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09 May 2023

Hot 100 First-Timers: Libianca Arrives With Breakthrough Afrobeats Hit ‘People’

Cameroonian-American Afrobeats singer Libianca is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting hitmaker, as her breakthrough single “People” debuts at No. 91 on the chart dated May 13, marking her first entry.

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The song, released Dec. 5, 2022, via 5K/RCA Records, arrives with 5.9 million U.S. streams (up 33%), 2.7 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 28%), and 1,000 downloads sold (up 40%) in the April 28-May 4 tracking week, according to Luminate. With its growing radio reach, it starts at No. 37 on Rhythmic Airplay and No. 39 on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay.

The song’s streaming gains can be partly attributed to multiple remixes of the track: with Becky G (released April 21); Ayra Starr and Omah Lay; and Cian Ducrot, as well as a sped-up version.

The song also surges into the top 40 of both of Billboard‘s global charts, bounding 41-19 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and 47-25 on the Billboard Global 200.

TikTok has been a big factor in the song’s building popularity, as a portion of the original has been used in over 1.6 million clips on the platform to-date. A piece of the song’s sped-up version has been used in more than 265,000 clips.

For Billboard’s April Chartbreaker feature, Libianca recalled when she first uploaded a snippet of the song to TikTok: “Waking up the next morning to so many people feeling so connected to the song. I saw families sending me videos of their babies singing the song, and women messaging me about the s–t that they go through in their homes and how this song needs to drop ASAP because it’s calling to their hearts.”

Libianca, who was born Libianca Kenzonkinboum Fonji in Minneapolis before relocating to Cameroon, is new to Billboard’s charts. “People” became her first song to appear on a Billboard survey when it opened at No. 38 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart in December. It holds at its No. 2 high on the latest list.

Prior to “People,” Libianca appeared on the 21st season of NBC’s The Voice, in 2021. She reached the top 20 in the competition, with Blake Shelton as her coach, before being eliminated. During her run on the show, she performed SZA’s “Good Days,” The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears,” Billie Eilish’s “Everything I Wanted” and Doja Cat’s “Woman.”

09 May 2023

The Cure’s Robert Smith Urges Louisiana Legislature to ‘Empower the Artists, Not the Scalpers’

The Cure‘s Robert Smith is not done fighting the good fight on behalf of his band’s fans. The British goth rock legend who is about the launch his Shows of a Lost World North American tour in New Orleans on Wednesday (May 10) posted a series of tweets on Monday (May 8) in which he lashed out at a bill under consideration by the Louisiana legislature (HB 341) that would restrict the resale of tickets between fans.

“THE LOUISIANA LEGISLATURE (HB #341) IS CONSIDERING A RESELLERS-BACKED BILL TO BAN FAN-TO-FAN EXCHANGES (LIKE THE ONE WE ARE USING ON OUR 2023 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR TO TRY AND LIMIT/STOP SCALPING AND BOTS),” Smith said of the bill sponsored by Republican Paula P. Davis that has already passed the GOP-dominated State House which would allow tickets to concerts and sporting events to be legally resold at a profit under specified conditions.

Smith noted that the bill is now headed to the State Senate — which also features a GOP majority — with a hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning. “LOUISIANA LAWMAKERS! PLEASE DON’T PASS THIS BILL! EMPOWER THE ARTISTS, NOT THE SCALPERS AND THE BOTS!,” the singer wrote. “COMMERCIAL LOBBYING CORRUPTS DEMOCRACY X.”

Am abstract of the bill reads: “Proposed law provides for certain definitions with respect to event ticketing. Additionally, proposed law defines ‘nontransferable ticketing’ as prohibiting the resell or exchange of a ticket or limiting the ticket holder to exchange the ticket exclusively through means provided by the ticket issuer. Proposed law provides that a ticket issuer may use a nontransferable ticketing system only if the ticket holder is offered to purchase the same ticket in a transferable form at the initial time of sale.”

Smith’s issues with the proposed bill make sense given his recent broadsides against what he called Ticketmaster’s exorbitant extra fees on tickets for the band’s tour. Earlier this year the bandleader said he’d hoped to keep seat-buying fair and simple for fans by opting out of TM’s dynamic pricing model while shielding them against scalpers with non-transferable tickets. But when the sale opened mid-March, disappointed customers found that TM had added sky-high fees to tickets that sometimes totaled more than the face-value price of the original tickets.

In a series of follow-up tweets, Smith revealed that approximately 7,000 tickets across more than 2,000 orders had been canceled in early April, with the bandleader claiming those tickets were acquired with fake accounts and/or listed on secondary resale sites.

See Smith’s tweets below.

