Music
Page: 82
On today’s (Oct. 23) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we reach No. 8 of our list with a teen-pop phenom who created absolute pandemonium among young fans at the turn of the 2010s — and then grew with his fanbase into adult pop stardom in the decade that followed. […]
Yeezy season has returned for a third time in 2024. Following a pair of Vultures installments with Ty Dolla $ign, Ye — formerly known as Kanye West — has turned his attention from the joint projects to his forthcoming solo album titled Bully.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The rapper revealed the cover art for Bully on Instagram Wednesday (Oct. 23). Shot by Daidō Moriyama, the artwork features a black-and-white photo of someone grinning ear to ear, possibly showcasing Ye’s titanium grill.
Outpump speculates that the cover relates to “ohaguro,” which is an ancient Japanese tradition involving dyeing one’s teeth black as a symbol before exploring adulthood, as well as after marriage and for beauty.
Trending on Billboard
It’s been a busy year for Ye fans, and they’re welcoming the idea of more music to close out the year. “This album is about to be insane,” one person wrote in the post’s comment section. Another chimed in, “Three albums in one year. Amazing.”
According to journalist Touré, Kanye relocated to Tokyo and has repeatedly been spotted in Japan over the course of the last month. He even stepped out with wife Bianca Censori earlier this week to shut down rumors of their split. “Kanye is now living in Tokyo and living in a hotel hard at work on his next album Bully,” said Touré in an Oct. 11 IG post. “He’s recording the album in the hotel room. Like, all the machines are set up in the hotel room.”
He added: “It’s a concept album and he plans to be the only producer on it. Traditionally, Kanye is the product of a team, there are producers helping him, there are writers helping him, he comes with the big ideas but there’s others in. Not this time. This time, Kanye is gonna make this pretty much by himself. A fresh chapter in his life because in Tokyo he can be who he wants to be.”
Yeezy debuted “Beauty and the Beast” during his China shows, and that appears to be what he’s tapped as a lead single heading into Bully. The 47-year-old released a dreamy visual for the track on his Yeezy website last week.
Vultures 1 arrived in February and debuted atop the Billboard 200. Ye earned another No. 1 hit with “Carnival” featuring Playboi Carti and Rich the Kid topping the Billboard Hot 100 in March. Vultures 2 was released in August, and the project hit No. 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
There still isn’t a release date attached to Bully. Find the cover art below.
On Easter Monday morning, 1964, 14-year-old Marcia Griffiths stepped onto a stage for the very first time. The occasion was an annual concert held at the Carib Theater in Kingston, Jamaica. The late Philip James of vocal duo the Blues Busters, who discovered Marcia, pleaded with the concert’s promoter Byron Lee to include her in the lineup; Lee eventually agreed to let her sing one song. She rehearsed a rendition of Carla Thomas’ raw soul ballad “I’ve Got No Time to Lose” with Lee’s band The Dragonaires; some of the musicians, however, were unhappy backing an inexperienced teenager.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Taking her place onstage, Griffiths nervously awaited the song’s jangly guitar intro. As the audience grew restless, she turned around and saw the band members laughing. “Although I was a little girl, I recognized sabotage,” Griffiths reminisces, “but it must have been the voice of God inside me that said, ‘little girl, start to sing.’ So, I did, and the musicians started following me. If you closed your eyes, you would think it was Carla Thomas. Every time I made a slur like Carla did on the original song, the place went up like the roof was going lift off; when I finished, the audience chanted, ‘bring her back, bring her back,’ but I only performed one song.”
Trending on Billboard
Fast forward 60 years to the second annual Caribbean Music Awards, held on Aug. 29 at Kings Theater, Brooklyn. Marcia Griffiths, elegantly attired in a shimmering purple dress with a gilded headwrap, strode onstage to a recording of her 1968 single “Melody Life.” Presented with a lifetime achievement award by Shaggy, who called the legendary singer “a timeless symbol of love, the very essence of reggae,” Griffiths reflected on her 1964 career-launching performance, which led to a Jamaican label bidding war and her first recording contract with Studio One, Jamaica’s Motown.
“When I walked onstage in 1964, no one could have told me that I would be standing here this evening,” said Griffiths, best known to international audiences for her 1989 single “Electric Boogie,” which spawned the Electric Slide dance, and as one of the I-Three alongside Rita Marley, Bob’s wife, and Judy Mowatt, who sang background vocals for Bob Marley. Griffiths thanked God for preserving her and concluded by reciting the refrain from her 1993 track that summarizes her ongoing commitment to her craft: “I shall sing as long as I live.”
