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26 Jul 2023

Sinead O’Connor, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ Singer, Dead at 56: Report

Sinead O’Connor has died at age 56, according to The Irish Times.

Billboard has reached out to her reps.

With her bald head, piercing eyes and fierce bearing, O’Connor burst onto the music scene in the late 1980s, serving as a rebuke to the parade of sexist tropes that dominated the era’s hair metal scene. She gave notice of her bold path away from the typical packaging of female pop stars from the very first notes of her 1987 debut, The Lion and the Cobra, which she recorded while pregnant at 20 with her first child.

A mix of driving rock (“Mandinka”), alluring hip-hop (“I Want Your (Hands on Me)” and intense ballads (“Jackie”), O’Connor emerged as a fully formed force to be reckoned with, her powerful voice a haunting howl full of pain and mystery one moment, a steely suit of armor at others. Not concerned with the typical trappings of pop stardom, O’Connor’s public face — the shaved head, slouchy wardrobe and curious mix of dance, rock, folk, Irish balladry and devotional tropes — was an instant hit on alternative radio, as well as dance clubs, where remixes of “Mandinka” and “I Want Your Hands (On Me)” became staples for many party DJs.

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Though her debut brought raves from both sides of the Atlantic, it was 1990’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got that served as both O’Connor’s career high and turning point. With the run-away success of her gripping cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” as well as the chilling video for the track, the singer was thrust into the international spotlight, a place she seemed uneasy with at times. The album laid bare her personal struggles and feelings of loss in a striking manner, weaving the words from a Frank O’Connor poem with Celtic melodies and a sample of the James Brown “Funky Drummer” beat on the eerie “I Am Stretched on Your Grave.” 

In between, she hits pop highs (“The Emperor’s New Clothes”) amid personal turmoil and touches on wrenching real-life drama (“The Last Day of our Acquaintance”) with massive beats, while mixing in a six-minute a cappella dirge and a prescient elegy for the police-involved death of a black London youth.

Even as her star was rising, O’Connor refused to play the music industry game, controversially defending the sometimes bloody tactics of the Irish Republican Army in interviews, lashing out at longtime cheerleaders U2 and refusing to perform and refusing to perform on Saturday Night Live in May 1990 alongside comedian Andrew Dice Clay. She earned the ire of Frank Sinatra a few months later when she refused to perform at a New Jersey venue when she found out the national anthem would play before she took the stage. The move caused some stations to pull her music from airwaves and resulted in Sinatra threatening to “kick her in the a–.”

The controversy continued two years later, when O’Connor was again booked on SNL, where she performed an a cappella version of Bob Marley’s “War” and, in a surprise to producers, stared into the camera at song’s end and tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II and said “fight the real enemy” as a protest against the Catholic church’s cover-up of child abuse by clergy; O’Connor would later say she she was abused as a child.

Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor was born on Dec. 8, 1966, in Glenageary, County Dublin, Ireland, to Sean and Marie O’Connor, who split when the singer was 8 years old. She claimed over the years that she and her two siblings were physically abused when they went to live with their mother after the divorce. Her teenage years were spent getting sent to reform schools and boarding schools due to bouts of shoplifting and other bad behavior and her discovery at 15 by the drummer for the Irish band Tua Nua, who heard her singing Barbra Streisand’s “Evergreen” at a wedding.

O’Connor studied voice and piano at Dublin’s College of Music before moving to London in the early 1980s, where she collaborated with U2 guitarist the Edge on a song for the soundtrack to 1986’s The Captive.

Her career was marked by an unpredictability, including the pop standards album she released in 1992, Am I Not Your Girl?, which failed to reach the success of its predecessors and began a slow commercial decline. She laid low for several years after the SNL incident — and another one shortly after in which she was roundly booed at a Bob Dylan tribute concert in New York — returning in 1994 with the underappreciated Universal Mother solid, which featured a moving Nirvana cover (“All Apologies”) and several songs that laid brutally bare her fierce drive to protect children from dangerous mothers.

The years that followed included stories about her retirement, a permanent ban on talking to the press, a return to her Irish folk roots on 200’s Faith and Courage  and 2002’s Sean-Nós Nua, a detour into covers of reggae songs on 2005’s Throw Down Your Arms and  2007’s two-disc Theology collection. O’Connor’s final album, 2014’s I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss, was widely praised for its return to her honest, emotionally charged songwriting and unique pop craft. 

