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28 Jun 2023

Morgan Evans Reveals His Favorite Australian Slang | Billboard

Rising country star Morgan Evans reveals his favorite Australian slang to Billboard.

Morgan Evans:
This is Morgan Evans, and this is my favorite Australian slang.

Morgan Evans:
First one, I feel like I need to start with this: “Fair Dinkum.” And it just means, like, the real deal. Like, if you were looking for some music news, you’d say Billboard Music news is “fair dinkum.”

Another one I have to say is the word “ripper” because I’ve been staying at my mate’s place here the last few days and we’ve been drinking coffee at a place called Little Ripper. And it’s an Australian coffee shop. And the term “ripper” just means, like, a “good one,” like a little, like “great one.”

And the third one is one that I find quite hilarious to explain to Americans. We have these very cute native birds in Australia called budgies, and they’re about they’re about this big, super cute — and our name for a Speedo. Instead of using the term Speedo, we call them budgie smugglers.

Watch the video above.

28 Jun 2023

Olivia Rodrigo Shares Eerie ‘Vampire’ Music Video Teaser

Olivia Rodrigo is gearing up for a bloody good comeback as she unveiled the music video teaser to accompany her upcoming single “Vampire.”

In the brief clip shared to Instagram on Wednesday (June 28), the 20-year-old star is seen laying in a dimly lit, foggy grass field under the full moon as a piano melody plays in the background. The Petra Collins-directed music video will be arriving at the same time as the single, at the stock of midnight ET on Friday (June 30).

Collins has worked with the superstar on a number of her previous music videos, including “Good 4 U” and “Brutal.”

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“Vampire” is the lead single off Rodrigo’s highly anticipate sophomore album GUTS, which will be arriving on September 8. The song will mark the Grammy winner’s first release since 2021 and will follow her breakthrough debut album SOUR.

In a press release, Rodrigo noted that GUTS will explore “growing pains and trying to figure out who I am at this point in my life.” “I feel like I grew 10 years between the ages of 18 and 20 — it was such an intense period of awkwardness and change,” she continued. “I think that’s all just a natural part of growth, and hopefully the album reflects that.”

Watch the “Vampire” teaser below.

28 Jun 2023

Morgan Wallen & Luke Combs Make History on Streaming Songs Chart

For the first time, country songs occupy the top two spots on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart.

Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” crowns the July 1-dated survey, leading for a 14th week. But it’s Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” that rises 4-2 to complete the distinction.

“Last Night” earned 29.8 million official U.S. streams in the June 16-22 tracking week, up 1%, while “Fast Car” racked up 21.2 million streams, a 4% boost, according to Luminate.

It’s the first time that the top two of Streaming Songs, which began in 2013, is made up of country songs. Previously, the genre claimed two of the top three multiple times over the holidays, most recently via this year’s Jan. 7 survey when Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” crowned the tally and Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” ranked at No. 3.

Removing holiday songs, this week marks the first in which country songs have infused two of the top three on Streaming Songs, let alone the top two.

“Fast Car” becomes Combs’ second track to reach a career-best No. 2 on Streaming Songs, following “Forever After All,” which debuted at the spot in November 2020. In between the two songs, Combs’ hit a No. 5 high with “Love You Anyway” this February.

In all, the country genre claims four of the top 10 on the July 1-dated list. Below the top two are Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” (No. 7; 15.6 million streams) and Wallen’s “Thinkin’ Bout Me” (No. 8; 14.4 million). Country last had a higher share of the top 10 on the March 25 survey thanks to five Wallen titles, led by “Last Night.”

“Last Night” and “Fast Car” concurrently rank at Nos. 1 and 2 on Country Streaming Songs for a 10th straight week, dating back to the April 29 tally.

As previously reported, the songs also rank at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the multimetric Billboard Hot 100, marking the first time that country songs have held the top two simultaneously in over 42 years.

28 Jun 2023

Madonna Tour on ‘Pause’ After Bacterial Infection Leads to Hospitalization

Madonna’s hotly anticipated Celebration Tour is on pause after the Queen of Pop spent several days in the hospital following a “serious bacterial infection,” according to manager Guy Oseary on social media.

