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12 Jul 2023

Backstreet Boys Are Loving Coldplay’s ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’ Cover

Coldplay got everybody to rock their bodies during a recent Music of the Spheres tour stop, where the band performed a cover Backstreet Boys’ 1997 classic, “Everybody (Backstreet’s’ Back).”

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The boy band took to Instagram on Wednesday (July 12) to share excitement over Coldplay’s cover, posting a clip from the performance, in which frontman Chris Martin is seen singing the hook with the whole audience singing along with him.

“Buzzing from @coldplay’s cover of Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)! Truly an honor,” the Backstreet Boys captioned the post, which you can see here.

Coldplay continues to take its Music of the Spheres tour across the world through the end of this year, as they added a series of new North American dates for the fall, slated to kick off at Seattle’s Lumen Field on Sept. 20 and wind down on Oct. 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. 

Back in January, the group revealed in an interview with Toronto’s City News that they’re nearing completion of the follow-up to their 2021 album, Music of the Spheres. “We’re finishing an album called Moon Music,” Martin told the outlet, “which is the second Music Of The Spheres volume, but that won’t come out for a little bit.”

12 Jul 2023

‘The Bear’ Season 2: The Hardest (And Easiest) Songs to Clear, From Taylor Swift to AC/DC

Just before the restaurant opens in Season 2 of FX’s hit show The Bear, chef de cuisine Sydney Adamu releases nine episodes of built-up tension by declaring, “Let it rip!” – and AC/DC‘s “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” explodes into the foreground. For executive producer Josh Senior, securing the song promised some metaphorical bloodshed of its own — but the process turned out to be far easier than expected.

“Everybody I’ve ever talked to about licensing music always told me AC/DC was hard to get, hard to pay for, hard to contact, hard to deal with. And we knew we wanted that song,” he says. “They ended up being amazing and awesome. But the hype was intimidating.”

The Bear is known for its musical needle drops. Rather than relying on music composed for the series, the show uses mostly familiar rock and pop songs to illustrate characters, moods and relationships. That gives it a sort of instant familiarity — but also makes the music-licensing process more complicated. Senior says most of the memorable tracks used on Season 2, such as R.E.M.‘s “Strange Currencies,” Lindsey Buckingham‘s “Holiday Road” and Liz Phair‘s “Supernova,” were easy to clear. But Senior, creator-executive producer Christopher Storer and producer Tyson Bidner, who do not maintain a separate budget for licensing songs (as is the case with most shows), had to “press every penny into place,” especially in the frantic last few weeks of production, he says.

In the end, they were able to license every song they wanted, from the season-opening Bruce Hornsby & The Range track “The Show Goes On” to Taylor Swift‘s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” — with one crucial exception, as Senior says, in a phone interview from New Jersey that covers some of the songs used in Season 2. 

What was the most difficult song to clear?

An example I haven’t spoken about is the BoDeans song “Still the Night” — not a typical Christmas song. We thought it fit really well for the story we were trying to develop. It turns out that “Still the Night” has quite a few writers on it. I couldn’t find [drummer and co-writer] Guy Hoffman to save my life. We took time to do that, though. If you have a year, you probably can do anything; you have six months, you can probably do most things. Our entire show life-cycle is about three and a half months, from the first day of prep to the thing going on TV. Maybe four. So everything’s an emergency. You get a countdown clock in the back of your head. The theme of the show really does come through to the way the show’s made. That was one that came down to the wire, but we ended up working it out.

For the “Fishes” episode, you used 17 songs, many of them holiday-related. Did you avoid the Christmas classics and use lesser-known tracks for creative reasons, or to save money, or both? 

That episode was one of the last episodes for us to lock and finish. Working with our producer Tyson Bidner to press every penny into place was a big part of those last few weeks. We preemptively made three swaps in [that] episode to songs we didn’t think were possible, but either we had already licensed from that record label, or we had worked with that artist and we felt they were more attainable. We were able to get everything we wanted.

Did it help with Season 2 permissions that the show was already established and had a widely viewed first season?

