Music

03 Nov 2022

Taylor Swift Claims Entire Top 13 of Streaming Songs Chart

For the second time in the nine-year history of Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart, the same artist occupies the entirety of the ranking’s top 10.

Songs from Taylor Swift’s new album Midnights make up the top 10 of the ranking dated Nov. 5, led by “Anti-Hero,” which bows at No. 1 with 59.7 million official U.S. streams earned in the tracking week ending Oct. 27, according to Luminate.

Only one other act has held down the entire top 10 of the tally at once: Drake, whose songs from 2021’s Certified Lover Boy swept the top 10 dated Sept. 18, 2021, paced by “Way 2 Sexy,” featuring Future and Young Thug, at 67.3 million streams.

Swift’s perfect score exceeds the previous best by any woman, eight of the top 10, achieved by Olivia Rodrigo on the ranking dated June 5, 2021.

Midnights’ Streaming Songs domination extends beyond the top 10. The album claims the entire top 13, following Drake as the second act to do so. Drake holds the all-time record, as Certified Lover Boy appeared in the entire top 14 in September 2021.

One thing Swift managed that Drake couldn’t: having the entirety of one’s standard-edition album appear on Streaming Songs before any other act’s songs. Midnights boasts 13 songs, with seven added to the deluxe 3am version. The No. 13 on the chart, “Sweet Nothing,” bows with 25.4 million streams, just over 1 million ahead of the next-closest song, Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy,” at No. 14 (24.3 million).

Drake’s Certified, meanwhile, was 21 songs long, with its streak broken up by The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” at No. 15 (27.7 million).

The remainder of Midnights’ deluxe edition still appear on Streaming Songs, led by “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” at No. 17 (15.9 million).

Swift ultimately has 16 of the chart’s top 20, the most by any woman (surpassing her own mark Aug. 8, 2020, upon the release of her album Folklore, and Rodrigo’s on June 5, 2021 – both 11 apiece) and the third-most all time, following Drake’s 17 on July 14, 2018 (after the release of Scorpion), and his 19 after Certified.

She’s also the first woman to have at least 20 of the chart’s 50 positions, thanks to each of the 20 tracks from Midnights – standard and deluxe – reaching the ranking. Drake’s Scorpion week leads all acts with 28.

With 10 new top 10s, Swift now boasts 32 since the tally began in 2013, third-most among all acts behind Lil Baby (34) and Drake (73).

She also now has 104 career Streaming Songs entries, tied with Lil Baby for the third-most behind Future (108) and Drake (208). Those four are the only acts to top 100 entries in the chart’s history.

Concurrently, as previously reported, Midnights crowns the Billboard 200 and occupies the entirety of the multi-metric Billboard Hot 100’s top 10.

03 Nov 2022

Britt Daniel on Spoon’s Dub Remix Album and the Perils of Touring in 2022

Britt Daniel was well into his thirties when he first got into dub music. In 2006, as his band Spoon was working on their sixth album — and eventual commercial peak — Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, producer Mike McCarthy told Daniel to check out a new compilation, King Tubby’s In Fine Style, by the Jamaican sound engineer and dub pioneer King Tubby.

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“That record really had a big impact on the sound of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga,” the 51-year-old Spoon frontman tells Billboard. “Which is not a dub record. But there are trippy little dub elements all throughout it.”

For instance, “Finer Feelings” opens with a prominent sample from reggae singer Mikey Dread — which Daniel remembers clearing with Dread himself. “He was a real character. Very friendly to me, but at the same time, he seemed to hate lawyers,” Daniel says. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I know you want to do it, but we do have to have something on paper.’ And if it came from the lawyer, he would just say, ‘No, no, no. This isn’t right.’” 

In the years since, Spoon fans could be forgiven for not sensing much dub influence in the band’s famously exacting indie-rock hooks. Now, though, comes a fully fledged fusion: on Friday (Nov. 4), the Austin band will release Lucifer on the Moon, their first remix album, which is a song-by-song deconstruction of Spoon’s recent album Lucifer on the Sofa by Adrian Sherwood, the English dub producer and founder of On-U Sound Records. Sherwood turns tightly chiseled rockers like “On the Radio” and “The Hardest Cut” inside out, reimagining them with rattling rhythms, wobbly bass sounds and disorienting waves of vocal echo.

