News

17 Aug 2023

Kellie Pickler Calls Death of Husband Kyle Jacobs the ‘Darkest Time of My Life’

Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of suicide.

Kellie Pickler is breaking her silence after the death of her husband Kyle Jacobs. On Thursday (Aug. 17), the singer-songwriter shared a statement with People about how she has been coping since he died by suicide at age 49 in late February.

“One of the most beautiful lessons my husband taught me was in a moment of a crisis, if you don’t know what to do, ‘Do nothing, just be still,’” she said in a statement to the outlet. “I have chosen to heed his advice.”

The “Didn’t Know How Much I Loved You” singer took a moment in her message to extend a thank you to friends, family and fans “for the countless letters, calls, and messages that you have sent my way.” She continued, “it has truly touched my soul and it’s helping me get through the darkest time in my life. As many of you have told me, you are all in my prayers.”

The country singer revealed that she’s holding a memorial in Jacobs’ honor in the coming months. “I am planning an intimate memorial for my husband, which will happen later this fall, that is what Kyle would have wanted,” she wrote before concluding her message with “Love & Blessings, Kellie.”

Jacobs’ cause of death was reported as a self-inflicted gunshot wound in February; the Davidson County Medical Examiner confirmed that Jacobs died by suicide, while toxicology results revealed he did not have any drugs in his system at the time of his death. Jacobs’ toxicology report additionally shed light on his history of “pseudoseizures, gastrointestinal bleeding, elevated liver enzymes, and chronic alcohol use.”

Pickler and Jacobs married on Jan. 1, 2011. They starred on the reality show I Love Kellie Pickler for three seasons. Jacobs was also a star in his own right, penning country songs for Trace Adkins, Clay Walker, Garth Brooks and more.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, available 24 hours, at 988.

17 Aug 2023

Songwriters & Publishers Have a $250M Payday Coming After Streaming Royalty Determination

Publishers should get ready to welcome a royalty windfall now that the Copyright Royalty Board has printed its Phonorecord III final determination in the Federal Register — the last step to make the new rate structure official, concluding a more-than-four-year royalty row between publishers and streaming services.

The question is, how much that bonus will be.

While various industry estimates are all over the place with some even reaching another $400 million, by Billboard estimates, the just announced determined rates — finalized eight months after the 2017-2022 term expired — could yield up to another $250 million in underpaid mechanical royalties flowing from digital services to publishers and songwriters.

Now, digital services like Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube and Pandora have six months to review and adjust past payments made for U.S. mechanicals to the new rates. Doing that will take a complicated assessment of past payments and applying them under the new finalized structure.

The ruling increases U.S. mechanical royalties each year during the five-year period using a multi-pronged formula based on choosing between either the royalties calculated using a “headline rate” tied to a percentage of the streaming service’s total revenue; or another pool that is calculated by using the lesser of either a percentage of total content cost — i.e. what’s paid to labels — or 80 cents per subscriber. Under the new finalized determination — which for the percentage of service revenue prong, is the same as the initial determination for the 2018-2022 term — the headline rate increased from 11.4% of service revenue in 2018 to 12.3% in 2019 to 13.3% in 2020 to 14.2% in 2021 and to 15.1% in 2022.

From there, performance royalties that are negotiated with and paid out to rights organizations like ASCAP and BMI are subtracted from the all-in pool, leaving just the mechanicals behind. The mechanicals are then measured against a 50-cents-per-subscriber floor, and whichever is bigger becomes the final mechanical royalty pool paid out to publishers and songwriters.

Until an appeal of the initial CRB rate determination initiated by independent songwriter George Johnson and joined by most of the big digital services sent it back to the CRB in July 2020, most of the streamers had been paying royalties under the high escalating rates from the initial Phonorecords III determination. But with the remand, in the fall of 2020, most services reverted to paying music publishing royalties using Phonorecords II rates from 2013-2017 while the appeal was sorted out. As an example, looking at just 2020 rates, that meant digital services abandoned the royalty structure that paid 13.3% of service revenue or 24.1% of total content cost and switched back to using the prior headline rate of 10.5% of service revenue and 21% of total content cost.