O’Connor had been very open about her mental health issues, which include a misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder, later amended to PTSD, including depression and suicidal tendencies, canceling a tour in 2012 after a doctor ordered her to get some rest following what was described as a “very serious breakdown.”

In January 2022, the singer suffered a massive loss when her 17-year-old son, Shane, was found dead in Ireland after she reported him missing to authorities. The singer-songwriter tweeted that he “the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby, I love you so much. Please be at peace.”

She is survived by three children.

26 Jul 2023

How Corey Kent’s ‘Something’s Gonna Kill Me’ Took a Spirited Venture to the Edge

After topping out at No. 3 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart with his RCA Nashville debut, “Wild as Her,” Corey Kent’s follow-up has an even wilder image embedded in its second verse, in which the singer notes that he “broke 100 on two wheels.”

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It’s not just a story. Pressed on that detail, Kent points to a motorcycle he used to own, a muscular Indian Scout Bobber that looked as if it was built for speed. He felt obliged to find out just how fast it could go.

“That was a really fun bike,” Kent recalls. “You get a new bike, you got to test the parameters of it and get comfortable with it. And so it definitely happened in Texas. You can find a nice stretch of road and really get after it.”

Kent’s triple-digit thrill ride is just one of numerous daredevil acts — from roller coasters to love — that make their way into “Something’s Gonna Kill Me,” a song that emphasizes his passion for life on the edge.

The topic arrived during an October 2022 creative retreat in the Dallas area, where Kent and three songwriting buddies -— Lydia Vaughan (“If I Didn’t Love You”), Austin Goodloe and Joybeth Taylor — knocked out six songs. “We got an Airbnb, this pink house,” muses Goodloe. “We’re just like, ‘Well, this is awesome. We’re in Barbie Dreamland here.’ ”

At one point, Kent got to his feet and expounded on his penchant for risky adventures, lamenting how often others insist he needs to live more carefully. “My response to that was always, ‘Get busy living or get busy dying,’ ” he notes. “There are things in life that have big risk. But if they add to your enjoyment, then maybe it’s worth it. You got to figure out what works for you.”

His co-writers honed in on that sentiment, and as they explored other ways of saying it, Kent philosophized further about life: “Something’s gonna kill me at some point, so I might as well enjoy it.” The first part of that clicked as a title — Vaughan insisted they write it down — and they listed a handful of potentially addictive pursuits that can place body, life or soul in peril, including the highway, whiskey, smoking and songwriting. “I would live in a cardboard box before I quit writing songs,” says Vaughan.

They attacked the chorus first, and as it reached the “Something’s gonna kill me” hook, they realized that phrase served better as the chorus’ setup, forcing them to find another last line that would rhyme with “One day I’m gonna die.” Initially, it became a breakup song; thus, what killed the singer “might as well be this heart of mine.” But they shifted into a philosophical motif and freestyled other options –— for a few minutes, they laughingly subbed in “Something’s gonna kill me/ Might as well be pizza pie” — before they finally landed on “If something’s gonna kill me/ Might as well be what makes me feel alive.”

Once the chorus was done (or almost done; they would come back to it later), they focused on the opening verse, launching with a recollection of a California sunset. That doesn’t directly describe any risk-taking, though it still fits the song’s general attitude. “That line kind of implies some sort of free-spiritedness,” Vaughan says. “None of us are from California, so it implies the travel, implies the exploring and then it also, to me, implied kind of an all-nighter — like, ‘Hey, I’ll sleep when I’m dead. I’ve got things to do.’ ”

The rest of the two verses matched dangerous events to an adventurous, galloping guitar, and the energy in the room mirrored the spirit they were trying to portray. “We’re just standing up and screaming at the top of our lungs — I’m sure the neighbors from the Airbnb thought we were crazy,” says Goodloe. “It’s the most adrenaline that I’ve felt while writing a song. Usually, you’re sitting down with an acoustic guitar and everyone’s kind of being quiet. And we were standing up, running around the living room of this pink house, just screaming, ‘If something’s gonna kill me.’ ”

Before it was over, they inserted a rising melody into the pre-chorus at the end of verse one, then finished the chorus by stretching the final syllable of the stanza’s last word, “alive,” into five upward-moving notes. The pre-chorus and tag gave the chorus a subtle, and unintended, symmetry.

