from 66 shows on his first full arena outing. Wallen dominated the album charts as well: In September, his Dangerous: The Double Album broke the record for the most nonconsecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 by a singular artist with 86 weeks, surpassing the 85 weeks tallied by Peter, Paul & Mary’s self-titled album in 1962-1964.

Chris Stapleton, who led the tally last year with $33,884,658 from 32 shows, came in third in 2022 with a gross of $83,080,631 from 69 shows.

Country icon George Strait played only 10 shows to roll into fifth place, grossing $50,048,167 from 263,285 fans.

Fellow legend Reba McEntire was the only woman to make the top 10, grossing $27,506,847 from 27 shows. The outing has been extended into 2023 and will include her first headlining Madison Square Garden show.

06 Dec 2022

NBA YoungBoy Supports Kanye West, Tells Him to ‘Hold Your Ground’ on New 8-Minute Song

NBA YoungBoy is letting Kanye West know that he has at least one person in his corner after Ye’s string of increasingly unhinged and hate-speech-filled interviews.

Over the weekend, the “Outside Today” rapper shared an eight-minute-long track titled “This Not a Song, This for My Supporters,” in which he shared his feelings about West and insisted he needs to hold his ground.

“It hurt my heart that Kanye let them people break his soul/ How the f— that go? N—a, stay in yo’ home!/ N—a, hold your ground! You strong!”

YoungBoy’s comments supporting Ye come in the midst of a massive upheaval against the rapper over his antisemitic comments, both via social media and in interviews. Most notably, Ye appeared on Alex Jones’ InfoWars talk show last week and said that he sees “good things about Hitler.”

He added, “I love everyone, and Jewish people are not going to tell me, ‘You can love us and you can love what we’re doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we’re pushing with the pornography.’ But this guy that invented highways and invented the very microphone I use as a musician, you can’t say out loud that this person ever did anything good and I’m done with that. I’m done with the classifications.”

Despite Jones’ visible discomfort at the comments throughout the interview, Ye doubled down, adding, “I don’t like the word ‘evil’ next to Nazis … I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.” The rapper reiterated that it’s “time to promote love” by declaring, “I do love Hitler. I do love the Zionists.”

06 Dec 2022

Jan Gaye, Wife of Motown Legend Marvin Gaye, Dies at 66

Janis Hunter Gaye, the second wife of Motown legend Marvin Gaye and the inspiration for several of his songs, died Saturday of an undisclosed cause at her home in Rhode Island, her family announced. She was 66.

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Hunter Gaye was introduced to the singer by producer Ed Townsend during a 1973 recording session at Hitsville West in Los Angeles for his album Let’s Get It On, which was released that year. Gaye at the time was married to Anna Gordy, the sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy; Hunter Gaye was 17, he was 34.

Gaye wrote the song “Jan” for his future wife and recorded it for his 1974 album, Marvin Gaye Live!, and his 1976 album, I Want You, has been described as “a romantic and erotic tribute” to her. His 1977 disco single “Got to Give It Up,” which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, featured her on background vocals. They were married that year.

According to her family, Hunter Gaye put together the iconic outfit — red watch cap, beaded denim shirt and silver red-laced platform boots— that Gaye donned for his memorable 1974 concert performance at the Oakland Coliseum.

The pair were married from 1977 until their 1981 divorce. He died three years later after being shot by his father in Los Angeles. Her memoir, After the Dance: My Life With Marvin Gaye, was published in 2015.

Hunter Gaye was the daughter of singer-musician Slim Gaillard, known for hits including “Flat Foot Floogie (With a Floy Floy).” She also managed the career of her daughter, Nona Gaye, a singer and actress with credits including Ali, Crash and two Matrix films.

“From the time she met my father, she was exposed to the way he saw this world was aching, and she did her best to preserve his legacy as he was taken from us far too early,” Nona Gaye said in a statement. “She took every moment to speak about every word and every note of his music, and she wanted to make sure everyone knew the man she fell in love with. I will never get to see her again in this life but know she’s in heaven with my father and a spokesperson for us in spirit.”

Survivors also include son Frankie, sister Shawnn, brother Mark and grandson Nolan.