(This article uses rates and math associated with what’s known as the stand-alone portable streaming model — i.e., a single paid subscription — because it’s the dominant model that produces the most revenue in the U.S. marketplace. The rate formula has different percentages and parameters for other models like bundled, ad-supported, family or student tiers.)

Under the CRB judges’ final determination published in the Federal Register, the Phonorecords III royalty calculation keeps the escalating rate structures for on-demand streaming for the percentage of revenue prong in the formula but abandons an escalating rate structure for the cost-of-content prong. So, in the case of a single paid subscriber, that prong will apply 21% of total content costs to build an all-in pool to cover both mechanical and performance royalties, instead of the previously used — from the initial 2018-2022 determination announced in 2019 — annual escalating rates that in 2022 would have culminated at 26.1% of total content costs. That means in months where the total content cost became the all-in prong, the streaming service most likely overpaid publishers under the new rate structure.

In addition to eliminating an escalating rate structure for that prong, the CRB judges reapplied a ceiling for the total content bucket limiting what digital services would have to pay publishers. The initial 2018-2022 determination took out the ceiling mechanism, which would have meant that every time labels negotiated a higher rate, the music publishers and songwriters would also automatically benefit by a higher rate. Now, services reviewing their previous payments will need to measure the total cost of content bucket against the 80-cents-per-subscriber ceiling. Whichever of those two buckets is lower is then measured against the headline bucket and, this time, whichever is larger is chosen as the all-in bucket.

Reinstating the ceiling and jettisoning the escalating rate structure for the total content all-in pool could mean publishers were actually overpaid tens of millions of dollars for the 2018-2020 years, Billboard estimates based on Mechanical Licensing Collective and Harry Fox Agency royalty calculations data obtained from publishing sources. That amount, however, will be more than offset by the hundreds of millions of dollars in additional payouts that digital services will have to make for 2021 and 2022.

Billboard doesn’t have all the data necessary to calculate mechanical revenue on a month-by-month basis for each digital service, but looking at overall payments and reports to the Mechanical Licensing Collective can provide a simplified ballpark estimate on how much is owed to publishers and songwriters over the Phonorecords III five-year period.

First, let’s look at the first three years when it’s likely that services overpaid publishers and songwriters because they used the since-abandoned initial determination’s escalating percentages for the total content pool when calculating royalties. With Spotify, for example, according to data obtained by Billboard for the streamer’s Premium Individual tier, the headline rate royalty bucket won out most of the time for two of those years — 2019 and 2020 — to become the all-in bucket. Since the headline bucket rates are the same before and after the remand, it’s likely there were relatively minimal overpayments during that period. In 2018, however, Spotify’s total cost of content bucket appears to have won out all year — and that was at a higher rate of 22%, not the remanded 21%, and without a ceiling. So, in that year alone, Spotify likely overpaid by as much as $10 million on that tier alone, Billboard estimates, and is due to receive that money back from publishers and songwriters.

Based on that, and not knowing what kind of label licensing deals all digital services have, Billboard calculates — and some industry financial sources agree — that as much as $50 million in over-payments might have been paid by the digital services to publishers and songwriters overall during the 2018 through October 2020 period.

For that period, any overpayments will mostly be sorted out directly between the digital services and the publishers because the Mechanical Licensing Collective — created following the Music Modernization Act was signed in 2018 — hadn’t begun operating yet. Though, the organization will need to be involved in in recalibrating royalty payments that came from unmatched and unpaid royalties, which digital services turned over for those years at the MLC’s inception.

For 2021 and 2022, however, once the MLC began operating, the organization will be responsible for managing any royalty adjustments, once the new data and additional funding is received from the digital services.

In 2021, U.S. digital services reported $9.76 billion in estimated service revenue to the MLC, while the all-in publishing revenue totaled $1.31 billion — or 13.38% of service revenue — according to Billboard estimates based on MLC data obtained by Billboard. Taking a simplified across-the-board approach applying that year’s 14.1% headline rate against the total revenue of $9.76 billion would deliver nearly $1.39 billion in mechanical royalties — a $80 million bonus to publishers and songwriters.

