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17 Mar 2023

New Music Latin: Listen to Releases From Manuel Turizo, Elena Rose & More

New Music Latin is a compilation of the best new Latin songs and albums recommended by Billboard Latin and Billboard Español editors. Check out this week’s picks below.

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Manuel Turizo, 2000 (La Industria Inc./Sony Music Latin)

In 2000, named after his birth year, Manuel Turizo is more experimental than ever — and the first few songs are proof of that. Though he stays truthful to his reggaetón-pop core, the Colombian artist does not shy away from techno beats (as heard in “Triste”) fast-paced merengue (the Marshmello-assisted “El Merengue”) sultry reggae and dancehall fusions (“Jamaica”) and trap (“U Lala”). 2000 is a feel-good, summer-ready production that’s home to 15 track — including the previously released “Extasis” with Maria Becerra and “La Bachata,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Tropical Airplay Chart, Latin Airplay Chart, and most recently, the Argentina Hot 100.

Over energized rhythms and relatable lyrics, the Colombian artist also gets ultra-personal in the notable “Vacio” — a track where he opens up about chasing his dreams at such a young age (Turizo was 15 years old when he dropped his first hit “Una Lady Como Tú”). Further solidifying a very intimate set, the cover art is an actual photo of Turizo when he was a baby. — JESSICA ROIZ

Elena Rose, “El Hombre” (Warner Music Latina)

A groovy pop track is Elena Rose’s first single of the year, which also serves as a preview to her upcoming debut album. As ever, the singer-songwriter’s ethereal vocals — which adapt to whichever style will serve as her canvas — take center stage in this soon-to-be anthem. The sweet, yet poignant “El Hombre” describes an evolved man, one who isn’t scared to be vulnerable and has embraced his softer side. “He’s different from the rest,” she sings, introducing this unicorn of a man. “It’s not the man that opens the door for you, but the one who doesn’t want to close doors for you. A man isn’t the one that loves you but the one who teaches you how to love.” — GRISELDA FLORES

Lupita Infante, “Besarte Así” (Sony Music Latin)

In times when lyrics are getting more and more explicit, it’s refreshing to hear Lupita Infante’s utterly romantic “Besarte Así” (To Kiss You Like This,) the third single from her upcoming album Amor Como En Las Películas de Antes (Love Like in the Old Movies). With a retro sound and very sweet, innocent lyrics, the mariachi ballad (written by Infante with Pedro Dabdoub) imagines what would be the perfect kiss with the perfect someone: “If I get closer, little by little, I feel my voice tremble/ When I say your name what I really want is kissing you,” she sings, in Spanish. The song is about “letting your imagination take you somewhere you’ve never been before,” Infante says in the production notes, adding that the track “lets you envision that one kiss you have dreamed about your entire life, allowing yourself to embrace those loving feelings.” — SIGAL RATNER-ARIAS

Isabella Lovestory, “Latina” (Isabella Lovestory)

Freaky urbano purveyor Isabella Lovestory doesn’t mind sharing alcohol, men and lipstick with her Latina comrades — after all, it’s a sisterhood. Buoyed by a glitchy, intoxicating reggaetón beat and her riot grrrl antics, the Honduran-born artist arrives with a powerful mission statement that’s filled with pride and conviction: “Latina.” Her first track of 2023 already sounds like an electrifying art-pop feminist anthem, one that’s empowering mujeres the web over (“I feel beautiful listening to this queen” or “I didn’t ask to be Latina I just got lucky,” commented some online users).

“Tongue-in-cheek and playful, [‘Latina’] is a song that celebrates being Latina without being cliché and ‘dove commercial’ about it,” she says in a press release. “It’s a commentary on the tokenizing of latinidad, reclaiming the uniqueness and poignancy of every experience each Latina has.” Produced by Chicken, Kamixlo and Nick León, the commanding neo-perreo song also coincides with the announcement of her upcoming tour, Laticonica. — ISABELA RAYGOZA

Luis R Conriquez & Grupo Frontera “Dame un Chance” (Kartel Music)

Luis R Conriquez and Grupo Frontera team up to deliver “Dame un Chance.” The contemporary norteño band and the Mexican singer-songwriter offer a fresh regional Mexican fusion that effortlessly combines traditional norteño sounds with the lively rhythm of cumbia. Produced by Edgar Barrera, the song serves as a romantic plea to be given a chance, committing to change (and even to consume less alcoho)l if it would grant them an opportunity with the person they love: “I have a feeling that my life is better with you/ I know very well that they say that I am a mess/ And it’s true I admit it too, but I also know how to love you pretty/ I’ll go down and drink a little so that you can see that I need you.” The accompanying video showcases the artists performing live with an enthusiastic group of men dancing and partying. — LUISA CALLE

Lenier & Yomo, “Corazón Callejero” (Mr. 305 Records)

Cuban singer-songwriter Lenier recruits Puerto Rican artist Yomo to deliver a love letter in “Corazón Callejero.” With a blend of charming melodies and uptempo beats, the heartfelt track — a sweet confession of love — seamlessly balances Yomo’s signature vocals and Lenier’s raspy-yet-soothing voice. “Yo tengo un corazón callejero, un corazón bandolero que de ti se enamoró (I have a street heart, a bandit’s heart that fell in love with you),” they sing in the chorus. — INGRID FAJARDO

Below, stream Billboard’s New Music Latin playlist, also featuring other recent releases from the Latin world.

