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25 Mar 2024

‘American Idol’: Julia Gagnon Delivers a ‘Big’ Audition With Aretha Franklin Cover

American Idol saved one of the best for last — Julia Gagnon.

Raised in Cumberland, Maine, the 21-year-old college student has spent time in the school of hard knocks.

Gagnon was born in Guatemala, and put up for adoption as a baby. Childhood in the U.S. was mostly a blast, surrounded by a loving family. But she experienced bullying in school.

“In Maine, not a lot of people look like me. And it was really hard to deal with,” she explained in the pre-recorded spot. It still touches a raw nerve.

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Gagnon was always curious about her birth family, and in her late teens embarked on a journey to find them. Her father hired a private investigator, and in 2020 located the youngster’s birth mother, Sara.

“She did let me know that she didn’t want me to go,” Gagnon said, adding that Sara conceded she wasn’t able to provide a better life.

The Idol stage would provide a platform for Gagnon to “do something for” her birth mom. “I felt really helpless, because I can’t go to her in Guatemala. It’s really far. But she’s really proud of my voice. And she wanted to see me do something big.”

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For an amateur singer, there are few bigger stages than Idol.

As the final audition for season 22, Gagnon brought out the big guns. The hopeful sang Aretha Franklin’s “Ain’t Not Way,” peppered with high notes, and low, feel, control, power and oozing soul. That big thing, it happened.

Proof of it came when the judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie gave a standing ovation.

“Did that come out of your mouth,” Richie remarked. “I am in shock. I grew up with Aretha Franklin. There are certain songs you just don’t sing. Because you can’t touch the original. You just made it not only your song, but you did things that were just beyond. That was amazing. That was absolutely outstanding.”

Bryan was touched by her “amazing falsetto,” and Perry was convinced that she has “several soul singers” inside her.” Not just one. You could go really far. You could be top 10.”

She’s certainly going to Hollywood. Gagnon earned the final Platinum Ticket for the season.

Watch the performance from ABC’s American Idol below.

25 Mar 2024

INXS Goes Behind the Scenes on ‘Never Tear Us Apart’: Exclusive Premiere

With 1987’s “Never Tear Us Apart,” INXS released into the world a love song that resonates to this day, and presented for most of us a first glimpse at the real-life fairytale city that is Prague.

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Now, to celebrate the 35th anniversary of its creation, INXS revisits the iconic song and its stunning music video with a streaming time capsule, featuring behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes and interviews with the late frontman Michael Hutchence.

Speaking at the top, Andrew Farriss, INXS’ co-songwriter, keyboardist and guitarist, recounts the song’s origins. Those orchestral stabs were initially carved out on guitar, which he played in a “very bluesy type way.” When Hutchence first heard the song, “he laughed,” Farriss explains. “He thought it was funny, because for us it was so different.”

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Hutchence changed his mind. He took the demo tape, lived with it, crafted the lyrics and the melody. A hit was born.

Director Richard Lowenstein had shot footage of Prague’s medieval architecture on 8mm black and white film. The juxtaposition of those images and INXS’s sublime song happened by chance. By a moment of serendipity.

The band was in the studio watching the rushes, as the song poured out of the control room. It worked.

The video, which has notched more than 100 million views on YouTube, was filmed in freezing conditions in Czechoslovakia, a world away from the beaches of Sydney.



“The spirit of the people there is fantastic, that’s what I love, it really makes you appreciate what you have so much,” comments Hutchence in the five-minute behind-the-scenes video, which Billboard exclusively premieres below. The singer loved the country, and its history, though so much has changed in those three-and-a-half decades.

INXS is no longer an active band. Hutchence is no longer with us, dying in 1997 at the age of 37. Then, in November 1989 the Velvet Revolution while led to the end of communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Five years after the shoot, the country was separated into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Lowenstein’s music video captured a time before the rest of the world caught on. Today, the Czechia capital is a hot-spot for tourists, a destination for stag and hen parties.

“There were numerous hurdles to gain access to film in Prague at that time,” INXS saxophone and guitar player Kirk Pengilly tells Billboard via email. However, “being able to cinematically utilize the city’s beautiful, romantic architecture and landmarks as a backdrop was incredibly special and fitting for this song. Our week-long stay allowed us to fully immerse ourselves in the city’s charm and culture.”

