Music
Page: 309
Linkin Park is counting down to something big. On Saturday (Aug. 24), the rock band shared a mysterious 100-hour countdown timer on its social media accounts, with a link to the group’s official website.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
At press time, LinkinPark.com featured a YouTube livestream with the same timer and an accompanying live chat filled with fan speculation — much of it anticipating the announcement of a new vocalist to replace late lead singer Chester Bennington, who died by suicide in July 2017 at the age of 41.
“I hope they announce the new singer, LP deserves to continue [with their legacy,” one user wrote in the chat. Another fan asked, “If LP has a new singer and it’s female, who do you want it to be?”
Trending on Billboard
Linkin Park’s countdown timer is scheduled to end on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
Earlier this year, several sources close to Linkin Park told Billboard that the band’s three surviving members were mulling a possible 2025 reunion tour and considering hiring a female vocalist to succeed Bennington. In late April, booking agency WME was taking offers for a potential Linkin Park tour along with headlining festival dates featuring LP’s Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Dave Farrell, the sources said. The band had not indicated who would sing on behalf of Bennington, but one source told Billboard that LP was hoping to find a female vocalist to front the reunited group.
Fueling speculation at the time, Orgy’s Jay Gordon said he had heard rumors about a Linkin Park reunion while appearing on Wired in the Empire on KCAL 96.7.
“Very, very cool guys and obviously a great band,” Gordon said. “They’ve been around a long time and they’re still going for it,” he said. “It’s going to be tough without Chester, but we’ll see. I hear they got a girl singer now. That’s what I heard.”
Gordon later issued a statement saying his comments had been taken out of context. “With regards to this linkin park singer thing. I know nothing about any of that,” he wrote.
As previously reported, Shinoda was asked about a possible reunion around the April release of Papercuts (Singles Collection: 2000-2023).
“Rumors always go around. People always ask what’s next for the band, and the best answer I can ever give anybody is when there’s something to tell you, we will tell you,” Shinoda told Revolver magazine. When there’s an announcement to be made, it will be on LinkinPark.com. If you’re hearing it from somebody else, you can trust that information as much as you want to trust it.”
Linkin Park is one of the most successful rock groups from the 2000s, having sold more than 29.4 million albums in the United States, according to Luminate. The band has charted 24 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including three top 10 hits: “In the End” in 2003, “What I’ve Done” in 2007 and “New Divide” in 2009.
See Linkin Park’s countdown post on YouTube here and Instagram below.
Slipknot‘s Sid Wilson is on the mend after being involved in a fire accident.
On Friday (Aug. 23), the 47-year-old heavy metal DJ revealed in a pair of videos on social media that he suffered “serious burns” on his face and arms after trying to stoke a bonfire on the Iowa farm he shares with girlfriend Kelly Osbourne.
“My face is burnt and my cheeks,” Wilson said in a clip from his hospital bed. “I had an explosion in my face.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
After giving a close-up of his injuries, which included charred eyebrows, a blistered lip and burn marks on his arms, the musician assured fans that he was recovering from the incident, despite having a shaky hand while recording the clip on his cell phone.
Trending on Billboard
“I’m going to be OK, but I did have some serious burns in my face and my arms,” Wilson said, adding that doctors were also taking X-rays of his chest.
Slipknot shared a statement about the accident on the masked metal band’s official Instagram account.
“Our brother Sid Wilson was in an accident today and sustained burns across his body,” the group wrote on Instagram Friday. “He’s recovering with his family and will still join us on stage at Rocklahoma next weekend. He thanks everyone for the well wishes, and will see you all soon.”
Slipknot is scheduled to headline the closing night of Rocklahoma on Sept. 1. The three-day event takes place in Pryor, Okla. The masked group has U.S. tour dates on the books through October.
Wilson’s band members weren’t the only ones who had something to say about the fire explosion. Kelly Osbourne, who shares a young son with the DJ/keyboardist, also had a few choice words about her boyfriend putting himself in harm’s way.
“This is why you don’t f— with burn piles,” Osbourne said in a video from the hospital, posted to her Instagram Story. “He literally set himself on fire and exploded everything.”
The “Papa Don’t Preach” singer first met Wilson in 1999, when Slipknot toured with Ozzfest, the traveling hard-rock music festival founded by her parents. The lovebirds went Instagram official in February 2022.
See Wilson’s updates from his hospital bed on Instagram below.
