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22 Aug 2023

Armani White & Icona Pop to Perform at 2023 Streamy Awards: See Performers & Presenters

The Streamy Awards are less than a week away, and on Tuesday (Aug. 22), Dick Clark Productions and Tubefilter shared the performer and presenter lineup for the event with Billboard.

Armani White is set to take the stage to deliver a medley of his viral Billboard Hot 100 hit “Billie Eilish” as well as “Silver Tooth,” before Icona Pop take the stage to perform their new single “Fall in Love” along with “I Love It,” their 2013 Hot 100 top 10 hit with Charli XCX.

This year’s presenters include social media stars Anna Sitar, Brianna Chickenfry, Chris Olsen, Colin and Samir, Delaney Rowe, Dream, Drew Afualo, Druski, Dylan Mulvaney, Happy Kelli, Kris Collins, Lizzy McAlpine, Michelle Khare, Pinkydoll, Rhett & Link, Ryan Trahan, Smosh, Supercar Blondie, Tana Mongeau and xQc. Additionally, RuPaul’s Drag Race alum Shea Couleé will be appearing throughout the show to interact with creators in the audience.

The Streamys Creator Honors are also returning this year to recognize three creators whose original content and unique voices have inspired and entertained millions worldwide. The awards will be presented by Amelia Dimoldenberg (Chicken Shop Date), Blogilates and Brandon Rogers. The Streamys will also present the inaugural Rolling Stone Sound of the Year award to the year’s most impactful songs on social media and popular culture.

Hosted by seven-time Streamy Award winner MatPat, the Streamys will air live on Sunday (Aug. 27) at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT here. After the livestream, the entire show will be available to watch on demand. For more information on the show, check out the Streamys’ website here.

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22 Aug 2023

Stray Kids’ Felix Is Louis Vuitton’s New House Ambassador

Stray Kids has yet another ambassadorship under its belt. On Tuesday (Aug. 22), Louis Vuitton announced that Felix is the brand’s latest house ambassador.

“I am thrilled that Felix is joining Louis Vuitton as House Ambassador,” Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of women’s collections, said in a statement. “I discovered Felix when I presented my Prefall collection in Seoul. It instantly clicked between us. He is really talented. I love his energy, his unique personality and his audacious sense of style.”

The brand followed up its announcement with a series of images featuring the K-pop star wearing an all-black look in denim, leather and PVC. “The Maison and @NicolasGhesquiere are pleased to welcome the South Korean vocalist-rapper-dancer and U.S. Billboard-topping @realstraykids‘ band member @yong.lixx as a House Ambassador, bringing his unique creative energy to this exciting new chapter,” the brand captioned the trio of images on Instagram.

Felix teaming up with Louis Vuitton comes on the heels of Versace announcing July 20 that fellow Stray Kids member Hyunjin was its newest global brand ambassador. “I am both inspired and honored to play a part in the House’s truly amazing heritage, and that Donatella believes I have the Versace attitude! I’m filled with anticipation and can’t wait to experience the artistic synergy with Donatella,” Hyunjin said in a statement following the announcement.

See the photos of Felix for Louis Vuitton below.

22 Aug 2023

Diddy Announces ‘The Love Album: Off The Grid’: Here’s When It Arrives

Leave it to Diddy to reassure fans that “R&B is alive.” On Tuesday (Aug. 22), the Grammy-winning producer and rapper announced his latest record, The Love Album: Off the Grid. The new album is slated for a Sept. 15 release.

The Love Album marks Diddy’s first solo studio LP since 2006’s Press Play, which spawned the hit singles “Tell Me” (with Christina Aguilera) and “Last Night” (with Keyshia Cole). Diddy, who currently goes by Love, announced the news with a lavish trailer posted to his social media accounts. “Why am I doing this? Especially with the success that I’ve had, especially where my life, how stressful and treacherous this music business is,” he ponders. “My heart has been broken. I still have that question of, like, ‘Will I ever love again?’”

Based on the rest of the nearly four-minute trailer, it appears that The Love Album: Off the Grid is Diddy’s way of finding answers to those questions. Throughout the teaser, clips of him dancing with his late longtime partner Kim Porter and bonding with the newest addition to his family, daughter Love Sean Combs (10 months, with cyber security specialist Dana Tran), are interspersed with a healthy dose of behind-the-scene footage of the album’s recording process and some doe-eyed R&R with Yung Miami of City Girls. On Instagram, Diddy tagged a number of artists, some of which appear in the trailer, including Justin Bieber, Swae Lee, Mary J. Blige, Babyface, Jozzy, Yung Miami, French Montana, DJ Khaled, Teyana Taylor and 21 Savage.

