News

28 Sep 2023

SZA’s ‘SOS’ Breaks Record for Most Weeks at No. 1 on Top R&B Albums Chart

SZA’s SOS adds another record to its ever-growing list of achievements on Billboard’s charts, as the blockbuster album collects an unprecedented 41st week at No. 1 on the Top R&B Albums chart, the most by any project since the list launched in 2013.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

SOS achieves its record week on the list dated Sept. 30, where it earned 53,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week of Sept. 15 – 21, according to Luminate. The album gained 17% in units compared with the prior week, ending Sept. 14, helped by the arrival of a remix with Justin Bieber for the album’s single “Snooze.”

With a 41st week at the summit, SOS takes the title for the longest-running No. 1 from The Weeknd’s After Hours, which clocked 40 weeks in charge from April 2020 – June 2021. Here’s a look at the updated standings for the list’s 11-year history:

Weeks at No. 1, Album Title, Artist, Year(s) at No. 1

  • 41, SOS, SZA, 2022-23
  • 40, After Hours, The Weeknd, 2020-21
  • 33, 24K Magic, Bruno Mars, 2016-18
  • 27, Planet Her, Doja Cat, 2021-22
  • 24, The Highlights, The Weeknd, 2021-22
  • 19, Lemonade, Beyoncé, 2016
  • 18, American Teen, Khalid, 2017-19

The new coronation continues the album’s colossal chart year that began with its No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200, which ranks all albums regardless of genre, and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts last December. While it racked up 10 weeks atop the former, it rolled to 21 weeks at No. 1 on the latter, breaking the record for the longest stay for an album by a woman in the chart’s history and managing the longest run of any LP since 1990. Plus, SOS’ “Kill Bill” single racked up its own 21-week run at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the most of any song since the chart launched in 1958.

On this week’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs list, SZA lands her third No. 1 through a featured spot on Drake’s “Slime You Out.” The new champ, which premieres in the top slot, follows her prior leaders “I Hate U” and “Kill Bill.”

28 Sep 2023

Watch Penn Badgley & Kevin Bacon Add Their Own Spin to a Taylor Swift TikTok Challenge

Even in the midst of her Travis Kelce saga and the countdown to her Eras Tour concert film, Taylor Swift is dominating TikTok with a song and trend that aren’t connected to either of those things. On Wednesday (Sept. 27), actors Penn Badgley and Kevin Bacon joined forces for their own spin on the “August” challenge.

For some context, the TikTok challenge finds users twirling their pets to a cinematic version of “August,” a fan-favorite deep cut from Swift’s Grammy-winning Folklore album. In Badgley and Bacon’s video, which was uploaded to the You actor’s TikTok account, Badgley sprints through a hallway where he finds Bacon and spins him around as the Murder in the First actor pulls a hilarious facial expression that sits somewhere between wonder and fright. “Summer nostaligia w/ @Kevin Bacon,” Badgley captioned the photo. The two actors had also recently linked up for an episode of Badgley’s Podcrushed podcast.

Badgley has previously expressed his love for Swift — and he’s used TikTok to do so. Late last year, the actor made his TikTok debut to the tune of Swift’s “Anti-Hero,” the Billboard Hot 100-topping lead single from her Midnights album. He captioned the video, which has since garnered more than 11 million views, simply “#antihero.” While Swift has yet to comment on his team-up with Kevin Bacon, the “Karma” singer did react to his TikTok debut, commenting with a succinct “OMG!!!!?.”

As for Bacon, this is the Footloose actor’s second “August” challenge. On Sept. 22 he pulled off a bait-and-switch in which he set the video up to start spinning a real goat, but ended up twirling around a figurine of one instead. “No actual goats were harmed in making this video,” he joked in the caption.

Check out Penn Badgley and Kevin Bacon’s version of the Taylor Swift TikTok challenge below:

28 Sep 2023

Patrick Mahomes Reveals He Met Taylor Swift at a Chiefs Afterparty: ‘She’s Really Cool’

Taylor Swift is getting tight with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce‘s teammates. During a press conference Wednesday (Sept. 27), Patrick Mahomes revealed that he got to meet the pop star at the team’s game-day afterparty over the weekend, noting that Kelce’s rumored new love interest is “really cool.”

The party in question was reportedly hosted at Prime Social in Kansas City soon after the Chiefs triumphed over the Bears on Sunday, a matchup at Arrowhead Stadium notably attended by Swift. The singer, who was seen cheering Kelce on alongside his mother, Donna, left for the celebration with #87 at her side after the game.

“She’s really cool, good people,” Mahomes recalled.