For 2022, the payouts will likely be even greater. That year, digital services reported $10.78 billion in service revenue to the MLC and paid out a total of $1.45 billion in mechanical and performance royalties — or 13.5% of total revenue. Applying the 15.1% headline rate for that year produces about $1.63 billion in all-in publishing revenue — making for an extra $175.1 million in mechanical royalties.

Combined, 2021 and 2022 could yield an additional $255 million in mechanical royalties, by Billboard‘s best estimates. Depending on how much services can claw back from overpayments made during 2018 through October 2020, Billboard estimates publishers and songwriters will receive a windfall of $200 million to $250 million.

Once those payments are settled, it will be up to publishers to figure out payments to their songwriters under the new rate structure.

Beyond the windfall expected due to adjustments for over payments in 2018-2020 and the much larger underpayments in 2021-2022, Billboard estimates that the MLC holds an additional $350 million or so in unmatched or unclaimed royalties. In March of this year, the MLC reported to Billboard that it had paid out over $200 million of the $427 million pool in mechanical royalties it was handed from the years prior to when it began operating on Jan. 1, 2021. Sources say that since then, the prior 2021 unclaimed and unmatched pool has been further reduced with a total of almost $300 million now paid out. That leaves around $130 million in unclaimed royalties.

But what about 2021 and 2022? Since the MLC began, it has been matching about 90% of royalties from recordings to songs. In addition to the remaining 10% of songs that are not yet matched to recordings, there are songs building up the unpaid royalties pool because their credit claims do not add up to 100%. If a portion of a song’s credits are not claimed, that portion of the song’s royalties goes into the unclaimed and unmatched pool. Consequently, the overall payout rate the MLC is making nowadays comes out to about 84% of mechanical royalties received from digital services, according to sources, which is a considerable improvement compared to the 68–72% digital services matched and paid prior to the MLC’s launch.

In 2021, digital services paid the MLC about $675 million in mechanical royalties, Billboard estimates, and in 2022, they paid about $740 million. If 16% of the royalties for those two years are unmatched or unclaimed, that would make for another $225 million. And when 2018-2020 is added in, the MLC has a little more than $355 million in unmatched or unclaimed royalties still to be doled out to publishers and songwriters.

In addition to the publishing royalties still held by the MLC, Billboard estimates the finalized CRB rate determination will result in $50 million in overpayments to publishers for the 2018-2020 period and about $250 million in underpayments for 2021-2022. Within those totals, some of those adjustments will impact the $350 million or so unmatched and unclaimed royalties still held by the MLC.

17 Aug 2023

Christina Aguilera Wishes Daughter Summer Rain Happy Birthday in Sweet Tribute: ‘Mommy Loves You So Much’

Christina Aguilera‘s little girl is growing up. On Wednesday, the superstar singer took to Instagram to wish her daughter, Summer Rain, the happiest of birthdays with a sweet tribute filled with moments they’ve shared together in her nine years of life.

“Happy 9th birthday to our sweet Summer Rain,” Aguilera captioned a series of photo of her taking the stage with her daughter by her side. “Today I find myself reflecting on how fast time has gone by. These 9 years have been filled with boundless love, heartwarming hugs, staying up too late, Disney adventures, and most recently, the joy of gracing the stage alongside you.”

The five-time Grammy winner added that getting to be her mother is her greatest achievement to date. “Every day, I thank the universe for gifting me the privilege of being your momma, a role that stands as my ultimate accomplishment,” she wrote. “Witnessing the remarkable young woman you are evolving into fills me with immense pride. Mommy loves you so much!”

Aguilera’s fiancé, Matthew Rutler, also shared a sweet birthday post for his daughter on Instagram, writing, “Happy 9th Birthday to our little sunshine :)” alongside a charming video of Summer pretending to eat the sun.

Summer is Aguilera’s second child; she is also the mother of Max Lion, 15, whom she shares with her ex-husband Jordan Bratman.