“Never Tear Us Apart” is a gem in INXS’ catalogue, from one of the band’s most successful albums, Kick, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The third single from Kick, it peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is one of four tracks from the LP — along with “New Sensation,” “Devil Inside”, and ”Need You Tonight”— to reach the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (the latter hit No. 1).

Last year, the surviving members of INXS — Garry Gary Beers, Pengilly and brothers Andrew, Jon and Tim Farriss — reunited in central Sydney for a presentation of four billion combined streams. “Never Tear Us Apart” alone has notched up more than 850 million streams across all platforms.

Watch the behind the scenes video below.

25 Mar 2024

Ariana Grande’s ‘Eternal Sunshine’ Snags Second Week at No. 1 In U.K.

Ariana Grande‘s Eternal Sunshine (via Republic Records) continues to blaze over the U.K. chart.

The leader at the midweek mark, Grande’s seventh studio album enters a second week at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, where it’s her fifth leader after Dangerous Woman (2016), Sweetener (2018), thank u, next (2019) and Positions (2020).

Eternal Sunshine holds off the Weeknd’s The Highlights (Republic Records/XO), which lifts 3-2 for its equal peak position. The Canadian R&B star’s hits collection has now logged 163 weeks on the U.K. tally, none of them at No. 1.

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The highest new entry this week belongs to Kacey Musgraves, whose sixth studio LP Deeper Well (Interscope) digs in at No. 3. That’s a career best for the U.S. country artist, and third top 10 appearance following 2018’s Golden Hour (No. 6) and 2021’s star-crossed (No. 10).

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Deeper Well is the best-seller on vinyl during the most recent chart week, the Official Charts Company reports.

Also new to the chart is Justin Timberlake’s sixth studio collection, Everything I Thought I Was. It’s new at No. 5 for JT’s sixth top 10 – a list that includes his solo leaders Justified (2002), FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006), The 20/20 Experience (2013), plus The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 and 2018’s Man of the Woods, both of which peaked at No. 2.

Hotly-tipped newcomer Caity Baser bags her first U.K. top 10 album with Still Learning, the Southampton-born, Brighton-based artist’s 13-track debut mixtape. It’s new at No. 7. Baser was nominated for the 2024 BRITs Rising Star award, won by The Last Dinner Party.

Also, Manchester, England rapper Nemzzz nabs his first slot on the Official U.K. Albums Chart appearance with his debut Do Not Disturb (Nemzzz), new at No. 17.

Finally, U.S. rock veterans the Black Crowes swoop in for an eighth U.K. top 40 with Happiness Bastards (Silver Arrow). It’s new at No. 7 on the latest tally, published Friday, March 22.

24 Mar 2024

Benson Boone Bags First U.K. No. 1 With ‘Beautiful Things’

After two months, and several near-misses, Benson Boone finally scales the U.K. chart with “Beautiful Things” (via Warner Records).

The Washington-born singer and songwriter’s hit has already led Billboard’s two Global charts, and now lifts 2-1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.

The leader at the midweek stage, “Beautiful Things” was the most-streamed song during the full chart cycle with 6.6 million combined U.K. audio and video streams, the Official Charts Company reports.

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As Boone logs his first week at the U.K. chart zenith, he dethrones Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” (Columbia/Parkwood Ent) after a four-week reign – Bey’s longest stint at No. 1 in the U.K. The country cut dips 1-3.

Also moving on up is Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine (Republic Records) release “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love),” lifting 3-2 for a new peak position.

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The highest new entry on the latest tally, published Friday, March 22, belongs to BTS’s V, whose “FRI(END)S” (via BigHit Entertainment) starts at No. 13. That’s V’s first solo top 20 appearance.

Also cracking the top 40 on debut is Mark Knopfler’s fundraising remake of “Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)” (BMG), new at No. 17. That’s an upgrade on the track’s original chart position; “Going Home” spent three weeks on the chart in 1983 with a peak of No. 56.

