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06 Apr 2024

Giant Inflatable Ice Spice in Alexander Wang Spotted in NYC

A larger-than-life, inflatable Ice Spice was seen rolling by on a flatbed truck down the streets of New York City on Saturday (April 6). The unexpected sight was promoting the rapper’s new collaboration with Alexander Wang.

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Fans were quick to capture and upload videos and snapshots of the jumbo version of Ice Spice advertising a look replicated from the photo shoot for her “Nocturna” collection with the designer.

Those clips caught Ice Spice’s eye. She shared them with her followers and reacted with a few emojis: heart eyes, the Statue of Liberty and lips.

Ice Spice is the face of Alexander Wang’s spring ’24 collection (“Nocturna”) which debuted Thursday (March 7). The collection is described as working in both the designer and rapper’s New York roots, taking inspiration from the culture of the city and their personal style. Looks range from denim dresses to to chic tailored pants, with prices for the Ice Spice x Alexander Wang collection ranging from $150 to $1,495.

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“As an artist, I’m always challenging myself on how I can contribute to culture in a way that drives things forward, and Alexander Wang is a great vehicle for that, with this incredibly bold and global campaign,” Ice Spice said in an official press statement.

Alexander Wang called Ice Spice the perfect artist to embody the “strong alpha wang woman.”

On the music side, Ice Spice recently shared that she’s done recording her debut full-length album, Y2K.

“I finished recording y2k the album ^.^,” she wrote to her X and Instagram accounts on March 5. The set’s title is inspired by her birthdate, Jan. 1, 2000.

“I think this is some of my best work,” she told Billboard, adding, “It’s not going to be too long — it’s going to be sweet and to the point.”

See the super-sized Ice Spice inflatable drive by in the post the rapper shared below.

06 Apr 2024

Cardi B Teases Second Album on ‘Invasion of Privacy’ Anniversary: ‘It’s So Different’

Cardi B is celebrating the sixth anniversary of her debut album, Invasion of Privacy — and throwing in a little teaser of what’s to come next.

Invasion of Privacy was released in 2018, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and earning a Grammy win for best rap album at the 2019 Grammy Awards. The set’s tracklist includes Hot 100 No. 1 singles “Bodak Yellow” and “I Like It.”

The rapper looked back at the success of her studio debut in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday (April 6). In her message, she hinted at what fans can expect from her long-awaited second album.

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“6 years ago I released my first album and it broke so many records GAH LEE!!” she wrote. “6 years later I’m preparing to drop the next one this year.. it’s so different from what everyone is expecting and I’m sooo excited.”

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“Love you guys and thank you for the support! I’ll talk to ya soon I been so busy these last few days,” added Cardi.

Cardi most recently unveiled the single “Enough (Miami)” on March 15 along with a Patience Harding-directed music video for the track. “Enough” arrived two weeks after she dropped “Like What (Freestyle).”

She’s also featured on “Puntería,” the opening track from Shakira‘s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran album that was just released on March 22.

The follow-up LP to Cardi B’s Invasion of Privacy has yet to get an official release date.

See her post from Saturday below.

06 Apr 2024

ABBA Fans Mark 50 Years Since ‘Waterloo’ Took the World by Storm

It’s been 50 years since ABBA won a major battle with “Waterloo.”

A half-century ago on Saturday (April 6), the Swedish quartet triumphed at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the peppy love song, which opens: “My my, at Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender, and I have met my destiny in quite a similar way.”

The song rang out again Saturday at London’s Waterloo railway station — also named after the 1815 battle that dealt defeat to the French leader — where a choir belted out a rendition for commuters.

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In the English coastal town of Brighton, where the 1974 competition was held, fans were staging a flashmob dance and silent ABBA disco to mark the anniversary.

Eurovision victory turned ABBA into a pop juggernaut, by far the most successful band to win the pan-continental music contest, which will hold its 68th edition in May in ABBA’s home country, Sweden. The Eurovision final will take place May 11 in Malmö, after Swedish singer Loreen won last year’s competition with “Tattoo.”

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ABBA’s melodic disco pop sold hundreds of millions of records worldwide. The stage musical Mamma Mia! based on its songs is 25 years old and spawned two movies.

The band members have not performed together live for four decades, but released a comeback album, “Voyage,” in 2021. Every day, fans attend a concert by digital “ABBA-tars” at the hit show Abba Voyage, which opened in London in 2022.