17 Mar 2023

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Catalog Up 16% in Streams After Gary Rossington’s Death

Lynyrd Skynyrd’s catalog gained in streaming and sales following the death of founding guitarist Gary Rossington March 5.

In the March 3-9 tracking week, the Southern rockers drew 16.4 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate. That’s a 16% jump over the previous period of Feb. 24-March 2 (14.1 million).

Pacing the group, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, in overall volume for its songs was “Sweet Home Alabama,” from 1974’s Second Helping. The classic track, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s lone top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 8 peak, October 1974), earned 4.5 million streams March 3-9, up 7% from 4.2 million.

The song is followed by “Simple Man,” from 1973’s (Pronounced ‘Lĕh-‘nérd ‘Skin-‘nérd), at 3.9 million streams, a 5% boost. Next up, “Free Bird” from the same album, with a 11% jump to 3.1 million streams. The latter sports a slightly larger bump than the other songs, unsurprisingly: Rossington was the architect of the hit’s signature slide guitar riff.

A fourth Lynyrd Skynyrd song impacts the week’s top 2,000 streams in the U.S.: “Gimme Three Steps,” also from the 1973 LP, with 1.6 million streams, up 8%.

Those gains are enough for “Alabama,” “Simple” and “Bird” to hit Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts (where older songs are eligible to appear if in the top half and with meaningful reasons for their resurgences). “Alabama” leads at No. 17, followed by “Simple” (No. 21) and “Bird” (No. 24). (“Simple” is in its third consecutive week on the ranking, having re-entered thanks to a viral American Idol audition with the song.)

All three titles also enter Rock Digital Song Sales, each with 1,000 downloads sold. In all, the band’s catalog moved 6,000 song downloads March 3-9, a vault of 103%.

The group’s All Time Greatest Hits concurrently scales Top Rock & Alternative Albums, bounding 28-15 with 11,000 equivalent album units earned, up 19%.

Rossington died March 5 at age 71. His cause of death has not yet been revealed. He had been the final surviving original member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, whose origins date to 1964.

17 Mar 2023

Paul Beasley, Singer for The Blind Boys of Alabama, Dies at 78

Paul Beasley, tenor for The Blind Boys of Alabama, has died at 78, a representative for the singer announced on Thursday (March 16). While a cause of death was not disclosed, the statement revealed that Beasley died on Monday, March 13.

Beasley spent years with Gospel Keynotes and the Mighty Clouds of Joy prior to joining the Blind Boys in 2013 after losing his sight. Known for his unique falsetto tone, Beasley first recorded with the Blind Boys on the group’s 2013 album, I’ll Find a Way, which was produced by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver.

After Beasley joined the group, the Blind Boys would go on to record four more albums: Talkin’ Christmas! with Taj Mahal, Almost Home, Work to Do with Marc Cohn and I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free with Bela Fleck. Talkin’ Christmas! peaked within the top 10 on the Top Gospel Albums chart at No. 9, and charted five spots higher at No. 4 on the Blues Albums chart. Work to Do peaked at No. 24 on the Independent Albums chart. During his time with the Blind Boys, Beasley earned a total of five Grammy nominations.

“In life there are some things that only come once, and the legacy and voice of Paul Beasley is one of those things. Thank God for him. He was often imitated, but never duplicated,” remaining Blind Boys members Ricky McKinnie, Jimmy Carter, Joey Williams, Rev. Julius Love and Sterling Glass said in a statement. “The Blind Boys have been friends and soulmates with Paul for many years. The memories that we shared are unsurpassed. Our deepest sympathy goes out to all of his family and friends. God bless you all.”

17 Mar 2023

Watch This ‘The Voice’ Contestant’s Stunning Harry Styles Cover Get a Four-Chair Turn

There’s a lot of pressure when covering a hit song, especially when that song had topped the Hot 100 for 15 weeks. However, taking on Harry Styles‘ “As It Was” was no issue for 32-year-old Cait Martin, who put a soulful rendition on the track for her The Voice blind audition.

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Her clean vocals and angelic high notes had all four coaches — Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Chance the Rapper and Niall Horan — turning their red chairs around for a chance to get the budding star on their team this season.

