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01 Jun 2023

Megan Thee Stallion Says That Rap Is Secondary Right Now To Her “Healing” Process

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2023 CMT Music Awards - Arrivals

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For a minute there, Megan Thee Stallion was one of the hottest names in the rap game. But since then, the Houston representative has fallen back from the music scene, and it seems like making records isn’t a priority in her life right now.

Having gone through a very public shaming for her personal life that came to light during the Tory Lanez trial related to her shooting, Megan has taken time off to heal her wounds. In a new interview with InStyle magazine, the “Plan B” rapper explains why music is secondary in her life right now. Telling InStyle that her day ones can expect new work from her when she’s “in a better place,” Thee Stallion says that she’s using this time to heal her wounds, as that should be anyone’s priority when going through the gauntlet called life.

So what has Megan been up to these days as she regroups and pieces herself back together? Well, it looks a lot like what’d you expect from the everyday person who doesn’t have a record deal or a few Grammy awards.

InStyle reports:

These days, that looks like spending time with her dogs, working out, bingeing TV shows, and simply finding new ways to protect her peace. You can now find her setting boundaries and incorporating rest days into her schedule to take care of both her physical and mental health. “The music and entertainment industry can be a grind, so it’s important to take time off and avoid burning out,” she says. “Life is all about balance.” 

Indeed it is.

Though that’s not keeping her from growing her own brand as she continues to be a Revlon global ambassador and use their products to keep her looking fresh when she’s on stage or posting pics on social media. Speaking as to why she chooses Revlon products to keep her beauty shining, Megan says “It keeps my glam looking flawless, especially during festival season when I’m on stage and performing in the summer heat.”

Good job, Revlon. Good job.

While we understand that Megan needs this time to gather herself and get to a better mental place, we hope she doesn’t keep her fans waiting too long for new material. Those Stallion riders might get a bit antsy if they’re kept waiting too long.

What do y’all think of Megan Thee Stallion falling back from the music game for a minute? Let us know in the comments section below.

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01 Jun 2023

Carin León Earns His First Top 10 on Top Latin Albums With ‘Colmillo De Leche’

Carin León secures his first top 10 on any Billboard albums chart thanks to the dual debut of Colmillo de Leche on both the Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums charts (dated June 3). The 18-track studio effort bows at No. 10 on the former, while on the latter it launches at No. 5.

Colmillo de Leche also marks León’s first entry on an albums tally, dating back to “Me La Aventé,” his maiden entry on a Billboard chart, in 2019 (the song reached No. 16 high on Hot Latin Songs in 2020.) The set, a gumbo of sounds bookended by León’s regional Mexican imprint –blends soul, flamenco, salsa and pop– was released May 18 via Socios/Oplaai. The new entry also secures a first top 10 and entry for both independent labels.

In its first tracking week ending May 25, Colmillo registered 7,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. Streaming-equivalent album units contributes to the bulk of activity, which equates to 10.1 million official U.S. on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Track-equivalent album units, meanwhile, account for the negligible units left.

On the multimetric Top Latin Albums chart, each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

Notably, Colmillo marks the fifth instance a regional Mexican album debuts in the upper region on Top Latin Albums out of the nine total top 10s debuts during 2023 so far. Here’s the regional Mexican recap:

Debut Date, Debut Pos., Title, Artist

  • Jan. 14, 2023, 5, Pa Que Hablen.: I., Fuerza Regida
  • Jan. 14, 2023, 6, Sigan Hablando.: II., Fuerza Regida
  • May 13, 2023, 1, Desvelado, Eslabon Armado
  • May 27, 2023, 9, Don’t Stop The Magic, Grupo Marca Registrada
  • June 3, 2023, 10, Colmillo de Leche, Carin León

As mentioned, Colmillo also arrives in the top 10 on Regional Mexican Albums, at No. 5.

The album was preceded by the No. 30-peaking “No Es Por Acá” on Hot Latin Songs last October. In between, León has placed three other songs (outside of Colmillo) on Regional Mexican Airplay, including a six-week domination through “Que Vuelvas,” with Grupo Frontera.

01 Jun 2023

Billy Joel to End Madison Square Garden Residency in 2024 After 150 Shows

Billy Joel‘s epic, decade-long residency at New York’s Madison Square Garden had to end someday. And on Thursday (June 1) the 74-year-old piano man was joined by New York Mayor Eric Adams for a press conference announcing the beginning of that end.

