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Billie Eilish didn’t mince words on Wednesday night (Nov. 6) during her show at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, less than a day after former President Donald Trump easily defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to secure his second White House term. The singer who had endorsed Harris — along with her brother/producer Finneas — was characteristically blunt in her assessment of Tuesday night’s results.
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“Let’s say convicted predator, let’s say that,” Eilish said without naming Trump, who was found liable in 2023 for sexually abusing, and defaming, advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996 and ordered to pay nearly $5 million in damages in that case, as well as $83.3 million in a related case; Trump, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women dating back to the 1970s, has appealed the verdicts in the Carroll cases and denied all the allegations of sexual abuse.
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Seated on stage with an acoustic guitar across her lap, Eilish admitted her heart was beating “so fast” as she referred to Trump, again without explicitly naming him, as someone who “hates women so, so deeply is about to be the President of the United States of America. This song is for all the women out there. I love you, I support you.”
Eilish paused as some in the crowd yelled “f–k Trump!”
“So this song is for all the women out there,” she continued before dedicating her 2021 Happier Than Ever ballad “Your Power” to the women in the crowd. The poignant lyrics include the lines, “Try not to abuse your power/ I know we didn’t choose to change/ You might not wanna lose your power/ But having it’s so strange.”
Eilish also told her fans that when she woke up that morning she “couldn’t fathom” doing a show that night, but as the day went on she realized the “privilege” of getting to perform for them after the let-down of Harris’ decisive loss to Trump, who will become the first convicted felon to ascend to the nation’s highest office.
“And the song that we’re about to do is… about the abuse that exists in this world upon women and a lot of the experiences that I have gone through and that people I know have gone through. And to tell you the truth, I’ve never met one single woman who doesn’t have a story of abuse. Not one,” she said at the show on her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour.
“I’ve dealt with some stuff myself and I have been taken advantage of. My boundaries were crossed to say it politely,” she added before telling them, “I just love you so much and I want you to know that you’re safe with me and you’re protected here and you are safe in this room.”
During a performance of her song “TV” — which references the overturning of Roe v. Wade following Trump’s appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices during his first term — Eilish sang, “The internet’s gone wild watching movie stars on trial/ While they’re overturning Roe v. Wade,” before standing mute for a few moments and then walking off stage without further comment.
Eilish was one of many stars who spoke out following Trump’s decisive victory on Tuesday night, writing on her Instagram Stories on Wednesday morning “it’s a war on women.”
Post Malone and Chris Stapleton will each perform twice on the 58th annual CMA Awards, which are set for Wednesday, Nov. 20. Post will perform “Yours,” the closing track from his album F-1 Trillion. Stapleton will perform “What Am I Gonna Do,” the opening track from his album Higher. The two stars will also team to perform “California Sober,” a track from F-1 Trillion on which they collaborated.
Shaboozey, a first-time nominee this year with two nods, will perform a medley of his breakthrough smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” which is in its 16th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and his new single “Highway.” Both songs are featured on his album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going.
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Performing together for the first time, Thomas Rhett and Teddy Swims will offer a mash-up of Rhett’s “Somethin’ ’Bout a Woman,” from his new album About a Woman, and Swims’ “Lose Control,” a recent No. 1 hit on the Hot 100. The two Georgia natives also had a hand in co-writing Rhett’s “Angels (Don’t Always Have Wings),” a No. 1 hit on Country Airplay in 2023. Before that, they teamed on Swims’ pre-fame 2020 song “Broke.”
Dierks Bentley will be joined by Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes for a performance of Tom Petty’s 1976 classic “American Girl.” Bentley performed the rock classic on this year’s Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty.
Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson, who are co-hosting the show with Peyton Manning, will each perform on the show. Bryan will perform “Love You, Miss You, Mean It,” which reached No. 2 on Country Airplay last month, becoming his 36th top 10 hit on that chart. Wilson will perform her current single “4x4xU,” which is currently up to No. 23 on that chart. The songs are featured on their albums Mind of a Country Boy and Whirlwind, respectively.