However, Martin’s mom, who was watching the whole thing from side stage, knew immediately who she wanted her daughter’s coach to be. “Kelly! Kelly! Kelly!” she was heard chanting, to which Clarkson hilariously replied, “You know what they say. You should always listen to your parents. That’s the better path. That’s the one God tells us.”

The original American Idol went on to say, “I turned around instantaneously. I could tell in your voice and how much control you had in the beginning — that beautiful vibrato is so crystal clear — and I knew you were going to go big and powerful, but I didn’t know how big your range was. That was high and you did it so effortlessly. I feel like I would be such a great coach for you. I believed in you light years before these guys turned around.”

Shelton then made his case to be Martin’s coach, using the excuse that season 23 is his last on the show. “I would love to go out with a win on this thing. I think that I can dig down deep and somehow find the energy and passion one more time to win The Voice. It would be awesome if you would be on the last Team Blake,” the country star shared.

Chance the Rapper went on to compare Martin to Whitney Houston, and Horan complimented the singer on her storytelling abilities. “You guys are not making it easy for me whatsoever,” Martin said in response.

Check out the impressive audition below, and be sure to tune in to The Voice on NBC on Monday at 8 p.m. ET to see who Martin’s coach is.

17 Mar 2023

Delilah Belle Talks Debut Single ‘Nothing Lasts Forever’: ‘It’s So Much More Than a Song to Me’

Delilah Belle is still getting used to calling herself a singer. As the 24-year-old model prepares to share her very first single, “Nothing Lasts Forever,” with the world, she’s spending a bizarrely cold Los Angeles day sending out invitations to her release party.

“I don’t think it’s hit me yet, really,” she confesses to Billboard of the song’s imminent unveiling, which is taking place at West Hollywood hotspot Hotel Ziggy on Friday night.

The hip location on the Sunset Strip is the perfect setting to mark Delilah’s reinvention as a nascent pop star — particularly given her reality TV roots as the daughter of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills firebrand Lisa Rinna. After all, the boutique hotel was also the site of a party hosted by DJ James Kennedy in the latest season premiere of RHOBH spinoff Vanderpump Rules — this was pre-#Scandoval — and also happens to be just down the road from what used to be L.A.’s iconic Tower Records flagship store.

Fans first met Delilah back in 2014 when her famous mom snagged a diamond in the fan-favorite fifth season of Bravo’s 90210 franchise. (Ironically, in her very first scene, Rinna implores Delilah and her younger sister Amelia Gray, “Tell me about Coachella,” after not allowing the then-teens to go to the festival.)

But just one look at the music video for “Nothing Lasts Forever” lets fans know that Delilah has certainly grown up since her earliest days in front of reality TV cameras. The visual for the downtempo ballad opens with the DNA designer sitting in a milky bath reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s “Lavender Haze” video before she jolts awake, singing, “Feelin’ like I’m dyin’ and it won’t pass/ Feelin’ like I’m lyin’ in a bloodbath/ I could pull the plug, let it drain out/ Or take another drug for the pain now” in a glossy soprano.

The song wades into weighty territory for a debut single, exploring Delilah’s physical and mental health struggles over the past few years. In November 2021, she went live on Instagram to detail living with obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety, as well as a particularly bad experience with a Xanax subscription, to her more than 1.6 million followers. (She now boasts, as of press time, closer to 2 million and counting.)

Yet despite its raw edge, the older Hamlin sister says she didn’t think twice about getting vulnerable with the song. “I’ve always been an open book and I’ve never been scared to really share what I’ve gone through.” she says. “That’s just not really who I am.”

Below, Delilah Belle chatted exclusively with Billboard about breaking into music, what she hopes fans take from “Nothing Lasts Forever,” whether she got any advice from her mom’s RHOBH bestie Erika Jayne and more.

What made “Nothing Lasts Forever” the right choice as your debut single?

I want this song to be something that everyone can relate to in one way or another. You know, I’ve written tons of songs about breakups, heartbreak, et cetera, but I feel like this song really is open to interpretation, and I want people to be able to just really relate to it in whatever way they need to in that moment. Because the meaning behind it really is “nothing lasts forever,” whether that be a breakup or really anything.

How did you start writing music in the first place?

I’ve always journaled my entire life and I’ve also always loved singing. And I knew that I wanted to be able to convey and tell my story through music. I thought, you know, “I have a platform. I could just put out an Instagram Story and talk about the struggles I’ve been going through.” But really, I thought that, creatively, the best way to go about telling my story would be through music. “I have a platform. I could just put out an Instagram Story and talk about the struggles I’ve been going through.” But really, I thought that, creatively, the best way to go about telling my story would be through music.

You said they’re up for interpretation, but the song’s lyrics deal with some heavy emotional themes surrounding mental health and anxiety. What inspired that?

