News

08 Sep 2023

Recording Academy Promotes Todd Dupler to Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer

The Recording Academy has promoted Todd Dupler to chief advocacy & public policy officer, effective immediately. In his role, Dupler oversees the advocacy division focused on championing creators’ rights and elevating policy issues that stand to affect the music community. He also orchestrates cross-departmental efforts to advance the overall advocacy goals of the Recording Academy and coordinates state and local advocacy with the Academy’s 12 regional chapters.

“Through his remarkable tenure of nearly 12 years at the Academy, Todd has proven his unwavering commitment to accelerating change within the music community,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “His guidance has been vital to the Academy’s year-round efforts of advocating for creators’ rights and advancing pro-music legislation.”

Dupler previously served as vp of advocacy & public policy and acting chief advocacy & public policy officer since December 2021, leading the Academy’s team in Washington, D.C. and coordinating all the Academy’s advocacy and government affairs efforts. Since taking the role, Dupler has expanded the Academy’s state and local advocacy work, resulting in new pro-music laws in multiple states, including California’s landmark Decriminalizing Artistic Expression Act.

He also relaunched the Academy’s signature advocacy programs, Grammys on the Hill and District Advocate. Under his leadership, these initiatives supported the passage of the PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act, which was signed into law at the end of 2022. Joining the Academy in 2012, Dupler has helped secure legislative achievements such as the Music Modernization Act and the Better Online Tickets Sales Act, and launched the Grammy Fund for Music Creators, the Academy’s political action committee.

Dupler is a member of the State Bar of Texas and serves on the board of the Copyright Alliance. He received a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. and a bachelor of arts degree in history and political science from Baylor University in Waco, Tex.

08 Sep 2023

Rihanna & A$AP Rocky Name Newborn Baby “Riot”

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Celebrity Sightings In New York City - May 05, 2023

Source: Gotham / Getty

Looks like Rihanna and A$AP Rocky gave their second son a name as unique as they did their first. Baby RZA is going to have some competition as to who has the more original name in the family.

According to The Blast, the Harlem rapper and bombshell from Barbados have decided to name their secondborn son Riot Rose Mayers and truth be told, we’re loving that ish. Possibly named after A$AP’s Pharrell-assisted track, “Riot,” the child was born on August 1, 2023 and though the couple tried to keep the name under wraps, The Blast was able to obtain the birth certificate which bares the name of one Riot Rose Mayers.

Rihanna’s doctor is listed as Thais Alibady on the birth certificate. How they managed to get such medical records displays another level of celebrity thirst, respectfully. Now fans are surely anticipating the photo reveal of Rih Rih and Rocky’s latest bundle of joy.

With a name like Riot the world is this kid’s oyster. He can be anything from a musician (Sound Riot) to a comedian (Laugh Riot) to a revolutionary (Street Riot) should the times call for it.

Though the couple has yet to confirm that the birth certificate is authentic and Riot is indeed the child’s name, given their history with baby names it seems like it’s a safe bet that A$AP Rocky and Rihanna have a small Riot residing in their home.

What do y’all think of the name Riot Rose Mayers? Dope or over the top? Sound off in the comments section below.

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08 Sep 2023

Cardi B Teases More Offset Collaborations: ‘We Do So Much Rough Songs’

Fresh off the heels of “Bongos” with Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B is deep in her freaky bag. In fact, the Grammy winner told SirirusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation that she’s been itching to get into her freak bag on record with her husband, Offset.

“I do wanna do like more songs with him. I do wanna explore. I feel like we do so much rough songs and it’s like, let’s talk about f–king,” she said on Friday (Sep. 8). “We always talk about the music. Let’s talk about f–king because I feel like we always like on attack mode when we do songs together.”

