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17 Nov 2023

ENHYPEN Talks ‘Orange Blood’ Mini-Album, Collabs With Pokemon, Prada & More | Billboard News

ENHYPEN sits down with Billboard News’ Tetris Kelly to talk about their new mini-album ‘Orange Blood,’ making their first songs in English, their collabs with Pokemon and Prada, being in the ‘Baby Shark’ movie, and more!

ENHYPEN:
Hello, we are ENHYPEN, and this is Billboard News.

Tetris Kelly:
Hey, it’s Tetris with Billboard News and for the first time in our studio, I got my friends ENHYPEN. What’s up, guys? I am so happy to have you guys here finally. And I mean, I was at the show the other night, I had the time of my life. So tell me about your first time playing a stadium in the States. How did you feel?

ENHYPEN:
Yeah, first of all, I just want to say the energy was so amazing.

Tetris Kelly:
Well, you talked about their energy — your energy was crazy. There was so much dancing. I think Jungwon, one time you were like on the ground doing choreo and you looked at the camera and I was like, “How do you guys do all of this?” So how was it to concentrate on the dancing, the singing, the fans? How do you balance all of that?

ENHYPEN:
We can perform because of ENGENES’ cheers, ENGENES’ energy. I think we get used to it the more we do it. The cheers really pump us up, and the adrenaline rush keeps us going.

Tetris Kelly:
“Bite Me” towards the end of the show — I love seeing you guys perform that. So let’s talk about that single and how has it been to perform that for the ENGENES?

ENHYPEN:
The fans’ chants were mind-blowing. They were cheering so loudly.

Tetris Kelly:
Tell me Heeseung: How was it to direct the song in studio?

Watch the full video above!

17 Nov 2023

Heath, Bassist of Rock Band X Japan, Dead at 55

Heath, the bassist of legendary Japanese rock band X Japan, died on Oct. 29 after a battle with colorectal cancer. He was 55 years old.

The news of his death was announced in a statement issued by the band on Friday (Nov. 19). “His cancer was found during an examination in June of this year. Despite his efforts to battle the disease, his condition declined suddenly in October, and he took his last breath in the hospital,” the statement reads. Additionally, the band notes that Heath’s funeral will be private and attended by immediate family members only, and that his family asks for any visits, donations or flowers to be withheld.

Heath played bass for X Japan from 1992 up until the band’s split in 1997, and reunited with the group in 2007. He was with the group through the releases of albums like 1993’s Art of Life and 1996’s Dahlia. In 2018, the group performed at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

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X Japan’s frontman Yoshiki Hayashi also shared a personal statement of mourning to his Instagram page, writing, “He was such a wonderful bass player, a band member, and a wonderful human being.

“Heath and I got closer than ever over this past year,” he continued. “On my birthday last year, he appeared as a guest on my program, and we talked endlessly afterwards in my dressing room. There was also a time after that when we talked on the phone for hours until daybreak. This summer, on August 20th, Heath performed as a guest at my dinner show. How could I have known that that would be my last performance with him? I couldn’t help make Heath’s wishes come true, and for that I feel fully responsible. I apologized to him when I bid farewell.”

Yoshiki’s statement continues, “Speaking as Yoshiki personally, I am so mentally and physically drained, so drenched in sorrow, that I don’t know what to say right now. I feel that if I stop now, I won’t be able to go any further, so I’m immersing myself in my busy schedule. But as the leader of the band, there are still some things that I must do. Heath’s family conveyed his words to me: ‘Don’t be sad,’ he said. ‘Cheer up, and say goodbye to me with a smile.’ Heath also requested that I, Yoshiki, be in charge of his memorial concert. I will discuss this further with his family to make sure that that is accomplished. There are also several things I need to fight for in order to make that happen.”

He concluded, “My story with Heath keeps going on and on. I wish I knew how to express the depth of my feelings here, but first I need to learn how to live with this profound loss. I will have more to say in the future. Thank you for everything, Heath. And may you rest in peace. I hope that someday we can play music together again.”

Read Yoshiki’s full statement here.

17 Nov 2023

K-Pop Stocks Slump, iHeartMedia Boosted by CEO Share Purchase, SiriusXM Gets Buffett Bounce

While most music stocks have posted gains over the last two months, or at least have treaded water, K-pop stocks are floundering in the closing stretch of 2023.  