The former Dire Straits frontman assembled a starry cast of guitar heroes for the 9-minute tune, a reworking of the theme from the feature film Local Hero. “Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)” was the most-purchased song on wax during chart week, clocking over 15,200 pure sales, the OCC reports.

As previously reported, the likes of David Gilmour, Ronnie Wood, Slash, Eric Clapton, Sting, Joan Armatrading, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Jett, Pete Townshend and the late Jeff Beck are among the scores of performers on the recording, which raises funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America. “Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)” briefly took pole position in the U.K. chart race.

Finally, Dasha’s viral country breakthrough “Austin” (Warner Records) laces up its boots up and kicks into the top 20 for the first time. After soundtracking a line-dance trend on TikTok, the song lifts 25-15 in its fourth week on the U.K. chart.

24 Mar 2024

Charlotte Cardin, Karan Aujla Win Big at the 2024 Juno Awards: Full Winners List

The 2024 Juno Awards looked to the future of Canadian music, while also honoring its history.

A quartet of acts who’ve had major breakthroughs this year won the major awards given out on the CBC-televised broadcast on Sunday night (March 24) live from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Punjabi-Canadian global star Karan Aujla won the TikTok Fan Choice award, the only fan-chosen award of the ceremony. “Sometimes I can’t believe I’m that same kid who lost my parents when I was in India, made my way to Canada, and now I’m here!” said the B.C.-based artist, one of Billboard Canada’s inaugural cover stars. “If you are dreaming, make sure you dream big.”

Charlotte Cardin won album of the year for her album 99 Nights. The 2023 album has propelled the Montreal-based artist to new crossover heights, hitting No. 3 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart, while its popular single “Confetti” reached the top 10 of the Canadian Hot 100 and spent 35 weeks on the chart. It also earned her first American chart hit, and it is currently on the Adult Pop Airplay chart. Cardin later performed the infectious earworm while actual confetti rained from the ceiling.

The Beaches, meanwhile, won group of the year. Accepting the award from Nova Scotia’s own Anne Murray, who holds the record for most Junos ever with 25, the Toronto band dedicated their speech to the next generation of rockers. “To all the young girls watching, go start bands with your best friends!” They later closed the festivities with a rendition of their major breakthrough single “Blame Brett.”

Both Cardin and The Beaches won awards at the 2024 Juno Opening Night Awards the night before (March 23) for pop album of the year and rock album of the year, respectively.

In a white fur cape, TALK had a rock star moment performing his epic single “Run Away to Mars,” which went to No. 1 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart last year. The Ottawa-born artist, who’s had over 400 million global streams, later took home the award for breakthrough artist of the year. In his speech, he talked about the importance of arts funding, just after Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St.-Onge announced the government would increase the Canadian Music Fund.

A number of the night’s performances motioned toward the increasingly diverse and global future of Canadian music. Dressed in a spiffy white outfit with a four backup dancers in red, Aujla performed early on, playing pop hits “Admiring You” and “Softly.” Both came from his album Making Memories, which made history as the highest-charting Punjabi debut ever on the Canadian Albums chart. Ikky, who made the album with Aujla, acted as hype man on an elevated platform.

In the BillboardPunjabi Wave cover story, AP Dhillon talked about his performance at the 2023 Junos ceremony and how he lobbied to ensure majorly popular Punjabi music would have a prolonged platform at the awards. Evidently, they’ve kept their word.

This year’s Junos also had the most Indigenous nominees in award history. Anita Landback, Tanas Sylliboy, Sarah Prosper set the stage with a land acknowledgment that intersected with a performance by Juno winner Jeremy Dutcher in Wolastoqey, who then joined in a duet with Elisapie on an Inuktitut version of Blondie’s “Heart of Glass.” Along with Aujla and others, it meant performances featured at least six different languages, including English and French.

The Junos has struggled with star power in recent years — Drake has boycotted the last half decade, while chart-topper Tate McRae was not in attendance to accept her two awards this year — they have made up for it with improved representation of what makes Canadian music unique.

This year, they also paid tribute to the country’s music history.

The ceremony was hosted by pop star Nelly Furtado, who opened the ceremony with a rapid-fire medley of her multiple decades of hits: “Say It Right,” “Maneater,” “Promiscuous,” “Give It To Me,” “I’m Like A Bird” — all from the 2000s and her new one with Dom Dolla, “Eat Your Man.”

