Music

17 Nov 2022

Watch Idina Menzel & James Marsden’s Adorable, Spontaneous ‘Aladdin’ Duet

Idina Menzel and James Marsden sang together on The Late Late Show with James Corden Wednesday night (Nov. 16), and you could definitely say it was shining, shimmering, splendid. Two days ahead of the premiere of their new film Disenchanted — sequel to 2007’s beloved Enchanted — the pair put their interview with James Corden on pause to perform a spontaneous duet of “A Whole New World” from Disney’s Aladdin.

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The impromptu musical moment started after Marsden shared how he and costar Amy Adams are both “super fans” of Menzel and recalled how they would frequently plead with the Frozen actress to sing with them on set. “He’s just a real pain in the ass, though,” Menzel joked. “Amy Adams too, they were always singing and dancing even when they’d said cut. You just behaved horribly!”

“In the makeup trailer, we’d go to Idina and say, ‘Hey, will you sing a song with me?’” Marsden added.

Then, recreating what those between-takes makeup trailer sing-alongs looked like, he dove right into Aladdin’s opening lines of “A Whole New World” — staring hopefully at Menzel the entire time so that she would indulge him in singing Princess Jasmine’s part in the song.

“A whole new world,” she obliged once it came to her turn, prompting loud cheers from the audience.

And, ever the professional, the Wicked Broadway star added a harmony over the final lines of the song. “Let me share this whole new world with you,” the two sang, staring into each other’s eyes.

Prior to his adorable duet with Menzel, the 27 Dresses actor had also shown off his musical impression of John Legend. “All of me, loves all of you,” Marsden sang, nailing Legend’s rich vibrato in his Hot 100 No. 1 “All Of Me.” “All your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections.”

Watch Idina Menzel and James Marsden sing on The Late Late Show below.

17 Nov 2022

Mary J. Blige to Release Debut Children’s Book ‘Mary Can!’ in 2023

Of her many accolades, Mary J. Blige can soon add “children’s book author” to her already impressive list of achievements. The “Just Fine” singer shared the news about her debut effort on Instagram on Wednesday (Nov. 16) and revealed that story — which will be published by HarperCollins next year — is title Mary Can! and reflects her personal struggles while growing up.

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“Mary Can! is an inspirational and motivating story about a young girl who proves that anyone can make their dreams come true if they just believe in themselves,” Blige captioned the book’s official cover art, which features an illustration of a young Black girl sitting in front of a brownstone building and drawing in green sidewalk chalk.

“It’s such a personal story for me, based off my own experiences as a child and even as an adult. I was so used to people telling me ‘no’ and that I ‘couldn’t’ which only motivated me more,” the 51-year-old singer continued. “My hope with this book is that it instills in kids from an early age that they can do anything they aspire to do. There are no limits to what they can accomplish!”

Blige elaborated on the story behind Mary Can! in an interview with People, explaining that she wants “kids to know that there are no limits to what they can accomplish. My wish is for my nieces and nephews to feel they can achieve anything they imagine. Growing up, I was constantly told that my dreams were too big, too bold, and too far out of reach. I think we need to reinforce that nothing is impossible.”

The announcement of Blige’s children’s book comes on the heels of her multiple 2023 Grammy Award nominations. She earned a total of six nods, including best R&B performance for “Here With Me” featuring Anderson .Paak; best traditional R&B performance for “Good Morning Gorgeous”; best R&B song for “Good Morning Gorgeous”; and best R&B album for Good Morning Gorgeous — the album and its title track, meanwhile, earned bids in the album of the year and record of the year categories. 

Mary Can! will be released via HarperCollins on March 28, 2023.

See Mary J’s book announcement below.

17 Nov 2022

Here’s What Doja Cat Learned From Working on Music Video Sets With Ariana Grande & Megan Thee Stallion

Doja Cat oozes confidence in her music videos, but things aren’t always as they seem.

In a Billboard exclusive clip from the new Audible original series Origins, the singer opened up about feeling self-conscious while filming her visuals.

“I actually had a problem at one point where I was doing all these music videos, I wouldn’t ask to see the screen,” she says in the clip (listen below). “I didn’t want to see what I looked like in that shot. I had a really hard time seeing myself in the music video after not being able to see the monitor, and I’d see myself and be like, ‘Oh my God, I approved that? Why did I let myself look like that?’”

