Music

19 Oct 2022

Here‘s Why Fans Think Billy Ray Cyrus Is Engaged to Singer Firerose

Are wedding bells in Billy Ray Cyrus‘ imminent future? Fans believe that the country singer might be engaged in light of the latest photo carousel posted to Instagram on Tuesday (Oct. 18).

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Cyrus shared several selfies with his girlfriend, Australian singer Firerose, outdoors in a fall setting. In the images, the pair are embracing and smiling for the camera, with Firerose’s left hand pressed against Cyrus’ chest and showing off a ring on that finger. “Happy Autumn,” he captioned the carousel with an orange heart emoji.

Shortly after the post went up, fans of the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer flocked to the comments section to extend their well wishes and congratulations to the couple. “Happy Autumn to you & FIREROSE Billy Ray! I love the picture! You & FIREROSE look so amazing together! Love you both,” one fan wrote, while another commented, “Nice engagement ring congrats.”

Neither Cyrus nor Firerose have publicly commented on the engagement rumors. A rep for the country singer has not yet responded to Billboard‘s request for comment.

Fans began speculating about a romance between the country singer and Firerose in August, when she posted a picture of herself with Cyrus to wish him a happy birthday. “The world is a better place with you in it. Happy Birthday Billy,” she captioned the image with a red heart emoji.

Cyrus’ estranged wife, Tish Cyrus, filed for divorce in April, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split; it marks the third time the couple has sought to dissolve their marriage The Hannah Montana actor was the first to file for divorce in 2010, but later withdrew his petition five months later because he “wanted to put my family back together.”

The now-estranged spouses both filed to end their marriage three years later in June 2013, but called it off less than two months later after attending couples therapy. “We both woke up and realized we love each other and decided we want to stay together,” they said in a joint statement at the time.

See Cyrus’ Instagram post below.

19 Oct 2022

Camilo Documents First-Ever World Tour in HBO Concert Special: Watch

Hunkered down in Bogotá, Colombia during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Camilo was itching to hit the road with his debut studio album, Por Primera Vez. But as soon as the live entertainment industry re-opened, the Colombian singer-songwriter announced his first-ever world tour, kicking off in Spain. 

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Now, his exciting and successful 2021 debut tour makes way to his fandom, La Tribu, worldwide in a new HBO concert special called Camilo: El Primer Tour De Mi Vida — slated for a Nov. 18 release — also marking his debut on HBO. 

The documentary, which received its first trailer on Wednesday (Oct. 19), follows Camilo behind the scenes as he prepares for his shows and performs hits from his debut set and sophomore album Mis Manos, such as “Tutu,” “Mareado,” “Bebé,” “Tattoo,” “KESI,” and “Por Primera Vez,” to name a few. The special also features intimate moments alongside his fans and loved ones, including his wife, fellow artist, and director Evaluna Montaner. 

“For six months we toured incredible places that I never imagined I would visit with my music,” Camilo said in a press statement. “We shared the stage with artists who became friends, we met wonderful people from all over the world, and so many incredible things happened that changed our lives forever. I am happy because those moments were all documented and now, thanks to HBO Max, we can share them with La Tribu, who is the force behind my career. It fills me with pride to be able to open this door for them to sing along and relive the tour, and to also meet the people who are with me every day and make it possible for my songs and my music to be our meeting point.” 

Camilo: El Primer Tour De Mi Vida premieres at 10 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 18 via HBO Latino and streamed on HBO Max in the U.S. and Latin America. 

Watch the trailer for the documentary below.

19 Oct 2022

Good News for ARMY: BTS Can Still Appear in ‘National Level’ Events During Military Service

It’s a good news/bad news scenario for ARMY. On the one hand, the members of BTS will definitely have to complete their mandatory military service. However, according to the Korea Times, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook will be free to participate in “national” events for the “public good” the South Korean defense ministry reportedly said on Tuesday (Oct. 17).

“Our position is that we will provide an opportunity if they wish to participate when there is a national-level event for the public good or an event designed in light of the national interest,” Col. Moon Hong-sik, the ministry’s acting spokesperson said during a press briefing after BTS’ label Big Hit Music announced that all seven members plan to complete their full service obligations. At press time the the defense ministry had not specified what kind of national event would be covered under the exemption, though the Times reported earlier this month that defense minister Lee Jong-sup said that BTS members could potentially join overseas performances during their hitch; a spokesperson for BTS had not returned a request for additional comment.