Celebrating life through the lenses of contemporary African American poetry and lyrical art is the creative force behind the new Atlantic Records album, On Imagination. Produced by award-winning music producer, engineer and singer-songwriter Ebonie Smith, the project features 12 poems performed by legendary Black women artists and cultural icons such as Roberta Flack, Valerie Simpson, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters and Dr. Angela Y. Davis.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
June Jordan, Gwendolyn Bennett, Phillis Wheatley and Georgia Douglas Johnson are among the esteemed poets whose work is showcased on the new project. As noted in On Imagination‘s press package, the premise was to “harness art’s transformative ability to turn grief into joy and resilience, honoring the tradition of music as a life-giving, affirmative revolutionary force while shining a light on language as a pathway to healing within the Black community.”
Trending on Billboard
Available now, On Imagination was first revealed in commemoration of this year’s Juneteenth celebration with Dr. Angela Y. Davis reciting Jordan’s 1982 poem, “Moving Towards Home.” The full-length album’s cast of performers also includes Valerie June, Danyel Smith, Genesis Be, Lori Lightfoot and Flyana Boss.
Currently an in-house engineer and producer for Atlantic, Smith has also worked on prior projects such as Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Sturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, Janelle Monáe’s Dirty Computer and Cardi B’s Grammy-winning Invasion of Privacy.
In announcing On Imagination’s arrival, Smith stated, “The poems on this album are restorative. They helped me heal and re-center after COVID. The language is challenging, requiring the listener to work for a deeper understanding, but those who make the effort will find the words of these poets truly powerful and transformative. In the wake of [Migos member] Takeoff’s passing, I turned to these poems to help me heal and make sense of the deaths occurring in and around hip-hop culture. The language on this album helped me find strength during that time.”
Another of the album’s notable tracks is the Bennett-penned “Fantasy,” which artist Dawn Richard performs. It’s accompanied by a dance piece choreographed by Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper and filmed in collaboration with Richard and Ailey II alumni Maya Finman-Palmer, Brena K. Thomas and Maggy van den Heuvel with former The Ailey School student Raven Joseph. The “Fantasy” video was filmed at Ailey’s home, the Joan Weill Center for Dance.
Commented Richard, “19 years later I get to step through the doors of Ailey on my own terms. The last time I danced in Ailey’s theater was in [ABC/MTV reality series] Making the Band. To be back here and recreate a world of regality and beauty through femininity and empowerment makes this moment so special. It speaks to the power of womanhood and perseverance. You can shape your own dreams, tell the story you wish to tell and dare to imagine the possibilities you wish to create.”
“It was an absolute pleasure working with Dawn Richard, creating movement and collaborating with her on an anthem celebrating the resilience and power of women of color from the African diaspora,” added Harper. “As Ailey stands on the shoulders of our founder Alvin Ailey, who saw the importance of using dance as a vehicle for change, we are honored to partner with Atlantic Records on this milestone project serving as a testament to the power of art in our lives.”
Chappell Roan is speaking out against the “predatory behavior” she’s been experiencing with some of her so-called fans.
On Friday (Aug. 23), the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer — who shot to fame over the past year with her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess — shared a lengthy statement on social media, pleading with fans to respect her boundaries.
“For the past 10 years I’ve been going non-stop to build my project and it’s come to the point that I need to draw lines and set boundaries. I want to be an artist for a very very long time,” Roan wrote on Instagram. “I’ve been in too many nonconsensual physical and social interactions and I just need to lay it out and remind you, women don’t owe you s—. I chose this career path because because I love music and art and honoring my inner child, I do not accept harassment of any kind because I chose this path, nor do I deserve it.”
The 26-year-old artist explained that she’s “at work” when performing on stage, dressed in drag, attending a work event, or doing press. But that in “any other circumstance,” she’s “not in work mode” and “clocked out.”
Trending on Billboard
“I don’t agree with the notion that I owe a mutual exchange of energy, time, or attention to people I do not know, do not trust, or who creep me out — just because they’re expressing admiration,” Roan said. “Women do not owe you a reason why they don’t want to be touched or talked to.”
The Hot to Go! musician clarified that her note “has nothing to do with the gratitude and love I feel for my community” and for the “people who respect my boundaries.”
“I am specifically talking about predatory behavior (disguised as ‘superfan’ behavior) that has become normalized because of the way women who are well-known have been treated in the past,” Roan wrote. “Please do not assume you know a lot about someone’s life, personality, and boundaries because you are familiar with them or their work online.”