There’s an argument you can make now. For Season 1, we were able to look at the data carefully and closely and see the lift in artists whose music we licensed and their numbers, streams, record sales, ticket sales. A lot of them saw significant growth. This time around, we were able to not just beg and plead but use metrics and data: “Hey, look, there’s a 300% lift on ‘Strange Currencies’ after we put it in the trailer for the show. This is the type of thing we could do if you work with us.” 

You used multiple versions of “Strange Currencies” prominently throughout the season. What were the R.E.M. people like to work with?

We had worked with R.E.M. in Season 1. We got to meet them through their management and we were able to point to things that worked out well in the past in terms of numbers. They liked what we did. We viewed “Strange Currencies” like a theme for the entire season, and each of our characters are dealing with loss of love or the acceptance of love, particularly in the Carmy and Claire storyline. We think it represents something potentially beautiful and hopeful and mellow. When we contrast that with Christmas dinner at the Berzattos [in a stormy episode six], it’s clear that Carmy isn’t ready for that yet. The R.E.M. team was kind enough to allow us to use the original, the incredible Scott Litt remix and an unreleased demo.

Was Taylor Swift’s “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” difficult to license, for the scene of Richie triumphantly singing the song in the car?

No. A lot of people ask that question and I wonder why they’re asking. Her team was like, “Great. This is cool. How much money do you have? You have that much money? Let’s go.” She was exceedingly generous and cool with one of our actors singing along to the song. Those are things that sometimes people just say no to, and that was probably one of the easiest songs to clear.

Any songs you wanted but weren’t able to get?

I don’t want to answer that question right now, because I think I’m going to get those songs next season. I’m sorry!

What about other stories you can share about journeying through the music business to use a song?

In the third episode, there’s a Stevie Wonder demo that we were chasing for a while that we feel like we got close to, but we weren’t able to fully paper. We had conceived a scene around that song. That episode has two big montages in it. One was originally set to a Stevie Wonder song that was perfect, that Ayo [Edebiri, who plays Sydney] had picked. It’s her episode, we felt really strongly about honoring her wishes to include that music — and we weren’t able to get it. We ended up rejiggering a few things and restructuring the episode ever so slightly and pulling two different songs in — “Future Perfect” from The Durutti Column and “Make You Happy” by Tommy McGee. It ended up working really well.

Why couldn’t you get the Wonder song? And can you name it?

I won’t name the song, but there were just some ambiguous rights about the master side. It was a demo that wasn’t released on much — just a B-side of a record. 

Do you ever use covers if you can’t get the rights to an original?

We just try and pick the music that we like. You’ll see a lot of live versions — a live Otis Redding song, a live Wilco song, a live Neil Finn song, a live Van Morrison song. You’ll find obscure tracks from Italian artists in the sixth episode.

It can’t hurt that those live versions are cheaper to license than the versions we all know, right?

One hundred percent. And they are different enough for you to think about them a little. There’s the music you hear in Walgreens and CVS. While we were making the show, I heard “Love Story” by Taylor Swift everywhere I went. It was following me around. But her version, I wasn’t hearing everywhere. Being able to use that was just such a nice little nuance.

12 Jul 2023

Cry Me A River: Britney Spears Is Still BIG MAD At Victor Wembanyama’s Security Detail & Wants A Public Apology

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Britney Spears Wants A Public Apology From Victor Wembanyama

Source: Variety / Getty / Britney Spears

San Antonio Spurs rookie big man Victor Wembanyama should be worried about getting ready for the upcoming NBA season. Instead, he’s got the legendary pop star Britney Spears is still upset following an encounter in Las Vegas.

Spotted on TMZ Sports, the Instagram dancing pop star is still BIG MAD following an “altercation” with NBA rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama’s security detail in Las Vegas.

According to the celebrity gossip site, after hearing a radio personality say she deserved to be hit in the face after running up behind an unsuspecting Wembanyama and trying to touch him only to be stopped by his security details, Spears is demanding a public apology from the rookie.