Honestly, what I’ve been going through the past couple of years — really most of my life, as I can remember — I’ve felt a certain way. And they definitely are heavy, heavy lyrics. [Pauses] Yeah, I’ve struggled with my mental and my physical health the past couple of years and I wanted to be able to convey my struggles not so, like, blatantly. But at the same time, you know, they are heavy and they really do convey exactly how I was feeling.

Was that a vulnerable process for you to put those ideas down on paper? Did you feel ready to put all this out there?

You know, I honestly did feel ready to put all this out there. I’ve felt ready for a while, especially after I posted this video a couple years ago on my — I guess it was a Live, then I posted it to my IGTV, if that’s what it is. I’m so bad at technology, I literally don’t know what things mean. [Laughs] But yeah, I’ve always been an open book and I’ve never been scared to really share what I’ve gone through. That’s just not really who I am. So going through the process of writing and recording and being able to share my story through storytelling, through music was definitely a cathartic experience. It just felt right. Like, I didn’t feel uncomfortable at any time. I honestly could’ve shared more; I could’ve been even more open. It’s easy for me to open up, and I think it’s important to open up.

What do you hope listeners and new fans take away from the song’s message?

I really, really hope that people can resonate with the lyrics and take what they need from it. Because it’s so much more than just a song to me. I’ve been in very dark, dark moments in my life where I put on a song, or I’ll have the same song or, like, a playlist on repeat that just like that sad playlist. And those always make me cry, and when I’m in those moments, I want to be able to relate to someone else. Or I want to feel heard, I want to feel like I’m not going through this alone.

So number one, I want people to be able to, if they’re sitting on their bathroom floor or laying in bed, feeling like they’re dying and this moment won’t pass, I want them to be able to be like, “OK wait, someone else feels this way.” And whether someone looks up to me or thinks of me in a certain way, I want them to be able to be like, “Oh wait, Delilah also feels that way.” And if that can help someone, that would just be amazing. I want people to know that nothing lasts forever and I also struggle. 

That’s something so many people struggle with and it can be hard to talk about and feel really isolating.

Yeah, and I think people can tell us over and over again that, like, “This too shall pass.” People can tell us all of these clichés, but in reality, it really does take wanting to change. And in my lyrics, I convey, like, “Same me, same girl, same behavior.” I was really just stuck in this one space until I realized, like, I have to change my thinking in order for my life to change…And when you change your thinking and your behavior, then you really do realize that nothing lasts forever. 

Do you have any pop artists you looked to for inspiration as you dove into music?

I honestly didn’t know what my sound was going to be. I’ve written multiple songs and every song is, like, a different sound and could be considered a different genre. So when I think of someone who’s an inspiration to me as a musician, I think of how they tell their story. And I think that that’s something that’s really important to me and that’s such a beautiful thing. So I think of Lady Gaga, I think of Billie Eilish. Lizzo. I think of, you know, going back to Amy Winehouse. I even think of XXXTentacion in the way that he told his story through music, I just think it was very impactful. So I wouldn’t really say when I looked up to musicians I was trying to necessarily embody their sound, but more so the way that they told their stories. 

Considering that you’ve known her for so many years, did you get any advice from Erika Jayne about starting music?

I don’t think I did get any advice from Erika. I don’t think I reached out, to be quite honest with you! [Laughs]

Well maybe we need her on the “Nothing Lasts Forever” remix.

Maybe we do, maybe there’s 10 remixes! I do think I invited her to my release party though. But no, honestly, I kind of did this alone with my little team that I created and love so much. 

Tell me about the concept for the music video.

So the concept for the music video is…sick. [Laughs] I wanted it to be very elevated, ethereal, I wanted it to be high-fashion, I wanted it to be emotional, I wanted it to be so many things. So me, my creative directors and my team — we really thought about it and made it like a dream within a dream. We wanted it to be a work of art, honestly. And also, like I said with the song, open to interpretation. We didn’t want it to be too literal, and that’s what I love about it.

How did shooting the music video compare to all of your experience modeling?

When I model, I would bring emotion if that’s what was asked of me. But in the music video, in every shot I was thinking a lot, and thinking heavily about things that have happened throughout my life — and the last couple of years especially. So there was a lot of emotion filming it. I mean, I went through, I don’t know if it’s a hundred percent conveyed, but for me, I was very emotional filming that. And it was also kind of like acting? Which I’ve not really done in so long, since I was in, like, theater school when I was younger. It was awesome because it was something that I was kind of also directing. Obviously there was a director, my creative directors, but it was something that I was directing with my emotions and my thoughts. So it was a bit different in that aspect.

You’re definitely a little more in the driver’s seat than on a modeling shoot, I assume.

Yes, which I love because I’m very creative.

So can people expect more music coming soon from you? A full-length album, perhaps?

What can I tease? Hmmm. [Laughs] I’m definitely planning on a hundred percent releasing more music in the future. I… Yeah, I will leave you with that. Yeah, I don’t know yet. We’ll see.

