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In a year when creative content from Japan is attracting attention in global markets, a singer with potential for international pop stardom has appeared in the J-pop scene. The budding artist’s name is Hibiki, and she sings the festival song “Desire” for the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF 2024), one of Asia’s largest film festivals.
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Based in Kyushu in southern Japan, the young singer enrolled in university in April this year. She co-wrote “Desire,” her debut single released Oct. 23, an up-tempo dance track with Jersey club beat and lyrics all in English. “I know you are just a hater,” Hikibiki sings with her emotive, resonant voice, unleashing her thoughts on haters and online flame wars. A portrait of a strong young woman comes across from skillful vocalization and determined gaze, ready to step out onto the global stage.
Billboard Japan chatted with the rising star, who remains mostly shrouded in mystery with little background information available, about her musical roots and future goals as an artist.
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What are you studying at university?
Sustainability tourism. Simply put, it’s about things like Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and regional development through tourism. Most of the students at my university are doing interesting things; I have friends who have launched student groups and businesses. A professor there is a former UN employee, so we get to hear the inside story of how the SDGs were created.
Were you drawn things like singing and entertainment from a young age?
Yes, I’ve loved music since I was little. I started fiddling with the Electone electronic organ when I was two and started learning how to play it properly when I was three. I apparently said I wanted to play music myself.
Which artist do you remember liking in a conscious way?
My dad would play music in the car, and I used to sing along to the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe.”
How did you learn English?
I started going to English conversation classes when I was a toddler, and used to enjoy English in a game-like way. But I was bad at it as a subject from junior high to high school and couldn’t keep up. I’m working hard now. [Laughs] I’ve been familiar with English for a long time, though, so I can pronounce words kind of like a native speaker.
What other instruments besides the electronic organ do you play?
When I was in junior high, I joined the brass band and played the flute and percussion for three years. There were only nine of us in the band, so we changed parts depending on the song. In first year junior high, our brass band was given the opportunity to perform as the opening act for [J-pop megastars] DREAMS COME TRUE. That was a wonderful experience.
What kind of music did you listen to growing up, starting with the Spice Girls?
In junior high, I listened to [J-pop] artists like Superfly and MISIA. I got into Western music in high school. I had the opportunity to go on a two-week homestay in Canada in my second year junior high. I found out about it through some flyers from school. But the cost of travel and such are quite expensive, you know? We weren’t a particularly wealthy family, but my mother said she wanted me to have an experience that will give me a broad perspective.
That’s something to be grateful for.
That was my first trip abroad. At the time, Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” was popular. The experience reminded me that I like English. You can communicate with people from different cultures, and above all, the music is so cool. At the time, I enjoyed music on YouTube.
What made you want to become an artist or singer?
I’ve always loved to sing. Then one day, I had a sudden urge to learn how to sing. I wanted to get a bit better at it, even as a hobby. I was in the chorus in high school and also started taking vocal lessons on the side. I started to think that singing on stage was fun, and that it’d be nice if I could make a career out of it.
In high school? That’s pretty recent.
Yes, it is. I started auditioning and entering contests from there. That’s how I first got started, which led to where I am today.
It goes to show that being able to take action and taking the first step is important.
Whether I passed or not, my views in terms of music broadened through the experience and left a deep impression on me. The fact that more and more people said they like my songs gave me confidence.
By the way, are there any singers you look up to as role models?
I’d say Dua Lipa. She has a voice that no one else can imitate, and her songs have a retro feel to them. I admired her amazing performance at the Grammys. Dua Lipa has this beautiful way of expressing things through the lingering sound at the end of her words. Also, if we’re talking about songs, Zedd is another favorite. I went to my first-ever music festival this year, GMO SONIC, and he was awesome. I also like Tyla and Sabrina Carpenter. I listen to them all the time while I’m going places.
What are you particular about in terms of your own singing and other aspects of your individuality?
I recently discovered that when I sing with feeling, I can make better use of the techniques I have. I try to focus on immersing myself in the world of the lyrics as I interpret them. I think my low voice is my strong point, and I’ve developed techniques that make the most of that.