Kardinal Offishall inducted “our rap Prime Minister” Maestro Fresh Wes into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The hip-hop hero had the first Canadian rap record to ever chart on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Let Your Backbone Slide,” was the first winner of the rap album of the year at the 1991 Junos for Symphony in Effect, and is currently amidst a wave of recognition for his place in the country’s music history. A pre-taped video featured contributions from this year’s winner, TOBi, legacy Canadian artists like Snow and American legends like Chuck D of Public Enemy. “Now, this music we love won’t ever be underestimated,” he said. He later performed a medley of his hits, including “Backbone.”

A special performance honoured a handful of Canadian legends who died this year. Neo-classical Quebecois artist Alexandra Streliski paid tribute to Karl Tremblay of Les Cowboys Fringants with an instrumental piano performance. Then Allison Russell, Aysanabee, William Prince, Shawnee Kish, Logan Staats, Julian Taylor all joined together for beautiful renditions of Gordon Lightfoot’s “If You Could Read My Mind” and The Band’s “The Weight” for the late Robbie Robertson.

And actor Elliot Page presented the humanitarian award to Tegan and Sara, stressing the importance of the Canadian Quin sisters’ Tegan and Sara Foundation’s important work for young queer people at a time when the rights of 2SLGBTQ+ people are under threat, including from the Alberta government. “If the world were not so hostile to 2SLGBTQ+ we would see ourselves purely as musicians,” they said, adding “we love being gay. So gay.”

Here’s our report on all the winners from Saturday’s Opening Night Juno Awards.

Here are the nominees in the categories that were presented on the live telecast, with winners checked.

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TikTok Juno Fan Choice

Charlotte Cardin, Cult Nation*The Orchard

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Daniel Caesar, Republic*Universal

DVBBS, Ultra*Sony

Josh Ross, Universal

WINNER: Karan Aujla, Warner

Shubh, Mass Appeal*The Orchard

Tate McRae, RCA*Sony

The Weeknd, XO*Universal

ThxSoMch, Elektra*Warner

Walk off the Earth, Golden Carrot*The Orchard

Album of the Year

Néo-Romance, Alexandra Stréliski, Secret City*F.A.B.

WINNER: 99 Nights, Charlotte Cardin, Cult Nation*The Orchard

NEVER ENOUGH, Daniel Caesar, Republic*Universal

Mirror, Lauren Spencer Smith, Universal

Lord of the Flies & Birds & Bees, TALK, Capitol*Universal

Group of the Year

Arkells, Arkells Music*Universal

Loud Luxury, Armada*Sony

Nickelback, BMG*Warner/ADA

WINNER: The Beaches, AWAL*Independent

Walk off the Earth, Golden Carrot*The Orchard

Breakthrough Artist of the Year

Connor Price, Independent

Karan Aujla, Warner

LU KALA, LVK/Amigo*AWAL

Shubh, Inrependent

WINNER: TALK, Capitol*Universal

This article originally appeared in Billboard Canada.

24 Mar 2024

Sandra Crouch, Grammy-Winning Gospel Musician, Dies at 81

Sandra Crouch, the late Andraé Crouch’s twin sister who co-wrote “Jesus Is the Answer,” has died. She was 81.

Sandra Crouch passed away on Sunday, March 17 at Northridge Hospital in Northridge, California, following complications from radiation for a non-cancerous brain lesion, Billboard has learned.

Sandra and Andraé were born on July 1, 1942, in Los Angeles to parents who went into ministry and founded Christ Memorial Church C.O.G.I.C. in 1951. The siblings began performing music together around 1960 as The COGICS, alongside friends who were active at church.

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Andraé went on to form the group Andraé Crouch & The Disciples, and Sandra worked as a percussionist in Hollywood. As a percussionist, Sandra’s credits included playing on notable projects like The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” Neil Diamond’s Tap Root Manuscript and Janis Joplin’s Pearl album.

In the 1970s, Crouch joined her brother with The Disciples, singing, playing and co-writing songs including “Jesus Is the Answer,” which became a mainstay on gospel radio.