After kicking off the run in January 2014, after nearly 150 shows and more than 1.6 million tickets sold, the final 10-show spree will kick-off on Oct. 20. “There’s only one thing that’s more New York than Billy Joel — and that’s a Billy Joel concert at MSG,” Mayor Adams said in a written statement before a gathering that also featured MSG CEO James Dolan. “For more than 50 years, Billy’s music has defined our city and brought us together. On behalf of 8.5 million New Yorkers, congratulations, Billy, on a historic run of sold-out shows at MSG, and thank you for a lifetime of bringing joy to us all.”

Dolan praised Joel for making MSG, and music industry history with the decade-long series of capacity shows. “150 sold out lifetime shows is a remarkable achievement, and speaks to Billy’s extraordinary talent, beloved catalog, and dedicated fanbase,” said Dolan in a statement. “Billy always has a home here at MSG even though the residency is coming to an end with his 150th lifetime performance.”

“If you google Billy Joel’s house, they showed Madison Square Garden, which is kind of cool,” Joel quipped during a press conference on Thursday. “I never found my bedroom though.” Dolan added that the residency “exceeded even our wildest dreams” and that a run of shows like Joel’s was “never gonna happen again.”

Joel’s residency was announced nearly a decade ago, in December 2013. After the first performance, in January 2014, the singer went on to set Madison Square Garden records: Most Lifetime Performances By Any Artist (136 shows) and Most Consecutive Performances (90 shows). Joel hasn’t released an album of fresh pop songs since 1993, but in 2018, he told The New York Times that his touring business “is bigger now than it was at the height of my recording career.”

In 2006 he set the venue record for most consecutive performances by an artist with 12 gigs in a row, which was celebrated with a Joel-12 banner getting raised to the building’s rafters. He began the residency in Jan. 2014 by playing one how a month as long as fans kept showing up. And they did, with Joel breaking his own 12-show record within a year, then hitting his 100th lifetime gig in July 2018, prompting then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to dub July 18, 2018 “Billy Joel Day.”

The idea for Joel’s residency was born after he was recovering from hip surgery. “I hadn’t really done a tour since 2010,” the singer told Billboard in 2014. “I played Jazzfest in New Orleans in 2012, a one-off in Australia at some bizarre festival in Sydney, I didn’t really start thinking about working again until I played at the 12-12-12 concert for Hurricane Sandy Relief at the Garden.”

Following that performance, Joel continued, “the Garden contacted my agent Dennis Arfa and said we’d like to do a series of shows with Billy Joel at the Garden. They didn’t refer to it as a franchise at first, it was a residency. I heard that and thought, ‘hmm, that’s kinda cool… all I gotta do is commute.’”

Fans were quick to snap up tickets. “I guess they looked at the ticket demand once it was announced and thought, ‘wait a minute, this guy can keep playing here for the rest of his natural life,’” Joel joked.

After the 100th performance in 2018, he told The New York Times he didn’t think he would keep the residency going long enough to play 200 shows. “I’m still exhausted from the other night, which didn’t used to happen,” Joel said. “I don’t think I’ll have the physical wherewithal to do it five years from now.”

“If I can’t do it as well I want to, I’ll take myself out of the lineup,” he added. “I love the game too much to not play it well.”

Tickets for the final MSG shows will go on sale to the general public beginning at 10 a.m. ET on June 9 through Ticketmaster and at the MSG box office the following day; click here for more information.

01 Jun 2023

BLACKPINK’s Jennie Performs ‘Killing Me Softly’ at Chanel Fashion Show

Here comes Ms. Jennie Kim. The 27-year-old BLACKPINK star had a shining moment at Chanel’s Métiers d’art Dakar Show Thursday (June 1) show in Tokyo, Japan, taking the stage to perform a cover of “Killing Me Softly With His Song.”

Singing all alone on stage over a backing track, Jennie did justice to Ms. Lauryn Hill and The Fugees with her rendition of the 1996 R&B staple. With the Chanel logo projected on a rainbow screen behind her, she looked stunning in long pin curls, a black-and-white box dress and black booties.

Jennie sang “Killing Me Softly” as part of a mashup with a soft, jazzy cover of “Fly Me to the Moon.” “In other words, I love you,” the K-pop star sang, drawing an air-heart with her fingers and blowing a kiss to the audience.

The “SOLO” singer also performed her own unreleased song “You & Me,” and told the crowd, “This version of the song I’ll be performing for the very first time for you guys here today, so I hope you guys enjoy.”