When did you become interested in writing your own songs and lyrics?
I recently began understanding the profundity of lyrics through co-writing. The lyrics of songs in Japan are so distinct. It feels so interesting to me.
How did your debut single “Desire” come about?
Producers Mitsu and hito and I made a rough demo in about an hour using “space language” [i.e. fitting random words into a melody], and when the entire co-writing team listened to it later on we all thought was good. So we worked together to make a full-length version straight away.
The opening line, “I know you are just a hater,” has quite an impact. How did you come up with it?
The song was already hard-hitting when it was still a demo, so when I was singing it in space language, I was thinking about making the most of that slightly hateful feel it had. We’d changed the song’s title to “Desire” from the temporary one and I’m glad the lyrics connected to that word.
How did “Desire” become the festival song for TIFF 2024?
While we were working on the song, hito, one of the producers, said, “I have a feeling this will work!” and pitched it. I was so happy when it was chosen. The entire process of the tie-in becoming a reality was really quick.
The timing couldn’t be better, since Hiroyuki Sanada’s SHOGUN won a record 18 Emmy Awards and global interest in talent from Japan is on the rise.
The media was filled with articles about that alongside the news about “Desire” being chosen as the TIFF 2024 song. That was amazing.
What sort of artist do you want to be in the future?
I want to become someone like the Asian version of Dua Lipa, but since I’ve loved singing since I was little and love music, I don’t want to end up just idolizing someone. I want to become someone else’s idol next.
—This interview by Fukuryu first appeared on Billboard Japan
Jelly Roll will make his Austin City Limits debut on Saturday (Nov. 2), with the premiere of a six-song set that includes his Billboard Country Airplay chart top 5 hit “I Am Not Okay,” as well as chart-toppers including his four-week No. 1 Country Airplay hit “Need a Favor.”
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In an early look at the performance, Jelly Roll tells the audience just before launching into “I Am Not Okay,” “The thing about these shows are, is that it’s more than a concert, it’s more than music. It’s bigger than me, it’s bigger than the music, it’s about the message. It’s about redemption, it’s about second chances, it’s about being OK with not being OK sometimes.”
At one point during his ACL appearance, he tells the crowd about how he grew up watching the show, recalling that he had posters of artists including Willie Nelson and George Jones on his walls at home. He also pays homage to Austin by making the “Hook ‘Em Horns” hand sign, a symbol honoring the University of Texas at Austin Longhorns.
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To date, Jelly Roll has earned five No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits, and with his new album, Beautifully Broken, the Antioch, Tenn., native reached new career heights, with the set debuting at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
The Nov. 2 episode featuring Jelly Roll’s debut performance will also feature husband-and-wife duo The War and Treaty performing songs including “Blank Page” and “Leads Me Home.”
Jelly Roll’s Austin City Limits debut comes as ACL is celebrating its 50th anniversary season, honoring five decades of presenting music’s top artists. The 50th season has already featured performances from artists including Kacey Musgraves, Black Pumas, Maggie Rogers, Nickel Creek and Brittany Howard.
Get an exclusive early look at Jelly Roll’s ACL appearance with his performance of “I Am Not Okay” below:
One of the most successful regional Mexican groups, Calibre 50 is no stranger to leading the pack, and the group is at again with its record-extending 26th No. 1 on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart, as “El Amor De Mi Vida” jumps 2-1 to lead the Nov. 2-dated list. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts […]
A week after Beyoncé appeared at a rally for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in the singer’s hometown of Houston, the Democratic candidate’s rival Donald Trump still seemed focused on the 32-time Grammy winner’s full-throated endorsement of the sitting Vice President.
Taking the stage in an orange and yellow safety vest on Wednesday (Oct. 30) in Green Bay, WI, the twice impeached former President told the crowd, “four nights ago they got Beyoncé… uhhhh Beyoncé,” as he paused while audience appeared to boo the singer who has sold more than 350 million records as a solo act and with Destiny’s Child. “They got Beyoncé,” he sighed a second time. “We don’t need Beyoncé, we don’t need anybody… all you got is me, and I don’t have a guitar.”