She added, “If you’re still asking, ‘Well, if you didn’t want this to happen, then why did you choose a career where you knew you wouldn’t be comfortable with the outcome of success?’—understand this: I embrace the success of the project, the love I feel, and the gratitude I have. What I do not accept are creepy people, being touched, and being followed.”
The “Pink Pony Club” singer explained that she ultimately wants to be able to “love my life, be outside, giggle with my friends, go to the movie theater, feel safe, and do all the things every single person deserves to do,” without her privacy being invaded.
“Please stop touching me. Please stop being weird to my family and friends. Please top assuming things about me. There is always more to the story. I am scared and tired. And please—don’t call me Kayleigh. I feel more love than I ever have in my life. I feel the most unsafe I have ever felt in my life,” she wrote. “There is a part of myself that I save just for my project and all of you. There is a part of myself that is just for me, and I don’t want that taken away from me. Thank you for reading this. I appreciate your understanding and support.”
Earlier in the week, Roan took to TikTok to share a video of herself calling out “entitled” fans who exhibit “creepy behavior” toward her in public.
Roan is currently sitting at a peak of No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100, with Midwest Princess reaching an all-time high so far of No. 2 — just under Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department — on the Billboard 200 chart dated Aug. 24. She has a total of seven songs charting on the first tally, including “Good Luck, Babe!,” “Pink Pony Club,” “Casual,” “Red Wine Supernova,” “Feminineomenon” and “My Kink Is Karma.”
See Roan’s post on Instagram below.
From career milestones to new music releases to major announcements and those little important moments, Billboard editors highlight uplifting moments in Latin music. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Cazzu’s Tribute to Selena
This week, Cazzu surprised fans by reappearing on social media — following her very public breakout with Mexican artist Christian Nodal in June. The Argentine rapper was a guest on “Sesiones ¡FA!,” a platform hosted by Argentine actor and musician Mex Urtizberea, where she performed a heartfelt cover of Selena‘s timeless “Como La Flor.” Beyond giving the song a refreshing, reggae twist, the singer seemed happy and healed in the video. Cazzu and Nodal, who have a daughter together, called it splits in June after dating for nearly two years. “I feel the need to let you know that I AM OK, going through it in the best way possible,” she previously said on her Instagram Stories. “I choose to step away from social media for a while to detox and focus on my baby, who is my priority, and on my work.”
[embedded content]
J Balvin to Make Acting Debut
Trending on Billboard
J Balvin is set to make his acting debut in the forthcoming drug drama Little Lorraine, directed by Andy Hines. Starring Stephen Amell and Sean Astin, the film is “based on true events from the late 1980s, depicting a remote mining and fishing town’s transformation into a hub for a major cocaine smuggling operation,” according to Variety. “I’ve started acting — like real acting, not just cameos — and I just wrapped filming for a movie I’m in that comes out next year,” the Colombian artist, who will portray an Interpol agent investigating a Colombian drug importation ring, said. “I love that side of myself.”
J Balvin
Cesar Buitrago
Chencho Announces Debut Solo Album
After a 25-year trajectory, where he gained success through the popular reggaetón duo Plan B, Chencho Corleone is ready to launch his debut solo album. Earlier this week, the Puerto Rican artist revealed the cover art and release date of his upcoming studio set. “The wait is over…,” he wrote on Instagram, revealing that his album Solo (alone) will be out on Sept. 13. “This album represents my commitment to my fans, who always expect the best from me,” Corleone said in a press statement. “Every track describes a situation that transports you and, at the same time, motivates you to dance. I’m thrilled to finally share ‘Solo’ with my fans and can’t wait to see their reactions.”
LAGOS Supports Venezuelan Immigrants
In efforts to support the Venezuelan community, pop duo LAGOS has partnered with the United Nations to ensure that Venezuelan refugees in Latin America and the Caribbean have access to food, shelter, medical care, education, and formal employment. Proceeds from their Alta Fidelidad 2024 Tour in Mexico will be donated to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. “This is a collaboration that is not only part of our present, but will also be a long-term commitment,” the duo expressed in an Instagram post. “We know that music has the power to unite and heal, and we want to do our bit for those who need it most.” Donations can be made here.
Baby Bieber is here! Justin Bieber posted a photo of his new son’s foot (and presumably wife Hailey Bieber’s beautifully manicured hand), announcing his arrival to Bieber’s 293 million Instagram followers on Friday evening (Aug. 23), declaring “Welcome Home, Jack Blues Bieber” with an adorable emoji of a bear cub face. The arrival comes more than […]
Drop, drop, drop. Surprise, more Drake songs have arrived. The 6 God leaked three new tracks on his plottttwistttttt burner Instagram account on Friday (Aug. 23).