In a thank-you message to fans on Saturday, the four band members said it was “slightly dizzying and deeply humbling” to know that their songs had been passed down the generations and “still resonate around the world.”

“Music you discover and learn to love when you grow up or even later in life has a way of staying with you forever,” said Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. “We share that experience with you and to know that our music has become a constant in your lives is a wonderful thing.”

A tribute concert titled “A Party for ABBA” was set to take place in Stockholm on Saturday evening featuring prominent Swedish artists, a 21-person band and a large choir. Organizers said it was a salute to a band that changed the Nordic country’s music scene “forever.”

Swedish public broadcaster SVT, which planned to broadcast the concert live on television and on its streaming service, said, “April 6, 1974 is considered by some to be Sweden’s national music day.”

06 Apr 2024

Taylor Swift Builds Anticipation for ‘Tortured Poets’ Album Using Her Favorite Number

Taylor Swift is counting down the days until the release of her new album.

On Saturday (April 6), the 34-year-old pop superstar used her lucky number to remind Swifties that there are only 13 days left until the arrival of her highly anticipated album, The Tortured Poets Department.

The “Cruel Summer” singer took to her Instagram Story to share a clip of a typewriter writing the words, “13 days until THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT,” alongside a pre-order link to the album.

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April 19 marks the arrival of Swift’s 11th studio album, which she surprise-announced at the 2024 Grammys in February while accepting best pop vocal for her previous release, Midnights. In her speech at the ceremony, the star mentioned that the project has been two years in the making.

The 14-time Grammy winner is currently taking a two-month break from her global Eras Tour trek to prepare for the release of The Tortured Poets Department. Since then, she’s shared the new project’s main cover plus details on the four deluxe editions, as well as confirming that Post Malone and Florence + The Machine are both featured on the album.

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Swift’s latest social media post arrives as SiriusXM announced plans to launch “Channel 13 (Taylor’s Version)” this month, allowing listeners to hear selections from the pop star’s 17-year discography 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The broadcaster promising to play both original and Taylor’s Version editions of her older hits as well as From the Vault songs, live recordings, bonus tracks and more.

The channel will go live on April 7 and remain available through March 6. On the 13th day of its run — April 19 — Swift will drop The Tortured Poets Department. To tune in, fans need only download the SiriusXM app and select Channel 13.

See Swift’s Tortured Poets Department countdown post on her Instagram Story here.

06 Apr 2024

Ernie Isley Receives Lifetime Achievement Award From Guitar Center Music Foundation

Ernie Isley, master guitarist and member of legendary group The Isley Brothers, received much-deserved roses from The Guitar Center Music Foundation this week.

The occasion on Thursday (April 4) was the foundation’s second annual benefit concert and fundraiser at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel during which Isley accepted the organization’s lifetime achievement award.

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“It’s such an honor to be a part of this because Ernie’s influence has been truly unrecognized for a long time,” said award presenter and fellow guitarist-songwriter Vernon Reid, founder of the rock band Living Colour.

He added in part, “It’s so long overdue that it’s ridiculous. So this is a measure of justice as well. As a kid, I used to get guitar magazines and I’d see Duane Allman on a cover. I’d see Dicky Betts on a cover. Or I’d see Rory Gallagher, who I love, on a cover. But the one person I didn’t see on those magazines was the person who had the most influence on me. And that’s Mr. Ernie Isley.”

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Ernie Isley

Tracy Isley

Prior to the award presentation, Isley was saluted musically by an array of artists backed by a band led by the evening’s music director, keyboardist and arranger Greg Phillinganes. Reid himself ripped through a rousing performance of the Isley Brothers’ 1975 hard-funking “Fight the Power, Part 1” with Phillinganes on vocals.

Also drawing hearty applause and ovations were guitarist Ray Parker Jr., aka Mr. Ghostbuster, who joined the band on 1978’s soulful “Groove With You”; Toto co-founder Steve Lukather chiming in with his roof-raising strut work on the Isleys’ 1974 cover of the Seals and Crofts classic “Summer Breeze”; and Melanie Faye, showcasing her next-gen guitar skills on the Isleys’ slow jam “Footsteps in the Dark” — a 1977 song that Ernie wrote and on which he also played guitar and drums.

