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15 Mar 2023

Matthew Lawrence Clears Up Comments About Starting a Family With TLC’s Chilli

Matthew Lawrence sat down for a new interview on Wednesday (March 15) to walk back his recent comments about starting a family with girlfriend Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas.

“It’s such an interesting story. Joe and I were commiserating about this plan that we had to have children together…when we were growing up,” he told E! News of a recent conversation with his older brother Joey Lawrence. “And I missed the first go around and now he’s starting a new family and I was thinking, ‘Man, it’d be great if we could do it again, when I didn’t have the chance to raise a family together.’”

However, the middle Lawrence brother was quick to insist that his comments weren’t specific to his new relationship with the TLC member. “So that’s what I meant by that,” he continued. “I didn’t mean to put any pressure on somebody I was dating or anything.”

The Money Plane actor and Chilli have been linked since before the holidays, when they posted an adorable lip sync to a-ha’s “Take On Me” on Instagram wearing matching onesies. In the new interview, Lawrence also raved about his new love, saying, “She’s an amazing person. She’s already a mother, she has an incredible son. I respect so much as to how she’s raised him. She’d be an incredible mother again and I’d be incredibly lucky but that’s way in the future.”

While the couple’s plans for a baby may be on hold, Chilli is set to embark on her Hot Summer Nights Tour with TLC bandmate T-Boz and Shaggy, along with special guests En Vogue and Sean Kingston, starting June 1 in Alabama.

15 Mar 2023

NiziU’s ‘Paradise’ Hits No. 1, Naniwa Danshi’s ’Special Kiss’ Debuts at No. 2 on Japan Hot 100

NiziU’s “Paradise” shoots to No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, tracking the week from Mar. 6 to 12 and released Mar. 15.

The latest track from the nine-member girl group hit No. 1 after debuting at No. 23 on last week’s chart, powered by downloads (No. 1 for the metric). The CD version went on sale this tracking week and the song came in at No. 2 for sales with 168,938 copies sold, while also faring well in the other metrics of the chart’s methodology: No. 3 for downloads, No. 13 for streaming, and No. 4 for video views and radio.

Naniwa Danshi’s “Special Kiss” debuts at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 this week, ruling sales with 512,690 copies but unable to support that advantage in the other metrics — for example, No. 13 for video and No. 24 for radio. 

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Looking at first-week sales figures of both groups’ previous singles, NiziU’s “Blue Moon” sold 207,252 copies, meaning the new single is down by about 18.5 percent. Naniwa Danshi’s “Happy Surprise” sold 517,381 copies, so the new release is also down but only slightly by about 0.9 percent. However, “Blue Moon” came in at No. 46 for downloads, No. 92 in streaming, No. 42 in video, and No. 61 in radio, so the J-pop girl group managed to significantly improve in various other metrics besides sales for their new single to take the top position on the latest song chart.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

For the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Mar. 6 to 12, see here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account. 

15 Mar 2023

Japan’s ONE N’ ONLY Break Down March Single ‘We’ll rise again’

J-pop boy band ONE N’ ONLY dropped a new single called ”We’ll rise again” on March 8, the third in the group’s five-month streak of new releases currently underway celebrating the group’s fifth anniversary, following “YOU???” and “Get That (PT-BR ver.).” “We’ll rise again” is also the six-member group’s first single in about four years to be released in physical form since “Category/My Love” from 2019.

Members EIKU, TETTA, REI, HAYATO, KENSHIN, and NAOYA chatted with Billboard Japan about their March offering and broke down each of the tracks included on the CD single.

“We’ll rise again” is featured as the theme of the your movie Battle King! -We’ll rise again-, set for release in Japanese theaters March 10.

HAYATO: This song has been around for a while, but when we were casted as a group in our first starring movie, we changed the lyrics to link it to the film’s content.

Since you knew it would be the theme of the group’s first starring movie, it must have felt different than usual when you were recording it.