See Aguilera and Rutler’s birthday posts for Summer here and here.

17 Aug 2023

Fat Joe Named As ClashTV’s First Streetball Commissioner

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Fat Joe x ClashTV

Fat Joe has managed to remain an important figure within the culture for the past three decades all while maintaining an authentic connection to the streets that raised him. ClashTV, a burgeoning livestreaming digital platform, announced Thursday (August 17) that Fat Joe will be its first Streetball commissioner.

With Fat Joe taking the helm as ClashTV’s Streetball commissioner, the Bronx native will enter the new role overseeing the platform’s coverage of the sport while also joining ClashTV’s board along with an ownership stake in ClashTV.

“I’m proud to team up with ClashTV and establish a new era of Streetball. The ClashTV team truly understands the cultural and community impact of Streetball, so I’m looking forward to helping them elevate the game and bring athletes, creators and fans together in an innovative and meaningful way,” the rapper shared in a statement.

ClashTV CEO Jonathan Anastas adds, “Clash is with the culture. Joe is a superstar in the culture, and a lifelong Streetball fan. Together, we are going to unite the basketball leagues of America. In our mission to own the category of Streetball, there is no one more suited for this role than Fat Joe. What first bubbled up from the courts of New York City has become a worldwide movement. Joe’s expertise at leveraging media to grow the culture is legendary and we look forward to his contributions to ClashTV.”

ClashTV has a number of notable moves under its belt as it continues to grow the platform. The company partnered with AND1, and has forged partnerships with Alpha Metaverse Technologies Inc., creating and promoting summer basketball content, and was instrumental in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Drew League in Los Angeles among other moves.

Learn more about ClashTV here.

—

Photo: Fat Joe

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17 Aug 2023

Guns N’ Roses Welcomed New Jersey to ‘Paradise City’ With a Hard-Hitting Concert

Quick: Which summer stadium tour features a singer in a shiny outfit, a special guest and a three-hour set that includes a few surprise curveballs? Would you believe Guns N’ Roses? The band is back on tour again this summer — it plays North American stadiums until mid-October — with Slash, original bassist Duff McKagan, longstanding keyboardist Dizzy Reed and, for many concerts, a surprisingly sincere cover of the Jimmy Webb classic “Wichita Lineman.”

In the case of the East Rutherford, N.J., show – its fourth in North America and second in the U.S. this year – the shiny outfit was frontman Axl Rose’s and the special guest was Andrew Dice Clay, who came on to tell jokes for a few minutes after a tight and tough opening set by the Pretenders. “The Diceman,” as he refers to himself, remains upset about several things, including the social-distancing circles on elevator floors that were introduced during the “pandemical,” and the prevalence of senior citizens in Florida, which seems like an issue that’s been around for quite some time. He’s one of the few comedians who can get as much applause for a vocalization — “Ohhhh” — than he can for a joke. That’s not really a good thing, though.

And Guns N’ Roses? They still have it — and much more of it than before Slash rejoined the band in 2016. Slash’s guitar playing is as sharp as ever, and he and McKagan play well together with the touring band, but Rose’s voice isn’t what it was years ago. By the end of the opening “It’s So Easy,” it was clear that Rose has lost some of his range, although how much is hard to tell — he bellowed the chorus of “Mr. Brownstone” to give it the menace it needs and rose to the occasion of “Welcome to the Jungle,” then struggled to hit the high notes of “Rocket Queen.”

Rose isn’t just a compelling performer for his voice, though. Far more than during the shows without Slash, he stalked the stage like a man on a mission, full of menace but also smiling charisma, taking what seemed like a slight bow after some songs. As Slash played along under his usual top hat, Rose actually seemed to be having fun — his history with his bandmates may be soap-operatic, but they all seemed to be having a great old time. He especially shone on songs that didn’t require piercing high notes, such as “Live and Let Die,” “Civil War” and especially “November Rain.”