Calling dad Ernie “my favorite writer ever” after taking the stage, Alex Isley — a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter in her own right — delivered a poignant take on another of her father’s compositions, 1976’s “(At Your Best) You Are Love.” The band and its accompanying singers opened the evening with another 1976 Isley release: the still timely “Harvest for the World.”

Rounding out the evening were video tributes from a host of artists and musicians. Among them: Nile Rodgers, Chaka Khan, Narada Michael Walden, Sheryl Crow, Carlos Santana and H.E.R. (“I’ve been a huge fan since I was a little girl; thank you for paving the way four artists like me”). Sharing his congrats as well was percussionist Pete Escovedo, who received The Guitar Center Music Foundation’s inaugural lifetime achievement award last year. The evening also included a silent and live auction featuring such items as a Bruno Mars-signed guitar and a day-long studio session with Grammy-winning engineer Val Garay.

Referencing his Isley Brothers siblings — O’Kelly Jr., Rudolph, Ronald, Vernon and Marvin — Ernie remarked in part, “We’ve been blessed with longevity and the music. This is a highly distinguished honor and privilege. I really don’t have the words to describe it. Just thanks.”

His comments were followed by a video clip from brother Ronald who noted, “Didn’t I tell you that you’d be the greatest; the one to represent the family. That’ you’d be one of the greatest guitar players there is and one of the greatest songwriters? You know I love you. Congratulations, son. You finally made it!” Ernie then picked up his guitar, joined by Reid, Grammy-nominated singer Eric Benét and the band, and rocketed into a powerful performance of one of the Isleys’ top signature songs, “That Lady.”

Proceeds from The Guitar Center Music Foundation’s annual fundraiser go toward music education and music therapy. The board is chaired by David Helfant. Hammond Entertainment, headed by founder/president William Hammond, served as the event’s producer.

06 Apr 2024

Kelly Clarkson Channels Judy Garland During Captivating ‘Over the Rainbow’ Cover: Watch

Kelly Clarkson paid homage to a classic during The Kelly Clarkson Show.

For the episode’s Kellyoke segment on Friday (April 5), the 41-year-old pop star and TV personality performed an awe-inspiring rendition of Judy Garland‘s “Over the Rainbow.”

Donning a long-sleeved black dress, Clarkson captivated her audience with a passionate delivery of The Wizard of the Oz ballad, originally performed by Garland in the 1939 film.

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“Away above the chimney tops/ That’s where you’ll find me,” the Grammy winner belted out while backed on guitar by Jaco Caraco.

The beautiful performance ended with a flash of rainbow-colored lights in the background as the crowd cheered approvingly.

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“Please put this on the next Kellyoke album so I can dance to it at my wedding,” one fan wrote in the comments section on YouTube.

Another added, “HOLY MOTHER OF GOD!!!! Ok, Judy Garland is the Standard and no one will ever beat her, but (for me) this is the BEST VERSION of the many, many, many, many, many covers we all have heard!!! OF COURSE IT HAD TO BE KC!!!!”

“I think Judy would be proud of this. Knowing her legacy still lives on in this rendition made me smile,” a third user wrote.

“Over the Rainbow” holds special meaning for Clarkson. During an appearance on Today in 2017, she revealed that she often sings the 20th-century standard to her children, River Rose, 9, and Remington “Remy” Alexander, 7. The singer shares the kids with her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock.

“She’ll always cut me off and go, ‘Birds, mommy, birds.’ She always wants me to get to the bird part,” Clarkson said during the interview.

Watch Clarkson cover “Over the Rainbow” below.


https://youtube.com/watch?v=XUp5K1_-1do&version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent

06 Apr 2024

Parker McCollum Blazes to His Third Country Airplay No. 1 With ‘Burn It Down’

Parker McCollum notches his third leader on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Burn It Down” rages 6-1 in its 44th week on the survey (dated April 13). The song advanced by 17% to 27.5 million audience impressions March 29-April 4, according to Luminate.

McCollum co-authored “Burn It Down” with Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose, and Jon Randall produced it.

The song is the sophomore single from McCollum’s LP, Never Enough, which arrived at its No. 12 best on Top Country Albums last May. Lead single “Handle on You” hit No. 2 on Country Airplay the same month, awarding the Conroe, Texas, native his third of four straight career-opening top 10s. His first entry, “Pretty Heart,” led for a week in December 2020, followed by “To Be Loved by You,” which reigned for a week in March 2022.

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Currently on tour, McCollum makes his next stop in Edinburg, Texas, on April 5 with special guests Corey Kent and Catie Offerman.

