News

13 Jun 2023

What’s Your Favorite BTS Song? Vote!

Happy anniversary, BTS! The superstar boy band is celebrating 10 years since their debut on Tuesday (June 13).

To honor the group’s decade of accomplishments, we at Billboard have updated and extended our list of our favorite BTS songs to include 60 album-spanning hits. From Hot 100 hits to beloved B-sides like “Run BTS” and “Blue & Grey,” tracks for every type of ARMY have made our list celebrating RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, V and Jung Kook.

We want to know which BTS song is your favorite. Take a look at our list here, and let us know by voting below.

13 Jun 2023

Cardi B Strikes Back, Kesha v. Dr. Luke, Dua Lipa Case Closed & More of the Week’s Biggest Legal Stories

This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.

This week: A man who unsuccessfully sued Cardi B over an album cover agrees to repay her $350,000 legal bill; Kesha wins a major appellate ruling in her ongoing defamation battle with Dr. Luke; Dua Lipa’s copyright accusers drop their case for good; and much more.

Want to get The Legal Beat newsletter in your email inbox every Tuesday? Subscribe here for free.

THE BIG STORY: Don’t Mess With Cardi B (Or Her Lawyers)

Omar Little, the notorious Baltimore stick-up man who robs drug dealers on HBO’s The Wire, once famously said: “You come at the king, you best not miss.” Well, that same sentiment seems to be increasingly true about Cardi B and her team of lawyers: If you come at her, you better be sure you’re ready for the consequences.

Back in 2017, a guy named Kevin Brophy did exactly that, suing the superstar for millions in damages. His case claimed that Cardi had left him “humiliated” after an image of his enormous back tattoo was inadvertently photoshopped onto the “raunchy” cover of her debut mixtape, Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1.

But now, six years later, it’s Brophy who’s paying Cardi, not the other way around.

Months after a federal jury rejected his lawsuit, Brophy agreed this week to hand over a whopping $350,000 in legal bills that the superstar spent defeating his case. He also agreed to voluntarily end his efforts to revive the case and waived any chance at a future appeal.

Why would he do all that? Go read our full story here to find out.

For Cardi, turning the tables on Brophy is just the latest financial trouncing of a legal opponent.

Late last month, a gossip blogger named Tasha K who made salacious claims against the rapper was forced to file for bankruptcy after Cardi B won more than $3 million in a defamation lawsuit against her. Shortly after Cardi won that verdict, she tweeted “imma come for everything” along with the acronym BBHMM — “bitch better have my money” — and then spent months chasing the cash, including seizing money from Tasha’s YouTube royalty account.

The takeaway? At least when it comes to legal matters: You come at the queen, you best not miss.

Other top stories this week…

KESHA v. DR. LUKE RULING – New York’s top appeals court handed a key victory to Kesha in her legal battle with Dr. Luke, making it more difficult for him to prove at a looming trial that she defamed the producer when she accused him of rape in 2014. The court said Dr. Luke was a “public figure,” meaning he will need to show that Kesha acted with “actual malice” when she made her statements — a notoriously difficult legal hurdle to clear.

DUA LIPA CASE CLOSED – A Florida reggae band called Artikal Sound System decided to drop its copyright case accusing Dua Lipa of copying her smash hit song “Levitating” from their earlier track. The move — a unilateral capitulation, not a confidential cash settlement — came just days after a federal judge cast serious doubt on whether Artikal would be able to prove that Lipa ever even heard the song she was accused of stealing.

JIMMIE ALLEN SUED AGAIN – The country star was hit with a second sexual abuse lawsuit, claiming he assaulted a woman in a Las Vegas hotel room and filmed the encounter without permission. The case came a month after Allen was accused of sexually harassing and raping a woman on his management team. Allen has strongly denied the allegations and has vowed to “mount a vigorous defense.”