A public event will be announced. Donations in her honor can be made to Arms Around the Child, Breathe With Me Revolution and/or Fund a Mom.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

06 Dec 2022

Here Are All of Taylor Swift’s Biggest Accomplishments in 2022

It’s Taylor Swift‘s world, and we’re just living in it. Whether you’re counting awards, sales, chart success or all of the above, the 32-year-old pop star had a huge year — and that’s even by Swift’s standards.

But where to begin? There’s that time in May when she achieved her longtime goal of being bestowed with an honorary doctorate, donning NYU’s purple and black robes alongside thousands of other graduates to deliver 2022’s commencement speech. Or, there’s that time at the Tribeca Film Festival, and then again at the VMAs, and then again at the Toronto International Film Festival when she really stepped into her status as a filmmaker, earning recognition for her self-directed All Too Well: The Short Film.

And then there’s the obvious one: that time she dropped her tenth studio album Midnights and subsequently shattered one major record after another. Even the 11-time (soon to be more, possibly) Grammy winner herself couldn’t believe the astounding success.

“The fact that the fans have done this, the breaking of the records and the going out to the stores and getting it — I’m 32, so we’re considered geriatric pop stars,” she laughed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in October, in one of only a couple interviews she did for the Midnights release cycle. “They start trying to put us out to pasture at age 25, I’m just happy to be here.”

Keep reading to see a full list of Taylor Swift’s biggest career highs in 2022 below.

06 Dec 2022

World Cup Song ‘Arhbo’ Gives Rapper Gims His First Top 10 Billboard Chart Hit

Congolese-French rapper and singer-songwriter Gims earns his first top 10 through a first entry on any Billboard Latin chart as “Arhbo (Music From The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022),” with Ozuna, jumps 29-8 on the Latin Airplay chart (dated Dec. 10). The track is also Gims’ first chart entry overall.

Arhbo is a Qatari slang word for “welcome” which derives from the Arabic word “marhaba;” basically the simplest type of greeting. The song, produced by RedOne, is the second single from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 official soundtrack. The World Cup began on Nov. 20 and runs through Dec. 18.

“Arhbo” was released Aug. 19 via 2101 Records/ Katara Studios/UnitedMasters. Thanks to its 29-8 surge –in its fourth week– on Latin Airplay, it takes the Greatest Gainer of the week with a lofty 72% gain in audience impressions, to 6.4 million, earned in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 4, according to Luminate.

Watch the “Arhbo” video here.

The singles also marks the first top 10 and chart entry on Latin Airplay for Middle Eastern Katara Studios and United Masters. Meanwhile, producer RedOne’s 2101 Records previously an imprint under Republic Records, scored a No. 22 high through Jennifer Lopez’s “Live It Up,” featuring Pitbull, in 2013.

Ozuna collects his 36th top 10, still the fourth-most among all acts since the chart launched in 1994. Here’s the scoreboard:

46, Daddy Yankee
41, Enrique Iglesias
40, J Balvin
36, Ozuna
34, Shakira
30, Marc Anthony
28, Ricky Martin,
27, Marco Antonio Solis
27, Wisin
27, Wisin & Yandel

Further, Ozuna’s new top 10 arrives after he secured his second week atop Latin Airplay with “Monotonía,” with Shakira, in the week prior.

06 Dec 2022

Here’s What SZA Had to Say When a Fan Asked for a Hayley Williams Collab

SZA is giving fans little crumbs regarding her relationship with Paramore‘s Hayley Williams.

With the R&B singer’s forthcoming album S.O.S. arriving this Friday (Dec. 9), SZA fans wanted to know: When will they see her collaborate with the Paramore frontwoman?

“@sza Hayley Williams x SZA collab when???” one fan demanded to know. Instead of giving an update, SZA replied in a Tuesday (Dec. 6) tweet, “I talk to her more than you’d think lol.”

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The fan question arrives after SZA shared the 23-song track list for S.O.S. on Dec. 5. The LP includes several features, including Don Toliver on “Used,” Phoebe Bridgers on “Ghost in the Machine,” Travis Scott on “Open Arms” and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard on “Forgiveless.”

The R&B singer covered Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue in November. In the story, she questioned the future of her career. “I feel like music, in this capacity, I don’t see longevity,” SZA admitted. “I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody. I’mma take a good swing at it, and I’mma give ’em my absolute best.”

S.O.S. follows the star’s 2017 debut, Ctrl, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and featured hits like “Love Galore,” “Broken Clocks” and “The Weekend.”

See the tweet below.