“Nothing in the world could make me feel/ The way you do, the things you do,” she sang over delicate piano accompaniment, walking elegantly across the stage. “I love you and me/ Dancing in the moonlight/ Nobody can see/ It’s just you and me tonight.”

A month prior, Jennie wore a Chanel outfit at the 2023 Met Gala, which was themed around the work of late designer and Chanel executive Karl Lagerfeld. She went on to sport more of the iconic fashion line’s clothing last week at Cannes Film Festival, which she and her The Idol castmates attended for the musical drama’s world premiere. Co-created by The Weeknd and Euphoria‘s Sam Levinson, the HBO Max series will find Jennie making her acting debut in a supporting role opposite the “Blinding Lights” singer, Lily-Rose Depp, Troye Sivan, Dan Levy and more.

Watch Jennie perform at the Chanel show in Tokyo here.

01 Jun 2023

SiriusXM Celebrates Black Music Month With the ‘Billboard Top 500 R&B Countdown’

From classics by The Supremes and Stevie Wonder to Silk Sonic and SZA, SiriusXM today (June 1) kicks off the Billboard Top 500 R&B Countdown.

In honor of Black Music Month, the countdown spotlights the top 500 R&B classics by Black artists spanning the past six decades-plus, as ranked by performance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, per Billboard‘s Greatest of All Time methodology (with consideration also given to titles’ histories on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot R&B Songs charts).

The limited engagement Billboard Top 500 R&B Countdown will air on SiriusXM channel 104 June 1-7 and on the SXM App June 1-30.

From No. 500 to No. 1, the Billboard Top 500 R&B Countdown highlights the enduring legacy of the genre, from iconic Motown, funk and disco anthems to love songs and more, highlighting the biggest hits by legendary artists including Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Lionel Richie, Prince, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Usher, Beyoncé and Rihanna.

The Billboard Top 500 R&B Countdown marks the latest partnership between SiriusXM and Billboard. Most recently, the Cupid Countdown made Valentine’s Day even sweeter, after the Billboard Top 112 Songs of Christmas Countdown celebrated the sounds of the season and the Billboard Top 500 Summer Hits recapped the biggest summer songs in the Hot 100’s history.

Additionally, SiriusXM’s Big 40 Countdown, on 80s on 8, and the Back in the Day Replay, on ’90s on 9, are based on historical weekly Hot 100 charts, while the Prime 30, on Prime Country, time-travels back through Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart.

01 Jun 2023

Here Are the English Lyrics to Bizarrap & Peso Pluma’s ‘BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 55’

For his 55th “Bzrp Music Session,” out May 31, Bizarrap reeled in viral newcomer Peso Pluma.

Unlike the previous Biza sessions, which are usually diss tracks backed by hip-hop and EDM fusions, the new collaboration finds both the Argentine producer and Mexican artist in a heartbreak corrido about trying to get over an ex. “I’m still here/ It’s been a few nights since I haven’t slept/ I’m drunk, I’m not going to lie/ I talked to another girl after I lost you,” chants Peso with his signature raspy vocals.

In less than 24 hours, the music video shot in Biza’s coveted blue-tinted studio reached No. 2 on YouTube’s Trending for Music chart.

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Below, revisit the video and the lyrics translated to English:

I’m still here
It’s been a few nights since I haven’t slept
I’m drunk, I’m not going to lie
I talked to another girl after I lost you
And there’s no more
Things I want to talk about with you
I’ll forget you with another body
I’ll take you out of my mind

And you’ll see us drinking
Thick chains and the girls from Instagram
A large diamond on my Glock
My watch is Patek Philippe (Wuh)
I know how much it cost me
And now we cruise through L.A.
And I’m going to Sinaloa too
And the champagnes taste good (Good, eh)

Just like that, my friend Biza
All the way to Argentina
Pure Double P
Long live corridos

I’m still here
I’ll continue without sleep
Everything has changed since you left
I promised myself to not repeat
And it’ll already be
Too late for when you want more
You have to accept on your own
That you won’t be in my arms anymore

And you’ll see us drinking
Thick chains and the girls from Instagram
A large diamond on my Glock
My watch is Patek Philippe (Wuh)
I know how much it cost me
And now we cruise through LA
And I’m going to Sinaloa too
And the champagnes taste good (Good, eh)

01 Jun 2023

Kim Kardashian Says She No Longer Has the ‘Energy’ to Be Kanye West’s ‘Cleanup Crew’

For the better part of the last decade, Grammy-winning rapper Kanye West has become as defined by his problematic antics as he is by his world-class talent. In the June 1 episode of Hulu’s The Kardashians, Kim Kardashian, who divorced Ye in 2021 after seven years of marriage, vented to her mother, Kris Jenner, about the stress and frustration she felt around her ex-husband’s hurtful and conspiratorial claims about her and her family.