TORY LANEZ SENTENCING – Los Angeles prosecutors formally asked a judge to impose a 13-year prison sentence on Tory Lanez after he was convicted last year of shooting Megan Thee Stallion, telling a judge that Lanez had “waged a campaign to humiliate and re-traumatize the victim” in the wake of the 2020 incident. Sentencing had been set for this week but was rescheduled to Aug 7.

MUSIC AS SEX DISCRIMINATION – The Ninth Circuit issued a first-of-its-kind ruling that said blasting music with “sexually graphic” and “violently misogynistic” lyrics in a workplace could violate federal discrimination laws. Reviving a case against a company that played songs like Too $hort‘s “Blowjob Betty” and Eminem‘s “Stan” at its Nevada warehouse, the court said the music potentially created a “hostile or abusive environment.”

COURT RIPS BAD SETTLEMENT – In another big music ruling, the Ninth Circuit overturned a class action settlement in a royalties lawsuit against the relaunched Napster, sharply criticizing an “unreasonable” deal that secured just $53,000 for songwriters while paying their lawyers a whopping $1.7 million in legal fees. The court said that paying attorneys “more than 30 times the amount that the class received” was likely to “make the average person shake her head in disbelief.”

YOUTUBE CASE DROPPED – Just a day before it had been set to go to trial, a Grammy Award-winning composer dropped her closely-watched lawsuit against YouTube over access to its anti-piracy tools like Content ID. The ruling came weeks after a federal judge gutted the case by refusing to let it move forward as a class action — a ruling the composer had said would “gravely undermine” the goals of her lawsuit.

ASTROWORLD GAG ORDER STANDS – A Texas appeals court refused to lift a strict gag order on the lawsuit over the deadly 2021 disaster at Travis Scott‘s Astroworld festival. The court was unmoved by arguments from ABC News, which argued that the “sweeping” restrictions clearly violated the First Amendment’s protections on free speech and had created a “news desert” in which almost no reliable information about an important case is being shared with the public.

COVID RELIEF HIJINKS? The owners of a small Palm Springs, Calif., venue filed a lawsuit against Marc Geiger and his company SaveLive, claiming the former WME agent deceived them into accepting an investment in their venue during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a ruse to take over the business without paying a fair price.

13 Jun 2023

SZA ‘Upset’ by the Hate Lizzo Receives on Social Media: ‘Just Want Everyone to Practice Kindness’

SZA is tired of people tearing Lizzo down online. The “Kill Bill” singer took to social media on Tuesday (June 13) to express her annoyance at trolls for targeting Lizzo.

“I be wondering where all the virtue signaling, well spoken sh– talking, internet warriors are when someone genuine needs defending. Where the f— do y’all be at for Lizzo?” she wondered in the first of a series of tweets. “Do y’all actually know how to support others or only tear them down?”

One user in the comments section asked, “So people don’t go to war for Lizzo in this app?,” to which the 33-year-old replied, “NOT EF–KINGNUFF. For as much free love, encouragement and positivity she embodies n shares on every app daily? The ratios’s don’t add up.”

She concluded her statements by saying she “also dgaf who don’t agree. It’s been on my mind for a minute .. makes me upset. Jus want everyone to practice kindness and shutting tf up more often cause GADDAMN ITS UGLY OUTSIDE ALREADY. Why add?”

SZA’s remarks come on the heels of Lizzo sharing that she was tired of receiving body-shaming messages online. Last month, Lizzo wrote, “The Love definitely do not outweigh the Hate on social media… all because I’m fat????” and “Y’all don’t know how close I be to giving up on everyone and quitting and enjoying my money and my man on a F–KING FARM…” As a result, Lizzo has kept her Twitter private in recent weeks.

Read SZA’s tweets in full below.