17 Mar 2023

BTS’ Jimin Says ‘Intense’ Solo Single ‘Set Me Free Pt. 2’ Is, Of Course, About ‘Setting Myself Free’

Breaking out on your own from one of the most successful pop groups on the planet must surely come with untold trepidation and anxiety about whether your fanbase will follow you down a new path. But for BTS‘ Jimin, releasing his solo single “Set Me Free Pt. 2” amounts to a kind of liberation (or, as he puts it, a “new starting point”), as well as a chance to establish an identity apart from the global superstar septet.

“When this song was made, I felt really attached to it,” he told Consequence of Sound about his first solo project. “I went to the U.S. myself for the choir recording, and listening to it right next to them was truly amazing. I remember it as a really good memory.”

The song — which features majestic choir backing, a booming hip-hop beat and urgent Auto-Tuned vocals — is slated to appear on Jimin’s upcoming solo album, FACE, which is due out on March 24. And though it is tagged as a sequel, any ARMY member can tell you that there is, in fact, no original “Set Me Free” in Jimin’s discography. The singer explained to CoS that the title is a wink a song on bandmate Suga’s 2020 D-2 mixtape from alter ego Agust D.

“There isn’t a connection, and we weren’t trying to divide part one or part two,” he said. “But since it turns out my song talks about freedom and moving forward, and SUGA’s song talks about some of the stories that come before, I thought it would be good to come after that.”

Asked to break down the message of the track — which he described as having a light/dark, black/white energy — Jimin said he focused on the concepts of “determination, passion, and overcoming” and that the title is about him, well, setting himself free. “So I thought it was important that I be the one to set myself free — not someone else,” he said. “In the end, I’m the one who has to set myself free.”

As the latest member of the group to break out during the band’s yearslong pause to allow all seven to focus on their solo careers (as well as attend mandatory South Korean army service), Jimin said all his bandmates were nervous before dropping their albums and singles, but luckily, “their results were absolutely great.”

He’s nervous too, but mostly he just wants to make the other guys proud. “I don’t want to be an embarrassment to my members,” he said. “I want to be a proud member of BTS.” He doesn’t appear to have much to worry about, as “Set Me Free Pt. 2” was announced with a flashy, choreography-heavy video directed by Oui Kim.

As for what fans can expect from FACE, Jimin promised that the album talks about how he can look back on his past and, “how I overcame… If people understand the emotions I’m trying to express, I’ll consider the album a success.”

Watch “Set Me Free Pt. 2” below.

17 Mar 2023

First Stream: New Music From Taylor Swift, Kx5, Hozier and More

Billboard’s First Stream serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond. 

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This week, Taylor Swift unveils some secret songs, Kx5 points toward the dance floor and Hozier makes a long-awaited return. Check out all of this week’s First Stream picks below:

Taylor Swift, “All of the Girls You Loved Before” 

To celebrate the kickoff of her Eras stadium tour on Friday (Mar. 17), Taylor Swift has cracked her vault open and given fans a few unexpected goodies: the “Taylor’s Version” takes on previously released tracks “If This Was a Movie,” “Safe and Sound” and “Eyes Open,” as well as “All of the Girls You Loved Before,” an unreleased gem from her Lover era. Like the best moments on that 2019 album, “Girls” crackles with rhythm and romance, as Swift sings about how past mistakes have created a better reality and concludes on the swaying chorus, “Every dead-end street, led you straight to me.”

Kx5, Kx5 

“It was literally a product of us saying, ‘F–k it,’” deadmau5 told Billboard of the formation of Kx5, his superstar team-up with Kaskade. “I’m not saying we don’t love it, but we don’t need it, financially speaking. It’s just something we want.” That carefree desire is imprinted across new album Kx5, as the duo of dance music titans use these 10 tracks try things out in the context of their respective styles, and more often than not — from the breathless groove of the AR/CO collaboration “Bright Lights” to the strobing, dance-siren emotion of “Escape” with Hayla — that process of saying “f–k it” pays dividends.

Hozier, Eat Your Young EP 

Hozier has been able to transcend the success of breakthrough smash “Take Me To Church” due to his songwriting panache — it’s the reason why he’s headlining Madison Square Garden later this year instead of being relegated to one-hit wonder status. Eat Your Young, a new three-song EP that precedes his upcoming third album Unreal Unearth, references Dante’s Inferno and the sins of gluttony and heresy, but does in a way that draws in the listener without preening like a college paper: the title track, for instance, charms with a strings-laden, bluesy chorus, letting its message seep in slowly and effectively.