Ashley McBryde is also set to perform on the show, though her song selection has not yet been named. Additional performers and presenters will be announced in the weeks ahead.
Country Music’s Biggest Night is set to air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday Nov. 20 (8-11 p.m. ET). It will air on ABC and be available for streaming the next day on Hulu.
The 58th annual CMA Awards is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer, Alan Carter is the director and Jon Macks is the head writer. Tickets are on-sale now at Ticketmaster.
Bruce Springsteen reacted to Tuesday’s presidential election results in the best way he knows how: by singing a song about freedom, hope, love and loss. “This is a fighting prayer for my country,” Springsteen told the crowd at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto as he and the E Street Band launched into the 2007 song “Long Walk Home” from 2007’s Magic album.
With that, the band tore into the mid-tempo rocker whose lyrics felt especially timely in light of Springsteen’s vocal, emphatic support of Vice President Kamala Harris’ losing campaign against former and now future President Donald Trump. “Last night I stood at your doorstep/ Trying to figure out what went wrong,” he sang on the song with the poignant refrain: “It’s gonna be a long walk home/ Hey pretty darling, don’t wait up for me/ Gonna be a long walk home.”
Though he didn’t comment further on the relevance of the song’s themes, their plainspoken poetry did the talking for him. “My father said ‘Son, we’re lucky in this town/ It’s a beautiful place to be born/ It just wraps its arms around you/ Nobody crowds you and nobody goes it alone,’” he sang, followed by another verse layered with Springsteen’s signature dream of a better tomorrow and faith in the resilience of the American spirit: “Your flag flyin’ over the courthouse/ Means certain things are set in stone/ Who we are, what we’ll do and what we won’t.”
Springsteen had been all-in for Harris, throwing his weight behind the 11th-hour candidacy by filming the moving “Hope and Dreams” campaign video in which he said, “This election is about a group of folks who want to fundamentally undermine our American way of life. Donald Trump does not understand this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American. I want a president who reveres the Constitution, who wants to protect and guide our great democracy, who believes in the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power, who will fight for women’s rights and a woman’s right to choose, and who wants to create a middle class economy that serves all our citizens.”
The comments came from an Oct. 28 Harris rally where Springsteen shared the stage with John Legend and former President Barack Obama. That appearance in Philadelphia came just days after The Boss joined a Harris rally in Georgia, where he told supporters that she was “running to be the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump is running to be an American tyrant.”
Springsteen was one of dozens of musicians, actors and other artists who threw in with the Harris campaign’s attempt to stop twice impeached Trump from being just the second man to serve non-consecutive White House terms, as well as the first convicted felon to ascend to the nation’s highest office.
Watch a fan video of the performance here.
BLACKPINK’s ROSÉ is set to take on the fiery challenge of Hot Ones.
First We Feast, the channel behind the show, announced her appearance on Nov. 5, teasing, “This week on Hot Ones, we got Rosé vs. The Wings of Death. 💀 Tune in Thursday @ 11AM ET.”
also announced the news over Instagram: “Hi everyone. This is Rosé. Uh I’ll be on Hot Ones this week. Please tune in to see me kill it. Or maybe not. We’ll see.”
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In her Hot Ones episode teaser clips that dropped Nov. 6, ROSÉ didn’t hold back on her love for spice — though she wondered just how far she could go with the “Wings of Death.” “I like spicy food,” she said, adding, “But I don’t know if I like spicy spicy.”
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As the heat began to kick in, she joked, “By the way, my tongue is built differently. It’s built different.” Built different.”
Asked about the inspiration behind her new single “APT.” featuring Bruno Mars, ROSÉ explained it was rooted in a playful cultural moment. “APT” is a tribute to a traditional Korean drinking game called “aparteu” (or “apartment” in English), and it’s also the first single from her anticipated debut album, Rosie, set for release on Dec. 6.
“It’s a Korean drinking game APT, one, two, three, four, five, six,” she said. “Whoever gets the top takes the shot.”