In a way, Cardi is right. Of the pair’s songs together, none of them are particularly freaky, but they sure are bangers. Two of their collaborations as soloists have hit the Billboard Hot 100: the Grammy-nominated “Clout” (No. 39) and “Jealousy” (No. 55). A further three collaborations between Cardi and Migos have landed on the ranking: “Type Shit” (No. 71), “Drip” (No. 21) and the Nicki Minaj-assisted “MotorSport” (No. 6). Cardi and Offset first joined forces on 2017’s “Lick” remix, a cut from Cardi’s Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 2 mixtape.

The “Bodak Yellow” rapper also opened up about the intricacies of her and her husband’s recording process. “He usually just have a song and I be like, ‘I like this song. I want to get on this song because I like this song.’ But like, even with like, ‘Jealousy’ and everything, when I first did it, I was like, ‘I feel like I don’t sound too strong,’” she recounted. “He’s like, ‘Yeah, your voice is a little bit like, why you putting that girly sound on it?’ because I change my voice when I rap … We critique each other a lot, a lot, a lot.”

Cardi’s relationship with Offset and Migos began almost a decade ago. “I got introduced to Migos in the club,” she remembered in a separate interview that aired on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up. “[DJ Spanking] stopped the music and he was like, ‘This is the hottest song right now in Atlanta. I’m telling you right now that this is gonna take over’ and then he started playing ‘Versace.’”

“Versace,” which got a remix from Drake, was the first single from the rap trio’s breakthrough Y.R.N. (Young Rich N—as) mixtape. The song peaked at No. 99 on the Hot 100, their very first entry on the chart.

Offset and Cardi started dating in early 2017. By June 2018, Cardi confirmed that she and Offset got married the September prior, one month before the Migos star publicly proposed to her. A few months before that confirmation, however, Cardi debuted her pregnancy during a memorable Saturday Night Live performance. She gave birth to her first child together, daughter Kulture Kiari Cephus, on July 10, 2018. A second child, a son named Wave Set Cephus, followed on Sep. 4, 2021. After a nearly six-year marriage that has included separations and divorce filings, Cardi hinted at an official wedding via X last year.

“We’re very different from each other, but I think that’s what make us work,” she mused on The Morning Mash Up. “Yin and yang for real. But one thing that we, like, both love: We both love family. That’s one thing, and we both love what we do, like we both, we are each other’s support system. I know that he backs me up a hundred percent and I back him up a hundred percent. I don’t care.”

Watch her chats below with SiriusXM:

08 Sep 2023

Cardi B, 21 Savage Top 2023 BET Hip-Hop Award Nominees

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2023 Rolling Loud Miami

Source: Jason Koerner / Getty

As the 2023 BET Hip Hop Awards approach, the list of nominees is headlined by superstars Cardi B & 21 Savage.

On Thursday (September 7th), the list of nominees for the 18th annual event celebrating the best of today’s Hip-Hop was announced by the network. Cardi B and 21 Savage reign at the top of the list with each of them attaining an impressive twelve nominations each. Drake comes in third with nine nominations while DJ Khaled and Burna Boy come in with seven apiece.

Cardi’s twelve nominations come as she releases a new single, “Bongos” featuring Megan Thee Stallion. The rapper’s nominations include Best Hip Hop Video, Best Collaboration (twice for “Put It On Da Floor Again” with Latto, and “Tomorrow 2” with Glorilla), Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse, Hustler of the Year, Lyricist of the Year, Best Live Performer and Song of the Year.

For 21 Savage, who’s out on the It’s All A Blur tour with Drake, his nominations include two nods for Best Hip-Hop Video (for “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” with Burns Boy and “Spin About U” with Drake) with the bulk of them coming from the Her Loss collaborative album he did with the Canadian superstar last year. That album also got him a nomination for Hip Hop Album of the Year to go with his nod for Hip Hop Artist of the Year.

Following behind Burna Boy and DJ Khaled, J.Cole got six nominations. Other artists in contention for awards that evening will be André 3000, Busta Rhymes with Nas, and Ice Spice among them setting the stage for a lively awards ceremony honoring the genre on its 50th anniversary.

