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16 Jun 2023

Sasha Colby Talks About How She Got Into Drag, Misconceptions About Drag & More | Billboard Cover

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 15 winner Sasha Colby talks about her start in drag, defies drag misconceptions and more for our Billboard Pride cover with Maren Morris.

Sasha Colby
Oh my gosh, when I was asked … Billboard, the cover of Billboard? Cover girl, oh my goodness. I needed to pinch. I fainted and then I was resurrected.

Sasha Colby on how she got into drag:
I think I came out of the womb with, like, a pair of high heels and a little smoky eye, but I mean. There’s pictures of me as a kid literally jumping into my sister’s high heels or playing in makeup. So I think I was just always jumping into drag before I even knew what drag was.

Sasha Colby on the first song she performed in drag:
I was a child — I was playing in my sheets, and my parents told me to come out and dance for everyone. How they didn’t know, it’s beyond me. But it was, every time, Whitney Houston “I Want to Dance With Somebody.”

Sasha Colby on her signature drag number:
Would have to be honestly, “Don’t Walk Away.” It’s the perfect brunch number. It’s the perfect, like, everyone sings along — any age, any … like … any ethnicity, they love it.

Sasha Colby on the biggest misconception about drag:
That we queer people, or drag queens, or performers in general are trying to groom children. And that’s not our, you know, our way of going about things. But I think that’s the biggest misconception. It’s not something that we encourage people to do — it’s a safe haven that people come to because they’re excluded from everywhere else.

Watch the full video above to find out how Sasha Colby responded when she was told she’d be on the Billboard cover with Maren Morris, what she wants people to learn about drag and more!

16 Jun 2023

Executive Turntable: Positiva Records MD Boards Armada; Matthew Knowles Launches Media Company

Jason Ellis joined independent dance music label Armada Music as global senior A&R director. Ellis will also serve as an acquisition consultant for BEAT Music Fund, the company’s recently launched dance music investment arm. Based in London, Ellis will be responsible for sourcing and developing up-and-coming talent while consulting on future BEAT acquisitions. He joins the company from a more than 20-year stint at U.K. dance label Positiva Records, where he most recently served as MD — a role he combined with senior A&R duties at Virgin, Virgin EMI and EMI Records.

Music manager and branding/marketing entrepreneur Matthew Knowles and Emmy-nominated executive producer Tamra Simmons (Surviving R. Kelly) partnered to form a new media company called Music World TV, Film & Media, where Knowles will serve as CEO and Simmons will serve as president. The two have also brought aboard two additional executives: Jasmine Murray as head of development and Krystl Rascoe as business liaison. The company is currently developing several scripted and unscripted projects. Knowles is represented by Lin Almanza at Music World Entertainment and Simmons is represented by Bobby Kenner and Ashley Harrison at CAA.

Beth Rasnick was promoted to the role of chief of staff to the CEO at Gibson Brands, reporting to Cesar Gueikian. Rasnick will represent the office of the CEO internally and externally, collaborating with the Gibson leadership and extended leadership teams to determine business strategies. She will lead the CEO office with sponsored projects as well as strategic business initiatives. She has worked at Gibson for nearly a decade.

Veteran manager Justin Little is joining San Francisco-based Brilliant Corners Artist Management as the senior member of the firm’s newly opened Los Angeles office. Little brings with him dance/electronic act The Midnight and Nashville-based alternative rock band Bully (co-managed with Michele Fleischli at Like Management). He previously worked at Constant Artists Management.

Entrepreneur, filmmaker and author Scott Blum launched FOUND, a U.S.-based independent record label focused on the contemporary music scene of Iceland. The label’s first signings include jazz vocal duo Silva & Steni, composer Magnús Jóhann and punk band GRÓA.

Grace Watson was hired at Black River Entertainment as senior director of streaming & revenue. In the role, Watson will oversee all aspects of streaming and sales for the company while developing comprehensive streaming strategies and fostering partner relationships for Black River’s roster. She joins the company from Universal Music Group/Capitol CMG. Based in Nashville, she’ll report to Black River Records executive vp Rick Froio. Watson can be reached at gwatson@blackriverent.com.

