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31 Jul 2023

Jung Kook’s ‘Seven’ Spends Second Week Atop Global Charts, ‘Barbie’ Songs Soar

Jung Kook’s “Seven,” featuring Latto, spends a second week at No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Aug. 5). A week earlier, the song became the first leader on the lists for a member of BTS as a soloist.

Meanwhile, three songs from the Barbie soundtrack surge to the Global 200’s top 10: Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World,” with Aqua; Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?”; and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” following the movie and its soundtrack’s July 21 arrival.

Plus, Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd’s “K-POP” debuts in the top 10 of both the Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S., and NewJeans’ “ETA” opens in the Global Excl. U.S. top five.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which started in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

‘Seven’ Still 1, ‘Barbie’ Bounds on Global 200

Jung Kook’s “Seven,” featuring Latto, logs a second week atop the Billboard Global 200, led by 152.1 million streams (down 30%) worldwide July 21-27.

Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” holds at its No. 2 Global 200 high, a week after it debuted at the ranking, up 177% to 30.8 million streams; NewJeans’ “Super Shy” rebounds 5-3, two weeks after it began at No. 2; and Myke Towers’ “LaLa” slips to No. 4 from its No. 3 best.

Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd’s “K-POP” soars in at No. 5 on the Global 200, with 53.2 million streams and 14,000 sold worldwide in its first week. The lead single from Scott’s album Utopia, released Friday (July 28), is his fifth Global 200 top 10, Bad Bunny’s 15th and The Weeknd’s 10th since the chart began.

Meanwhile, three tracks from the Barbie soundtrack blast to the Global 200’s top 10, each for the first time: Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World,” with Aqua (28-6); Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” (18-7); and Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” (27-8), following the July 21 premiere of the movie and its soundtrack, with the film having gone on to an explosive box office bow. The songs drew 52.3 million, 47.7 million and 46.6 million streams globally, up 101%, up 45% and up 83%, respectively. Minaj and Ice Spice each add their third Global 200 top 10, as Aqua earns its first; Eilish tallies her fourth; and Lipa scores her third.

Jung Kook, Tops Global Excl. U.S., NewJeans Debut

Jung Kook’s “Seven” concurrently rules the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart for a second week, with 138.1 million streams (down 29%) outside the U.S. July 21-27.

NewJeans’ “Super Shy” returns to its No. 2 Global Excl. U.S. high, from No. 3, and Myke Towers’ “LaLa” backtracks 2-3, two weeks after it led the list.

NewJeans double up in the Global Excl. U.S. top five, as “ETA” arrives at No. 4 with 38.6 million streams and 3,000 sold outside the U.S. The South Korean pop group achieves its fourth top 10, with both “ETA” and “Super Shy” both from its 2nd EP ‘Get Up’, released July 21.

Two Barbie soundtrack songs get dolled up in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” vaults 24-5 (led by 33.3 million streams, up 77%, outside the U.S.) and Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” leaps 19-7 (31.7 million, up 44%). Each artist lands her fourth top 10 on the survey.

Plus, Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd’s “K-POP” starts at No. 6 on Global Excl. U.S., with 34.1 million streams and 1,000 sold outside the U.S. The song is Scott’s third top 10 on the chart, Bad Bunny’s record-extending 15th and The Weeknd’s eighth.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Aug. 5, 2023) will update on Billboard.com Wednesday (Aug. 2). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

31 Jul 2023

Taylor Swift Reflects on Eras Tour Ahead of SoFi Stadium Shows: ‘Blows My Mind That We Have One Last City’

Taylor Swift is just as excited about her final Eras Tour shows as Swifties are. On Monday (July 31), the “Look What You Made Me Do” singer took to Instagram and shared photos from her back to back nights in Santa Clara, Calif. — the second to last city on her trek in the United States — as well as a pumped up message regarding the last couple of nights on the tour.

“Really blows my mind that we have one last city on the US leg of The Eras Tour. Santa Clara this weekend was a partyyy, both crowds were so loud and rowdy,” Swift captioned the images, which featured the women of HAIM, Aaron Dessner and her performing alongside backup dancers. “And I’ll never forget when @alanahaim @estehaim and @daniellehaim emerged wearing their gowns from the Bejeweled video ? Loved every second of those shows and can’t wait for LA. Playing six shows at Sofi Stadium lets goooooo.”

