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At the end of 2022, pop singer-songwriter Mark Ambor felt lost in his music career. Despite recently signing a record deal and releasing his debut EP, Hello World, something didn’t feel right.
“I fell into this routine of teasing a song, [and] if it did well, putting it out, but I was feeling like I wasn’t saying anything I really mean,” he remembers. “I wasn’t digging deep or singing about things important to me.”

To clear his mind, Ambor, 26, embarked on a months-long international backpacking trip with his then-girlfriend — and returned feeling grounded with a whole new wave of inspiration for songs. He quickly wrote the whimsical, acoustic “Good to Be” and now refers to it as the first time he was musically “genuine and fully expressing myself.”

Just a few months later, he struck gold: While playing guitar in his bedroom, he wrote the lyrics, “You and me belong together/Like cold iced tea and warmer weather,” which would become the instantly catchy hook to the cozy, uplifting “Belong Together,” his ultimate breakthrough and first Billboard Hot 100 hit.

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Meredith Jenks

Ambor grew up with a musical background in Pleasantville, N.Y., playing the piano from a young age at his parents’ request. Though the skill took a backseat in high school, he rekindled his love for the instrument as he approached graduation, trading the classical pieces he previously learned for modern-day pop songs. He proceeded to pen his first song that summer, as he grappled with the emotions of having to leave his small hometown to attend Fairfield University in Connecticut. “I didn’t want to leave home,” he says, “and I tried to write a song to get those feelings out.”

He then returned to work that night as a barback and casually sent the song to his parents in a group chat. “My mom was like, ‘Dad and I love this song. Who’s the artist?’ ” he recalls with a laugh. “I was like, ‘Mom, what do you mean?’ It’s me!”

Ambor self-released a few songs while obtaining a marketing degree in college, and upon his graduation in 2020, decided to take six months to completely immerse himself in chasing his dreams as a musician before considering a different job. “COVID happened after I said that,” he recalls. “I got to spend time working on music at home.”

Thanks to a suggestion from a friend, he joined TikTok later that year. He steadily began to grow a following with his cool guy next door vibe: People gravitated not only toward his big smile and curly brown hair, but to his voice and disarming demeanor as well. He soon began posting covers — including breathtaking renditions of Coldplay’s “Yellow” and Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever” — as well as a few originals, and ultimately caught the attention of then-independent manager Kyle Thomson, who admits he’s a “sucker” for a great voice over a piano melody and asked Ambor to send a few demos.

“It was so early on in both of our careers,” says Thomson. “I was excited to dive into something that I felt was going to be a fun project to build.” By the end of 2020, Ambor had signed a management deal with Thomson.

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Like Ambor, Thomson knew that some of his artist’s early work wasn’t playing to the singer-songwriter’s strengths. “At the beginning, he told me he wanted to make early 2000s festival, opera-rock music, like Passion Pit or Grouplove,” he says. “I was like, ‘That doesn’t make sense for what I think your qualities are. Why would you take your natural, raspy voice and distort it with synths?’ What he meant [initially] was that he wanted to make music that made him feel the same way that those bands made people feel.”

But after hearing “Belong Together” for the first time, Thomson knew that Ambor had succeeded in his mission. On the heels of his release of “Good to Be” in October 2023 — and its growing popularity on a global scale — Ambor began to tease the forthcoming new track in late December. And following a few months of building hype on TikTok, “Belong Together” arrived on streaming services on Feb. 16.

Ambor continued to stoke the fire well after its release, posting many videos on the platform of him walking the streets of major European cities while on tour and singing its dialed-up final chorus, several of which have compiled more than 10 million views each. Per Thomson, user-generated content and influencer marketing was crucial in making “Belong Together” “as big as humanly possible.”

By May 11, the single debuted at No. 87 on the Hot 100. It later reached a No. 74 high — and has spent 21 weeks and counting on the ranking. It has also reached Nos. 24 and 20 peaks on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and Pop Airplay charts, respectively. “Belong Together” has earned 141.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 610.2 million official on-demand global streams through Sept. 26, according to Luminate.