The Harris campaign reposted the Beyoncé-bashing moment, which came on the same day that convicted felon Trump rolled out a bizarre attack on Pres. Joe Biden that found the former reality TV star climbing into a Trump-branded garbage truck and riding around in circles on an airport tarmac while wearing the vest. The stunt appeared to be the Trump campaign’s attempt to capitalize on a gaffe by Pres. Biden, who caused a stir on Tuesday night when he seemed to compare Trump’s supporters to garbage while commenting on a racist joke made at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally earlier this week in which the comedian compared Puerto Rico to a “floating island of garbage.”
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The White House quickly tried to do damage control by clarifying that Biden was referring to the sexist, racist attacks launched by a series of speakers at Trump’s MSG rally on Sunday, not Trump’s supporters; the event also included an off-color joke by the same comedian that Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce could be the “next O.J. Simpson,” a remark that disgusted Swifties. “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said in a video of his controversial remarks. “His, his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been.”
The offensive comments at the Trump rally quickly resulted in a number of Puerto Rican born superstars endorsing Harris, including Bad Bunny, Ricky Martin and Jennifer Lopez — whose parents were born on the island nation — as well as reggaetón legend Don Omar, who endorsed Harris on Tuesday. In addition, Nicky Jam rescinded his previous Trump endorsement on Wednesday and lined up behind Harris.
The Beyoncé mention at the rally where Trump once again vowed to the the “protector of women” — even, as he added, “whether the women like it or not” — was coupled with Trump bragging that “we don’t need Beyoncé.” Though the Harris campaign never said that the R&B legend would sing at the Houston event, Trump told the Green Bay crowd, “They said, ladies and gentlemen, they said Beyoncé’s coming to sing and she came but she didn’t sing. And then Kamala came on as Beyoncé was leaving without singing even one song and they booed the hell out of both of them”; there is no evidence supporting his claim that the 30,000-plus Harris supporters booed Beyoncé’s appearance.
“I’m not here as a celebrity,” Bey told the Houstonaudience in her introduction of Harris. “I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares, deeply, about the world my children and all of our children live in. A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies. A world where we’re not divided. Our past, our present, our future merge to meet us here.”
Trump frequently denigrates A-listers who either don’t support him or who line up behind his rivals, and he continues to seem peeved at the many music stars who’ve endorsed Harris, an increasingly long roster that includes Bruce Springsteen, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish and Finneas, Barbra Streisand, Cardi B, Charli XCX, Cher, Eminem, Katy Perry, Megan Thee Stallion, Olivia Rodrigo and many more. Early on in Harris’ 11th-hour bid, Beyoncé gave her permission to use the 2016 track “Freedom” as the campaign’s theme song; the singer’s camp then sent a cease-and-desist to the Trump campaign in August after it used the song in a social media video that was later deleted from campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung’s X account.
And, after Taylor Swift endorsed Harris last month following what experts deemed the VP’s decisive win in the single debate Trump agreed to, the 78-year-old former President posted an all-caps response reading, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT.”
See Trump’s crowd boo Beyoncé below.
One of hip-hop’s earliest hitmakers is back on the Billboard charts, returning with his first new song to reach the rankings in more than two decades. Young MC’s “Fun Part,” released on the rapper’s Disco Theory label, lands a No. 38 debut on the Rhythmic Airplay chart and gives its creator his first visit to a Billboard chart with a new song since “Heatseeker” in 2002. Among other placements, “Heatseeker” reached No. 6 on the Hot Singles Sales chart and No. 92 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list.
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“It feels exhilarating and nerve-wracking at the same time,” Young MC tells Billboard upon his new track’s entrance to the charts. “On the one hand, it’s a validation for all the hard work I’ve put in over decades to grow as an artist and a producer. But at the same time, I feel the pressure to keep the momentum going. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
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Born Marvin Young, the artist who later became Young MC first came to prominence as a songwriter on two 1989 hits for Tone-Loc that broke barriers as some of hip-hop’s earliest crossover success stories on the charts. “Wild Thing” soared to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 – at the time, the genre’s highest peaking hit on the flagship chart – while “Funky Cold Medina” nearly duplicated the feat, reaching a No. 3 best.