EIKU: Yes. We recorded the first verse before we started filming. Then we recorded the second verse after we wrapped, so it helped us put more feeling into it because we could see how faithful the song was to the film and it was like the meaning of the lyrics became clearer.

HAYATO: The scenes came to mind, didn’t it?

EIKU: Yeah. We later re-recorded the first verse and made it even better. The character I play, Genjiro, used to be a delinquent, but he gets into hip-hop dance and finds his dream. There’s this scene where he expresses his determination to the art school principal and it’s a really touching moment. I sang my part with that scene in mind, so my voice sounds more emotional.

TETTA: The movie depicts a future where the characters aim for global success, and singing with that feeling is the same as where we’re at right now as ONE N’ ONLY, so it was easy for me to get into the feeling.

REI: The lyrics are really linked to the story, so I think you can enjoy it twice!

Will fans be able to check out your movie outside of Japan?

TETTA: Unfortunately, there’s no plan for international theatrical release.

HAYATO: But on-demand video streaming services are everywhere now so it’d be nice if people could catch it.

TETTA: We could do our own voice-overs.

NAOYA: Come on, there will be subtitles! [Everyone laughs]

HAYATO: But if it’s dubbed, I’d love to see who does our voices.

NAOYA: The movie version of the drama series I was in called his – Koi suru tsumori nante nakatta – (“I didn’t intend to fall in love”) is being distributed in Brazil with subtitles. I know someone from Brazil who got to know ONE N’ ONLY because of that.

KENSHIN: We could do a Portuguese version of the first rap battle scene.

EIKU: Then we’d have to ask everyone who performed with us to learn Portuguese.

KENSHIN: Sounds like a lot of work, but fun!

“We’ll rise again” will be released on CD along with its digital formats. How do you feel about that?

NAOYA: The last time was “Category/My Love” in 2019, so it’s been a long time.

HAYATO: Putting songs out in physical format is always a great feeling.

Two other songs are included in the CD single. Tell us about “GIFT.”

HAYATO: It’s a gentle love song, following “My Love.” I think our SWAGs also enjoy these kinds of straightforward J-POP numbers. It has a more mature worldview than “My Love,” and the chorus contains a message about the importance of the ordinary things in life. We performed it at our Christmas concert last year, so I’m really looking forward to sharing it with everyone.

REI: The lyrics are straightforward, and the song changes keys so it’s not boring. We sing the lyrics clearly so the message probably comes through.

HAYATO: The choreography is cute too.

REI: It’d be great if people could remember the hand-waving at the end and the hugging gestures since they’re easy to imitate.

NAOYA: The other song, “QUEEN,” is pretty daring for us. It’s the sexiest song we’ve ever done.

HAYATO: It depends on how you look at it, but it’s steamy! [Laughs]

NAOYA: No doubt about it. I want people to see our performance after memorizing the lyrics.

HAYATO: We did a performance using a microphone stand as one of the highlights of our tour, and when you hear it with the song’s content in mind, it’s definitely different!

REI: The lyrics are hard to understand on first listen, aren’t they?

TETTA: We encourage everyone to read the lyrics while listening to it.

REI: People will be like, “Ooh la la!” [Laughs]

TETTA: It’s a song that we can sing because we’re who we are today.

REI: You don’t find many songs like this in Japan. Content like this would be glossed over in other J-pop songs, but here it’s up front, which I think is a message from our songwriters that they expect us to express these kinds of things and compete with our musicality.

KENSHIN: The song is finely broken up for each of our parts, and we try new expressions down to our fingertips, so I’d like people to look out for that, too.

I look forward to seeing these songs live again.

EIKU: They’re tracks that will definitely add more power to our live performances, so I hope everyone enjoys these three songs this month.

—This interview by Kana Yoshida first appeared on Billboard Japan

15 Mar 2023

Beware of Scammers Posing as Billboard Contributors

It’s come to our attention that there are scammers on social media asking people for money in exchange for Billboard coverage. To state it clearly: Billboard contributors never accept money in exchange for Billboard coverage.