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Among the twins’ musical accomplishments together was backing Michael Jackson on several songs on History – Past, Present and Future Book 1, and on “Man in the Mirror” when Jackson performed it live at the Grammys in 1988. Both Andraé and Sandra also worked on film soundtracks for 1985’s The Color Purple, 1993’s Free Willy and 1994’s The Lion King.

Sandra released three of her own albums in the 1980s, all of which resulted in Grammy nominations — and collected a Grammy for one of them.

Her first solo album, We Sing Praises — featuring singles “He’s Worthy,” “There’s Power in the Blood” and “We Need to Hear From You” — was released in 1983. The set earned Crouch three nominations and won the award for best soul gospel performance, female at the 26th annual Grammy Awards.

We’re Waiting, Crouch’s sophomore solo album, arrived in 1985 with the song “Completely Yes.” The album and track were nominated for best soul gospel performance by a duo, group, choir or chorus at the 28th annual Grammy Awards, though Crouch did not take home an award this time around.

Crouch’s third and final solo album, With All of My Heart, was released in 1992. It received a nomination, but did not win, for best gospel album by a choir or chorus at the 35th annual Grammy Awards. She went on the road in support of the album with Daryl Coley and the Richard Smallwood Singers on the Gospel: Good for the Soul Tour.

Sandra won two GMA Dove Awards for traditional gospel album, first for We Sing Praises in 1984, and then for With All of My Heart in 1993.

Andraé Crouch had taken over their parents’ church, Christ Memorial COGIC in San Fernando, California, in 1998 and ordained Sandra as a co-pastor, which defied the COGIC denomination’s policy against female preachers. They gave the church a new name: New Chris Memorial Church.

Sandra assumed the role of senior pastor beginning in 2015, when her brother passed.

The church’s assistant pastor, Kenneth J. Cook, released a statement about Sandra’s death last week via social media, writing, “It’s with a heavy heart that I announce that at 12pm today, March 17, 2024, our beloved Senior Pastor Sandra Elaine Crouch transitioned into the arms of the Lord. We as believers know that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We will forever cherish the memories and teachings we received from her.”

Crouch’s life will be celebrated with an April 16 viewing and musical tribute at New Christ Memorial Church, followed by a homegoing service on April 17.

24 Mar 2024

Selena Gomez Shares Makeup-Free ‘Real’ Photos on Instagram

Selena Gomez gave fans a glimpse at her natural beauty on Instagram this weekend.

The pop singer, actress and Rare Beauty founder uploaded a series of photos to Instagram Stories, including what appears to be a completely makeup-free selfie.

With tousled hair and wearing a gray robe or cardigan, a bare-faced Gomez winks and gives a playful look in the snapshot.

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Gomez also posted a more professional portrait showing her natural look on her Instagram grid on Saturday (March 23). The intriguing black-and-white headshot has the star peering into the camera — in a way that caught the eye of fellow artist Camila Cabello, who voiced her reaction in the comments.

“Good god woman have mercy,” Cabello wrote, complimenting the striking shot, which Gomez had simply captioned with “Real.”

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In a sweet post on Wednesday (March 20), the singer-actress shared a sweet handmade card beau Benny Blanco sent her, noting that they have entered a long-distance phase in their relationship. “Happy first virtual date!” he wrote. Gomez captioned the photo, “#longdistancerelationship vibes.”

The couple have been public about their romance since December.

“I’d have to say overall, it’s the safest that I feel and it’s been really lovely,” said Gomez of the relationship in an interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe in February.

Check out Gomez’s makeup-free selfie on Instagram Stories, and embedded in a fan tweet below. See her new closeup portrait on her Instagram grid.

24 Mar 2024

Fans Choose Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Guts (Spilled)’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Olivia Rodrigo‘s Guts (Spilled) has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (March 22) on Billboard, choosing the deluxe edition of the 21-year-old pop star’s sophomore album as their favorite new music release of the past week.

Guts (Spilled) brought in 43% of the vote, beating out new music by Shakira (Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran), Tyla (Tyla), Future and Metro Boomin (We Don’t Trust You), Pearl Jam (“Running”), Matt Champion (Mika’s Laundry), and others.