That same year, the rapper also touched a third classic, but this time, as the main attraction. “Bust a Move,” which features the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea on drums, flew to No. 7 on the Hot 100 and won a Grammy Award for best rap performance. The single has lived on with countless uses in pop culture, including in films such as Dude, Where’s My Car? and The Blind Side, a 1997 commercial for Priceline in which William Shatner recited some of the song’s lyrics, and moments on TV’s Glee and The Big Bang Theory.
Thirty-five years on from his first hit, landing a new one in a new generation of hip-hop isn’t lost on the pioneer. “It’s wild to think that many of the people listening to ‘Fun Part’ weren’t even born when I released ‘Bust a Move’,” he says. “I’m finding the delicate balance of appealing to them while not alienating those people who were fans of ‘Bust a Move’ when it was out and still come to shows to see it today.”
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An underlying reason for Young MC’s return? Last year’s celebrations surrounding the 50th anniversary of hip-hop’s creation, dating to its accepted 1973 origin in New York City, and virtually every major music publication and organization’s salute to the genre’s expansion from a potential fad to a world-conquering sound. “I can only speak for myself, but I was impacted by seeing all the Hip-Hop 50 stuff flying around. I reflected on what I had personally given to hip-hop during the 50 years and if I could possibly give more.”
And he isn’t the only one of his generation back in the game. LL Cool J wrapped a decade-long hiatus from music with the September release of The Force album, his first since 2013. Its current single, the Eminem-assisted “Murdergram Deux,” begins at No. 39 on Rhythmic Airplay, directly below “Fun Part.” The dual resurgences, to Young MC, feel connected. “I can relate to all the legacy artists putting out new music today – for most of us, it’s a ‘want to’ more than a ‘have to,’” he explains.
But at least the response to his latest song gives him peace over those concerns about whether he still had more to offer: “’Fun Part’” proves to me that the answer to that question is a resounding ‘yes!’”
Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” becomes the fifth song in the 13-month history of the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart to reign for at least four weeks, spending its fourth straight frame at No. 1 via the Nov. 2-dated ranking, while A.J. & Big Justice’s social media smash “We Bring the Boom” is one of the week’s top debuts.
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The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity from Oct. 21-27. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“Maps” joins similar reigns by Alek Olsen’s “Someday I’ll Get It” and Flo Milli’s “Never Lose Me,” both in 2024, for four weeks each; Mitski’s “My Love Mine All Mine” ruled for six weeks in 2023; while the all-time leader, Tommy Richman’s “Million Dollar Baby,” secured the top spot for 10 weeks beginning in May.
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Released in 2003 on Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ debut LP Fever to Tell, “Maps” reigns via a pair of trends on TikTok, one involving a dance while the other has creators using a filter to remove their facial features and have them cascade back down onto their countenance in the clip. While the original version of the song has been widely used, a sped-up remix has also contributed to the success of “Maps” on the chart.
The top three of the TikTok Billboard Top 50 remains intact from the previous week (Oct. 26), with Alphaville’s “Forever Young” and Akon’s “Akon’s Beautiful Day” following at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. While it’s Akon’s second week at No. 3, Alphaville has now stood at No. 2 for three weeks in a row and hasn’t fallen below No. 3 since mid-September.
Vines’ “Being Loved Isn’t the Same As Being Understood,” following its No. 8 debut on the Oct. 26 survey, crashes the party as the lone new entrant in the top five, jumping to No. 4 in week two. The song, self-released in March by the artist known also as Cassie Wieland, continues its ascent thanks to a trend on TikTok where the user posts about either themselves or someone they know, usually as a photo collage, to “sum up the kind of person” they are or were. Some of the top-performing clips discuss a person who has since died.
“Being Loved Isn’t the Same As Being Understood” sported a 99% leap in official U.S. streams to 116,000 in the week ending Oct. 24, according to Luminate.