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She says things changed when she started shooting music videos with more veteran artists like Ariana Grande, Megan Thee Stallion and Bebe Rexha. “I saw them be like, ‘Let me see, let me see.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s the smartest thing to do!’ Because how the f— would you know what you look like?” she explains of finding her confidence on set.

Produced by Fresh Produce Media, Origins is an eight-part audio series featuring some of today’s top musicians in their most intimate form as they interpret the question, “Where are you from?” Each episode blends spoken narrative, immersive sound design and original music performances to help shape each story. Besides Doja Cat, Billie Eilish, Camilo, Koffee, Tobe Nwigwe, Flying Lotus, King Princess and Mickey Guyton are also among the stars telling their origin stories.

“Audible has been fortunate to work with some of the most beloved and iconic musicians of our time through our ‘Words + Music’ series – one that focuses on the work of immensely talented artists and their incredible and varied impacts musically and personally, and has struck a chord with Audible listeners,” said Rachel Ghiazza, executive vice president, head of US content at Audible, in a press statement. “As we continue to dive head first into our expanding music vertical, we are thrilled to introduce Origins, a transcendent audio experience. This series breaks down the barrier between artist and human, as we get up close and personal with these remarkable contemporary musicians and find the source of each of their creative drives.”

Doja added, “I’ve always tried to bring my fans into my world. I am more interested in being myself than what others want me to be. I want people to get a real understanding of who I am, and I think Origins will help them do that.”

All eight installments of Origins will be available November 17 on Audible here. See the cover art below.

Audible Original Origins

Courtesy Photo

17 Nov 2022

Colton Dixon’s ‘Boat’ Floats to No. 1 on Christian Airplay Chart, Jokia Leads Gospel Airplay

Colton Dixon tops Billboard‘s Christian Airplay chart for his first time, as “Build Me a Boat” lifts to No. 1 on the Nov. 19-dated ranking. In the tracking week ending Nov. 13, the single increased by 3% to 6.8 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.

Dixon co-wrote “Boat” with Pete Becker, Mikey Gormley, Johan Linbrandt and Seth Mosley, and the latter three produced it with Sandro Cavazza. “Absolutely stunned at the support,” Dixon tells Billboard. “Thank you to everyone at radio for making this my first-ever Christian Airplay No. 1 single! Grateful would be an understatement, but it seems to be the word I keep coming back to over these last few months. Thank you all so much.”

The 31-year-old Murfreesboro, Tenn., native previously banked four Christian Airplay top 10s. “You Are,” his maiden entry, reached No. 10 in April 2013, followed by “More of You” (No. 5, November 2014); “Through All of It” (No. 6, September 2015); and “Miracles” (No. 5, December 2020).

Concurrently, “Boat” leads the streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Christian Songs chart and Christian AC Airplay for a third fame each, after first topping the Nov. 5 tallies. The song drew 1.6 million streams (up 28%) and sold 1,000 downloads (up 17%) Nov. 4-10. On Christian Streaming Songs, it rises 12-6, awarding Dixon his first top 10.

Jokia Reigns Again

Jokia scores her second straight career-opening No. 1 on Gospel Airplay with “Let Him In” (up 18% in plays). The 23-year-old (full name Jokia Williams), from Killeen, Texas, wrote the song solo and self-released it.

Jokia broke through with “Yahweh,” which led for a week in April 2021. She is now within one of DOE’s mark as the female artist with the most career-opening Gospel Airplay leaders. DOE (aka Dominique Jones) added her third No. 1 with “When I Pray,” which led for two frames starting in September.

17 Nov 2022

Future: Photos From the Billboard Cover Shoot

In 2011, Ebonie Ward was preparing for the grand opening of her boutique, Fly Kix ATL, a men’s clothing store in Atlanta’s Castleberry Hill district that would soon become a stomping ground for high-fashion sneaker heads and up-and-coming rappers such as Kendrick Lamar and Nipsey Hussle. She knew she needed the perfect artist for the launch, so she reached out to a close friend of a rapper she had recently seen at a local showcase. The burgeoning artist, Future, had no Billboard Hot 100 hits to his name — just a commanding, charismatic presence that pierced her core the first time she saw him onstage.