Four South Korean music companies — HYBE, SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment and JYP Entertainment — had an average loss of 13.3% this week and have fallen an average of 21.4% in the last eight weeks. SM Entertainment has performed particularly poorly, falling 29.4% in eight weeks. Those losses occurred despite a rally two weeks ago after South Korean regulators’ ban on short selling until 2024 sparked a surge in the country’s stock prices.

Elsewhere, music stocks are generally surging in late 2023. Non-Korean stocks in the Billboard Global Music Index have gained an average of 9.1% over the last eight weeks. Only two of those 18 stocks — iHeartMedia and Deezer — have suffered double-digit losses, and 11 of the 18 have posted gains over those eight weeks. Companies’ latest earnings reports have been mostly positive. Stocks also reflect both investors’ enthusiasm for music industry trends and larger macroeconomic trends such as a slowdown in inflation and an expectation that central banks will stop hiking interest rates. 

While South Korea’s KOSPI composite index has held steady over the last 8 weeks with a 0.2% gain, South Korean music companies have suffered from a string of headline-grabbing news that appears to have dampened demand for their stocks and eroded what were large year-to-date gains. This week, a Kakao executive was arrested for allegedly manipulating SM Entertainment’s stock price to help Kakao beat out HYBE to become the K-pop agency’s largest shareholder. In previous weeks, K-pop stocks faltered when a member of the group EXO broke away from SM Entertainment, and also when G-Dragon, a member of the YG group BIGBANG, was arrested on charges of illegal drug use. 

Even after the eight-week decline, the four K-pop companies have an average year-to-date gain of 20.2%. Non-Korean stocks in the Billboard Global Music Index have an average gain of 6% this year (excluding Madison Square Garden Entertainment, which spun off from Sphere in April). 

The Billboard Global Music Index rose 2.6% to 1,426.49 this week, falling just 1.4% shy of the all-time high of 1,447.32 set on July 21. The index has had a remarkable three-week run, gaining 9.3% since Oct. 27 and erasing most of a 9.9% decline since the July 21 peak. Its year-to-date gain stands at 22.1%.

Music stocks outperformed many other major indexes this week. In the United States, the Nasdaq composite gained 2.4% and the S&P 500 improved 2.2%. In the United Kingdom, the FTSE 100 gained 2%. South Korea’s KOSPI composite index rose 2.5%.

One of this week’s biggest gainers, iHeartMedia, rose 25.4% to $2.52 after the company announced a multi-year podcast partnership deal with Global, a U.K.-based media company, that will make iHeartMedia’s podcasts available on Global’s podcast player and its digital advertising exchange. Perhaps more importantly, CEO Bob Pittman purchased 100,000 iHeartMedia shares on Tuesday (Nov. 14), according to an SEC filing, at an average price of $2.06 per share. At Friday’s closing price, Pittman’s investment has already gained over 22%. 

Abu Dhabi-based music streamer Anghami gained 27.2% to $1.17 — the latest in a series of large fluctuations since September. In October, the company was warned of a potential de-listing for failing to trade above $1. At the time, Anghami shares were trading at $0.82. Over the next five weeks, the share price gained 42.2% without an earnings report, news release or management change that would typically coincide with such a large swing.

Shares of SiriusXM rose 9.7% to $5.08 after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway revealed on Tuesday that it purchased nearly 9.7 million shares with a market value of approximately $44 million. Investors pay close attention to the famous stock picker, who is known for seeking undervalued companies with competitive advantages (Berkshire Hathaway has large stakes in Apple, Coca-Cola, Bank of America and Kraft Heinz, among other public companies). In May, Capital One Financial shares jumped 13.5% on news that Berkshire Hathaway bought a $900 million stake.  

Warner Music Group fell 2.6% to $31.81 after reporting earnings for its fiscal year on Thursday. Tencent Music Entertainment, which announced it had reached 103 million subscribers in its third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, gained 13.6% to $8.37.

Coming, up German concert promoter CTS Eventim will report third-quarter earnings on Tuesday (Nov. 21). 

17 Nov 2023

2 Chainz, Lil Wayne & Usher “Transparency,” DJ Premier ft. Common “In Moe (Speculation)” & More | Daily Visuals 11.17.23

HipHopWired Featured Video

BET Experience, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz Concert, Los Angeles, USA - 25 Jun 2016

Source: Variety / Getty

With the release of their album Welcome 2 Collegrove, Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz have once again given fans a taste of what two of the best from the South can do when cookin’ in the kitchen. Looking to keep their momentum going, Weezy and Tity Boi drop a new video for one of the album’s standout cuts.