Melanie Martinez, “Death” 

Melanie Martinez is the type of artist that does not drop by between album cycles for one-off singles and tossed-off collaborations: the avant-garde pop auteur instead creates bold, expansive worlds with each project, and when one is complete, she stows away for a few years to make another. “I’m back from the dead, back from the dead,” Martinez declares on the chorus of “Death,” the lead single to upcoming album Portals, and while the dramatic five-minute track can be connected to her artistic reawakening with every project, the kinetic drums and electronic elements will also make listeners feel reborn, too.

Avenged Sevenfold, “Nobody” 

On their first new single since 2016, hard-rock veterans Avenged Sevenfold try to make up for lost time by seemingly deploying all of their finely crafted skills in six minutes — guitar chugs morph into searing solos, pummeling verses lead into sky-high hooks, and the groove conveys a nervousness before all of the tension is eventually released. “Nobody” evolves around M. Shadows’ philosophical prodding, his voice heavy with the weight of his life questions — but that man can howl like no other, and his vocals still take hold of the listener after a long layoff.

17 Mar 2023

Taylor Swift, Lionel Richie & Paul McCartney Are the Only Writers With 6 Grammy Nods for Song of the Year: A Side-by-Side Comparison

Taylor Swift has a reputation as one of the finest songwriters of her generation. Grammy voters seem to agree – she has received six song of the year nominations since 2009, which puts her in a tie with Lionel Richie and Paul McCartney for the most by any songwriter in Grammy history.

Richie wrote five of his six song of the year nominees by himself. He teamed with Michael Jackson to write his sixth, “We Are the World.”

By contrast, Swift and McCartney wrote just one of their song of the year nominees by themselves. Swift was the sole writer of “Lover.” McCartney was the sole writer of “Ebony and Ivory.”

Swift teamed with Liz Rose to write two of her nominated songs; with Max Martin and Shellback to write two others; and with Aaron Dessner to write one. McCartney and John Lennon were credited as co-writers of all five nominated songs that were recorded by The Beatles.

“Anti-Hero,” which Swift co-wrote with Jack Antonoff, seems very likely to be nominated for song of the year when the nods for the 66th annual Grammy Awards are announced later this year. That would give her a tiebreaking seventh nomination.

Unlike McCartney and Richie, Swift has yet to win in the category. McCartney won on his third nomination, for “Michelle,” a charming tune from The Beatles’ Rubber Soul that few would regard as one of his or their greatest songs. Richie won on his sixth nomination, for USA for Africa‘s “We Are the World.” That song raised millions to fight starvation in Africa and hunger here in the U.S., but it’s more admired for its purpose and intentions than its songcraft.

As Swift launches her 52-date The Eras Tour in Glendale, Ariz. on Friday (March 17), we have prepared this list showing you each of these songwriters’ six Grammy nominations – in a handy, side-by-side format.

17 Mar 2023

Country Music Association Introduces New Membership Tiers

The Country Music Association has launched two new membership tiers in an effort to attract a younger and broader membership body.

In addition to the already-established professional membership tier, the CMA is introducing an industry membership tier for current and prospective music industry professionals who do not work fulltime in country music, such as many touring personnel. It is also adding a student membership tier for high school and college students.

The COVID-19 pandemic became a catalyst for strategic planning initiatives to serve the existing 6,300-person membership, as well as extend to the next generation of the music industry.

“We asked ourselves, ‘How are we meeting the needs of our industry today as well as our industry tomorrow?’” CMA CEO Sarah Trahern tells Billboard via email. “Of course, we always want to ensure the integrity of the CMA Awards process, but we also want to provide a larger platform for dialogue and issues important to the music business as a whole. Our experience during the pandemic certainly helped us realize that a lot of people in our larger music community didn’t qualify for CMA membership, even if they were doing significant work in the country music space.”

The changes allow for “an easier pipeline for young people to enter our business, an opportunity to work with music industry personnel who may not work in country music 24/7, and an open door for country music professionals at large organizations who might not have had the chance to engage closely with CMA based on our membership criteria and how it was closely connected to awards voting,” she continues.

The student tier is free to high school and college students, age 16 or older, who are interested in working in the music industry. Student members will receive access to internships and apprenticeships, as well as access to programming from CMA’s collegiate professional development program, CMA EDU.

Dues for the industry tier are $25 annually and includes access to a number of membership benefits, including professional development opportunities, as well as healthcare and mental health resources.

These two new tiers will be added to the existing professional tier, which costs $100 annually and is available to full-time professionals whose work is primarily focused within the country music industry in one of 16 categories including consumption (satellite, digital streaming, radio), musician, personal manager, producer/engineer/studio, talent agent, and publisher/PRO. Professional tier members can access CMA research, professional development opportunities, mentoring, healthcare guidance, CMA’s member directory and opportunities to purchase event tickets. Only professional tier members are considered to join the voting body provided they meet the criteria.