The idea grew out of a routine request from Spoon’s label, Matador, for bonus material from the band, such as B-sides or remixes. Daniel felt bored with cookie-cutter digital reworking. “I wanted to find someone who could do things in a less computer-y and more… musical way?” Daniel explains. “Adrian seemed like the right guy for that.”

He sent Sherwood the album and invited him to remix a few songs. Daniel gave him just a few instructions: “Avoid things that wouldn’t be possible on tape. Add whatever you want to add. Don’t make it computer-y. And the less modern, the better.”

A week later, the Spoon frontman received Sherwood’s dub-inspired remixes of “The Devil & Mister Jones” and “Astral Jacket.” He was blown away. “I was driving around in my car, listening to those mixes over and over again that night. I was very psyched,” Daniel said. “Next we said, ‘Well, maybe we should do one or two more.’ Then we got those done. And then we said, ‘Well, maybe we should do one or two more.’”

Pretty soon, Sherwood had remixed the entire record. Spoon decided to release it as a standalone companion piece to Lucifer on the Sofa, available digitally and on vinyl this week (and on CD in Japan).

If Spoon has a surprising kinship with dub, it derives from the fact that the band has long placed an emphasis on groove and empty space, epitomized in indelible tunes like “I Turn My Camera On” and “Stay Don’t Go.” 

“When we started out, it wasn’t like that. A thing that would hit you over the head with our records was distorted rhythm guitar,” Daniel says. “At some point, around the Girls Can Tell era [in 2001], we started realizing that less could mean a lot more. When you get rid of that element, then a lot of what you’re focused on is the bass and drums. It makes the tracks feel more open. Around that time, people started to say we were minimalists.”

For Spoon, Lucifer on the Moon culminates a triumphant year of renewal and reinvigoration. After releasing Lucifer on the Sofa in February, the band spent a big chunk of 2022 on the road, touring both with labelmates Interpol and on their own headlining tour. Those runs have gone well, though Daniel concedes that it is not an easy time to be a mid-level touring band. 

“It has been a much harder year to turn a profit,” the singer says. “We had like a week’s worth of shows in the middle of this tour that had to get postponed because a couple of us got COVID. We tacked them onto the end of the tour. But basically all that meant was, we were still paying for all of the crew, all of the busing, all of our trucking, everything for an additional week, but with the same amount of income. That made it a lot less profitable. It was almost unprofitable.” 

Is it still worth it? “Yeah, it’s worth it. I have a good time,” Daniel says. “I guess we’re gonna have to assess how things go. Even on the tours where we didn’t have to postpone, the cost of busing is up two or three times what it was when we were touring last September. That takes a huge chunk. So that’s why, when I see Animal Collective canceling a tour, I’m not surprised. Things have just really gone nutty.”

Spoon’s future plans are uncertain. In March, Daniel made fans nervous when he admitted he wasn’t sure there would be another Spoon record after Lucifer. Asked to clarify, Daniel says, “Should we do another one? We will see. I don’t know what’s next. I haven’t figured that part out yet. We basically just finished touring.”  

For years, Spoon has been held up by fans and critics as a paragon of indie-rock consistency. It’s hard not to wonder if they ever feel the urge to enter their ‘80s-Neil-Young phase and make a tossed-off record just for fun.

“Maybe we should do that,” Daniel laughs. “I do remember when [2010’s] Transference came out, a lot of people did not like that record, especially coming after Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which had some of our biggest, most commercial, universal songs. And then we came out with this record that was very much an ugly record. I think it’s a great record. But there were a lot of people that didn’t like it. Mostly did not get amazing reviews. We’ve done a record that people said was us falling off. And yet the word ‘consistent’ gets thrown about.”

Asked if he feels inclined to give any of Spoon’s prior albums the remix treatment, Daniel quickly points to the band’s 1996 debut, Telephono. “Not in terms of, like, a dub remix. I’d just been thinking of it in terms of, ‘Wow, I know we could make this sound so much better.’”

It’s the only Spoon album Daniel feels unsatisfied with. “It doesn’t feel as much like us,” he admits. “It’s like I almost don’t recognize the person who wrote those songs. Even when you get to [1998’s] A Series of Sneaks, that sounds more like us. And then Girls Can Tell really sounds like us. And then we settled in.”

03 Nov 2022

Luke Bryan to Host ABC News Special ‘On The Road to the CMA Awards’ (Exclusive)

Luke Bryan is set for double the hosting duties this year. Not only is Bryan co-hosting the upcoming CMA Awards alongside NFL legend Peyton Manning on Nov. 9, but the two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner is also set to host the ABC News special On the Road to the CMA Awards, giving music fans a behind-the-scenes look leading up to the vaunted awards ceremony.

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The special, which airs Monday, Nov. 7 at 10 p.m. EDT on ABC (and the following day on Hulu), will offer viewers an all-access glimpse into the life of Wynonna Judd, as she returns to the stage following the death of her mother and The Judds musical partner, Naomi Judd, who died in April at age 76. Wynonna will be joined by friends including Martina McBride and Little Big Town.

The special will also feature reigning CMA female vocalist of the year Carly Pearce in London, as well as this year’s most-nominated artist, Lainey Wilson (with six nominations) in New York City. Additionally, the special will feature Russell Dickerson while he’s touring in Belfast with his wife and two-year-old child. Viewers will also get an inside look at Kane Brown‘s journey as his headlining, global Drunk or Dreaming Tour visits Australia and New Zealand for the first time.

Judd has been traversing the U.S. on The Judds: The Final Tour, which recently visited Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and has been extended into 2023. Pearce has five nominations heading into this year’s CMA Awards, as she aims to win a second female vocalist of the year honor, while “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” her collaboration with Ashley McBryde, has earned Pearce her first nomination in the single of the year category, and her second nominations in the music video, musical event, and song of the year categories.

Dickerson is gearing up for the release of his third album on Nov. 4, while Brown recently released his third studio album Different Man, which debuted at No. 2 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and includes his latest chart-topper “Like I Love Country Music.”

See the trailer for On the Road to the CMA Awards below:

03 Nov 2022

Ed Sheeran Teases Next Album From Windy Set of Mystery Music Video

If you do the math, Ed Sheeran has a new album coming in 2023. The singer/songwriter teased the follow-up to his 2021 = (Equals) album on Wednesday (Nov. 2) from what sounds like the wind-swept set of a new music video as he celebrated reaching yet another impressive career milestone.

“So ‘Shivers’ has just hit a billion streams on Spotify, which makes it my 11th song as an artist and 15th song as a writer… I’m over the moon about it, thank you everyone who’s been streaming that song,” a smiling Sheeran said in a short video clip in which the wind can be heard howling in the background.

“I’m gonna celebrate by shooting a music video for my brand new album, which will be out next year,” he added with a grin. At press time no additional information was available on the project, which hyperventilating fans speculated in the comments could be called Subtract, in keeping with the mathematical theme of Sheeran’s album titles.

Subtract would make sense considering Sheeran debuted in 2011 with + (Plus), followed up in 2014 with x (Multiply), then 2017’s ÷ (Divide) and last year’s = (Equals).

Last month, Sheeran and frequent songwriting partner Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid won the European song of the year award from BMI for their global smash “Bad Habits” at the 2022 BMI London Awards. The award is given to BMI’s most performed song of the previous year by U.K. or European writers. The single spent 11 consecutive weeks at the top of the Official U.K. Singles Chart. Sheeran previously won the award in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The 2018 award was for “Shape of You,” which he also co-wrote with McDaid.

Check out Sheeran’s new album announcement below.

03 Nov 2022

Stevie Wonder Rings in Holidays Again with House Full of Toys

Music legend, activist and philanthropist Stevie Wonder is bringing his House Full of Toys benefit concert back to the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The holiday event will celebrate its 24th anniversary on Dec. 17, 2022. Its slate of performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

In a statement announcing the benefit, Wonder said, “Today, more than ever throughout the world, we are challenged with many issues: social, political, economic and spiritual. But that must not stop our opportunity to give and share in the spirit and reason for the season. I am as always overjoyed to again present the celebration of House Full of Toys.”

Last year’s House Full of Toys marked its return after a three-year break owing to Wonder’s successful kidney transplant in 2019 followed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 lineup included Ledisi, Johnny Gill and the icon himself.

Over the years, Wonder has recruited a diverse array of stars to perform at the holiday concert including John Legend, Lionel Richie, Sheryl Crow, Justin Bieber, Drake, Anderson .Paak, Leon Bridges, PJ Morton, Ella Mai and Ari Lennox.

Tickets for this year’s event go on sale to the general public this coming Friday, Nov. 4, at 1 pm ET via AXS.COM. Concertgoers are also asked to bring an unwrapped toy or unwrapped gift of joy as a donation.

House Full of Toys is presented on behalf of Wonder’s nonprofit organization, the We Are You Foundation. The holiday concert will benefit children, people with disabilities and families in need.

03 Nov 2022

50 Cent Pays Tribute to Takeoff During Finland Show

50 Cent honored late rapper Takeoff during a show on Tuesday in Finland, just hours after the Migos member was shot and killed in Houston in an as-yet-unsolved incident. “I paid tribute to Takeoff last night in Finland it was lit,” 50 wrote alongside a photo of the stage, which featured three giant images of the 28-year-old MC who was shot and killed early Tuesday morning while partying with uncle and bandmate Quavo at a bowling/billiards hall.

Fiddy also offered some advice to Quavo about how to properly preserve his nephew’s legacy by posting a clip from the most recent episode of Rich Kleinman’s Out of Office show in which Universal Music Group exec Steven Victor described 50’s role in Pop Smoke’s posthumous album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, released five months after Smoke’s killing during a home invasion robbery.

In the chat, Victor says that the album might never have been released if it wasn’t for 50’s encouragement to push through with the project. “So when [Pop Smoke] passed, 50 kept trying to get in touch with me. So I finally went to go see him. I couldn’t listen to [Pop Smoke’s] music, and 50 was like, ‘Yo. You’re being selfish. You can’t let your emotions or you being in this depressed state stop you from executing what plans you guys had,” Victor recalled. “‘Three weeks ago, you guys were in my office talkin’ about taking over the world. He passed away, but who’s going to keep his legacy goin’? Who’s gonna make sure his music comes out so he can take care of his family?’ He’s like, ‘That’s on you. I get you’re sad and all that s–t, but this ain’t the time for that.’”

In a post featuring the interview, 50 wrote. “This is really how it goes @QuavoStuntin you have to position this Album correctly for Take Offs Legacy, go make a couple changes and address everything all artist make the best music out of painful moments. R.I.P to Pop Smoke. R.I.P to TakeOff.”

50’s suggestion came nearly a month after Quavo and Takeoff’s Migos side project, Unc and Phew, dropped their debut album, Only Built for Infinity Links, with the G-Unit boss seemingly suggesting that Quavo go back and tweak the collection in the wake of Takeoff’s killing.

Takeoff (born Kirshnik Khari Ball) was at a private party at 810 Billiards & Bowling in downtown Houston with Quavo around 2:35 a.m. on Tuesday when investigators say shots rang out during an afterparty attended by around 40 people. Takeoff was pronounced dead at the scene, and two other victims — a 23-year-old male and 24-year-old female — checked themselves into a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

During a press conference this week, the city’s police chief, mayor and homicide investigation committee noted that much of the situation is currently under investigation, and urged witnesses to come forward with any information to help authorities solve the case.  “Anyone who has information on the shooter, let us bring justice to this family,” Mayor Sylvester Turner added during the conference. “We will solve this case. We will find the shooter.” The Harris County coroner’s office confirmed to Billboard that the late star’s primary cause of death was “penetrating gunshot wounds of head and torso into arm.”

Officials said many of those in attendance fled the scene, prompting Houston police chief Troy Finner to urge witnesses to come forward with any information to help authorities solve the case. “Anyone who has information on the shooter, let us bring justice to this family,” Mayor Sylvester Turner added during the conference. “We will solve this case. We will find the shooter.”

See 50’s tribute below.

03 Nov 2022

Drake Talks Love, Dating and Adult Films In Deepfake Howard Stern Interview

Drake didn’t just find himself at the top of hip-hop. He’s chipped away, weaponizing his addiction to work, success, progress… and porn.

The Canadian rap star appeared to give Howard Stern a little more than he bargained for when he and 21 Savage sat for a chat with the SiriusXM jock. In a snippet posted on Drizzy’s Instagram, the back-and-forth covers love, life and adult films. As it turns out, though, the real-looking interview was part of a deepfake headfake series that the duo released on Thursday (Nov. 2) to promote their delayed joint album, Her Loss.

The phony spree also included a fake Vogue magazine cover and a mock NPR Tiny Desk concert.

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What type of online action does Drake consume? “Top, the highest tier of top givers,” he explains in the clip, which appeared to be resurfaced from a previous Stern interview. “That’s what I what I consistently, on a daily, tune into. Those are like the real superstars,” he adds, muffling giggles with his fellow guest.

Though he’s now a dad, sharing a son Adonis Graham with French artist Sophie Brussaux, Drake hasn’t settled down.

Could he put a ring on it one day? “I’m sure I could, you know,” he tells Stern. “I think that eventually once all this is said and done for us, that addiction of work and success and forward movement is over, I feel we’re all going to need something real. Hopefully it’s not too late.”

At 36, Drake isn’t exactly over the hill. And with 11th No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, most recently with June’s Honestly, Nevermind, earning Drake entry to a club of just five members to land more than 10 No. 1 albums on the chart, he’s surely a catch for some fine person.

Currently, he admits, he habitually dates four or five women. “I don’t know, hopefully I’ll find somebody,” he continues. “The biggest thing is I need to be inspired.”

Drake and 21 Savage are much more than talk-show guests. The pair are frequent collaborators and have teamed up on Her Loss, a joint-album release set to drop Friday (Nov. 4). The set was delayed by several weeks when producer Noah “40” Shebib contracted COVID.

Previously, the pair joined forces on “Knife Talk” from Drizzy’s 2021 effort Certified Lover Boy, “Mr. Right Now” from 21 Savage’s Savage Mode II collab album with Metro Boomin in 2020, Drake’s stand-alone release “Sneakin’” in 2016 and more.

Check out the fakes below.

03 Nov 2022

Drake Talks Love, Dating and Adult Films In New David Stern Interview

Drake didn’t just find himself at the top of hip-hop. He’s chipped away, weaponizing his addiction to work, success, progress… and porn.

The Canadian rap star gave David Stern a little more than he bargained for when he and 21 Savage sat for a chat with the shock jock. In a snippet posted on Drizzy’s Instagram, the back-and-forth covers love, life and adult films.

What type of online action does he consume? “Top, the highest tier of top givers,” he explains in the clip, now live on Drake’s IG. “That’s what I what I consistently, on a daily, tune into. Those are like the real superstars,” he adds, muffling giggles with his fellow guest.

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Though he’s now a dad, sharing a son Adonis Graham with French artist Sophie Brussaux, Drake hasn’t settled down.

Could he put a ring on it one day? “I’m sure I could, you know,” he tells Stern. “I think that eventually once all this is said and done for us, that addiction of work and success and forward movement is over, I feel we’re all going to need something real. Hopefully it’s not too late.”

At 36, Drake isn’t exactly over the hill. And with 11th No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, most recently with June’s Honestly, Nevermind, earning Drake entry to a club of just five members to land more than 10 No. 1 albums on the chart, he’s surely a catch for some fine person.

Currently, he admits, he habitually dates four or five women. “I don’t know, hopefully I’ll find somebody,” he continues. “The biggest thing is I need to be inspired.”

Drake and 21 Savage are much more than talk-show guests. The pair are frequent collaborators and have teamed up on Her Loss, a joint-album release set to drop Friday (Nov. 4). The set was delayed by several weeks when producer Noah “40” Shebib contracted COVID.

Previously, the pair joined forces on “Knife Talk” from Drizzy’s 2021 effort Certified Lover Boy, “Mr. Right Now” from 21 Savage’s Savage Mode II collab album with Metro Boomin in 2020, Drake’s stand-alone release “Sneakin’” in 2016 and more.

Watch the clip from the Howard Stern Show below.

03 Nov 2022

Elton John Presses the Button on a Virtual World In Roblox

The Rocket Man is getting his game on.

As he winds down his epic touring career, Elton John enters the Roblox universe with his very own space, Elton John Presents: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road.

Once inside, gamers can have the full virtual experience of Elton’s music and career, with a digital stroll through the legendary pop star’s fashion, photographs and more. Also, fans can jump into interactive challenges set to his hits, daily scavenger hunts and trivia quizzes.

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Beyond the Yellow Brick Road was created by the Rock And Roll Hall of Famer along with his management firm, Rocket Entertainment, designed with more than 20 Roblox creators, and with support from Universal Music Group (UMG).

“In the decades we’ve worked together, my commitment to Elton has been to build the largest global audience for his creative genius, spanning his recorded music, songwriting, fashion and performances,” comments Lucian Grainge, chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group.

“As Elton wraps up his monumental final tour, we are extremely excited to help bring ‘Beyond the Yellow Brick Road’ to life so that new generations of fans, now and for years to come, will continue to be entertained and inspired by his songs and music.”

The virtual space is live from today (Nov. 3), and, for fans who want their avatars to look sharp, a virtual shop will stock complete Elton outfits or mix-and-match items. Currently, Roblox boasts more than 52 million active daily users.

