Music
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JoJo Siwa was successfully Punk’d. Rebranded as Punk You, producer Sophie Watts and entrepreneur Joe White have brought back the beloved MTV prank show with the help of Punk’d co-creator Jason Goldberg, and the “Karma” singer is the latest celebrity victim. In a 11-minute clip shared over the weekend, the 21-year-old entertainer is sitting in the back […]
The second round of 2024 MAMA Awards performers have been announced, including a major return from a powerhouse K-pop star.
Entertainment company CJ ENM announced on Monday (Oct. 21) that G-DRAGON is set to take the stage at the Japan ceremony on Nov. 23, marking nine years since his last performance in 2015 alongside his fellow BIGBANG members.
Additionally, BOYNEXTDOOR and PLAVE will perform on Nov. 22, while G)I-DLE and BIBI will hit the stage on Nov. 23.
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The three-day event, which celebrates the brightest stars in K-pop, will kick off on Nov. 21 at the Hollywood Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the first time, where KATSEYE, ILLIT, RIIZE, J.Y. Park and TWS were previously announced to perform. The awards ceremony will then take place at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on November 22 and 23, with previously revealed performers ENHYPEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, IVE, ME:I and TREASURE performing on the first day and Aespa, INI, ZEROBASEONE, LEE Young Ji and MEOVV taking the stage on the second day.
This year’s MAMA Awards, presented by Visa, will feature the concept of “Big Blur: What Is Real?,” reflecting the growing trend of blurred boundaries between industries, culture, music genres and technology. In correspondence with the theme, the ceremony will “present surreal but real experiences and showcase visually captivating performances through the convergence of art and technology,” per a press release.
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See the full list of 2024 MAMA Awards nominees here. The eligibility period ranged from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024, and the nominees were decided on based on an evaluation of global music data as well as a panel of specialists.
The next ticket sales for the Japan event will be available from October 22 to October 26 via Qoo10.jp, while tickets for the U.S. event will also be available starting at 4 p.m. PST on October 22 via Ticketmaster.
“Scarface the movie did more than Scarface the rapper to me.”
That’s what Jay-Z rapped towards the end of “Ignorant S—” featuring Philly’s Beanie Sigel from his 2007 album American Gangster.
During an appearance on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast to plug his new memoir Sonny Boy, the legendary actor Al Pacino talked about how the audience helped turn the remake of the 1932 film of the same name into a cultural phenomenon after it was initially panned by critics and Hollywood insiders. Pacino’s co-star Steven Bauer, who played Manolo, once said director Martin Scorsese warned them about the possible response during the movie’s premiere. “At the premiere Martin Scorsese turned around in the middle of the film, and he said, ‘You guys are great — but be prepared, because they’re going to hate it in Hollywood.’ He said that to me and he didn’t know me from Adam. “And I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because it’s about them.’”
“I was surprised that it had that reaction,” Pacino said after admitting that he had lost interest in acting at the time. “The audiences liked it. Took a while.” Adding, “Hip-hop just got it. They understood it. They embraced it, the rappers. And then the next thing you know, VHS is going out and more people are seeing it. Plus, we’re on the records, these rappers. And then it just carried and it kept going and going.”
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Directed by Brian De Palma, and starring Al Pacino in a role that revitalized his already storied career, Scarface has been one of the hip-hop community’s favorite films since its release in 1983. Those from the inner city and marginalized communities saw themselves in Tony Montana’s rise to power as a Cuban immigrant during Miami’s cocaine glory days in the early ’80s. This feeling was depicted in 2002’s Paid in Full, the movie loosely based on the lives of Harlem kingpins Rich Porter, AZ Faison, and Alpo Martinez as they too rose from nothing to becoming three of the most influential drug dealers in American pop culture.
The scene shows Ace (played by Wood Harris) narrating as he’s in a packed movie theater during a showing of Scarface. “Things really got hot in Harlem when Scarface came to town,” he says as the audience around him cheers on Montana’s antics. “It’s like n—s love seeing a poor ass Cuban just blow up to be “the man,” all by himself.
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Along with Brooklyn’s Jay-Z, Queens group Mobb Deep, Staten Island’s Wu-Tang Clan, and Texas’ Scarface all have famously sampled or referenced the movie in some form or another over the course of their respective careers.
You can check out the full convo here.
Ariana Grande is explaining how she remembers an encounter with Elvira after the Mistress of the Dark called out the pop star for an unpleasant experience. In a viral video circulating on YouTube and TikTok from a recent event, the actress, born Cassandra Peterson, said one of her worst celebrity encounters was with Grande after the singer and her family attended […]
In one of their first performances nearly two decades ago, a modest gig along the banks of the Nile in Egypt, Cairokee played to a silent crowd – no applause, no cheers. Reflecting on this moment in a recent interview, Cairokee’s lead singer Amir Eid shared this story to illustrate the mindset that has defined the band from the start. The band didn’t interpret the audience’s silence as failure; instead, they heard the hum of something new. Rather than retreat, they pushed forward, knowing deep within that they were planting the first seeds of a new musical landscape. What began that night wasn’t just a performance. It was a turning point for Arabic indie bands, signaling the potential to rise from the underground and become charting artists with a sound that would echo far beyond the river’s shores.
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Fast forward to today. These echoes eventually reached Europe and North America, where Cairokee embarked on various successful tours. The first one, in 2019, was followed by 2022’s tour which saw them perform in cities like New York, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. More recently, they completed a multi-city tour across Europe, the U.S. and Canada, which wrapped up on Sept. 30, further solidifying their global presence. Meanwhile in August 2024, at the Alamain Festival on Egypt’s North Coast, they sold out a show of upwards of 27,000 fans, suggesting their echoes have become something of a roar, reverberating globally.
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Founded in 2003, and led by singer-songwriter and guitarist Amir Eid, the Egyptian rock-pop band has maintained its original band members with Tamer Hashem on drums, Sherif Hawary on lead guitar, Adam El Alfy on bass and Sherif Mostafa on keys. While their early music carried political undertones, it was in 2011, during Egypt’s revolution, that Cairokee’s breakthrough single, “Sout El Horeya” (The Voice of Freedom), turned them into a voice of a generation, where the song became an anthem for Egypt’s youth and later found resonance with youth culture around the Arab region.
Cairokee’s Momentous Discography
In the time since, Cairokee has released six additional studio albums, each evolving musically: Wana Maa Nafsy Aaed (When I Sit Alone, 2012), Nas W Nas (Some People, and Others, 2015), El Sekka Shemal (Wrong Way Blues, 2014), Noaata Beida (A Drop of White, 2017), The Ugly Ducklings (2019) and Roma (2022), along with two compilations of their biggest hits. While every album carries with it Cairokee’s sonic fingerprint — largely driven by lead singer Amir’s Eid’s distinctive vocal quality — over time they broadened their sound to include a mix of rock, pop, elements of hip-hop and traditional Arabic sonic textures, showcasing their versatility.
In many ways, Cairokee have often been like a mirror to the times in which they exist, reflecting the sentiment of not only Egypt’s youth, but millennials and Gen Z across the Arab world. They weren’t the only band to launch at the time, alongside them we saw the rise of Massar Egbari, Jadal, Adonis, to name a few, but Cairokee have managed to achieve a level of pop and mainstream success with several songs finding a home on Billboard Arabia’s charts.
In early albums like Matloob Zaeem (A Leader is Wanted), we hear the political undertones they were first known for, particularly in songs like the title track, or “Ethbat Makanak” (Hold Your Position) and “Ehna El Shaab” (We Are the People). Musically, this album was driven by Amir and Hawary’s swirling soft rock guitar licks and riffs and sardonic political commentary. We find this sound continuing through to their follow-up album, Wana Maa Nafsy Aaed (When I Sit Alone), which sonically oscillates between heavily reverb guitar driven tracks like “Kol Youm Momken Yekoon Bedaya” to songs teetering on pop anthems like “Mestany.”
Their 2014 album, El Sekka Shemal, marked a turning point for Cairokee, presenting a more refined sound, while introducing an eclectic blend of musical references. El Sekka Shemal presented a fuller sound, both with atmosphere production and a deeper integration of Arabic textures, including the rababa and percussions, as heard in songs like “El Khat Dah Khatty.” This album sees Cairokee pushing the boundaries of genre while expanding their collaborations, as heard in “Agmal Ma Andy” featuring Souad Massi, and later the genre-bending “Ghareeb Fi Belad Gareeba” (Stranger in a Strange Land) with shaabi music icon Abdel Baset Hammouda.
In Nas W Nas, Amir Eid’s vocals come into focus, with different production elements supporting a more polished studio sound. The gentle guitar lines and keys in tracks like “Walla Ma Aayez (All I Really Want),” along with subtle Arabic textures – such as oud lines and percussions in “Geina El Dounia Fe Laffa” – create a fuller sonic backdrop. However, it’s in “Kol Haga Betaady” (This Too Shall Pass) that Eid’s pop sensibility shines, featuring Shahira Kamal. Their memorable duet presents an earworm exchange with memorable lines like “Everyone is scared of tomorrow/Tomorrow comes and they are still scared/Tomorrow isn’t a day/It’s an idea.” Amir Eid again manages to hold a mirror to the times, in 2015 reflecting the era’s political uncertainty.
Eid’s introspective lyricism drives Noaata Beida (A Drop of White, 2017), as seen in the title track featuring Abdelrahman Roshdy, which reflects a dualistic struggle playing out between the two vocal lines. Politically weary themes resurface in “Kont Faker” (I Thought) and “Hodna.” Musically, we see Cairokee embracing more eclecticism, offering diverse tracks like the rhythmic “Layla” and anthemic “Dinosaur” while nudging more into a pop sound.
This dynamism culminates in The Ugly Ducklings (2019), where a multiplicity of genres is presented, expanding Cairokee’s audience base by offering them each something. The album spans alt-rock tracks like “Benkhaf” (We Get Scared) to hits like “Ya Abyad Ya Eswed” (Either Black or White), which draws from popular Egyptian genres like shaabi and mahraganat. This cross-genre approach continues and peaks in Roma (2022). However, we see another turning point for Cairokee in the high production value, and synthpop influences as heard in the hit song “Samurai” to the beat driven “Basrah We Atooh” (Lost in My Headt), both of which continue to chart Billboard Arabia’s Hot 100. Meanwhile, seven songs from Roma continue holding ground on various Billboard Arabia lists, cementing Cairokee’s place as a pioneering force offering an alternative to the traditional pop landscape.
The Voice of Cairokee, Amir Eid
Amir Eid’s voice has a deep rasp in it, the kind of guttural texture that makes it feel like it has traveled from a far-off time to deliver a very important message. It’s not a prophetic voice, but rather one that transmits the timbre of falling in love in one song, and in another, cutting socio-political commentary. His vocal quality and lyricism have been central to Cairokee’s identity, and through his words, Eid expresses the frustrations, hope, and loneliness of a generation navigating everything from political uncertainty to personal challenges. His side passion projects, including the soundtrack for the hit series Rivo, andmhis EP Roxi (2024), have further showcased his artistic evolution.
Envisioned by Eid, Roxi’s elaborate and cinematic video rollout was presented in three chapters, where we see the artist blending his penchant for visual storytelling, distribution and a body of hit songs. Roxi takes on a different sonic aesthetic than Cairokee’s big band, rock and pop sound, where we see Amir’s songs like “Hagat Gowaya” (Things Inside Me) take on a darker, synthpop sound than what we heard on Roma’s “Samurai.” Lyrically, Amir combines his penchant for storytelling in this three-chapter cinematic story of falling in love, with lyrics bordering on existential explorations deep within himself. Shortly after the EP’s release, songs like “Esmek Eh” (What’s Your Name?), “Hagat Gowaya” and “Nasy Kol Haga” (I’ve Forgotten Everything) landed on Billboard Arabia’s Arabic Indie chart and remained in the No. 26, 36, and 44 positions, respectively. Meanwhile, Eid currently holds the No. 56 position on Billboard Arabia’s Top 100 Artists chart at the time of publishing this article.
From Cairo to North America, Cairokee’s Live Shows
It is only possible to tell the story of Cairokee and Amir Eid by also discussing the resonance of their live shows. After concluding their third multi-city North America tour, Cairokee has found an audience both at home and abroad. In August 2024, Cairokee sold out their show in Jeddah, and the very next day at the Al Alamein Festival on Egypt’s North Coast, Cairokee saw over 25,000 attendees, according to the artist’s team. Upon returning to Cairo in the aftermath of their tour, they sold out another show with upwards of 27,000 in attendance at ZED EAST in October 2024. Their concerts are riveting experiences, with iconic collaborative moments, in the past they have featured guest artists on their stage such Marwan Pablo, and later Muhab and Tult8e, highlighting their ability to blend genres and connect with a diverse audience.
After two decades of pushing boundaries and challenging the status quo, Cairokee’s journey is far from over. They continue to evolve musically while staying true to much of their original fan base, while their impact on the Arabic music scene only grows stronger with time.
Cairokee
Courtesy of Cairokee/Billboard Arabia
Justin Bieber is empathizing with grieving fans following the death of Liam Payne.
Five days after the former One Direction star died at 31 years old after falling from the third story of his hotel in Buenos Aires, the “Sorry” singer reposted an emotional reel of videos taken at fan memorials for Payne all around the world via his Instagram Story on Monday (Oct. 21). “Just remember, you are allowed to grieve as a fan,” a voice-over on the video states.
“You are allowed to love someone you never met,” it continues. “You are allowed to admire someone for their art. You are allowed to cry, to pray, to feel like a part of you is gone. Even if they never knew your name, they changed your world.”
Over the video, the “Baby” artist added a simple heartbreak emoji.
As seen in the video shared by Bieber, fans have been gathering in London, Glasgow, Paris, Sydney, New York City and more locations to sing and cry together while mourning Payne with flowers, photos and candles. The musician died Oct. 16 and is survived by a 7-year-old son, Bear.
Payne is believed to have been alone when he died, according to a recent preliminary autopsy report. Moments before he fell to his death, a hotel manager called 911 to report that a guest was “overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol” and “destroying [their] entire room”; by the time police arrived in response, the “Strip That Down” artist had already fallen and suffered multiple fatal hemorrhages.
The initial autopsy also concluded that Payne likely had drugs in his system when he died, which new toxicology test results confirm. Among those substances was a recreational drug called “pink cocaine” — a mix of substances that often contains ketamine combined with MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids and/or psychoactive substances — and authorities are currently investigating who provided Payne with the drugs.
Bieber is just the latest star to post in the aftermath of Payne’s death, with the late singer’s sisters, girlfriend and former One Direction bandmates all posting statements over the past few days. In 2022, Payne opened up about a time he met up with Bieber in a trailer to defuse perceived tensions between 1D and two-time Grammy winner, telling Logan Paul: “I was like, ‘Dude, I’ve always felt for you … I’ve done all the things you’ve done and I’ve never been caught for any of them.’”
Payne also said at the time that he’d told Bieber that they both “suffer from the same disease,” but that he’d at least had bandmates to lean on in hard times. “‘And I know in your camp you’re you and there’s no one like you, so you can’t turn around and have that shoulder,’” Payne recalled telling Bieber. “And he was like, ‘Bro, that’s giving me chills.’”
Streams and sales of music from One Direction and Liam Payne surged both in the U.S. and globally following Payne’s Oct. 16 death in Buenos Aires, as listeners flocked to both the late 31-year-old’s solo material and the influential boyband in which he starred.
On Oct. 16, official on-demand U.S. streams of One Direction’s five-LP catalog totaled 5.9 million, a vault of 174% over 2.1 million the previous day, according to Luminate. On Oct. 17, they rose further to 22.2 million, up 278% over the day before.
The act – Payne, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson – formed in 2010 and went on hiatus in 2016, after Malik left in 2015. Four of its full-lengths hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with its last reaching No. 2.
Globally, One Direction pulled 21.3 million streams on Oct. 16, a 76% gain from 12.1 million on Oct. 15. The group’s catalog soared 298% to 84.9 million streams on Oct. 17.
As for Payne’s solo catalog, it sported 932,000 streams in the U.S. on Oct. 16, a 472% blast from 90,000 on Oct. 15. On Oct. 17, it ballooned another 120% to 3.8 million. Globally, the gain on Oct. 16 was 321% to 1.3 million (from 317,000), followed by, on Oct. 17, a 258% expansion to 4.8 million.
In the four days (Oct. 16-19) following Payne’s death, One Direction’s catalog accumulated 62.9 million streams in the U.S., a 675% gain over 8.2 million Oct. 12-15. Worldwide, the total was 254 million Oct. 16-19, up 442% over 46.9 million Oct. 12-15. Payne’s solo material drew 3.3 million streams in the U.S. Oct. 16-19, up 858% from 354,000, and 13.4 million globally, up 1,038% from 1.2 million.
Leading the way: “Night Changes,” a No. 31 hit for One Direction on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014. The song drew 4.9 million U.S. streams Oct. 16-19 (including 556,000 on Oct. 16 and 1.5 million on Oct. 17), up 416% from 945,000 Oct. 12-15. Globally, the song received 24.5 million streams, up 220% from 7.7 million, during the same periods.
As a result, the track reenters both the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart (No. 95) and the Billboard Global 200 (No. 117), both dated Oct. 26.
In terms of volume of streams, One Direction’s “Story of My Life” follows. The No. 6 Hot 100 hit in 2013 garnered 4.8 million U.S. streams Oct. 16-19 (up 482% from 817,000 Oct. 12-15) and 22 million globally (up 426% from 4.2 million).
Payne’s top solo streamer was his lone Hot 100 top 10: “Strip That Down” (featuring Quavo), which hit No. 10 in 2017. It earned 2 million streams Oct. 16-19, up 593% from 291,000 Oct. 12-15. Globally, its numbers were 6.5 million Oct. 16-19, a 681% surge from 831,000 Oct. 12-15. “Teardrops,” released earlier this year, followed (430,000 U.S. streams, 2.2 million globally).
Song download sales of One Direction’s catalog totaled 6,000 Oct. 16-19, up 1,124% from a negligible amount Oct. 12-15.
Billboard’s LyricFind U.S. and LyricFind Global charts dated Oct. 26 feature multiple One Direction songs, led by “Little Things” on the U.S. ranking and “Story of My Life” on the Global survey. According to LyricFind, whose charts rank the fastest momentum-gaining tracks in lyric-search queries and usages, “Little Things,” which reached No. 33 on the Hot 100 in 2013, sported a 1,140% leap in activity in the U.S., while “Story of My Life” received a 464% increase globally. Two One Direction songs appear on the Global ranking, while the U.S. chart is populated by seven.
All Oct. 26-dated Billboard charts will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
More appearances by One Direction and/or Payne are possible on the Nov. 2-dated Billboard charts, which will track the period of Oct. 18-24.
Sure, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart are best friends, but it doesn’t mean they agree on everything. The duo appeared alongside Seth Meyers on a new episode of Watch What Happens Live, where host Andy Cohen led a game of “Do! Besties! Give a Damn!?,” in which he asked Meyers if he thinks Snoop and […]
John Mayer is set to perform at the annual Cool Comedy • Hot Cuisinefundraiser on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. Comedian Jeff Ross will host the event. Mayer and Ross will both be honored with the Bob Saget Legacy Award, recognizing their commitment to continue Saget’s mission of raising […]
Bunnie XO is in proud wife mode after Jelly Roll scored his first-ever No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Beautifully Broken this week. Shortly after it was announced Monday (Oct. 21) that the country star had topped the U.S. ranking — beating out other competitive new releases from Rod Wave and Charli XCX […]