The new came on Wednesday (June 28) afternoon, with Oseary revealing on Instagram that Madge had spent several days in the ICU after developing an infection on Saturday, June 24. “Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care,” Oseary wrote. “A full recovery is expected.” A source close to the situation says that Madonna is already out of the ICU and currently recovering. Billboard reached out to reps for Madonna for further comment, who had nothing to add beyond Oseary’s post.

Unfortunately for fans (and the notoriously hard-working icon herself), the hospitalization is forcing Madonna to put her massive, career-spanning tour on pause for the moment.

“At this time we will need to pause all commitments, which includes the tour,” Oseary wrote. “We will share more details with you soon as we have them, including a new start date for the tour and for rescheduled shows.”

The Celebration Tour was set to launch in Vancouver, B.C. on July 15 at the Rogers Arena. According to Billboard Boxscore, the trek — which would boast a set list featuring four decades of hits from a catalog that includes 12 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s and 38 top 10 hits on that chart — was set to net her more than $100 million.

Over the course of her globe-trotting and culture-dominating career, Madonna has grossed a reported $1.376 billion and sold 11.7 million tickets across 575 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore. She is the most successful female act in Boxscore history.

28 Jun 2023

It’s a ‘Barbie World’ for Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Aqua on Streaming This Week

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: The Barbieverse continues to take over the music world, while Kylie Minogue’s fan-favorite latest continues to grow and a British singer-songwriter’s tribute to the artist known as Mama Africa goes global a second time.

Come on Barbies, Let’s Go Party: Nicki Minaj & Ice Spice Boost Aqua’s Pop Classic

With the highly anticipated Barbie movie featuring a star-studded soundtrack — boasting new songs from Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Charli XCX and PinkPantheress, among many others — it made all too much sense for the original Barbie anthem, Aqua’s “Barbie Girl,” to have some presence within the upcoming film. And indeed, the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group’s 1997 hit was revived on Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s contribution to the soundtrack, “Barbie World,” which samples “Barbie Girl” and credits Aqua as a featured artist on the track.

Since the release of “Barbie World” last Friday (June 23), streams for Aqua’s original have ticked up, gaining plays from those who want to fully relive its Eurodance glory or bask in it for the first time. While Minaj and Ice Spice’s “Barbie World” bowed with 3.33 million U.S. on-demand streams (and nearly 14,000 in sales) last Friday, according to Luminate, Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” earned 222,000 streams that day, a nearly 22% increase from the previous day’s streaming total.

And while “Barbie Girl” is unlikely to ever approach its No. 7 Hot 100 peak during its original run in the late ‘90s, Aqua will no doubt enjoy a healthy streaming resurgence in the coming weeks, ahead of the July 21 release of the Barbie film. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

“Padam Padam” Beats Its Way to Virality

Australian pop legend Kylie Minogue has already called her 2023 single “Padam Padam” the biggest musical moment of her career since 2001’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” – no small designation for an artist who’s scored eight top 10 hits in her home country (and 14 on the UK Official Singles Chart) since that classic release. But the Darenote/BMG-released “Padam Padam” is indeed her most viral song of the streaming era, climbing to No. 19 in Australia and No. 8 on the Official Singles Chart – her highest peaks on both charts in over a decade. 

Mingoue’s chart success in the U.S. has always been a bit more limited than it has overseas: “Head” peaked at No. 7 on the Hot 100 in 2002, but that’s been her lone top 10 appearance on the chart since her initial late-’80s breakout. And so the Billboard rise of “Padam” has been much slower and gradual than it has in those other markets – though you wouldn’t necessarily know it from the song’s internet presence, where it has become an obvious favorite (both as a song and as a meme for its unusual title, meant to approximate a heartbeat) among stateside pop fans on social media. 

Regardless, the song has begun to rise in the U.S. as well. It’s sold over 1,000 digital copies each of the last five chart weeks (up to the week ending June 23), according to Luminate, and currently sits at a new peak of No. 18 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales listing, moving over 2,400 copies last week. Streams are also up, with “Padam” gaining from just over 1.4 million official on-demand U.S. streams the week ending May 25 to nearly 2.4 million this past week, a gain of 70%. (June being Pride Month has undoubtedly helped to boost the song’s fortunes, with Minogue long serving as a gay icon and her new song being deemed a Pride anthem.) 