The expanded version of the Rodrigo’s 2023 Guts collection features five more songs, including a new one, “So American,” which was recorded after the original album dropped last year. The other four tracks on the deluxe set were the “secret” tracks that appeared on a variety of Guts vinyl releases: “Obsessed,” “Scared of My Guitar,” “Stranger” and “Girl I’ve Always Been.”

The Grammy-winning star announced the news of Guts (Spilled) during the first night of her two-show stand at Chicago’s United Center on March 19, surprising the crowd by unfolding a sign that read “Guts Deluxe Out Friday.”

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Rodrigo’s Guts, the follow-up to her 2021 debut album Sour, was released in September 2023 and featured her Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping lead single “Vampire.” The album also topped the Billboard 200 albums chart dated September 23, 2023.

In February, she launched her global Guts World Tour, which will find her making stops across North America and Europe for the next five months before she closes out with four shows at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

Trailing behind Guts (Spilled) on the poll is Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, her first new album since the 2017 Grammy-winning set El Dorado. The Latin star’s latest album — which includes “Última,” “Cómo Dónde y Cuándo” and “La Fuerte,” another team up with Bizarrap — brought in nearly 28% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

24 Mar 2024

Ariana Grande’s ‘Eternal Sunshine’ Spends Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine spends a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated March 30), after debuting atop the tally a week ago. The set earned 100,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the tracking week ending March 21 (down 56%), according to Luminate. It’s the third Grande album to have logged a personal-best two weeks at No. 1. Her last two full-length studio sets, Positions (in 2020) and Thank U, Next (2019), both spent their first two weeks at No. 1.

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Eternal Sunshine debuted at No. 1 on the March 23-dated list with 227,000 units earned.

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Plus, Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well starts at No. 2 with her biggest week ever by both equivalent album units and traditional album sales, while Justin Timberlake’s Everything I Thought It Was launches at No. 4.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new March 30, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday (March 26). For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.

Of Eternal Sunshine’s 100,000 units earned in the tracking week ending March 21, SEA units comprise 87,000 (down 41%, equaling 115.05 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs), album sales comprise 13,000 (down 56%) and TEA units comprise 500 (down 84%).

Kacey Musgraves’ Deeper Well makes a splash, as it debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 97,000 equivalent album units earned — her biggest week, by units, since the chart began ranking by that measurement in December 2014. Further, of the album’s first-week units, traditional album sales comprise 66,000 — Musgraves’ biggest sales week ever.

Of Deeper Well’s first-week unit sum of 97,000, traditional album sales comprise 66,000 (it’s the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 30,000 (equaling 38.06 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 1,000.

Deeper Well is Musgraves’ highest-charting album since her debut effort, Same Trailer Different Park, debuted and peaked at No. 2 in 2013.

Deeper Well is the fifth top 10-charting effort for Musgraves, and all of them have started in the top four of the ranking. She previously visited the region with Star-Crossed (No. 3, 2021), Golden Hour (No. 4, 2018), Pageant Material (No. 3, 2015) and Same Trailer Different Park (No. 2, 2013).

Deeper Well’s first-week unit sum surpasses Musgraves’ previous high, by units earned, when Star-Crossed debuted with 77,000 units. And, Deeper Well’s first-week sales figure is her best sales frame ever, beating the 55,000 that Pageant Material sold in its first week.

The new album was led by a pair of charting tracks on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart: the title track (reaching No. 26 in February) and “Too Good To Be True” (No. 41 earlier in March). Deeper is Musgraves’ first album since 2021, while in 2023 she scored her biggest chart hit ever on the Hot Country Songs and all-genre Billboard Hot 100 charts, when Zach Bryan’s “I Remember Everything,” on which she’s featured, topped both tallies. The song, her first leader on both lists, was released on Bryan’s self-titled 2023 album, but is not on Deeper.