Future accepted the offer and performed at the grand opening, where he also met Ward for the first time and was immediately intrigued by her determination. “She had a different kind of drive,” says Future, who hired her to be his assistant shortly after. “[She] had a will just to get everything done by any means necessary. She always sees ahead of the curve.”

“I think he is the most talented individual on the planet,” says Ward, who began managing Future alongside his longtime manager, Anthony Saleh, in 2017. “When you see somebody who’s so passionate, diligent and hardworking, it just ignites something inside of you that you don’t even understand that you possess. You meet somebody who’s constantly able to help you evolve on every level of your life, just with his level of dedication. It’s really a beautiful thing.”

Read Billboard’s full Future cover story, part of the R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue, here.

17 Nov 2022

‘Hyperrealistic’ Notorious B.I.G. Avatar to Headline VR Concert Featuring Diddy, The Lox, Latto

The Notorious B.I.G. will get virtually revived next month as an on-stage avatar in Meta Horizons World for a VR concert called “Sky’s the Limit” that will also feature his mentor/label boss, Sean “Diddy” Combs, as well as The Lox, Biggie’s Junior M.A.F.I.A. mate Lil Cease AND Latto, Nardo Wick, DJ Clark Kent and Eli Fross.

According to an announcement, the “jam-packed, hour-long” VR concert will take place on Dec. 16 at 9 p.m. ET in the Venues area of Meta Horizons Worlds. Variety reported that the show will find Biggie digitally re-animated as a “true-to-life, hyperrealistic” avatar that will come to life during a show that will air exclusively on Meta’s VR and Facebook platforms. The gig was arranged in collaboration with the B.I.G. estate, with the VR Biggie slated to perform songs from his catalog in a virtual recreation of 1990s Brooklyn dubbed “The Brook.”

“Having the ability to create a variance of new opportunity to showcase my son Christopher’s music through the advancement of technology is hard for me to grasp at times,” said the late MC’s mother, Voletta Wallace, in a statement. “However, I’ve found so much excitement in the process of developing his avatar, understanding the value added for fans to experience him in ways unattainable until now. Thank you to all who have contributed to bringing this project to fruition.”

B.I.G. (born Christopher Wallace), was killed in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting in 1997 when he was just 24 years-old. The show is a celebration of what would have been the rapper’s 50th birthday and it will be accessible via the Meta Quest 2 or Meta Quest Pro VR headsets; if you don’t have a Meta headset, you can watch a 2D version on the official Notorious B.I.G. Facebook page.

Variety reported that the show will allow the audience to follow a day in Biggie’s life through a narrative journey written and voiced by music journalist Touré.

Watch the trailer for the show here.

17 Nov 2022

Anthrax Cancelled Fall European Tour Dates Because ‘Financially it Wasn’t Feasible’

If things had gone to plan, Anthrax would be back home by now basking in the glow of their first major European tour since 2019. But instead the group were forced to cancel 20 dates on their 40th anniversary Euro jaunt, instead playing just 8 gigs in the UK before packing things up.

“When I saw the numbers, they were literally triple what they originally started at,” bassist Frank Bello told TotalRock‘s Neil Jones about the scotched shows. “We would be coming home at such a loss. You don’t mind a little bit of a loss just to play to the fans, but such a loss — we would have been really bad off for a while. So it didn’t make sense.”

When Jones asked if it was a “Brexit thing” that forced the cancellations, Bello said, “it’s a human thing at this point, my God. I mean, it’s a budgetary thing.” Bello explained that the group were excited to play for their “great big” overseas fanbase, but once they did the budget before the shows went on sale things were totally upended by the global pandemic. “After COVID, when everything went crazy, money-wise, financially it wasn’t feasible to do it anymore,” he said.

“When [we] looked at it, we said, ‘All right. There’s better times ahead.’ And that’s the way to look at it now. Look, heating costs and everybody’s gotta put food on the table. I get it right now. So it’s just a really hard time for everybody.”

Bello said he can’t wait to return to Europe “the next time around,” but at this point no new dates have been announced for the run that was slated to run from Oct. 11-Nov. 5. Anthrax played a run of UK dates from Sept. 27-Oct. 8 after announcing on Aug. 31 that, “sadly due to ongoing logistical issues and 2022 costs that are out of our control, we have no other option but to cancel the European leg of our upcoming 2022 tour.”