Bringing in Usher for the visuals to “Transparency” Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz find themselves in the midst of many women looking for their attention while the trio use futuristic and old school technology to keep an eye on their stable while admiring them from afar. Just let them in the room, damnit!

Back on the East, iconic producer DJ Premier links up with legendary MC, Common and in their clip for “In Moe (Speculation)” the dynamic duo get in the studio to remind us what pure Hip-Hop used to sound like in the golden era.

Check out the rest of today’s drops including work from Neek Bucks featuring Millyz, Cyhi and Pusha T, and more.

2 CHAINZ, LIL WAYNE & USHER – “TRANSPARENCY”



DJ PREMIER FT. COMMON – “IN MOE (SPECULATION)”



CYHI & PUSHA T – “MR. PUT THAT SH*T ON”



NEEK BUCKS FT. MILLYZ – “NO EMOTION”



AMBITIOUS RICH – “SLIGHT”



CAPELLA GREY – “BAECHESTER”



YUNG ESCKIMO – “BLUE MAGIC INTRO”



PETER ROSENBERG – “FIRST PERSON EATER”



17 Nov 2023

P1Harmony, Teddy Swims & More to Perform at 2023 Jingle Ball Pre-Show Village

The 2023 Jingle Ball Pre-Show Village is back. iHeartMedia Los Angeles’ 102.7 KIIS FM announced on Friday (Nov. 17) its list of performers for the annual pre-Jingle Ball event.

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P1Harmony, Teddy Swims, Charlieonnafriday, Paul Russell and GUNNAR will all perform live at the show, which is free and open to the public and will take place on Dec. 1 at 2 p.m. PT in the parking lot of the KIA Forum. (G)I-DLE will also be taking part in a special Q&A during the event.

The 102.7 KIIS FM Jingle Ball Pre-Show Village is also sponsored by Your Local Kia Dealers, It’s Boba Time, Sweet James Accident Attorneys, LA Girl Cosmetics and BumBumz — which will provide fun, onsite activations for fans to experience.

iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Village

Later that night, at 7:30 p.m., iHeartRadio 102.7 KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball 2023 Presented by Capital One at the Kia Forum will feature performances by Olivia Rodrigo, Niall Horan, AJR, Sabrina Carpenter, Miguel, Doechii, Flo Rida, (G)I-DLE and P1Harmony.

If you can’t make the Jingle Ball tour in person, a network special, airing Dec. 21 (8-10 p.m. ET/PT), will feature footage from all iHeartRadio Jingle Ball tour stops. The special will be available on demand and on Hulu the following day. Tickets for Jingle Ball are available now at iHeartRadio.com/JingleBall.

17 Nov 2023

Taylor Swift’s Biggest Scalper for the Eras Tour: Her Fans 

A small percentage of Taylor Swift fans made huge profits reselling their Eras Tour tickets on sites like StubHub as professional scalpers mostly had to watch from the sidelines, according to data reviewed by Billboard.

The unusual dynamic underscores the challenges major tours face in combating scalpers — and the unintended consequences of efforts to keep tickets off the secondary market.

Swift’s touring team sought to keep tickets for the Eras Tour off the secondary market, according to Ticketmaster officials, and met with Ticketmaster executives to discuss how to best prevent mass ticket scalping. One option was that Ticketmaster could use its Safetix service to digitally lock tickets in place and prevent fans from transferring their tickets, effectively blocking all ticket buyers from reselling their tickets on sites like StubHub. But the downside was that, while many fans liked the idea of blocking scalpers, they didn’t like having their own tickets made non-transferable and found such restrictions inconvenient.

Ultimately, the tour decided to use Ticketmaster’s Verified Fan platform to screen out scalpers from the initial ticket sale, asking buyers to register in advance. Fans identified as legitimate fans were sent a code allowing them to buy tickets during the presale, which opened on Nov. 15, 2022, and subsequently crashed as millions of fans, scalpers and bots flooded the site.

Ticketmaster officials would later say the website meltdown was the result of a massive denial of service attack that disrupted the presale but didn’t defeat the security measures put in place to screen out scalpers from fans. As proof of its success, Ticketmaster announced that less than 5% of the approximately 5 million tickets sold for the tour ended up being listed on secondary markets.

It’s an impressive feat compared with other major tours in 2023 that took fewer steps to keep tickets off the secondary market and on average saw 20–30% of available tickets sold through StubHub.

While secondary tickets for tours like Beyonce’s and Coldplay’s were initially listed at major markups several times the face value, as more tickets moved through the secondary market prices dropped over time.

Swift’s Eras Tour saw the opposite effect. Eras tickets on StubHub were marked up 10 times face value, and then never dropped. The huge spike in price allowed resale sites, which collect a percentage of sales from both sellers and buyers, to make up the revenue it would have generated had they sold a higher volume of tickets, according to a StubHub rep.

Selling the tickets was easy, but getting them into the hands of fans proved difficult. StubHub noticed that orders for Eras tickets were experiencing an unusually high volume of delays and complaints from buyers. When company officials investigated the issue, they discovered that 83% of the Eras Tour tickets sold on its site were coming from new accounts with no record of past sales. The vast majority of those tickets are believed to have come from Swift fans, and they were making big bucks. A ticket with a face value under $150 could fetch $1,700, while tickets close to the stage were going for as high as $10,000.

While the outcome of the story is surprising, the fact that 83% of the available inventory of Eras Tour tickets on StubHub was sold by fans and not ticket brokers is a testament to how efficiently Swift and Ticketmaster were screening out professional scalpers, reducing their access to inventory to less than 1% of available tickets. While Swift would probably prefer that none of her tickets be flipped on the secondary market, at least she can take solace knowing that her fans, not professional scalpers, reaped most of the financial rewards.

17 Nov 2023

Cassie Sues Diddy, What to Expect From Billboard Music Awards, New Music From ENHYPEN & More | Billboard News

Cassie filed a lawsuit against her Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, in which she depicts enduring over a decade of violent behavior, disturbing demands and drug abuse. ENHYPEN debut their fifth mini album titled ‘Orange Blood,’ 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne drop their joint album ‘Welcome 2 ColleGrove,’ and André 3000 debuts the all-instrumental album ‘New Blue Sun.’ Latin music star Ozuna drops his new album ‘Cosmo,’ Drake releases ‘For All the Dogs Scary Hours Edition,’ Midland’s “Wichita Lineman” song is here and more!

Tetris Kelly:
Diddy gets slapped with a lawsuit. We catch up with the guys of ENHYPEN. The Billboard Music Awards are this weekend and we tell you what to expect. Plus, all the new music drops you need to know about.

Happy Friday, y’all. It’s BBMA weekend and we’re so excited here at Billboard News. But before we talk BBMAs, let’s see what new tracks are out in our Friday Music Guide.

Nothing is better than when two icons collide, and that’s exactly what’s happening with Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz on ‘Welcome 2 Collegrove.’ More new music to come during the show, but for now, let’s check out our top story of the day.

Sean “Diddy” Combs is facing accusations of rape and physical abuse from his former partner Cassie. R&B singer Cassie has filed a lawsuit accusing hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs of physical abuse and rape. Cassie, full name Cassandra Ventura, claims she endured over a decade of his violent behavior and disturbing demands, including repeated physical beatings and being forced to engage in sex acts with male sex workers while Diddy masturbated.

Watch the full video above.

17 Nov 2023

What Fans Can Expect From the Reimagined 2023 Billboard Music Awards | Billboard News

Here’s what fans can expect from the reimagined 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday, November 19th, on BBMAs.watch.

Tetris Kelly
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: It’s time for the Billboard Music Awards. Ahead of the 2023 BBMAs, I’m telling you exactly what to expect.

Karol G
From my fans, they appreciate what I do. They respect what I do. They love what I do, and I really love them for the support that they give me.

Tetris Kelly
Stars will be performing for their biggest fans at custom locations around the world. We’re getting Latin heat from Karol G and Peso Pluma, K-pop heavyweights like Stray Kids and NewJeans, with pop girlies like Bebe Rexha and Tate McRae hitting the stage.

Tate McRae
It’s so wild.

Tetris Kelly
In the first-ever awards show performance of “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and oh yeah, we’ll find out if Taylor Swift will win enough trophies to surpass Drake as the most-awarded BBMA artist of all time. It all goes down Sunday across social platforms and on BBMAs.watch beginning at 8pm Eastern Time and 5pm Pacific Time.

17 Nov 2023

‘Dashing Through the Snow’: How to Watch & Stream Ludacris’ New Holiday Movie Online

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Ludacris is helping you get into the holiday spirit — and no, it isn’t with a new Christmas single. The “Stand Up” rapper is trading the recording studio for a film set as he’s starring in the new Disney holiday movie Dashing Through the Snow. You can officially stream the new movie exclusively on Disney+ starting Friday (Nov. 17).