Shortly before the party, the quarterback had told reporters that he hoped to meet Swift eventually, saying she was “a tremendous singer, tremendous at everything she does.” “I haven’t got to meet her, but I guess if she ends up being with Travis, then I will probably get to meet her at some point,” he said in a postgame interview Sunday. “She seems like a good person. Hopefully, I get to meet her one day.”

Now that he has brushed shoulders with Swift, though, Mahomes says he doesn’t plan on sharing any more about the Grammy winner in the future. “But like Trav said, man, I’m going to let them have their privacy and just keep it moving,” he added Wednesday.

The sentiment echoes Kelce’s own remarks on his recent New Heights podcast episode, in which he told his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce, that he’ll be drawing the curtain on his relationship with Swift from now on. “It is my personal life and I want to respect both of our lives,” he said before joking, “She’s not in the media as much as I am, doing this show every single week … I’m enjoying life, and I sure as hell enjoyed this weekend.”

Watch Patrick Mahomes recall meeting Taylor Swift below:

28 Sep 2023

Myke Towers on His First-Ever Studio Session, Learning from Reggaeton Icons | Growing Up

Myke Towers’ rise to the top was the result of time, practice and inspiration from the greats before him. In the newest episode of Growing Up, the hitmaker recalled how he learned about songwriting from his grandmother, his first-ever studio session and how he feels about repping the new generation of reggaeton.

28 Sep 2023

Billboard Launches Playback Music Arcade Game

If you’re into trivia, listen up. Billboard announced on Thursday (Sept. 28) a brand new music trivia game called Playback.

Playback will connect music, charts, artists and fans in an interactive way, as users can showcase their knowledge on music milestones and their favorite artists’ achievements on the Billboard charts. Through their success in the game, users can earn Keys — Billboard loyalty points — in order to redeem them for daily rewards, which include exclusive prizes, gift cards and VIP events. Users can also earn Keys by engaging across brand platforms including Billboard.com, social media accounts and live events.

“We’re incredibly excited to launch Playback,” said Dana Droppo, Chief Brand Officer of Billboard, in a press statement. “This game is a celebration of music, a tribute to our audience, and an opportunity for fans to showcase their musical prowess. We can’t wait to see who will rise to the top of the leaderboard!” 

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“We’re thrilled to partner with Billboard, charting a fresh course in fan loyalty to enhance connections with both each other and their favorite music,” added Harrison Wang, CEO of Unblocked. “Our goal is to deliver an unmatched experience for the music community, providing digital ownership and unique rewards.” 

To experience Playback, head over to billboardplayback.com.

28 Sep 2023

Pop Culture Rewind: The Beatles’ Chart Achievements | Billboard News

We take a look back at The Beatles‘ chart achievements in the latest episode of Billboard‘s Pop Culture Rewind.

Evan Burke:
There’s no group like The Beatles. Before BTS, before Taylor Swift, The Beatles captivated fans with Beatle Mania, and the legendary band had the hits to back up the hysteria. We break down their Billboard chart achievements in this week’s Pop Culture Rewind.

From “I Want to Hold Your Hand” in 1964 to making us “Come Together,” The Beatles have amassed a record-setting 20 No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100, the most of any artist. At one point The Beatles held all top five spots on the chart with everybody wanting to “Twist and Shout.” That record was held until September of 2021, when Drake grabbed the top five slots.

John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr are one of the most influential groups of all time, setting the standard for fan culture, boy bands and more. Get this: They also have 19 No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 with projects like Please Please Me and Abbey Road, bringing them to a whopping 132 weeks at No. 1, easily ranking them as the act with the most weeks atop the chart.

It’ll be a long time before anyone ever does it again quite like The Beatles.

We’ll have another huge moment for you next week in our Pop Culture Rewind.

Watch the full video above!

28 Sep 2023

Maya Rudolph & Gretchen Lieberum (aka Princess) Share Their Favorite Prince Songs

Saturday (Sept. 30) at The Rooftop at Pier 17 (one of NYC’s most scenic venues), the
the music and funky fresh magic of Prince will come to life when covers band Princess takes the stage.

While there are plenty of Prince tribute acts, two things make Princess a bit of a glam slam: Prince himself gave them his seal of approval; plus, the outfit is led by SNL GOAT Maya Rudolph and singer-songwriter Gretchen Lieberum.

Friends since college, Rudolph and Lieberum are lifelong devotees of the Purple One. And while they’ll go to bat for his underappreciated comic chops, Princess is a musical endeavor they take as seriously as Morris Day takes his hair in the Purple Rain film.

