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BTS member Jin‘s long-awaited debut solo album finally has a release date and track list. The K-pop superstar’s first full-length venture outside the on-hiatus group’s orbit is called Happy and it is due out on Nov. 15.
The announcement was accompanied by a brightly colored, playful tracklist poster with the mini-LP’s title up top in big cartoony letters and the six tracks displayed in a variety of bright red, green and blue typefaces.
“Reflecting the title of the album, the tracklist poster exudes a lighthearted, joyful mood with colorful confetti-like dots and stars against a bright red backdrop,” read a statement. “It evokes the feeling of receiving a specially-adorned gift along with the phrase ‘TRUE HAPPINESS TRUE LOVE’ at the bottom of the poster, adding a heartfelt touch.”
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In addition to the focus track, “Running Wild,” the collection will include the pre-release single, “I’ll Be There,” which is due out on Oct. 25. The album will also feature “Another Level,” “Falling,” “Heart on the Window” (feat. WENDY)” and “I will come to you.” Jin collaborated with a number of other acts on the album, including Take That’s Gary Barlow, who co-produced and co-wrote “Running Wild.”
He also roped in Take and Toru from the Japanese rock band ONE OK ROCK to co-produce “Falling” (along with GHSTLOOP). “Happy reflects Jin’s honest contemplation on happiness, which holds significant importance to him,” according to a press release. “Embarking on a journey to find the true meaning of happiness, Jin aims to share a sense of warmth and comfort through a true, authentic expression of himself as a solo artist.”
To date, Jin, 31, has released the solo tracks “Super Tuna,” “Yours,” “Abyss,” “Awake,” “Tonight,” “Epiphany” and “Moon,” as well as contributing to the soundtracks of a number of Korean TV shows and collaborating with Coldplay on his debut solo single, 2022’s “The Astronaut.”
The oldest member of BTS, Jin was discharged from his mandatory South Korean military duty in June and his solo debut comes as ARMY eagerly await the rest of the band members finishing their required hitches in anticipation of BTS’ expected 2025 return.
Check out the tracklist poster for Happy below.
Just a week after debuting, NLE Choppa and 41’s collaboration “Or What?” rockets into the top 10 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with a 24-9 surge on the list dated Oct. 19. The track, released through NLE Choppa/Warner, continues to turn its viral momentum from TikTok clips into huge gains on streaming services.
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In the Oct. 4-10 tracking week for Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, which blends streaming, radio airplay and sales data for its ranks, “Or What?” registered 8.5 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. The count is a 49% explosion from the prior week’s 5.7 million clicks. Thanks to the surge, “Or What?” launches at No. 6 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart.
Streaming contributes virtually all the song’s activity for Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, with a negligible number of digital downloads sold in the tracking week and 158,000 total audience impressions. (For comparison, the threshold title on this week’s 50-position R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart drew 1.3 million impressions.)
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With “Or What?,” Memphis rapper NLE Choppa earns his second top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and ties for his best rank among 21 career entries. “Slut Me Out” also reached No. 9, in April 2023.
Hip-hop collective 41, comprised of Brooklyn rappers Kyle Richh, Jenn Carter and TaTa, picks up its first Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs hit under the combined artist billing. The three previously charted individually on breakthrough hit “Bent,” which reached a No. 37 high in December 2023.
Social media users have pushed “Or What?” into viral territory in the last weeks, largely due to TikTok clips in which users play off the track’s “Is we f–kin’ or not?” lyric. The tune has been used in more than 170,000 clips to date on the social platform, with the recent surge pushing the track to a new peak of No. 2 on this week’s TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart.
Elsewhere, “Or What?” shoots 21-6 on the Hot Rap Songs chart and 91-52 in its second week on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100.
There’s a very good reason that Henry Winkler is considered to be one of the nicest guys in show biz. The eternally sunshiny 78-year-old Happy Days veteran always brings the good cheer to his talk show appearances, that is when he’s not taking time to send fan notes to fellow artists he’s inspired by.
During a visit to Live with Kelly and Mark on Tuesday (Oct. 15), Winkler was predictably enthusiastic about one of his recent kind letters eliciting an equally generous response when he shared how happy he was to get a thank you video from Jelly Roll.
“Oh my gosh, it was the most amazing thing that it came from you and that he answered,” Winkler told Ripa about getting an equally sweet reply from the “I Am Not Okay” that the singer sent to the daytime talk show host. Winkler explained to the studio audience that he often writes what he calls “fan notes” to artists he admires. “And I wrote one to Jelly Roll, ‘Dear Mr. Roll,’” he explained. “And I never thought I would hear back and all of a sudden I got a video from Kelly of Mr. Roll thanking me!”
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Ripa responded that being a conduit of the mutual admiration society was “the most exciting thing that has ever not happened to me… it was for you, so it had nothing to do with me. “It was great,” Winkler said before Ripa cued up the tape.
“Hey Mr. Winkler, it’s Jelly Roll,” the singer said in the clip scrolled on Ripa’s device. “I’m just sending my love. I have been hoping to see you ‘cause I got a note and they said it was from you. I didn’t believe it and this is my publicist — she hates being embarrassed but now she is — and she told me it was you, she confirmed and I cannot tell you how much that meant to me.”
Jelly promised to send Winkler a picture of the letter when he gets back home. “I hope you don’t mind, I framed it. I hung it up on my wall where I have like hand written lyrics from Craig Morgan, all the stuff that’s really been special in my career. Thank you, I’m absolutely honored Mr. Winkler. I can’t wait to see you and hopefully give you a hug man. I’m a big hugger, I’ll squeeze you.”
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week, Winkler first revealed that he’d sent the letter to the country star. “I really believe that when I see something that I think is wonderful you’ve got to let the person know,” he told the late night host, who has been on the receiving end of some of those nice notes. When asked who the most recent recipient was, Winkler said it was Jelly Roll, following an appearance on Kimmel’s show.
“I wrote him a letter, ‘Dear Mr. Roll,’ and all of a sudden I got a video back on my phone… it was amazing,” Winkler said. “I think that he is so filled with emotion.”
Watch Winkler kvell about his Mr. Roll moment below.
The 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week is in full swing, and while panels and Q&As take centerstage during the day, showcases are the place to be at night.
On Tuesday (Oct. 15), Rimas Publishing celebrated its 10th anniversary with a special showcase that featured performances by Valentina, Slow Jamz and Anonimus with surprise guests, including Randy (of Jowell & Randy). The showcase, which kicked off at 9 p.m., was held at M2 in Miami.
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Rimas Publishing 10th Anniversary Showcase in Miami.
Lito Vidaurre
Rimas Entertainment is celebrating 10 years in business, and Randy was one of the first artists to be signed to the indie label. Now, the company — also home to global superstar Bad Bunny — has evolved and launched multiple divisions, including Habibi (management company home to Karol G and Grupo Frontera) and Rimas Sports.
Before the showcase took place, Noah Assad (CEO), Junior Carabaño (vp) and Raymond Acosta (general manager, Habibi) took centerstage during Billboard Latin Music Week for a panel during which they reflected on the company’s growth and what they look for in an artist.
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“In terms of management, Raymond tells me, ‘Here is this opportunity.’ And I respond with, ‘What do you think?’ And if he says I love them, then so do I,” Assad said. “Sometimes I don’t see the vision, but someone else on the team will. If that person believes in an artist, we know there’s a reason. We trust that team member who identifies an artist and says, ‘I can do this for this person.”
The 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. It will simultaneously be available on Universo, Peacock and the Telemundo app, and in Latin America and the Caribbean through Telemundo Internacional.
The long-standing animus between former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth and band’s late guitar legend Eddie Van Halen was legendary, and apparently permanent. In a new interview with Rolling Stone, the band’s retired drummer, Alex Van Halen, revealed that after Eddie’s death in 2020 at 65 due to complications from throat cancer, he approached Roth about a reunion tour that would pay tribute to his younger brother.
Following some rehearsals in 2022, Alex said the project fell apart over what he described as Roth’s refusal to include a segment paying homage to the rocker some consider the greatest guitarist of all time.
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“The thing that broke the camel’s back, and I can be honest about this now, was I said, ‘Dave, at some point, we have to have a very overt — not a bowing — but an acknowledgment of Ed in the gig,” he said of his get-back plans that began to go south when he felt numbness from peripheral neuropathy that he took as an “omen from above” that maybe things were not meant to be.
“If you look at how Queen does it, they show old footage,’” Alex said of that band’s hat-tipping to late singer Freddie Mercury on their recent tours with replacement singer Adam Lambert. “And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave f–kin’ popped a fuse.… The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.”
Alex, in his first interview since Eddie’s death, said Roth adamantly refused the idea, finding it “offensive,” for reasons he still cannot understand and which raised his ire. “I’m from the street,” he told the magazine. “‘You talk to me like that, motherf–ker, I’m gonna beat your f–king brains out. You got it?’ And I mean that. And that’s how it ended… It’s just, my God. It’s like I didn’t know him anymore. I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you gotta work as a community, motherf–ker. It’s not you alone anymore”; RS said Roth declined to comment for the story.
The profile also runs down the other A-list rock icons who were discussed as potential frontmen for the band that has had three lead singers over the years. Founding vocalist Roth held the seat from 1974-1985, then again for a brief time in 1996 and once more from 2007-2020, while Sammy Hagar took over from 1985-1996 during the band’s chart peak, and again from 2003-2005, while Extreme’s Gary Cherone briefly kept the mic warm from 1996-1999 between the other two vocalist’s stints.
Around 2001, following Cherone’s exit and Hagar’s return, the Van Halens had a chat with Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, manager Sharon Osbourne, as they contemplated a plan to have the metal god take over as vocalist. “When you get a dog, you don’t expect it to be a cat,” Alex explained. “When you get an Ozzy, you get Ozzy. Play the music, he’ll sing, and it’s gonna be great.”
But, right before they were slated to get to in the studio, the Osbourne’s began working on their MTV reality show The Osbournes, which scotched the plan; Ozzy confirmed the talks and said if it had come to pass it would have been “phenomenal.”
Van Halen also noted that the brothers jammed with Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell at one point — he couldn’t remember when — and when Eddie stepped out of the room for a bit Alex jammed alone with the singer. “Chris was in a very fragile part of his life, so to speak,” he said of the singer who died in 2017 at age 52. “I got behind the drums, and he started playing bass. We played for 45 minutes. This motherf–ker got so into it he started bleeding. I said, ‘This is the man you want.’ And then he died.”
Saying the demise of the original lineup was the “most disappointing thing” he’d experienced in his life until Eddie’s death, Alex said, for him, another brick in the wall of their demise was Eddie’s decision in 1982 to play his infamously spiraling guitar solo on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” That led to Roth deciding to strike out on his own as a solo act which began what Alex said was a death spiral for the group. After asking his brother not to take the gig — suggesting that Jackson guest on a VH album instead — Eddie did it anyway and in 1984, Jackson’s monumental album Thriller blocked VH’s 1984 album from the No. 1 position on the Billboard 200 album chart.
“Why would you lend your talents to Michael Jackson? I just don’t f–king get it,” Alex told RS about the feud that went on for years. “And the funny part was that Ed fibbed his way out of it by saying, ‘Oh, who knows that kid anyway?’ You made the mistake! Fess up. Don’t add insult to injury by acting stupid.”
Alex Van Halen’s memoir, Brothers, is slated for release on Oct. 22.
For anyone aching to start the holiday season early, Clay Aiken is here to deliver tidings of comfort and joy.
On Wednesday (Oct. 16), the American Idol alum announced his new holiday album, Christmas Bells Are Ringing, due Friday, Nov. 22. Reimagining 10 classic holiday songs in his signature soulful style, Aiken’s LP will mark his first full-length release in over a decade.
“It’s been a while, but it feels like the right time to release this album. The whole world is a mess these days, so I think we could all use a bit more of the kindness and cheer that comes with the holiday season,” Aiken tells Billboard in an exclusive statement. “The holidays have taken on a different meaning for me over these past 15 years as a father. I’m excited to share that Christmas spirit with this album.”