Musgraves supported the album launch with appearances on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (March 14), NBC’s Today (March 15) and SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show (March 18). Prior to the album’s release on March 15, Musgraves was the musical guest on the March 2 episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

Deeper Well’s first-week sales were supported by its availability across nine vinyl variants, including eight different-colored versions and exclusive editions for Amazon, Spotify and Target. In total, the album sold 37,000 copies on vinyl — the top-selling vinyl set of the week, Musgraves’ biggest sales week ever on vinyl, the largest vinyl week of 2024, and the fourth-largest week for a country album on vinyl since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991. (The only bigger sales weeks on vinyl for country sets were all registered by Taylor Swift’s re-recordings.)

Deeper Well was also issued in four different CD versions, three different digital editions (two were exclusive to her webstore — one with a bonus track, and another with the same bonus track an alternate cover art) and as a cassette tape.

Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time slips 2-3 on the new Billboard 200, pushed down with a 3% gain to 70,000 equivalent album units earned.

Justin Timberlake returns to the Billboard 200 with his first album in over six years, as Everything I Thought It Was starts at No. 4. The set opens with 67,000 equivalent album units earned and marks Timberlake’s sixth consecutive top five-charting effort — the entirety of his solo releases, which includes four No. 1s.

Of Everything’s first-week unit sum of 67,000, traditional album sales comprise 41,000, SEA units comprise 24,000 (equaling 31.13 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs) and TEA units comprise 2,000.

The new album was led off by the single “Selfish,” which peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated Feb. 10. The track has also reached the top 20 of the Radio Songs, Pop Airplay, Adult Pop Airplay, Adult Contemporary and Rhythmic Airplay charts.

Everything’s release was ushered in by a much-buzzed-about one-off concert at The Wiltern in Los Angeles (March 13). The show featured a surprise reunion with his *NSYNC bandmates, with the group playing a medley of hits and the new Everything track “Paradise.” Timberlake also turned up on NPR’s Tiny Desk series on March 15 for a half-hour-long concert. Earlier in the week, on March 11, he performed the album’s “No Angels” on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Everything’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across four different vinyl variants (including exclusives for Amazon, Target and his webstore), four different deluxe CD boxed sets (each with a piece of branded clothing and a CD) and a standard CD.

Noah Kahan’s Stick Season falls 3-5 on the new Billboard 200 with 46,000 equivalent album units earned (down 5%). Five former No. 1s round out the rest of the top 10, as SZA’s SOS dips 5-6 (43,000; down 4%), Swift’s Lover climbs 9-7 (41,000; up 6%), Bryan’s self-titled album falls 6-8 (40,000; down 2%), Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) descends 8-9 (nearly 40,000; up 3%) and Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) and Ty Dolla $ign’s Vultures 1 drops 4-10 (39,000; down 13%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

24 Mar 2024

Rihanna Is All Smiles Rocking New Blonde Pixie Cut

Rihanna is living the blonde life.

The 36-year-old superstar singer debuted a brand new pixie cut during an outing in Santa Monica, Calif., on Friday (March 22). RiRi, who has worn short hair in the past, was seen sporting an oversized black jersey and baggy jeans while rocking her edgy new hairdo.

The Fenty Beauty founder’s looks also arrives about three weeks after she was seen flaunting long dark locks while performing her first full concert in almost eight years at private wedding party in India.

In early March, Rihanna returned to the stage at a pre-wedding gig for Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Jamnagar. The Grammy-winner performed at a lavish party that was part of a multi-day celebration for the soon-to-be newlyweds, who will officially tie the knot July 12 in Mumbai. The nearly 1,200-person guest list included Rihanna as well as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Sunder Picha, Ivanka Trump and Bollywood celebrity Shah Rukh Khan, according to the Associated Press.

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“The show was the best,” Rihanna said on camera post-concert, while being approached by paparazzi. “I haven’t done a real show in eight years.”

Although Rihanna performed for the Super Bowl halftime show and at the Oscars last year, she hasn’t put on a full concert since her Anti World Tour in 2016. During her India set, Rihanna performed hits like “Bitch Better Have My Money,” “Work,” “Umbrella,” “Stay,” “All of the Lights,” “We Found Love” and “Diamonds.”

Rihanna recently announced that she was expanding her business into Sephora stores in China. “China fenty fam!! i’m so excited to announce that we are expanding in sephora stores april 1 – y’all ready?!” she wrote on Instagram.

See Rihanna’s new blonde pixie cut here via TMZ.