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26 Mar 2023

Miley Cyrus’ ‘Flowers’ Logs 10th Week at U.K. Chart Summit

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (via Columbia) is the song that won’t wither in the U.K., where it logs a 10th consecutive week at No. 1.

By extending its streak, “Flowers” becomes the longest-running No. 1 single by a female solo artist this decade, the Official Charts Company reports, overtaking Olivia Rodrigo’s nine-week haul with 2021’s “drivers license.”

“Flowers” joins Harry Styles’ “As It Was” as the second-longest-reigning single of the 2020s, also at 10 weeks. Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” is the boss, with 11 weeks.

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Cyrus now has another major record in her sights. If “Flowers” can add another week at the summit, it’ll equal Tones And I’s 2019 hit “Dance Monkey,” which racked up 11 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 to stand tall as the longest-running No. 1 in the U.K. by a solo female artist.

As “Flowers” holds its top spot, and, once again, finishes the chart week as the U.K.’s most-streamed single, its parent Endless Summer Vacation dips 1-3 on the national albums survey.

Meanwhile, Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding make a move with their latest collaboration, “Miracle” (Columbia). The rave tune rises 3-2 on the latest chart, published March 24, and is the most-downloaded single of the week, the OCC reports.

Afrobeats acts Rema (“Calm Down” up 5-4 via Mavin) and Libianca (“People” up 7-5 via 5K) enjoy career-best peaks on the latest singles chart, while London rapper Strandz’s “Us Against The World” (Relentless) lifts 10-9, and Metro Boomin’s “Creepin” (Relentless) with 21 Savage and The Weeknd fires back into the top 10 following the release of a remix with Diddy. It’s up 33-10, just three places behind its peak position.

The highest new entry on the latest tally belongs to Taylor Swift, whose “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” (EMI) bows at No. 11. The song, part of a four-pack of previously-unreleased works, released to celebrate the start of her The Eras Tour, was a late cut from her Lover album. “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” is Swift’s 44th U.K. top 40.

26 Mar 2023

U2 Lands U.K. No. 1 With ‘Songs of Surrender’

It’s a beautiful day for U2, as the iconic Irish rock band starts at No. 1 in the U.K. with Songs of Surrender (via Island).

The new LP, a collection of reimagined songs from across U2’s storied 40-year-plus career, debuts atop the Official U.K. Albums Chart, published March 24.

It’s the 11th U.K. leader for Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., and their first since 2009’s No Line on the Horizon. The set outsells its nearest competitor by more than 2-to-1, the Official Charts Company reports, an effort that sees the Hall of Famers draw level with the late legend David Bowie on 11 No. 1s. Songs of Surrender is also the week’s best-seller on wax, according to the OCC.

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There’s a lot of love for U2 on the latest chart. The band’s 2006 greatest hits collection U218 Singles returns to the tally, at No. 38.

The podium is completed with the Weeknd’s The Highlights (via Republic Records/XO), unchanged at No. 2, and Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation (RCA), which dips 1-3 in its second week.

Meanwhile, Brighton-England four-piece Black Honey bag a career-high with A Fistful of Peaches (FoxFive), their third studio album. It’s new at No. 6, a result that betters the peak of their eponymously-titled 2018 debut (No. 33) and 2021’s followup Written & Directed (No. 7).

Veteran U.S. rock act All Time Low nab a seventh U.K. top 40 appearance with Tell Me I’m Alive (Parlophone), their ninth studio effort. It’s new at No. 12.

Finally, as Taylor Swift embarks on the U.S. leg of her The Eras Tour, Swifties on the other side of the Atlantic flock to her catalog. Five of her classic LPs rise in the top 40 — led by her latest, the 2022 chart leader Midnights (up 8-4), followed by 2014’s 1989 (26-18), 2019’s Lover (39-23), 2020’s folklore (38-26) and 2017’s Reputation (51-33) – all via EMI. Swift has yet to announce international tour dates.

26 Mar 2023

Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing at a Time’ Notches Third Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200  

Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time notches a third straight week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 1). The set earned 209,500 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending March 23 (down 19%), according to Luminate. It debuted at No. 1 with 501,000 units, then tallied 259,000 in its second frame.

In the last 12 months, only two albums have exceeded 200,000 units in each of their first three weeks: One Thing at a Time and Taylor Swift’s Midnights (which surpassed 200,000 in each of its first four weeks).