09 May 2023

Watch Gina Miles Float Through ‘The Voice’ Playoffs With a Chris Isaak Classic

The Voice playoffs on Monday night (May 8) saw eight contestants advance to the next round of the competition. Of the eight, Gina Miles managed to secure her spot with a stunning cover of Chris Isaak‘s hit “Wicked Game.’

Miles took to the stage backed by several instrumentalists while giving an emotional rendition of the track. “What a wicked game you play, to make me feel this way/ What a wicked thing to do, to let me dream of you/ What a wicked thing to say, you never felt this way/ What a wicked thing to do, to make me dream of you,” she powerfully sang, effortlessly switching between vocal registers.

At the end of Miles’ performance, Niall Horan — her coach — as well as Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper and Blake Shelton all gave her a standing ovation.

“Wicked Game” was released as a single from Isaak’s third studio album, 1989’s Heart Shaped World. The track became popular in when it was featured in David Lynch’s 1990 film Wild at Heart (starring Nicolas Cage and Laura Derndebuted) and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in December that year. “Wicked Game” peaked at No. 6 on the all-genre tally, and spent 24 weeks on the chart.

Miles’ performance isn’t the first time a contestant on The Voice has covered Isaak’s “Wicked Game”: Cali Wilson delivered her take on the track during the season 17 knockout rounds in 2019. Wilson’s cover propelled the song to the top of Rock Digital Song Sales, and it became Isaak’s first No. 1 single on a Billboard chart.

Listen to Miles’ cover of “Wicked Game” in above.

09 May 2023

Swizz Beatz Says Alicia Keys Doesn’t Like The $500K Virgil Abloh Maybach He Gifted Her

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2023 Brooklyn Artist Ball After Party

Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty

Having rich and famous friends often times leads to expensive and extravagant gifts, but when you’re rich and famous yourself, sometimes those gifts just collect dust as you go about your life.

Such is the case with Alicia Keys as Swizz Beatz revealed that the $500,000 Virgil Abloh Maybach that he gifted his wife earlier this year hasn’t even been touched since she sat in it for her birthday. As spotted on BOSSIP, the iconic producer recently spoke with Angie Martinez and during the interview admitted he “don’t think she liked the goddamn car.”

Though he shelled out a grip for the whip and had it tricked out to boot, Swizz says the car is still at the dealership. He acknowledges that his wifey isn’t the type to stunt out on these streets as that’s just not her style saying, “I know she was already thinking like ‘are they gonna be on me if I bring the kids to school in this?’ Are people gonna know how I’m movin’?’ like [I’m sure] she start[ed] thinking like that way with it. She’s [was just] being very polite.”



I mean, it’s not exactly the most subtle car to get around in. Alicia Keys looks like more of a responsible, Mercedes-Benz station wagon pusher or something. Still stuntin’ but with that successful mom energy.

Who knows, maybe they can resell the car on GOAT or Stock X for a profit. It is in fact a Virgil Abloh exclusive. Just sayin’.

What do y’all think of the situation? Should Alicia Keys at least take the car home and stash it in the garage? Let us know in the comments section below.

09 May 2023

Boomer Richard Dreyfuss Defends Blackface, Hates Oscars Diversity

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Chiller Theatre Expo Spring 2023

Source: Bobby Bank / Getty

In a move we’re sure no one asked for, veteran actor Richard Dreyfuss defended the use of blackface and revealed his true feelings on diversity and the Oscars.

While appearing as a guest on PBS’ The Firing Line, the new criteria by the Academy Awards for eligibility for Best Picture come 2024 came up for discussion by the host, Margaret Hoover. Nominated films are required to meet four benchmarks: 30% of the cast and 30% of the crew must be from an under-represented group are two of the criteria needed. Dreyfuss stated, “They make me vomit.”

When asked why, the Jaws actor replied: “This is an art form. It’s also a form of commerce, and it makes money, but it’s an art. No one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is.” He then went on to add: “And what are we risking? Are we really risking hurting people’s feelings? You can’t legislate that. And you have to let life be life.”

Dreyfuss then praised Sir Laurence Olivier’s portrayal of the tragic Shakespearean hero Othello – while in blackface – in the 1965 film adaptation of the play. “He played a Black man brilliantly,” the 75-year-old told Hoover. “Am I being told that I will never have a chance to play a Black man? Is someone else being told that if they’re not Jewish, they shouldn’t play the Merchant of Venice?”

Hoover responded with a query: “Do you think there’s a difference between the question of…who is allowed to represent other groups…and the case of blackface explicitly in this country given the history of slavery and the sensitivities around Black racism?” To that, Dreyfuss replied, “There shouldn’t be…. Because it’s patronizing. Because it says we’re so fragile that we can’t have our feelings hurt. We have to anticipate having our feelings hurt, our children’s feelings hurt. We don’t know how to stand up and bop the bully in the face.”