Nick Jurich was promoted to junior account executive at Shore Fire Media; he was previously a publicity assistant. Based in Nashville, Jurich will take on expanded responsibilities as he contributes to publicity campaigns for various artists and projects.

16 Jun 2023

DJ Vlad Apologizes To Lil Durk After DJ Akademiks Explains Why Rapper Dissed Him

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You just might see Lil Durk back on the VladTV couch. DJ Vlad has apologized to the rapper after DJ Akademiks explained why the MC had an issue with him.

As spotted on HipHopDX, the media mogul interviewed DJ Akademiks and in the conversation the two discussed a variety of topics including AK’s recent interview with Lil Durk. On his 7220 album, The Voice took a jab at Vlad saying “I don’t f**k with Vlad.” AK went on to explain how it all unfolded.

“[Lil Durk] said the reason is: ‘I did an interview with Vlad and there was a part of the interview I mentioned the upcoming birth of my child,’” Akademiks said. “And that was with India and he apparently had asked you to take it out. And you said, ‘I got you, I’ll take it out.’ Interview comes out and that part wasn’t taken out. A lot of people could take that really sensitive too.”

Vlad went to confirm the story and offered some context of how things went left. “I asked my staff to take it out and when you have a bigger company and there’s multiple layers,” he began. “Along the way, something got mixed up and this part came out. As soon as I found out it was not taken out, we took it down right away.” He then went on to issue a formal apology.

“I am still the president of the company and I want to personally apologize to Durk and India. I know when it comes to children this is a very important thing and it’s a permanent thing” he said. “Announcing the birth or the gender of your child is very important and by us doing that took away from the grandeur of the whole thing. So I’m sorry. I’m very sorry that this happened.”

You can see the clip below.



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16 Jun 2023

Here Are the 11 Fields on 2024 Grammy Ballot & Categories They Contain: Complete List

The Recording Academy is dropping the number of fields on the Grammy ballot from 26 to 11 in an effort to give voters more flexibility in their voting.

All Grammy voters can vote in the General Field, which has long consisted of record, album and song of the year, plus best new artist. As of next year, that field will also include producer of the year, non-classical and songwriter of the year, non-classical.

After that, voters can vote in no more than 10 categories spread across no more than three fields. This is done so that voters focus on the areas in which they have real expertise and not just areas where they happen to recognize a name. But voters were complaining that the previous field structure was too restrictive.

“What we were hearing was many voters weren’t able to even come close to using their 10 votes because so many of the fields had only one or two categories,” Mason told Billboard. [Last year, seven fields consisted of just one category. Five others consisted of two categories.] “That was the problem. That didn’t feel fair or right for a lot of our members. So consolidating fields gives voters a little more flexibility.”

The most crowded field on next year’s ballot is the country & American roots music field, with 13 categories. The least-crowded field is the Package, Notes & Historical Field, with four categories.

Here are the 11 fields below the General Field (which the Academy inexplicably doesn’t consider to be a field, even though it has the word “field” in its name) and what categories they contain. The three newly-added categories are marked NEW.

16 Jun 2023

Dionne Warwick Cancels Chicago Show Due to ‘Minor’ Medical Issue

Dionne Warwick had to cancel an upcoming concert at the Rivers Casino Des Plaines outside Chicago after the 82-year-old “That’s What Friends Are For” singer reportedly suffered a minor health issue. TMZ was first to report that Warwick said she began having an unspecified issue with one of her legs on Thursday that was serious enough that she pulled the plug on show slated for June 24.

The venue posted a note to fans confirming the cancellation, writing: “We regret to inform you that the Dionne Warwick performance on June 24, 2023 at Rivers Casino Des Plaines has been cancelled due to a medical incident.” The venue said all tickets will be fully refunded and Warwick reportedly told TMZ that she hopes to reschedule the gig in in the future.

An unnamed spokesperson for Warwick told People that, “it’s a minor issue that has been fixed and she is fine.” Warwick’s upcoming tour schedule also lists upcoming shows in Bridgeport, CT (June 22), Bensalem, PA (June 23), Riverhead, NY (July 21), Selbyville, DE (August 9), Gethsemane, KY (August 11) and Beverly Hills, CA (Sept. 2); at press time it did not appear that those shows had been impacted by the injury and a spokesperson for Warwick had not returned a request for additional information.