Gigi Perez’s “Sailor Song,” following its first week in the top 10 (No. 10) on the Oct. 26 chart, also rises four spots, leaping 10-6. The 2024 tune, which leapt another 4% in streams to 13.5 million in the week ending Oct. 24, has benefited from a variety of trends since it first began exploding on TikTok in the summer, often relationship- and romance-related.
It’s followed by Oscar Maydon and Fuerza Regida’s “Tu Boda,” which vaults 14-7, its first week in the top 10. The song has exploded on TikTok – as well as on streaming services – in recent weeks, particularly following the release of its music video on Oct. 14.
“Tu Boda” concurrently catapults 157% in streams to 15.2 million in the week ending Oct. 24, enough to blast the song to a No. 23 debut on the Billboard Hot 100.
The tune’s TikTok ecosystem includes edits and trends involving the 2005 movie Corpse Bride, plus lip-synch content.
The Cramps’ cover of “Goo Goo Muck” sports the week’s top TikTok Billboard Top 50 debut, starting at No. 9. Released in 1981 on the rockers’ album Psychedelic Jungle, the tune returned to prominence in 2022 when it was featured in the Netflix series Wednesday.
In recent weeks on TikTok, “Goo Goo Muck” has been embraced in a link to its status as a Halloween-time standard, following a trend where the user is running from danger but then runs back when realizing their pursuer is attractive, often starting to take off their shirt in the process.
Gabriela Bee’s “Maybe” is the third new entrant into the top 10, rounding it out at No. 10 after its No. 11 debut on Oct. 26. Usages of the song revolve around its “Maybe one day I’ll get married/ And you’ll be my maid of honor” lyric, with creators either remembering their own weddings or noting who they’d like to be the maid of honor at their wedding.
And A.J. & Big Justice bring the boom to the TikTok Billboard Top 50, with “We Bring the Boom!” debuting at No. 15. The father-and-son TikTok stars released what’s become their theme song to streaming services in July, and the tune has only risen as prominence as the duo (plus others often featured in their uploads, from family members to The Rizzler) has gained in popularity on the platform, currently boasting over 2 million followers.
The majority of the top-performing videos using “We Bring the Boom!” are from the A.J. & Big Justice account itself, though others have gotten in on the song’s accompanying dance as well — including professional athletes in game.
In the tracking week ending Oct. 24, “We Bring the Boom!” earned 327,000 streams in the U.S., up 24%.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
Just over a year after Oliver Anthony Music earned a multi-week Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper with his independently released song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” the singer-songwriter says he is aiming at making some big changes and essentially walking away from the music business in order to focus on ministry — though he will still be making music.
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In a YouTube video posted on Oct. 29, he noted that his grandfather was a traveling minister and said, “My plan is to change my entire focus to traveling ministry work.” He also added, “I want to create a routing schedule to exist parallel to Nashville that circumvents the monopoly of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, and goes into towns that haven’t had music in them in a long time. It stimulates their economy, showcases their culture, it uses local vendors and local musicians. You’re not having to drive out to Pittsburgh to a concrete amphitheater to see a show. It’s done out on a farm or on a main street that desperately needs the economic impact.”
Billboard has reached out to Live Nation and Ticketmaster for comment.
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He also noted that the past year or so of music-industry involvement has “opened my eyes to how much control and how much visibility there is on the top down.”
While he plans to continuing releasing music, those songs would come as part of his The Rural Revival Project, which would “be set up legally as a ministry,” he noted, and would aid in revitalizing farming and other rural communities.
The website for his Rural Revival Project also notes its aim to provide a place where “people who have just gotten out of rehab, with PTSD, and people are are depressed and suicidal can come here and reconnect with nature and learn to exist outside of a system that has just kind of been placed on us as a generation.”
“Rich Men North of Richmond” first went viral in August 2023, when a video of Oliver Anthony Music (real name Chris Lunsford) performing the song was posted on the YouTube channel for Radiowv. Since then, the video has earned 173 million views. “Rich Men North of Richmond” quickly topped the Hot 100, and he became the first artist in history to debut at No. 1 on the chart without previously having a song on the charts. Following the song’s success, more of his music populated charts, with his track “Ain’t Got a Dollar” topping Spotify’s Viral 50 list. He eschewed signing with a major label, but did partner with booking agency UTA.