First up is eldest member, Jin, 29, who on Tuesday announced an Oct. 28 release date for his new solo single, “The Astronaut.”

“Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October,” the label said in a statement. “He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government. Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.” (As such, BTS won’t be expected to reconvene with all seven members until around 2025.)

All able-bodied male South Korean citizens must serve in the armed forces for at least 18 months, though the length of service may vary. Draft begins in the year they turn 18 but the men may postpone it until age 28. In December 2020, the South Korean National Assembly passed the so-called “BTS law” to allow K-pop entertainers to postpone the service until the age of 30, with a recommendation from the culture minister.

Jin is turning 30 in December and is the oldest member. Jungkook, the youngest, is 25 years old.

The mandatory military service for the band as well as Korean male pop stars in general has divided the country in recent years, as K-pop’s popularity has grown worldwide. While many, including some lawmakers, say the musicians’ contribution to the country’s global recognition should qualify them for an exemption, others, including some in the defense ministry, have opposed the move.

19 Oct 2022

Ozuna Ventures Into the World of Sports by Acquiring Ownership of Puerto Rican Basketball Team

From hits to slam dunks! Ozuna is officially the new owner of a basketball team in Puerto Rico, the Baloncesto Nacional Superior de Puerto Rico (Basketball National Superior – BSN) announced on Monday (Oct. 17).

The sports organization revealed that the chart-topping artist has acquired Los Brujos de Guayama. Due to the franchise’s transfer to the municipality of Manatí, the team has been renamed to Los Osos de Manatí (Manatí Bears). With Juan Aubín Cruz Coliseum as their home venue, Los Osos de Manatí become the first BSN team in that municipality since 2017.

“Owning a Puerto Rico National Superior Basketball franchise has been one of my greatest dreams, for which we have been working for some time,” the “Diles” singer said in a statement. “I feel a lot of passion for this sport and being able to be part of this family fills me with great pride. Thanks to the BSN for opening the doors for me and to everyone who has made this possible. See you next season at the new house of Los Osos in Manatí.”

Ricardo Dalmau, president of the BSN, added: “It is with great enthusiasm that we welcome Ozuna to the BSN family. The commitment shown throughout this entire process gives us confidence in what his management will be in charge of the new Osos de Manatí. I take this opportunity to thank Rafael Rodríguez for his commitment to the league and the Brujos de Guayama franchise, which he led for the last 10 years.”

Ozuna joins a growing number of Latin artists that have ventured into the sports world by purchasing basketball teams in Puerto Rico. The list includes moves from Bad Bunny, who became the co-owner of Los Cangrejeros de Santurce and Anuel AA, who purchased Capitanes de Arecibo along with his manager Frabian Eli, in 2021.

Instead of flocking to basketball like their fellow hitmakers, duo Wisin & Yandel is placing all bets on baseball as new co-owners of Criollos de Caguas, the latest champions of the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC).

19 Oct 2022

Kenshi Yonezu’s ‘KICK BACK’ Debuts at No. 1 on Japan Hot 100

Kenshi Yonezu’s “KICK BACK” rules this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Oct. 19, coming out on top by a mere 30 points against the song at No. 2, JO1’s “SuperCali.”

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The opener for the new anime series Chainsaw Man bowed at the top of the tally after dominating downloads (61,510 units) and streaming (12,556,627 streams), while also hitting No. 2 for Twitter mentions, No. 4 for radio airplay, and No. 49 for video views. JO1’s “SuperCali” launched with 602,958 CDs to hit No. 1 for sales, look-ups, Twitter, and radio, while coming in at No. 5 for downloads, No. 19 for streaming, and No. 50 for video views. “KICK BACK” was fueled by downloads and streaming while “SuperCali” was powered by sales, and the race was so close that either song could have ended up at the top of the list this week.