Shifting to her craft, she also discussed her vocal technique, explaining the difference between chest and head voice. “I’ve set the key too high,” she laughed, adding, “That’s the difference, I guess, right?”
ROSÉ’s latest hit is taking the music world by storm, smashing records left and right. The catchy tune has been dominating charts globally. In a massive debut, “APT.” soared to the top spot on both Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, and held its crown for two straight weeks.
Down Under, ROSÉ’s Aussie fans have shown their love in spades. “APT.” rocketed to No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, making her the first solo female K-pop artist to conquer the Aussie charts. Not only that, but she’s kept the top spot warm for multiple weeks – a feat not seen since PSY’s “Gangnam Style” back in 2012.
In a recent PAPER Magazine interview, she discussed how online criticism inspired one of the album’s most personal tracks, stating, “I realised how vulnerable and addicted I was to this [online] world and that craving for feeling like I wanted to be loved and understood.”
Born in Auckland and raised in Melbourne, ROSÉ moved to South Korea at 15 to pursue music, eventually joining BLACKPINK. The group’s debut studio album The Album skyrocketed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200, the highest ever for a K-pop girl group. Born Pink dropped and made history as the first album by a female Korean act to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
ROSÉ has also seen previous success as a solo artist. Her 2021 single “On the Ground” was the first song by a Korean solo artist to top both Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. She has also ranked No. 79 on Billboard’s Artist 100 chart.
Fans can watch ROSÉ’s Hot Ones episode on Thursday at 11 AM ET to see how she handles the heat.
Los Temerarios were initially supposed to play two shows in Chicago as part of their Hasta Siempre farewell tour, but it quickly expanded to a total of five nonconsecutive shows at the Allstate Arena. Chicago wasn’t the exception. The number of shows in big Latin markets, including Los Angeles, Dallas and Houston, doubled or tripled soon after the tour was announced. It’s something that David Zamora, CEO of Zamora Live – the trek’s promoter – had prepared for.
“When we were routing the tour, we held multiple dates with the assumption that, since it is the farewell tour, we would be adding shows,” explains Zamora. “I think all this shows how much the fans love Los Temerarios and how much they will be missed. These are memories to last a lifetime.”
On Wednesday (Nov. 6), the Mexican band – led by brothers Adolfo and Gustavo Ángel – performed the second of its string of shows at the Allstate where thousands of fans gathered to see Los Temerarios one last time together. Gustavo and Adolfo, who founded the group in the 80s, announced last year they were separating after more than four decades together, and a total of 41 entries on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart and 46 entries on Top Latin Albums — more than any other Latin act in history.
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On this particular night, the crowd skewed older millennial, many decked out in Temerarios merch. They were there to celebrate a band whose music has helped heal many broken hearts. “It takes me back to when I was a teen and I’d be sad in my room because my boyfriend had just broken up with me. Those are the songs I’d listen to,” says Yvette, who was there with a group of friends. “Their music means so much to me. It’s nostalgia, it’s Mexico,” adds her friend Lucia, who gets almost emotional.
As concertgoers filled every single seat of the arena — that has a capacity of nearly 20,000 people — the show kicked off at 8:30 p.m. with Adolfo, on keyboards, and frontman Gustavo taking the stage with their five-member live band in tow. The crowd, on their feet for most of the nearly three-hour show, roared at the sight of the brothers, who gave each a high five before embarking on the nostalgia-filled journey.
“What a beautiful welcome,” Gustavo said. ”We are very blessed to have you here tonight. It is the type of support you have shown us for so many years. We have so many memories here in this city, where we’ve performed since 1985.”
Los Temerarios performed its signature romantic love songs that have made zealous fans swoon over and over again, including “Mi Vida Eres Tú,” “Eres Un Sueño,” “Como te Recuerdo,” “Dímelo,” “La Mujer Que Soñé,” “La Mujer de Los Dos” and “Ven Porque Te Necesito,” just to name a few from the packed setlist. From cumbia grupera to rancheras and pop ballads, Adolfo and Gustavo showcased their vast catalog singing all the big hits for their last hoorah.
