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22 Nov 2023

Chris Brown’s ’11:11′ Is No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart

It’s Chris Brown’s time again on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart as his new project, 11:11, debuts at No. 1 on the list dated Nov. 25. The set, released on Nov. 10 through CBE/RCA Records, starts with 45,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 16, according to Luminate.

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The new champ also achieves a feat that had seemed nearly impossible in the last year, unseating his RCA labelmate SZA’s SOS blockbuster from the No. 1 spot on Top R&B Albums. Since SOS docked at No. 1 on the chart dated Dec. 24, 2022, the album had ranked at No. 1 every week since – a total of 48 frames.

Streaming contributes most of 11:11’s first-week activity. 38,000 units of the album’s 45,000 total are from streaming clicks, equaling 51 million official on-demand audio and video streams of the album’s songs. Traditional album units provide 6,000 units from the remaining sum, with the last 1,000 units from track-equivalent album units. (One unit equals the following levels of consumption: one album sale, 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams for a song on the album.)

In all, 11:11 gives Brown his fifth No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart, which began in 2012.
Elsewhere, 11:11 clocks a No. 2 entrance on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 9 on the all-genre Billboard 200. On both charts, the launch secures Brown’s 12th top 10 album – the entirety of his output, sans his collaborative mixtape with Young Thug, Slime & B, which peaked at No. 15 on the former and No. 24 on the latter list.

As 11:11 arrives, eight of its songs appear the Hot R&B Songs chart, including six debuts. The previously released singles “Sensational” jumps 21-7 in its third week on the list, while “Summer Too Hot” re-enters at No. 23 after having achieved a No. 6 peak in August. Here’s a look at the 11:11 placements on this week’s list:

  • No. 7, “Sensational,” featuring Davido & Lojay
  • No. 8, “Angel Numbers/Ten Toes”
  • No. 9, “That’s on You,” featuring Future
  • No. 11, “No One Else,” featuring Fridayy
  • No. 12, “Press Me”
  • No. 17, “Feel Something”
  • No. 22, “Nightmares,” featuring Bryson Messia

Brown also lands a ninth concurrent hit on this week’s chart. His collaboration with Ciara, “How We Roll,” slides 8-15, in part due to the 11:11 debuts, in its 14th chart week.

22 Nov 2023

Rashad McCants Says Kevin Durant Will Be Better Than LeBron James, NBA Twitter Loses It

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Rashad McCants, a former first-round NBA draft selection, is now enjoying a second career as a broadcaster who talks basketball and other matters. A clip of McCants is now going wide after the North Carolina native said that he believes Kevin Durant will go down as a better basketball player than LeBron James when it’s all said and done.

The statement in question came courtesy of the No Chill with Gilbert Arenas podcast with Rashad McCants comparing the career tracks of Kevin Durant, who turned 35 this past September, and LeBron James, who will be 39 this December.

In McCants’ view, “real hooper” to use his words would place KD over King James when it comes down to it. Both are definitely world-class basketball players with James having a championship advantage with four rings compared to Durant’s two rings. James is also the leading scorer of all-time in the NBA and showing no signs of slowing down as he leads the Los Angeles Lakers. Durant, currently playing for the Phoenix Suns, is still an explosive player capable of taking games as anyone else in the league.

Arenas didn’t push back heavily on McCants’ statement but did say something interesting about the NBA and the whispers some observers have shared that the league promotes different teams based on their market. Arenas said that the NBA thrives and makes more money when the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers are powerhouses.

There has to be more to this conversation as the clip never offers any manner of closure or following thoughts from Rashad McCants but on X, formerly known as Twitter, the segment of users known as NBA Twitter has plenty to say.

Also, to all the accounts trying to go viral off the clip, why not give those views to Arenas so he can keep feasting? That’s nasty work. We’ve added the clip of Arenas’ account below to help.

Check out the reactions below.

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Photo: Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images / Getty

22 Nov 2023

Former Bad Boy President Harve Pierre Sued By Ex-Assistant For Sexual Assault

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Former Bay Boy Records President Harve Pierre is being sued by a former assistant for sexual assault, amongst other allegations.

Rolling Stone reports that Pierre, a longtime member of Diddy’s inner circle of Bad Boy executives, is being accused of grooming and sexually assaulting the victim, who is unnamed. The Jane Doe plaintiff filed her lawsuit in the New York County Supreme Court.

“Pierre used his position of authority as plaintiff’s boss to groom, exploit, and sexually assault her,” says the filing, per Rolling Stone. “Pierre engaged in a year-long pattern of grooming plaintiff, leading to sexual harassment of plaintiff, and sexual assault.”