Aiken is also offering fans a tease of what’s to come with his new rendition of the Christmas classic “Do You Hear What I Hear,” made popular by Bing Crosby. Revitalizing the Christmas anthem, Aiken said in a statement that he wanted to share a song that offered people hope in a year of intense divisiveness. “The whole American political climate over the past few years hasn’t really given us much in the way of hope or optimism,” he said. “As much as I wanted to believe I might be able to make some positive change in that world, I’ve realized that music often does a better job of that.”
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The album is set to feature a slew a holiday classics, including the Carpenters’ “Merry Christmas, Darling,” Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and even Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime.”
In the 12 years since Aiken’s last studio album, 2012’s Steadfast, Aiken has set his aspirations to other fields: In 2022, the singer ran for the Democratic nomination in North Carolina’s 6th Congressional district, stating that he was inspired to run after seeing North Carolina’s lieutenant governor Mark Robinson ask “What is the purpose of homosexuality?” during a speech and wanting people in office “to start acting like grown-ups instead of children.” Aiken ultimately lost his primary to Rep. Valerie Foushee, who went on to win the seat.
Listen to Aiken’s rendition of “Do You Hear What I Hear” and see the full track list for his upcoming holiday album below:
Clay Aiken’s Christmas Bells Are Ringing tracklist:
Merry Christmas, Darling
It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Caroling, Caroling
Do You Hear What I Hear?
Pure Imagination
Ave Maria
All Year Long
Wonderful Christmastime
Magic Moments
On This Silent Night
Britney Spears isn’t afraid to share her obsessions. On Tuesday (Oct. 15) the “Toxic” singer posted a lengthy tribute to her favorite women on Instagram Stories, reeling off a long list of famous singers, actresses and models who she is obsessed with. “Women I genuinely admire and have crazy girl crushes on 😘😘😘!!!” she wrote. […]
10/16/2024
The Puerto Rican artist spoke about collaborating with Karol G, Bad Bunny, and about the “lesbian renaissance” in Latin music.
10/16/2024
In the liner notes for her 2017 self-titled debut LP, Welsh electronic producer Kelly Lee Owens includes a quote by German author and polymath Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “Whatever you dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
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Released when she was 28-years-old following a stint working in London’s record shops and as an auxiliary nurse in palliative care, Kelly Lee Owens was a culmination of years of absorbing music and beauty on her journey thus far. The dream to create and produce her own music, something she’d harbored since she was a child, eventually became a reality.
On her fourth album, Dreamstate, Owens is still thinking big. The new record, due out on Friday (Oct. 18), sees her collaborate with dance royalty The Chemical Brothers, as well as one of the biggest names on the circuit, Northern Irish techno duo Bicep.
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She’s also newly signed to Dirty Hit – home to The 1975, Bleachers and Beabadoobee – and their dance music-focused imprint DH2 to be their inaugural release. The imprint was set up by The 1975 drummer George Daniel and Dirty Hit general manager Ed Blow; Daniel also appears on the record in a producer role.
“This feels like the beginning of a new phase,” Owens tells Billboard of the move from Norwegian indie label Smalltown Supersound to DH2. “A new team felt right. I’m grateful for the past and the present, but I’m excited about the future because I really do believe that DH2 is really going to show the world some great dance music.”
Where Owens’ previous work was a sparse, sometimes experimental take on techno, house and pop, Dreamstate is more euphoric and maximalist. Lead single “Love You Got” is as radio-friendly as her material has ever been, pairing classic songwriting with pounding drums and synths. “Ballad (The End),” co-written with The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands, includes a string arrangement by Owens and builds to an emotional crescendo. These were new avenues to explore.
2020’s Inner Song, which reached No.30 on the UK’s Dance Charts, showed hints of this direction. But 2022’s LP.8, a knotty, left field collection, put paid to that clean upward trajectory.
Even so, the collection and her previous work caught the ear of Depeche Mode, who enlisted Owens to join them as a support act on the road for their mammoth Memento Mori tour. She speaks of the awe of opening the band’s shows in US arenas and Mexico City’s Foro Sol stadium, where the Mode headlined to 195,000 fans over three sold-out nights.