The brothers mainly stayed in place. Adolfo, who occasionally flashed shy smiles to his loyal followers, behind the keyboards and Gustavo being the charismatic frontman who knows exactly what to say and do to rile up the crowd. Both are perfectly in synch, after all they’ve been doing those for many years.
“My heart is feeling very emotional,” Adolfo added at one point. “I’m sorry if you suddenly feel that I’m overcome with emotion, but my heart overflows with gratitude. We are going to play all the songs you want. Our shows are usually last two hours long, but today we are going to play for three hours. We hope you have an unforgettable night. We will never forget you. Thank you, always.”
Worthy of a farewell show, Los Temerarios delivered an epic set, one that didn’t need for elaborate bits, complex choreographies or even a bombastic production. It was just Adolfo and Gustavo doing what they do best: sing from the heart the songs that have soundtracked Hispanic multigenerational homes for decades.
Los Temerarios’ Hasta Siempre Tour continues with three additional shows in Chicago from Nov. 7-9, and stops in Portland, Anaheim, Calif., and two BMO Stadium concerts in Los Angeles. On tour since February 2023, the Mexican band will end the trek in Mexico City in December.
Ariana Grande has taken to her Instagram Story amid Donald Trump’s election win over Kamala Harris to share a message of support to fans, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ communities.
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Against a black backdrop, Grande wrote, “Holding the hand of every person who is feeling the immeasurable heaviness of this outcome today.” The “yes, and?” singer also shared a number of resources for LGBTQ+ communities.
Grande’s words reflect her longstanding support for LGBTQ+ rights. On International Transgender Day of Visibility in 2022, she pledged to match up to $1.5 million in donations to the Protect & Defend Trans Youth Fund, benefiting 18 organizations supporting trans youth.
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Her activism also extends to reproductive rights, donating $250,000 to Planned Parenthood in 2019 and later joining the #BansOffOurBodies campaign.
Grande has also participated in benefit concerts like her 2015 performance with Miley Cyrus for the Happy Hippie Foundation, supporting LGBTQ+ youth, and headlined NYC Pride’s 27th annual Dance on the Pier. Her efforts have directed funds to groups like TKO Society, TENT, and JASMYN.
Selena Gomez also joined the chorus of voices reacting to Trump’s victory, opting for a cryptic yet powerful quote on her Instagram Story penned by feminist Audre Lorde: “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” Beneath the quote, Gomez added her own words: “My heart is heavy today.”
Grande and Gomez were just some of many voices in Hollywood and the music industry responding to the election news.
Bette Midler shared a scathing quote by journalist H.L. Mencken that concluded with: “On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
Billie Eilish, an outspoken supporter of Harris, voiced her disappointment by calling Trump’s return “a war on women.” Known for her advocacy on social issues, Eilish has used her platform to speak on reproductive rights, leaving little doubt about her stance in the wake of this election outcome.
50 Cent, whose relationship with Trump has been notably complex, posted a photo of himself with Trump, captioned, “I don’t care how the fight goes, I’m leaving with the winner shit. I still don’t know what’s going on 🤦.” Just recently, the “Candy Shop” rapper revealed he had declined a major offer to perform at a Trump rally.
Cardi B, who publicly supported Harris, expressed her own dismay with a blunt, “We need a Hail Mary,” as Trump’s lead grew. She followed up with a post dedicated to Harris the next morning, saying, “No matter what they’ve said to bring you down…they can never say you didn’t run your race with honesty and with integrity!”
She thanked Harris for being a “real example of what the American dream should be.”
Other celebrities shared similar emotions. Ethel Cain posted a long reflection, criticizing “an embarrassingly large chunk of white men” whom she described as aligning with “power in ways that foster hatred.” Her post concluded with the message, “If you voted for [Trump], I hope peace never finds you.”
Lil Pump, a vocal Trump supporter, shared a selfie wearing a MAGA hat with Trump on a TV screen behind him, writing, “They put him in jail, try to assassinate him, and he’s still here…a fu–ing warrior MAGA.”