Billboard asked the band to come up with a list of their favorite Prince songs — a difficult task likely to leave any fan delirious. “It’s like choosing our favorite child,” they joked.

“This list is a reflection of how we’re feeling today, it could change tomorrow,” Rudolph told Billboard of their selections, which include B-sides, deep cuts and a handful of Billboard Hot 100 hits. “There’s some dark sh-t on here.”

“We’ve tried to play a lot of these songs live,” she continued. “The thing about Prince that was so amazing was that if there was a Prince single out, there was always a 12-inch version out. You were always going down this extra road, like finding out your favorite book has more chapters. His live shows were like that, too, and we try to incorporate that into our live shows to make it a little extra special.”

28 Sep 2023

Britney Spears Opens Her Heart in New Trailer For ‘Crossroads’ Movie Re-Release

In advance of Britney Spears coming back to the big screen in next month’s re-release of the singer’s movie debut in 2002’s coming-of-age road-trip dramedy Crossroads, a new trailer is getting fans hyped for the special event.

The 30-second trailer for the global fan event on Oct. 23 and 25 opens with Spears’ Lucy enthusiastically singing Madonna’s “Open Your Heart” into a spoon in her teenage bedroom, which just happens to have a poster of Madge’s debut album cover in plain view on the wall.

As Spears bounces around the room lost in music, she suddenly stops and hops under the bed when her dad (Dan Akroyd) yells from the other room. Cut to Lucy hopping in the car with her two estranged high school besties, Mimi (Taryn Manning) and Kit (Zoë  Saldaña) for a cross-country road trip, where they’re joined by Mimi’s handsome friend, Ben (Anson Mount).

“So I’m going all the way to California,” Mimi says, as Spears’ Lucy counsels, “you can’t go by yourself with some guy.” We also see Akroyd berating Lucy for sneaking away in the middle of the night and ordering her to return right away. The clip ends with Spears crooning “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” one of the hits from the singer’s 2001 Britney album.

The two-night event from Trafalgar Releasing, Sony Music Entertainment and RCA Records will support Spears’ upcoming tell-all memoir, The Woman in Me (Oct. 24). The movie written by Shonda Rhimes (Scandal, Grey’s Anatomy) and directed by Tamra Davis (CB4, 13) will include bonus features never before seen in theaters — including a sing-along to two of Spears’ songs from the film.

“I recently rewatched Crossroads and was so enthralled with the time capsule of nostalgia that this incredible ensemble cast brings to the screen,” director Davis said in a statement when the re-release was announced last week. “Britney is absolutely breathtaking to watch, and Shonda is showing us her early expertise in writing complicated female characters.”

There will also be a new merch line featuring shirts, sweats, jackets and pieces inspired by the film’s wardrobe, as well as RCA Records’ Crossroads: Special Edition of the soundtrack, with three new Spears remixes: “Overprotected” (Richi Lopez Remix), “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” (Snakehips Remix) and “I Love Rock ‘N Roll” (Frank Walker Remix).

Watch the new Crossroads trailer below.

28 Sep 2023

AI-Generated Voices Can Do for Singers What Synths Did for Pianists (Guest Column)

YouTube recently launched an AI Music incubator with artists and producers from Universal Music Group. The purpose of the group, according to Universal CEO Lucian Grainge, is to explore, experiment, and offer feedback on the AI-related musician tools and products the Google team is researching — with the hope that more artists will benefit from YouTube’s creative suite. 

This partnership demonstrates the clear desire to involve the industry in the development stages of AI products and protect the human component of artistry. This desire is heightened in the face of deep fakes. Just last month, Google launched its Synth ID watermark meant to spot AI-generated images (Google DeepMind CEO Denis Hassabis cited the importance of deepfake detection ahead of a contentious election season). “Heart on My Sleeve,” the song created with AI-generated voices of fake Drake and The Weeknd kicked off the music industry’s scramble to shut down and stamp out any unauthorized use of artists’ voices. Most importantly, though, the viral track proved that AI voice models are here and only improving with each passing day.

As artists, labels, and other rights holders have grown more concerned about AI models learning and profiting from their copyrighted material, fans and creators have discovered new ways to engage with their favorite artists and imagine completely new musical works using their AI voice models. This is prompting other industry executives (myself included) to wonder how these models can continue to be used to explore this new creative frontier of music while protecting artists.

With all of this in mind, the industry needs to mull over a few philosophical questions and consider the distinction between voice cloning and voice synthesis. A singer is much more than timbre, the primary quality that voice models modify in a voice. AI voices are not the same as samples, where the whole vocal element is based on an underlying artist’s full performance which would include pitch, emotion, timbre, accent, tone, etc. 