“Rich Men North of Richmond” also became a lightning rod for political tension on both sides, drawing praise from right-leaning pundits who championed the song’s sentiments, while drawing ire from left-leaning commentators. In August 2023, Oliver Anthony Music said in a Facebook post, “‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ is about corporate-owned D.C. politicians on both sides.”
In April, he released the album Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind, which featured Oliver Anthony Music offering a mix of music and scripture verses.
The first show he will play as part of the Rural Revival Project inititive comes on Nov. 2 with a hurricane relief concert in Morgantown, W.V.
Watch Oliver Anthony Music’s video announcing that he’s going to focus on ministry below:
Tyler, the Creator’s new era is already off to a strong start, as the rapper’s “Noid” storms onto Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (dated Nov. 2) at No. 9, despite partial availability for the chart’s tracking week. The song was released Monday, Oct. 21, allowing for roughly four days of eligibility for the streaming, sales […]
As she prepares to wind-down the U.S. portion of her globe-hopping Eras Tour this weekend, Taylor Swift is still thinking about the last city she visited on the career-spanning outing. Second Harvest Food Bank – Feeding South Louisiana announced on Wednesday (Oct. 30) that the singer gave a large donation that will fill the pantries […]
Graham Lyle, best-known for co-writing the Tina Turner classic “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” will be presented with the BMI Icon Award at the 2024 BMI London Awards to be held on Dec. 9 at The Savoy in London. The private event will be hosted by BMI president & CEO Mike O’Neill.
“What’s Love” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in 1984 and went on to win Grammys for record and song of the year. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2012. Lyle co-wrote the song with Terry Britten, who also produced Turner’s single. Britten and Lyle later co-wrote two more big hits for Turner, both of which peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 – “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)” from the film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome and “Typical Male.” Thus, the team was responsible for three of Turner’s six top 10 solo hits.
“We’re very honoured to salute the incomparable songwriter Graham Lyle with the BMI Icon Award in celebration of a lifetime of timeless hit songs that deeply resonate with global audiences,” O’Neill said in a statement.
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The ceremony will also pay tribute to the British and European songwriters and publishers of the previous year’s most performed songs on U.S. streaming, radio and television from BMI’s repertoire.
Many artists have revived “What’s Love” over the years. Rapper Warren G recorded a hip-hop version in 1996 featuring Adina Howard, which reached No. 32 on the Hot 100. The song was sampled in the hit “What’s Luv?” by Fat Joe featuring Ashanti, which reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 in 2002. Norwegian DJ/producer Kygo released a remix with Turner in 2020. Mickey Guyton sang it at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 2021, when Turner was inducted as a solo artist.
Lyle began his professional journey as one of the first music creators to sign to The Beatles’ Apple Company, alongside songwriter Benny Gallagher in the late 1960s. Together, the duo became founding members of the British rock band McGuinness Flint, and later joined forces to form Gallagher and Lyle, where they released eight albums and landed two Hot 100 hits in 1976, while signed to A&M Records – “I Wanna Stay with You” and “Heart on My Sleeve.”
In 1981, Lyle formed his own publishing company GOODSINGLE, LTD, to write for other artists. In addition to his longtime partnership with Turner, Lyle has also penned hits such as “Just Good Friends” by Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, “Hold Me (Just a Little Longer Tonight)” by Etta James, “You’re the Star” by Rod Stewart and “When You Love Somebody (I’m Saving My Love for You)” by Patti LaBelle.
Previous BMI Icons include Sting, Gary Kemp, Graham Gouldman, Sir Tim Rice, The Bee Gees, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Ray Davies, John Fogerty, David Foster, Peter Gabriel, the Jacksons, Carole King, Kris Kristofferson, Barry Manilow, Willie Nelson, Stevie Nicks, Dolly Parton, Queen, Nile Rodgers, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Van Morrison and Brian Wilson.