Elsewhere during the Santa Clara concerts, the HAIM sisters performed “No Body, No Crime” with Swift on stage, while Dessner joined the pop star for the live debut of their collaborative Evermore bonus track, “Right Where You Left Me.”

“Because it’s one of our favorites, there’s more pressure on it,” Swift told the crowd on July 29. “Also, this is one of the wordiest songs. I have been rehearsing this for weeks, OK? And I’ve never, ever gotten it 100% right. Not even one time. If this is the time that I get it right, you have no idea what kind of celebration I’m going to be exhibiting after that. And also, this goes for you. If you can get all the words right to this song, you get to pat yourself on the back. You win an imaginary prize. It’s yours. We love this song and I hope that I somewhat do it justice.” (Spoiler alert: Swift and Dessner did indeed mess up on the track.)

The Eras Tour’s U.S. leg concludes with six shows at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium (Aug. 3-5 and 7-9). See Swift’s post here.

31 Jul 2023

Angus Cloud, Actor on ‘Euphoria,’ Dead at 25

Angus Cloud, the actor who starred on HBO’s Euphoria, has died. He was 25.

Cloud’s family announced the news on Monday.

“It is with the heaviest heart that we had to say goodbye to an incredible human today. As an artist, a friend, a brother and a son, Angus was special to all of us in so many ways. Last week he buried his father and intensely struggled with this loss. The only comfort we have is knowing Angus is now reunited with his dad, who was his best friend.  Angus was open about his battle with mental health and we hope that his passing can be a reminder to others that they are not alone and should not fight this on their own in silence,” read the statement.

“We hope the world remembers him for his humor, laughter and love for everyone. We ask for privacy at this time as we are still processing this devastating loss.”

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HBO added to The Hollywood Reporter, “We are incredibly saddened to learn of the passing of Angus Cloud. He was immensely talented and a beloved part of the HBO and Euphoria family. We extend our deepest condolences to his friends and family during this difficult time.”

Cloud was walking down the street in Manhattan when he got cast as drug dealer Fezco on Euphoria, HBO’s Emmy-winning drama from Sam Levinson and starring Zendaya. The role, which he played on two seasons, turned Cloud into a breakout star. His role was expanded in the second season.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

31 Jul 2023

Jason Aldean’s ‘Try That in a Small Town’ Tops Hot 100, As Country Hits Rank at Nos. 1, 2 & 3 for First Time

Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” rises to No. 1, from its No. 2 debut, on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. The single, released in May, reigns amid buzz after CMT pulled its video, which premiered July 14, from rotation after three days, resulting in a surge of attention.

Meanwhile, with Aldean at No. 1, Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” at No. 2 and Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” at No. 3, country hits take the Hot 100’s top three spots in a single week for the first time, dating to the Hot 100’s inception in August 1958.

Also in the Hot 100’s top 10, Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd’s “K-POP” debuts at No. 7 and Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World,” with Aqua, returns to the region at No. 8, following the premiere of the box office hit Barbie.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated Aug. 5, 2023) will update on Billboard.com Wednesday (Aug. 2). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

“Try That in a Small Town” is the 1,152nd No. 1 in the Hot 100’s history. Here’s a deeper look at its coronation.

Streams, airplay & sales: The song, released on Macon/Broken Bow, drew 30.7 million streams (up 165%) and 8.8 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 21%) and sold 175,000 (down 23%) July 21-27, according to Luminate.

The track tops the Digital Song Sales chart, where it’s Aldean’s second leader, for a second week and vaults 37-3 on Streaming Songs. While below the all-format Radio Songs tally, it holds at No. 25 (after reaching No. 24) in its 10th week on Country Airplay.

A week earlier, the song scored the largest digital sales week – 228,000 – for a country title (defined as by those that have hit Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart) in over 10 years, since Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” featuring Nelly, sold 244,000, as reflected on charts dated July 6, 2013.

CMT decision sparks gains: On July 18, Billboard confirmed that CMT had pulled the official video for “Try That in a Small Town” after three days in rotation; the network declined to say why. Following CMT’s decision, Aldean posted a message to his Instagram Stories regarding the contrasting reactions that the song and video have faced.