At a time when critics seem positively shocked at the idea that a stadium show can run for more than three hours and include two surprise songs, it’s worth remembering that this was once simply what rock fans expected — play for a while and surprise us a bit. Guns N’ Roses went beyond this to give each member a chance to shine: McKagan sang a powerful “TV Eye,” Slash snuck pieces of “Voodoo Child” and “People Get Ready” into other songs and “Dizzy f–king Reed,” as Rose called him, showed off his keyboard work. There were plenty of covers, too: “Down on the Farm” (the U.K. Subs song the band covered on The Spaghetti Incident?), “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and, yes, “Wichita Lineman.” It’s hard to think of a song that seems less suited for a hard rock band – sincere, minimal, tasteful – but it worked well enough to make up for Andrew Dice Clay.

Axl Rose and Slash of Guns N' Roses

Axl Rose and Slash of Guns N’ Roses perform at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Aug. 16, 2023.

Guilherme Neto

After a hard-hitting “Nightrain,” the band came back with an encore that started with “Coma,” then played the AC/DC song “Walk All Over You,” which Rose said had “his favorite f–king drum fill ever.” (Rose uses profanity as punctuation the way the characters on Succession do.) It’s not the easiest song to sing, but Rose jumped around as Slash powered through the riffs and the band shared parts of the chorus. For a few moments — at various points during this show but especially during this song, “Patience” and a show-ending “Paradise City” — you could believe that these musicians weren’t celebrities who had spent three decades feuding, but just guys who fell in love with the power of loud, crunching hard rock. Which, in some way, they still are.

Setlist:

  1. “It’s So Easy”
  2. “Bad Obsession”
  3. “Chinese Democracy”
  4. “Slither” (Velvet Revolver)
  5. “Hard Skool”
  6. “Mr. Brownstone”
  7. “Welcome to the Jungle”
  8. “Pretty Tied Up”
  9. “Absurd”
  10. “Double Talkin’ Jive”
  11. “Estranged”
  12. “Down on the Farm” (U.K. Subs)
  13. “Live and Let Die” (Wings)
  14. “Rocket Queen”
  15. “Reckless Life”
  16. “You Could Be Mine”
  17. “T.V. Eye” (The Stooges)
  18. “Anything Goes”
  19. “Civil War”
  20. Slash guitar solo
  21. “Sweet Child o’ Mine”
  22. “November Rain”
  23. “Wichita Lineman” (Jimmy Webb)
  24. “Catcher in the Rye”
  25. “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” (Bob Dylan)
  26. “Nightrain”

Encore:

  1. “Coma”
  2. “Walk All Over You” (AC/DC)
  3. “Patience”
  4. “Paradise City”

17 Aug 2023

Guns N’ Roses Classic Crowns Top TV Songs Chart After ‘The Summer I Turned Pretty’ Synch

Multiple songs from the second season of Prime Video’s The Summer I Turned Pretty dot Billboard’s Top TV Songs chart, powered by Tunefind, for July 2023, paced by Guns N’ Roses’ classic “Sweet Child o’ Mine” at No. 1.

Rankings for the Top TV Songs chart are based on song and show data provided by Tunefind and ranked using a formula blending that data with sales and streaming information tracked by Luminate during the corresponding period of July 2023.

“Sweet Child o’ Mine” featured in the fourth episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty’s second season, which aired July 21.

In July 2023, the song, a two-week No. 1 for Guns N’ Roses on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988, racked up 19.3 million official on-demand U.S. streams and 3,000 downloads, according to Luminate.

Four songs from The Summer I Turned Pretty reach the July 2023 ranking in all, with “Sweet Child o’ Mine” followed by Frank Ocean’s cover of “Moon River” at No. 6 (1.6 million streams, episode five).

The Chambers Brothers’ “Time Has Come Today” takes No. 2 after a synch in Justified: City Primeval on FX. Heard in the show’s second episode (July 18), it earned 292,000 streams in July 2023.

Big Star’s “Thirteen” leads a trio of songs from Apple TV+’s The Afterparty at No. 3, with 347,000 streams after its inclusion in the second season’s fourth episode on July 26.

See the full top 10, also featuring music from The Righteous Gemstones and What We Do in the Shadows, below.

Rank, Song, Artist, Show (Network)
1. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses, The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)
2. “Time Has Come Today,” The Chambers Brothers, Justified: City Primeval (FX)
3. “Thirteen,” Big Star, The Afterparty (Apple TV+)
4. “I Wish,” Skee-Lo, The Afterparty (Apple TV+)
5. “Party Up,” DMX, The Righteous Gemstones (HBO)
6. “Moon River,” Frank Ocean, The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)
7. “Ants Marching,” Dave Matthews Band, What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
8. “Good Day,” Nappy Roots, The Afterparty (Apple TV+)
9. “Edamame,” bbno$ feat. Rich Brian, The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)
10. “The Distance,” Cake, The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video)

17 Aug 2023

Taylor Swift Makes Limited Edition Yellow ‘1989’ Vinyl Available for Just 48 Hours

Taylor Swift is just months away from unveiling her 1989 (Taylor’s Version) album, and the star is getting fans excited with a new vinyl release.

A yellow “Sunrise Boulevard” vinyl is available to pre-order for just 48 hours on Swift’s website here. In addition to the vinyl, the purchase includes collectible album jacket and sleeves, plus never-before-seen photos. Purchases are limited to four per customer.

1989 (Taylor’s Version) is out on Oct. 27, which Swift announced during her last show at Los Angeles SoFi Stadium on August 9. The album was originally released in 2014 and topped the Billboard 200 albums chart for 11 weeks.

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“To be perfectly honest,” Swift wrote on her social accounts after the show, “this is my most FAVORITE re-record I’ve ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane. I can’t believe they were ever left behind. But not for long!”

1989 (Taylor’s Version) will be Swift’s fourth “Version,” since announcing her re-recording project in 2019. The previous three all logged time at No. 1 on the Billboard 200: Fearless (Taylor’s Version) with two weeks in 2021, Red (Taylor’s Version) with one week in 2021, and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with two weeks in 2023.

17 Aug 2023

NewJeans Tap BTS’ Jimin for Energetic ‘ETA’ Dance Video: Watch

No need to wonder if Jimin is MIA, BTS ARMY — he made a rare appearance on social media thanks to recent Billboard chart-toppers NewJeans.

On Wednesday, members Hanni and Danielle of the K-pop girl group shared a video to TikTok of them dancing to their song “ETA” with Jimin in tow.

Hanni and Danielle appeared in the video wearing sporty T-shirts, mini-skirts and chunky sneakers to perform the upbeat track. “We can you go wherever you like/ Now where are you?” the girls lip-synch, stepping to the left and right to reveal the BTS member joining them in the song’s choreography. “What’s your ETA?/ What’s your ETA?/ I’ll be there right now, lose that boy on her arm,” the track blares, with all three hitting the hip-hop dance moves with ease.

Fans in the comments section couldn’t help but gush over the collab video, with one user writing, “Jimin rarely updates, once he updates [he’s] dancing with his younger sibling[s],” one user commented, referring to NewJeans’ connection to BTS through HYBE (the girl group is with independent label ADOR, which rests under HYBE). “I love how much energy he puts into dancing and it just matches their energy perfectly,” another TikTok user commented.

“ETA” was released as the third single from NewJeans’ second EP, Get Up. The song peaked at No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the album earned the K-pop group their first No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200.

See NewJeans’ video below.

17 Aug 2023

RICO Rudy Giuliani Is Broke & Begging Donald Trump To Cover His Legal Fees, Allegedly

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Trump Campaign Lawyers Hold News Conference In Philadelphia

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Rudy Giuliani has been drowning in litigation ever since he took up the daunting task of representing ex-President Donald Trump in his demonstrably false propaganda campaign to steal an election by lying about it being stolen from him. And now, Trump, Giuliani and 17 other defendants have been indicted under Georgia’s RICO statute for allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State illegally.