The lawsuit also names Bad Boy Entertainment, Bad Boy Records, and Combs Enterprises as co-defendants, The Jane Doe assistant alleges that Pierre assaulted her multiple times between 2016 and 2017. She is seeking unspecified damages that will reportedly “fully and fairly compensate” her for her pain and suffering.

Recently, Diddy was sued by former Bad Boy artist and ex-girl girlfriend Casandra “Cassie” Ventura for allegations that included rape and sex trafficking. However, the case was settled out of court about a day after she filed the lawsuit.

It is Pierre, who met Diddy while they both attended Howard University, who is initially heard on the late Craig Mack’s “Flava In Ya Ear,” one of Bad Boy’s earliest hit records.

This story is developing. 



22 Nov 2023

Jennifer Garner Thanks Mariah Carey For ‘Spreading All the Christmas Cheer’ at Hollywood Bowl Show

The whole point of Mariah Carey‘s Merry Christmas One and All! tour is to fill the holiday season with joy and jingling cheer. If that’s the goal, then as far as Jennifer Garner (The Last Thing He Told Me) is concerned it is mission accomplished.

The actress posted a short video on her (since expired) Instagram Story after attending MC’s holiday show at the Hollywood Bowl on Tuesday night (Nov. 21), in which Garner waved her arm around over her reindeer antler-bedecked head as she watched Carey wow the crowd. “Thank you @mariahcarey for spreading all the Christmas cheer [Christmas tree, heart, Santa emoji],” Garner captioned the clip in which Carey was belting out “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).”

Carey responded by reposting Garner’s video with the caption “thank you @jennifergarner for being so festive [heart, Christmas tree emoji].”

Garner wasn’t the only one who had a blast at the show. Sisters Kim and Khloe Kardashian were also in the house with their kids and mom Kris Jenner. The K clan posed backstage with Mariah, with Khloe writing, “The Queen of Christmas!!!! For the little girls very FIRST concert ever, we went to see the Queen herself, @mariahcarey !! We all had the best time, creating the most magical memories!! Thank you mommy for taking all of us!”

Carey’s tour will hit Kansas City on Friday (Nov. 24) for a show at the T-Mobile Center, with the holiday swing scheduled to keep her on the road through a Madison Square Garden show in New York on Dec. 17.

And, as if it even needs to be said, Carey’s holiday classic, “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” has once again jingled its way back onto the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Nov. 25), re-entering the chart at No. 17.

Check out Khloe’s post below.

22 Nov 2023

Boys Are Rolling: Up-and-Coming Producers Working With Joey Bada$$ & More | Billboard News Presents

Meet Boys Are Rolling. The producing trio of Miles Sugarman, Crosby Spagnoli and Arno Sugarman are making a name for themselves by working with artists such as Joey Bada$$, Gunna, JID and Smino. The trio opens about how they came together, the projects they are working on, how they find artists to work with, the future of the group and more!

Crosby Spagnoli:
I definitely saw some people at the beginning were like, “Whoa, you guys made this.”

Miles Sugarman:
It’s always, “You guys made this?” that’s always …

Arno Sugarman:
They always thought that we would pull up like somebody else’s beats or something.

Miles Sugarman:
I’d say the simplest way to put it is Arno will start something, kind of get a great base idea down, we’ll then give it to Crosby. Crosby will polish it up, make it ready to then give to an artist, have it, like, song ready, and then I’ll get it to the artist. I’d say that’s the simplest way to put it.

Boys Are Rolling:
Yeah.

Miles Sugarman:
Me and Arno are brothers, so I guess we’ve known each other for quite a long time now and Crosby went to our high school. He and I did a music theory class together, and at the time, Arno was making beats on his computer, which wasn’t that popular, at least in my personal opinion. It didn’t seem that popular. And Crosby one day was like, “Oh, yo, like I make beats too, like, check this out.” I thought he was hilarious. I thought his music was really interesting, and because they were the only two that I personally knew that did that kind of, I guess, producing, I was like, “You guys need to meet.”

I find mostly bubbling artists, mainly through Spotify. I’ll check out artists that I really like, see who they’ve worked with or check their Instagram to see who likes them, and you’ll stumble upon something fantastic. Luckily, we now have, I feel like, enough credibility where I can DM someone who’s not, you know, completely blown up and usually we have a good success rate of who will hit us back. That’s my favorite part of this. It’s been like this is great. We want to work with them and actually have the ability to work with them.

Watch the full video above!

22 Nov 2023

Karol G & Mariah Angeliq’s ‘El Makinon’ Powers Its Way to One Billion Views on YouTube

Karol G and Mariah Angeliq’s girl-power anthem “El Makinon” has hit a new milestone.

Two years after its music video was unleashed, the three-minute clip has surpassed the billion-views mark on YouTube. According to the platform, this marks Karol G’s seventh entry to the Billion Views Club as a lead, featured artist or collaborator. She also claims No. 10 on YouTube’s Global Top Artists and No. 15 on U.S. Top Artists. 