13 Jun 2023

‘Disney Junior’s Ariel’ Animated Series On the Way Inspired by Halle Bailey’s ‘Little Mermaid’

Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has been garnering box-office success and strong soundtrack streaming tallies alike, and the new version of the 1989 classic can now add another accolade. On Tuesday (June 13), Disney Branded Television announced that it greenlit a new animated series titled Disney Junior’s Ariel inspired by Halle Bailey‘s Ariel.

Intended for preschoolers, the new series is based on the classic story of The Little Mermaid and will follow an 8-year-old Ariel on new journeys and adventures in Atlantica and beyond. Other beloved Little Mermaid characters set to appear in the series include King Triton, Ursula, Sebastian and Flounder. Ariel’s two best friends, merchildren named Lucia and Fernie, will make their debut.

The first peek at the character designs for Disney Junior’s Ariel reveal a young Ariel inspired by Bailey’s version of the iconic Disney princess. Complete with flowing red locs and rich brown skin, the young Ariel of the new animated series will carry the legacy of Halle’s live-action performance. Disney Junior’s Ariel will also highlight the multicultural diversity of the Caribbean under cultural consultant Dr. Patrice Saunders, professor of English and hemispheric Caribbean studies at the University of Miami. Chair of Berklee College of Music’s ensemble department Sean Skeete will serve as the series’ Caribbean music consultant.

Bailey’s turn as Ariel in The Little Mermaid helped carry the film and its accompanying soundtrack to much success. To date, the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid has earned more than $417 million at the worldwide box office, and the accompanying soundtrack — which features contributions from original composer Alan Menken, alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Jonah Hauer-King and Awkwafina — climbed to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Soundtracks chart and No. 21 on the Billboard 200, surpassing the peak of the original soundtrack on both charts.

13 Jun 2023

Jelly Roll’s ‘Whitsitt Chapel’ Debuts on Rock & Alternative and Country Album Charts

Jelly Roll’s Whitsitt Chapel blasts onto Billboard’s Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart (dated June 17) at No. 1 and the Top Country Albums tally at No. 2. Released June 2, the set earned 90,000 equivalent album units in the United States, with 63,000 in album sales, in the week ending June 8, according to Luminate.

Whitsitt Chapel also arrives at No. 3 on the all-genre Billboard 200, giving the Nashville-born artist, named Jason Bradley DeFord, his first top 10 on the ranking.

Thanks to his first country album, Jelly Roll earns the largest week for an initial entry on Top Country Albums since the chart transitioned to a consumption-based methodology (from one based on pure sales) in February 2017. It surpasses The Highwomen, whose lone Top Country Albums entry (a self-titled set) started at No. 1 in September 2019 with 34,000 units. (The group comprises Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires.) The previous best first week on the chart for a solo male belonged to Bailey Zimmerman’s Leave the Light On (32,000 units, October 2022).

Whitsitt Chapel becomes Jelly Roll’s first No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums in his second appearance on the tally. Previously, Ballads of the Broken peaked at No. 35 in September 2022.

Notably, the new set follows multiple albums in reaching the top two of both Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Country Albums. Those have included, this decade: HARDY’s The Mockingbird & the Crow (No. 1 on both charts, this February), Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak (No. 1 on both, June 2022), and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s Reunions (No. 1 on both, May 2020).

Whitsitt Chapel’s album sales were helped by three vinyl LPs (including a color-variant exclusive for Walmart), a standard CD, a signed CD sold through Jelly Roll’s webstore, a deeply discounted digital album (only $4.20 for a limited time during the tracking week in his webstore), nine deluxe CD boxed sets that included branded merch and a copy of the CD, and a “hymnal” zine/CD package.

The album sports 13 tracks, including collaborations with Brantley Gilbert, Struggle Jennings, Lainey Wilson and Yelawolf.

Meanwhile, the LP’s lead single, “Need a Favor,” holds at its No. 2 high on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and pushes 7-4 on Hot Country Songs, with 20.2 million in airplay audience, 11.2 million official streams and 3,000 sold. The track keeps at its No. 3 high on Mainstream Rock Airplay and ascends 14-12 on Country Airplay. On the former, Jelly Roll reigned for a week in May 2022 with “Dead Man Walking.” On the latter list, he led for a week in January with “Son of a Sinner.”