“It has been really surreal to write something that is so heartfelt and authentic to myself and then feel it resonate around the world the way it has,” Ambor reflects. “The way a song can mean something to a fan that’s different than my own experience, but it’s their own story that they’ve attached to a song of mine … that part blows my mind.”

Meredith Jenks

In August, Ambor’s debut album, Rockwood, arrived through Hundred Days/Virgin Music Group, despite some hesitation from the rest of his team to put out a full project too quickly. (Ambor notes the success of “Belong Together” helped in convincing them otherwise.) He split with the label soon after its release, and while he doesn’t divulge much on specifics, he emphasizes trusting his gut while continuing to grow his career.

“I think people sometimes get too caught in the industry of it all,” he says. “Maybe I’ll sign to a major; maybe I’ll stay independent forever. What really matters is putting out good music and meeting and talking to the fans.”

“He has the best work ethic of anyone I’ve ever met,” adds Thomson. “Mark thinks that he can be Taylor Swift, and I’m not going to stop him.”

A version of this story appears in the Oct. 5, 2024, issue of Billboard.

Four years before her fourth album, 2006’s Begin to Hope, made Regina Spektor one of the brightest stars of the ‘00s indie boom, the Russia-born American singer-songwriter was just another starving artist traipsing around New York City, playing free gigs and selling CD-Rs out of her backpack. Flashy newcomers such as The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs were bringing national attention to the exploding downtown Manhattan scene in the early ’00s, but Spektor’s syllable-stuffed piano songs were a far cry from the sneering rock that major labels were looking to sign as they scoured the streets for new talent.

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Spektor’s 2002 set Songs, her second self-released effort, was culled from 40-some songs she recorded at a friend’s studio on Christmas, simply so she wouldn’t forget them. Twelve of those (including “Samson” and “Ne Me Quitte Pas,” which she later re-recorded for Begin to Hope and 2011’s What We Saw From the Cheap Seats, respectively) became Songs, which she sold for $10 after each gig – sometimes netting enough profit to splurge on something crazy, like a modest dinner.

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When her 2003 major-label debut Soviet Kitsch — and, more importantly, Begin to Hope’s breakout hit “Fidelity” (a Billboard Hot 100 entry that appeared in a laundry list of TV shows and movies) — made Regina Spektor a national name, Songs faded into the background. It’s a shame, since Songs is something of a lost masterpiece: the work of an idiosyncratic talent bursting with ideas, pithy observations, humor and pathos about the overwhelming yet inspiring minutiae of life. (If Spektor were a character in The Great Gatsby, she would probably agree with Nick Carraway when he said, “I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life.”)

But fortunately for fans, that’s about to change. On Nov. 29, Songs will be officially released on Warner Music – newly mastered by the legendary Bob Ludwig, no less, who came out of retirement to help Songs sing. In honor of its first commercial release and 22nd anniversary, Spektor will perform the album in full (plus more) at Brooklyn’s Warsaw on Dec. 9-10.

Here, Spektor talks to Billboard about those lean but creatively fruitful days selling CD-Rs out of a backpack, getting Ludwig to briefly come out of retirement to do her a solid, and how a few generous concertgoers helped her stay motivated to keep making music,

Songs is finally officially coming out 22 years after you first self-released it – and I’m thrilled you’re playing Warsaw, which is one of my favorite venues, to celebrate it.

It’s going to be fun to visit these songs as myself now and see what it feels like. Also, it’s fun to play songs people want to hear – songs they have a connection with — so I’m excited to play the shows. Obviously, people are coming to hear that record, and the record is not long enough to be a full show.