The last album by a male act to spend its first three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 was Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, which also spent its first three frames atop the list (Sept. 18-Oct. 2, 2021-dated charts).

Further, in the last 10 years, only two country albums have clocked at least three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and both are by Wallen: One Thing at a Time, his last album, Dangerous: The Double Album (10 weeks at No. 1 in 2021). (Country albums are considered those that have hit or are eligible for Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.)

Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 chart, U2 collects its 13th top 10-charting effort, as Songs of Surrender debuts at No. 5. The retrospective sees U2 revisiting its own catalog, re-recording and re-interpreting familiar hit songs from the band’s career. Among the tracks including on the project: “Where the Streets Have No Name,” “One,” “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and “I Will Follow.”

Plus, U2 becomes only the fourth group with a newly-charting top 10 title on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the 1980s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and now the ‘20s.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). 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. The new April 1, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 28. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Of One Thing at a Time’s 209,500 equivalent album units earned in the week ending March 23, SEA units comprise 194,000 (down 17%, equaling 256.13 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 36 songs), album sales comprise 12,500 (down 41%) and TEA units comprise 3,000 (down 12%).

SZA’s chart-topping SOS climbs 4-2 on the Billboard 200 with 72,000 equivalent album units earned (though down 5%), while Swift’s former leader Midnights jumps 6-3 with 61,000 units (up 31%) following her Eras Tour launch on March 17. Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation falls 3-4 in its second week with 49,000 units (down 59%).

U2’s Songs of Surrender debuts at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with 46,500 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 42,000, SEA units comprise 4,000 equaling 4.99 million on-demand official streams of the set’s tracks) and TEA units comprise 500. The retrospective re-records project is available in multiple editions, including a standard 16-track edition, a 20-track deluxe and a 40-track super deluxe (with the latter divided into four 10-track chapters named after each band member: Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr.). Sales were also aided by a dozen vinyl variants of the album, including exclusive editions sold by Amazon, Target and independent retailers.

U2 is the fourth group to achieve a newly-charting top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart in the 1980s, ‘90s, 2000s, ‘10s and now the ‘20s. The quartet joins AC/DC, Def Leppard and Metallica.

Rounding out the top 10 of the new Billboard 200 are five former No. 1s: Karol G’s Mañana Será Bonito (5-6 with 45,000 equivalent album units earned; down 15%); Dangerous: The Double Album (a non-mover at No. 7 with 42,000; down 2%); Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains (holding at No. 8 with 40,000; up 3%); Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss (10-9 with 38,000; up 12%); and Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti (9-10 with 37,000; up 1%).

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

26 Mar 2023

Kelly Clarkson Announces Post-Divorce Album ‘Chemistry,’ Explains Meaning Behind the Title

Kelly Clarkson has officially announced the title of her upcoming post-divorce album.

The 40-year-old pop superstar and television personality shared the exciting news through social media on Sunday (March 26), revealing details about the album’s title, Chemistry, and assuring fans that new music will be arriving very soon.

“I’ve been working on this project for close to three years now. I wasn’t sure I was going to release it, but I am. The album is called Chemistry,” Clarkson said in a video on Instagram.

“I was trying to find a word, it might be one of the songs on the album, but I was trying to find a word that really described the whole thing. I didn’t want everybody to think I was just coming out with some ‘I’m angry,’ ‘I’m sad’ — just one or two emotions. This album is definitely the arc of an entire relationship.”

The Kelly Clarkson Show host added, “That whole relationship shouldn’t be brought down to one thing. There’s the good, the bad and the ugly kind of thing going on. Chemistry can be a really amazing, sexy, cool, fun thing, but it can also be very bad for you. So that’s why I named it Chemistry, I thought it was the perfect title to describe the entire album.”

Clarkson did not reveal a specific release date for Chemistry, but said the album is “coming out soon” and noted that new music from the forthcoming release is “coming out even sooner.”

The songstress said in a September 2022 interview with Variety that she had been working on new music in the wake of her separation and subsequent divorce filing from ex-husband Brandon Blackstock in 2020.

“My producer and I were laughing yesterday because I was like, ‘Remember that time we wrote, like, 25 songs in a week?’ A lot of those are the ones that are on the album,” Clarkson told Variety. “I literally wrote most of these almost two years ago. Then I told my label, ‘I can’t talk about this until I’ve gone through it,’ and it’s just taken some time to do that. That’s one of the reasons we’ve done a lot of Christmas stuff the past two years — because I was like, ‘Well, that’s happy!’”