13 Jun 2023

Black Music Month Is Here to Stay: Co-Founders Celebrate Biden’s Presidential Proclamation Locking In the Name

This year, the 44th anniversary of the monthlong celebration of Black music’s rich legacy and influence carries an extra special meaning for the observance’s co-founders: Kenneth Gamble and Dyana Williams. That’s because — by presidential proclamation — the name of the annual June campaign has been changed back to Black Music Month after also being called African-American Music Appreciation Month in recent years.

President Joe Biden signed the proclamation on May 31, 2023. It reads in part, “During Black Music Month, we pay homage to legends of American music, who have composed the soundtrack of American life. Their creativity has given rise to distinctly American art forms that influence contemporary music worldwide and sing to the soul of the American experience.”

In tandem with the proclamation, Biden and first lady Jill Biden are hosting a Juneteenth concert on the South Lawn on Tuesday (June 13) at 7 p.m. ET. Performers include Jennifer Hudson, Ledisi, Audra McDonald and Method Man. Biden signed bipartisan legislation two years ago that established Juneteenth as a federal holiday. Celebrated on June 19, Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.

“I’m elated that President Biden issued the proclamation,” says Gamble, co-founder of legendary label Philadelphia International with songwriting-production partner Leon Huff. “Black music represents a multibillion-dollar business and cultural asset that informs human beings globally. When we established the Black Music Association in the late 1970s, it was our intention to galvanize different aspects of the Black music business, along with the all-important consumers, to elevate our industry and garner respect for the creatives and professionals. Black is more than just a color; it’s a frame of mind. All genres of music created by Black folks in America are our heart and soul gifts — as well as a universal language widely felt and embraced worldwide.”

The first observance of Black Music Month, which also featured a concert on White House’s South Lawn, occurred on June 7, 1979, under President Jimmy Carter. Inspired by the efforts of the Country Music Association, which had established October as Country Music Month, BMA members Williams, Gamble and Cleveland radio DJ Ed Wright enlisted the assistance of then-Motown president Clarence Avant, veteran label executive Joe Smith and other industry professionals to petition Carter and launch an annual observance. However, in christening June as Black Music Month at the time, Carter didn’t sign a presidential proclamation.

“Had he done that, every American president that came into office after him would have done so,” says Williams, a veteran broadcaster/media strategist.

Dyana Williams

Dyana Williams

Whitney Thomas

At the suggestion of President Clinton’s administration, Williams began lobbying Congress in the late ’90s. With the help of Philadelphia Congressman Chaka Fattah, the African-American Music Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives. It subsequently secured passage as House Resolution 509 in 2000. But over the years, confusion emerged about which name to use: Black Music Month or African-American Music Appreciation Month.

“I wanted to eliminate the confusion and re-establish the name Black Music Month because that’s how it has always been celebrated in the music industry and broader communities,” says Williams. So she began sending “countless” emails to the succeeding White House administrations over the years. And she kept writing until May 31 when Erica Loewe, the White House director of African American Media, sent her a copy of the Biden-signed presidential proclamation.

“It was a joyful moment,” says Williams, who will also be attending the White House’s Juneteeth concert celebration.

In the meantime, Williams’ and Gamble’s son Caliph Gamble is carrying his family’s music-activism legacy into the next generation as a co-founder of the Sons of Legends Foundation. Like the BMA before it, the foundation will further foster the importance of Black Music Month in addition to launching community initiatives and other projects.

“It’s an honor to have observed my parents’ work over the course of my life,” says Caliph Gamble. “And it’s with great pleasure that we look forward to establishing a blueprint of what they’ve accomplished, so generations to come can use their model as an option toward their own success.”