Well, according to Giuliani’s attorney Robert Costello, the former NYC Mayor and OG Trump stooge is too broke to cover all of his legal fees and he’s been begging Trump help the homie out and pony up some cash.

According to CNN, Giuliani and Costello traveled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to hold out their hands and beg the ex-president to bail Giuliani out of the situation he’s in because he hopped on board with Trump’s “big lie.” Apparently, Trump initially responded by telling Giuliani to pull himself up by his bootstraps, get a job and stop looking for a handout.

OK, that’s not what he actually said.

From CNN:

Giuliani and Costello traveled to Florida in late April where they had two meetings with Trump to discuss Giuliani’s seven-figure legal fees, making several pitches about how paying Giuliani’s bills was ultimately in Trump’s best interest.

But the former president, who is notoriously strict about dipping into his own coffers, didn’t seem very interested. After Costello made his pitch, Trump verbally agreed to help with some of Giuliani’s legal bills without committing to any specific amount or timeline.

Trump also agreed to stop by two fundraisers for Giuliani, a separate source said.

Another source told CNN that Trump only agreed to cover a small fee from a data vendor hosting Giuliani’s records. And months later, Trump’s Save America PAC paid $340,000 to that vendor, Trustpoint, federal campaign filings show. CNN has now confirmed the payment was intended to settle Giuliani’s outstanding bill with the company.

Giuliani recently admitted that he’s a penguin-faced liar (again, my words, not his) and that he made false statements about election workers he accused of committing election fraud that absolutely did not happen. It must be difficult for him having to use one hand to clean all that egg off his face while slipping his other hand into his former client’s pockets because Giuliani doesn’t even have Trump’s Mcdonald’s money, and it turns out there are financial consequences for jumping on Trump’s delusional bandwagon.

More from CNN:

CNN reported on Tuesday that Giuliani is staring down hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal bills and sanctions amid numerous lawsuits tied to his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged.

His attorneys have said in court that these legal quagmires have left him effectively out of cash and that he “cannot afford” a potentially $15,000 to $23,000 bill to pay for more discovery-related document searches. He even appears to have responded to some of the money crunch by listing for sale a three-bedroom Manhattan apartment he owns for $6.5 million.

At the Wednesday court hearing in the Smartmatic case, Giuliani attorney Adam Katz said, “These are a lot of bills that he’s not paying. I think this is very humbling for Mr. Giuliani.”

And for the rest of us, it’s just plain hilarious. Karma is a b*tch, ain’t it?

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17 Aug 2023

The Albums With the Most Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 Hits

As any musician knows, it’s a tough task to score a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The feat requires some blend of the following key ingredients: a strong song; a charismatic artist; consistent promotion and marketing effort,; an engaged fan base; and maybe even a viral live performance, meme or other stroke of luck. To rise (and stay) at the top of the game, then, demands a consistency that few artists ever achieve. But when an artist catches fire, they can run off a string of hits in rapid succession.

To celebrate those artists, Billboard compiled a roll call of artists who cemented their pop dominance by landing five or more top 10 hits from a single album. Not only does such a feat rely on the same qualities listed above, but for an album to sustain, it needs to recreate those moments for a mass audience over the course of months.

It should come as little surprise, then, that the first album to house five top 10s was Michael Jackson’s Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. Since then, 30 albums have followed in the legendary LP’s footsteps. At the time, Jackson set a high of seven top 10s from one album, a mark later matched by Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA (1984-85), Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989-91) and Drake’s Scorpion (2018) for the highest total from any set, before Drake’s Certified Lover Boy scored nine top 10 successes in 2021, and Taylor Swift’s Midnights upped the record to 10 in 2022.

Check out our rundown of albums that have produced five or more top 10 hits on the Hot 100. The who’s-who covers a cross-section of genres, including pop, rock, R&B and hip-hop and includes superstars such as Bon Jovi, Whitney Houston and Katy Perry.

(Note that this list only covers original editions of albums, though three albums – Usher’s Confessions (2004), Rihanna’s Good Girl Gone Bad and Taylor Swift’s Fearless – did accomplish five top 10s through deluxe editions and reissues.)