The song still has a long way to go before it really threatens to become Minogue’s first Hot 100 hit since “Slow” in 2004. But its Billboard chart impact is growing: The song sits at No. 7 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs this week, having already become her first top 10 on the chart since its 2013 inception. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Jain’s ‘Makeba’ Could Be Dancing Toward the U.S. Charts Soon

“Makeba,” the whooping dance-pop single from French singer-songwriter Jain, is evolving into a fascinating type of global smash. Originally released in 2015 on Jain’s debut Spookland/Sony/Columbia album Zanaka as a tribute to South African singer-activist Miriam Makeba, the song became a top 10 hit in the pop artist’s native France, a successful follow-up to her No. 1 hit “Come.” Although “Makeba” soundtracked a popular Levi’s ad in the States soon after, the song never made a dent in the charts in North America.

Fast-forward to 2023, and Jain has already released two more albums, including this year’s The Fool — but “Makeba” is becoming a delayed hit in the U.S., thanks in part to a TikTok dance challenge. The song has been resurrected with a simple four-step that combines a heel kick, arm wave and booty shake, among other moves; users put their own spins on the dance, and 740,000 TikTok videos have been created with “Makeba” playing underneath.

As the challenge has been working its way through TikTok over the past month, stateside streams for “Makeba” have exploded, reaching 3.04 million U.S. on-demand streams for the week ending June 23 — nearly 10 times its weekly total from one month before, according to Luminate. Meanwhile, the song has reached No. 1 on Shazam’s Top 200 chart, and rises 34 spots to No. 55 on this week’s Global 200 chart. If people keep dancing to “Makeba” throughout the summer, Jain could score her first Hot 100 entry with an eight-year-old song that was too engaging to be kept out of U.S. pop culture forever. – JL

28 Jun 2023

Will Young Thug Score the Year’s First Hip-Hop No. 1 Album?

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated July 8), an unexpected release from an incarcerated rapper leads a week that also includes some familiar names releasing debut albums, and others releasing their first projects in six years.  

Young Thug, Business Is Business (YSL/300): A week after Gunna reached the Billboard 200’s No. 3 spot with his A Gift & A Curse album, his labelmate Young Thug should have a chance of doing even better with his new set, Business Is Business. Much interest in the new set is undoubtedly driven by not only the rapper’s incarceration, while he awaits trial on racketeering charges, but also his possibly strained relationship with Gunna — who was similarly indicted in the RICO trial, but released after taking an Alford Plea (a formal admission of guilt made while also maintaining innocence). 

The alleged drama between the two rappers isn’t the only thing spurring consumption of the set, though. Young Thug has long been one of the most successful rappers on streaming, and Business’ tracklist is filled with appearances from A-listers like Drake, Lil Uzi Vert, Future, 21 Savage & Travis Scott. The 15-track set, which does not yet have a physical release, is also receiving today a deluxe Metro’s Version, named after its executive producer (and longtime Thug collaborator) Metro Boomin, and including two extra bonus tracks, including one with appearances from superstars Nicki Minaj and the late Juice WRLD.

Standing in the album’s way, of course, is Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time – now the longest-reigning album of the last 10 years on the Billboard 200, with its 14 weeks on top. That album is still posting weekly units in the low six figures, so Thug will need to do a little better than the 90,000 first-week units his most recent album (2021’s Punk) notched to claim the top spot. (He would also score the first hip-hop No. 1 album of 2023 on the Billboard 200 in the process.) 

Peso Pluma, Génesis (Double P/Prajin/The Orchard): No star around the globe has risen as quickly or as dramatically this year as Mexican corridos singer-songwriter Peso Pluma. He’s already made such an impact on the Billboard Hot 100 this year – reaching the chart 11 times, including with the top 5 hit “Ella Baila Sola,” alongside Eslabon Armado – that it’s pretty hard to believe that last week’s 14-track set Génesis is actually his debut album. 

The album – which technically debuted last Thursday (June 22), bowing at No. 35 on Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart with less than a full day of consumption– does not load up on those aforementioned Hot 100 hits, with only closer “Bye” having reached the chart. That should change next week, with the album dotting the daily charts of DSPs, led by likely breakout hit “Lady Gaga” with Gabito Ballesteros and Junior H. It’ll have to do most of its damage on streaming, as the album is also not yet for sale in any physical formats.  