“This year’s ‘BET Hip Hop Awards will mark the culmination of our year-long celebration of hip hop’s storied creation and the art form’s sonic and cultural expansion,” Connie Orlando, EVP of Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy for BET said in a statement. “We are honored by this year’s roster of nominees as they continue to carry the creativity and diversity of Hip-Hop into the future. We congratulate each nominee on their accomplishments as they take Hip-Hop artistry to new heights.”

The 2023 BET HipHop Awards will be taped at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in Atlanta, Georgia, on Tuesday, October 3rd, and broadcast on the network on October 10th at 9 P.M. ET/PT.

See the full list of official nominees below:

BEST HIP HOP VIDEO

JUST WANNA ROCK                                                             LIL UZI VERT

PLAYERS (DJ SMALLZ 732 – JERSEY CLUB REMIX)        COI LERAY

PUT IT ON DA FLOOR AGAIN                                              LATTO FEAT. CARDI B

SHAKE SUMN                                                                        DABABY

SITTIN’ ON TOP OF THE WORLD                                       BURNA BOY FEAT. 21 SAVAGE

SPIN BOUT U                                                                         DRAKE & 21 SAVAGE

TOMORROW 2                                                                      GLORILLA & CARDI B

 

BEST COLLABORATION

ALL MY LIFE                                                                          LIL DURK FEAT. J. COLE

GOD DID                                                                                DJ KHALED FEAT. RICK ROSS,

LIL WAYNE, JAY-Z,

JOHN LEGEND & FRIDAYY

PLAYERS (DJ SAIGE REMIX)                                              COI LERAY FEAT. BUSTA RHYMES

PRINCESS DIANA                                                                 ICE SPICE & NICKI MINAJ

PUT IT ON DA FLOOR AGAIN                                              LATTO FEAT. CARDI B

SITTIN’ ON TOP OF THE WORLD                                       BURNA BOY FEAT. 21 SAVAGE

TOMORROW 2                                                                      GLORILLA & CARDI B

BEST DUO OR GROUP

CITY GIRLS

DJ DRAMA & JEEZY

DRAKE & 21 SAVAGE

EARTHGANG

LARRY JUNE & THE ALCHEMIST

QUAVO & TAKEOFF

RAE SREMMURD

BEST LIVE PERFORMER

BURNA BOY

BUSTA RHYMES

CARDI B

COI LERAY

DABABY

DRAKE

KENDRICK LAMAR

MEGAN THEE STALLION

LYRICIST OF THE YEAR

21 SAVAGE

ANDRÉ 3000

BURNA BOY

CARDI B

CONWAY THE MACHINE

DRAKE

  1. COLE

KENDRICK LAMAR

 

 

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

ANDERSON .PAAK

COLE BENNETT

COLIN TILLEY

DABABY & REEL GOATS

DAVE FREE & KENDRICK LAMAR

DAVE MEYERS

TRAVIS SCOTT

SONG OF THE YEAR

ALL MY LIFE                                                  LIL DURK FEAT. J. COLE

GOD DID                                                        DJ KHALED FEAT. RICK ROSS, LIL WAYNE, JAY-Z , JOHN LEGEND & FRIDAYY

JUST WANNA ROCK                                     LIL UZI VERT

PLAYERS                                                       COI LERAY

PUT IT ON DA FLOOR AGAIN                      LATTO FEAT. CARDI B

RICH FLEX                                                     DRAKE & 21 SAVAGE

SITTIN’ ON TOP OF THE WORLD               BURNA BOY FEAT. 21 SAVAGE

TOMORROW 2                                              GLORILLA & CARDI B

 

HIP HOP ALBUM OF THE YEAR

ANYWAYS, LIFE’S GREAT…                        GLORILLA

COI                                                                 COI LERAY

GOD DID                                                        DJ KHALED

HER LOSS                                                     DRAKE & 21 SAVAGE

HEROES & VILLAINS                                    METRO BOOMIN

JACKMAN.                                                     JACK HARLOW

PINK TAPE                                                     LIL UZI VERT

TRAUMAZINE                                                MEGAN THEE STALLION

 