With his win, Trump becomes the oldest president to assume office at the start of a term, the first former president to regain power since Grover Cleveland, and the only person with a felony conviction to enter the White House.
Just weeks after the Chess Piece was revealed to be Laverne Cox on the latest season of The Masked Singer, the Wednesday night (Nov. 6) episode was full of more surprises when Bluebell was unmasked.
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Taking place as part of the Group B finals, the ’60s Night episode kicked off its proceedings with Wasp, Bluebell, and Goo all performing a rendition of The Beach Boys’ “Fun, Fun, Fun”, which hit No. 5 on the Hot 100 upon its 1964 release.
While Wasp went on to pay triubute to Aretha Franklin with a rendition of “Ain’t No Way”, and Goo paid homage to The Animals’ version of “The House of the Rising Sun”, it was Bluebell whose night came to an end following a performance of The Contours’ “Do You Love Me”.
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Following an ‘Inventions of the ’60s’ clue revealing an Easy-Bake Oven containing a Vegemite sandwich, the panelists realised that the masked singer must be an Australian. However, following incorrect guesses of Naomi Watts from Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg, Isla Fisher from Robin Thicke, Kylie Minogue from Rita Ora, and Rose Byrne from Ken Jeong, Bluebell’s identity was confirmed to be Natalie Imbruglia.
“You did a great job disguising her voice,” Thicke said of the Australian musician, whose singing previously inspired guesses of Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and others. “But you played the game so well. You fooled us.”
Imbruglia first rose to fame as an actress in her native country at the start of the ’90s, launching a music career with a cover of Ednaswap’s “Torn” as her debut single in 1997. The track was a global hit, selling more than four million copies globally, and topped the Billboard Radio Songs, Adult Pop Airplay, and Pop Airplay charts.
The song didn’t chart on the Hot 100 due to a lack of a physical commercial release, but did reach No. 12 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, while its corresponding album, Left of the Middle, reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200.
Since her auspicious debut, Imbruglia has released a total of six albums across her career, with 2021’s Firebird arriving as her most recent.
Jack White is not hiding his feelings about the result of the recent U.S. election.
The prolific musician, who filed a copyright lawsuit against President-elect Donald Trump in September with his White Stripes bandmate Meg White, took to social media on Wednesday (Nov. 6) to share his thoughts about Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris at the polls.
“Trump won the popular vote. End of story,” White wrote on his post. “Americans chose a known, obvious fascist and now America will get whatever this wannabe dictator wants to enact from here on in.”
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White’s post was paired with a text image of a Turkish proverb to higlight his apparent incredulity at Americans voting against their own interests. As he continued, he noted the realities of what a second Trump term would entail, specifically mentioning the implementation of Project 2025, a nationwide abortion ban, mass deportations, and much more.
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“It’s absolutely dumbfounding that this con man succeeded in pulling the wool over so many Americans eyes not once, but twice,” he added.
“The racist, impeached, convicted felon and convicted rapist who stole national secrets and hid them in his bathroom, who told us to inject bleach, who wanted to fix hurricanes with nuclear weapons, who insulted handicap people, called military veterans suckers, who incited an insurrection that invaded the nation’s capital for God sakes (!!!), the failed business man who’s ventures have all gone bankrupt, a fake Christian selling bibles and sneakers like a carnival side show, etc etc etc.,” White wrote.
White closed his post by pointing out how Trump actively works against some of his biggest supporters, including Christians, immigrants, veterans, minorities, women, and working class Americans.
“All those rich pricks riding in their Cybertrucks listening to their Rogan and Bannon and Alex Jones podcasts are laughing all the way to the bank looking forward to their tax cuts that don’t apply to the middle class,” he concluded. “And not just with the electoral college this time, but the American people with the popular vote showed that the citizens placed him in power and now deserve whatever evils he’s going to enact.”
White’s historical disdain for Trump is well-documented, with both he and Meg White criticising Trump’s “illegal” usage of their 2003 single “Seven Nation Army” in his 2016 campaign by noting they were “disgusted by this association”.