In a post shared on her IG account, Spears said:

“I’ve been with the most famous people in the world — *NSYNC at one time,” she said. “Girls would like literally throw themselves at them. On my way into the place, actually, I was knocked down by like three 12-year-olds trying to get my picture. My security not one time touched them or even came near them.”

“Point being,” she continued, “I didn’t appreciate the people saying that I deserved to be hit, because no woman ever deserves to be hit.”

Somebody Is Lying

Spears also revisited the incident and claimed she got hit so hard that she fell on the floor, and her friend picked her up. In footage obtained by TMZ Sports, we see a completely different story, so somebody is lying, and it’s not Wembanyama.

In the footage shared by TMZ Sports, Spears never hit the floor, but her glasses did. She also adds Wembanyama’s security later apologized to her while she dined at Catch Restaurant, but she has yet to get an apology from the Spurs or their future superstar.

Following a lengthy note she shared on Instagram where she claimed she only ran up to “congratulate him on his success,” this latest news is her second time speaking on the “altercation.”

We will see if Britney Spears gets that apology she wants, but we feel she really doesn’t deserve it because Wembanyama or the Spurs did nothing to her.

—

Photo: Variety / Getty

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12 Jul 2023

Hipgnosis Sees Flurry of Senior Executive, Staff Departures

A flurry of senior executives and staff members have left posts at Hipgnosis Song Management in recent months, as the company credited with popularizing songs as an asset class explored selling assets to shore up investor confidence ahead of a key vote this fall.

Since March, employees including Hipgnosis’ chief music officer Ted Cockle, along with the global heads of sync operations and song management and an executive vp of digital and innovation, have announced plans to leave the company, according to posts employees shared on LinkedIn and a statement from Hipgnosis.

The staff turnover comes as sources say the roughly 5-year-old Hipgnosis Songs Fund Ltd. has been shopping a package of assets that it apparently hopes to sell before its first continuation vote, where investors will be asked to decide whether the publicly traded trust should continue to operate under the management of founder Merck Mercuriadis or liquidate all assets.

SONG, the fund’s ticker on the London Stock Exchange, is down about 14% year to date and down 28% since it went public in July 2018. The stock was worth 0.75 British pounds ($0.97) on Wednesday (July 12).

At that price, SONG is worth less than half of its $2.2 billion operative net asset value, a discount that sources say has prompted Mercuriadis to explore selling some of the fund’s non-core assets.

For months, analysts at Jefferies and other investment banks have called on Hipgnosis to sell some of the fund’s non-core songs to raise cash to shore up the share price. The Financial Times reported Wednesday (Juy 12) that some Hipgnosis Songs Fund investors also want the fund to sell non-core assets to generate cash for buying back stock.

In addition to providing the fund’s managers with an arbitrage opportunity to boost the stock price, it could leave the company with enough extra cash to issue shareholders a special dividend — a sweetener issued ahead of the fund’s continuation vote at its next annual meeting in September.

If investors vote not to continue with the fund and to liquidate its assets, Mercuriadis and Hipgnosis Song Management — which is majority owned by private equity firm Blackstone — would likely have the right to bid on the assets in the fund; or if it goes up for auction, Mercuriadis, with Blackstone, likely has matching rights. Sources speculate that Mercuriadis and Blackstone would want to buy back the portfolio’s most iconic music assets, minus the non-core assets — the package of assets that has been selectively shopped around and which sources say includes copyrights from The-Dream and The Outfield — for their private, Blackstone-backed fund, Hipgnosis Songs Capital.

Hipgnosis Songs Fund will report results for the year ending March 31 on Thursday. In December, the company reported a 7.5% rise in revenues amid a “challenging environment” that “fundamentally undervalues the company,” founder Mercuriadis said during a shareholder meeting discussing the results.

On Wednesday, Hipgnosis announced Cockle, its chief music officer will be leaving the company. A former Universal Music Group executive known for nurturing the careers of Scottish superstar Lewis Capaldi, Bastille, Emeli Sandé and others, Cockle joined Hipgnosis Songs in 2020 as president.

“Given our decision to focus our marketing in the US, Ted Cockle, our Chief Music Officer, will not be moving long term with the Company,” Mercuriadis said in a press release. “He’ll work on the transition to America over the coming weeks. I would like to thank Ted for all he has done for Hipgnosis and I hope there will be opportunities for Ted and Hipgnosis to work together again in the future.”

Last week, Tom Stingemore, Hipgnosis Song Management’s global president of sync & creative, wrote on LinkedIn he was leaving the company after joining in 2021 to build its sync and creative operation. Hipgnosis’ synch team has played a key role in getting the songs that it acquires to generate more money than the often-high price Hipgnosis paid for them, and the team has been successful. In December, Hipgnosis Songs Fund reported sync revenues for the first half of the company’s reporting year rose 32% to 9.78 million compared to $7.41 million a year ago.

“As the division is now fully up & running, my mission is complete,” Stingemore wrote, adding that he may “go & do it all over again” as he works to “plot my next adventure.”

Cockle and Stingemore’s departures follows several other senior staff members. In late May, Nick Jarjour announced on LinkedIn he had left his role as global head of song management at Hipgnosis Songs Fund (a source who declined to speak on the record says his departure occurred six months ago); and in March, Tony Barnes’ announced he would be leaving his role as executive vp of digital & innovation at Hipgnosis Songs Fund in the coming months to lead the metaverse gaming company he co-founded, Karta. Barnes is currently still employed by Hipgnosis.

Stingemore, Jarjour and Barnes did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Hipgnosis continues to hire, announcing two new hires in Hipgnosis Song Management, a separate company from the publicly traded fund, on Wednesday.

Danny Bennett, son of iconic singer Tony Bennett, joined as executive vp leading global marketing and audience development. Bennett joined Hipgnosis from the Verve Label Group, a Universal Music Group company, where he was chief executive officer.

Sara Lord was hired as executive vp content creation from Concord Music, and Patrick Joest, who joined Hipgnosis in 2021, was promoted to the role of head of synchronisation.

In the press release announcing the hires, Mercuriadis said Hipgnosis has continuously invested in new hires and upgrading systems over the past 18 months.

“These appointments demonstrate our commitment to investing in our capabilities and team in order to grow the value of our catalogues, and, most importantly, bring our songs to new audiences around the world,” Mercuriadis said.

Continuation Vote

At Hipgnosis Songs Fund’s annual meeting in September, Mercuriadis’s young company will face one of its biggest tests yet.

In the United Kingdom, publicly traded trusts are required to hold regular continuation votes, where shareholders vote on whether an investment trust should continue in its current form. At this continuation vote, shareholders can choose to stay the course, change managers or liquidate the fund.

Analysts at the investment bank Jefferies issuesd a buy rating on SONG last month, upgrading from their previous “hold” rating, because they said they believe Hipgnosis may sell some non-core assets from its catalog, which would provide a catalyst to narrow its current discount to net asset value ahead of the vote.

However, the continuation vote comes at an inopportune time, only a couple months after Hipgnosis Song Management and Mercuriadis were publicly rebuked by Rod Stewart, who said he called off a deal to sell some his music assets to the company. 

In an unusual move, Stewart issued a statement that said, “It’s become abundantly clear after much time and due diligence that this was not the right company to manage my song catalog, career or legacy.”

Additional reporting by Ed Christman

12 Jul 2023

Shania Twain Duets With Hoda Kotb & More Moments From Her NYC Tour Stop That Impressed Us Much

Shania Twain’s Queen of Me Tour rolled into New York City’s Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (July 11), bringing with it a formidable catalog of country classics as well as a kick-ass opener, Breland, one of the more promising fresh faces in country music.

But Breland – who joined Shania mid-show on “Inhale/Exhale Air” from her 2023 album Queen of Me – wasn’t the only surprise guest. NBC Today anchor Hoda Kotb, who is apparently text message pals with Shania, came out and duetted with the legend on one of her best-loved tunes. Plus, several lucky fans got the chance to share the stage with Twain over the course of the night.

“This really is the time of my life, and I really mean that,” Twain said before her raucous three-song encore. “I’m loving life and I’m loving all these moments. I’m overwhelmed by the welcome.”

She also announced that there’s a 25th anniversary edition of her indispensable 1997 album Come On Over on the way, which will features new mixes as well as live recordings of its songs with guests like Elton John, Chris Martin and Alison Krauss & Union Station. Come On Over – 25th Anniversary Diamond Edition drops Aug. 25 via Mercury/UMe and is available for pre-order now; Come On Over is the best-selling album from a female artist in the Luminate era (1991-present), giving her three of her seven No. 1s on the Hot Country Songs chart.

From duetting with a broadcast legend to wearing the costume from the “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” music video on stage for the first time ever, here are the best moments from Shania Twain’s NYC tour stop.

12 Jul 2023

112,000 New Tracks Are Uploaded to Streaming Services Daily

In the first half of 2023, an average of 112,000 new tracks were added daily to digital service providers such as Spotify and Apple Music, Luminate revealed in its 2023 midyear report Wednesday (July 12). That’s an increase of 19.9% from the 93,400 new tracks uploaded daily to digital platforms in the first half of 2022.

At the current rate, digital services will add around 41 million tracks this year, about 7 million more than the 34.1 million tracks added in 2022 and more than double the 16.4 million tracks added in 2018.

The flood of tracks did not bring a commensurate increase in listening, however. While the number of tracks uploaded to digital platforms grew 19.9%, audio on-demand streaming rose only 13.5%. That disconnect between supply and on-demand streams is not unusual. In 2022, on-demand streams increased 12.2% while average daily new tracks grew 12%. But in 2021, on-demand streams grew 9.9% while average daily new tracks grew 18%.

Low barriers to recording and distributing digital music give unknown artists a chance to compete against established, big-budget releases. Major labels — some of whom, like Universal Music Group, have endorsed a system that rewards their music with better royalty payouts — accounted for just 3.3% of new tracks added to digital platforms through June 30. Streaming services are filled with music not just from independent labels — who may be distributed by companies owned by the majors — but also independent musicians, bedroom producers using inexpensive digital audio workstations and a variety of “functional music,” a term used for generic music that often fills streaming playlists aimed at helping people sleep, relax or study.

The possibility that 112,000 new tracks per day will seem low in a few years is causing consternation in some quarters of the music business. A new generation of AI tools will further reduce the barriers to creating music. Just as generative AI programs such as Midjourney and DALL-E-2 create images based on text prompts, AI will instantly create songs without the need for musical expertise or technical ability. “We see a huge market with many billions of original unique songs, similar to photos,” Alex Mitchell, CEO of AI music platform Boomy, told Billboard earlier this year. Such a scenario had previously prompted Universal Music Group CEO Lucian Grainge to warn against “a vast and unnavigable number of tracks” of “lower-quality functional content” created to game algorithms and “divert royalties.”

While independently released music and AI content chips away at major labels’ market shares, the majors continue to produce hits that stand out in an increasingly crowded field. The most popular albums and tracks fared well in the first half of 2023. The top 10 albums took a 2.49% share of equivalent album units (EAUs), up from 2.18% in the first half of 2022. That improvement can be chalked up to Morgan Wallen, whose album One Thing at a Time had 3.31 million EAUs — 67% greater than the No. 2 album, SZA’s SOS. Excluding the No. 1 albums from each half-year period, the remaining top 10 albums’ share of 1.88% in the first half of 2023 was almost equal to the 1.85% in the prior-year period.

Led by Wallen’s “Last Night” and SZA’s “Kill Bill,” the most popular tracks also increased their share of total streams. The top 10 tracks at the midway point of 2023 owned a 0.63% share of on-demand audio streams, well above their 0.5% share in the prior-year period.

12 Jul 2023

Zayn Reveals Why He Left One Direction, TXT Talks New Song, Britney’s Memoir & More | Billboard News

Zayn Malik reveals why he decided to be the first member to leave One Direction in a new interview on the Call Her Daddy podcast, Liam Payne opens up about going to a sobriety treatment center after receiving backlash from the interview he did with Logan Paul, Tomorrow x Together talks about their new collab with the Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears announces her new memoir ‘The Woman In Me’ is coming out soon. And more!

Tetris Kelly:
Zayn and Liam get honest about their relationship with One Direction. Tomorrow x Together gushes over working with the Jonas Brothers. It’s Britney’s book — and I’ve already pre-ordered. Kaytranada breaks down his style and his sound. And we learned five things about Bailey Zimmerman

Welcome to Billboard News. It’s Wednesday, July 12th, and here’s your top story. Nothing was off-limits for Zayn on the Call Her Daddy podcast, and Liam shares his side of the story too. Zayn didn’t shy away from talking about leaving One Direction. In his first interview in six years, he said the reason he decided to do the sit-down interview was to show his daughter with Gigi Hadid that you can overcome your fears and anxieties.

But Zayn isn’t the only One Direction member speaking out. Liam Payne posted a video to his YouTube explaining comments on the Logan Paul podcast where he trashed his former bandmates and admitted to being sober after going to a rehab facility in Louisiana.

Fans got the ultimate boy band crossover when TXT teamed up with the JoBros and the K-pop group couldn’t be more excited. TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Yeonjun told Billboard that he’d been a fan of the Jonas Brothers growing up and even practiced their music as a trainee in Korea. So collaborating with Nick, Joe and Kevin on ‘Do It Like That’ was so surreal.

Watch the full video above!

12 Jul 2023

Snubs & Surprises in the 2023 Emmy Nominations

For the most part, the nominations for the 75th Emmy Awards went according to plan, but as ever, there were some snubs and surprises.

Nominations were announced Wednesday (July 12) from the Hollywood Athletic Club, the site of the first Emmy ceremony in 1949. The virtual ceremony was hosted by Emmy-nominated actress Yvette Nicole Brown and Television Academy chair Frank Scherma.

Succession was the year’s most nominated program, with 27 nominations, followed by The Last of Us (24), The White Lotus (23), Ted Lasso (21) and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (14).

Adam Blackstone, Nicholas Britell and pop titans Ed Sheeran and Max Martin were among the nominees in the seven music categories. Here’s a full report. And here, RuPaul, John Legend, Riley Keough and more stars celebrated their Emmy nominations.

There were 38 first-time performer nominees this season, including Jessica Chastain (George & Tammy), Taron Egerton (Black Bird), Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & The Six), James Marsden (Jury Duty), Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, Saturday Night Live and Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World), Daniel Radcliffe (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) and Jason Segel (Shrinking).

In addition to Pascal, performers with multiple nods this year include Murray Bartlett (The Last of Us and Welcome to Chippendales), Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Family Guy), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary and Saturday Night Live), Bill Hader (performance, directing and writing for Barry), Sharon Horgan (performance and writing for Bad Sisters), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets and The Last of Us), Jason Sudeikis (performance and writing for Ted Lasso), and Ali Wong (BEEF and Tuca & Bertie).

The nominations may be revised in cases where names or titles are incorrect or appeals for changes are approved by the Television Academy’s Emmy Awards Committee. Producer nominees in certain program categories will be announced mid-August and may increase the number of multiple nominees. Final-round online voting begins Aug. 17.

The complete list of Emmy nominations, and other Academy news and updates are available at Emmys.com.

The 75th Emmy Awards is scheduled to broadcast live coast-to-coast on FOX on Monday, Sept. 18, (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/5:00-8:00 p.m. PT) from the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE. Emmy winners Jesse Collins and Dionne Harmon and Emmy nominee Jeannae Rouzan-Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment will executive-produce the show.

The 2023 Creative Arts Emmy Awards are scheduled to take place at the Peacock Theater over two nights on Saturday, Sept. 9, and Sunday, Sept. 10. An edited presentation is planned to air on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FXX.

Here’s a list of snubs and surprises, with a focus on music, talk and variety categories.

12 Jul 2023

Billie Eilish Looks Just Like Barbie in ‘What Was I Made For’ Teaser

Billie meets Barbie! Billie Eilish is just a day away from unveiling her contribution to the Barbie film soundtrack, and on Wednesday (July 12), she gave a brief look into “What Was I Made For” and its accompanying music video.

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In the 15-second teaser posted to Instagram, the 21-year-old superstar is seen dressed as the iconic doll, wearing a yellow dress with her hair up in a ponytail. She pulls a Barbie chest close to her, and opens it as she sings the lyrics, “I used to float,” over a piano melody.

See the teaser here.

“What Was I Made For” is slated for a July 13 release and features contributions from Eilish’s Grammy-winning older brother, FINNEAS. The duo previously won an Oscar for best original song in 2022 for co-writing the title song from the James Bond film No Time to Die.

Executive produced by Academy Award-winning songwriter and Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson, the Barbie soundtrack is set to feature songs from some of contemporary pop’s biggest and brightest stars, such as Lizzo, Fifty Fifty, Kali, Gayle, Khalid, Haim and Ava Max. A slew of singles have already been released from the soundtrack, including two that have reached the Billboard Hot 100: Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” (No. 31) and Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and AQUA’s “Barbie World” (No. 7).

Barbie hits theaters on July 21.

12 Jul 2023

These 5 Prime Day 2023 Karaoke Mic Deals Are Perfect for Your Next At-Home Gathering

Who doesn’t love a good karaoke night? Well, with Prime Day deals in full swing, you don’t need to head out to the bar to sing your heart out with friends. There are so many fun karaoke mics on the market that bring the party to the comfort of your home — and for a discounted price.

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To help with your search among the countless options online for this holiday season, we’ve compiled five portable karaoke microphones with great Amazon reviews for your next karaoke night.

Keep reading to shop the best Prime Day karaoke microphone deals while they’re still available.

black microphone with gold head and attached digital display

Amazon

Carpool Karaoke The Mic 2.0 (2021 Version)

$40 $59.99 33% OFF

Inspired by The Late Late Show With James Corden‘s popular segment and first introduced a few years ago by karaoke brand Singing Machine, the Carpool Karaoke Mic has been completely re-designed with new features and upgrades — and it’s currently 33% off! The Carpool Karaoke Mic 2.0 is an updated 2021 version that features wireless Bluetooth compatibility, multiple voice and sound effects, and flashing light effects that sync to your music.

pink karaoke microphone

Amazon

BONAOK Wireless Bluetooth Karaoke Microphone

$19.99 $49.99 60% OFF

You can snag the BONAOK Wireless Bluetooth Karaoke Microphone for 60% off! Its built-in high-quality Bluetooth module can be used as speaker, player and recorder and is compatible with various singing applications. The mic also comes in six fun colors (including the pictured rose gold) to fit every mood.

RHM Karaoke Machine

portable karaoke machine

Amazon

RHM K666 Karaoke Machine

$231.99 $299.99 23% OFF

The RHM K666 Karaoke Machine is ideal for duets and parties as it comes with two microphones. It also features a portable full stereo system with speakers and is Bluetooth-quipped for versatile sound system functions like a portable PA system or a Bluetooth music speaker. The rechargeable batteries inside the system also last up to 12 hours.

black round wireless microphone

Amazon

Wireless Bluetooth Karaoke Microphone

$49.99 $89.99 44% OFF

Want to turn the party up a notch? The colorful LED lights of this Bluetooth wireless karaoke mic has a 5-in-1 design you can take with you in the car, home, parties and more. You can even use it as a karaoke machine, Bluetooth speaker, loudspeaker, recorder, voice changer or nightlight.

black and red karaoke mic

Amazon

XZL Wireless Karaoke Microphone

$16 $39.99 60% OFF

Grab this 60% off deal while it’s still around! Not only will you be able to belt your go-to karaoke song, but the wireless karaoke microphone has a fun feature that changes your voice into one of four options, including a baby voice, deep voice, high-pitched voice and ultra deep voice.

For more Prime Day product recommendations, check out our laptop deals, deals under $50 and Xbox console deals.