 

HIP HOP ARTIST OF THE YEAR

21 SAVAGE

BURNA BOY

CARDI B

DRAKE

GLORILLA

  1. COLE

KENDRICK LAMAR

LIL UZI VERT

 

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

ATL JACOB

DJ KHALED

  1. DRE

HIT-BOY

HITMAKA

KAYTRANADA

LONDON ON DA TRACK

METRO BOOMIN

THE ALCHEMIST

BEST BREAKTHROUGH HIP HOP ARTIST

ARMANI WHITE

CENTRAL CEE

DOECHII

FINESSE2TYMES

ICE SPICE

KALIII

LOLA BROOKE

SEXYY REDD

DJ OF THE YEAR

CHASE B

D-NICE

DJ CASSIDY

DJ CLARK KENT

DJ DRAMA

DJ JAZZY JEFF

DJ KHALED

KAYTRANADA

METRO BOOMIN

 

BEST HIP HOP PLATFORM

ALL HIP HOP

CARESHA PLEASE

DRINK CHAMPS

HIPHOP DX

MILLION DOLLAZ WORTH OF GAME

RAP CAVIAR

THE BREAKFAST CLUB

THE JOE BUDDEN PODCAST

XXL

 

HUSTLER OF THE YEAR

21 SAVAGE

50 CENT

BURNA BOY

CARDI B

CARESHA

DJ KHALED

DRAKE

JAY-Z

SWEET 16: BEST FEATURED VERSE

21 SAVAGE                                                    CREEPIN’  (METRO BOOMIN FEAT. THE

WEEKND & 21 SAVAGE)

21 SAVAGE                                                    PEACHES & EGGPLANTS (YOUNG NUDY FEAT.

21 SAVAGE)

ANDRÉ 3000                                                  SCIENTISTS &  ENGINEERS (KILLER MIKE &

ANDRÉ 3000 FEAT. FUTURE & ERYN ALLEN KANE)

CARDI B                                                         TOMORROW 2 (GLORILLA & CARDI B)

CARDI B                                                         PUT IT ON DA FLOOR AGAIN (LATTO FEAT.

CARDI B)

DRAKE                                                           OH U WENT (YOUNG THUG FEAT. DRAKE)

  1. COLE             ALL MY LIFE (LIL DURK FEAT. J. COLE)

JAY-Z                                                              GOD DID (DJ KHALED FEAT. RICK ROSS,

LIL WAYNE, JAY-Z , JOHN LEGEND & FRIDAYY)

 

IMPACT TRACK

30                                                                    NAS

ALL MY LIFE                                                  LIL DURK FEAT. J. COLE

ANXIETY                                                        MEGAN THEE STALLION

CAN’T WIN FOR NOTHING                          SYMBA

CHAMPIONS                                                  NLE CHOPPA

GOD DID                                                        DJ KHALED FEAT. RICK ROSS, LIL WAYNE, JAY-Z ,JOHN LEGEND & FRIDAYY

SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS                        KILLER MIKE & ANDRÉ 3000 FEAT. FUTURE & ERYN ALLEN KANE

THERAPY PT. 2                                             ROBERT GLASPER FEAT. MAC MILLER

 

BEST INTERNATIONAL FLOW

AKA (South Africa)

Black Sherif (Ghana)

Central Cee (UK)

Gazo (France)

J Hus (UK)

K.O (South Africa)

Major RD (Brazil)

Ninho (France)

Sampa The Great (Zambia)

Tasha & Tracie (Brazil)

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08 Sep 2023

Maren Morris Appears Ready to Tangle With Jason Aldean Again in Video Tease: ‘Welcome to Our Perfect Small Town’

Maren Morris isn’t nearly ready to make nice with Jason Aldean. Or so it seems in what looks like a tease from a new video posted by Morris on Thursday (Sept. 7). Morris posted images on Instagram from what appeared to be a visual for a new song that could take aim at Aldean’s divisive track “Try That in a Small Town.”