Fresh off her gritty starring role in the drama A Thousand and One, Teyana Taylor recently revealed that she’s gearing up to play Warwick in a biopic. “We’re already working on it,” Taylor told Tamron Hall in March. “We’re in the building process right now. I always wanted to make sure I could lock in with any person that I would be playing.”

16 Jun 2023

Putumayo Founder Dan Storper Talks 30 Years of Celebrating World Music

Before Juan Luis Guerra launched his smooth bachata to global fame; or before the samba of Gilberto Gil’s samba traversed beyond Brazil; or Cuban son exploded out of the Caribbean in the late ‘90s, Putumayo championed world music.

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The company, founded in New York by entrepreneur Dan Storper, began in the 1970s as a store of handicrafts and musical discoveries that the American globetrotter brought back from his travels in Latin America, Africa, India and elsewhere. But over time, the music became bigger than expected — and in 1993, he created Putumayo World Music, a record label that has served as a benchmark for captivating sounds from all over the planet.

Through the label, genres that in the U.S. had largely been considered world music curiosities — such as bachata from the Dominican Republic, bossa nova from Brazil, Afrobeats from West Africa or bhangra from India — became better-known, as Putumayo played a big role in their global growth. 

“I look back with a certain measure of pride at the fact that we’ve really introduced so many people to music that they were not familiar with — whether it be Latin, African, Caribbean, European, and more,” Storper tells Billboard Español, as he reflects on his three-decade legacy. He mentions, for example, that Carlos Santana met certain African bands through his catalog that he later ended up working with.

With a discography of more than 200 physical albums — many of which are now available via most streaming services — the pioneering label drops their first digital full-length album today (June 16), Acoustic Latino. Continuing their quest for finding treasures for those seeking a journey into the heart and soul of disparate cultures, the ten-track compilation offers songs by Mexican son band Chéjere, whose folk style from the Yucatan peninsula reflects their Afro-Cuban influences; Colombian songwriter Alejo Garía, who explores elements of jazz, folk and rock with contemporary sounds; Cuban singer Niuver, who’s influenced by trova, bossa nova, and chanson; and more. 

“Putumayo’s strength is not only selecting some great songs with that human touch, but putting together a sequence to take you on a musical journey, and as we say, it’s guaranteed to make you feel good,” says Storper.

Billboard Español caught up with the label’s founder to talk about Putumayo World Music’s most memorable moments in its 30-year history. 

When you reflect back on your record label’s legacy, what comes to mind? 

It’s hard to imagine that it is 30 years. I look back with a certain measure of pride at the fact that we’ve really introduced so many people to music that they were not familiar with, whether it be Latin, African, Caribbean, European, and more. The Putumayo company that I founded actually started as a little retail shop in New York City in 1975. I was importing handicrafts, and a bit of clothing from Latin America. The Putumayo store started 48 years ago, and Putumayo World Music is 30 years old.

Talk to me about the origins of the Putumayo shop. 

I was a Latin American studies major in college and traveled to Latin America in 1974. I studied [abroad] and decided to import handicrafts from mostly Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. I opened a little shop [called Putumayo] in 1975 in New York City selling clothing and handicrafts from Latin America. I started playing African and world music in my shops. I mixed in the music I brought back from the Andean highlands with Latin music and [artists] I like, such as Bob Dylan and others, to help create an environment. People started freaking out — not just saying, “This is great music,” but “I want to buy it. Where is it from? Where can I find it?” 

How did Putumayo World Music start?

That led me to Rhino Records, who I approached on doing a compilation. I knew its co-founder Richard Foos through an organization called the Social Venture Network. In 1993, we released our first two albums [as Putumayo World Music]. It was a time when no one really knew much about international music. If you were a Latino, you might know many of the artists outside [the U.S.], but the Anglo world wasn’t familiar with a lot of the great music that was coming out of Latin America and much of the world.  

We needed a package. I really didn’t like the plastic jewel case, and the digipak had just started. Record stores didn’t care for [digipaks] because they tended to get damaged. Rhino was desperately trying to talk me out of using them, but I insisted. 