There isn’t another Jamaican female artist who can claim the professional longevity Marcia Griffiths, 74, still enjoys. Griffiths was the headliner at the Oracabessa Festival in Queens, New York City, on Sept. 1; she then traveled to Brazil to perform two shows and in December she is one of the marquee acts performing aboard Damian Marley’s annual Welcome to Jamrock reggae cruise. Currently, the Kingston-born legend is in Jamaica preparing for her 60-year retrospective concert, Marcia Griffiths and Friends, to be held at Hope Gardens, Kingston, on Nov. 3. “I have collaborated with over 50 artists, singers and deejays (Jamaican patois rappers) so I’ll be performing with one or two of my collaborators from each decade,” Griffiths tells Billboard via Zoom. The lineup includes Shaggy, Tessanne Chin (season 5 winner of NBC’s The Voice), Tanya Stephens, deejays Busy Signal and Cutty Ranks and many surprise guest artists spanning different generations of Jamaican music. The program will include a tribute to the I-Three, with Shuga and Yashemabeth McGregor (daughter of Judy Mowatt and Freddie McGregor) singing alongside Marcia. All artists will be backed by an orchestra under the musical direction of celebrated Jamaican saxophonist Dean Fraser. “I will only see my 60th anniversary once, so I want to make the best of it,” declares Marcia.
Shaggy and Marcia Griffiths onstage at the Caribbean Music Awards on Aug 29, 2024.
Steve James
The undisputed queen of reggae’s vocals sound as pristine, controlled and soulfully eloquent today as they did on her 1960s recordings for Studio One, the recording studio/record label founded by the late Seymour Clement “Sir Coxsone” Dodd. Regarded as Jamaica’s Motown because so many Jamaican luminaries recorded their initial hits there, including Burning Spear, The Heptones and The Wailers, Studio One is where Griffiths met two men who would have profound importance in her life: Bob Marley and Bob Andy (born Keith Anderson). Marcia and Bob Marley initially collaborated on the mid-60s R&B nugget “Oh My Darling.” However, it was the other Bob, not as well-known as Marley yet considered one of Jamaica’s greatest songwriters, who wrote most of Marcia’s biggest hits at Studio One, including “Truly,” “Feel Like Jumping” and “Melody Life,” all staples in her concerts to this day.
Bob Andy and Marcia’s personal relationship, as conveyed in their charming duet, “Always Together,” a gorgeous melding of Bob’s warm, expressive tone with Marcia’s exquisite timbre, shielded Marcia from lurking exploiters. “It wasn’t easy in a male dominated industry. God placed Bob Andy so that I met him at a young stage of my life, and we became intimate friends,” she explains. “Bob was at every stage show, always in the studio. He protected and advised me, saving me from many things.”
Like other hitmakers at Studio One, Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths enjoyed their time there, despite being paid pittances, if they were paid at all. Moving over to producer Harry Johnson a.k.a. Harry J, Bob and Marcia continued recording as a duo, comparable to Motown’s Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. Their reggae covers of Nina Simone’s “Young, Gifted and Black” and The Changin’ Times’ “Pied Piper,” released by Trojan Records in the U.K. (Trojan overdubbed the Jamaican recordings with strings and lush orchestral arrangements), spent 25 weeks on the British national charts between 1970 and 1971, peaking at Nos. 5 and 11, respectively, which significantly elevated reggae’s presence in the U.K. mainstream. Yet Bob and Marcia didn’t receive any financial returns. “We were signed to Trojan, but we recorded the songs for Harry J. When we asked Trojan ‘where are our royalties?’ they referred us to Harry J, and Harry J referred us back to Trojan. One day we were at Harry J’s studio, Harry had just bought a Mercedes Benz; jokingly, one of the artists asked Bob Andy, ‘brother Bob, is that your Benz?’ Bob answered, ‘well, my money buy it, but it’s not mine,’” Marcia shares with a sigh, “so we never got anything.” Bob and Marcia’s careers took separate paths as the 1970s progressed, but they reunited for performances over the ensuing years and remained close friends until Bob Andy’s death on March 27, 2020. Bob Andy will be singing alongside Griffiths, via a video appearance, at her 60th anniversary concert.