In lockstep with BMA’s mission nearly 50 years ago to annually recognize and celebrate the economic and cultural power of Black music, Gamble coined the slogan “Black Music Is Green.” Notes Williams, “Kenny was right 44 years ago, and he’s still right now. It’s a profitable business but one that doesn’t always get the respect it deserves. To my very last breath, I will be promoting this music.”

13 Jun 2023

Hillary Scott Reveals Beyonce Was the Best Concert She’s Been to While Playing Fishing for Answers | Billboard Country Live

Lady A’s Hillary Scott plays Fishing for Answers at Billboard‘s Country Live event.

Hillary Scott:

Hi, I’m Hillary Scott, and I’m going Fishing for Answers with Billboard.

“Most embarrassing onstage moment?” We were playing a rodeo in Texas, it was in San Antonio, Lady A show and those have rotating stages. And at one point, Charles [Kelley] hits my arm. I think it was during “Need You Now,” maybe? And the mic hits my teeth, and my lip … and my lip starts bleeding. And so he said that I looked like someone who was in a boxing ring, like, the rest of the song because I had, like, blood on my teeth. And I’m pretty sure it was up on the big screens. So that was kind of embarrassing.

Let’s see the next one: “Recording or touring?” That’s a great question. I would have to say right now, it kind of changes depending on what season I’m in, I guess, but touring would have to be my favorite thing right now. The Request Line Tour that we’re doing is so up close and personal with the fans. It is giving me all the feels, so touring.

“What is your favorite album or country album of the year so far?” This is really hard. But just recently, I started listening to Jordyn Shellhart’s Primrose, and I cannot quit it. I was driving around town yesterday and just had it on repeat. Her voice is incredible. If you’ve not listened, you should. Love her.

“What is the most country thing you’ve ever done?” The most country thing I’ve ever done was on a family trip to visit my aunt and uncle and my cousins in South Carolina. I threw hay bales for a week. I got paid, but that’s probably the country-est thing I’ve ever done.

Oh, these are hard questions. OK, “the best concert you’ve ever attended?” The first thing that jumped out to me was the I Am Sasha Fierce, Beyoncé tour. I have the best memory of being in Dallas, Texas, at American Airlines Center with Miranda Lambert. She took us to that show and it was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Beyoncé!

13 Jun 2023

Hailey Bieber Asks Fans to Stop Leaving ‘Mean or Rude Comments’ on Her Behalf

Hailey Bieber is speaking out to stop social media toxicity.

The model took to her Instagram Stories on Tuesday (June 13) to ask her fans to stop sending negative comments to others. “If you’re leaving mean or rude comments on my behalf on anyone’s posts just know that I don’t want that, nor do I ever or will ever support or condone hateful, mean or nasty comments,” she wrote in her statement. “Doing that is not supporting me … if you are participating in that you are part of a culture that I want no part of.” 

While she didn’t mention what her post was specifically about, the Rhode founder’s thoughts come just three months after Selena Gomez, who previously dated Hailey’s husband Justin Bieber, also shared a lengthy message amid reports of a rumored feud between the two women. Gomez revealed that Hailey had recently reached out to the Only Murders in the Building star to let her know that she’d been receiving death threats and “such hateful negativity.”

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

“This isn’t what I stand for,” Gomez said unequivocally. “No one should have to experience hate or bullying. I’ve always advocated for kindness and really want this all to stop.”

Ever since, Gomez and Hailey have followed each other on Instagram, with the model even liking one of the “Rare” singer’s recent posts.

13 Jun 2023

Foo Fighters’ ‘But Here We Are’ Leads Alternative, Hard Rock Album Charts

Foo Fighters earn multiple No. 1 placements on the Billboard charts dated June 17 as their new set But Here We Are crowns Top Alternative Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums, while the LP’s lead single “Rescued” commands Hot Hard Rock Songs.

But Here We Are bows with 62,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the June 2-8 tracking week, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 55,000 units are via album sales.