If someone reaches out to you asking for money in exchange for coverage in print or online, please do not send that person money. These social media accounts are not affiliated with Billboard in any fashion, although many of them pretend to be. Many of these accounts post photos, articles and biographical information they’ve copied from real Billboard contributors’ social media accounts.

Please beware of the numerous imposters currently running this scam. While we report these accounts, we do not have the ability to ban or freeze these social media accounts ourselves. If a social media user asks you for payment and promises Billboard coverage, block the user and report the account to the social media platform directly.

You can find Billboard‘s contact information here.

15 Mar 2023

Action Bronson & New Balance Collaborate On New Balance 990v6 “Baklava” Collection

HipHopWired Featured Video

NBA Leather: Action Bronson and Earl Sweatshirt Perform At O2 Academy Brixton

Source: Burak Cingi / Getty

With adidas’ popularity out in these street waning thanks to both Kanye West’s antisemitic outbursts and cutting ties with Kanye West over said outburst (can’t win for losing), New Balance is looking to come up further in the sneaker world. And they have a rap artist of their own in mind to help them get there.

Hypebeast is reporting that a new Action Bronson x New Balance collaboration is on the way. Just like the “Easy Rider” rapper, the New Balance 990v6 “Baklava” and the capsule collection that accompanies it is a very colorful affair. From bright yellow to more earth tone colors, the new collection is sure to catch eyes and even lure customers over to the New Balance side of things. (Just look at the resale prices for some NB sneakers that you never see on the block).

From Hypebeast:

Sneaking a shot of the shoe on-foot in his latest preview of the collaboration, Bronson has brought a banana yellow to the 990v6’s midsole and mudguard. Magenta laces also enter the mix while gray outfits a majority of the upper’s mixed material composition. Typical New Balance branding arrives with the “N” logo in silver and a co-branded tongue completing this first look at the arrangement.

Action Bronson was more than excited to be a part of the new collection. On his IG page, he let as much be known in the following caption. “I FLEW IN A HOT ASS MODEL FOR THE SHOOT IM SO PROUD TO WORK WITH THIS STUD. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE INVOLVED BEHIND THE SCENE FOR HELP BRINGING THIS MADNESS TO LIFE IN REALITY. IT WAS AND IS AN HONOR TO WORK WITH SUCH DEDICATED AND TALENTED MINDS. EVERYTHING DROPS THIS FRIDAY ON SPECIALIZINGINLIFE.com.”

While we don’t expect New Balance to reach Yeezy heights anytime soon, they’re definitely rising in popularity. And this new collection is poised to help them get more fans and customers when it drops later this week.

The Action Bronson x New Balance collab is set to drop March 17 via Specializinginlife.com followed by a New Balance release March 24. Will you be picking up any pieces from this collection? Let us know in the comments section below.

15 Mar 2023

BLACKPINK’s Jennie Stuns as Star of Calvin Klein’s Spring Campaign: Watch

Calvin Klein just released a series of gorgeous photos and videos launching the brand’s new spring campaign, shot in black(pink) and white. And, starring alongside fellow ambassadors FKA Twigs, Kendall Jenner, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Michael B. Jordan is BLACKPINK‘s Jennie, continuing her long-running partnership with the fashion house.

In the spring advertisements, the 27-year-old K-pop star stuns with long, dark waves and chopped bangs, paired with simple makeup and different combinations of Calvin Klein looks. In one photo, she stares down the camera wearing a matching sports bra and underwear set, and in another, she wears a jean jacket while posing next an adorable kitten.

Jennie also starred in a solo video for the campaign, expertly modeling more underwear and denim looks to “I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself” by The White Stripes. At one point, she sensually bites a petal off a rose flower, a visual nod to one of the song’s lyrics: “Like a summer rose…”

Calvin Klein summarized the focus of the spring campaign in just a couple words — “soft minimalism” — under a couple photos of Jennie posted to the brand’s Instagram account.

By now, the “SOLO” singer is a bonafide Calvin Klein veteran, having starred in the brand’s 2022 spring and fall campaigns. She and her BLACKPINK bandmates Lisa, Jisoo and Rosé are currently in the middle of their Born Pink world tour, supporting their September-released album of the same name. The record debuted atop the Billboard 200 and charted two tracks in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, “Pink Venom” and “Shut Down.”

Watch Jennie work it in Calvin Klein’s new spring campaign above.

15 Mar 2023

Shawn Mendes New Tommy Hilfiger ‘Classics Reborn’ Collection Focuses on Sustainability, Recycled Materials

Shawn Mendes has roped some friends and family into the ad for his new sustainable Tommy Hilfiger collaboration, Tommy X Shawn Classics Reborn. The 28-piece mens and womenswear capsule collection launched on Wednesday (March 15) with an ad featuring sister Aaliyah Mendes, artist/songwriter and friend Jon Vinyl, producer Mike Sabath, artist Ahmad Cissé, author/model Maye Musk, designer Czarina Kwong, models Yvesmark Chery and Jane Pathammavong and champion for change Deprise Lons.

“I’m so excited to be working with my Tommy Hilfiger family on the Classics Reborn  collection,” said Mendes in a statement promoting the line that features materials crafted from recycled textiles and Recycrom, a new dye-making technique that reprocesses fibers by turning pre-consumer factory cutting waste into a colored powder. “The collection is so special to me because I was able to work with Tommy Hilfiger to co-create this range which includes these amazing, high-quality, sustainable versions of their most classic clothing items.” 

“What if we could reinvent what once was tossed aside?,” Mendes asks in the ad for the clothing line that leans into the brand’s signature red, white and blue color palette. “Take it, remake it, change is always vital. There’s not better time to surround yourself with inspiration, with people who move you. With clothing made from discarded fabrics, colored with memories and reborn into new icons.”

The release notes that the collection was inspired by Hilfiger’s take on “pre-90s prep,” with an emphasis on inclusivity across four principles: Color Reborn, Materials Reborn, Self Reborn and Community Reborn. “The Tommy X Shawn Classics Reborn collection marks another step towards realizing our vision for sustainability, as we aim to create fashion that Wastes Nothing and Welcomes All,” said Hilfiger in the statement. “Shawn is an impressive young man and advocate for positive change. We’re proud to partner with him and continue playing our part in creating a more responsible future of fashion.”

To mark the launch of the global campaign, Hilfiger and Mendes are hosting a series of events in London, Berlin, Milan and Mexico City; the pieces are available here and in Tommy Hilfiger stores and retail partners worldwide.

Check out the Tommy X Shawn ad and some images from the campaign below.

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Cass Bird

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Shawn Mendes x Tommy Hilfiger

Cass Bird

15 Mar 2023

Shinedown Takes Sole Possession of Rock & Alternative Airplay Top 10 Record

Shinedown pulls ahead of Foo Fighters for sole possession of the most top 10s tallied on Billboard’s Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, as “Dead Don’t Die” leaps from No. 12 to No. 8 on the March 18-dated survey.

In the March 3-9 tracking week, “Die” earned 3 million audience impressions, according to Luminate. That’s a 19% boost over the previous period (2.5 million).

Shinedown adds its 15th top 10, breaking the band out of a tie with Foo Fighters for the most in the chart’s 14-year history. The Brent Smith-led Shinedown first hit the top 10 with “Sound of Madness,” which peaked at No. 2 in July 2009. The act has one No. 1: “The Crow & the Butterfly,” a four-week ruler in 2010.

Most Top 10s, Rock & Alternative Airplay:
15, Shinedown
14, Foo Fighters
13, Cage the Elephant
13, Imagine Dragons
13, twenty one pilots
11, The Black Keys
11, Muse
10, Weezer

“Die” makes three top 10s in a row for Shinedown, following “Daylight” (No. 4, last August) and “Planet Zero” (No. 5, March 2022).

“Die” concurrently rises 6-5 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, continuing Shinedown’s streak of sending every one of its entries to the top five – 30 in all, dating to 2003. Of those, a chart-record 18 have hit No. 1.

“Die” also jumps 25-19 on the multi-metric Hot Hard Rock Songs survey. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 323,000 official U.S. streams March 3-9.

The track is the third rock radio single from Planet Zero, Shinedown’s seventh studio album. The set bowed at No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums tally last July and has earned 164,000 equivalent album units to date. A pop radio-only single from the LP, “A Symptom of Being Human,” concurrently starts at No. 36 on Adult Pop Airplay.

15 Mar 2023

Rina Sawayama Calls Working on ‘John Wick 4’ a ‘Dream Situation’: Keanu Reeves ‘Was So Sweet’

Rina Sawayama is gearing up to make her feature film debut in John Wick 4 this spring. Ahead of the release of the movie on May 27, the “Hold the Girl” singer sat down for an interview with Good Morning America on Wednesday (March 15) to talk about how she was cast, what the stunt work was like and her experience working with Keanu Reeves.

“It was honestly like a Hollywood dream situation,” the pop star said of being cast as Akira Shimazu in the movie. “I’d been doing self tapes in the background for a couple years. I’ve never actually landed anything. I came very close, though, actually getting The Matrix, which is a whole different story. I actually got a called out of the blue from Chad Stahelski, the director. He said, ‘I’m trying to find this role and I’ve seen your music videos, and I see that you act and I can see that you do dance and choreography and fight scenes … What are you doing for the next three months?’”

Two days later, Sawayama said, she was in Berlin filming for John Wick 4. Her time on set came to a brief halt early on after sustaining a minor injury while trying to perform the action choreography, and needed to take a week off to recover.

“Chad and John Wick …the style of shooting of action is that you shoot from start to finish. It’s not very choppy in terms of the cuts, and so you need to learn the choreography from start to finish,” she explained. “It’s long sequences, and actually on the first week, I pinched a nerve in my back just doing the most basic moves, so that was so not cool. After a week, I had the best medical treatment and got better and I was able to learn it all. Five weeks, it felt like it wasn’t long enough. I wanted more time.”

Of working with the movie’s star, Keanu Reeves, Sawayama revealed that decades-long reports of him being kind and easy to work with are indeed true. “He was so sweet. Obviously knowing it was my first role, [he was] just looking after me behind the scenes,” she explained, adding that when the cameras stop rolling, Reeves is humble. “He’s not a very showy person. He does things a lot behind the scenes to make sure everyone is feeling OK. So kind, and honestly, he can turn off the celebrity, which is a weird thing to say. You think someone like Keanu walking around on set has an air of celebrity around them constantly, but he’s just there to work. I didn’t feel intimidated at all.”

During the summer, the pop star will hit up the music festival circuit. She’s also set to perform at Governors Ball, Bonnaroo, Roskilde, Mad Cool and others before concluding at Lollapalooza Berlin in September.

Watch Sawayama talk about filming John Wick 4 in the video above.

15 Mar 2023

SXSW 2023: RBD Manager Guillermo Rosas & Live Nation’s Hans Schafer Talk Influence of Latin Music on Global Touring

Tours by Latin artists have reached new heights in the past year.

Bad Bunny closed out 2022 with a record-breaking $435 million in tour grosses, thanks to his El Ultimo Tour del Mundo and World’s Hottest Tour treks. Rosalía graduated from clubs to arenas, becoming an international touring powerhouse with her global Motomami Tour.

And it’s not just current hitmakers that are riding the wave. It’s also legacy acts such as Los Bukis, who embarked on a historic reunion stadium tour in 2021. And newcomer Feid, who was able to sell out his first U.S. tour in a span of 24 hours.

Now, RBD‘s upcoming Soy Rebelde Tour is poised to be one of the biggest tours of the year. The Mexican pop group’s first trek in 15 years — produced by Live Nation and the band’s manager Guillermo Rosas (also CEO of T6H Entertainment) — the tour has so far sold more than 1.5 million tickets and is filling stadiums and arenas across the world.

The topic on the influence of Latin artists on global touring took center stage at SXSW this year during a panel moderated by Billboard‘s Griselda Flores, senior writer, Latin. In a conversation with Rosas and Hans Schafer, svp of global touring at Live Nation, the one-hour fireside chat examined how tours by Latin artists continue to reach new markets and new audiences.

Below, five takeaways from the panel:

Many factors have contributed to the surge in touring numbers for both established artists and newcomers

Schafer: “For me, this [growth] has been happening for the past 15 years. English radio stations playing Spanish-language music now. The ability to access music that’s happening across the country or across the world. All those factors have contributed to this growth. It’s an exciting time.”

Rosas: “Although television has changed so much, there’s also a value that we can attribute to television. Series featuring Latin artists, such as RBD, were being viewed by audiences who didn’t speak Spanish. It became a trend to learn how to speak Spanish so you could understand the show, and it opened a lot of opportunities for Latin music in general in countries like Brazil or Eastern Europe. There are many different variables but that’s definitely one of them.”

Big tours, not big “Latin” tours

Schafer: “You look at the tours and the results that they’re giving — sure you can break them out into their own, ‘This is the No. 1 Latin tour.’ But when you look at the top 10 [of all tours], they’re in there. They’re in there worldwide, in North America, they’re surpassing a lot of artists in South America, an area that generates a lot of money. When you talk about the importance of global touring for all acts, a huge chunk is in Spanish-language countries. We’re now able to capture the data. It’s giving us the respect and the place of how important those markets are, the purchasing power we have and the impact that the Latin acts have.”

Rosas: “We have as example, Mexico, Brazil and Colombia where you have major international acts like Coldplay that held records in stadiums in Latin America. RBD came and broke all of them. In Colombia, RBD is doing four stadiums in a row, sold out. No other artist in the world has done that. Latin artists are capable of doing massive numbers.”

RBD’s reunion tour: Go big or go home

Rosas: “It was one of those reunions that was bound to happen at some point. It’s a complex structure, because there are so elements surrounding it — their individual careers, independent careers. Hans and I always had a vision that it would be successful when the time came. Because we do believe in the size of it, the first strategy was to make it big. If you go to a small arena, then you give the impression that it’s a small tour — but if you have a partner like Hans that believed in it, then we announced stadiums, and people understand that it’s going to be a big tour. A lot of promoters are scared of doing that, but you only have one opportunity for a first impression in this business. Because it’s such a big cultural movement, we needed to do it like that: add to the excitement and emotion.”

Nostalgia tours are having a moment

Rosas: “It is a cultural movement — RBD is bigger than its music. It’s part of growing up with it, and [in terms of] friendship, it’s a big reunion. All these people will get together after 15 years, some that haven’t seen each other in years, and RBD is the connection. It brings you back to amazing memories of childhood or teenage years. And it makes you happy. Los Bukis has a similar story. People grew up with the music, and that’s all you listened to in Mexico back in the day. To bring it back, it brings those emotions back to life. Hans and I worked on the Versus Tour in 2016 with Alejandra Guzmán and Gloria Trevi — we played on nostalgia. It was massively successful.”

Promising markets for Latin artists

Schafer: “We’ve seen that Europe has shifted in terms of the ability of going a little bit outside the box of your traditional market would be. Spain is the anchor for a lot of these acts to go out there. More and more, the U.K., France, Italy. You’ve seen more stuff in Poland, we’ve done shows in Tel Aviv. It’s the best time for a Latin artist. Musically and from touring-wise, you have the ability to go pretty wide, and if you have the right team, you can build a real career outside of traditional markets. I’m also excited about Australia and Japan — really the outskirts of the world that we haven’t hit [where] I know there’s a market.”

You can listen to the entire conversation here.