“This new structure gives us the ability to welcome a younger generation in,” Trahern says. “I’m a perfect example. Years ago when I was at TNN, I wasn’t able to become a CMA member because of limitations for larger companies, even though my job was 100% in country music. And all of that makes sense, because CMA membership was previously tied to voting rights, and the integrity of the CMA Awards is extremely important. It took more than five years until someone left the company that I was able to become a CMA member. Now, with this new structure, young people can become members and take advantage of networking opportunities, or healthcare resources. They can attend our events and further become a vibrant and vital part of the CMA community.”

Along with the new membership tiers, a revamped CMA membership website will launch March 20, offering improved website navigation and professional and personal development resources.

“We will continue to evolve and we have to be able to be agile to the needs of our members,” Tiffany Kerns, executive director of the CMA Foundation and vp, community outreach, tells Billboard. “The changes allow us to be more inclusive and allow us to broaden our reach. We want to make sure we are hearing their needs loud and clear.”

The new membership tiers are among the latest initiatives from the CMA, which earlier this year launched a diversity and inclusion fellowship, and last year debuted the Women’s Leadership Academy.

17 Mar 2023

‘God Told Me to Be a Disurptor’: Princess Nokia Talks Getting Vulnerable and Not Worrying About Being ‘TikTok-Able’ on New Album

Speaking in a calm, almost sleepy tone, Princess Nokia sums up her ethos.

“That’s really what it is, in a nutshell: I’m just a music lover,” she concludes within the first few minutes of talking to Billboard. “Like in Almost Famous – I’m like Lester Bangs.” 

It’s important to note that the New York City native singer and rapper compares herself not to the rock ‘n rollers featured throughout that 2000 cult-classic film, but the disruptive music journalist who studied the acts and even urged a young Cameron Crowe not to befriend them. (Nokia later adds that she, too, doesn’t have a ton of deep friendships with fellow artists). “I find myself writing about music more than I find myself writing music [itself],” she continues.

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It adds up, once you hear the self-professed music student’s catalog — each project living on its own distinct genre island, with the sufficient through-line being the multidisciplinary princess herself. “There are so many different types of Princess Nokia fans, because there’s so many different types of Princess Nokia music,” she says. 

Before taking on the Princess Nokia pseudonym, the Arista signee (born Destiny Nicole Frasqueri) went by both Wavy Spice and her given first name, releasing danceable jungle tracks like “B—h I’m Posh” and the Puerto Rican love letter, “Yaya.” Even a decade ago, the self-titled “disruptor” knew she would never be confined, releasing cyber-pop flavors on her debut album, 2014’s Metallic Butterfly, alongside hard-hitting raps on “The Butterfly Knife Prequel.” 

After making the switch to her “alter ego” Princess Nokia, the avid music student released five new albums, from the rap rhythms of 2016’s 1992 Deluxe to 2020’s punk-infused Everything Sucks. While she hasn’t had a ton of chart hits, Princess Nokia’s name continues to reverberate throughout the underground, with cuts like her 2020 mega-inclusive single “I Like Him” racking up nearly 200,000 TikTok creates and becoming the singer’s first single to earn an RIAA gold certification.

Today, Princess Nokia finds herself fascinated with grief. Her latest offering, i love you but this is goodbye (just released this Tuesday, March 14), takes an intimate look at the journey from heartbreak to self-love, through an amalgamation of her multidimensional selves: cyber-pop, drill, punk, hip-hop and dance music. “I wrote you this album for my closure,” she repeats six times, mantra-style, on the EP’s opening track. But even in an industry painfully bending itself outside of genre confines, the 30-year-old artist’s grab-bag project could still be considered uncomfortably experimental for tried and true label strategy. 

“[Labels] know they’re signing up for a genre-defying artist who has a very devoted niche fan base that is going to stay with them ‘till the end of time, because that’s what the message of my music is,” she says, plainly pointing to the heart of her boundary-blurring success. “I hope the vulnerable parts and the emotional parts resonate with people, because love is emotional,” she explains. “But I hope the takeaway is that we all be happy with ourselves no matter what.” 

Below, the singer and rapper talks with Billboard about her latest project, and the ways her views on love and relationships have changed over the years.

This new project, i love you but this is goodbye — it’s sort of like the stages of a breakup.

Exactly. I even wrote in my journal, it’s similar to the seven stages of grief. It’s about discernment with love, and taking the inspiration and the guise of love and being able to walk away from toxic or unfortunate circumstances. It’s dedicated to my dignity and my boundaries. I wasn’t trying to hop on any trends. I wasn’t trying to be at the zeitgeist of a sound. I wasn’t trying to make it TikTok-able. Not that I have anything against those things.

I think it’s cool how it encompasses so many different sounds, while remaining cohesive. Where do you think that cohesion comes from? 

I think the cohesion comes from my understanding of music composition and producing. I had a hand in composing and co-producing a lot of this music, because there was a sound that I was specifically going for. I wanted to take inspiration from music I like and music that’s already popular now — and also dialed back to my roots, which is drum, bass, jungle and electronica. I’m grateful that people understand that music now, or that it crossed over from Europe to New York and to the states. It’s something that I’ve been drawing inspiration from for almost a decade.