As much as the trailer provides some glimpses into the creation of The Love Album, the new clip also finds Diddy navigating the pressures of fame and his overwhelming world of entertainment and business. From isolating on a private island without his phone to hitting exercises wherever and whenever he can, themes of health and wellness across the physical, mental and emotional realms loom over the Love Album trailer.

The announcement of The Love Album: Off the Grid comes on the heels of a string of recent singles from Diddy. Last year, he released the Bryson Tiller-assisted “Gotta Move On,” which peaked at No. 79 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as the PARTYNEXTDOOR-featuring “Sex in the Porsche.” This year, he teamed up with City Girls and Fabolous for “Act Bad,” and guested on the official remix of Metro Boomin’s “Creepin’” (with The Weeknd and 21 Savage). Both “Creepin’” (best collaboration and best R&B) and “Gotta Move On” (best collaboration and best hip-hop) received nominations at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.

Watch the trailer for The Love Album: Off the Grid above.

22 Aug 2023

Gaby Music Signs With Universal Music Latino

Producer and songwriter Gaby Music has signed a record deal with Universal Music Latino. Born Juan Rivera, the Puerto Rican hitmaker has produced and penned hits for an array of artists including Don Omar, Daddy Yankee, Rosalía, Bad Bunny and Ozuna, among many others. His partnership with Universal Music Latino marks his first record deal as an artist-producer with a major label.

“When I started doing music, I saw how my favorite producers and artists grew alongside Universal Latino. Being part of this great team was one of my biggest goals,” Gaby Music said in a statement. “I’m very thankful to the Universal Latino team for this new partnership. I’m a dreamer that wants to make history in music and I know that together we will make that happen.”

Gaby Music broke out as a producer-songwriter in 2015 and has since worked on hits such as “Con Calma” by Daddy Yankee and Snow, Bad Bunny and Rosalía’s “La Noche de Anoche” and Lunay’s “Soltera (Remix)” ft. Daddy Yankee and Bad Bunny. He’s won seven Latin Grammys so far, including best urban song for Daddy Yankee’s “Dura,” which he co-wrote.

Separately, Gaby Music launched his own label, La Familia, with fellow producer and longtime collaborator Chris Jedi. The pair signed Puerto Rican artist Lunay in 2019 who was then an emerging reggaeton singer-songwriter. That same year, his song “Soltera (Remix)” — produced by Gaby Music and Chris Jedi — peaked at No. 3 on the Hot Latin Songs chart. La Familia’s roster includes artists and producers Bryant Myers, Chanell, Juliito, Dímelo Ninow and Dulce como Candy.

22 Aug 2023

Karol G’s ‘Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season)’ Debuts at No. 1 on Top Latin Albums

Just four months after Karol G crowned Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart, she is back at No. 1 with her fifth studio album, Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), which debuts atop the Aug. 26-dated list. The Colombian captures her third champ following KG0516 (2021) and Mañana Será Bonito (2023); the latter, the 17-track set that gave her a first Billboard 200 hit, ruled the Latin albums ranking for five weeks between March and April 2023.

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The five-and-a-half-month gap between the two Mañana albums hitting No. 1 is the shortest span between new No. 1s for a living woman on Top Latin Albums. Jenni Rivera had a quicker succession of No. 1s — between La Misma Gran Señora and Joyas Prestadas: Pop (less than three months apart, between Dec. 19, 2012 and March 16, 2013).

Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season) was released in three different formats, a nine-track standard wide digital album, a 10-track digital and streaming album and a 10-track CD and vinyl LP. The three 10-track formats include nine standard songs plus one bonus track.

Bichota Season arrives at the summit with 67,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. during the Aug. 11-17 tracking week, according to Luminate. As with all Karol G releases, streaming powers most of the album’s first week, with a total of 49,000 units from the consumption method. That figure equals to 68.26 million on-demand official streams for the album’s 10 songs. Traditional album sales contribute 17,000 units, while track-equivalent album units comprise 1,000 units.

An equivalent album unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album (track equivalent album units, TEA), or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album (streaming equivalent album units, SEA).