“It just popped out, and it is nice that there’s a theme of ascending notes,” Goodloe says. “I feel like the whole song, if you saw it on a graph, it’s just climbing the whole time — like melodically, lyrically, the energy. It’s cool that there is an anchor on each side of the chorus. They’re related.”

Goodloe finished the demo back in Nashville, working with the same level of adrenaline during that part of the process, and the song got an extra dose of it once Kent took “Something’s Gonna Kill Me” into a session with producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Lainey Wilson).

Guitarists Charlie Worsham and Rob McNelley turned the galloping foundation into a more elaborate opening pattern, contrasted with descending electric guitar chords. Joyce dropped in a number of unusual, spiky sounds over the track’s four-on-the-floor drumbeat and lobbed a whistling explosion that led into an instrumental break. The guitar solo took a gnarly, upward tack before everything dropped out, leaving Kent’s vocal fully exposed to launch the final chorus. That move wasn’t planned; Joyce signaled it to the players as the solo transpired, and the rest of the team followed his lead perfectly.

After the cut, Kent asked the engineer if they could get a playback of his vocal, but Joyce intervened.
“Jay literally ran halfway across the room, waving his arms like, ‘No, no, no, don’t do it,’ ” recalls Kent. “He goes, ‘If you can’t hear it in the track, if it doesn’t bother you as you’re listening to it as a whole, there’s no reason to pick it out and pick it apart.’ He goes, ‘Stop overthinking. We’re human, we’re imperfect. It’s meant to be that way.’ It was one of the best lessons I’ve ever had.”

Worsham added harmonies, and the entire production made “Something’s Gonna Kill Me” an edgy musical statement. “The final cut was a little riskier and outside the box [than the demo], which is what that song needed,” Kent says.

It definitely connected with the audience. Outside of the established “Wild As Her,” “Kill Me” is the most streamed track from Kent’s Blacktop album on Spotify, garnering three times as many plays as any other non-single from the package. It was an easy choice for the next single, released by RCA Nashville to country radio July 5 via PlayMPE. The dangerous theme solidifies his brand, and the sound is just different enough to separate him from the pack. That’s a risk/reward scenario Kent can embrace.

“Nobody great,” he says, “ever sounded like anybody else.”

26 Jul 2023

‘Barbie’ Boost: Old Songs From Indigo Girls & Matchbox Twenty, New Songs From Billie Eilish & Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice All Way Up

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 
 
This week: All things Barbie, as the blockbuster film sends several of its soundtrack hits into the streaming stratosphere, while also boosting some 20th century classics it features (and one it doesn’t — at least not in its original form). Also, some less-predictable gains for decade-old non-hits by a pop icon and a dream-rock cult favorite.

It’s A “Barbie World,” We’re All Just Living In It 

The cinematic phenomenon of Barbenheimer has monopolized the cultural zeitgeist for the past few weeks/months/years now, resulting in eye-popping opening weekend box office numbers for both Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. Not only did Gerwig’s acclaimed film earn a historic $155 million opening weekend and inspire tens of thousands of fans to dress up in their best Barbie and Ken-inspired outfits, the fantasy-comedy also showcased a soundtrack stacked with A-list star power, in addition to several other memorable music moments. 

Helmed by Grammy and Oscar winner Mark Ronson, the Barbie soundtrack features a collection of today’s most prominent pop artists, including Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Lizzo. Three of the album’s pre-release singles — Lipa’s “Dance the Night,” Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice & AQUA’s “Barbie World,” and Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” — have seen sizable streaming gains before and after the movie’s July 21 release. 

“Dance the Night,” the lead single from the Barbie soundtrack, earned just over 960,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on July 17, the Monday preceding Barbie’s theatrical release, according to Luminate. The following Monday (July 23), Dua Lipa’s nu-disco banger earned 1.82 million streams, a 90.1% increase. “Barbie World,” the second collaboration between New York rappers Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, earned 1.58 million official on-demand U.S. streams on July 17. By July 23, that number rose by a whopping 94.3% to 3.07 million streams. As for “What Was I Made For,” the gut-wrenching ballad pulled 1.47 million official on-demand U.S. streams on July 17. On July 24, Billie’s latest Oscar contender earned 2.45 million streams, a 66.3% increase. 