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The three-pack, which Elliott Wilson hilariously dubbed Lucian’s Loosies, includes “No Face” featuring an assist from Playboi Carti along with solo tracks “Circadian Rhythm (The Language 2)” and “SOD,” which is a solo version of the “Super Soak” record that Kai Cenat played on his live stream earlier in August.
Except “SOD” has now removed Yachty’s verse from the track. They previously ran into sampling issues when Mr. Hotspot refused to clear vocals due to the song’s explicit nature. DJ Akademiks teased a music video on the way for “SOD” as well.
Trending on Billboard
“No Face” finds Drake teaming up with Playboi Carti for the first time since “Pain 1993” landed on 2020’s Dark Lane Demo Tapes. Drizzy floats over the distorted production and addresses those he feels stabbed him in the back.
“They emptied the clip, quick, swapped that s–t out and I came back reloaded/ I’m just so happy that n—s who envied and held that s–t in got to finally show it/ I’m over the moon, yeah, we’ll see you boys soon,” he raps.
Produced by Gordo, “Circadian Rhythm” also serves as a sequel to “The Language,” which originally landed on Nothing Was The Same as a fan-favorite in 2013. Drizzy opens up about how the rap game has planned funerals for him in the past, but he continues to bounce back like a cat with nine lives. “How many funeral dates they plan for me and I dodged it like the truck,” he spews.
This isn’t the first leak of its kind from Drake on the plottttwistttttt account. His first dump came with a trio of songs earlier in August as part of the 100 Gigs delivery featuring collaborations with Latto, 21 Savage and Young Thug. The three-pack eventually hit streaming services and all of the songs debuted on this week’s Billboard Hot 100.
It remains to be seen if the latest drop will land on streaming services in the coming days. Listen to the leaks below.
Three people were killed and at least four were seriously wounded in a knife attack on Friday at a festival in the western German city of Solingen, police said.
Witnesses alerted police shortly after 9.30 p.m. to an unknown perpetrator having wounded several people with a knife on a central square, the Fronhof. Police said that the perpetrator was on the run, and that they so far had only very thin information on the assailant.
One of the festival organizers, Philipp Müller, appeared on stage and asked festivalgoers to “go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasn’t been caught.” He said many people had been wounded by “a knifeman.”
At least one helicopter was seen in the air, while many police and emergency vehicles with flashing blue lights were on the road and several streets were closed off.
Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a Facebook post that “this evening, we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our city’s anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament.”
“It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened,” he added.
The local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt quoted Celine Derikartz, its reporter covering the festival, as saying that “the atmosphere is spooky.” She said a party atmosphere had turned to shock within minutes and she saw festivalgoers weeping.
The “Festival of Diversity,” marking the city’s 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics.
Solingen has about 160,000 residents and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf.
Germany’s top security official, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, recently proposed toughening weapons laws to allow only knives with a blade measuring up to 6 centimeters (nearly 2.4 inches) to be carried in public, rather than the length of 12 centimeters (4.7 inches), which is allowed now.
This story was originally published by the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris is a big music fan.
The Democratic presidential nominee took part in the music game Track Star, where she had to guess a song by a few seconds of its instrumental, winning money for each correct answer. Harris easily identified a song from Stevie Wonder, whom she called “one of the greatest musicians who ever lived. […] He’s a lyricist, he’s a poet, he’s very active on social justice issues and he’s actually a friend.”
Harris also admitted that because of her schedule lately, gearing up for the presidential elections, “this is probably the most music I’ve listened to in a long time.” She continued, “Both of my parents loved music. It was part of my childhood. We would go to sleep with them playing music all the time.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
She concluded by noting that the song everyone should know is Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s 1976 hit, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine.” She admitted, “It’s one of my favorite songs.”
Harris recently sat down with her Vice President selection, Tim Walz, for a wide-ranging discussion, where they brought up the music that shaped their lives. For Walz, it started with Bruce Springsteen’s 1980 album The River, which he called a “transformational piece of music” for him. He also shared his love for Bob Seger. “My first car, it was the summer of 1980 and I’d been saving up. I buy a 1973 orange Chevy Camaro,” he recalled. “Got an eight-track player in it. The previous owner left Bob Seger’s Night Moves in there. I listened to it, and it’s kind of the soundtrack of my life. […] What’s really great about it is I’ve got a ’79 international that’s my car and it’s got an eight-track player in it. I have the very eight-track to this day.”