Featured on Karol’s 2021 KG0516 album, the infectious head-bopping, hip-swaying reggaetón song produced by Neo is about breaking all the rules with the girls. “Makinon,” slang for a “big machine,” tells the story of a girl who’s been independent since she was 16 years old, and now that she’s older, she still depends solely on herself. “El Makinon” debuted at No. 9 on Hot Latin Songs and later peaked at No. 6 on the tally.

Most recently, Karol G performed a medley (“QLONA,” “Labios Mordidos” and Ojos Ferrari”) at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, Nov. 19. She also won two awards: top Latin female artist and top Latin touring artist. During her acceptance speech, she thanked her loyal fanbase.

“These awards mean the connection is there between all of you and me. I think you’re more than fans — you’re part of the team and the family. I give you half of all this because nothing would’ve been possible without you,” she said. “I always say awards are special because they’re an extra validation to what we do, but like I said before, to have your unconditional love, with or without music, with or without a tour, that will always be the best present ever and that’s what I hope will never fail or go away.”

Watch Karol G and Mariah Angeliq’s “El Makinon” video below:



22 Nov 2023

Jack Harlow’s ‘Lovin on Me’ Leaps Into TikTok Billboard Top 50’s Top 5

Mitski’s “My Love Mine All Mine” ranks atop the TikTok Billboard Top 50 yet again, while Jack Harlow’s viral hit “Lovin on Me” makes a major move into the Nov. 25-dated tally’s top five.

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The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity Nov. 13-19. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.

“My Love Mine All Mine” appears at No. 1 for the second straight week and fifth overall, extending its standing as the longest-running No. 1 in the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s two-month history. It concurrently lifts 3% to 12.5 million official U.S. streams in the U.S. on traditional streaming services, according to Luminate, begetting its new No. 14 peak on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart.

Checking in on the sound nearly two months after its initial debut on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 (Sept. 30), “My Love Mine All Mine” continues to be utilized in largely the same way, with users uploading videos showcasing love or budding friendships.

Lil Mabu and Chrisean Rock’s “Mr. Take Ya B-tch” remains at No. 2, while Kanye West’s “Runaway” featuring Pusha T vaults onto the ranking at No. 3. The 2010 song, featured on West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, sports a sizable bump on TikTok, led by an upload showing when West changed the lyrics of the song to address his divorce from Kim Kardashian.

Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” jumps to No. 4 after debuting at No. 23 on the Nov. 18 survey, its first full week of tracking after being released Nov. 10. The viral tune, which was teased on TikTok prior to its release, concurrently debuts at No. 2 on the Hot 100, as previously reported, largely via 22.2 million streams across all streaming services that report to that chart.

Usages of the song on TikTok mostly center on its opening refrain of “I’m vanilla, baby,” with perhaps the most viral upload featuring user quinickle doing a Rubik’s cube while lip synching – with many subsequent videos referencing him, as well as other so-called “vanilla” men.

Rounding out the top five, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” reaches a new peak of No. 5 after breaking into the top 10 the previous week at No. 6. It’s one of three holiday songs on the latest ranking, with Carey followed by Wham!’s “Last Christmas” at No. 17 and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” at No. 25.

Outside of “Runaway,” the chart’s next highest debut of the week belongs to Colbie Caillat’s “Bubbly,” which bows at No. 12. The 2000s hit has taken off thanks in large part to uploads in which posters use the song to soundtrack other musicians dancing at their own concerts, from Lil Uzi Vert and Justin Bieber to Kiss and NLE Choppa.

“Bubbly,” which peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100 in October 2007, sported a gain of 29% to 1.5 million streams.

See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.

22 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift Is Billboard’s Top Artist of 2023 | Billboard News

Taylor Swift is No. 1 on our year-end Top Artists chart. The singer dominated the Billboard 200 albums and Billboard Hot 100 songs charts this year.

Rania Aniftos:
Taylor Swift is the No. 1 on our year-end Top Artists chart.

Taylor Swift is the top artist in many hearts, and now, the singer claims the highest position on our 2023 year-end Top Artists chart. Taylor was previously the year-end top artist in 2015 and 2009, making her the first act to finish as the year-end No. 1 artist at least once in three different decades. She’s also ranked in the top 10 on the chart in 14 of the last 16 years.

During the 2023 chart year, Taylor logged 13 albums on the weekly Billboard 200 chart, including two that spent time on No. 1: Midnights and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). She also had 44 songs on the Hot 100 chart, a very well-deserved honor.

22 Nov 2023

Willie Nelson’s 25 Biggest Billboard Hits

At age 90 and with more than seven decades of music under his belt, Texas native Willie Nelson is busier than ever. The 12-time Grammy winner was recently inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame on Nov. 3 and in September, he released Bluegrass, his first full-length album of bluegrass-styled music. The album has earned Nelson a Grammy nomination for best bluegrass album, leading into the 2024 ceremony.

On Dec. 17, CBS will present the music special Willie Nelson’s 90th Birthday Celebration, honoring the music icon with performances and collaborations from Nelson as well as Gary Clark Jr., Snoop Dogg, Miranda Lambert, Norah Jones, George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Keith Richards and Nelson’s sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson. More top-tier stars will host, including Jennifer Garner, Chelsea Handler, Woody Harrelson, Ethan Hawke, Helen Mirren and Owen Wilson.

Nelson’s innovative songs, unique performance style and jazz-inspired, behind-the-beat style of phrasing, has made the iconoclast one of music’s most widely beloved artists, with 20 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. His catalog of hits he penned for other artists includes “Night Life,” “Hello Walls,” “Crazy,” “Family Bible” and “Funny How Time Slips Away.” He earned his first top 10 country hits as an artist in the 1960s with “Touch Me” and “Willingly,” but it was 1975’s Red Headed Stranger that would garner Nelson his mainstream breakthrough. The album’s “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” would earn Nelson his first Grammy award, and his first No. 1 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart.

In 1976, Nelson’s music was part of the compilation album Wanted! The Outlaws, which also included Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings, and Jessi Colter; the album became country music’s first album to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Nelson and Jennings’ hit collaborations include the 1976, three-week Hot Country Songs chart No. 1 hit “Good Hearted Woman” and 1978’s four-week No. 1 “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”

A testament to his musical fluidity, Nelson’s albums over the years have paid homage to his Texas honky-tonk roots, but also included projects of pop standards (1978’s Stardust), tributes to Lefty Frizzell (1977’s To Lefty From Willie), Kris Kristofferson (1979’s Willie Nelson Sings Kristofferson), Cindy Walker (2006’s You Don’t Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker), Frank Sinatra (2021’s That’s Life) and George and Ira Gershwin (2016’s Summertime), and albums recorded with Ray Price, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard and Webb Pierce.

Nelson was named as the inaugural honoree of the Country Music Association’s Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Three years later, Nelson became the first country artist to earn the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

Here, we look at Willie Nelson’s 25 biggest Billboard hits, from “Blues Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain” to “Beer For My Horses.”

Willie Nelson’s 25 Biggest Billboard Hits recap is based on actual performance on Billboard’s weekly Hot Country Songs chart. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at lower ranks earning less. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from each era, certain time frames were weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those years.

22 Nov 2023

The Year in Charts: Here Are the Top 10 Latin Artists of 2023

In a dazzling display of chart dominance, Bad Bunny secures his fifth consecutive year at the pinnacle of the coveted Top Latin Artists survey, as Billboard revealed in its 2023 Year-End charts on Tuesday (Nov. 21). Bunny’s achievement solidifies him as the only artist to claim the year-end Top Latin Artist title five times since the category’s inception in 2011.

Peso Pluma — unequivocally, the breakout artist of 2023 — is spearheading the regional Mexican music movement to global acclaim, and comes in at No. 2 on the list. In a historic moment, Pluma’s album, Génesis, debuted at an unprecedented No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200 in July, marking a groundbreaking achievement as the highest-charting regional Mexican album in Billboard history.

In the female Latin artists space, Karol G maintains her stronghold, securing her position as the sole woman to feature in the top 10 ranking, concluding the year at No. 3 — Shakira follows at No. 14, Rosalía at No. 17, Becky G at No. 31, and Kali Uchis at No. 32. Additionally, the Colombian hitmaker clinches this remarkable feat for the fifth consecutive year.

While the top 10 Latin artists are featured below, the broader landscape of the top 25 includes Natanael Cano at No. 11, Yng Lvcas at No. 12, followed by Romeo Santos at 13. The lineup extends to Shakira, Ozuna, Carin León, Rosalía, Anuel AA, Myke Towers, Manuel Turizo, Eladio Carrión, Bizarrap, Aventura, Acrángel, and Daddy Yankee securing the No. 25 spot. See the top 10 here, and then explore the full 50 Top Latin Artists, and all of our 2023 year-end charts.

Billboard’s year-end music recaps represent aggregated metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor on the weekly charts from Nov. 19, 2022, through Oct. 21, 2023. Rankings for Luminate-based recaps reflect equivalent album units, airplay, sales or streaming during the weeks that the titles appeared on a respective chart during the tracking year. Any activity registered before or after a title’s chart run isn’t considered in these rankings. That methodology detail, and the November-October time period, account for some of the difference between these lists and the calendar-year recaps that are independently compiled by Luminate.