Outside of the soundtrack’s major singles, a slew of other songs also experienced post-release streaming gains. Charli XCX’s “Speed Drive,” another pre-release single, earned 177,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on July 17, a tally that grew by 379% by July 24 for a total of 852,000. Indigo Girls’ 1989 alt-folk perennial “Closer to Fine,” which appears three times in the film, pulled 32,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on July 17. By July 24, the duo’s biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit collected just under 100,000 streams, marking a 203.5% increase. Matchbox Twenty’s 1997 pop/rock smash “Push,” which earned the band their first Grammy nomination, also has a prominent placement in Barbie. On July 17, the song earned 235,000 official on-demand U.S. streams, and by July 24, the track experienced a 43.3% increase to 337,000. There’s also Lizzo’s “Pink,” — another song that plays in the film — a funky pop track that had a strong streaming debut on July 21 (566,000 streams) and rose another 7% by July 24 (606,000). 

Of course, there is no discussing Barbie without mentioning AQUA’s “Barbie Girl.” The seminal pop song, which is sampled on Minaj & Ice’s “Barbie World,” received 307,000 official on-demand U.S. streams. On July 24, the unofficial Barbie anthem earned 619,000 streams, a 101.7% increase. But, what about Ken? Ryan Gosling’s hilarious “I’m Just Ken” pulled 812,000 official on-demand U.S. streams on July 24, a 103.2% increase from the 400,000 it collected on July 21. Barbiemania is clearly taking over both the box office and music streaming platforms. — KYLE DENIS

Superheaven’s on Fire

Doylestown, PA grunge-gaze quartet Superheaven had been broken up for most of the past half-decade, before reuniting in 2023 for a tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their acclaimed 2013 Run for Cover debut album Jar. That album has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving for Superheaven, as highlight “Youngest Daughter” has gone viral, with 19,000 TikTok videos using the sound of its crunching guitars and dreamy vocals — the most popular of which places it as the soundtrack to a user’s first-row Oppenheimer-watching experience.

The song has taken off on streaming as it’s gradually become a social media sensation, with its streams growing steadily over the past seven weeks — from 231,000 on the chart tracking week ending June 1 to over 1.9 million the week ending July 20, a 743% gain, according to Luminate. The song even debuts at No. 22 this week on Billboard‘s Hot Rock Songs chart, and No. 4 on this week’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart. If the song keeps up this pace, Superheaven might have pretty good reason not to let its upcoming run of Jar anniversary dates this October be the last time it lets fans through its pearly gates. — ANDREW UNTERBEGER

Bieber’s “Billie Jean” Moment Experiences Streaming Resurgence 

11 years ago, Justin Bieber tucked away a little song titled “Maria” at the very end of the deluxe edition of Believe, his Billboard 200-topping sophomore non-holiday studio album. Co-written and produced by Darkchild, “Maria” functioned as Bieber’s very own “Billie Jean”: Just as Michael Jackson retaliated against what he said were outlandish claims from delusional groupies, Bieber used “Maria” to respond to Mariah Yeater’s allegations that he fathered her child. 

In typical TikTok fashion, the song has experienced a small resurgence on the app for reasons that have nothing do with the original controversy that birthed it. Bieber’s track has become the latest soundtrack for thirst traps on the social media app. While those make up a healthy chunk of the “Maria” videos — there are two unofficial “Maria” sounds with over 13,5000 TikToks each — there are also myriad clips explaining the song’s lore and reflecting on what it was like to be a Belieber ten years ago and live through the whole ordeal in real time. Between the tracking week ending July 6 and the week ending July 20, streams of “Maria” exploded from just over 73,000 to over 613,000 — a gain of 738.5%, according to Luminate. – KD

26 Jul 2023

Wyclef Jean to Host Inaugural Caribbean Music Awards in Brooklyn

Wyclef Jean is set to host the first Caribbean Music Awards, to be held on Aug. 31 at Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. The show will livestream on YouTube at 8 p.m. ET.

Jean discussed hosting the show on NBC’s Today show last week. He said the success of the Verzuz episode in May 2020 featuring Bounty Killer and Beenie Man demonstrated the potential this awards show could have. “It reminded us how much we love the Caribbean,” he said. “For me, what’s exciting is Caribbean culture is shared, whether it’s fashion or [music].”

Jean hosted the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards, which were held in Stockholm. He made a memorable entrance on an elephant, and said on Today that he wants his entrance here to be dramatic as well. “I want the entrance to be grand. I want it to be very carnival-like.”

The Haitian rapper and musician is a three-time Grammy winner. He won two awards for work on Fugees’ 1996 album The Score and one as a co-producer of Santana’s Supernatural, which won the 1999 award for album of the year. Jean, 53, was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2005 for co-writing the song “Million Voices” for the film Hotel Rwanda.

The Caribbean Music Awards have 26 categories across a range of genres, including reggae, dancehall, soca, kompa and zouk. Voting opened on April 6 and closes on Monday (July 31).

The event is presented by the Caribbean Elite Group (CEG), publishers of Caribbean Elite Magazine, a print and digital publication which covers Caribbean culture.

Trinidadian soca singer, record producer and songwriter Machel Montano is set to receive a lifetime achievement award. Montano, 48, topped Billboard’s Reggae Albums chart in 2019 with G.O.A.T.  

Tickets, which range in price from $60.50 to $161, are on sale here.

For the latest updates and information, visit the official website.

26 Jul 2023

Swifties Can Now Show Off Their Top 5 Taylor Swift Eras With Spotify Interactive Experience

Calling all Swifties who use Spotify — this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. The streaming service has unveiled a brand new interactive experience designed to let users officially decide their five favorite Taylor Swift albums, also known in the community as: “Eras.”

To try out Spotify’s new “My Top 5: Taylor Swift’s Eras” feature, Swifties can visit this link, scan the QR code and, while on the mobile Spotify app, tap through all ten of Swift’s albums, choosing their five personal favorites from the following: her self-titled debut (2006), Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), Reputation (2017), Lover (2019), Folklore (2020), Evermore (2021) and Midnights (2022). From there, users can re-order their Top 5 into a ranked list, which Spotify will then turn into a share-able graphic.

And if choosing between the albums is just too difficult — like being asked to pick a favorite child, some might say — then Spotify can do it for you. The new interactive experience also sorts through users’ listening activity to reveal their most-streamed Swift eras.

“Taylor Swift has long captivated her fans with her unique ability to capture the deepest human emotions in her songs,” reads a press release for the launch. “The Eras Tour has been the cultural event of the year, and now fans will get to proudly share their own top Eras with the world.”

Past “Top 5” iterations include The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar, BTS and ROSALÍA.

Spotify’s new feature comes just as Swift is wrapping up the U.S. leg of her bestselling Eras Tour, which will find the singer playing two shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Cali. before taking on a full six shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. From there, she’ll take the trek global with a slew of dates in Latin America, Asia, Europe and Australia.

Check out Spotify’s new “My Top 5: Taylor Swift’s Eras” feature here.

26 Jul 2023

Witness Claims NYPD Role In Malcolm X Assassination

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Attorney Ben Crump Holds Press Conference Announcing New Evidence In Malcolm X Assassination

Source: Spencer Platt / Getty

A man has come forward claiming proof of the New York Police Department’s involvement in the assassination of Malcolm X in 1965.

On Tuesday (July 25th), Mustafa Hassan appeared alongside attorney Benjamin Crump at a press conference where he detailed overhearing a comment made as NYPD officers were restraining Talmadge X Hayer, one of the assassins of Malcolm X outside of the Audubon Ballroom that confirmed to him that the department, as well as the FBI, knew that there would be an attempt on his life beforehand.

Hassan, 84, recounted the events of what took place at the Audubon, now The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center. He was a member of the Organization of African American Unity, formed by Malcolm X in 1964, and a member of his security detail. He recalled that after the shooting, he managed to knock down Hayer. After checking on Malcolm X, he went outside to find Hagan being beaten up by crowd members and NYPD officers trying to step in. Hassan then said he heard one officer ask, “Is he one of us?”, referencing Hagan.

For Hassan, that confirmed the NYPD’s involvement. “No doubt in my mind,” he said. He also related from his sworn court affidavit that Eugene Roberts, a police undercover agent and informant had detailed seeing a “dry run” on Malcolm’s life just a week prior to the assassination. “The government was involved in the conspiracy to kill Malcolm X,” Crump said, going on to say that the comment may give Malcolm X’s family the basis behind their legal claim against the NYPD and federal government for damages. “It tells us they knew something was going down. They were saying is this guy with us because they knew they had planted Black people in there who were informants.

Two of the activist’s daughters, Ilyasah Shabazz and Quibilah Shabazz were also present at the press conference. Both were present at the time of the assassination. While Quibilah declined to comment, Ilyasah Shabazz said “We want the truth to be known. And justice to be served.” Crump stated that he hoped Hassan’s statement would compel the Biden administration to re-open the investigation into Malcolm X’s murder and how much of a role the federal government had in the incident. He also referenced the city’s $36 million settlement last October with Muhammad Aziz, and Khalil Islam, two men wrongfully convicted of the murder and exonerated.

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26 Jul 2023

Egyptian Authorities Shut Down Travis Scott’s Planned Concert At The Pyramids of Giza

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2023 Rolling Loud Miami

Source: Jason Koerner / Getty

Travis Scott might be one of the biggest artists in the music game today, but unfortunately his fame isn’t enough to help him book a concert venue on sacred ground in Egypt.

After Roc Nation seemingly confirmed that Travis Scott would be heading down to Egypt to perform at the Pyramids of Giza for his upcoming Utopia album event, Egyptian authorities put the kibosh on the festivities and informed Scott and his peoples that their planned concert was a no-go. According to the Egypt Independent, the concert was canceled due to “strange rituals” performed by the “Highest In The Room” rapper’s at his other concerts which they felt was “inconsistent” with their own Egyptian values.

Looks like those demonic conspiracy theories that were levied against Travis Scott a few years back for the Astroworld tragedy is still a thing. Let the conspiracy theories once again roll.

Egypt Independent reports:

The company authorized to organize US rapper Travis Scott’s concert, Ticketsmarche, said that the size of the initial losses of canceling the concert amounts to approximately LE 300 million directly.

The company’s managing director and CEO Mohamed Serag added that he isn’t sure Scott’s concert could still be held while there is only five days before its scheduled date, as the equipment and the foreign team accompanying Scott – who are already in Egypt – were not allowed to enter the pyramids area.

He said that the preparations were supposed to start on July 20, and at the time, no one had informed him of the cancellation.

Serag added that until now it is still not possible to obtain a permit to enter the pyramids area.cThough they’re not letting Scott rock for now, they do remain “hopeful” that the Houston artist will eventually be able to perform at the Pyramids and broadcast the show live to 200 million people, which would obviously help promote tourism for Egypt and it’s pyramids area.

When that might happen is anyone’s guess, but as long as those pesky conspiracy theories continue to float around, it might be hard for Travis Scott to book any venues with historical and cultural meaning to them. Just sayin.’

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26 Jul 2023

Jisoo Shares Her Thoughts on Whether BLACKPINK Is a K-Pop Trailblazer: ‘There Are Parts That We Pioneered’

It’s undeniable that BLACKPINK is one of the biggest bands in the world, past and present. And in a new interview, Jisoo — one fourth of the K-pop girl group — was candid about the impact she and fellow members Lisa, Rosé and Jennie have had on their genre.

Sitting down with Elle Korea for a cover story published Wednesday (July 26), the 28-year-old South Korean singer reflected on whether BLACKPINK are “trailblazers,” as billed by BST Hyde Park Festival, which the group headlined on July 2.

“Maybe half and half?” Jisoo said diplomatically, as translated from Korean to English by Google Translates. “We also walked the path that others have made, but I think there are parts that we pioneered, as we debuted at a time when the platform was expanding and accessibility to K-pop was increasing.”

“Just as there was a part where we walked on a polished road, I hope we can help make the path of those who will come after us smoother,” the star continued. “It would be nice if they could pioneer their own thing and connect with each other. Anyway, that’s a nice expression.”

Among BLACKPINK’s major accomplishments in the past year alone: becoming the first Asian act to headline Coachella, becoming the first K-pop girl group to top the Billboard 200, and scoring the first ever single to debut atop the Hot Trending Songs chart. The four ladies are also nearing the end of their Born Pink World Tour, which kicked off in October following the release of their sophomore album.

Jisoo also spoke to Elle about the joys of playing different venues and major festivals on tour, the highlight of which was “meeting fans from various cultures.” “It is impossible not to be moved when the pink light stick is turned on in the dark,” she gushed. “I can see the affection of many people with my eyes, so I have many thoughts.”

“When I see Rosé or Lisa more overwhelmed in Australia or Thailand, where they spent their childhood, I am also moved,” she added. “It is clear that the tour brings many emotions.”

 

26 Jul 2023

‘Only Murders in the Building’ Season 3 Trailer Previews Paul Rudd’s Murder, Cast Additions Ashley Park, Matthew Broderick

The Great White Way is awash in red in the first trailer for season three of Only Murders in the Building. The nearly three-minute preview that dropped on Wednesday (July 26) opens with season two guest star Paul Rudd’s Ben Glenroy dropping dead on stage during a Broadway show, leading star and co-executive producer Martin Short’s Oliver Putnam to have one of his patented freak-outs.

“Who are we without a homicide,” co-star Selena Gomez‘s Mabel Mora shrugs at the news as she, Putnam and third co-star/co-creator Steve Martin’s Charles-Haden Savage agreeing to, of course, make a podcast about it.

The third season of the hit Hulu series starring Gomez, Martin and Short continues to follow the three amateur detectives obsessed with true crime as they investigate yet another murder. After previously seasons have featured such guest stars as Tina Fey, Sting, Roy Wood Jr., Jimmy Fallon, Jane Lynch, Amy Schumer and Cara Delevingne, the upcoming run of the Emmy-winning dramedy has added former guest star Rudd and Oscar-winner Meryl Streep to its cast.

A synopsis of the upcoming season reveals that Charles,Oliver and Mabel will investigate a murder behind the scenes of a Broadway show focused on Rudd’s Glenroy, “a Hollywood action star whose Broadway debut is cut short by his untimely death. Aided by co-star Loretta Durkin (Streep), our trio embarks on their toughest case yet, all while director Oliver desperately attempts to put his show back together.”

In the preview, the fumbling detectives dive into Agatha Christie mode, putting together a list of suspects in Glenroy’s murder that includes not-very-good actress Durkin, as well as another new addition, Emily in Paris star Ashley Park’s “TikTok-addicted starlet” Kimber, who Savage fears may have committed murder most foul as par of an “internet mem.”

“Why are you saying it like that,” Mora asks her elder sleuth about his latest malapropism. Gomez’s Mora is joined this time by another new face, documentarian Tobert (Jesse Williams of Grey’s Anatomy ) in the preview, in which Savage laments that Putnam’s Broadway set is a “death trap.” Among the other faces that pop up in the trailer are previous guest Lynch, as well as Lane’s frequent Broadway partner and new addition Matthew Broderick in an unspecified role.

Season 3 of Only Murders in the Building will debut on Hulu on August 8. Watch the trailer below.

26 Jul 2023

How to Watch the Mastercard Artist Accelerator Showcase

After being announced at the top of the year, the Mastercard Artist Accelerator program, a Web3 spotlight program that offered musicians and fans with educational tools, ends on a high note with brand-new music.

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Billboard will present the musical output of a batch of emerging acts around the globe, including Emily Vu, Manu Manzo, Cocoa Sarai, Young Athena, and LeriQ. The group leaned on the program’s Web3 capabilities to create their songs using the AI Music Studio and incorporating the Mastercard sonic branding. In addition to the performances hosted by Billboard’s Tetris Kelly, the program features an interview with Billboard News Director Colin Stutz, as well as a special message from the President of Billboard, Mike Van. Fans can claim each song as an NFT on the OneOf Marketplace, beginning during the live showcase.

Viewers can tune in via Billboard’s Youtube channel, which boasts more than 3.7 million subscribers, on Thursday, July 27, at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. ET to catch the Mastercard Artist Accelerator Showcase presented by Billboard.

“Music is a universal passion, inspiring us, moving us, and bringing us together,” said Mastercard chief marketing and communications officer Raja Rajamannar in a statement. “With the Mastercard Artist Accelerator, we are expanding access and driving connections further with cutting-edge Web3 technology. Our vision is to bridge passion and purpose, spotlighting amazing emerging artists and creating an interactive community that allows participants to learn, experiment and grow together.”

To learn more about the program and its featured artists, head over to Mastercard’s Artist Accelerator website.