The song’s video was released on July 14, featuring footage of an American flag burning, protesters in confrontation with police, looters breaking a display case and thieves robbing a convenience store; it has since been edited, cutting six seconds. The clip has prompted a firestorm of opinions about it and the song’s intent and messaging.

Aldean further addressed the polarized response during his Highway Desperado Tour stop July 21 at Cincinnati’s Riverbend Music Center. “It’s been a long week and I’ve seen a lot of stuff suggesting I’m this, suggesting I’m that,” he told the crowd. “I feel like everybody’s entitled to their opinion. You can think something all you want to; it doesn’t mean it’s true. What I am is a proud American. I’m proud to be from here … I love my country, I love my family, and I will do anything to protect that, I can tell you that right now.”

Aldean’s first Hot 100 No. 1: Aldean achieves his first Hot 100 No. 1, with his 40th entry on the chart. He first made the list dated Aug. 13, 2005, with “Hicktown”; he tallied one top 10 prior to his new leader, as “Dirt Road Anthem,” which, helped by its remix featuring Ludacris, hit No. 7 in July 2011.

Aldean’s 17-year, 11-month and three-week wait from his first Hot 100 visit to his first No. 1 marks the longest since Billy Ray Cyrus went 26 years and 11 months between the debut of “Achy Breaky Heart” in 1992 and the coronation of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” featuring Cyrus, in 2019. Santana holds the record for the most sustained such suspense: two days shy of 30 years, between the group’s arrival with “Jingo” in 1969 and the reign of “Smooth,” featuring Rob Thomas, in 1999.

Broken Bow’s best: Broken Bow also boasts its first Hot 100 No. 1 with “Try That in a Small Town.” Dating to its formation in 1999, the label had previously hit the top 10 via Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem.”

Also No. 1 on Hot Country Songs: “Try That in a Small Town” concurrently rules Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, which uses the same methodology as the Hot 100, for a second week, a week after it became Aldean’s 10th No. 1. He first led with “Why” in May 2006 and had most recently reigned with “Burnin’ It Down” in 2014. His new leader is also his 37th top 10; he has peaked in the top 10 at least once each year dating to his first such hit, “Hicktown,” in 2005 – the longest active streak of annual top 10s on the chart.

Hot 100 & Hot Country Songs No. 1s: “Try That in a Small Town” marks only the 21st song to have topped both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs. With Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” having begun its 14-week domination in March, 2023 is the first year with multiple shared Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs leaders since 1981.

Songs to Have Hit No. 1 on Both the Hot 100 & Hot Country Songs Charts:

  • “Try That in a Small Town,” Jason Aldean, 2023
  • “Last Night,” Morgan Wallen, 2023
  • “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version),” Taylor Swift, 2021
  • “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor Swift, 2012
  • “Amazed,” Lonestar, 1999-2000
  • “Islands in the Stream,” Kenny Rogers, duet with Dolly Parton, 1983
  • “I Love a Rainy Night,” Eddie Rabbitt, 1981
  • “9 to 5,” Dolly Parton, 1981
  • “Lady,” Kenny Rogers, 1980
  • “Southern Nights,” Glen Campbell, 1977
  • “Convoy,” C.W. McCall, 1975-76
  • “I’m Sorry,” John Denver, 1975
  • “Rhinestone Cowboy,” Glen Campbell, 1975
  • “Thank God I’m a Country Boy,” John Denver, 1975
  • “Before the Next Teardrop Falls,” Freddy Fender, 1975
  • “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song,” B.J. Thomas, 1975
  • “The Most Beautiful Girl,” Charlie Rich, 1973
  • “Honey,” Bobby Goldsboro, 1968
  • “Big Bad John,” Jimmy Dean, 1961
  • “El Paso,” Marty Robbins, 1959-60
  • “The Battle of New Orleans,” Johnny Horton, 1959

Of the 21 songs listed above, 12 were concentrated in 1973-83. Meanwhile, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers and Taylor Swift are the only acts with two songs each that have crowned both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs.

Wallen’s “Last Night” rebounds 3-2 on the Hot 100 after 14 weeks at No. 1; it’s tied for the fifth-longest command in the chart’s history. It lands a ninth week atop Billboard’s Songs of the Summer chart, having ranked at No. 1 each week since the seasonal recap returned.

Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” rises 4-3 on the Hot 100, after three weeks at its No. 2 high.

Country hits at Nos. 1-2-3 on Hot 100 for first time: Notably, with “Try That in a Small Town” at No. 1, “Last Night” at No. 2 and “Fast Car” at No. 3, country hits (as defined by those that have hit Hot Country Songs) claim the Hot 100’s top three spots in a single week for the first time in the survey’s history, which hits 65 years as of this chart week, dating to the list’s Aug. 4, 1958, start. (Hot Country Songs adopted the Hot 100’s current multi-metric methodology in October 2012.)

As Billboard reported July 6, country music has surged this year: consumption for the genre in the United States was up 20.3% year-over-year in the first 26 weeks of 2023, according to Luminate. (Comparatively, country grew by 2.5% over the same period in 2022.)

Gunna’s “Fukumean” rises 6-4 for a new Hot 100 high – and ties his best career rank, after “Drip Too Hard,” with Lil Baby, hit No. 4 in October 2018. “Fukumean” tops both the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts for a third week each.

Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” holds at No. 5 on the Hot 100, after reaching No. 3, as it logs a sixth week atop Radio Songs (90.7 million, down 2%). It tops Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs for a 48th week, the longest reign since the chart began.

Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” climbs 8-6 for a new Hot 100 high. As previously reported, it becomes her record-breaking 12th leader on the Pop Airplay chart.

Travis Scott, Bad Bunny and The Weeknd’s “K-POP” launches at No. 7 on the Hot 100, with 19.4 million streams, 10.6 million in airplay audience and 35,000 sold in its first week. (It was available as a vinyl single for $10 and on CD for $3.50; consumers could download its original, explicit, instrumental, sped-up and “Chopped & Screwed” versions for 69 cents each.) It concurrently opens at Nos. 3 and 6 on Digital Song Sales and Streaming Songs, respectively.

Scott adds his 12th Hot 100 top 10, Bad Bunny, his 11th, and The Weeknd, his 17th. The song is from Scott’s album Utopia, released Friday (July 28).

Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World,” with Aqua, returns to the Hot 100’s top 10, roaring 27-8 with an 87% gain to 23.2 million streams, as it charges 13-4 on Streaming Songs. It also bounds 27-8 on Digital Song Sales (6,000, up 167%) and debuts at No. 46 on Radio Songs (13.6 million, up 51%). The song is from the soundtrack to the movie Barbie, which, along with its soundtrack, featuring the collab, arrived July 21. The track debuted at its No. 7 Hot 100 high on the July 8-dated chart.

Jung Kook’s “Seven,” featuring Latto, falls to No. 9 on the Hot 100, a week after it debuted at No. 1, marking each act’s first leader, and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire” dips 7-10, three weeks after it arrived as her third No. 1.

Again, for all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram and all charts (dated Aug. 5), including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh on Billboard.com Wednesday (Aug. 2).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

31 Jul 2023

Billie Eillish’s ‘Bad Guy’ Receives RIAA Diamond Certification: ‘Forever & Ever Grateful to This Silly Little Song’

Billie Eilish and Finneas officially have a diamond certified single under their belts. On Monday (July 31), the “What Was I Made For?”‘ singer took to Instagram to express her excitement of her 2019 smash hit, “Bad Guy,” receiving the Recording Industry Association of America’s highest honor.

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“Bad Guy went diamond………………………. HUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH??????????” she captioned a photo of herself in the all yellow outfit from the track’s music video. “Forever and ever grateful for this silly little song man. love you guys so much its stupid @finneas.”

Finneas, her brother who produced the single, reposted Eilish’s post to his Instagram Stories and added, “This is f—ing crazy actually.” Established in 1999, RIAA diamond certifications are awarded to singles or album that have solf a minimum of 10,000,000 units in its lifetime.

“Bad Guy” stands as Eilish’s most successful single to date — the track hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August of 2019 and spent a total of 49 weeks on the chart. Released as the fifth single from the 21-year-old’s debut album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, the track helped the LP peak at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. By 2020, Eilish swept the Grammy Awards’ Big Four categories — record and song of the year for “Bad Guy,” album of the year for When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and best new artist.