While Ado had single-handedly dominated the top 10 for several weeks over the summer, this week’s Japan Hot 100 sees Official HIGE DANdism’s “Subtitle” debuting at No. 3 and Fujii Kaze’s new track “grace” at No. 4, pushing Ado’s former No. 1 track “New Genesis” down to No. 5. What’s more, HIGE DAN’s “Subtitle” scored a total of 10,612 points this week, which is higher than last week’s No. 1 song, SKE48’s “Zettai Inspiration” (9,480 points). “Subtitle” is the theme of the new Fuji TV drama series called silent, while Fujii’s “grace” is being featured in NTT Docomo’s ongoing project starring the 25-year-old singer-songwriter, so these two tracks being assisted by influential tie-ins are expected to stay in the upper regions of the chart for a while.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, Twitter mentions, YouTube and GYAO! video views, Gracenote look-ups and karaoke data.

Check out the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Oct. 10 to 16, here.  

19 Oct 2022

Trending Up: Reunited Blink-182 Doubles in Streams, ‘Dancing on My Own’ Becomes a Philadelphia Phillies Hit & More


Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.

This week: Blink-182’s reunion announcement sparks a blockbuster streaming boom for the pop-punk trio, Calum Scott’s cover of a Robyn dance-pop classic catches Phillies Fever, and a weighty Billie Eilish track belatedly finds its audience on TikTok.

Stream Together for the Kids: Blink-182 Returns With an Uptick

Last week was a momentous one for Blink-182 fans, as the reunited pop-punk trio — Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge, the latter returning after more than seven years away from the group — announced a 2023 world tour and a forthcoming album, led by the new single “Edging,” last Tuesday (Oct. 11). The band’s international tour doesn’t kick off until March 2023, but the announcement compelled fans to dive back into Blink’s discography and refresh themselves on the sugary hooks, sophomoric skits and the smash singles that will be ringing out across arenas next year.

Blink-182’s catalog earned huge spikes on streaming services last week, with a 124% jump between Monday, Oct. 10 (1.73 million total U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate) and the following day, when the reunion was announced (3.87 million streams). That total peaked on Friday, when “Edging” was released, with the new single contributing to the band’s 6.22 million streams that day. The daily streaming totals for Blink’s catalog dipped back down in the days following the announcement and single release, but last week’s increases demonstrate the very real enthusiasm around this reunion — which could end up with a nine-figure gross next year. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Phillies Keep ‘Dancing,’ Calum Scott’s Cover Keeps Rising

It’s become the unlikely anthem of this MLB postseason, courtesy of the hottest team in baseball: The Philadelphia Phillies, who plowed through the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves and last night took a 1-0 lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series. With each champagne-soaked locker room celebration, the Phils have been singing one song over and over: Calum Scott’s “Dancing on My Own,” a 2016 cover of Robyn’s 2010 dance-pop classic, via a pulse-racing remix by legendary Dutch producer Tiësto.

It seems many around the country are joining in on the celebration with the Phillies, as Scott’s “Dancing on My Own” (Capitol) notched nearly 254,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on Saturday (Oct. 15) – the day the Phillies eliminated the Braves in the National League Division Series. That’s a gain of 45% from the previous Saturday, before “Dancing on My Own” was really entrenched as the Phils’ victory song. Meanwhile, the song has exploded in sales, from a negligible daily amount to nearly 1,100 combined copies across Saturday and Sunday – enough for the song to appear on iTunes’ real time sales Top 100. 

The song isn’t threatening the Billboard Hot 100 yet – Scott’s version peaked at No. 93 in 2017, while Robyn’s original somehow never made the chart – but if the Phillies make it to the World Series, there’s no telling how many fans might end up dancing along with them. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Don’t Turn Off Billie Eilish’s “TV” Just Yet

When alt-pop superstar Billie Eilish’s “TV” had a modest Hot 100 debut (No. 52) in early August and fell off the chart the week after, it wasn’t terribly surprising. The song was not a proper new lead single, but part of a slow, acoustic “Guitar Songs” two-pack (released on Darkroom/Interscope), with lyrics touching on Roe v. Wade being overturned and Eilish’s own despair at her friends’ absence as she entered a new relationship, concluding, “Maybe I’m the problem.” 

Even for an artist as challenging as Eilish, it didn’t particularly sound like the stuff of hit singles. But months later, the song has started to climb again on streaming – gaining in official on-demand U.S. streams each of the last four full tracking weeks, with a 20.8% jump in the most recent week (ending Oct. 13) to over 3.5 million streams. 