With Bichota Season part of Karol G’s collection of hits, here’s the list of all her top 10s on Top Latin Albums, three of which debuted at No. 1:

Debut Position, Album, Debut Date

  • No. 2, Unstoppable, Nov. 18, 2017
  • No. 2, Ocean, May 8, 2019
  • No. 1, KG0516, April 10, 2021
  • No. 1, Mañana Será Bonito, March 11
  • No. 1, Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), Aug. 26

Further, Bichota Season joins three other sets on Top Latin Albums this week, Mañana Será Bonito at No. 4, KG0516 at No. 18 and Ocean at No. 42.

Elsewhere, Bichota Season bows in the top five on the all-genre Billboard 200, at No. 3, her second top 10 on the tally, after Mañana Será Bonito launched at No. 1 in March. The album also earns Karol G her second top 15 entry on Vinyl Albums, at No. 14, following Mañana Será Bonito’s No. 6 debut and peak in July.

As Bichota Season arrives, nine tracks of the album debut on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs chart. The album’s new recruits join the set’s first single, “S91,” which rises 20-6 as the Greatest Gainer Sales/Streaming of the week with 8.9 million streams earned during the same period. Plus, it re-enters at No. 37 on the overall Streaming Songs list, and flies 25-6 on Latin Streaming Songs.

With three other tracks outside Bichota holding strong on Hot Latin Songs, Karol G places 13 simultaneous titles on the current tally. Here’s the recap:

  • No. 1 “Mi Ex Tenía Razón” (debut)
  • No. 2 “Qlona” with Peso Pluma (debut)
  • No. 6, “S91”
  • No. 12, “Una Noche En Medellín (Remix)” with Cris MJ & Ryan Castro (debut)
  • No. 13, “TQG,” with Shakira
  • No. 15, “Okidoki” (debut)
  • No. 18, “Amargura”
  • No. 19, “Me Tengo Que Ir” with Kali Uchis (debut)
  • No. 22, “Dispo” with Young Miko (debut)
  • No. 26, “Bichotag” (debut)
  • No. 29, “Gatita Gangster” with Dei V (debut)
  • No. 36, “Provenza (Remix)” with Tiesto (debut)
  • No. 44, “Watati,” featuring Aldo Ranks

22 Aug 2023

Anitta, D-Nice, Sofia Carson Join Megan Thee Stallion, Conan Gray & More For 2023 Global Citizen Festival

Anitta, D-Nice and Sofia Carson have joined the star-studded lineup of the 2023 Global Citizen Festival slated to take place on the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park on Sept. 23. The artists join a previously announced list of headliners that includes the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Megan Thee Stallion, Conan Gray and Stray Kids.

Other performers, activists and actors slated to appear at the event include Bill Nye, Bridget Moynahan, Busy Philipps, Carmelo Anthony, Common, Connie Britton, Danai Gurira, Gayle King, Jordan Fisher, Lewis Pugh, Padma Lakshmi, Phoebe Gates, Rachel Brosnahan and Sophia Bush.

This year’s Global Citizen Festival campaign is focused on urging governments to take immediate action to address systemic issues around extreme poverty. “We’re thrilled to join forces with these passionate artists and advocates to call for urgent action to address the climate crisis, demand equity for women and girls and disrupt the cycles holding people in extreme poverty,” said Katie Hill, SVP, Head of Music, Entertainment and Artist Relations, Global Citizen in a statement. “This year’s campaign is driving a record number of actions from global citizens around the world, and we’re grateful to this year’s performers and presenters for leveraging their voices and joining us on the Great Lawn on September 23.”

Tickets for the 2023 Global Citizen Festival are free and can be earned by taking action on the Global Citizen app or here. The festival be broadcast and streamed on ABC, ABC News Live, Apple Music and the Apple TV app, Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, Facebook, Hulu, iHeartRadio, Instagram, Mediacorp, SABC, TikTok, TimesLIVE, Veeps, X, YouTube, the Global Citizen app and globalcitizen.org.  

22 Aug 2023

Stray Kids, Demi Lovato, Karol G & More Set to Perform at 2023 VMAs

South Korean boy band Stray Kids and Colombian superstar Karol G are set to perform on the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time. The show is set to air live from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Italian rock band Måneskin is set to perform on the show for the second year in a row. American pop veteran Demi Lovato is set to return to the VMA stage for the first time in six years.

The fact that three of the first four artists announced for this year’s show are from outside the U.S. dramatizes how the music scene has become more global in recent years. This is a far more international cast than the inaugural VMAs in 1984, where there were five American performers (Madonna, Huey Lewis & the News, Tina Turner, ZZ Top and Ray Parker Jr.) and two Brits (Rod Stewart and David Bowie, the latter represented by a pre-taped performance from London).