What’s it gonna feel like to play Songs in its entirety? I don’t even know, because the songs on the record were picked from whatever 40 songs I recorded that year at my friend’s studio. And the studio was not even a real studio, it was his little post-production studio — it was just his little upright piano in the corner. Nobody works on Christmas, so that’s when we would record these sessions. I think the first title of the record — we were joking around — I was like, “We should just call it Two Jews on Christmas.” [Laughs.]

It’s going to be so interesting to even see what it feels like to play the songs in that order, because I’ve never started a show with “Samson.” For many years now, I finished shows with “Samson” — that’s going to be so weird. The version of “Samson” that’s on Songs is so much slower than the one that I recorded properly for Begin to Hope –– or whatever “properly” is, you know — and so I’m going to have to tune to that version and play it how it is on the record. I’m going to stay as true to the record as I can, because I think that’s gonna be fun for me and the audience.

Also, I was joking around with somebody on my team when we were mastering it, I was like, “Why did I write so many words? Why did I write so many chords? Why did I write so many notes?” There’s just so much work in there. I’m like, “Damn it, girl, you could have been a little bit lazier! Give Future Regina a break!”

So you recorded these songs on Christmas – was the intention to have some demos to shop around?

We did we did two of these. We did it one year, and then we did it the next year. [This is me and] my friend Joe Mendelson, who was part owner of the old Living Room on Stanton and Allen. I had two homes: one was SideWalk Cafe and one was the Living Room. They had totally different vibes and I would play both of them and I loved both of them for different reasons. But both of them shared this thing where you could go and hear somebody for free. It was really a mystery, you were sort of rolling the dice.

And in that time, I was passionate about a bunch of things, but some of my passion was coming out of certain fears. I had this terrible fear of how boring it is to just have one instrument and listen to a person sing over just one instrument: “Who could ever deal with an hour of music on one instrument?” So I tried really hard to be as diverse with my accompaniment as I possibly could. If I had a really arpeggiated song that I wrote, or it was really watery with pedal, then the next one had to be really staccato. I was just trying to create this world where I wouldn’t have to play a song next to another song that sounded the same or similar. So that was kind of an obsession.

And then I also had this other misunderstanding, I guess, that if you were playing a show again in a venue, you had to have new songs. You couldn’t just play the same songs that you had played. And because my parents were kind enough to say, “You could live at home, and you can stop pretending that you’ll ever earn enough money from your stupid day job to pay rent. Let’s just all stop pretending,” I all of a sudden had this free time, and I was just obsessed with writing songs. I was writing so, so much.

And Joe mentioned something about some song from three shows ago, and I couldn’t understand what he was talking about. I said to him, “Oh, my God, I think I remember vaguely, but I don’t remember the song, and I don’t know it anymore.” And this thing started happening where I started forgetting songs. And it was a terrible, terrible feeling to be forgetting things that you care about. So he said, “Let’s just make a standing date, and that you will write down the names of all your songs and try and practice them throughout the year — and on Christmas of every year, you’ll just come in and we’ll record all of it.”

So it didn’t come through this need of trying to shop anything or demo anything. I didn’t even think of these things as anything that you could do that with. I was under the impression that other than downtown people, who would want this anyway?

When you were selling these at your live shows back then, how much would they go for? And who was buying them?

First of all, I ended up giving a lot away. You just trade with fellow musicians out of your respective backpacks. But if I was lucky, I could sell a few of them, anywhere from one or two to three at a certain point, and I would sell them for 10 bucks. And it really made a huge difference in my life. I played this show in Hoboken, it’ll forever stay with me. My mom drove me and there was this young guy there. I guess he had seen me before and he wanted to buy a CD. I said it was $10 and then he gave me $20 and he wouldn’t take the money back. He wouldn’t take change back, and he said, “No, I want you to have this.”

And — I’m like, gonna start crying — but this thing would happen sometimes where you’d go to collect your tips, and then there would be a really large [one], somebody would have put in like 20 bucks or 40 bucks. It was like this encouragement or vote of confidence or support. It would be so much more than even just the financial. It would be like, “I went through something with you, and I want you to have this money so that you can make more of what you’re doing.”

Obviously, my parents supported me more than anybody, because there was shelter and food and laundry. But if I sold three CDs, now I could look at the menu and order something for dinner at this cafe that I played. Now I can afford to go into the city for another three nights in a row to play open mics, and take my backpack and hope that maybe I’ll sell another two. You’re going from tiny payday to tiny payday.

How were you thinking about your future at the time? Were you hoping to make it to a major label, or were you just feeling, “Well, this is my life, playing music at these downtown venues and selling CDs out of a backpack”?

Well, it’s a really good question, because I think actually at that time — I very much feared all big labels. Even when I started talking to them all, I was still very much terrified. One of the people who signed me [to Sire], Goldie, Michael Goldstone, he basically, at a certain point was like, “Why are you talking me out of signing you?” [laughs] And I was like, “Because I won’t do this, and I’m not going to do that.” I just had heard all of the horror stories, and I was very fiercely protective. I knew in my mind that the most important things were the songs to have that chance and time to develop without being under scrutiny and without everybody’s opinion in there.

When I think about musicians and artists that are starting now — forget about labels, everybody’s opinions are there all the time because of social media. You can’t get away from people’s opinions and thoughts and ideas for you and about you. That’s a hard path, because there’s something so wonderful about just being so underground and free and making your own decisions based on a feeling rather than a comment. But that being said, I think that we have to be careful. Much like when you read A Moveable Feast, all of a sudden you want to move to Paris and starve with everybody. There is definitely a magic and a nostalgia that I have — I loved that time, I was very lit up, and it was really, really creative.

And then there was another part of it that was really, really hard; it oftentimes felt endless and exhausting and confusing. Growing up is not easy for anybody, and it was part of growing up and figuring out how to be your own person in the world. And when your world is New York City, it’s pretty full-on — it doesn’t take it easy on you. I mean, just living in the Bronx and playing downtown. I lived on the subway. I could easily spend four to five hours a day on the subway, traveling to and from places, because if I couldn’t afford to eat in Manhattan, I would come back to the Bronx and then come back to Manhattan [to play again]. The reality of trying to be an artist in the world that doesn’t really support art. But the people who bought those records allowed me to live.

When you started revisiting this project, what was it like? Did it feel familiar, or like the work of a totally different person?

There was the very first re-finding of it, which was the CD-Rs that I sold at shows. They had so much interference and little things on them. I hadn’t listened to it in, whatever, 20 years and I was like, “Oh no, I can’t just put this out like this.” My friend’s studio actually was right near Times Square, so there’s a lot of interference. It wasn’t meant for live recording, really. But we were able to find an old hard drive that had original files on it. And through that, Bob Ludwig — who is mastering extraordinaire, and I’ve had the pleasure of being friends with him, and he’s mastered everything from Begin to Hope and on, and then he retired — I reached out to him. And he basically came out of retirement to help me.

[After that] I could listen to these songs instead of just obsessing with every little interference. Once that layer was gone, it’s kind of like when you look at baby pictures of yourself, or have memories of yourself at six or eight or 12. You’re not exactly that person, but in a way, you could be right there. That person is still inside you. That person is just there, but another layer grew over it, like the center of the onion.

I completely understand her [when I listen to Songs]. Some things, you’re like, “Wow, I’m really proud of you for that” or “I’m really amazed at you for that.” Versus sometimes it’s with an eye roll of like, “Oh my God, now I have to say this thing? Why did you write that?” It’s mixed. Same as Future Regina is going to be doing an eye roll about something I’m doing now, and then she’s gonna hug me into the past for something I’m doing now. We don’t know what those things are. But I absolutely recognize the person that wrote [Songs].

The NBA hosted its annual Media Day around the league on Monday (Sept. 30) to set the 2024-2025 season in motion. Players are peppered with a range of questions including one being about their summer workout playlists. New Orleans Pelicans star Zion Williamson, an avid rap fan, was asked about his playlist, which boasts a […]

The Offspring is gearing up to release their 11th studio album, Supercharged, and to celebrate, frontman Dexter Holland discussed the making of the project with Billboard’s Rania Aniftos. “We’ve done ten albums or something, so it’s like, what can you offer? You want to do something that you haven’t done before, but you don’t want […]

Damian Lillard was caught off guard when asked about GloRilla shooting her shot with him earlier this year while at Milwaukee Bucks’ media day on Monday (Sept. 30). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Lillard played it cool and let the reporter know that while there’s mutual […]

Lizzo has spent her career inspiring fans to feel confident in their bodies, but she’s also not afraid of sharing her own low moments. The 36-year-old hitmaker proved as much Monday (Sept. 30) when she shared a vulnerable video on TikTok opening up about a recent rough patch. “I overate yesterday and im feeling really […]

The 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week is less than two weeks away, taking place from Oct. 14 to 18 at the Fillmore Miami Beach and coinciding with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. 

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This year, Latin Music Week celebrates its 35th anniversary, and confirmed speakers for the star-studded event are Feid, Pepe Aguilar, J Balvin, Alejandro Sanz, Gloria Estefan, Peso Pluma, Thalia, Young Miko, Fuerza Regida’s JOP, Maria Becerra, Eden Muñoz and Yandel, among others. 

Over the past 35 years, Latin Music Week has become the one, steady foundation of Latin music in this country, becoming the single most important — and biggest — gathering of Latin artists and industry executives in the world. Initially named Latin Music Seminar, sponsored by Billboard, the event traces back to 1990, where it kicked off as a one-day event in Miami featuring a two-artist showcase and awards show. Throughout the years, it has taken place in Miami, Las Vegas and Puerto Rico, returning to Miami Beach for a fourth consecutive year in 2024.

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Some of the biggest names in Latin music history — including Celia Cruz, Selena Quintanilla, Ricky Martin, Chayanne, Tito Puente, Jenni Rivera and Emilio Estefan — have participated at Billboard Latin Music Week. Most recently, Shakira, Daddy Yankee, Bad Bunny, Karol G and Romeo Santos also joined the celebration.

In honor of the 2024 edition, Billboard curated the ultimate Latin Music Week playlist featuring more than 100 hits from this year’s panelists including Yandel & Feid’s “Yandel 150,” Gloria Estefan’s “Conga,” Alejandro Sanz’s “Corazón Partío,” and “Ella Baila Sola” by Eslabon Armado & Peso Pluma, to name a few.

Listen to the playlist below, and to register for this year’s event, go to Billboard Latin Music Week.

On Tuesday (Oct. 1), Billboard announced the launch of its latest editorial vertical, Billboard Family, a dedicated space for families seeking the best in music and entertainment.
The new hub, available at Billboard.com/family, will serve as a go-to resource for parents and children, featuring curated content designed to engage and entertain the whole family. This platform will showcase a fresh slate of editorial features, weekly roundups, chart tracking, talent-led video content and social moments.

As part of Billboard’s new editorial vertical, Lincoln will serve as the Presenting Launch Sponsor of Billboard Family, amplifying the Lincoln Aviator launch campaign through the lens of parenthood, including three branded video episodes featuring seven-time Latin Grammy winner Fonseca and his family within the Billboard Family forum. This collaboration aims to resonate with parents navigating their ambitious lives while highlighting the unique confidence and revitalization that the Lincoln Aviator SUV provides.

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The initiative will focus on how the Aviator enhances the journeys of parents, portraying a narrative that aligns with Lincoln’s brand promise of “revitalization” known as “The Power of Sanctuary.” The campaign emphasizes that experiencing the Aviator not only offers power, comfort and design, but also serves as a sanctuary for well-being and emotional uplifting.

For the Hispanic community, this concept of sanctuary transcends mere comfort; it embodies a space where individuals can be their true and best selves. Whether it’s a beautifully crafted interior to celebrate milestones with loved ones or a calm environment for making important decisions, the Aviator promises to be more than just a vehicle — it’s a personal refuge.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Lincoln on this innovative initiative,” said Mike Van, President, Billboard. “Our goal is to create content that speaks to the heart of family life, and offers audiences a glimpse into the family lives of the music community while showcasing how the Lincoln Aviator enhances those experiences with its powerful features and luxurious comfort.”

“With the new Aviator, technology takes an even larger role in helping create a relaxing, luxurious space for our clients and their families to enjoy,” said Megan McKenzie, Head of Marketing, Lincoln. “We look forward to working with Billboard and creating a unique sanctuary within the Billboard Family Forum for their audiences with our popular Lincoln Aviator.” 

As Lincoln and Billboard join forces to celebrate family and music, audiences can look forward to a compelling blend of entertainment and meaningful storytelling that elevates the message of the Aviator’s launch.

You can follow Billboard Family on Facebook and X, and find the Billboard Family landing page here.

Jon Bon Jovi, the frontman of one of rock’s most enduring bands, will take center stage with late-night host Stephen Colbert for a special evening of conversation at the 2024 Montclair Film Festival.

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The event, scheduled for Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), offers fans a rare opportunity to hear Bon Jovi reflect on his remarkable journey, both as a musician and as a philanthropist.

With more than 130 million albums sold globally and hits like “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name” that defined the sound of rock in the ‘80s, Bon Jovi’s impact on popular music is undeniable. The band’s 1986 album Slippery When Wet spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and tracks from that album still resonate with fans today.

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As the conversation unfolds, attendees can expect Colbert to delve into Bon Jovi’s experiences that led to iconic moments, including the band’s 2018 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Bon Jovi’s charitable work will also be a focal point of the evening. Through his Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, established in 2006, Bon Jovi has raised millions to help combat issues of homelessness and hunger. His innovative “pay it forward” model at his JBJ Soul Kitchens—nonprofit community restaurants—has provided over 100,000 meals to those in need, ensuring that anyone can enjoy a meal, regardless of their ability to pay.

“We are thrilled to welcome Jon Bon Jovi to the Montclair Film Festival and to share what promises to be a special evening of conversation,” said Montclair Film Artistic Director and Co-Head Tom Hall.

“As an artist who embodies empathy and community, Jon’s work represents the values that inspireeverything we do at Montclair Film. We look forward to a wonderful night.”

This appearance comes during a banner year for Bon Jovi, following the release of the Hulu docuseries Thank You, Goodnight, which charts the band’s rise from New Jersey clubs to international superstardom. The series has given fans a behind-the-scenes look at more than four decades of music, performances, and personal moments, adding fresh perspective to Bon Jovi’s celebrated career.

Tickets for the Montclair Film Festival’s Evening of Conversation with Jon Bon Jovi, hosted by Stephen Colbert, will go on sale to Montclair Film and NJPAC members on Oct. 2, with general sales beginning Oct. 4. All proceeds will benefit Montclair Film’s programs and NJPAC’s arts education initiatives, helping to support arts programming across New Jersey.

As Bon Jovi sits down with Colbert, the audience will likely be reminded of the enduring power of music and the ways in which it intersects with community activism—a theme that has been present throughout Bon Jovi’s career. With 10 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, including 2016’s This House Is Not for Sale, Jon Bon Jovi remains as relevant as ever, continuing to inspire both on stage and off.

More information about this event can also be found at montclairfilm.org.

Future is back with another huge week on Billboard’s charts. His new project, Mixtape Pluto, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated Oct. 5) with 129,00 equivalent album units earned in the United States in its opening week (Sept. 20-26), according to Luminate, and all 17 of its songs debut on the Billboard […]