Anthrax are a month a raft of acts who’ve opened up about the financial and logistical hardships of touring right now. Recently Lorde said things are “at an almost unprecedented level of difficulty” out there on the road, while earlier this year a number of smaller and medium-sized acts told Billboard that “out of control” gas prices were seriously eating into profit margins.

Watch Bello’s interview below.

17 Nov 2022

Skittles Sends Sweet, Supportive Message to Harry Styles After L.A. Candy Pelting: Taste, Don’t Toss the Rainbow

Some things go without saying. Well, they should anyway. But after Harry Styles was pelted with a shower of Skittles while performing “Kiwi” at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California on Monday night the candy company issued a very important bulletin on how to properly taste the rainbow.

“Didn’t think I needed to say this: Please don’t throw Skittles,” read a message from the official Skittles Instagram account on Thursday (Nov. 17) along with the comment “In case you didn’t see.” The winky post came after Styles dodged a fistful of the colorful candies during the show, causing him to cover his eyes amid the sugary assault.

A disgruntled fan who caught the moment on camera and tweeted, “whoever the f–k threw a solid object at his eye, u literally ruined kiwi bc he wouldn’t open his eye for the whole song.” Another worried fan, who shared video of the moment in slow motion, wrote, “like are you joking?? look how hard he recoils hope your eye is okay @Harry_Styles.”

Total pro Styles seemed to be okay, as he plowed ahead with the show while his bandmate Pauli the PSM shared an update about his condition during an Instagram Live DJ set later in the evening. “H came through, confirming his eye is okay,” Pauli said, adding, “But do me a favor, don’t throw no more Skittles on stage.”

Styles appeared to also have a good sense of humor about SkittlesGate. Tuning into Pauli’s Live, he commented, “See you tomorrow AVEC eye patch.” It’s just the latest on-stage incident in which Styles has been hit with stage shrapnel, coming after an August show at Madison Square Garden when a fan threw a handful of chicken nuggets on stage as well as the time last month when someone tossed an object that hit Harry in the groin area.

Check out the Skittles post below.

17 Nov 2022

Latin Grammys Special Awards: Best Quotes From the 2022 Honorees

The Latin Recording Academy on Wednesday (Nov. 16) celebrated the fruitful careers of eight artists from diverse genres and nationalities who have left a deep mark on Latin music.

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Rosario Flores from Spain, Myriam Hernández from Chile, Rita Lee from Brazil, Amanda Miguel from Argentina and Yordano from Venezuela received the Lifetime Achievement Award, given to performers who have made contributions of outstanding artistic value to Latin music and their communities. While Spanish musician and executive Manolo Díaz, Cuban jazz player Paquito D’Rivera and Mexican bassist Abraham Laboriel received the Trustees Award, which recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Latin music, though not necessarily in an interpretive capacity. (D’Rivera and Laboriel, for example, are renowned instrumentalists).

“These are industry professionals who, with their work and life example, forge the true meaning of the word excellence,” said Manuel Abud, CEO of the Latin Recording Academy, as he opened the ceremony in Las Vegas. “This is one of those events that fills you with very special pride, because this award celebrates not a song or a specific achievement, but a great journey, a life journey that we know and remember forever.”

There was laughter — mainly courtesy of D’Rivera — and also tears from the honorees and the audience. The emotional ceremony was hosted by salsa singer Víctor Manuelle and included artists such as Fito Páez, Carlos Vives, Cami, Ana Victoria, Ricardo Montaner and Sebastián Yatra as presenters. The only one missing was the Brazilian star Rita Lee, who sent word that she was “happy as a partridge,” according to Giulia Be, who presented her award.

The event preceded the 2022 Latin Grammy Awards, which take place on Thursday (November 17) at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The show will be broadcast live on Univision at 8 p.m. (Eastern Time) and will also be available on HBO Max.

Here are the five best quotes from the Latin Grammys Special Awards honorees:

Amanda Miguel, on finding peace after the passing of her husband, singer-songwriter Diego Verdaguer: “This is an award that gives me peace and fulfillment and the love that music returns to you. Music is that, it is God. It is the way to express ourselves without speaking, but with such beautiful, distinguished sounds. I thank God for making me a musician, a singer, a composer, for having given me that pleasure. Eternal thanks to all the people who made me who I am, because I did not do it alone — first and foremost my husband, Diego Verdaguer […] I share this with him because he was the creator, he was my biggest fan.”