The song is helped by a TikTok trend that uses the song’s heaviness, mourning recent tragedies or personal losses to a sped-up version of the song’s “I’ll be in denial for at least a little while” lyric – with Eilish herself sharing a more lighthearted video recently of her dropping her cell phone to the sped-up song. As the song climbs back into the top 20 (27-19) of Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, it’s a good reminder that few artists are as prolific as Eilish at molding hits in their own image. – AU

19 Oct 2022

Taylor Swift Encourages Fans to Vote: ‘Only 20 Midnights Until Midterm Elections’

Taylor Swift is encouraging Swifties to do their civic duty. With less than 48 hours left to go until the release of her new album Midnights, the pop star took to Instagram to remind fans that there’s not much time before another very important event goes down: the midterm elections.

“It’s time to vote early!” she wrote on her Story. “There are only 20 midnights until the 2022 United States Midterm Elections on November 8.”

“If you’re in Tennessee, you can cast your ballot today through November 3 at Early Voting sites!” she continued, sharing a link to non-profit organization Vote.org, which works to reach underserved voters. “Waits are usually shorter than on Election Day. Most states offer some type of early voting. Register to vote and find Early Voting locations in your state at Vote.org.”

The “All Too Well” singer’s post isn’t the first time she’s weighed in on her home state’s political races. In 2018, she endorsed two Tennessee Democrats — Phil Bredesen, running for U.S. Senate, and incumbent U.S. House member Rep. Jim Cooper — and urged fans not to give their support to Republican senate candidate Marsha Blackburn, who ended up winning the race.

“In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now,” Swift said on social media at the time. “I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country.”

“Taylor has been a steadfast supporter of Vote.org and we’re so thrilled that she continues to use her platform to engage voters and ensure everyone — in Tennessee and beyond — is ready to vote,” said Andrea Hailey, CEO of Vote.org, in a statement Wednesday. “With only 20 days until Election Day, and two days until Taylor’s new album releases, we’re grateful that she’s reminding people just how critical it is to make our voices heard at the ballot box on or before Nov. 8.”

For information on how to register to vote, check your registration status and find early voting locations, visit Vote.org.

19 Oct 2022

Megan Thee Stallion & Pardison Fontaine Celebrate Their Anniversary With Quite the Cheeky Photo

Megan Thee Stallion rang in her second anniversary with boyfriend Pardison Fontaine on Tuesday (Oct. 18) with a rather, erm, cheeky social media post.

“Yr 2 with U,” the rapper captioned the carousel using a blue heart emoji. Each picture shows the happy couple together. In one, she’s flipping the camera the bird while her rapper beau grins from behind her finger. But fans were in for a surprise after swiping through the first few photos.

Partway through the slideshow, Meg included a candid snap of Fontaine playfully biting her backside. In the next photo, the pair pose together in bed while the “Sweetest Pie” rapper wears a gray mud mask in the name of self-care. The final snap shows Fontaine lifting his shirt to reveal the tattoos across his abs while Megan poses in a sheer green bodysuit.

The superstar’s sweet anniversary post comes just days after she pulled double duty at Saturday Night Live by simultaneously serving as host and musical guest in Studio 8H. During the show, she performed a medley of “NDA” and “Plan B” as well as Traumazine album cut “Anxiety,” and hilariously found herself stuck with Bowen Yang and Ego Nwodim at a club in the music video sketch “We Got Brought.”

Next, Meg is set to headline Amazon Music Live as part of Amazon Prime Video’s Thursday night football coverage. Her livestream concert will air Nov. 3. Other artists participating include Lil Baby and Kane Brown, with host 2 Chainz.

19 Oct 2022

Taylor Swift Shares Something Sweet That ‘Kept Me Up at Night’ While Writing ‘Midnights’

When Taylor Swift first announced her fast-approaching 10th studio album Midnights, she shared that its songs were based on “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life.” But what exactly kept the pop star tossing and turning?

In an exclusive series filmed in partnership with Spotify, she’s been revealing exactly that. Two short videos filmed by Swift appeared earlier this week on the streaming service’s Midnights pre-save page, and as of Wednesday (Oct. 19), the “All Too Well” singer has added two more. In each of the four videos, she shares one concept that she fixated on during her middle-of-the-night songwriting sessions that resulted in her Oct. 21-slated new album.