Regardless, AI innovations will only reach their maximum potential if the industry faces one foundational issue: artists and their labels need to control the ways in which their image, likeness and voice are used. Whether the industry decides to embrace these innovations or limit AI-powered cloning entirely, the next step begins with synthetic voice detection. Is the artist singing on any given track fake or the real deal?

In the early 2000s, music companies found themselves losing control of their content to the digitalization of music. The industry’s initial impulse to crush file-sharing networks like Napster led to the launch of Apple’s iTunes store in 2003 and, eventually, legal streaming. Other digital rights management tools, like ContentID on YouTube, were developed to detect unauthorized use of music. Once the industry learned to embrace digital music and formed a foundational infrastructure to support it, streaming revenues soared — breaking the $10 billion mark for the first time in 2022 and making up 84% of the industry’s total revenue, according to the RIAA. 

The industry needs synthetic voice detection, but with 120,000 new tracks uploaded to streaming platforms daily (according to Luminate) on top of the already existing back catalogs, can it be done accurately and at scale? The short answer: yes. 

As the industry begins to embrace the responsible use of AI for synthetic voice creation, I strongly believe there should be a corresponding willingness for artists and labels to collaborate in that training process. It’s in their best interests to do this now. AI applications are already scaling in a variety of categories. Well-engineered models are becoming exponentially more efficient and can increasingly manage massive computing tasks. Combined with strategic operational approaches, this is achievable today.   

To honor each artist’s decision whether or not to participate in voice models, the industry needs an easy and accessible way for artists to build their own voice models and grant fans and creators permission to use it. This type of initiative paired with synthetic voice detection ensures that only the voices and works of those who want to be involved in voice cloning and other derivative AI tools are used. Artists who want to create their own voice models can work with voice synthesis platforms to establish the terms of where and how their voice model can be used–offering more control and even opportunities for monetization. 

Geraldo Ramos is the co-founder and CEO of Moises, the AI-driven music platform that is transforming the way artists and businesses incorporate AI technology into their workflows.

28 Sep 2023

Doja Cat’s Skechers Collaboration Is an Ode to 2000s Nostalgia: ‘I Feel Like I’m a Part of History’

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Doja Cat is flipping the script on one of Skechers‘ classic designs for her premiere capsule collection with the shoe giant dropping on Thursday (Sept. 28). The sneakers offer a modern-but-rugged spin on the heritage trainer while paying homage to 2000s nostalgia.

Doja Cat

Doja Cat’s Skechers Commercial Will Make You Do a Double Take: Watch

“It feels really cool to be able to create my own shoe with Skechers,” Doja said in a statement. “To design something inspired by the iconic sneaker my peers wore back in the day – Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera – I feel like I am a part of history.”

Doja Cat x Sketchers

Doja Cat x Sketchers

Sketchers

As the brand’s first Artist-in-Residence, Doja worked closely with the Skechers design team to create the sneakers, which retail for $125 and are available in a variety of vibrant and neutral colorways.

Doja Cat x Sketchers

Doja Cat x Sketchers

Sketchers

The “Paint the Town Red” rhymer “Doja-fyed” the sneakers by utilizing mixed materials such as premium leathers with hints of patent leather and mesh adding an eccentric touch that stays true to her style. The sneakers, which are available in black, white, off white, olive green and lavender, are outfitted with the signature Skechers x Doja Cat logo and feature Skechers’  Air-Cooled Memory Foam insole.

In addition to designing the collection, Doja put her creative stamp on the Skechers campaign. “For this campaign, I worked with Skechers to create visuals that were simplistic, art-forward, edgy…and all the while we explored different elements like fire, burnt textures, and the aftermath of the flames,” she explained.

Doja was first inspired to collaborate with Skechers when she sported a pair of the original D’Lites sneakers during her headlining set at Coachella in 2022.

The Skechers x Doja Cat collab is available at Skechers.com.

 Shop the collection below.

Skechers

Doja Cat: Doja’Lite Shine (Off White)

$125

With its premium patent leather and sleek mesh upper and unique metallic marble lug bottom, the Doja’Lite Lace Up Sneaker was designed to shine! The sneaker is available in off white or black.

Skechers

Doja Cat: Doja’ Lite Pop (Lavender)

$125

Put your best foot forward in this show-stopping colorway. The lavender-hued Doja’Lite features snake embossed premium patent leather, a sleek mesh upper with a chunky outsole.

Skechers

Doja Cat: Doja’Lite Premium (Olive)

$125

Available in olive or white, this  pair features premium leather with genuine suede, offset by a sleek mesh upper and metallic marble or translucent paralyzed lug bottom.