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Ludacris stars as Eddie Garrick, a divorced social worker for the Atlanta Police Department who has lost his joy and spirit for the yuletide season due to a traumatic experience as a child. At the request of his ex-wife Allison (Teyonah Parris), he takes his 8-year-old daughter, Charlotte (Madison Skye Validum), for Christmas Eve. It’s when they meet a mysterious man in a red suit named Nick (Lil Rel Howery) that the two are swept up in a magical adventure that may just help Garrick rediscover his holiday spirit.

Other castmembers you can expect to see include Oscar Nuñez, Zulay Henao, Kevin Connolly and Janora McDuffie.

Check below for the streaming options available.

How to Watch & Stream Dashing Through the Snow

Dashing Through the Snow is a Disney+ original, which means you’ll need a subscription to the platform in order to watch it online. Already have a membership? All you need to do is log into your account and find it under new releases, then you’ll be able to stream the movie for free.

If you aren’t subscribed to Disney+ the streaming platform offers a variety of plans starting at $7.99/month that you can customize to your needs. Click here or the button below to start your subscription.

The cheapest option is the Basic Plan for $7.99/month and provides you with the service’s ad-supported plan. You’ll have access to the entire Disney+ library including programs from Marvel, National Geographic and more and the ability to stream on multiple devices. If you’d prefer no ads, then you can get the Premium Plan for $13.99/month, which includes everything in the Basic Plan as well as the ability to download and watch content offline.

Looking for additional savings? You can save over 40% when you bundle Disney+ with Hulu and ESPN+ for $14.99/month, which will triple your content library. For live TV offerings, you can also bundle Disney+ with Hulu+ Live TV to expand your program offerings further.

Another money-saver option is to join Disney+ through Verizon. With Verizon’s MyPlan, you can get the Disney+ Bundle for $10/month, which can help save up to $4.99/month. The best part? You can toggle off perks each month and only pay for what you use.

Besides Dashing Through the Snow, you’ll have access to all of Disney+’s library of exclusive and original programs such as Peter Pan & Wendy, Muppets Mayhem, Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All, J-Hope in the Box, SUGA Road to D-Day, The Prouder Family: Louder & Prouder, WandaVision, The Mandalorian, Loki, The Book of Boba Fett, The Beatles Get Back, The Simpsons, Welcome to Earth and Called to the Wild.

Check below to watch the trailer for Dashing Through the Snow.

17 Nov 2023

Keke Palmer’s Momma Claims She Lied About Usher Being “Gay” To Protect Her Daughter

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Sharon Palmer Says She Lied About Usher To Protect Keke Palmer

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty / Keke Palmer / Sharon Palmer

The Keke Palmer / Darius Jackson drama hit another level, and poor Usher is caught a stray for no reason after Keke’s momma brought up the singer’s name during a recorded phone conversation.

Spotted on HipHopDX, Keke Palmer’s mother, Sharon Palmer, is now copping pleas after claiming Usher was “gay” and now says she only said that to protect her daughter.

Her allegations came during a recording of an intense phone call with her daughter’s ex-boyfriend, Darius Jackson, which surfaced online on Wednesday, November 15, following allegations of Jackson being abusive towards Keke Palmer.

Per HipHopDX:

During the heated conversation, Palmer can be heard yelling at Jackson for “harassing” her daughter, calling him a “dick sucker” and saying he has “mental problems.”

She also references the incident that sparked issues between the couple (at least in the public eye): the viral clip of the Nope star dancing with Usher during the singer’s Las Vegas residency earlier this year.

“Usher is gay!” she exclaimed. “You and your stupid-ass family, y’all don’t even understand business. Usher’s gay, guys.”

Sharon Palmer Quickly Clarifies Why She Lied About Usher’s Sexuality

As expected, the recording went viral on social media and was picked up by multiple news outlets. Sharon Palmer quickly ran to Instagram to explain her “lie” about Usher’s sexuality after saying she was worried about her daughter’s “safety.”

“The lie I told about Usher was to get Darius to stop abusing my daughter on account of his jealousy,” she wrote in a comment on The Neighborhood Talk’s page, as reported by HipHopDX. “So I said he didn’t like women for her SAFETY.”

“Everything else I meant with my chest and didn’t expect anyone to hear it because recording me is illegal. I guess he is okay with jail but I knew that when he put his hands on my daughter. He is still abusing her in all of this, trying to paint himself as a victim. Textbook behavior.”

Damn, Usher didn’t do anything but give Keke Palmer an experience at his show.

—

Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty