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YOASOBI’s ‘Idol’ Scores 12th Week at No. 1 on Japan Hot 100

YOASOBI‘s “Idol” continues to rule the Billboard Japan Hot 100 for its 12th consecutive week on the chart dated July 5, dominating three metrics of the chart’s methodology for the sixth week in a row.

The first season of the animated series Oshi no Ko that the track serves as opener ended June 28. While “Idol” is slowing down in terms of overall points, it finishes this week with approximately 1.7 times more than that of the song at No. 2, and continues to rule streaming, video views, and karaoke.

Incidentally, the airing of the season finale has boosted the series’ ending theme as well. “Mephisto” by Queen Bee (aka Ziyoou Vachi) rises 18-15 on the Japan Hot 100 this week with an increase of 8.8 percent from the previous, jumping 12-5 for downloads and 55-18 for video.

Sakurazaka46’s “Start over!” went on sale June 28 and comes in at No. 1 for sales with 523,606 copies sold. The girl group’s sixth single moves 10-2 on the Japan Hot 100, performing relatively well in other metrics including downloads (No. 6), streaming (No. 6), radio (No. 40), and video (No. 44). The CD sold 128,531 more copies than the previous single, “Sakurazuki.”

Kenshi Yonezu’s “Tsuki wo Miteita” dropped digitally June 26 and debuts at No. 3 on the Japan Hot 100. Hitting No. 1 for downloads with 29,349 units, the FINAL FANTASY XVI theme is off to a better start than its predecessor, “LADY,” that launched with 20,907. It’s also doing well in other metrics, ruling radio and coming in at No. 21 for streaming.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from June 26 to July 2, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

Rick Ross’ Knees Let Him Down At His Own Pool Party During Dive Attempt

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2023 Kelce Jam

Source: Barry Brecheisen / Getty

Rick Ross might’ve shed a bunch of pounds and gotten himself into better shape. However, Renzel must’ve been skipping leg day because his knees gave out on him at the worst possible moment in public.

Over the weekend, the biggest Bawse of them all threw an exclusive pool party on his Promised Land property out in Georgia. And while everyone in attendance was enjoying the festivities, Ross definitely gave them something to remember when he took to the diving board in an attempt to wow his guests. Wow them he did. After calmly walking down the plank and building up hype for his dive, Rick Ross warmed up with a few springs before attempting the jump only for his knees to give out and cause him to sink down, straight down to Davy Jones’ locker.

Captain Jack Sparrow couldn’t have saved that man.

Between Ross’ dive fail and DJ Khaled’s brush with death while surfing, it seems like big men should avoid water sports entirely for the remainder of 2023. Hopefully, the elements will have a little more mercy on plus sized men in 2024. Rod Wave, stay out the pool! Jason Whitlock, have a blast! We kid we kid.

Luckily, Rozay has a sense of humor just like us and posted his dive fail on his own Instagram page with a caption that read: “Don’t try my ‘DOUBLE DECKER SLAPPER’ dive at home! I think we all should enjoy @villonfrance ?today and chill. Peace ✌️”

You gotta love him. Check out Rick Ross take the diving L above, and let us know what you think about the moment in the comments section below.

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White House Confirms Powdery Substance Was That Booger Sugar

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White house's west side

White House officials have confirmed that a powdery substance found near the guest entrance of the West Wing was indeed cocaine. An investigation is currently underway to discover how the narcotic made its way into the White House.

The Washington Post was one of several large outlets covering the discovery of the substance at the White House. The substance was found this past Sunday (July 2) on the ground floor near an area where visitors are instructed to leave their cell phones according to sources speaking with the outlet.

The Secret Service is leading the investigation of the found drugs, which the outlet adds sparked officials to evacuate the building. After initial testing pointed to the substance being cocaine, a final test confirmed the findings.

President Joe Biden was away for the weekend at Camp David and did not return to the White House until Tuesday (July 4). President Biden has not made a public statement regarding the discovery.

Tours of the White House take place on evenings and weekends. As a security measure, guests are told to leave their devices in a series of small boxes prior to entering the West Wing. The cocaine was found near these small storage boxes which essentially points that the substance indeed came from a visitor and not a staff member. However, that fact has yet to be established by Secret Service officials.

Given the political tensions across the nation, some pundits have used the discovery of the drugs to connect the cocaine to President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, despite little evidence provided in the case.

Photo: izanoza / Getty

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The Weeknd’s Horrible MAX Show, The Idol, Takes A Well-Deserved Dig At Kanye West

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Kanye West Dissed On The Final Episode 'The Idol'

Source: Variety / Getty / Kanye West

If you’re one of the few who hate watching The Weeknd’s godawful show on MAX, aka HBO MAX, The Idol, you caught the dig at Kanye West.

The Idol is a hot ass mess, don’t take our word for it, you can head over to Rotten Tomatoes to see The Weekend and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson’s show get dunked on by critics and viewers, but it does have one highlight we can all root for, clowning Kanye West.

Spotted on TMZ, in the MAX limited-series fifth and final episode, Lily-Rose Depp’s character takes a shot at Ye and his love for Adolph Hitler.

Per TMZ:

In Sunday night’s finale, Lily-Rose Depp‘s character, Jocelyn, puts on a talent showcase for her management at her home in order to convince them she’s ready to go back on tour after a tumultuous few months.

Jocelyn’s management is skeptical at first, wondering if she’ll be able to sell seats … and that’s when the jab comes at Ye. Jocelyn’s agent says, “You know f****** Kanye was filling arenas until he decided to start following Adolf Hitler.”

Now if you need a refresher on what the former billionaire took his sad act on Info Wars with far-right Hulk Hogan, Alex Jones’ show Infowars where he had plenty of praise for Hitler and Nazi ideology.

“I see good things about Hitler … Every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler,” West said during the episode that Jones lost control of as the rapper rambled on.

Jones himself filed for bankruptcy after a judge ordered him to pay $1.5 billion in damages to the parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims.

Photo: Variety / Getty

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TWICE Takes Over ‘TODAY’ With Bubbly Performances of ‘Alcohol Free,’ ‘Set Me Free’ & More

TWICE was “ready to be” on a television screen near you with their performances for TODAY‘s Summer Concert Series on Wednesday (July 5).

The K-Pop girl group graced the show’s concert stage with multiple performances of hits from across its catalog, including selections from recently released project, Ready to Be. Ahead of hitting the stage, TODAY Show co-host Craig Melvin hailed them as “the history-making queens of K-Pop.”

Each of the group’s members — Momo, Minatozaki Sana, Nayeon, Tzuyu, Jihyo, Chaeyoung, Jeongyeon, Mina and Dahyun — got an opportunity to introduce themselves to TODAY viewers before lighting up the stage with a series of electric performances “Alcohol-Free,” “Set Me Free” and more, complete with bubbles, a live band and outfits straight out of their music videos.

TWICE is the first all-woman K-Pop group to sell out a stadium in North America. The global phenoms are set to headline New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium as a part of their Ready to Be World Tour, which boasts nearly 40 dates across Asia, North America, Europe and Australia. The group’s TODAY performance included a rendition of Ready to Be lead single “Set Me Free,” which peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100, their highest peak on the ranking. The girl group also performed “Moonlight Sunrise,” their second English-language single and second song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 84).

Ready to Be, the group’s twelfth EP, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with over 153,000 album-equivalent units. Of that figure, 145,500 units came from pure album sales, good enough for the group’s biggest consumption week in the U.S., as well as their highest-charting title in the U.S. to date.

TWICE has earned four consecutive top ten titles on the Billboard 200 dating back to 2021’s Taste of Love. “The Feels,” their first original English-language single, is their highest-charting Hot 100 hit (No. 83).

Check out some clips of TWICE’s TODAY performances below.

Shoes for Steals: Snag the ‘Most Comfy’ Crocs for Only $25

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Upgrade your summer shoe collection with a pair of comfortable sandals that have taken the world by storm: Crocs. Rather than shell out $50+ on a pair of designer platform boots, Walmart has slashed the price off the bestselling Crocs Unisex Baya Clog you can shop now.

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Celebrities have quickly jumped on the shoe trend with the most recent being Lil Nas X who partnered with the brand for a next level collaboration. He’s not the only one either — other artists including Justin Bieber and SZA have also created sold-out Crocs collaborations, which you can still snag from resale retailers).

Sport a pair of your own, but for a fraction of the price as places like Walmart, Amazon, Zappos and Nordstrom Rack are offering the shoe up to 55% off.

Keep reading to shop the Crocs Unisex Baya Clog.

light blue Crocs clog

Walmart

Crocs Unisex Baya Clog

$24.99 $54.99 55% off% OFF

This bestselling style features the classic Crocs clog look paired with a lightweight 100% thermoplastic EVA material that’s cushy, lightweight and breathable. It’s available in 17 shades to stock up and personalize to your liking, and can be wiped clean when they’re dirty.

This style has racked up a 4.7 rating on Walmart with almost 8,000 five-star reviews with shoppers praising how comfortable they are.

“My co-workers are wearing them, my neighbors are wearing them, I see school kids wearing them so I decided to find out for myself why everyone I know was wearing these CROCS. Well, let me just say I ordered a pair and I LOVE THEM! They are so comfortable I don’t want to take them off. As soon as I get home from work I change out my work shoes for my CROCS. I’ll definitely buy a few more because I can’t decide which is my favorite color,” said one Walmart reviewer.

For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best jelly shoes, men’s sneaker deals and platform heels.

With ‘Special,’ Lizzo Lands First Adult R&B Airplay No. 1

Lizzo lands her first No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart as “Special,” featuring SZA, crowns the list dated July 8. The single advances from the runner-up slot after a 9% surge in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B radio stations in the week ending June 29, according to Luminate.

“Special” unseats Usher’s “GLU” from the summit after the latter’s two-week reign.

With “Special,” Lizzo scores her first champ after coming up just short on her last appearance. Prior single “About Damn Time,” achieved a No. 2 peak in August 2022. Before that, she reached the chart with “Juice” (No. 19) in 2019 and “Truth Hurts” (No. 29) the following year.

For featured artist SZA, “Special” is her second Adult R&B Airplay No. 1, after “Love Galore,” featuring Travis Scott, reigned for nine weeks in 2018. Between the leaders, she came closest to recapturing the throne with “I Hate U,” which peaked at No. 4 in 2022.

As “Special” tops the list, SZA also logs her newest chart hit as new single “Snooze” debuts at No. 29. The single is already a smash mainstream radio hit, leading the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart for a second week and having added 19% more plays in the latest tracking week.

Elsewhere, “Special” rebounds 18-16 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay to match its peak, first earned two weeks ago. On the chart, which ranks songs by combined audience on adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations, “Special” rose to 7.1 million in audience in the last tracking week, a 9% improvement from the prior frame.

“Special” is the title track of Lizzo’s latest studio album, which was released in July 2022. In addition to the incumbent Adult R&B Airplay champ, the album includes “About Damn Time,” which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and won the Grammy Award for record of the year.

Cardi B & Offset Attend Paris Fashion Week Together Following Cheating Allegations

It looks like all is well with Cardi B and Offset, who kept things classy at a Paris Fashion Week show Wednesday morning (July 5).

The two rappers looked super stylish in matching luxury black looks at a Balenciaga runway showcase, at one point cozying up for photos together in a video captured on the scene by i-D. The day before, Cardi flew solo at the Thom Browne Haute Couture show, wearing a custom multi-color tweed blazer dress by the designer while sitting in the row with Diane Keaton, Anna Wintour and Baz Luhrmann.

“Custom couture @thombrowne ….I’m a very blessed girl,” the “WAP” musician captioned a carousel of Instagram photos from the Tuesday (July 4) show. “I’m thankful everyday that my work and my lord have me living my dreams.”

Cardi and Offset’s fashion week outing comes on the heels of their brief social media spat, which started when the Migos rapper wrote in a quickly-deleted Instagram Story that his wife had cheated on him with another man. Afterward, Cardi took to Twitter Spaces to shut down the accusation, pointing out how implausible a secret affair would be given her fame.

“So please boy, stop acting stupid,” she addressed Offset in the audio clip last week.
“Stop acting stupid. Going crazy over a f—ing space. Don’t play with me. What the f—. Stop playing. Thats all I’m gonna mother—ing say.”

The “Up” artist and her husband definitely aren’t the only stars in Paris this week. Shakira and Camila Cabello, for instance, were seated together Wednesday at the Viktor & Rolf show, and both Cabello and Latto were present the day prior at Iris Van Herpen’s showcase. Also at the Balenciaga show with Cardi and Offset were Rema, Michelle Yeoh, Natasha Lyonne and more.

See photos of Cardi B and Offset at the Paris Fashion Week Balenciaga show here.

Stephen A. Smith Opens Up About ESPN’s Mass Layoffs, Says “More Is Coming, I Could Be Next”

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Stephen A. Smith Says More Layoffs Are Coming At ESPN

Source: Justin Casterline / Getty / Stephen A. Smith

Stephen A. Smith had plenty to say about the mass layoffs at his employer ESPN last week on his podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show.

Sports fans were following the massive layoffs that saw ESPN lay off about  20 on-air personalities on Twitter, like following Adrian Wojnarawski’s timeline during the beginning of NBA free agency.

On the latest episode of his show, the Disney-owned sports network’s workhorse, Stephen A. Smith spoke about long-time on-air talents like Jalen Rose, Neil Everett, and more being let go.

He gave a shoutout to Rose, who he worked alongside during NBA Countdown and numerous appearances on his weekly sports debate show, First Take, and former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy.

Per Deadline:

“ESPN laid off about 20 members of its on-air talent … friends of mine, actually, definitely respected colleagues who’d done a phenomenal job and deserved better,” the sports analyst said on The Stephen A. Smith Show. “It’s not Disney or ESPN that they deserved better from. They deserved better than the times we’re living in.”

“Got a lot of love for that brother,” he added. “A lot of the great work he’s done over the years, what he’s represented for the company… I’m going to miss him. Jalen Rose has always been good to me, and I loved working with him on NBA Countdown. He is a brilliant basketball mind. He is somebody that worked his ass off all the time. There was never an assignment he backed away from. There was never a time he didn’t want to work.”

Smith also name-dropped former NBA coach and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy saying, “Jeff was an outstanding, brilliant basketball analyst for ESPN for years. I could say I’m gonna miss him, but I just can’t imagine he’s gonna be out of work for long. I’m sure I’ll see him on-air doing his thing. He’s been a Hall of Fame analyst and commentator.”

Stephen A. Smith Says ESPN Is Not Done & He Could Be Next

After talking about his former colleagues, Smith hinted at more possible layoffs coming, even suggesting that he could be next on the chopping block.

“If we’re going to be real about it, let’s deal with reality. This ain’t the end. More is coming,” Smith said. “And yes, ladies and gentlemen, I could be next.”

Interestingly, we do think it’s unlikely that ESPN would let go of one of its most popular personalities, joining his former First Take co-host Max Kellerman, Keyshawn Johnson, Matt Hasselbeck, Chris Chelios, Steve Young, Rob Ninkovich, Neil Everett, Ashley Brewer, Joon Lee, LaPhonso Ellis, Todd McShay, and Jason Fitz.

You can watch the entire episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show below.



Photo: Justin Casterline / Getty

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21 Chart-Topping Summer Latin Songs of the Last Decade: ‘Bailando,’ ‘Despacito,’ & More

All the hits that reached No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs every summer season (June, July, & August) since 2013.

The summer season not only brings longer and hotter days, but also an incredible selection of music with perfect songs to accompany all the fun activities of the most relaxed time of the year.

There are many songs that gain momentum each summer, but only a few reach the top of Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, becoming the most popular tunes of the season.

Undoubtedly, the last 10 years have brought many timeless No. 1 Latin hits worthy of being included in our “21 Biggest Summer Latin Songs” list. Songs with contagious tropical rhythms like “Vivir Mi Vida” by Marc Anthony that made us dance in 2013, and songs with an urban flavor like “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias with Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona, which took over the summer of 2014.

And let’s not forget the global phenomenon that was “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, whose impact transcended beyond 2017 and continues to be heard around the world to this day. Nor can we fail to mention the recent success of Mexican music with Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola,” which is taking 2023 by storm (so far).

Get ready to embark on a nostalgic musical journey through the Latin songs that accompanied your best summer moments in the past 10 years. From The Black Eyed Peas & J Balvin’s “Ritmo” to Aventura & Bad Bunny’s “Volví,” and beyond, here are all the songs that were crowned as No. 1 hits on Hot Latin Songs every summer season (June – August) since 2013, in chronological order.