Revisit the music video for Eilish’s “Bad Guy” above, and see her post celebrating the achievement below.

31 Jul 2023

Lauren Spencer Smith Reveals Her Favorite Canadian Slang | Billboard

Lauren Spencer Smith reveals her favorite Canadian slang.

Lauren Spencer Smith
Hey, I’m Lauren Spencer Smith and these are my favorite Canadian slang.

My first Canadian slang is a Toque, which apparently are called like beanies, or toboggans in America. And that’s not what a toboggan is, but we call them toques The hats you wear in the winter.

The second thing is a Loonie. That’s what we call our dollar coin, which is not a dollar bill. Do you guys have $2 bills now? Just $1 bills, but we have a coin for $2 called a Toonie.

And the third one is a Canuck, which people think Canadians are called Canucks, but it’s actually a hockey team in Vancouver. And those are my favorite Canadian slangs.

31 Jul 2023

Spotify & FC Barcelona’s Partnership Scored Rosalía’s Streams a Global Boost

A year in to Spotify’s partnership with FC Barcelona and the music streamer and leading European soccer club are now focused on evolving the sponsorship deal to create “cultural moments” through sports and music collaboration.

“One year ago, we said this would be more than a partnership because we like to say that Barça is more than a club and that’s important because it’s our motto but also important when it comes to partnerships,” says Sergi Ricart, chief marketing and revenue officer, FC Barcelona. “It’s been a pioneer strategic partnership. The engagement of new audiences with the club and the engagement that the content we created has seen, it’s been massive.”

The deal — touted as a new way for the streaming giant to amplify artists across the globe — spans four seasons for team shirts and three seasons for training shirts. It will also rebrand FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium as Spotify Camp Nou, following an extensive redevelopment project that’s scheduled to be ready for the 2024-2025 season. The partnership kicked off with two major artist campaigns featuring Drake‘s OVO and Rosalía‘s Motomami logos, respectively, on the Blaugrana team jerseys. Rosalía’s logo was the first to be featured on both the men’s and women’s teams home kits as part of the partnership.

Following the unveiling of Rosalía’s match kit on March 15, searches for “Rosalía” and “Motomami” on Spotify increased by over 100% globally and by nearly 200% in Spain (compared to searches on March 14), according to the streaming company. Moreover, in the hour after the El Clásico match ended on March 19, global streams of Rosalía tracks climbed on Spotify in multiple markets globally, including Egypt where the tracks saw a more than 220% boost, 170% in Morocco and almost 70% in Nigeria.

“Rosalía’s El Clásico match kit drove streams and awareness because that match has two or three times more global eyeballs than the Super Bowl. These artists are getting fully integrated campaigns and it’s stuff that is enormous in marketing value,” explains Marc Hazan, vp partnerships, Spotify.

Now, with the partnership in its second year, artists such as Anitta and Fuerza Regida have visited the training facilities for the making of the Barça on Tour summer playlist . And, during the team’s stop in L.A. on July 26 for their match against Arsenal, Daddy Yankee toured the Spotify studio with Barcelona players in tow where he showed them a behind-the-scenes-look at his recording process. Additionally, the partnership will support artists on the LED boards during the Barcelona matches while on the U.S. tour.

“We’re creating a cultural moment and for the club it’s so important,” adds Ricart. “We humbly think that we’re the biggest global sports brand but how can we move into a cultural brand and with the support of this partnership we are moving that way.”

Following its more than 20 global activations during the 2022-2023 season, Hazan is looking to tap into different markets immersing in different genres. “This is a long partnership for Spotify, we’re very invested,” he says. “It’s fair to say that football and music are two great passions, so to combine the two is something pretty unique and when you have Barcelona, arguably one of the biggest clubs with a massive following, you’re in a position where they want to partner heavily and there’s a full set of music rights available, that doesn’t come up every day.”

31 Jul 2023

5 Best Moments From Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium

Queen Bey’s world tour graced the massive venue for two nights.

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Beyoncé performs onstage during the “RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR” at MetLife Stadium on July 29, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood

Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour rolled into East Rutherford, N.J.’s MetLife Stadium over the weekend (July 29-30), bringing tens of thousands of fans from New York, New Jersey and beyond (license plates from Texas and Florida were spotted in the parking lot) to one of the biggest stadiums in America. After a career-best tour leg in Europe, which netted her $154.4 million, according to Billboard Boxscore, Bey is back – and MetLife attendees are sleeping real good at night knowing they caught a knockout set from an artist in the midst of a creative peak.

Her Billboard 200-topping, Grammy-winning album Renaissance (featuring her latest No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Break My Soul”) is a gift to diva-house aficionados and her longtime queer fanbase, which was out in full force over the weekend. While Renaissance naturally took up the lion’s share of the generous 30-plus song setlist, she played a wide-range of tracks from The Lion King: The Gift to B’Day to 4, as well as several covers.

The ever-shifting set design was a visual feast, boasting everything from a giant translucent horse to a bed that suggested Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus to robot arms swinging around while holding rave fans. At one point, she rode atop a giant silver vehicle that looked suited for the lunar surface while a Pan-African flag flashed on the screen behind her; during another standout moment, Bey and her troupe of dancers strutted around the circular b-stage while she rapped her “Break My Soul (Queens Remix”) homage to living and late musical legends.

Below, here are five amazing moments from the Sunday (July 30) show at MetLife.  

31 Jul 2023

Jigsaw Is Alive In Bloody New Trailer To ‘Saw X’

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Saw X photo

Source: Lionsgate / Lionsgate

The last few films to the Saw franchise have been lackluster to say the least, but that isn’t keeping the good people over at Lionsgate from keeping the series going. To breathe new life into the franchise they’re going back in time with the latest installment.

Yesterday (July 30), Lions Gate released their first trailer for Saw X and in it we see the return of Tobin Bell as John Kramer a.k.a Jigsaw as the film is set around the year 2005, when Jigsaw was just beginning to make a name for himself. In the trailer we find that Kramer was duped by a team of fake doctors into thinking they’d successfully removed a cancerous tumor from his body. Once he’s told the tumor remains and his life is about to come to an end, Kramer decides a little vengeance would be a nice parting gift to himself.

After kidnapping everyone involved in the scam, Kramer subjects every last one of them to his twisted game of self-mutilation in exchange for living the rest of their lives and what followed was a bunch of blood, flesh, and screams that have become synonymous with the Saw franchise. We just hope to see someone rocking a Sidekick or Black Berry phone for nostalgia sake.

Check out the trailer to Saw X below and let us know if you’ll be checking it out when it hits theaters sometime later this year.



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31 Jul 2023

Cardi B Concertgoer Files Police Report After Star Throws Microphone at Las Vegas Show

A concertgoer has filed a police report after Cardi B was captured on video at a Las Vegas event throwing her microphone at a fan who splashed her with a drink.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to Billboard on Monday (July 31) that an individual filed a police report Sunday alleging battery, claiming she was “struck by an item that was thrown from the stage.” Police did not mention Cardi by name, but the location of the alleged incident matched the address of the venue at which the rapper was performing.

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In a video of the Saturday incident that went viral on social media over the weekend, the 30-year-old hip-hop star (real name Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar) is seen hurling a microphone at an unruly audience member after they splashed their beverage on her during a performance at Drai’s Beachclub on the Las Vegas Strip.

In their statement on Monday, Las Vegas police said that no arrest or citations had been issued, and that “no further details will be provided at this time.”

A spokesperson for Cardi did not immediately return a request for comment.

Saturday is the latest in a rash of recent incidents in which artists have been struck by objects while performing at concerts. In recent weeks, Drake called out a fan for throwing a vape on stage; Bebe Rexha was injured when a cell phone was hurled at her face; a fan tossed her dead mother’s ashes up onto P!nk’s stage; Kelsea Ballerini was struck by an object mid-song; someone sent a sex toy flying at Lil Nas X; and a mysterious object pelted Harry Styles near the eye and left him wincing in pain.

In Cardi’s case, she was in the middle of delivering her hit song “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)” — which spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2017 – when she was suddenly splashed by the liquid from a cup. In a video that the star herself retweeted, she turns angry and throws her mic down into the crowd while appearing to yell.