Kelly Clarkson, Chemistry (Atlantic): While veteran pop/rock hitmaker Kelly Clarkson isn’t the streaming force that Young Thug and Peso Pluma are, her Chemistry album will probably have much more of a sales impact. The LP, her first since 2017’s Meaning of Life is available in at least six different vinyl variants, including some retail-exclusive editions – along with a signed CD sold in her webstore, and Amazon- and Target-exclusive versions with a poster and alternate cover, respectively. It may be enough to help Chemistry became Clarkson’s eighth consecutive top five-charting original album, a streak that stretches all the way back to 2003 debut Thankful. 

IN THE MIX 

Kim Petras, Feed the Beast (Amigo/Republic): Though cult pop favorite Kim Petras has been releasing acclaimed singles, EPs and mixtapes for six years now, June’s Feed the Beast is her official debut album. It arrives after her breakthrough success with the Hot 100-topping “Unholy” — which is featured here, along with the Nicki Minaj-featuring “Alone” – and is being sold as a signed CD in her webstore. 

Portugal. The Man, Chris Black Changed My Life (Atlantic): Portugal. The Man a very personally and collectively trying half-decade following their 2017 breakout smash “Feel It Still,” as chronicled in the group’s recent Billboard digital cover story. Their new set – named after PTM’s longtime friend and touring hypeman, who died in 2019 – doesn’t feature a single like that, but it does have a top 10 Rock & Alternative Airplay hit with “Dummy.” It’s also available as a cassette, as a signed CD, and in multiple vinyl variants.  

28 Jun 2023

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony To Be Honored With Cleveland Street Renaming

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High Hopes Concert At Toyota Arena

Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty

The intersection of East 99th Street and St. Clair Avenue which was featured prominently on the cover of the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony album, Creepin On Ah Come Up, will soon be renamed after the legendary Cleveland group. 

HipHopDX is reporting that the ceremony will take place on August 11, the day that has been established as the 50th anniversary of the founding of Hip-Hop music. The event will be held from noon to 2 p.m. 

The effort is the result of a fan-driven campaign. They created a petition in February 2022. “There’s nothing here that pays homage to that or to the group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony,” said Felicia C. Haney, owner of Beach Street Publicity told News 5 Cleveland. 

Haney and Juan Goodwin went door-to-door gathering signatures. They needed 70% of the street, and that’s what they got within a span of two hours in the cold. The Cleveland City Council was reportedly shocked by how quickly the signatures were gathered. 

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is one of the only rap groups who made music with hip-hop legends while they were still alive including 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Eazy-E and Big Pun. 

Cormega of C-N-N has been praising his fellow hip-hop artists on social media. He took some time out earlier this month to salute the Cleveland icons. 

“Before Eazy E left this world he gave us a reminder of his savvy as a music executive. Bone Thugs N Harmony was and is one of the most unique rap groups ever,” Cormega captioned a photograph of the group minus Flesh, who spent several years of the group’s career in prison. “They harmonize like a choir while simultaneously lyrically staying aligned with rap group precision and verbally switching tempos perfectly.”

He added, “Their song ‘1st Of The Month’ was a catchy hit that caught my attention and their music afterwards kept my attention,” he wrote. “I’ve never heard a song about death sound sonically beautiful until I heard ‘Cross Roads.’ The video is very thought provoking and brings an added element to the song. A melodramatic emotional experience never surpassed to this very day.

“They became superstars selling over 14 million records to date making them one of the top rap groups of all time if we’re being unbiasedly honest.”

By most accounts, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is one of the best-selling hip-hop groups of all time having sold more than 14 million albums worldwide. 

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28 Jun 2023

Chadwick Boseman To Get Star On Hollywood Walk of Fame

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33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards, Show, Los Angeles, USA - 03 Mar 2018

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The late Chadwick Boseman will be among the group of honorees to get their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year, including the iconic producer Dr. Dre.