Meanwhile, McCollum’s 6-1 vault marks the second such surge in a row on Country Airplay. On the April 6 chart, Chayce Beckham’s solely self-written “23” made the same move, becoming the 2021 American Idol champ’s first leader.

Since the chart began in January 1990, the biggest jump to the summit belongs to Ricky Van Shelton’s “Keep It Between the Lines,” which blasted 9-1 on the Oct. 12, 1991, survey.

Beyoncé & ‘Jolene’

Beyoncé debuts her second Country Airplay entry, as her reworking of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” begins at No. 56 (982,000 in audience). It’s the second song from her new album, Cowboy Carter, released March 29, to make the list — lead single “Texas Hold ‘Em” ranks at No. 37 (3.2 million, down 6%) in its eighth week, after reaching No. 33.

06 Apr 2024

Olivia Rodrigo Makes MSG Debut: 8 Best Moments From Her First NYC Guts Tour Show

The morning of the Guts World Tour’s first night at Madison Square Garden, a perplexing, 4.8-level earthquake tore through New York City. Minutes later, the famed arena tweeted from its official account, “that was just the earth prepping for Olivia Rodrigo tonight.”

That was exactly right, as far as the 21-year-old pop star’s fans were concerned. More than 14,000 of them showed up in purple-hued, sequined droves to watch Rodrigo make her debut at one of the country’s biggest career milestone-marking venues Friday night (April 5), something that’s been a long time coming for the star since she found near-instant global success with Sour in 2021. (Not wanting to “skip steps,” as she told Billboard at the time, the singer stuck to smaller theaters for her first tour in ’22. Now, with a second chart-topping album under her belt thanks to last year’s Guts, Rodrigo is more than ready for not just one, but four sold-out shows at the Garden, the remaining three of which are slated for April 6, 8 and 9.)

Having previously briefly joined Billy Joel at one of his 2022 MSG shows to duet her own hit, “Deja Vu,” as well as “Uptown Girl,” Rodrigo was already a little bit acquainted with the grounds — plus, after being on the road for a month following her kickoff show in Palm Springs Feb. 23, her hour-and-a-half undertaking was already a well-oiled machine by the time she got to New York. Even so, the reigning princess of pop took the stage looking with genuine amazement as her crowd jumped, danced and screamed along to her opening number — “Bad Idea Right?” — making the entire arena pulse, this time without any help from shifting tectonic plates.

From a special guest performance (hello, Noah Kahan!) to a surprise mini High School Musical reunion, see the 8 best moments from the show that followed below.

06 Apr 2024

Kelsea Ballerini on Hosting, Performing at CMT Music Awards: ‘It’s Full-Circle’

When the CMT Music Awards return to the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, for a second run in the venue on Sunday (April 7), five-time Billboard Country Airplay chart-topper Kelsea Ballerini will host the evening, guiding viewers through the performance-packed, awards-filled event. The awards show will air live on CBS and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

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“I think last year, with it being the first year there, the fans were so excited and you could really feel that in the room,” Ballerini tells Billboard via Zoom ahead of Sunday’s awards show. “I felt like that really translated to the folks at home watching. To be here again, I feel like we worked out any kinks that may have happened and now we’re comfy and we’re ready.”

This year, Ballerini is hosting the CMT Music Awards solo, after co-hosting the show for the past three years. In 2021 and 2023, Ballerini led the CMT Music Awards with Kane Brown, while in 2022, she co-hosted the show remotely.

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“I was just joking that I’m not so much worried about messing up the prompter,” Ballerini says of this year’s solo hosting duties. “I’m a little more worried that there’s a lot of stairs and stage to navigate without an arm to lean on. But I think Kane taught me well, so I’m excited. The script is really funny, in my opinion. It’s light and celebratory.”

Ballerini will pull double-duty on CMT Music Awards night as not only host, but a performer. Last year, she poured the journey of pain and healing post-divorce into her acclaimed and Grammy-nominated project Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. But on Sunday, she will celebrate a decade in the music spotlight when she sings a reimagined version of her debut single “Love Me Like You Mean It.” Ballerini wrote the song alongside Lance Carpenter, Josh Kerr and Forrest Glen Whitehead, and after Ballerini released it as her debut single in 2014, the song became her first No. 1 Country Airplay hit.