Clarkson’s most recent album, the holiday release When Christmas Comes Around, arrived in 2021. Prior to that, she dropped her eighth studio album, 2017’s Meaning of Life, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

The singer’s upcoming Chemistry album was reportedly inspired by the “emotional journey” she went through during her tumultuous split with Blackstone, with whom she has two young children.

“I hadn’t really been working hardcore on an album until I needed to. I was just very busy,” Clarkson said of the album, which will be released on Atlantic Records.

“There were so many jobs, and I’m a single mom — well, even with being married, it’s a lot, trying to fit kids’ schedules in and all that stuff. But then the whole divorce thing happened, and I needed to write it. And then I didn’t know if I was going to release it, because you can be very angry in that state of mind. So some of the songs, they definitely cover the gamut of emotions; there’s everything on the album. It’s almost like the arc of a relationship, because the beginning is so beautiful and so sweet, and then it evolves. And sometimes it doesn’t evolve how you want.”

Watch Clarkson’s Chemistry album announcement on Instagram below.

26 Mar 2023

Fans Choose Jimin’s ‘Face’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Jimin‘s debut solo album, Face, has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (March 24) on Billboard, choosing the BTS member’s six-track project as their favorite new music release of the past week.

Face, which arrived on March 24 via HYBE LABELS, brought in 74% of the vote, beating out new music from Lana Del Rey (Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd), Ed Sheeran (“Eyes Closed”), Rosalía and Rauw Alejandro (RR), Luke Combs (Gettin’ Old), and others.

Face was preceded by pre-release single “Set Me Free, Pt.2” and its dance-heavy music video. The new album also contains “Like Crazy,” album opener “Face-Off,” and more. In addition to production from the likes of Pdogg, Ghstloop and Evan, Jimin’s BTS bandmate RM also has songwriting credits on three songs on the tracklist.

In an interview with Consequence previewing Face, Jimin admitted each of his bandmates have been anxious over going solo as they focused on individual projects, but “their results were absolutely great.” (Recent solo efforts have included J-Hope’s old-school hip-hop-leaning Jack in the Box, RM’s eclectic, collab-packed Indigo, and Jin’s single “The Astronaut,” which was co-written by Coldplay and released before he started his mandatory enlistment in the Korean military.)

Jimin himself was also nervous for his solo debut before its grand unveiling, explaining, “I don’t want to be an embarrassment to my members. I want to be a proud member of BTS” before hinting that the album will explore “how I overcame… If people understand the emotions I’m trying to express, I’ll consider the album a success.”

Trailing behind Jimin on the fan-voted poll was Del Rey’s ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, with 21% of the vote. In the set, the songstress muses on sex, devotion, family and American decay, but this time with a series of guests — including Tommy Genesis, Jon Batiste and Bleachers — providing an assist. The set shows once again that Del Rey is trying to challenge herself in ways she previously hasn’t.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

26 Mar 2023

Pearl Jam’s Matt Cameron Addresses Rumors About Joining Foo Fighters on Drums for Upcoming Tour

Matt Cameron is clearing up rumors about joining the Foo Fighters for the rock band’s upcoming tour dates.

On Saturday (March 25), the Pearl Jam drummer shared a post on his Instagram Story, denying a recent report by U.K. tabloid The Sun that he’s replacing late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins when the group returns to the road in late spring.

“FYI the internet rumors are false, I haven’t joined the Foos,” Cameron wrote alongside a red heart emoji.

The Sun reported on March 16 that Cameron, a close friend of Hawkins, would join the Foo Fighters on their 2023 North American tour, which begins May 24 at the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford, N.H. Citing a source, the report also indicated that Angels & Airwaves drummer Atom Willard would join the Dave Grohl-fronted band on various upcoming dates.

Cameron performed the Foo Fighters song “Low” alongside surviving band members during a September 2022 tribute concert in Los Angeles. Saturday (March 25) marked the one-year anniversary of Hawkins’ death at the age of 50. He passed away in a Bogotá, Colombia, hotel room as the Foos were gearing up to perform. The beloved drummer’s death was announced through a social media statement from the band’s accounts, with no immediate cause of death given.

In a New Year’s Eve social media post, the Foo Fighters announced plans to continue as a “different band going forward” following the death of Hawkins.

“Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were — and without Taylor, we know that we’re going to be a different band going forward,” the statement read. “We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you. And we know that when we see you again — and we will soon — he’ll be there in spirit with all of us every night.”

See Cameron post on his Instagram Story here.

26 Mar 2023

Ohio Cops Sue Afroman Over Music Videos Featuring Footage Of Raid On His Home, Which Turned Up Nothing

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First, let me just say Joseph Foreman aka Afroman is still HILARIOUS!

Last August, the “Because I Got High” rapper’s Adams County, Ohio, home was raided by deputies and other officers with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, who were armed when they executed a search warrant for drugs, drug paraphernalia and evidence of kidnapping and human trafficking, none of which they found.

From Fox 19:

The suspicions turned out to be unfounded. The Adams County Prosecutor’s Office said the raid failed to turn up probative criminal evidence, according to attorney Anna Castellini. No charges were ever filed.

In a bizarre turn of events unrelated to the civil suit, the sheriff’s office appeared to come up hundreds of dollars short returning cash seized from Foreman’s property. An independent investigation by Ohio BCI resolved the matter last month, concluding deputies had miscounted the money during the raid itself.

“They come up here with AR-15, traumatize my kids, destroyed my property, kick in my door, rip up and destroy my camera system,” Afroman said in August.

So, months after the officers of the law entered the gate to his property and battered down his front door while his family was apparently home in search of drugs and kidnapping victims that were not there, Afroman used video footage of the raid taken from his security cameras and his wife’s cell phone and turned it into a couple of music videos that are just damn excellent.





One video titled “Will You Help Me Repair My Door” shows the damage the armed officers did to Afroman’s gate and front door as they forced their way into his home in search of imaginary contraband and stolen humans. In the video, Afroman asks comedically if the sheriff’s office will pay for the damage to his home, if it was really necessary for the officers to traumatize his children, and how many kidnapping victims and/or pounds of marijuana did they find in his suit pockets and CD cases, which they were seen searching on camera. He also asked why the oficers were stealing his money, which, again, they came up short on initially when it was time to return.

Anyway, seven of the deputies are suing Afroman because video footage used in the video caused them great harm and embarrassment by—*checks notes*—showing their exact behavior during the raid. The deputies who literally broke into a family’s private residence to find zero evidence of a crime also complained that showing the footage violated their right to privacy. (The cop-casity, I tell ya’.)

More from Fox 19:

Four deputies, two sergeants and a detective are claiming Foreman (a.k.a. “Afroman”) took footage of their faces obtained during the raid and used it in music videos and social media posts without their consent, a misdemeanor violation under Ohio Revised Code.

They’re also suing on civil grounds, saying Foreman’s use of their faces (i.e. personas) in the videos and social media posts resulted in their “emotional distress, embarrassment, ridicule, loss of reputation and humiliation.”

The plaintiffs say they’re entitled to all of Foreman’s profits from his use of their personas. That includes, according to the complaint, proceeds from the songs, music videos and live event tickets as well as the promotion of Foreman’s “Afroman” brand, under which he sells beer, marijuana, t-shirts and other merchandise.

They’re also asking for an injunction to take down all videos and posts containing their personas.

Cincinnati attorney Robert Klingler filed the suit in Adams County Common Pleas Court on March 13 against Foreman, his recording firm and a Texas-based media distribution company. Not every law enforcement officer involved in the raid is named as a plaintiff.

But Foreman said in a lengthy Instagram post that he’s going to fight fire with fire by countersuing “for the undeniable damage this had on my clients, family, career and property.”

At the end of the day, cops shouldn’t be able to blindly break into homes where there are children present armed to the teeth so they can ransack the home based on a warrant that seems to have gotten signed based on a hunch and a prayer rather than tangible evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

Isn’t that how Breonna Taylor got killed?

Exactly.

26 Mar 2023

Crazy: Cee-Lo Green Falls Off A Horse At Shawty Lo Tribute Event

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How the mighty have fallen. While trying to make a grand appearance on a horse Cee-Lo Green took a bit of a tumble.

As spotted on Page Six the founding member of Goodie MoB was apparently doing the most at a recent tribute for Shawty Lo. On Wednesday, March 22 an event was hosted for the fallen rapper in tribute of what would have been his 47th birthday. For some reason the Gnarls Barkley singer felt compelled to arrive on a Spanish purebred; while wearing his signature sunglasses and a gold rope chain. Even though his entrance immediately turned heads at the private gala, he soon had a tough time maintaining his balance on the animal. It wasn’t too long before the horse started to feel nervous, for reasons unknown, and promptly bucked him off.