On Monday (June 26th), the Walk of Fame Selection Panel for the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced their Class of 2024 whose members will be honored with a star on the Walk of Fame. Boseman, who succumbed to colon cancer in 2020 at the age of 43, will posthumously receive that honor as part of the group nominated from the Motion Pictures category. Late musical icon Otis Redding will also get a star after being nominated for the Live Theatre/Live Performance category with actress Jane Krakowski.

Dr. Dre will also be receiving a star after being nominated from the Recording category along with Glen Ballard, Toni Braxton, Def Leppard, Charles Fox, Sammy Hagar, Brandy Norwood, Darius Rucker,  and Gwen Stefani. Veteran radio host and media personality Angie Martinez will also get a star as the lone nominee from the Radio category.

“The Selection Committee which is made up of fellow Walk of Famers, carefully hand-picks a group of honorees each year that represent various genres of the entertainment world,” Walk of Fame Chair Ellen K said in the announcement statement. “The Committee did an amazing job choosing these very talented people.” There are no dates announced yet for any ceremonies.

The rest of the honorees from the film category are veteran actress and recent Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Chris Meledandri, Chris Pine, and Christina Ricci along with Gal Gadot and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. The television category nominated Ken Jeong, Eugene Levy, Mario Lopez, Jim Nantz, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Michael Schur, Kerry Washington, and Gordo y La Flaca co-hosts Raúl De Molina and Lili Estefan. Tennis legend Billie Jean King and Carl Weathers will be honored from the Sports Entertainment category.

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28 Jun 2023

Taylor Swift Drops ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’ Eras Merch Collection & You Have Only 48 Hours to Get It

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Swifties better drop everything now and run over to Taylor Swift‘s online store if they want any hopes of securing items from the pop star’s new, limited Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) Eras merch collection.

The flash sale was announced by Taylor Nation Wednesday (June 28) just an hour ahead of launching on Swift’s site. Featuring hoodies, crewnecks, long-sleeve shirts and tees emblazoned with an illustration of the singer wearing eight of her Speak Now tour looks circa 2011, the collection will be available only for the next 48 hours.

“We’re a flight risk, with a fear of fallin’ head over heels for the new #SpeakNowTaylorsVersion Eras Collection!!!” Taylor Nation captioned a followup announcement heralding the collection’s arrival. “Available for 48 hours at http://store.taylorswift.com, or while supplies last.”

Also available under the new Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) merch line are a lilac tote bag, a plush blanket, a lithograph and magnets. Prices range from $30 to $65.

The new swag comes just over a week before the album, a re-recorded version of Swift’s 2010 project Speak Now, arrives July 7. In addition to all of Speak Now‘s original songs, “Taylor’s Version” will include six previously unreleased tracks, two of which she invited Fall Out Boy and Hayley Williams to collaborate with her on.

Since the album announcement, Swift has been gearing up for the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) by previewing special vinyl editions and by singing tracks as surprise songs at her Eras Tour shows. Just a few days ago, she performed an acoustic version of her moving 2010 ballad “Dear John” — which is widely believed to be a scathing lyrical takedown of John Mayer, whom she dated in 2009 — and asked fans not to “defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 billion years ago.”

See Taylor Nation’s announcement below:

28 Jun 2023

Taylor Swift Invited to Join Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences

Taylor Swift has been invited to join a prestigious group of artists and executives around the globe in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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She’s been invited along with a number of others who have made major contributions to film over the past year, including David Byrne, Austin Butler, Keke Palmer, Ke Huy Quan and many more.

“The Academy is proud to welcome these artists and professionals into our membership,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and president Janet Yang said in a joint statement to the publication. “They represent extraordinary global talent across cinematic disciplines and have made a vital impact on the arts and sciences of motion pictures and on movie fans worldwide.”

If all 398 people who were invited this year accept their invitations, the Academy will have a 34 percent female, 18 percent non-white and 20 percent non-American membership.

Swift was shortlisted in 2023 for best original song with “Carolina” from the murder mystery film Where the Crawdads Sing, but she failed to land a nomination, and she’s yet to be nominated for an Oscar.

“Carolina” was nominated for a number of other awards this year, though, including a Golden Globe for best original song, Critic’s Choice Award for best song, Grammy Award for best song written for visual media and more. The track won the MTV Movie & TV Award for best song in May.