The release is Foo Fighters’ seventh No. 1 on Top Hard Rock Albums since the chart began in 2007. The band first ruled with Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace in October 2007 and had most recently led with Medicine at Midnight in February 2021.

The Dave Grohl-fronted band slots into a four-way tie for the most leaders in the tally’s history, alongside Five Finger Death Punch, Linkin Park and Pearl Jam.

Most No. 1s, Top Hard Rock Albums:
7, Five Finger Death Punch
7, Foo Fighters
7, Linkin Park
7, Pearl Jam
6, Disturbed
6, Korn

Foo Fighters also boast six Top Alternative Albums rulers with the addition of But Here We Are, their first and most recent also having been Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and Medicine at Midnight, respectively. The band’s only set to lead Top Hard Rock Albums but not Top Alternative Albums is 2009’s Greatest Hits, which peaked at No. 2 on the latter.

Foo Fighters take sole possession of the second-most Top Alternative Albums No. 1s. Lana Del Rey leads all acts with seven.

Most No. 1s, Top Alternative Albums:
7, Lana Del Rey
6, Foo Fighters
5, Coldplay
5, Disturbed
5, Imagine Dragons
5, Pearl Jam
5, Jack White

But Here We Are also begins at No. 2 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums.

On the all-genre Billboard 200, the album starts at No. 8, marking Foo Fighters’ 10th top 10. The band first reached the region with the No. 10-peaking The Colour and the Shape in June 1997. Of those top 10s, two – 2011’s Wasting Light and 2017’s Concrete and Gold – hit No. 1.

Concurrently, “Rescued,” the first single from But Here We Are, rises 3-1 on the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs list in its eighth week on the tally. It’s the band’s third No. 1 dating to the chart’s 2020 inception, following the eighth-week rule of “Waiting on a War” beginning in February 2021 and the three-week reign of 1997’s “Everlong” in April 2022, the latter following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins.

“Rescued” totaled 10.5 million radio audience impressions, 1.6 million official streams and 1,000 downloads sold June 2-8.

Concurrently, “Rescued” rules Rock & Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay for a fifth week each and Alternative Airplay for a fourth frame.

Seven songs from But Here We Are appear on Hot Hard Rock Songs, with “Rescued” followed closest by “The Glass” at No. 5 (1.6 million streams).

“Rescued” also jumps 17-12 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, followed by “The Glass” at No. 33.

13 Jun 2023

Joseph Fiennes Reflects on ‘Wrong Decision’ to Play Michael Jackson

Back in 2017, Joseph Fiennes ruffled feathers when he was cast as Michael Jackson in an episode of Urban Myths, a British biographical dramedy series. The decision by Fiennes, who is white, to accept the role of the Black pop superstar sparked heated conversations around “whitewashing” and representation in media.

Although the episode was eventually shelved, Fiennes recently expressed his contrition in an interview with The Guardian published over the weekend.

“I think people are absolutely right to be upset,” Fiennes said. “It was a wrong decision. Absolutely.” The Emmy-nominated actor added, “I’m one part of that – there are producers, broadcasters, writers, directors all involved in these decisions. But obviously if I’m upfront, I have become the voice for other people.”

When Fiennes’ casting was revealed, several members of the Jackson family expressed their dismay and objected to the decision. Sky never aired the episode, explaining at the time that the decision was made “in light of the concerns expressed by Michael Jackson’s immediate family.”

Given that the casting announcement landed the summer after a fiery political season and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, having a white man portray one of the most famous and beloved Black artists of all time did not go over well with online critics. “It came at a time where there was a movement and a shift and that was good, and it was, you know, a bad call,” Fiennes acknowleged. “A bad mistake.”

After initially defending the decision to portray Jackson, Fienne’s new outlook is more in line with the “Human Nature” singer’s steadfast objection to ever being portrayed by a white actor.