Surprisingly Cee-Lo Green took the fall very gracefully and playfully argued that it was Shawty Lo’s doing from up above. Naturally the clip quickly went viral online prompting the Dungeon Family member to respond to the jokes and memes. “about the other night… I felt like it could be fun and funny to make a grand entrance on this beautiful animal for a very special occasion in our city of #atlanta ,a birthday party/ celebration of life for our deceased beloved, Shawty Lo” he wrote on an Instagram post. “I’ll chalk it up as another day at the office being…..me ?.  Thank you to all of the fans and supporters for your love and concern. Long live LO”.

You can see Cee-Lo Green hit the floor below.

Photo:

26 Mar 2023

Cap Check: Trump Allies Exaggerate Alvin Bragg-George Soros Link

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Political allies of former President Donald Trump have begun attacking New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg by making false claims about his ties to political donor George Soros.

As the former president is facing an indictment from a grand jury convened by the Manhattan District Attorney, Republican politicians have initiated a stream of attacks following his lead against Bragg on social media. In a post on his TruthSocial network on Monday (March 20th), he wrote: “Alvin Bragg received in EXCESS OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS from the Radical Left Enemy of ‘TRUMP,’ George Soros.”

The attack was echoed by other right-wingers such as J.D. Vance, the freshman senator from Ohio who has been an ardent Trump supporter over the past year despite prior misgivings. Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio has expressed a desire to have Bragg testify before a House committee about the investigation.

There is a link between the district attorney and Soros, who has been attacked for years by right-wing politicians and conspiracy theorists for his donations to Democratic candidates with many noting these attacks based on antisemitism as the Hungarian-born billionaire is Jewish. But an examination of campaign records shows no impropriety.

The connection dates back to when Bragg first campaigned to be district attorney. He was endorsed by the progressive criminal justice group Color of Change in 2021. The group intended to spend $1 million on voter turnout efforts for him and did not directly contribute to his campaign. Soros would donate that amount to Color of Change in May of that year, one of a number of donations that he made personally and through his Democracy PAC political action committee. Color of Change would ultimately spend $500,000 in contributions backing Bragg’s campaign, 11 percent of its $4.6 million spent during that campaign year.

“George Soros and Alvin Bragg have never met in person or spoken by telephone, email, Zoom, etc.,” Mr. Vachon said. “There has been no contact between the two.” It is noted that his son, Jonathan, and his wife did donate $20,000 to Bragg’s campaign directly before Bragg won the Democratic primary for the D.A.’s office in 2021.

Despite those facts, GOP politicians aren’t letting up in their attacks on Bragg. Color of Change President Rashad Robinson highlighted the racism and anti-semitism behind those smears in a thread on his Twitter account. “Make no mistake, over the next couple of days as more news about potential consequences for Trump circulates, we will see a flood of anti-Black and anti-Semitic attacks from the former President and his supporters and enablers,” he wrote last weekend.

26 Mar 2023

Kanye West Says He “Likes Jewish People Again,” Because Jonah Hill

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Kanye West aka Ye has been playing it rather low-key lately, mostly due to his going full anti-Semite in 2022, fumbling bags shortly thereafter and other such tomfoolery. But apparently, the Chicago native says he “likes Jewish people again” and it’s all due to the acting chops of actor Jonah Hill.

This story is as ridiculous as the headline, if we’re keeping it a buck.

Apparently—and we know this because he said so on Instagram—Ye was watching 21 Jump Street starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum when he has a come to Jesus moment (there’s pun there, and it was not intended).

“Watching Jonah Hill in 21 jump street made me like Jewish people again,” said Ye on Instagram for the caption of a pic of the 21 Jump Street movie artwork. “No one should take anger against one or two individuals and transform that into hatred towards millions of innocent people.”

Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband also added, “No Christian can be labeled antisemite knowing Jesus is Jew. Thank you Jonah Hill. I love you.”

Only time will tell how sincere Ye is, or if he’s just trolling. Remember this the guy who went on essentially an anti-semitic campaign via interviews with Alex Jones and Piers Morgan, among others.

Know word on what Jonah Hill thinks of the shout out, yet.