The covers and artwork are emblematic of the Putumayo brand. What’s the story behind them?

By another happenstance, a woman that did the interiors and window displays of our retail shops happened to have a friend who was visiting from London [named Nicola Heindl]. [The interior designer] came into my office and said, “Dan, you know that greeting card you have on your bulletin board? That’s done by my friend. She’s from England and is coming to New York in a few days. Would you like to meet her?” I had picked up this greeting card that I really liked in a London store a year before — so I said, “Of course!” We were getting ready to start the record label and I liked her art. [When I met Heindl] I told her, “How do you feel about doing the first album cover?” She did, and the people really liked it. We’ve used her art forever. 

How did you envision your role when Putumayo World Music was coming to fruition?

In a way, I saw my role as being an introducer [of world music] in a nontraditional or specialty retail outlet, where we introduced people to music from artists that they wouldn’t have known about or heard on the radio. We sold a lot of CDs throughout record stores, gift shops and museum shops, where this music created a background. That was a big part of our history. I had a Dominican assistant designer for our clothing and handicraft company and she said, “Now that you’re starting this label, you should listen to Juan Luis Guerra.” Juan Luis Guerra was on the first track of the first Putumayo album [World Vocal (1993)] with [“Ojalá Que Llueva Café”]. We also included Gilberto Gil and Jorge Ben from Brazil.  

What are other big highlights that you recall fondly that were essential to your label’s success?

The first album we did, Cuba, came out at the same time as the Buena Vista Social Club [documentary in 1999]. We rode that wave with that album; it was good timing. Then, the first artist we signed was Ricardo Lemvo, a Congolese artist from L.A, and we did a music video called “Mambo Yo Yo” that became popular. I remember Carlos Santana telling me it was one of his favorite songs of all time. I bumped into Carlos at the [1996 Summer] Olympics in Atlanta, and I gave him a copy of the One World (1996) album. He told me he got inspired by [“Guerrilla”] by Touré Kunda that was on that album, and invited them to participate in his Supernatural (1999) project. The song that they worked on together is “Africa Bamba.” 

[In 1998] we released Cairo to Casablanca that had a track by Rachid Taha called “Ya Rayah.” I’ll never forget getting a call from our Colombian distributor saying there was a DJ in Bogotá who started playing that track and people flipped out. It became this huge hit and we couldn’t keep up with it in Colombia. Then it spread to Latin America. I don’t want to take credit for the interest in Arabic music that exploded in Latin America in the ’90s, but to some small part, I think we played a role in that. One of the great things many have told me is that they’ve traveled to certain countries because they fell in love with its music and decided to visit.

[Another] favorite story is when Brasileiro (1999) was released, a Brazilian music expert I knew told me, “Dan, this is blowing my mind. I’m supposed to be the leading Brazilian music expert in the United States, and you’ve just put out an album [whose] first four songs and artists I’ve never heard.” That was a testament to the idea that we were searching for artists we could introduce to people who weren’t familiar with them.

How did you come across these rare gems? 

I give a lot of credit to Jacob Edgar, who has been working with me for about 20 years. He has his own label called Cumbancha. He’s [also] an ethnomusicologist at National Geographic and leads Lindblad Expeditions, [where] he is responsible for the music component of their cruises. He and I have traveled around the world, we’re naturally curious. We have a database of about 50,000 songs that we like enough to consider that grows every week. The idea that there’s great music in all parts of the world, whether it’s reggae, Latin, African… 

I remember going to Costa Rica, Colombia and other places, and people constantly gave me CDs. We used to get scores of CDs in the mail before the Internet became a big thing. In that course, we learned about artists who were not mainstream yet or particularly known. We also included tracks by people like Bob Marley and the Gipsy Kings, because we really like them — but we took great pleasure in finding artists that were little-known. Then we would hear stories about these artists getting discovered through the Putumayo collection, and their songs would appear in films, TV or advertising; they would get an agent, a record deal, or start touring. 

Why did you name your company Putumayo?

There’s a place called the Putumayo River that starts in the foothills of the Andes in southern Colombia, and it runs into the Brazilian Amazon, touching on the border of Ecuador and Peru. I was down there in 1991, collecting handicrafts, sitting by the side of a small stream tributary in the Putumayo Valley, and I was struck by [its] beauty. Carnival celebrations were beginning on this beautiful spring day, and indigenous people were coming in from the fields dressed in their wonderful, colorful costumes. They were all in a happy mood and about to celebrate. There were mountains in the distance, lush foliage and flying birds. I felt like everything was right with the world.

Unfortunately, as you probably have realized, Putumayo and much of Colombia for many years went into a challenging political time, with a civil war and a drug problem. The area became off limits for some time. But it really inspired me to name my company Putumayo, because of that magic moment. My sense is that music helps people rise up and survive challenging times.

16 Jun 2023

Here Are the 10 Biggest Changes to the Grammy Awards Process for 2024

A track and singles category that includes recordings that utilize unique local expressions from across the African continent. Highlighting regional melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic musical traditions, the category includes but is not limited to the Afrobeat, Afro fusion, Afro Pop, Afrobeats, Alte, Amapiano, Bongo Flava, Genge, Kizomba, Chimurenga, High Life, Fuji, Kwassa, Ndombolo, Mapouka, Ghanaian Drill, Afro-House, South African Hip Hop, and Ethio Jazz genres.

Previously, such performances competed for best global music performance, a category that will continue, albeit without African music performances.

Told that some critics have said that one category isn’t enough for an entire continent, Mason responds, “I don’t disagree. It’s a starting point, though. It’s a way for us to celebrate music that’s coming from that continent which is really impressive.”

The larger significance of this new award is that it shows that the Academy, which was founded and long known as the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, is taking a more international view.

“It’s an acknowledgment that music is coming from many different places and that we as an Academy are going to have to make some changes to what we’re doing to make sure we’re honoring it,” Mason says. “It’s not just about Western music. It’s not just about what happens in the U.S. at this point. It’s beyond that. It’s what’s happening around the world. You’ll see us in the future listening and going to different countries. I went to Africa three times in the last year, traveling the world to understand what’s happening, what’s next in music, where are music pockets bubbling, where is the next scene that’s going to explode globally. What does it mean to have borderless music? This is a step in that direction.”

16 Jun 2023

Person of Interest in Young Dolph Murder Found Shot to Death

A man who was named by police as a person of interest in the 2021 murder of rapper/music exec Young Dolph has been killed. According to Memphis’ ABC 24, family members identified Joshua Taylor as the victim of a fatal shooting in the city on Wednesday afternoon.

At press time it was reported that there was no suspect yet as the investigation is ongoing; a spokesperson for the Memphis Police Dept. had not returned calls requesting additional information on the case at press time. Taylor (who reportedly went by the alias CEO Teezy) was named as a person of interest in the Dolph murder case in February 2022 and according to the repot he was wanted on a number of other charges, including theft of property between $10,000-$60,000 and possession of a prohibited weapon.

Fox 13 reported that Taylor was found shot to death inside a car and that he was thought to have been a friend of Justin Johnson, one of the two alleged shooters who’ve been charged in Dolph’s killing. Police never charged Taylor directly in the killing and he had not been mentioned in the case, though investigators reportedly wanted to find out if Taylor knew where Johnson was on the day of Dolph’s killing or if he knew anything about the murder.

Dolph (born Adolph Robert Thornton Jr.), was gunned down while shopping at Makeda’s Cookies near his boyhood home in Memphis in Nov. 2021. Last week, Jermarcus Johnson, 26, pleaded guilty to three counts of accessory after the fact after officials said he helped two other men during the daytime ambush killing.

Johnson was the first of four defendants to plead guilty or be convicted in Dolph shooting.

16 Jun 2023

Trent Reznor’s Daughter Turned Him on to Dua Lipa and the NIN Singer Said Her Songs Made Him Cry: ‘It Felt Good’

Trent Reznor has spent 35 years making the most outrageously dissonant, elegant and dark rock possible. But, as it turns out, the Nine Inch Nails leader is not totally immune to the charms of a great pop song. On the latest edition of producer Rick Rubin’s Tetragrammaton podcast, Reznor fessed up that not only has he learned to appreciate a well-crafted pop ditty, but, thanks to his kids, he’s actually been brought to tears by one of today’s biggest mainstream stars.

“For while, I kept them in a kind of hermetically sealed way from pop music. Because I think it sucks generally —  I had thought that,” Reznor said of his kids with wife singer Mariqueen Maandig. Then, Reznor said, he heard his six-year-old daughter singing along to Dua Lipa recently and it gave him pause.

“She is so into it and it is so cool. Like this is her music, you know, this is her thing,” he said. “It really reminded me the art of writing a well-crafted song — I teared up listening to a Dua Lipa track. Because it was just a really well-done piece of music, you know? It was clever. It felt good.”

The Grammy, Oscar and Golden Globe-winning songwriter then made a startling admission. “It’s a difficult thing to do. I don’t know how to do that,” Reznor said. “When I’m trying to think of what to say, I’m saying it from the unvarnished me. And that requires me thinking about who I am and where my position is now and all of that together becomes something that feels the stakes are higher.”

That’s why he said he prefers film scoring, which has become his second full-time job thanks to acclaimed work on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl, Mank, The Social Network, Soul and Empire of Light, among others. “Sitting there and arranging stuff — I know what’s right… I don’t have to assess my thoughts on how I feel about a thing,” he told Rubin. “What it comes down to is I really enjoy weirdly working in service to something. It’s like cracking a code. It feels good to crack the code, whatever it is.”

As for the future of NIN, Reznor said because he has young kids at home he’s not really interested in “endlessly” touring any more and, frankly, given where he thinks the culture is now and the importance of music in it, “[it’s] a little defeating,” he said during the pair’s two-hour chat that ranged from the very beginnings of Reznor’s life and career in Cleveland through his thoughts on working with director David Fincher and his songwriting process.

“It feels to me in general, and I’m saying this as a 57-year-old man, music used to be the thing that, that was what I was doing when I, when I had time, I was listening to music,” Reznor said. “I wasn’t doing it in the background while I was doing five other things, and I wasn’t treating it kind of as a disposable commodity.”

Reznor also fessed up that he missed the attention music used to get, even from critics, who’s opinions he still doesn’t really care about. “But somebody heard it, it got validated in its own way culturally. Culturally, that feels askew,” he added. “Like I can’t think of any review I care about today that I even trust. I could write it before it comes out because it’s already written. In fact, ChatGPT could probably do a better job, you know? Or is currently doing the job. That makes for what I feel is a less fertile environment to put music out into –in the world of Nine Inch Nails.”

Listen to the full chat with Reznor below (Dua Lipa segment begins at 1:49:00).

16 Jun 2023

Barry Manilow’s 25 Top 40 Hits, Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic’s Picks

The entertainer turns 80 on Saturday. To mark the occasion, here are all 25 of his singles that made the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, fearlessly ranked by an OG Fanilow.

Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow photographed in New York City in 1976.

Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

Barry Manilow had one of the most impressive hit streaks of the 1970s and early ’80s. Of his 26 commercially-released singles between “Mandy” in late 1974 and “Read ‘Em and Weep” in late 1983, 25 made the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.

If you’re a young pop fan, 25 top 40 hits may not sound all that impressive to you. Artists can amass that many top 40 hits with just a couple of albums these days, thanks to big, streaming-sparked debut weeks. But, back in the day, artists had to earn every hit one by one, single by single. If fans or radio didn’t care for a song, your streak was interrupted. (That happened to Manilow just once in his heyday, when “Lonely Together” stalled at No. 45 in April 1980.)

For those of us who were Manilow fans from the first time we heard “Mandy” on the radio in the fall of 1974, it’s hard to imagine that he is turning 80 on Saturday (June 17). (This doesn’t mean we’re aging too, does it?!).

Just as impressive as Manilow’s hit streak is the fact that he has sustained his stardom and drawing power decades after his last top 40 hit. Part of the reason for that is that he gained a reputation as a strong live performer.

Surviving in this business is a feat to celebrate. So, whether you’re a Fanilow from way back or you just want to understand why your mom always tears up when she hears “Mandy,” here are Manilow’s 25 top 40 hits on the Hot 100 – ranked from worst to best.