In 1973, Coxsone Dodd asked Griffiths and Rita Marley to provide harmonies alongside Judy Mowatt on a record by singer Horace Andy. Marcia had an upcoming three-night engagement in Kingston, and she invited Rita and Judy to sing backup; together they performed a few songs by The Sweet Inspirations, an American R&B vocal group. The audience’s overwhelming response to their vocal synchronizations convinced them to form a trio, which Griffiths named I-Three. “When I named the group, I said, ‘Let’s call ourselves I-Three.’ Rita said, ‘I-Three?’ And I said, ‘It’s like we three, but instead, I-Three because of the Rasta consciousness.’ A lot of people refer to us as the I-Threes, but it is really I-Three.”
Meanwhile, with the recent departure of Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh from The Wailers, Bob Marley recruited the I-Three to provide harmonies, commencing with his Natty Dread album in 1974 and concluding with 1983’s posthumously issued Confrontation. However, it’s primarily Marcia’s supporting vocals that are heard on Marley’s Exodus (1977) and Kaya (1978), both recorded in London. In addition to their soaring, gospel-tinged voices, the I-Three’s regal attire and graceful choreography added a stunning visual element to Marley’s concerts. The trio toured the world with Marley until his final performance in Pittsburgh, Penn., on Sept. 23, 1980, just eight months before his passing on May 11, 1981.
Griffiths expresses profound gratitude for the life-changing insights she gained working with Marley, which impacted her approach to music making and, ultimately, her understanding of the music business. “Bob Marley was truly sent by the Almighty God. He was on a mission to get his messages out to the world. That’s when I realized your utterances in songs take on an energy that manifests,” Griffiths proclaims. “When I saw how seriously Bob took his music, I started to look deeply at the business part of the industry, which I had ignored. I realized the publishing for the biggest song I wrote, ‘Steppin’ Out of Babylon’ [from her acclaimed 1979 album Steppin’] was registered to someone else.” For many years Griffiths didn’t receive any royalties for “Electric Boogie,” which reached No. 51 on the Hot 100 and remains the best-selling single by a Jamaican female reggae artist. Bunny Wailer wrote the song, but the beat was created on a rhythm box Marcia purchased in Canada. “Bunny said he told the record company to give me 50% of the publishing because the music is mine, but he claimed 100%,” Griffiths says. “I have since reclaimed these songs, but I should have been capitalizing on them when they were really selling.”
Griffiths enjoyed the recent biopic Bob Marley: One Love, which spans the Dec. 3, 1976, assassination attempt on Marley’s life, his subsequent 14-month self-imposed exile period in England and his triumphant return to Jamaica, headlining the One Love Peace Concert on April 22, 1978. However, she had hoped to see a greater representation of “things that Bob did to teach, educate and unite us all, there were many other things that could have been shown.”
Griffiths was pleased with Jamaican vocalist Naomi Cowan’s portrayal of her in the film. Naomi says Jamaica’s long-reigning first lady of song continues to inspire the island’s young female vocalists. “When I started my reggae career, I pulled inspiration from Marcia, and covered her songs in my set,” Cowan explained. “Marcia has transitioned through many time periods and she’s still working. I can’t think of one female singer in our space who doesn’t see her as the prototype; she has cemented herself as a living legend.”
Griffiths’ storied association with Bob Marley has somewhat overshadowed her exceptional solo work throughout the 1970s. Her 1978 album Naturally is widely considered a masterpiece of Jamaica’s roots reggae golden era, with her flawlessly executed, poignant vocals supported by The Revolutionaries’ indelible reggae grooves and Sonia Pottinger’s sparkling production. Standout tracks include “Dreamland,” an idyllic interpretation of American group the El Tempos’ 1963 original “My Dream Island”; an R&B-tinged remake of Bob Andy’s rocksteady repatriation anthem “I’ve Got to Go Back Home”; and the album’s most striking cut, “Survival (Is the Game),” on which Griffiths compassionately imparts words of solace to women in abusive relationships. “The song’s lyrics [written by Brent Dowe of the Jamaican rocksteady trio The Melodians] say, ‘You push me ’round like I’m just a clown/you wanna see me suffer…but I’ll get on my feet again.’ I was really going through some changes and many sisters went through the same thing. I’ve seen men abuse women, whether verbal or physical, so that song is a tribute to my sisters, and they love it so much,” she shares.