Stray Kids will offer the U.S. broadcast premiere of “S-Class,” which brought them their second VMA nomination in as many years for best K-pop. The group was nominated in that same category last year for “Maniac” but lost to Lisa for “Lalisa.” “S-Class” is featured on 5-STAR: The 3rd Album, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in June, becoming the group’s third No. 1 on that chart in less than 15 months. It followed Stray Kids Mini Album: Oddinary andMaxident.

Karol G will bring “Bichota Season” to life on the VMAs stage. The singer’s Mañana Será Bonito entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1 in March, making her the first woman to reach the top spot with an all-Spanish-language album. Karol G, now in the midst of her first stadium tour, received three nominations this year – artist of the year and also best Latin and best collaboration, both for “TQG,” a collab with Shakira. This is the fourth year in a row that Karol G has been nominated for best Latin.

Lovato returns for her first VMAs performance in six years, just days before the Sept. 15 release of her remix album Revamped, which features rock versions of her hit songs. Lovato performed “Give Your Heart a Break” on the VMAs pre-show in 2012. She made her main stage debut in 2015 with “Cool for the Summer” and returned two years later to perform “Sorry Not Sorry.” The singer, who took home best video with a message in 2012 for “Skyscraper,” is nominated in two categories this year: best pop and video for good, both for “Swine.” Lovato is a 14-time career VMA nominee.

Måneskin is set to give the world-premiere performance of their new single “Honey (Are You Coming?),” which is due for release on Sept. 1. The Italian band made its VMAs and U.S. awards show debut last year when they performed “Supermodel.” They also won best alternative for “I Wanna Be Your Slave.” This year, the band is nominated for best rock for “The Loneliest,” making them the first Italian act to be nominated two years running in a main show category.

Taylor Swift leads this year’s nominations with eight nods, followed by SZA (six), Doja Cat, Kim Petras, Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo and Sam Smith (five each), and BLACKPINK, Diddy and Shakira (four each). 

Fans can vote for their favorites across 15 gender-neutral categories, including video of the year, by visiting vote.mtv.com through Friday, Sept. 1. Voting for best new artist will remain active into the show. Nominations for social categories including group of the year and song of summer, will be announced at a later date.

MTV has yet to announce the host of this year’s show or the recipients of the Video Vanguard and Global Icon awards (though they have verified that those awards will be presented). Last year’s show was co-hosted by LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj and Jack Harlow. Those top honorary awards were presented to Minaj and Red Hot Chili Peppers, respectively.

Bruce Gillmer and Den of Thieves co-founder Jesse Ignjatovic are executive producers of this year’s VMAs. Barb Bialkowski is co-executive producer. Alicia Portugal and Jackie Barba serve as executives in charge of production. Wendy Plaut is executive in charge of celebrity talent. Lisa Lauricella is music talent executive.

22 Aug 2023

Ariana Grande Reveals She Got a ‘Wicked’ New Tattoo: It ‘Felt Very Right’

Ariana Grande is unable to talk about her role in Wicked amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. But she can talk about her new tattoo, which just so happens to be her character in the upcoming film adaptation of the musical: Glinda the Good Witch.

The star revealed in a new interview with Allure — which predominantly focused on the release of Grande’s new R.E.M. Beauty foundation line — that she’s gotten the original Glinda illustration in L. Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz books inked on the back of her right hand since being cast in the Jon M. Chu-directed project. “This one I knew I wanted to get for a very long time,” she told the publication, showing off her hand.

“This is my most recent one,” she continued. “I waited forever to fill up this hand. And I thought, ‘I’m gonna wait for the right thing to come along,’ and yeah, that felt very right.”

Grande has many other tattoos, including a moon and sun illustration, as well as the name of her dog, Toulouse, inked on the back of her left hand. Just about all of the fingers on both her hands are adorned with designs, too, with a cloud, a heart, olive leaves, dots, a reference to the first song on her debut album — “Honeymoon” — and a thick coverup blocking out the word “Pete,” the name of her ex-fiancé Pete Davidson, which used to preside on her ring finger.

Filming for Wicked came to a halt as a result of the writers’ strike, just a few days before the project was expected to wrap.  “We were only a few days away from being done, so we were SO close,” Chu told fans on Instagram. “It’s been very painful to put a halt to it all but we will be back! And we will finish properly strong when the time is right.”

Shot just outside of London, Wicked will be take place over two films, the first of which is slated for a November 2024 theatrical release. As Glinda, Grande will star opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, with Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater and more fleshing out the rest of the cast.

The project certainly hasn’t gone without its share of headlines. In July, Grande and Slater were reported to be dating shortly after the “Positions” singer’s split from husband Dalton Gomez went public. Neither of the actors have confirmed their romance.

22 Aug 2023

Ed & Dexter Are Back In First Teaser For ‘Good Burger 2,’ X Users React To Kel Mitchell’s “Casket Ready” Glam

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'Good Burger 2's First Trailer Has X Users Concerned

Source: Paramount+ / Nickelodeon Studios / Good Burger 2

The first look at the long-awaited (and possibly too late) sequel, Good Burger 2, has arrived.

Good Burger 2, the sequel to the cult classic 1997 film, is coming to Paramount+ this year, and it looks to recapture that feeling of the original movie while luring in some new fans.

As far as the plot for the sequel, the logline for the straight-to-streaming film says it “follows Dexter Reed (Kenan Thompson) and original cashier Ed (Kel Mitchell), as they reunite in the present day at fast-food restaurant Good Burger with a hilarious new group of employees.”

Good Burger 2 was finally announced in March and came after both Thompson and Mitchell said they were both open to bringing back the beloved characters for another film. Per Variety, joining Kenan and Kel in the new film will be “Lil Rel Howery, Jillian Bell, Kamaia Fairburn, Alex R. Hibbert, Fabrizio Guido, Elizabeth Hinkler, and Emily Hinkler as Cindy and Mindy, and Anabel Graetz as Ruth.”

Other original cast members from the first film returning are Josh Server, Lori Beth Denberg, and Carmen Electra.



Before becoming a successful box office film, grossing under $24 million against a $8 million budget, Good Burger gained its relevance as a skit on the popular Nickelodeon sketch comedy show All That. From there, it would receive cult status, with Thompson and Mitchell reviving the characters for a skit in 2015 on The Tonight Show.

Mitchell also appeared as Ed in the revival of All That in 2019.

X Users Have Thoughts About Good Burger 2

Good Burger 2 finally getting a trailer and release date is a big deal, and X users are reacting. It’s a mix of reactions ranging from excitement, confusion about why it’s happening, and thoughts about Mitchell’s makeup in the film.

Will you watch Good Burger 2 when it arrives on Paramoutn+ this fall? Let us know, and peep the reactions to the trailer below.

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Photo: Paramount+ / Nickelodeon Studios / Good Burger 2

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22 Aug 2023

iHeartMedia Announces ‘Storytime with Legendary Jerry’ Podcast

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Storytime With Legendary Jerry

Source: handout / iHeartMedia

A new iHeart Media podcast featuring veteran music executive “Legendary Jerry” Clark will focus on the history of Southern rap music with exclusive interviews and more.

iHeartPodcasts announced that they are in collaboration with Jerry Clark to release a new podcast titled Storytime with Legendary Jerry. Clark has been an influential figure in the music industry and in Atlanta’s rap scene itself, having been a VP of Promotions for Steve Rifkind’s SRC/Universal Music label and working in the same capacity for So So Def/Def Jam after being sought out by Jermaine Dupri and the late Shakir Stewart.

The podcast will feature Clark sitting down and diving into an enlightening and engrossing journey into the rise of the Southern rap music scene, done with interviews with some of its greatest artists and figures such as Jermaine Dupri, T.I., Killer Mike, Tony Draper, and more. The episodes aim to give listeners an unfettered look at what goes into the creative process for artists as well as how executives at that level work with artists and the label to produce the best results.

Clark expressed his happiness with the podcast. “I am thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with iHeartMedia,” said Clark in a statement. “This podcast is about celebrating the vibrant landscape of Southern rap and paying homage to the artists, executives, and visionaries who have shaped it. We will delve into the stories behind the scenes, offering listeners a front-row seat to the birth and evolution of this influential genre.”

 

“Southern rappers have had a strong influence on the genre and this podcast will deliver a range of informative insights and never-before-heard stories from the experts and icons for our passionate music fans who are immersed in the culture,” said Will Pearson, President of iHeartPodcasts in the press release.

“Storytime with Legendary Jerry” will make its debut on November 8, 2023. For more information on the launch and upcoming guests, check out iheartmedia.com/podcasts.

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