“Without knowing it at the time, they really instilled confidence in me,” she says of the selection. The band’s songwriter and keyboardist Martin Gore also gave crucial feedback on Dreamstate during its formation. As did Xavier de Rosnay of French electro duo Justice, who Owens met a decade ago while she was still bassist in the indie band The History of Apple Pie.
The conviction dovetailed with Owens’ role as executive producer on Dreamstate, a new challenge which included recruiting collaborators far and wide but retaining a singular vision. She points to her heroes Björk and Kate Bush as artists who have done so successfully. “It was something that at this point in my career I felt that I wanted and, more than that, needed,” she says. “Initially I thought that that would mean letting go of control more, but when you create with different people across different songs on an album, you have to be surer than ever of your vision.”
Owens was born in rural north Wales and says that Dreamstate taps into some of those formative experiences growing up, even when the creative industries, or simply just taking time to dream and reflect, can feel out of reach particularly for working class artists. “There is no separation between my personal life and what I do music and it’s an all-encompassing thing,” she says. “There’s a lot of sacrifice which a lot of people who don’t do this [career] don’t want to hear about.”
Kelly Lee Owens
Samuel Bradley
She moved to London and began working in record shops including Sister Ray in Soho and Pure Groove in Archway. There she met future collaborators, DJs Daniel Avery and James Greenwood, and began writing and recording her solo material. It has been a story that has stepping stones, gradual increments rather than overambitious leaps. Now she’s at a point in her life where the monumental achievements – she played Glastonbury Festival for the first time in June – mean even more to her.
“I actually didn’t want to be a big, massive, first album success because I watched a lot of my friends or people around me do that and found that they had nowhere to go,” she says. “I want to encourage artists to know that in your 30s you can be reaching a place with your inner confidence. You’ll get those absolutely epic firsts and you know you deserve to be there.”
Another first came through Charli XCX – who is engaged to Owens’ collaborator and label boss Daniel – when she hosted her Boiler Room party in Ibiza, and selected Owens to appear on the bill at Amnesia, her first time performing at the Balearic superclub. She joined a stacked bill including Charli, Shygirl, Robyn, Romy from The xx and more.
She’s a fan of Charli’s Brat and loves that the lines between pop chart hits and the club remain blurred. “We have so many sides to ourselves and as an artist, you need to be free to explore all of it as long as it’s genuinely authentic to you people will feel that,” she says.
Dreamstate is precisely that; all it took, as Goethe wrote, was Owens to be bold enough to begin it.
Janet Jackson has spoken publicly for the first time since the death of her brother Tito Jackson, one month after the legendary Jackson 5 guitarist passed away at the age of 70.
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In a simple message posted on her Instagram Stories alongside a black and white photograph of the siblings, Janet wrote: “May you rest in eternal peace. I miss you so much!”
Entertainment Tonight reported on Sept. 15 that Tito died following a suspected heart attack while driving from New Mexico to Oklahoma, according to Steve Manning, a longtime Jackson family friend and former manager.
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People later reported that Tito’s son Siggy Jackson had confirmed the news of his passing.
As the news broke, Tito’s sons TJ, Taj, and Taryll took to Instagram to share their grief with a heartfelt message: “It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us. We are shocked, saddened, and heartbroken. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being.
“Some of you may know him as Tito Jackson from the legendary Jackson 5, some may know him as ‘Coach Tito’ or some know him as ‘Poppa T.’ Nevertheless, he will be missed tremendously. It will forever be ‘Tito Time’ for us. Please remember to do what our father always preached and that is ‘Love One Another.’ We love you Pops.”
They concluded with, “Your boys, Taj, Taryll, and TJ.”
Tito was an integral part of the Jackson family’s musical dynasty. He, along with his brothers Michael, Jermaine, Marlon, and Jackie, formed The Jackson 5 in the 1960s. Their debut single, “I Want You Back,” became an instant sensation, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as did their subsequent hits “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.”
He also embarked on a solo career, with his 2016 album Tito Time garnering attention, particularly the track “Get It Baby,” which charted on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart.
The Jackson family has experienced numerous losses over the years, including the deaths of Michael Jackson in 2009 and their father, Joe Jackson, in 2018.