Dreyfuss’ defense of blackface seems on-brand given his previous role in the 1986 film Moon over Parador. The interview follows another moment of questionable thinking for the Close Encounters of the Third Kind actor where he slipped off a chair while being interviewed in April by late-night host Bill Maher for his Club Random podcast. Watch the full interview below.



09 May 2023

Becky G Announces Her First Headlining Tour: ‘Been Dreaming of This Moment’

Becky G is heading out on her first headlining tour.

“Mi gente… I cannot believe I get to finally announce MI CASA, TU CASA, my first ever headlining tour!!!” the Latin pop star wrote on Instagram on Tuesday (May 9). “I’ve been dreaming of this moment my entire career…I can’t wait to sing & dance with you guys, los quiero mucho mucho mucho y nos vemos pronto!”

The 16-date tour will run through the early fall, starting with a show Sept. 14 at Roadrunner in Boston followed by stops in New York City, Atlanta, Orlando and more. At the tail end of the month, Becky will spend consecutive nights across Texas by performing in Sugar Land, Grand Prairie, San Antonio and McAllen before playing El Paso’s Abraham Chavez Theatre. After three dates through Southern California, the tour then caps off Oct. 14 at the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix.

Tickets for Becky’s Mi Casa, Tu Casa Tour go on sale Friday (May 12) at 10 a.m. local time via the Power Rangers actress’ official website.

Becky is currently riding high with “Chanel,” her latest top 10 hit with collaborator Peso Pluma on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart. In April, the duo debuted the track live for the first time during her Coachella set, which also included a surprise appearance by Natti Natasha, and later performed the song together at the 2023 Latin AMAs.

Check out Becky’s giddy tour announcement, including a complete list of dates, below.

09 May 2023

Taylor Swift Thanks Nashville Fans for Powering Through Rain Delays at Eras Tour Show

With Swifties, she’d dance in a storm in her best dress, fearless. Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour performance in Nashville was delayed more for hours Sunday night (May 7) thanks to severe weather warnings, but that didn’t stop the pop star from eventually getting through her three-hour show underneath a downpour of rain.

Two days later, Swift is thanking her fans at Nissan Stadium for sticking with her. “WELL,” she posted on social media early Tuesday (May 9). “We had our first rain show of The Eras Tour. And it was SO MUCH FUN. The dancers, band, crowd and I all pretty much turned into little kids joyfully jumping in puddles all night.”

“I wanted to thank the crowd again for waiting for the weather to clear,” she continued. “And my amazing crew for keeping the stage, lighting and equipment all dry and working so we could play. That was a late, great night I won’t forget.”

The “Anti-Hero” singer also shared four photos from Sunday’s show, each of them showing a completely drenched Swift looking unbothered by the rain falling around her. The performance didn’t begin until after 10 p.m., hours after the Eras Tour’s usual start time of 7:50. Openers Phoebe Bridgers and Gracie Abrams didn’t get to play at all.

A shelter in place alert was sent out an hour before Abrams was supposed to take the stage, and Swifties were directed to pack into the roof-topped parts of Nissan Stadium, which is an open air venue. It wasn’t until about 9:30 p.m. that fans were allowed to leave shelter and take their seats.

“We’ve been waiting for hours to play for you,” Swift told the crowd after the show was finally underway. “You’ve been waiting for hours. The mutual love between us right now. You waiting and doing that for us is making me feel fantastic, Nashville.”

Sunday’s concert marked the final of three shows at Nissan Stadium, a weekend that unlocked several exciting surprises for Swifties. Not only did the 12-time Grammy winner and Bridgers perform their Red (Taylor’s Version) duet “Nothing New” live for the first time Friday night (May 5), but Swift also announced that her long-awaited Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) re-record will arrive this summer.

“I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, between the ages of 18 and 20,” she later wrote on Instagram, revealing that the updated version will include six previously unreleased vault songs. “The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness. I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing … and living to speak about it.”

09 May 2023

SEVENTEEN Becomes Seventh K-Pop Group to Hit No. 1 on Artist 100 Chart

SEVENTEEN re-enters the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated May 13) at No. 1 to become the top musical act in the United States for the first time, thanks to the group’s new EP, its 10th mini album, FML.

The set debuts at No. 1 on World Albums and No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 135,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. April 28-May 4, according to Luminate. It becomes the 13-member act’s seventh leader on World Albums and third top 10 on the Billboard 200.

SEVENTEEN is the third K-pop act to top the Artist 100 chart this year, after TOMORROW X TOGETHER in February and Jimin in April.

Dating to the Artist 100’s 2014 launch, SEVENTEEN is the seventh K-pop group to rule the ranking. It joins BTS (21 weeks at No. 1), BLACKPINK, Stray Kids (two each), SuperM, TOMORROW X TOGETHER and TWICE (one each).

Meanwhile, Gordon Lightfoot, who died May 1 at age 84, is the top debut on the Artist 100, at No. 14. Four of his classic songs from the 1970s infuse the Digital Song Sales chart’s top 10, led by “If You Could Read My Mind” at No. 1. The song sold 10,000 downloads, up from a nominal sum, in the U.S. in the week ending May 4. Lightfoot ranks atop a Billboard chart for the first time in 48 years, since “Carefree Highway” ruled Adult Contemporary in May 1975. Also new to the Digital Song Sales top 10: “Sundown” (No. 3; 9,000), “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (No. 5; 7,000) and “Highway” (No. 10; 4,000).

Paced by Lightfoot’s retrospective Gord’s Gold (3,000 sold), his U.S. album sales in the tracking week vaulted by 906% to 6,000; his digital song sales soared by 3,637% to 41,000; his radio airplay audience surged by 317% to 3 million; and his official on-demand U.S. streams jumped by 290% to 14 million.

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

09 May 2023

New ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’ Trailer Teases Cameos From Tobey McGuire, Andrew Garfield & Tom Holland

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Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

Source: Sony / Sony

Wait, are we going to finally get ALL the Spider-Man actors in one single film together?

No, we’re not talking about Spider-Man: No Way Home, we’re talking about Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse as the latest trailer teases some voice over work from Tobey McGuire (OG Spider-Man), Andrew Garfield (Overlooked Spider-Man), and Tom Holland (Zendaya’s Boyfriend Spider-Man). In the minds of fans it’s only right that the three live-action Spider-Men finally get familiar with the lone Black Spider-Man, Miles Morales (Shamiek Moore) even if it’s only in animated form.

In the 30-second clip to the upcoming Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, we hear McGruire, Garfield and Zendaya’s man (we love ya, Tommy), speak about the hardships that come with being a Spider-Man from previous films before Moore gives his own assertion on the matter saying “Anyone can wear the mask… but how you wear it, that’s what matters.”

While Sony has been mum on the possibility of McGuire, Garfield or Holland actually do some voice over work in Across The Spider-Verse, after the Into The Spider-Verse released, the writers did say they wanted Tobey McGuire to take on the voice of OG Spider-Man (that gig went to Chris Pine), but didn’t think he’d be interested in reprising his iconic role. Then years later we got No Way Home and all of a sudden, maybe he wouldn’t be so opposed to returning to the Marvel universe even in animated form. As for Andrew Garfield, y’all know he’s itching to be Spidey in anyway he can and surely wouldn’t turn down a check these days. Tom Holland, he seems like he’d be down for it.

Guess we’ll have to wait till June 2nd to find out if any of the three or all three make guest cameos but until then check out the quick spot below and let us know if you think they’ll surprise fans with some voice over work in the comments section below.



09 May 2023

Offset Has a Royal Daddy-Daughter Date With Kulture & Kalea at ‘The Little Mermaid’ Premiere

Offset made sure his two daughters got the ultimate princess treatment Monday night (May 8) in Hollywood. With 4-year-old Kulture Kiari on one arm and 8-year-old Kalea Marie on the other, the rapper adorably escorted his girls to Disney’s world premiere of The Little Mermaid, where they got to wear beautiful ball gowns and feel glamorous walking the red carpet.

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Both Kulture (whom Offset shares with wife Cardi B) and Kalea (his daughter with ex-girlfriend Shya L’amour) wore black-and-white dresses adorned with flowers and lots of tulle. The Migos member — who’s also dad to sons Jordan, Cody and Wave — matched his dates in a princely, Michael Jackson-inspired white jacket and black slacks.

In tribute to Ariel’s famous locks, both girls also colored their hair red for the occasion. “Mermaid premiere with my princesses,” Offset captioned Instagram photos from a pre-premiere shoot with Kulture and Kalea.

Though Cardi skipped the premiere, she did post a video of Kulture getting prepped for the photo shoot. From behind the camera, the “WAP” artist can be heard coaching her daughter — who beams up at her — on how to smile for the pictures.

“My gal,” Cardi captioned the video, adding two heart emojis.

On the red carpet, Set opened up about why it was important for him to take his girls to see The Little Mermaid, which stars Halle Bailey in the lead role. “My daughters are very excited to see someone who looks like them as the Little Mermaid,” the musician said. “It’s a special moment in history, and it’s iconic.”

The live action Little Mermaid will be in theaters May 26.