Griffiths is one of the few artists of the pioneering reggae generation who made a successful transition into the computerized dancehall era. With the burgeoning digital technology of the 1990s, Penthouse Records owner/producer Donovan Germain reworked classic reggae riddims and paired her silky vocals with the period’s most popular deejays, including Tony Rebel (“Ready to Go”), Cutty Ranks (“Half Idiot”), Buju Banton (“Closer”) and singer Beres Hammond (“Live On”), in addition to Marcia’s solo recordings, such as the enchanting “Land of Love.”
Griffiths has also recorded with numerous Jamaican artists who’ve made their mark in the 21st century including singer Da’Ville (“All My Life”), Busy Signal (“Automatic (Keeping It Real)”) and sing-jay Queen Ifrica (“Round and Round”). Plus, Chronixx wrote Marcia’s 2018 single, “Queen of Paradise,” produced by Sly & Robbie. Griffiths’ multigenerational appeal is one of the most treasured aspects of her illustrious career — or as she calls it, her divine journey. “God has blessed me because since I started, there isn’t a year that I’m not busy traveling, performing and releasing songs,” says Griffiths, who is currently working on two albums. “I may not have gotten my financial rewards but to cut across age barriers and inspire 90% of the women in the business today brings a spiritual satisfaction that is priceless.”
DJ Cassidy and Marcia Griffiths at the Caribbean Music Awards on Aug 29, 2024.
Steve James
Dua Lipa performed a special one-off show at London’s historic Royal Albert Hall on Oct. 17, with the British-Albanian artist and her band joined by a 53-piece orchestra, 14 choristers and, most memorably, Sir Elton John for a performance of “Cold Heart,” the pair’s 2021 smash hit. And now, fans who didn’t get to attend will get to watch it from home.
The show was filmed for a TV concert program set to air later this year. Writing on her Instagram, Dua revealed that the concert will air on CBS in the U.S. and on ITV in the U.K., adding, “I wanted to remember this show forever so we captured it to share with you too”.
Trending on Billboard
An Evening with Dua Lipa — featuring performances of some of her greatest hits — is set to premiere Dec. 15, and is produced by Fulwell 73 Productions and Radical22. Executive producers for the special include Ben Winston and Sally Wood (Fulwell 73), and Dua Lipa, Dukagjin Lipa and Peter Abbott (Radical22). The concert was commissioned for ITV by Lily Wilson.
During the concert, Dua performed her 2024 album Radical Optimism in full with new arrangements provided by The Heritage Orchestra, conducted by Ben Foster. The show saw live debuts for songs such as “End of n Era” and “French Exit,” as well as singles “Houdini” and “Training Season.” Her entry to the Barbie soundtrack, “Dance Rhe Night,” also got its first live airing.
The setlist also contained performances of “Don’t Start Now” and “Levitating” from her 2020 album Future Nostalgia, and “Be The One” from her 2017 self-titled debut. In the show’s encore, Sir Elton John appeared to duet with Dua on “Cold Heart” to a rapturous response.
Alongside the performance, the show will also include interviews with Dua reflecting on her career and 2024 to date.
This past weekend, Dua performed with musical icon Cher at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio. The pair sang “Believe” on the night when Cher was inducted by actress Zendaya, who called her “so iconic, she only needs one name.”
Dua Lipa will head to Asia in November to continue her Radical Optimism tour before it hits the U.S. and Europe next summer.
See Dua Lipa’s announcement and the trailer for An Evening With Dua Lipa below:
Justin Timberlake rescheduled the next week of shows on his Forget Tomorrow World Tour on Tuesday (Oct. 22) after revealing to fans that he’s been battling a couple of nagging ailments. “Hey guys – I haven’t been feeling great the last few shows and turns out I have bronchitis and laryngitis,” the singer wrote on […]
Jason Kelce is setting the record straight after the internet teased him for supposedly taking a snooze during Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour show in Miami, which the retired Philadelphia Eagles center attended sans Travis Kelce over the weekend.
On the latest episode of New Heights posted Wednesday (Oct. 23) — five days after Jason and his family caught the pop star’s first of three performances in Florida — the elder Kelce brother cleared his name when discussing a viral photo of him sitting down during the show, his eyes closed. “What is that all about?” Travis teased at first. “The show is absolutely electric. It’s the greatest show that’s ever been on stage, and you’re over here falling asleep?”
“Travis, you know I didn’t take a nap,” Jason responded, explaining that he’d actually been fully entranced by Swift’s music when the photo was taken. “I’m just sitting here, and I’m just, like, feeling it. I’m tapping my thigh, in the moment, listening to the song. Then, all of a sudden, I go on Twitter and I see this f–king picture. I’m like, ‘What the f–k! I’m not even sleeping!’”
Trending on Billboard
To further prove his point, the Monday Night Countdown anchor emphasized that the “Anti-Hero” singer’s concerts would have been nearly impossible to sleep through. “This Miami show was incredible,” he told Travis. “It was on another level. I texted you halfway through it like, ‘Dude, this rain. Tay is killing it.’”
“When Reputation came on and she came out in the new outfit and the rain was coming down, the place could’ve f–king erupted,” Jason continued. “I mean, it did. The amount of energy was insane.”
“I had all of the FOMO in the world with the entire family and a lot of our friends being there,” added Travis, who was busy helping the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers over the weekend. “I had a lot of friends that were also down by the stage … they were saying the same thing that you’re saying, that the Miami stadium was just incredible. I wish I was there.”
As mentioned by the brothers, Swift’s shows at Hard Rock Stadium were indeed memorable. Her first and third performances were made more intense by heavy rain falling on the venue — “Shout out to Tay Tay for powering through a few rain shows there,” Travis gushed on the podcast — and fans went wild when the 14-time Grammy winner debuted a brand new Reputation outfit for the first time in the Eras trek’s nearly two-year run.
“I knew I was going to be savoring every moment up on that stage but the bewildering passion of those crowds really blew my mind,” Swift reflected of the shows on Instagram Oct. 22. “I got some new outfits, and it’s always nice when the crowd notices that 😁 You guys are just the best.”
Watch the Kelce brothers discuss Swift’s Miami Eras Tour shows above.
The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated Nov. 2, we look at our potential first new No. 1 in months, as a pair of big new releases compete with Shaboozey’s 15-week champ to claim the top spot.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (American Dogwood/EMPIRE/Magnolia Music): The song to beat on the Hot 100 for the last three-plus months has been Shaboozey’s hip-hop-assisted country anthem, which spends its 15th week in pole position on this week’s chart (dated Oct. 26). With one more week on top, it would match the 16-week run of Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” as the longest-reigning Hot 100 No. 1 of the 2020s, while also moving into a four-way tie with “Last Night,” Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” and Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s Justin Bieber-featuring “Despacito” for the second-longest-lasting No. 1 in the chart’s complete history.
The song, of course, remains a top performer across the Hot 100 component charts, as it tops Radio Songs, Streaming Songs and Digital Song Sales this week – its third time tripling up on the three listings. It is beginning to slide in totals, however, slipping 2% in radio airplay audience impressions, 6% in official streams and 8% in digital song sales, according to Luminate – meaning that its hold on the top spot is increasingly vulnerable, should a really big new song come along to challenge for the throne. (Meanwhile, a second single, “Highway,” from the singer-songwriter’s album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going has just been sent to radio.)
Trending on Billboard
Shaboozey isn’t laying down for anyone, though – and in fact, he made his most high-profile appearance of the season on Tuesday night, performing “A Bar Song” on TNT before the NBA season officially tipped off with Knicks-Celtics.
Morgan Wallen, “Love Somebody” (Big Loud/Mercury/Republic): It would almost be poetic if the song that prevented – or at least delayed – Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song” from tying the 16-week mark of “Last Night” was actually by Morgan Wallen himself. Wallen should have a chance to go for the block next week following the Friday (Oct. 18) release of his new single “Love Somebody” — his follow-up to the top 10 hit “Lies Lies Lies” — which he extensively teased on TikTok and through live performances, and has an uptempo energy more reminiscent of his recent Hot 100-topping Post Malone teamup “I Had Some Help.”
The song is off to a great start both on streaming — where it’s been No. 1 on Apple Music’s real time chart essentially since its release day, and debuted at No. 1 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA listing (though it’s since slipped to No. 6 there) — and in sales, as it’s been in the top two on iTunes for most of the tracking week. It’s also off to a hot start on radio, with 11.5 million in all-format airplay audience in its first four days (Oct. 18-21), including 10.2 million from reporters to the Country Airplay chart, where it will challenge for an extremely rare debut in the top 10. (He’d be in familiar territory there, however, as both “Lies” and “Help” are currently residing in the top 10.)
Will it be enough to knock off “A Bar Song”? It could be a close race, coming down to the final days – so we’ll see if Wallen and his team have any aces up their sleeve to try to protect their “Last Night” mark. (A Thursday Night Football appearance on Amazon Prime, perhaps?)
ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, “APT.” (Atlantic): A high-profile Bruno Mars pop team-up gets off to a modestly successful start before growing throughout the week and ending up an unexpected challenger for a debut in the Hot 100’s top tier. Sound familiar? Well, just a couple months ago, it was the early story for “Die With a Smile,” Mars’ teamup with fellow pop megastar Lady Gaga, which ultimately debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100 and has spent the first nine weeks of its chart run in the top 10. Now, it’s déjà vu all over again for Mars – though this time with a duet partner with much less established chart history than Gaga.
“APT.,” Mars’ much-promoted collab with BLACKPINK solo star ROSÉ, debuted at No. 11 on Spotify’s Daily Top Songs USA chart for Friday (Oct. 18) — but by Sunday, it had bounded to No. 1, where it has stayed since. (The song has also been growing on Apple Music, but has yet to crack the real-time chart’s top 50 as of posting.) The song is also selling well, currently residing at No. 3 on iTunes, and is aiming to debut on the Pop Airplay chart after its first week of tracking – which would make it ROSÉ’s first entry on the chart as a soloist. (Her solo history on the Hot 100 has also been relatively muted, with her “On the Ground” peaking at No. 70 – though she’s of course reached the chart’s top 20 as a member of BLACKPINK.)
The song might have started a little too slow to be a real contender for No. 1 next week in its debut – but it could be a second top 10 hit for Mars this year, and if it keeps growing like this, we might still be talking about it in future Contenders columns.
Kelsea Ballerini announced the dates for a 2025 U.S. tour in support of her Patterns album on Wednesday (Oct. 23), a 30-city aren trek that is slated to kick off on Jan. 21 in Grand Rapids, MI at the Van Andel Arena.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The “Cowboys Cry Too” singer revealed the dates for her first all-arena headlining outing in an Instagram post, writing, “this ain’t my first rodeo (but it IS my first arena tour!!!!!!) i genuinely can’t wait to be back on the road with you in 2025 and sing our lil hearts out together.”
Fans can sign up now for early access to tickets here, with pre-sales starting on Oct. 29 at 10 a.m. local time, followed by a general on-sale on Nov. 1 beginning at 10 a.m. local time. Ballerini is gearing up for a sold-out gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Oct. 29 to celebrate the upcoming (Oct. 25) release date of Patterns, the follow-up to her 2022 LP Subject to Change. There will also be an artist pre-sale on Oct. 29 beginning at 12 p.m. local time; fans can register for access to the artist pre-sale here.
Trending on Billboard
“PATTERNS is an album about taking inventory of self and life as it is, moving through the things that need changing, and celebrating the wins along the way,” said Ballerini in a statement. “Writing this record really was just one big beautiful conversation with myself, Alysa (Vanderheym), Karen (Fairchild), Hillary (Lindsey) and Jessie Jo (Dillon). THAT is what I want to bring into my show…a night (well, a lot of nights) where we come together and have the greatest night dancing while unpacking all of it. With confetti and costume changes, of course.”
The 30-city Kelsea Ballerini Live on Tour trek featuring support from MaRynn Taylor and Maisie Peters will take the singer to Chicago, Milwaukee, Nashville, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Philadelphia, Boston, Tampa, Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix and Las Vegas before wrapping up on March 30 at the Ball Arena in Denver. In keeping with her commitment to support mental health charities, the singer is donating $1 from every ticket sold to her Feel Your Way Through Foundation, which aims to lessen the stigma around conversations about mental health.
Check out the dates for Ballerini’s 2025 North American tour below:
Jan. 21 — Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
Jan. 23 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
Jan. 24 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
Jan. 25 — Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
Jan. 29 — Duluth, GA @ Gas South Arena
Jan. 31 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Feb. 1 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
Feb. 4 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
Feb. 6 — Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center
Feb. 7 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
Feb. 8 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
Feb. 10 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
Feb. 13 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
Feb. 14 — Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
Feb. 15 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
Feb. 18 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
Feb. 20 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
Feb. 22 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
Feb. 23 — Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Fla
Feb. 26 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
March 13 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
March 14 — Spokane, WA @ Spokane Arena
March 15 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
March 18 — Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
March 21 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena
March 22 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena San Diego
March 25 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
March 28 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
March 29 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Delta Center
March 30 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
Billboard’s inaugural Top Movie Songs chart, powered by Tunefind (a Songtradr company), is here, and Bee Gees’ “Tragedy” claims the first No. 1 spot after its synch in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Rankings for the Top Movie Songs chart are based on song and film data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of September 2024. The ranking includes newly released films from the preceding two months.
Billboard has previously partnered with Tunefind on the Top TV Songs chart, which tracks usages each month of music in television shows. Gracie Abrams’ “Close to You,” from Emily in Paris, is the latest No. 1.
Trending on Billboard
“Tragedy” reigns as one of five songs featured in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice on the first Top Movie Songs tally. The film, a sequel to the 1988 favorite Beetlejuice, was released on Sept. 6 and again stars Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara alongside franchise newcomers Jenna Ortega, Willem Dafoe and more.
In September 2024, “Tragedy,” which peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1979, earned 3.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams and earned 2,000 downloads, according to Luminate.
“Tragedy” also featured in one of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s pre-release trailers.
Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” (No. 5; 6.1 million streams, 1,000 downloads), Richard Marx’s “Right Here Waiting” (No. 6; 4.2 million streams, 1,000 downloads) and a pair of versions of “MacArthur Park” (Richard Harris’ at No. 9 with 1.2 million streams and 1,000 downloads, Donna Summer’s at No. 10 with 750,000 streams and 1,000 downloads) supplement the Beetlejuice Beetlejuice onslaught on the inaugural Top Movie Songs.
Like “Tragedy,” the other four songs also reached the Hot 100 in their time. “Margaritaville” peaked at No. 8 in 1977, Buffett’s top-performing hit on the chart. Marx’s “Right Here Waiting” ruled for three weeks in 1989. Harris’ rendition of “MacArthur Park” peaked at No. 2 in 1968, and Summer’s was a three-week leader a decade later in 1978.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice topped the box office in its first three weeks of release.
One other movie notches more than one song on the September 2024 ranking: It Ends With Us, released Aug. 9, which boasts the Nos. 2 and 3. Starring Blake Lively, the movie features, among others, synchs of Taylor Swift’s “My Tears Ricochet” and Post Malone’s White Iverson,” which appear at Nos. 2 (12.9 million streams, 1,000 downloads) and 3 (13.4 million streams), respectively, representing a decidedly more updated flair versus Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s largely ’60s, ‘70s and ‘80s soundtrack.
See the full top 10, also featuring music from Transformers One, Cuckoo and Speak No Evil, below.
Rank, Song, Artist, Movie1. “Tragedy,” Bee Gees, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice2. “My Tears Ricochet,” Taylor Swift, It Ends With Us3. “White Iverson,” Post Malone, It Ends With Us4. “If I Fall,” Quavo, Ty Dolla $ign & ARE WE DREAMING, Transformers One5. “Margaritaville,” Jimmy Buffet, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice6. “Right Here Waiting,” Richard Marx, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice7. “Inside Out,” Martin Dupont, Cuckoo8. “Black Velvet,” Alannah Myles, Speak No Evil9. “MacArthur Park,” Richard Harris, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice10. “MacArthur Park,” Donna Summer, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
What a long strange trip it’s been, indeed.
Grateful Dead, a band that was never even nominated for a Grammy, and which became one of the most legendary live acts in history despite having a grand total of one top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, will honored as the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year. The 34th annual Persons of the Year benefit gala will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Friday, Jan. 31, 2025, two nights before the 67th annual Grammy Awards at Crypto.com Arena.
Grateful Dead is the third band to receive the honor, following Fleetwood Mac in 2018 and Aerosmith in 2020. Marking the band’s 60th anniversary in 2025, original members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh and Bobby Weir will be recognized for their contributions to music, their philanthropic efforts and their pioneering role in fostering communities through their concerts and activism. The event will also include posthumous tributes to Jerry Garcia, one of the band’s founders, who died in 1995 at age 53.
Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh and Weir released an extended joint statement about the honor. Here it is, in full:
Trending on Billboard
“It’s simple: we all need music. It speaks to each of us, offering what we need to face what life presents—enhancing our joys, helping us spread them, and making our sorrows easier to bear. We can’t imagine a world without it. As our ol’ pal, Jerry, used to say, ‘You get some, you give some back,’ a tremendously effective way to share those benefits.
“While we can’t prove that the Muse—the force behind what we do—is working to build a support system for the show, over sixty years in music has taught us that it takes a lot of dedicated people to bring everything to life. Each person behind the scenes has honed their skills to meet the many needs of the show. Without them, it wouldn’t be what the Muse intends, and each of them is essential, pouring their hearts and spirits into it.
“We also want to recognize the community of Dead Heads for their unwavering support over the years—we wouldn’t be here without you.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized as MusiCares Persons of the Year. This honor is truly a testament to the legacy of the music, which has always been bigger than us—it’s about the connection between us, the crew, and all those who’ve been on this long strange trip. It’s not just about what we create, but about making sure the people behind it, behind us every night, the ones who quietly make it all happen, get the support they need to keep going, no matter what life throws at them. We’re grateful to stand with MusiCares and hope everyone continues to support this vital mission to ensure music thrives in perpetuity.”
Formed in 1965, Grateful Dead is one of the most influential bands in American history, renowned for their distinctive blend of rock, folk, jazz and avant-garde music. In December, the month before the MusiCares honor, Grateful Dead will be included in the 47th class of the Kennedy Center Honorees, alongside Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, Francis Ford Coppola and the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Dead’s final tally of 2,318 concerts remains a world record. An album recorded at their Barton Hall Concert at Cornell University in 1977 was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2011.
As noted, the band never received a Grammy nomination, but it has two recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame: their back-to-back 1970 studio albums Workingman’s Dead (1970) and American Beauty. The band also received the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
The Dead was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994, the year before Garcia died.
The band has made the Billboard 200 with a staggering 124 titles. The highest-charting was its 1987 Arista album In the Dark, which reached No. 6. That album also spawned the band’s only top 10 hit on the Hot 100, “Touch of Grey.” (The band’s signature song, “Truckin’,” was its second-highest single, reaching No. 64 in 1971.)
In February, the band broke the record for most top 40-charting albums on the Billboard 200 since the chart began publishing on a regular weekly basis in March 1956. It has since added two more top 40 albums, for a record-extending total of 61.
The MusiCares Person of the Year tribute ceremony is one of the most prestigious events held during Grammy Week. It includes a cocktail reception, followed by a dinner and tribute concert.
Since its inception in 1991, the Person of the Year gala has raised funds to support MusiCares’ health and human services programs, which offer physical and mental health care, addiction recovery, preventive clinics, unforeseen personal emergencies, and disaster relief to music professionals.
Five-time Grammy winner Don Was will serve as musical director for the event. The gala will again be produced by live event broadcast outfit Lewis & Clark, comprised of Joe Lewis and R.A. Clark. They also oversaw last year’s gala honoring Jon Bon Jovi. AEG is the event’s principal sponsor.
“MusiCares is proud to honor the Grateful Dead at the 2025 Persons of the Year Gala,” Laura Segura, executive director of MusiCares, said in a statement. “Their legacy transcends music, having built a community of fans and collaborators that embody the spirit of connection and support, something that is deeply aligned with MusiCares’ mission. The band’s passion for the arts and philanthropy, along with their enduring commitment to social causes, has made a lasting impact that goes beyond the stage. It is a privilege to celebrate their contributions to both music and humanity.”
Beyond their musical achievements, Grateful Dead members have made significant contributions to philanthropic causes. Garcia, Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh, and Weir have all supported efforts ranging from environmental conservation and mental health to music education and social justice. Initiatives like Garcia’s involvement with the Rex Foundation, Hart’s work in music therapy and brain health, Weir’s advocacy for addressing climate change and combating poverty, Kreutzmann’s ocean conservation efforts, and Lesh’s Unbroken Chain Foundation underscore the band’s commitment to making a difference beyond the stage.
Tables and tickets are available for purchase at http://personoftheyear.musicares.org/. For more information about the event or sponsorship opportunities, visit MusiCares.org or email personoftheyear@musicares.org.