Trump again decided to use The White Stripes‘ track for his campaign earlier this year, with White’s threats of litigation resulting in a lawsuilt filed in September. The suit specifically accused Trump and his campaign of “flagrant misappropriation” of one of the “most well-known and influential musical works of all time.”
Bluey: Rug Island bows atop Billboard’s Kid Albums chart (dated Nov. 9), powered by vinyl sales of the set. The soundtrack was released Oct. 25 and is the companion to the hit animated series Bluey. The project includes music from all three seasons of the show, which premiered in 2018. In the United States, Bluey […]
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, 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: The legendary Quincy Jones’ catalog sees a big bump after his passing, a ’70s hitmaker officially becomes one of the big names of spooky-season streaming, a 2003 pop-rock jam gets a big horror synch and more.
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Quincy Jones Catalog Explodes on Streaming Following Legend’s Passing
Late Sunday night (Nov. 3), Quincy Jones, a 28-time Grammy-winning giant who played a key role in some of the world’s most impactful works of art across the music, film, television and the stage, passed away surrounded by family in his Bel Air home. In commemoration of Jone’s near-unquantifiable legacy, fans have found solace in some of his biggest musical contributions.
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According to Luminate, Jones’ entire catalog is up 1,229% in streaming activity, earning nearly 1.25 million official on-demand streams on the first full-day following his passing (Nov. 4). On the Monday prior (Oct. 28), Jones’ catalog collected just under 94,000 streams.
“Just Once,” a Grammy-nominated single from Jones’ The Dude LP that introduced the world to James Ingram is up 632%, earning 77,000 official on-demand streams on Nov. 4 versus 10,500 streams on Oct. 28. “One Hundred Ways” — another Jones-Ingram team-up from The Dude (this one actually won its Grammy category) — saw a similar bump, jumping 626% in streaming activity from a little over 8,000 official on-demand streams on Oct. 28 to over 60,000 streams on Nov. 4. About two decades before The Dude, Jones composed the massively influential “Soul Bossa Nova” instrumental, which has been used as the theme song for everything from 1997’s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Streaming activity for “Soulful” leapt a whopping 755% from 11,500 official on-demand streams (Oct. 28) to just over 98,000 streams (Nov. 4).
Of course, “We Are the World,” the Billboard Hot 100-topping charity single that won record and song of the year at the 1986 Grammys, is a towering part of Jones’ far-reaching legacy. That classic is up 146% in streams from 37,500 official on-demand streams (Oct. 28) to over 92,000 streams (Nov. 4). With a career spanning seven decades, Jones hits also included Lesley Gore’s timeless 1963 Hot 100 chart-topper “It’s My Party.” That iconic track jumped 17% in streaming activity, going from 33,000 official on-demand streams (Oct. 28) to just over 39,000 streams (Nov. 4).
As a producer, Jones’ sprawling catalog also includes three of the most seminal albums in pop history: Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987). Jones-related gains for Thriller and Bad are a bit complicated because both house Halloween anthems (the title track for Thriller and “Smooth Criminal” for Bad). Nonetheless, Off the Wall – Jackson’s first Jones-helmed LP – is up 10%, pulling 794,000 official on-demand U.S. streams (Nov. 4) versus 720,000 streams (Oct. 28).
Jones’ oeuvre also includes the classic soundtracks for The Color Purple and The Wiz. The former is up 290%, collecting over 41,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on Nov. 4, while the latter is up 219%, earning over 47,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on the same day.
Jones passing is a particularly painful one for global pop culture, but he’s left behind an incredibly rich catalog for us to continue to revisit and learn from. – KYLE DENIS
Andrew Gold: The New King of Halloween?