“The third thing that kept me up at night …,” she says in one of the two new Spotify videos. “Wondering what might have been.”

In the second new video, Swift — wearing a colorful striped shirt and pale red lipstick — can’t help but smile a little when she reveals “the fourth thing that kept me up at night.” “Falling in love,” she simply says.

At the beginning of the intimate Spotify series, the 11-time Grammy winner promised that there would be five total videos — meaning Swifties have one more to look forward to. The first two found Swift slyly confessing that “self-loathing” and “fantasizing about revenge” inspired certain tracks on Midnights.

Also, as part of her Spotify partnership, Swift has spent the week staging light-up billboards in different cities all over the world — New York City, London, São Paulo and Nashville so far — that are each programmed to display one unreleased lyric from her new album at the stroke of midnight local time. The billboards don’t say which songs the lyrics are taken from, however, leaving it up to the imagination of the singer’s fans for now.

“Just like clockwork, the dominoes cascaded in a line,” read the one located in Brazil. And in Times Square, another read revealed “I should not be left to my own devices.”

Watch Taylor Swift open up about the inspirations behind Midnights on Spotify mobile here.

19 Oct 2022

50 Cent Says Kanye West Entering a ‘Dangerous Area’ With Antisemitic Comments

50 Cent is the latest artist to speak out about Kanye West’s recent spree of antisemitic hate speech. In an appearance on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning show on Tuesday (Oct. 19), Curtis said that Ye is flirting with treacherous territory with the comments the rapper/entrepreneur has made in a series of interviews in which he has repeatedly amplified antisemitic tropes.

“I think he’s in a dangerous area,” 50 said. “I forgive him for the things that he said, because I’ve already identified when something’s going on that I don’t understand.” 50 said that such outrageous, button-pushing behavior has become the norm for Ye, pointing to the provocative “White Lives Matter” shirt West has worn recently as another example of his desire to provoke.

“There’s nothing for me to say about it, though. I watch it take place and I just look and I go, ‘Okay… yeah,’ that’s just him doing what he does. What Kanye would do,” 50 said. “Even the original Trump support thing was a little out there for me. Everybody looks at things, they navigate things differently. One week it’s, ‘I don’t want my kids raised by a white woman,’ and the next week it’s ‘I wanna go home.’ So you don’t know exactly what he means… Crazy’s unpredictable, unpredictability’s entertaining.”

But, 50 added, when you start to get into “certain areas,” it become harder to have compassion for what Ye is saying, because “he’s not crazy where he doesn’t know what he’s saying. He knows exactly what he’s saying.” In July 2020 West’s ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, opened up about his struggle with bi-polar disorder in a series of lengthy Instagram Stories.

“He is a brilliant but complicated person who on top of the pressures of being an artist and a black man, who experienced the painful loss of his mother, has to deal with the pressure and isolation that is heightened by his bi-polar disorder,” she wrote, noting that it was the first time she had addressed how his bipolar disorder impacted their family life. “Those who are close with Kanye know his heart and understand his words some times do not align with his intentions.”

As someone who is known for speaking his mind very directly, 50 was asked how he handles his business when he feels wronged and considers burning everything to the ground to make a point. Curtis told the Ebro crew that he thinks what’s motivating Ye’s recent behavior is “coming from business. The Gap deal falling apart and him being angry with Adidas,” he said of two of Ye’s recent fashion collaborations melting down after disagreements over designs, business plans and West’s allegations that his Yeezy brand retail roll-out did not take place as expected.

If it was him, 50 said he’d work to reinvent those deals in a new way, instead of focusing on “venting.” Taking a step back, 50 speculated that Ye’s recent outbursts are in the vein of attention-seeking “look at me” behavior, before suggesting that West is also struggling to retain his music audience. “You can’t have [fame] forever. It’s hip-hop. You can have a moment, you can have a run. But you can’t have it forever. It’s not possible,” he said.

Ye’s antisemitic comment have been widely panned by a number of fellow artists, even as he is reportedly in talks to buy the conservative social media site Parler, a popular destination for supporters of former president Donald Trump and, according to NPR, “a hotbed of vaccine misinformation, bigotry and right-wing conspiracies.”

Watch 50’s interview below.