The caption to the post reads, “I’m done filling a cup with a hole in the bottom,” alongside a silent clip of a bucolic town with a billboard that reads: “Welcome to Our Perfect Small Town: From Sunrise to Sundown.” The post also included a shot of Morris, dressed in a gauzy black shoulder-less top, staring up into the distance at an unseen object. US magazine noted that the picture seems to be of the outfit that Morris wore at the 2016 CMAs, where she won new artist of the year at the event where Aldean was blanked on nominations, lamenting at the time to reporters, “I’ve gone out and done everything I can do to put ourselves in a position to be there, and people either vote for you or they don’t.”

The enigmatic post got an enthusiastic thumbs up from Brandi Carlile, who commented, “Oh it is ON [fire emoji].” Carlile supported Morris when the singer took issue with anti-trans comments made by Aldean’s wife, Brittany, in August 2022, when the latter wrote on Instagram, “I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life.”

Those comments drew a sharp rebuke at the time from Morris, who called Brittany “Insurrection Barbie,” a comment that drew a “MY Barbie” comment from husband Aldean. The spat ended with Morris raising more than $100,000 for GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program and Trans Lifeline with a line of merch mocking fired Fox News personality Tucker Carlson’s attempted diss line calling Maren a “lunatic country music person.”

Morris’ apparent video tease also drew comments from Cassade Pope, who added a series of side eye emoji, while Julia Michaels wrote “WOW WOW” and Natalie Hemby posted four heart emoji. At press time a spokesperson for Morris said they had no additional comment about the post.

What appears to be the latest salvo in the Morris-Aldean skirmish seems to be keyed to Aldean’s controversial “Try That in a Small Town” single, whose video was pulled from CMT in July amid critics’ claims that it contained pro-gun and pro-lynching messages; the clip was filmed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, TN, the site of a 1927 mob lynching of an 18-year-old Black teenager named Henry Choate and the 1946 Columbia race riot.

The song challenged those who “pull a gun on the owner of a liquor store” or “cuss out a cop” to, as the title suggests, try those actions in a small town and “see how far ya make it down the road.” The song’s video featured footage of an American flag burning, protesters having confrontations with police, looters breaking a display case and thieves robbing a convenience store.

At the time, Aldean said the claims that the song was “pro-lynching” and that it intimated he was “not too please” with the nationwide 2021 Black Lives Matter protests were “not only meritless, but dangerous“; footage of the BLM protests were later edited out of the video.

Check out Morris’ tease below.

08 Sep 2023

Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion Feel Up On Each Other In “Bongos” Visuals

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Cardi B x Megan Thee Stallion x Bongos

Source: Atlanic / Atlantic Records

Days after Cardi B revealed that she and Megan Thee Stallion would be collaborating on a new cut dubbed “Bongos,” the video has finally dropped and it’s everything you’d expect from two well-built women like them.

Grooving, vibing and twerking to every single beat of the bouncy track, Cardi B and Megan put on quite the show as they strut their thick as molasses physical degrees in various outfits that leave little to the imagination. From the poolside to the beach front, Cardi and Megan simply ooze sex appeal and might send some viewers into overdrive as they rub up on each other like they fixing to get into a relationship forreal.

Y’all ain’t ready for this.

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Though Megan didn’t address the Tory Lanez sentencing in any way, shape or form, the two did take shots at all the “h*es” that they don’t like and given their history of rap beefs with other female rappers (mostly Cardi anyway), one could assume who they might be talking about.

Check out the visuals to Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Bongos” below and let us know your thoughts on the track and on the video in the comments section below.