Scan the Hot 100 this week and you’ll see some of the most familiar names long associated with Halloween music: Michael Jackson (“Thriller,” No. 20), Ray Parker Jr. (“Ghostbusters,” No. 28), Bobby Boris Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers (“Monster Mash,” No. 30) and Danny Elfman – technically “The Citizens of Halloween” (“This Is Halloween,” No. 38). But finishing just below their ranks and outside the Hot 100 (for now) is a guy who is only come in recent years to be majorly associated with Spooky Season: ‘70s singer-songwriter and pop-rock hitmaker Andrew Gold.
For most of his career, Gold (who died 2011) in was primarily associated with two singles: The heartrending story song “Lonely Boy” (a No. 7 hit in 1977) and the heartwarming “Thank You for Being a Friend” (a No. 28 hit in 1978 – though better associated with a Cynthia Fee cover version, used as the theme to the timeless ‘80s sitcom The Golden Girls). But thanks to some TikTok trending that first started at the end of the 2010s, Gold is now best known to younger fans as the guy behind 1996’s “Spooky, Scary Skeletons,” a cartoon-y Halloween number that has been remixed and memed to death over the past half-decade.
“Skeletons” racked up 11.2 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Nov. 2, according to Luminate – a massive number, and a bump of 1,146% from the 898,000 streams the song notched six weeks earlier. It’s not the only song of Gold’s to see such gains, either, as his entire ‘96 set Halloween Howls: Fun & Scary Music is way up, including his version of the classic theme to The Addams Family – which amassed 2.1 million streams for that same week. All in all, Gold totaled 14.7 million streams for the week, up 1,040% from his 1.3 million total the week of Sept. 19 – proving that Gold is on the verge of becoming the standard for Halloween-week streaming performance. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Joé Dwèt Filé Eyes Stateside Konpa Hit With “4 Kampé”
The streaming era and increased globalization have largely leveled the playing field for more niche genres to make inroads in the U.S. market – and konpa could be up next. Popularized in the 1950s, konpa (sometimes spelled “kompa”) is a descendant of méringue music that is characterized by the prominent use of tanbou drum, buoyant horns and rhythmic guitars.
With “4 Kampé,” Joé Dwèt Filé — a singer, songwriter and engineer of Haitian descent – is eyeing a hit single with notable crossover potential. During the period of Oct. 25-28, “4 Kampé” earned over 393,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. By the post-Halloween period of Nov. 1-4, consumption activity for the track rose 13%, collecting over 446,000 streams.
Filé started teasing the song a week before its Oct. 25 release with a post that has since garnered over 1.6 million views and over 195,000 likes. Two more teasers followed, with each each video earning more views than the last. Currently, the official “4 Kampé” TikTok sound boasts nearly 190,000 posts, with many of them featuring users performing the kare dance that traditionally accompanies konpa music. In just 12 days, the official “4 Kampé” lyric video hit 3.4 million views on YouTube, while the track’s official music video crossed two million views in under a week.
Although it is still early in the song’s run, these gains for “4 Kampé” look promising. – KD
So Yesteryear: Time Cut Offers Big Bump to ‘00s Hilary Duff Classic
Netflix’s time-traveling slasher flick Time Cut is currently the streaming service top-ranked film, with its ending proving to be a source of controversy for viewers. But before that was a source of debate for the movie, social media users were busy arguing about whether a scene from the movie released as a teaser on Netflix’s channels – a high-school hallway montage, meant to reflect teenage life in the year 2003 – was actually all that reflective of the fashion and styles of the time. One choice was pretty inarguable though: the use of Hilary Duff’s 2003 pop-rock hit “So Yesterday.”
“Yesterday,” which only peaked at No. 42 on the Hot 100 in Oct. 2003 (but was much bigger on MTV and Radio Disney-type platforms), is featured as the slow-motion scene’s soundtrack, evoking the cultural moment fairly effectively. Unsurprisingly, the clip sent nostalgic viewers heading to streaming services to play the period classic – “Yesterday” totaled over 85,000 official on-demand U.S. streams combined for the first four days of November, a 49% gain over the previous four-day total in the prior tracking week. Not quite “Unwritten” numbers yet, but a good start for a song that has lived in the shadow of Duff’s bigger hit “Come Clean” for too long. – AU