Myriam Hernández, on the recent wave of female singer-songwriters hailing from Chile: “I come from a wonderful country, Chile, where making it in the music industry was very difficult for us. […] But today I see with great optimism and joy that there are many women from my country who are in music and I hope that one day they too will achieve this recognition that I am receiving today. I thank my country for having supported me, and above all, I thank God for giving us this gift.”

Paquito D’Rivera, on his idol Benny Goodman and the “carne y frijol” (meat and beans): “I remember one day my father, who was a saxophonist, came home with a Benny Goodman record and I asked him ‘What is that!?’ I fell in love with that music. He told me: ‘That’s swing, that’s jazz, and that’s New York, and that’s Carnegie Hall’. When he said Carnegie Hall, I understood ‘carne y frijol’ (meat and beans). […] Well, the point is that many years later I celebrated my 50th anniversary in music at the ‘carne y frijol’, the Carnegie Hall. And I remember once when Benny Goodman, who was my idol, was awarded a statuette like this one, he said something I could never forget: ‘It’s incredible to me that they’re giving me such an important award just for doing the only activity that I really enjoy doing’. Thank you […] for helping me to do the only thing that really interests me in life: playing music for you.”

Rosario Flores, on growing up in a family of artists: “For me today is an exceptional day because today I receive the award for my art, for my dedication since I was born. To my inspiration. To the energy of my mother (Lola Flores) […] of my brother Antonio and my sister Lolita. I take all of them with me, and because of them I am an artist, because they were all artists and they taught me what art was. I have many angels with me that are them. I honor art with every pore of my skin.”

Yordano, on singing what is hard for him to say: “I was a big stutterer when I was a kid. During my childhood and adolescence it was difficult for me to speak, and that was terrible because I would fall in love and it would become even worse. Every summer we would go to the beach and every summer I would fall madly in love, since I was 12 years old. I suffered a lot. I think that, thanks to that accumulated suffering, I managed to create many love songs.”

17 Nov 2022

Pink Talks Touring With Kids, Dangling Off Buildings and More on ‘Kimmel’

Pink loves a challenge. Whether its learning a new instrument and playing it live, touring with her babies, or dangling from a building on national TV, Pink flicks a middle finger at her comfort zone.

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On Wednesday night’s (Nov. 16) episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, the pop star relived some of her heart-stopping moments with the mic, and hinted at more to come.

Earlier in the week, the Philadelphia native announced a 21-date stadium tour of North America next year, under the banner Summer Carnival 2023. Special guests include Brandi Carlile and brand new Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Pat Benatar & Neil Girlado.

Does her family join her on the road? “Always, everywhere,” she explains. “They’re older now, so now I tour around Willow’s theater schedule.”

Touring with babies is a fool’s errand, working a routine where you step off stage at 11.30pm, you’re wired until 2.30am, and repeat it for 200 days. She’s managed it. “I can’t do everything,” Pink admits. “So you have to decide. Like okay, what is this one thing I’m going to give to myself and try not to feel guilty about, and for that it was breakfast.” With the help of sleep trainers, the super-mom, super-performer plan “worked brilliantly,” she explains.

When other touring moms caught wind of her wins, she was asked her to write a playbook. That’s another win right there.

Pink also discussed her walk on the wild side… of a building, the JW Marriott in Los Angeles, for her performance of “Beautiful Trauma” at the 2017 American Music Awards. “That was a lot,” she recounts. “I was a lot higher than I wanted to be.” She had just three days to learn the ropes, we learned, and she had some Dutch courage before the performance, in the form of a nip of whiskey.

Pink also discussed forgetting words to her own songs (Willow keeps tabs on her blunders), life on the farm, the Nov. 20 AMAs (where she’ll perform a tribute to Olivia Newton-John), and she sang a never-before-seen number, written for “wing it and sing it,” a spot that left her “terrified.”

Pink’s Live Nation-produced North America tour will kick off on July 24, 2023 in Toronto at the Roger Centre and hit Cincinnati, Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, San Antonio, San Diego and Los Angeles before wrapping up on Oct. 9 at Chase Field in Phoenix.

She recently released her second new song of the year, “I’m Never Going to Not Dance Again.”