The virtual chapter opens as the touring side of John’s career comes to an end. Elton is calling time on his sparkling live performances with his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour which, when it wraps next summer, will extend beyond 350 shows.

Billed as his final, years-long global trek, Elton hit the road in 2018. Based on figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, the Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour has grossed $661.3 million and sold 4.5 million tickets across 257 shows through Oct. 9.

At this stage, his goodbye run is just the third tour in Boxscore history to pass the $600 million threshold, following U2’s 360 Tour ($736.4 million), and Ed Sheeran’s The Divide Tour ($776.4 million).

Elton’s north American finale is set for Nov. 20, with the third of a three-night stand at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The end proper is scheduled for July 8, 2023 at Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.

“As Elton says farewell to touring at Dodger Stadium, we’re excited for the opportunities that spaces like Roblox offer to ensure Elton’s music and legacy may continue to bring joy to the world,” says David Furnish, CEO of Rocket Entertainment.

In a statement, Elton admits his family has well-and-truly roadtested Roblox. “I’ve seen the joy that Roblox has bought to my boys and the possibility it creates by the ability to interact with fans in such an exciting, and forward looking way has been mind- blowing to me,” he explains.

“I’ve always been myself and used my image, eyewear, and music to express myself, and Roblox really encourages that self-expression. Now my fans can do the same, and that’s really exciting.”

Since the earliest days of his career, Elton admits he’s “always wanted to push forward and look to the future, and ‘Beyond the Yellow Brick Road’ is the next step on that journey as I prepare to step away from live touring after 50 years on the road. It’s genuinely thrilling, and I can’t wait to see the response from my fans and the Roblox community.”

As Dodger Stadium stands to Elton’s music for the last time, Beyond the Yellow Brick Road will host a “special performance” experience start on Nov. 17, with updating performances each hour through Nov. 20.

Visit roblox.com/eltonjohn for more.

03 Nov 2022

The Veronicas Ready to Make a Big Noise With New Label Deal

With a new recording deal, and a months-long move from their homeland, Australia, the Veronicas are primed for another U.S. adventure.

The Brisbane pop duo, identical twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, is the latest signing to Big Noise, a specialist in alt-pop and rock, with a roster including the Used, the Wrecks, Escape the Fate, and Goldfinger, whose singer and guitarist John Feldmann is the label’s co-founder and A&R.

Speaking with Billboard following a special rooftop concert in Melbourne, part of the Always Live program, Jess says they’re “excited to be the first female fronted signing to the label,” adding, “we felt they’re an amazing find for the Veronicas.”

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Feldmann is the facilitator in the new arrangement, which should tentatively see new Veronicas music drop in March of 2023, followed by a full collection of fresh recordings.

The multiple ARIA Award-winning pair has previously worked with Feldmann, and recently teased studio time with the U.S. music man and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker.

“We’ve been creating music with John this year, and he was telling us he’d love to release this music through his label,” explains Lisa. “It felt like the perfect thing for what we wanted to be in the States.”

Next up, a relocation to the U.S., where the sisters feel very much at home. They’re partnered-up with Americans, and they’ve already enjoyed breakthroughs Stateside, none punchier than “Untouched” (via EngineRoom/Sire), which cruised into the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100 following its release in 2007.

“We started off career in the U.S.” recounts Jess. “We really love being over there, love creating, love the music scene, we’re just so excited to go back.”

All five Veronicas studio albums have impacted the ARIA top 10, and a string of singles have led the Australian chart, including 2007’s “Hook Me Up,” 2014’s “You Ruin Me,” and 2016’s “In My Blood.” Combined streams from across their 17-year career are north of 900 million, say reps.

“The Veronicas have been at the forefront of unapologetic female pop punk their entire career, and we’re excited to represent their music and vision into 2023,” comments Jon Cohen, president of Big Noise Music Group.

For the months ahead, the pair intend to split time between Los Angeles and Nashville, and continue work on those new recordings. Live dates will follow in support, including their first shows on U.S. soil in seven years. They’ll make their way to the Hollywood Bowl Nov. 19 for a date headlined by Smashing Pumpkins, they’re booked for the When We Were Young festival next October, and a full-scale U.S. tour is in the planning stages. The singers will also return home, at some point, for another national trek.

Being the “first female fronted signing for the label is exciting,” Lisa tells Billboard. “With emo, pop and rock making a massive resurgence worldwide, we can’t wait to be a part of it and show the world what Australian women are made of.”