“I wanted to bookmark it and wanted to find a way to honor that and also challenge myself to reconstruct it as a 30-year-old,” Ballerini says. “The message of it is still something I believe in, which is that you accept the love that you believe you deserve and we’re all deserving of good, loyal love. But how I would sing it now sounds different than how 19-year-old me recorded it. First of all, my voice has changed so much. When I listen to the original, my voice sounds so much higher, so I wanted to play in this lower register that I’ve gotten as I’ve grown up. I wanted to keep the integrity of the melodies that made it hooky, so you hear that in the chorus and you hear that in a mandolin or kind of like a synth in the background. It keeps the integrity of the original but moves it forward.”

Her role as host of the CMT Music Awards also marks a full-circle moment for Ballerini, who first attended the CMT Music Awards as a fan.

“My first memory of the CMT Music Awards was when I was in high school. I had just moved to Nashville and me and a friend waited outside of the barricade at the CMT Music Awards when they were still in Nashville. We just waited for artists to come over because we wanted to meet them and take pictures with them. I remember Keith Urban came over and I have a picture with him. As a fan, it was one of the craziest moments of my life, so it feels very full-circle to go from the kid outside the barricade to being the host of the show. That’s not lost on me and I’m very excited to be here.”

Looking back over her previous CMT Music Awards appearances and performances, she says a standout was last year’s performance of “If You Go Down (I’m Going Down Too),” when Ballerini was joined by top drag queen performers including Manila Luzon, Kennedy Davenport, Jan Sport and Olivia Lux.

“I think when I ride off into the sunset one day, that will be something that I will hang my hat on forever. I’m proud of that,” Ballerini says.

For Ballerini, one of the most anticipated moments moments during this year’s show will be the collaboration between Little Big Town and Sugarland. “I feel like that’s a country music team win,” she says. “I remember I saw them when they toured together when I was still in [Ballerini’s hometown of] Knoxville, Tennessee and it was one of the best shows I’ve seen. Then they did ‘Life in a Northern Town’ [with Jake Owen] at the CMT Music Awards and it was iconic, so to have them team up again, I’m excited to see what they do. I know what they are going to do, because [Little Big Town’s] Karen [Fairchild] is one of my good friends, but I’m excited for everyone else to see what they do.”

If she was given the chance to add one artist to the CMT Music Awards billing, Ballerini says one performer in particular immediately comes to mind: Beyoncé.

Ballerini says of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album, “I think it’s incredible, I really do. I think having one of the biggest superstars in music history make a country record is a team win for country. The record is so beautiful. That will absolutely be my getting ready soundtrack on Sunday.”

06 Apr 2024

Kelsea Ballerini On Hosting The CMT Awards Again, First CMT Memory With Keith Urban & More | Billboard News

Kelsea Ballerini shares how she’s having fun hosting the CMT Awards again this year, her first CMT Awards memory being getting to meet Keith Urban, her different fashion looks award show, performing an updated version of one of her first hits “Love Me Like You Mean It” 10 years after it’s been released and more!

Kelsea Ballerini
When I was in high school I had just moved to Nashville. We waited outside the barricade at the CMT Awards when they were still in Nashville. We just waited for artists to come over because we wanted to take pictures and meet them and, I remember Keith Urban came over and I have a picture with him as a fan. Just like one of the craziest moments of my life. It feels very full circle obviously to go from, like the kiddo outside the barricade to now being the host of the show.

Tetris Kelly
From fan to host Kelsey Ballerini is the queen of the CMTs.

Kelsea Ballerini
It’s springtime and it’s it’s a party it’s a party that’s what it’s supposed to feel like a big celebration so the clothes definitely mirror that and, I’m a girly girl and like part of hosting is having fun with the fashion and playing and doing the quick changes and all that so I think all in there’s seven looks.

Tetris Kelly
You know when Kelsey hits the stage and Austin she’s gonna bring the looks but she’s not just blessed the stage with fashion she’s gonna give a throwback performance to remember.

Kelsea Ballerina
Someone was like hey “Love Me” is a decade old next summer and I was like that doesn’t feel real.

Kelsea Ballerina
I wanted to find a way to say thank you and also challenge myself to to like reconstruct it as a 30 year old. How I would sing it now sounds very different than how 19 year old me recorded it and it was really fun to to figure that out and I’m proud of it and it’s also very much so a reflection of the new music to come.

Tetris Kelly
It all goes down Sunday on CBS