The episode picks up where the May 25 season premiere left off, with the reality star saying, “Even how he looks so down on me for my sex tape, brings it up all over town, all over the media. Like, thanks for reminding people once again.” She continued, “All of his shenanigans is gonna be far more damaging to the kids one day than my tape will ever be, and I have to sit here and not say anything, ever, because I know one day my kids will appreciate that. And I know that is the best thing for them.”

Kanye and Kim share four children: North, 9; Saint, 7; Chicago, 5; and Psalm, 4. For Kim, who is set to star in the latest installment of FX’s American Horror Story, protecting their children is her primary concern. In a teary confessional, the SKIMS mogul shared, “I still feel the need to not talk about it and protect it from my kids and I always will feel that way, but God, if people knew … I just would never do that to my kids. It just is really crazy.”

From praising Hitler to revealing deeply intimate details about his marriage to crowds at political rallies, the “Off the Grid” rapper has kept his family in the headlines while simultaneously muddying his reputation and credibility. “Sometimes I feel like if he were to hit rock bottom, that’s his journey that he needs to figure out on his own. I used to run around and call everyone behind his back, and be like, ‘It’s gonna be OK, it’s gonna be OK, don’t worry. Just give him another chance,’” Kim expressed in the episode. “I used to spend hours and hours and hours of my day to be the cleanup crew. I just don’t have that energy.”

When her mother questioned if their children are aware of the drama, Kim responded, “[North] actually doesn’t know and that’s what’s so crazy. When stuff is said, it’s a chain to my whole household. No TV, only Apple TV. I can’t risk an Access Hollywood … or anything on the news coming up with their dad mentioned and they want to watch.” She added, “I have to figure out a way to protect and so they still haven’t seen anything, but then I go into crisis mode.”

In a final confessional on the topic, Kardashian, who was ruled legally single on March 2 of last year, noted: “I’m the one being accused of so many things and being blamed for so many things and it’s really hurtful and it sucks. But, I can control how I react and I can control if I’m a mess, [and] then my kids will see that … I really do believe in my soul that one day, my kids will appreciate my silence, my understanding and my grace, and I will try my hardest to keep it together at all times.”

Kanye “Ye” West has earned four chart-toppers on the Billboard Hot 100 and 10 No. 1 titles on the Billboard 200 including Graduation, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and Donda.

01 Jun 2023

Judge Rules Against Radio Trade Group Petition to Unite ASCAP & BMI Under Single Rate Court

Broadcast radio’s trade group is doubling down on its effort to combine federal rate court proceedings that will determine how most of the country’s songwriters get paid for airplay.

After a judge on May 26 denied the Radio Music Licensing Committee’s petition to combine rate court proceedings with leading performance rights organizations BMI and ASCAP under a single judge last week, according to a statement from BMI, the RMLC filed an appeal on Wednesday (May 31) at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

According to BMI’s interpretation of Southern District of New York Judge Louis Stanton‘s ruling denying the petition, neither the BMI Consent Decree nor the Music Modernization Act of 2018 justified the RMLC’s joint rate petition. Judge Stanton ordered the RMLC’s rate petition against ASCAP to be assigned to another judge and tried separately.

Just Stanton’s ruling instructs the court clerk to “sever all portions of the RMLC petition which seek the setting by a rate court of an ASCAP reasonable license fee under the ASCAP consent decree and assign them by the standard electronic method of selection of a judge of this court.”

The RMLC’s petition to combine the ASCAP and BMI under one judge who would simultaneously set rates for both performance rights organizations in once proceeding was based on what publishing sources have told Billboard is a wrong interpretation of the Music Modernization Act, which included a provision to moving rate hearings to a rotating roster of Southern District judges.

Having a single judge, instead of bifurcated rate court proceedings, could benefit the RMLC because it would likely pit BMI and ASCAP against each other, vying for a higher rate than the other and arguing over market share. In the past, Judge Stanton has overseen BMI rate trials and Judge Denise Cote has overseen ASCAP rate trials. Music publishing executives say that the MMA intended to keep the two-pronged approach for the PRO rate setting, but with rotating judges, not just the two who have overseen the proceedings up to now.