Harris added that while Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Miles Davis and John Coltrane were main fixtures within her family home, one of her “personal favorite musicians” is Minnesota’s own Prince. “My husband Doug and I — I’m more of a hip-hop girl, and he’s more Depeche Mode,” she shared. “However, in the Venn diagram of things, Prince he and I love the same. Talk about how Prince was with that guitar, man. I almost know by heart every one of those songs.”
In case you were living under a rock or just woke up from coma, last night Lil Yachty had a public meltdown on Instagram Live over his former artist Karrahbooo and his podcast co-host and friend Mitch.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
First, a clip of his podcast A Safe Place went around of him, Mitch, and Key Glock having a discussion about trying to understand why some want what others have when things got awkward. “Some people gotta eat, gotta feed they family, however the case may be,” Yachty said. “That’s when the militant part comes into play because sometimes, unfortunately, don’t wanna put in work and just want what you have. And that’s a whole different conversation because I ain’t been rich forever.” Adding, “I done been broke before, so who am I to tell this n—a not to go do what you gotta do.
Trending on Billboard
Mitch disagreed and said you can give them different advice.” However, Yachty then replied, “Like what? You ain’t never had a job. What you gonna tell a n—a to get a job?” The Atlanta rapper then brought up what Mitch would be doing with his life if Yachty wasn’t around and all Key Glock could do was sit there in silence.
Naturally, Rap Twitter had a field day with said clip and criticized Yachty for being a bad friend. Boat addressed the viral clip during his IG Live session and stated he started the podcast to help his friend and said he was going to end it because Mitch wouldn’t defend him on social media. “I aint want to do no motherf—king podcast, n—a, I’m a f—king rapper.”
Lil Yachty goes off on his bestfriend and producer Mitch and cancels their podcast together ‘A Safe Place’ on IG live, for not clearing up a viral clip “I aint want to do no motherf*cking podcast n*gga, Im a f*cking rapper… I put $400,000 in Mitch pocket…” pic.twitter.com/OX9TloJQ58— SOUND (@itsavibe) August 23, 2024
Mitch then took to X to clear the air, suggesting him and Yachty joke around and are often brutally honest with each other.
As for Karrahbooo, a waitress at Red Lobster set fire to this whole night. X user @C_Staxxz claimed the former Concrete Boy member walked into the restaurant chain to buy some Cheddar Bay Biscuits said she was kicked out of the group after being asked why she left. The user also claimed Karrahbooo told her that “they were really mean to her and bullying her a lot.”
Those two now-deleted tweets bothered Yachty so much, he decided to hop on Live and finally address the situation. He responded by saying, “Tell people how you verbally abuse people. Don’t get on here to make it seem like niggas kicked you out… bullying you? Bro, go ‘head and tell people how you talk to people… You talk to people like they’re small, like they’re beneath you.”
He then claimed that he wrote all of her verses and styled her and the other members of the Concrete Boys. “I wrote every f—king verse you’ve done,” he said. “I dressed you. I dressed all five of y’all n—as, bro. I dressed five n—as every time we stepped out the house. I put an outfit on everybody. I put eight carat earrings in everybody ear. I put three chains on all y’all neck.”
Adding, “We bought a Cartier watch. I gave you that chrome Rolex, bro. You was waiting tables… What are we talking about, n—a? I changed your motherf—king life and you are here lying, talking about some, ‘We bully you’… That sh—t got me f—ked up, bro. You got me f—ked up, bro. You disrespectful, bro. You talk to people crazy. You tell people that they are nothing. You tell people you’re going to spit on them. You tell people they poor and you talk to my f—king label crazy. You claim I was stealing money from you. Stealing money from you how? You ain’t made no money.”
He continued, “This the problem with you new artists. Y’all get poppin’ online and then you become more popular than your actual music. You $900,000 in the whole and I got every f—king receipt.” Boat then brought up her viral On the Radar freestyle and said he was trying to make her pop off and it worked. “I slowed the beat down, I put 808s specifically on your verse so when it got to your part and the beat dropped, everyone would be like, ‘This girl is the craziest one.’”
[embedded content]
For whatever reason, Boat finds himself in these situations and even went as far as to claim he was going to stop talking on the Internet. “I’m not doing no more talkin’,” Yachty said on Instagram Live last month. “I don’t got s—t else to say. I’m gone off this internet s—t. I think I’m gone for the rest of the year. I swear to God. I ain’t got s—t else to say.
Karrahbooo has yet to respond.