Every song is a part of the Princess Nokia discography. And there’s ’90s alt-rock, U.K. garage, techno, and contemporary Spanish with New York drill made by Tweek Tune himself — he’s the guy that made “City of Gods.”

“Lo siento,” that’s probably my favorite song on the project. 

Thank you. That’s actually the song that made this project. It was a cathartic process. I made ilybtig after I was leaving a tumultuous chapter in my life. Instead of holding it in, going back to the promises I made to myself of saying goodbye, I decided to write something from the heart and make something of substance. I had made all this music that I was sitting on, but it didn’t tell a story. But when I made “lo siento,” I saw potential for a record or a project no matter how short it was. 

How does your personal music taste translate to what you create?

I just love so many forms of music that it translates into my personality. I do like to affirm my free will in making music, and that is confusing to certain people. But that’s the ethos of Princess Nokia. I can embody any musicality that I want, because it’s my autonomy to do so. And I have the dominion to do so. And that’s a very powerful and privileged and special thing that I am very grateful for.

Did you ever face pushback when it came to not adhering to one specific thing?

Yes, it always has. Sometimes from new fans. It’s always followed me my whole life. From the beginning of my career to even this very day. Every day, there is internal pushback, because I don’t want to feel like I’m confusing people. But then I realized, like — I’m not a confusing person. I’m the most square person, wholesome, happy go lucky person I know. But there’s never pushback where I’m making music; The producers I’m working with, my management, my label. Sometimes maybe my peers don’t understand me.

Did you struggle with that?

No, I always was comfortable with it — up until now. Now I suffer from imposter syndrome, as I think anyone would, being in the public eye. But I realized — and I made peace with it a long time ago — that I am meant to disrupt algorithms [and] societal and cultural norms. That was my premise, that’s what God told me to do. To be a disruptor. I am proud of all the music that I’ve made. And I really love the path that I chose — that chose me. It’s one that is a little bit more misunderstood, but it is completely of my own dominion. 

What came to form your perspective on love?

I’m still figuring that out. But I know that it comes from a very godly, peaceful, unconditional and admirable place. I decided to use the [subject] of love, because I’ve never used that before. I have so many projects but I’ve never been vulnerable emotionally. I’ve never used the subject of relationships or love or heartbreak ever as a theme or motif ever — because I’ve always been conditioned to be a survivalist, a strong person, a leader. I never wanted to be clichéd. I always felt too emotionally vulnerable to share that part of my life with the world. I felt like I ain’t got nothing else to say — I done said “bitch” a billion times or talked about how great and grandiose I am. I’ve talked about everything under the sun that was going on in my soul or my heart or what I’m dealing with as a person. 

Why is it important for you to do that publicly?

Because I’ve always adult-ified myself out of survival, making myself seem like a very strong person — which I am, but I’m also very fragile and vulnerable and I’ve been through some wild shit that people would have no idea of in any capacity. I felt like I can’t put out any music without putting my heart on the table. And I’m not trying to romanticize or hyper-sensualize anything, I’m really just trying to be vulnerable and honest about love. And love of oneself, even though centered around romantic love. There is a climax that happens at the end where it’s about loving myself again. 

If you could give a piece of advice to your younger self about relationships, what would it be?

To never accept the bare minimum. And not to care about relationships. I’ve been dating seriously since I was 14 years old. And I wish I was in drama club. I wish I was in AP English. I wish I was in chess, wish I was fencing. I wish that I had more love.

I was an abused child. So I used intimacy and relationships as escapism because I wasn’t receiving love and empowerment and my house. My dad loves me very much and is a wonderful person in my life, but I didn’t get to live with him until I was 16. I didn’t have formative love, parent love. I was engaging in a lot of very mature love at a very early age. And I really wish that I would have started dating much further along in life. I want my childhood back, I want those sleepovers, I want that wholesomeness. I want and I deserved that. 

Is not having that part of what inspires your love for Y2K that we see in your branding?

I call it my second adolescence. In New York, being fly was the universal language of our people. Unfortunately, for me, I wasn’t allowed to be cool. I wasn’t allowed to take part in the modern subculture that my peers engaged in. And I wanted to so bad, but I wasn’t allowed to wear the things that all my friends were wearing. I felt like the loser in school that everybody made fun of. Who had a Jansport backpack and fake Skechers. It really did f—g suck.

When I was around 17, I was like, “I am allowed to do anything I want now — I’m going to wear the things that I wanted to wear during those time periods. I’m going to start using that inspiration as my way of getting my adolescence back.” Whether it’s hip-hop, rock, rap, I think [the early 2000s] was an incredible time for artistic direction in pop culture.