“We are extremely pleased that the RMLC’s latest attempt to deny fair compensation to songwriters was dismissed, and that its end run around the clear language of the BMI consent decree and the MMA was properly rejected by the Court,” BMI president and CEO Mike O’Neill said in a statement. “This would have cleared the way for BMI to secure the appropriate value of our affiliates’ music without the distractions the RMLC was trying to create. Unfortunately, the RMLC is once again opting for litigation over negotiation, and we will continue to do what is needed to protect the essential contributions our affiliates make to the radio industry.”

“It is unfortunate that the RMLC refuses to negotiate to pay songwriters fairly,” added ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews in her own statement. “ASCAP is focused on obtaining fair market rates from radio for our more than 900,000 songwriter, composer and music publisher members. ASCAP will vigorously defend the value of our members’ music and fight the RMLC’s harmful attempt to weaponize its cartel market power to pay songwriters less.”

The RLMC did not respond to a request for comment at time of publishing.

01 Jun 2023

Sam Smith Kicks Off Pride Month With Stirring Cover of Christina Aguilera’s ‘Beautiful’: Listen

Pride Month has officially arrived, and pop superstar Sam Smith is ready to help you celebrate with a new cover.

On Thursday (June 1), Smith unveiled their cover of Christina Aguilera‘s 2002 anthem “Beautiful” exclusively on Amazon Music. Stripped down to focus on Smith’s sonorous vocal and a single guitar, the cover slowly grows, adding in strings and eventually a chorus of backing vocals to accentuate the powerful message at the song’s core: “We are beautiful no matter what they say/ Words won’t bring us down,” Smith belts on the final chorus.

In a statement released with the track, Smith praised Aguilera’s original performance and commented on the song’s heartfelt meaning. “I’ve been such a massive fan of Christina’s for as long as I can remember and will never forget the first time I heard ‘Beautiful’ and how personally it spoke to me,” they said. “The song is a true acceptance anthem and continues to inspire me with its important message to never stop celebrating who you are. I’m honored to have the opportunity to offer my rendition.”

It’s a fitting song for Smith to cover at the outset of Pride Month — Aguilera’s track, written by pop auteur Linda Perry, has long been considered a queer anthem. The music video for the song featured queer and trans people, which led to Aguilera winning a GLAAD Media Award in 2003 for promoting visibility for the LGBTQ community through her music.

The new cover is just one piece of Amazon Music’s latest Pride Month campaign. The streaming service also announced “Pride Hits Radio in DJ Mode,” hosted by Drag Race alum Mo Heart, which is set to feature “the most iconic Pride anthems interspersed with commentary from Mo Heart and interviews with LGBTQ+ artists including Sam Smith, Tove Lo and Big Freedia,” according to a press release.

Smith, meanwhile, has plenty to celebrate. Along with continuing their expansive world tour in support of their latest album, Gloria, the pop singer just announced their new single with Madonna titled “Vulgar,” which is due out on Friday, June 9.

Check out Smith’s new cover of “Beautiful” on Amazon Music below:

 

01 Jun 2023

Pregnant Rihanna Jokes Around in ‘Use a Condom’ Tee: ‘This Shirt Is Old’

It’s a little too late for Rihanna to take her own advice. The 35-year-old recently sported a joking “Use a Condom” T-shirt in a handful of new Instagram photos. She and A$AP Rocky are expecting their second child, and she’s currently in her third trimester.

In the photos shared Thursday (June 1), Ri poses in fabulous white sunglasses and matching high-heeled boots while modeling the black, oversized shirt, on which its message is printed in huge white block letters. In a few of the photos, she cradles her baby bump.

“this shirt is old…,” she quipped in her caption.

The “Umbrella” singer also directed fans to where they can purchase their own contraceptive-positive clothing: her own fashion line, Savage x Fenty. The “Use a Condom” shirt is now available on the brand’s website for $69.95.

Savage isn’t the only one of Rihanna’s brands that’s dropped new goodies recently, though. Earlier this week, her Fenty Beauty company unveiled a new collection of “Summatime” products, featuring lip and cheek products inspired by the colors of summer sunsets.

The mogul has also recently had cause for celebration at home, too. Last month, she and Rocky celebrated the first birthday of their firstborn son — whose name was finally confirmed to be RZA, after the Wu-Tang Clan frontman, just a few days prior. Rocky marked the occasion by sharing several photos of his partner and their baby boy, writing, “‘WU TANG IZ 4 DA CHUREN’ HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO MY 1st BORN.”

See Rihanna model her “Use a Condom” shirt below: