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11 May 2023

Ed Sheeran Talks ‘Thinking Out Loud’ Copyright Trial: ‘I Had to Take a Stand’

Few of us will experience a week quite as eventful as what Ed Sheeran just sailed through.

The singer and songwriter is accustomed to the limelight, occupying center stage. Last week, however, was a blur for Sheeran who, in quick succession, won a major court battle; released a new album, Subtract; then set about promoting his new music on national TV and in the round at U.S. stadiums.

Sheeran faced the media outside the Manhattan Federal Court just last Thursday, where he had been accused of copying the chord structure of Marvin Gaye‘s 1973 classic “Let’s Get It On,” for his own hit, “Thinking Out Loud”.

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The “Shape of You” singer even took a pause from his current +–=÷× Tour (pronounced The Mathematics Tour) to take the stand in his own defense. Ultimately, the court found Sheeran not liable. But the experience was a deeply unpleasant one for the singer, who had vowed to quit music should he lose.

With the trial in the review, Sheeran paid a visit to The Howard Stern Show for some thoughts on the court case, his new album, give some shoutouts to artists who’ve inspired him, and, of course, perform new works.

Speaking to Howard Stern and co-host Robin Quivers at SiriusXM studios in New York, Sheeran delivered an encore performance of his courtroom medley, which began with “Thinking Out Loud” and flowed into such standards as Rod Stewart’s “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You,” Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One,” and The Temptations’ “My Girl.” They’re same-same, but clearly different.

“There were 101 songs (in the medley), and that was like scratching the surface,” Sheeran explains. “Yes, it’s a chord sequence that you hear on successful songs, but if you say that a song in 1973 owns this, then what about all the songs that came before? We found songs from like the 1700s that had similar melodic stuff.”

He adds, “No one’s saying that songs shouldn’t be copyrighted, but you just can’t copyright a chord sequence—you just can’t.”

Had the court ruled in favor of Gaye’s estate, the precedent would’ve rocked the entire music community.

“I’m really glad it’s over, man,” he says, pointing out that the proceedings forced him to miss his own grandmother’s funeral. “It’s a shame,” he continued. “I won’t get that time back and she was a great woman.”

Making music “is the thing I worked my entire life to do, and to have someone … diminish it and just say that you’ve stolen it, I really felt like I had to take a stand,” he notes.

“I really think I would’ve (quit music if he had lost) because it just takes the joy out of it to sit down and say you can’t use a G chord to a C chord because someone did it in the ‘60s,” Sheeran explains.

Now, Sheeran can focus on the music. With the new album and tour, he enthuses, he feels “the most connected I’ve felt to my fan base in years,” adding, “I write music because I have to, and I release music because I want to connect to people.”

Subtract, which completes his mathematics-themed series, “is quite a solitary record,” he admits. “There’s nothing on this album that’s gonna be like banged out at the gym when you’re doing reps or that you’re gonna put on the club when you’re dancing with your mate.” It’s actually a “bit dark”.

Sheeran also recounted how he rubbed out his youthful stutter by rapping to Eminem, took early inspiration from Eric Clapton, and performed album track “Salt Water” and “End of Youth.

Next up, a concert this Saturday (May 13) at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.

10 May 2023

California Roll Talk Top 3 ‘Masked Singer’ Finish: ‘We Could Really Unleash New Parts of Ourselves’

Spoiler alert: This story contains the identity of the contestants eliminated on Wednesday night’s (May 10) episode of The Masked Singer.

You’d think that having five singers would give you a distinct advantage when going up against just one disguised vocalist on The Masked Singer. But on Wednesday night’s semifinal episode of the season, even after California Roll left it all on the stage with a killer version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Breakaway” and then went head-to-five-head against Macaw and Medusa in the Battle Royale round singing Bruno Mars’ “Runaway Baby,” it was time for the nori to meet the road.

Once again, the panel was split on who was under the adorable sushi getups, which had intrigued the panel for weeks as the group of singers showed impressive versatility, with a haunting take on Radiohead’s “Creep,” an epic cover of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi,” and perfect harmonies on Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” As usual, panelist Ken Jeong was way off, suggesting Miami Sound Machine and the cast of In the Heights, while Nicole Scherzinger thought they might be the cast of Spring Awakening or Hamilton. Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg was on-target again by voting for chart-topping vocal group Pentatonix.

As it turns out, she was right, and before the group’s elimination on Wednesday, Billboard caught up with members Scott Hoying, Kevin Olusola and Matt Sallee (the group also includes Mitch Grassi and Kirstin Maldonado) to find out how they got rolled into participating and why hitting their signature vocal harmonies was so hard with zero eye contact.

Were you fans of the show before you were booked, and why did it take so long to get you on there, because it seems like a natural fit?

Hoying: I love the show. I think it’s such a fun idea… totally over-the-top and the costumes are so beautiful. I remember watching it and seeing how moved the people were that were on the show because when you’re hidden behind the mask, you can change your voice and sing any way you want and express yourself in ways you don’t normally get to. People actually get emotional because they feel the freedom. We definitely had that [experience], and it was the least nervous I’ve ever been performing on a television show because it felt so cozy behind the mask and we could really unleash new parts of ourselves.

Matt, what were you able to do what you typically can’t onstage, or things you lean on when you perform?

Sallee: I thought it was really cool when we were going through the arranging process and we were really excited to try new sounds and instrumentation because we’re a cappella. We were thinking, “How can we make this as enjoyable as possible because of all the instrumentation we could use?” That’s something we’ve dabbled with in our more recent music, and we wanted to show an evolution of how we can be not just an a cappella group, but can also use other instruments and sounds and still have the same Pentatonix sound.

There’s something about being under those masks. Were you able to physically express yourselves in ways you normally wouldn’t?

Olusola: That’s one of the most fun parts of this. Normally, when you’re onstage and everyone sees you, not to say you’re self-conscious, but you’re very aware of how your body moves and your angles, how your face looks because the cameras are on you. It’s all part of the presentation. When you’re behind the mask, you can really go full-out because there’s a levity to the mask — it’s an interesting, funny character — so the fun and joy that you bring the more extra moments you have onstage lends really well. So if we’re kicking onstage, if we’re jumping around, if we’re having fun with the audience doing something that would normally look outlandish, it lends super well to this show. We really went full out and we would talk about it so much afterwards: “Did you really do that on stage!?” “Yeah, I did, and I’m happy about it!”

Anything that scared you about slipping into the sushi?

Hoying: Oh man, so many anxieties. I was worried at first because our sushis were so boxy when we were in them. I was afraid we were going to be echoey. I was literally being a nerd about the acoustics, and I was also worried about being really, really hot. I get hot really easily and I worried I wouldn’t be able to sing or perform. I was also worried about falling off the stage, because I couldn’t see through the mask super well peripherally.

With a vocal group, I imagine being able to see each other and make eye contact while singing is a huge deal. How hard was it to pull that off in these ridiculous costumes?

Sallee: I was really proud of us, because we sing together — we’re together a lot, more than with our families — so we know each other really well and there is this big trust built and natural cohesiveness when we sing together. I was really proud of us for doing that apart from each other. For one of the songs we were spread out throughout the studio and not even by each other singing together. Being able to hear each other and know in our in-ear monitors that we’re all there, it was not so terribly different when we’re not having giant sushi rolls on top of us.

It’s hard enough to do choreo on a good day, but how much harder was it when you can’t see each other? Were you counting steps, worried that you would knock each other over?

Olusola: That was my main fear. You’re looking through a very limited hole, and so because of that, it limits your ability to see and your visibility is lower. That’s something I had to be extremely aware about, but also knowing that I wanted to go full out because the character I got to play. That was one of the things where my brain and body had to be in synchronization in a completely different way. At the same time, we still had so much fun and we still went full out! At some point, when you got to the actual show, we had rehearsed it enough to kind of trust our bodies, trust our ability to perform and not make any mistakes that will cause bodily harm.

Medusa seems pretty formidable. Any idea who she is?

Hoying: We have no idea, but she is sooo good! Just one of those undeniable voices, just oh my gosh.

Will you be adding any of the songs from your Masked run to your upcoming summer tour?

Hoying: I think so. I think we’ll definitely do a couple of them.

10 May 2023

Baby Tate & Saweetie Share Why Teaming Up for the ‘Hey, Mickey!’ Remix Was the Perfect ‘Match’

The cool girls of rap came together for the ultimate collaboration last month, as Saweetie hopped on a remix of Baby Tate‘s 2016 viral hit, “Hey, Mickey!,” and the duo sat down with Billboard‘s Rania Aniftos to share how it all came together.

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“When it came to thinking about who I would want on it, I knew it had to be somebody to match the cuteness and the energy of the song,” Tate explains, pointing out that Saweetie clearly embodies “cuteness,” as she was rocking a bikini top decorated in Hello Kitty trinkets.

Saweetie agreed that the collab was a perfect match. “I’ve been wanting to collaborate with her, so I was excited when I got the call,” she says.

Baby Tate also noted that it was quite the “surprise” when a song from 2016 blew up on TikTok in recent months. “I did just drop a project in September of last year so when something started blowing up on TikTok, I’m thinking, ‘Oh something from Mani Pedi is going crazy.’ No, it was ‘Hey Mickey.’ Like, what?”

Both rappers are working on new releases, with Tate gearing up to release a full album in the summer. “I’m going to be singing a lot on this project, as I was on my last, but it’s not going to be in an R&B space. It’s going to be more pop-leaning. It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be wild, edgy and just sexy and hot,” she shares, with Saweetie noting that she “needs” that energy right now.

Saweetie, meanwhile, has fans itching for her long-awaited album. “With an album, you’re introducing yourself into the world,” she says. “Who is Saweetie? Who is Diamonté? They think it’s just, ‘Rich n—-, eight-figure, that’s my type.’ That’s a portion of me. That’s not the whole soup. There’s other ingredients. I’m figuring out, how do I landscape this album so that people are able to get to know me?”

Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Saweetie and Baby Tate above, and check out the new “Hey, Mickey!” music video below.

10 May 2023

With ‘Jackman.,’ Jack Harlow Finds Elusive First No. 1 on Top Rap Albums Chart

After back-to-back No. 2 finishes for his last two releases, Jack Harlow captures his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Rap Albums chart with Jackman. The set opens atop the list dated May 13 with 35,500 equivalent album units earned in the week ending May 4, according to Luminate.

Jackman. was effectively a surprise release, with the first announcement on April 25, three days ahead of its April 28th drop. Streaming contributes the majority of the 10-track album’s first-week results, with 33,500 units from streaming-equivalent album units. The five-figure sum equals 43.4 million official on-demand streams of the album’s songs. Traditional album sales comprise 1,500 units, with the outstanding 500 deriving from track-equivalent album units.

On his fourth visit, Harlow claims his first Top Rap Albums champ. He first appeared on the list with his Sweet Action EP, which peaked at No. 13 in July 2020. His full-length debut, That’s What They All Say, debuted and peaked at No. 2 in December 2020, as did his sophomore LP, Come Home the Kids Miss You, in May 2022.

Elsewhere, Jackman. kicks off at No. 2 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and ties That’s What They All Say and Come Home the Kids Miss You for his best showing there. On the all-genre Billboard 200, Jackman. begins at No. 8, his third top 10 on that list.

The Jackman. impact extends to the Hot Rap Songs chart, where five tracks debut. “They Don’t Love It” leads the new entries at No. 9, securing Harlow’s ninth top 10 on the list. Here’s an updated look at the collection:

Song Title, Artist (if other than Jack Harlow), Peak Position, Peak Date
“What’s Poppin,” featuring DaBaby, Tory Lanez & Lil Wayne, No. 2, July 11, 2020
“Tyler Herro,” No. 10, Nov. 7, 2020
“Industry Baby,” with Lil Nas X, No. 1 (19 weeks), Aug. 7, 2021
“Nail Tech,” No. 4, March 5, 2022
“First Class,” No. 1 (14 weeks), April 23, 2022
“Dua Lipa,” No. 6, May 21, 2022
“Churchill Downs,” featuring Drake, No. 7, May 21, 2022
“Yungen,” Rod Wave featuring Jack Harlow, No. 10, Aug. 27, 2022
“They Don’t Love It,” No. 9 (to date), May 13, 2023

In addition to “They Don’t Love It,” Jackman. also launches Hot Rap Songs starts for “Common Ground” (No. 18), “Ambitious” (No. 22), “Denver” (No. 23) and “Is That Ight” (No. 24).

10 May 2023

At No. 1, Toosii Is the ‘Favorite’ on Hot Rap Songs Chart

Toosii’s “Favorite Song” proves to be just that on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, as the track advances from No. 2 to rule the list dated May 13. The track, released through SouthCoast/Capitol Records, reaches the apex on the list – which blends streaming, airplay and sales – thanks to consistent performance in the foremost category and growth in the latter pair.

The melodic rap track amassed 19.5 million official U.S. streams in the week ending May 4, according to Luminate, essentially even with the prior week, and holds at No. 2 on Rap Streaming Songs after a previous three-week reign. On the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales chart, it likewise captures the silver medal – a new peak for the track – with 3,000 downloads sold, a 4% bump from the prior week. At radio, “Song” ascends 24-20 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, with a 17% gain to 5.5 million in audience impressions.

As “Favorite Song” reigns on the Hot Rap Songs chart, it pushes 5-4 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and 13-11 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Should the track climb on the latter list, it would mark the rapper/singer’s first top 10 Hot 100 hit. If already favorable trends at radio and sales stats weren’t enough, the release of a “Favorite Song” remix featuring Khalid on May 5, which will impact next week’s charts, improve the track’s chances of cracking the top 10 barrier. (The original and remix versions of songs are combined into one listing for tracking and chart purposes.)

With “Favorite Song,” Toosii, born Nau’Jour Grainger has captured the biggest hit of his still-young career. TikTok has been key to the track’s success, with both its original and a sped-up version being popular choices to soundtrack clips on the social media app. Between the two two renditions, “Favorite Song” has soundtracked nearly 1.1 million clips. (Activity on TikTok does not contribute to Billboard’s charts, many of the app’s most popular songs have seen corresponding gains on streaming services that factor into Billboard chart rankings.)

23-year-old Toosii first landed on the Billboard charts in February 2020 with the mixtape album, Platinum Heart, which included his first charting song, “Truth Be Told,” a No. 38 hit on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. Follow-up single “Love Cycle” built on the initial breakthrough, and, thanks to a remix with Summer Walker, flew to No. 9 on the airplay list in early 2021.

10 May 2023

Mother’s Day Playlist: 20 Songs for Mom

For all they do for us, mothers should be celebrated every day, but it’s nice to give mom a little extra love on Mother’s Day. She deserves it!

Whether you’re taking her out to dinner, making her a handmade card, buying her flowers or just calling to tell her how much you love her, Mother’s Day is the moment to make our mamas feel special. Mothers can also come in many different forms, and it’s time to celebrate everyone from hardworking single moms and motherly figures to selfless mothers who have adopted children and stepmoms who love their spouses kids as their own and beyond.

What better way to show appreciation for someone you love than with a specially curated playlist? Musicians of all genres and ages have shared how much they love their mamas in their music, and trying to narrow down all the mother-themed songs can be overwhelming. Thankfully, Billboard has you covered.

From Tupac, Drake and Kanye West delivering flawless bars about the roles their mothers have played in their lives to Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and Spice Girls giving us Hallmark-ready lyrics about motherly love, our playlist has songs that every mom will love.

Raise a glass to mom this Mother’s Day, and let these songs be your soundtrack.

10 May 2023

Behati Prinsloo Shares Beachside Photo of Adam Levine & Baby No. 3

Behati Prinsloo took to social media on Tuesday (May 9) to give fans a peek at husband Adam Levine playing with their newest baby.

The model stuck the candid snap in the middle of a photo carousel captioned, “A blink of an eye.” In the photo, the Maroon 5 frontman wears a pink and purple tie-dyed hoodie and long blue sweat shorts on the beach as he lifts his youngest high above his head, with the tot’s face out of frame.

In the comments section, some fans think the little one’s outfit is subtle confirmation that the baby is the couple’s first boy, though neither Levine nor Prinsloo has publicly revealed the sex or name. (They also share two daughters: 6-year-old Dusty Rose and 4-year-old Gio Grace.)

The Namibian model, known for her work with Victoria’s Secret, first confirmed her pregnancy with the newborn back in September, but her rock-star hubby soon found himself mired in a cheating scandal when salacious texts leaked between himself and Instagram model Sumner Stroh.

While Levine denied having an affair, the leaked conversation was certainly damning — he even went as far as to ask Stroh for her permission to name his yet-unborn baby with his wife “Sumner” if it turned out to be a boy. In the wake of the scandal, he ended 2022 as the top trending musician of the year on Google and has since gone on to open a Las Vegas residency with his Maroon 5 bandmates.

Check out Prinsloo’s latest Instagram post below.

10 May 2023

SEVENTEEN Break Down Latest No. 1 Album ‘FML’ Track-by-Track: Exclusive

From a musical and commercial perspective, SEVENTEEN’s best-ever chart rankings and sales numbers all feel wholly deserved for their 10th mini album FML.

With 135,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending May 4, according to Luminate, the set marks the K-pop group’s biggest sales week, plus a new chart peak of No. 2 on the Billboard 200. (With just 3,000 units separating them from ending Morgan Wallen’s two-month run atop the chart). As the top-selling album of the week, as well as the fourth-largest sales week for all of 2023, SEVENTEEN also notch their fifth No. 1 on Top Album Sales as well as seventh No. 1 on World Albums.

After FML racked up over a reported 4.64 million in pre-orders globally to be the most-ordered album in K-pop history, SEVENTEEN tell Billboard that their latest accomplishments are hardly comprehensible.

“I think [our debut album] 17 CARAT sold 1,400 copies and we were really grateful,” Mingyu reflects. “So, 4.64 million is a number that’s really difficult to grasp. [Laughs] It’s close to 3,000 times how many were sold for our debut album—it’s all very surreal. It makes me think a lot about what we need to do to return this enormous amount of love.”

Throughout FML, the 13-member boy band share with fans—known affectionately as CARATs—how they remain honest about life’s hardships but also offer hope.

“Within our album, we offer two ways of defining the expression ‘FML,’” Joshua explains. “There’s ‘F*ck My Life,’ which is what the acronym usually means, and we also offer ‘Fight for My Life,’ which is what we want the acronym to mean. There are multiple other ways to turn the expression ‘FML’ around to mean something else other than ‘F*ck My Life,’ and that’s what we hope our fans, CARATs, and listeners will also take a stab at after listening to the album.”

Adds Woozi, who wrote on every track on FML and co-produced five songs, “From a macroscopic view, we often only see the good parts, the picturesque parts of everyone’s lives, but there are so many battles that are not visible to the naked eye. Everyone goes through rough times, fiercely fighting to live their lives. We wanted FML to be a reflection of these different layers.”

The guys recognize an uncharacteristically boldness in the group’s two new K-pop singles, “F*ck My Life” and the anthemic, energizing “Super,” the latter of which marked SEVENTEEN’s first Top 40 hits on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. US, but say it’s necessary in order to express themselves genuinely.

“These are our honest thoughts without an attempt to dress them up,” Wonwoo shares. “By letting everyone know the things we feel and asking ourselves to fight for our lives, we hope those listening will also gain a bit more energy to do the same together with us. I think it’s a mindset that we all relate to even if the trailer and our song might not look like they offer the most pleasing or comforting set of words.”

Through SEVENTEEN’s hard battle as K-pop underdogs—with twice as many members as most groups—members S.Coups, Mingyu Joshua, Woozi, Woowoo, Jeonghan, Hoshi, Jun, DK, The 8, Seungkwan, Vernon and Dino rose to the top ranks of the global charts motivated not just by their inherent talent to express themselves creatively as a “self-producing” group but find peace from delighting their supportive fans around the world.

“We always work to make our CARATs proud,” SEVENTEEN’s leader S.Coups says. “And I think they would be the most proud of us now.”

Read on for the exclusive track-by-track breakdown with SEVENTEEN below.

10 May 2023

‘Disney 100’ Tops Billboard Album Charts

Walt Disney Records’ new Disney 100 album launches at No. 1 on both Billboard’s Compilation Albums and Kid Albums charts (dated May 13). The 29-track multi-artist set, boasting familiar Disney favorites from decades of film, TV and theme park attractions, is part of the ongoing celebration of 100 years of the Walt Disney Company.

Disney 100 was released on April 28 and exclusively available as a vinyl release (a two-LP set priced at $34.98). In the tracking week ending May 4, it sold a little over 2,000 copies in the United States, according to Luminate.

Disney 100 includes previously released songs from Disney’s films, TV programs and theme parks. Among the selections: “Whistle While You Work” (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), “When You Wish Upon a Star” (from Pinocchio), “Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room” (from the Disney Parks attraction Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room), “It’s a Small World” (from the attraction of the same name), “Mickey Mouse March” (from The Mickey Mouse Club), “We’re All In This Together” (from High School Musical), “Under the Sea” (from The Little Mermaid), “Let It Go” (from Frozen) and the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” (from Encanto).

Disney 100

Courtesy Photo

The Disney 100 celebration continues at No. 2 on both Kid Albums and Compilations, as a 23-song Walmart-exclusive alternative edition of the Disney 100 debuts (2,000 sold). The Walmart variant, also only on vinyl LP, has the same title but a different tracklist than the general market edition at No. 1, and thus it charts separately.

The wide-release Disney 100 and the Walmart-exclusive iteration also debut at Nos. 60 and 62 on the Top Album Sales chart, respectively, and at Nos. 31 and 33 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.

The Disney 100 albums are one part of Disney’s company-wide celebrations, which includes festivities in Disney Parks and Disney100: The Exhibition at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, among other activations.

Billboard’s Kid Albums and Compilation Albums charts ranks the week’s top-selling children’s albums and all-genre compilations, respectively. Top Album Sales rank the week’s overall top-selling albums, and Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s top-selling current albums (excluding any older, catalog titles – generally those that are at least 18 months old).

10 May 2023

Beyoncé’s Full Setlist for Renaissance Tour Opening Night in Stockholm

Beyoncé‘s long-awaited Renaissance World Tour kicked off on Wednesday night (May 10) with an opening show at Stockholm’s Friends Arena, and the superstar surprised fans with robotic dancing arms, a musical nod to Britney Spears and much more.

She also did not disappoint when it came to her setlist. The jaw-dropping, 37-song set featured a wide range of tracks from throughout her illustrious career, with a heavy focus on her 2022 album, Renaissance, of course.

Night one included every one of Renaissance‘s 16 tracks, three songs from 2003’s Dangerously in Love, three songs from 2006’s B’Day, one song from 2008’s I Am… Sasha Fierce, five songs from 2011’s 4, three songs from 2013’s Beyoncé, two from 2016’s Lemonade and many more. She even through in some Destiny’s Child hits, Lion King: The Gift tracks and some of her popular collaborations.

The Renaissance World Tour will continue throughout Europe until July 9, with stops in London, Barcelona, Brussels and Amsterdam before heading to Toronto for two dates at Rogers Centre. The tour heads to the United States, starting with Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field and making stops in Chicago, East Rutherford, N.J., Atlanta, Houston and more before concluding Sept. 27 at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

See below for the full setlist from the tour’s opening night in Stockholm, Sweden.