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08 Sep 2023

HHW Gaming: Jean-Claude Van Damme Is Finally Where He Belongs In ‘Mortal Kombat 1’

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Jean-Claude Van Damme x Mortal Kombat 1

Source: Warner Bros. Games/ NetherRealm Studios / Mortal Kombat 1 / Jean-Claude Van Damme

It’s a complete full circle moment for legendary action film star gymnast Jean-Claude Van Damme (Bloodsport, Kickboxer) and the Mortal Kombat video game franchise.

It only took 30 years, but Jean-Claude Van Damme is finally where he belongs in Mortal Kombat.

Van Damme’s appearance in the game was already known, but today marks the first time we see him in action in Mortal Kombat 1.

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Unlike his fellow Hollywood brethren Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallon, who appeared in Mortal Kombat 11 as DLC characters, Van Damme is a skin for MK OG Johnny Cage, and his likeness and voice are in the game.

This Is A Reunion 30 Years In The Making

Van Damme has a long history with the world of fighting video games. Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon revealed on a recent episode of First We Feast’s popular show Hot Ones that he originally wanted to make a video game starring Van Damme before making Mortal Kombat.

Conversations between Van Damme’s team and Boon’s crew never amounted to anything. Eventually, Van Damme would star in one of the worst video game movie adaptations ever, Street Fighter, and star in the even worst fighting game based on the film.

In the trailer, Van-Damme makes a hilarious Street Fighter reference in a pre-fight scene.

He finally gets to redeem himself with his appearance in Mortal Kombat 1, and it’s pretty fitting because, honestly, we all knew Johnny Cage was based on his character from Bloodsport.

Jean-Claude Van Damme skin for Johnny Cage will be available at launch as part of the first Kombat Pack, alongside early access to six new downloadable content (DLC) playable characters – Quan Chi, Ermac, Takeda Takahashi, Peacemaker, Omni-Man, and Homelander (all available post-launch) – and five new Kameo Fighters (available post-launch).

We hope Ed Boon and the crew even sneak in some of Van Damme’s other looks from his other “classic” films.



—

Photo: Warner Bros. Games/ NetherRealm Studios / Mortal Kombat 1

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08 Sep 2023

Olivia Rodrigo Appears to Tease Guts World Tour in Lyric Video: Fans React

It looks like Olivia Rodrigo may be getting ready to spill her guts all across the globe. Shortly after the release of her sophomore album Guts, fans noticed what looks to be a teaser for an accompanying world tour — and it’s hidden right in plain sight in one of the album’s new lyric videos.

The visual in question is for “Making the Bed,” the sixth track on Guts. On the song, Rodrigo sings about feeling like her life is out of control following her seemingly overnight rise to fame with 2021’s “Drivers License,” followed by debut album Sour. “I got the things I wanted, it’s just not what I imagined,” she sings.

In the video, the lyrics appear on a sheet of notebook paper lying on a purple backdrop. To the side sits a general admission concert ticket labeled the “Guts World Tour.”

“OLIVIA RODRIGO: GUTS THE WORLD TOUR,” theorized one ecstatic fan, posting a close-up screenshot of the faux ticket on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“DOES OLIVIA THINK I DONT SEE THE GUTS WORLD TOUR TICKET ON THE SIDE OF THE MAKING THE BED LYRIC VIDEO ????? GIRL SPILL,” added another fan, posting a similar screenshot.

Billboard has reached out to the singer’s rep for comment.

In real life, Rodrigo hasn’t yet announced any actual touring plans for Guts, which dropped midnight Friday (Sept. 8). She did say in a recent interview, however, that she wrote the songs on the project with an accompanying tour “in mind.”

“I think there’s a lot of fun songs,” she told Capital FM in England last month. “I wrote the album with a tour in mind, so I think they’re all songs I wanted people to be able to scream in a crowd. Hopefully that’s what’s achieved.”

In the hours before Guts‘ release, the 20-year-old pop star surprised fans gathered at her pop-up event in New York City, sitting for a quick Q&A and giving a sneak peak at four of the album’s songs: “All-American Bitch,” “Logical,” “Get Him Back!” and “Teenage Dream.” Bright and early Friday morning, she performed some of her new songs, as well as a few older favorites, on the TODAY show.

See fan reactions to Olivia Rodrigo’s possible tour teaser below, and check out the video above:

08 Sep 2023

Lainey Wilson Has Two CMA Awards Nods for Single of the Year — Who Else Has Done That?

Wilson is nominated for her own hit “Heart Like a Truck” and as a featured artist on HARDY’s “Wait in the Truck.”

Lainey Wilson

Lainey Wilson photographed on December 1, 2022 at Eldorado Canyon in Nelson, Nev.

Sami Drasin

When the 2023 CMA Awards nominations were announced on Thursday (Sept. 7), Lainey Wilson became just the seventh artist in CMA history to land two single of the year nominations in the same year. She’s the first artist to achieve the feat since Miranda Lambert 13 years ago.

Wilson is nominated for her own hit “Heart Like a Truck” and as a featured artist on HARDY’s “Wait in the Truck.” If the latter hit wins, it will become only the third collaboration by two artists who usually record separately to win in this marquee category. The first two were Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson’s “Good Hearted Woman” in 1977 and Lee Ann Womack with Sons of the Desert’s “I Hope You Dance” in 2000.

The other nominees this year are Luke Combs’ “Fast Car,” Jordan Davis’ “Next Thing You Know” and Jelly Roll’s ‘Need a Favor.” Tracy Chapman’s original version of “Fast Car” was nominated for the equivalent award – record of the year – at the 1988 Grammy Awards.

In three of the six previous cases where an artist had two single of the year nominations in the same year, that artist won with one of their nominated hits. In the three others, they lost to someone else. So, there’s no clear evidence that an artist with two nominations will split their votes, though many believe such a phenomenon exists.

Here are the seven times in CMA Awards history that one artist had two singles vying for single of the year.

08 Sep 2023

RBD Delivers Nostalgia, Euphoria and All the Hits During Chicago Show: 8 Best Moments From the Soy Rebelde Tour Stop

Just a few blocks from the Guaranteed Rate Field, the stadium home to the White Sox located in the South Side of Chicago, concertgoers were spotted clad in Rebelde uniforms — denim skirts (or pants), crisp white button-ups, red blazers and, of course, the red striped tie.  

On Thursday (Sept. 7), a sea of multigenerational fans made their way to the venue, where RBD was set to perform as part of their Soy Rebelde Tour — the band’s first show in the city in over 10 years — where fans would get to see Anahí, Christian Chávez, Dulce María, Maite Perroni and Christopher von Uckermann onstage again. 

The ultra-successful Mexican pop group, which disbanded in 2008 after conquering the world in the early 2000s with massive pop hits such as “Sálvame,” “Rebelde,” “Nuestro Amor and “Sólo Quédate en Silencio,” is back together for one of the most momentous reunions in Latin music history. 

Earlier this year, RBD announced their highly anticipated reunion tour, the band’s return to the stage in 15 years. As an RBD fan myself, it’s safe to say that it was worth the wait. Before performing an ultra-emotional two-hour set covering their extensive pop catalog, a few of the members shared some words of gratitude. “To see you again after many years, it’s very impressive,” Dulce María told zealous fans. “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.” Maite, who couldn’t help but get emotional added, “RBD never left. Thank you for being here. Thank you for all the years of love.”

Last month, RBD was Billboard Español’s digital cover story subject, where five out of the six original members (Alfonso Herrera declined to be part of the reunion) spoke about coming back together for a new tour and new music. “All five of us have very different personalities, and with the years, we’ve learned to embrace our differences. But in the end, it’s when we come back together that this grows and this magic explodes,” Perroni said about the reunion. The key is, back then, we came together as the result of an audition; this time, it’s something we chose to do.” 

RBD is due back at Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday (Sept. 8) for a second show. Here are the best moments from RBD’s first show in Chicago.