News

Executive Turntable: Spotify Podcast Division Undergoes Re-Org; RCA UK Names Co-Presidents

Max Cutler, Spotify‘s head of audio talk shows and partnerships, is departing to “return to his entrepreneurial roots,” according to the company. His exit is part of a broader reorganization at the streaming company’s podcast division, where Julie McNamara has been appointed to lead licensed exclusives in addition to her oversight of Spotify’s global podcast studios. Additionally, Bryan Thoensen will continue overseeing content partnerships for third-party creators while expanding both those efforts and his team, while Bill Simmons will now report to podcasting head Sahar Elhabashi; in addition to continuing to lead The Ringer, Simmons will partner with vp/global head of ads business & platform Lee Brown on podcast monetization across the Spotify portfolio. No layoffs are connected to these shifts, according to the company.

Stacey Tang and Glyn Aikins were named co-presidents of RCA UK; both have worked at the label since 2018, with Tang most recently serving as executive vp while Aikins was co-president of Sony Music’s Since 93, a label partnership with RCA. Tang was named to Billboard‘s International Power Players list last year.

Robin Godfrey-Cass joined Primary Wave Music to focus on catalog acquisitions for the publishing giant. Godfrey Cass has over 40 years of experience in the music industry, including as managing director at Warner/Chappell Music UK and Round Hill Carlin UK; founder of Crosstown Songs; and co-founder of Perfect Storm, which eventually sold to Reservoir.

Cathy Bauer was appointed to the newly created role of head of physical sales & marketing at ADA Worldwide. In the role, she will manage ADA’s global physical sales and marketing division “with a focus on growing partners’ businesses and establishing efficient and standardized processes,” according to a press release. Bauer will additionally be tasked with identifying growth and innovation opportunities for ADA’s artists and partners, including through direct-to-consumer initiatives. She reports to ADA Worldwide president Cat Kreidich. Bauer joins ADA from ABKCO Music & Records, where she served as vp of sales & marketing for nearly five years.

Concord promoted 12 staff members to vp and senior vp roles across multiple business areas: Carol Boldish to vp of production, Concord Label Group (Nashville); Tom Frank to vp of sync marketing, Concord Label Group (London); David Geer to vp of music & publications, Concord Theatricals (New York); Shane Guitar to vp of operations, Fearless Records (Los Angeles); Randy Linsey to vp of international marketing & sales, Craft Recordings (Los Angeles); Clare Maxwell to vp of marketing, Concord Label Group (London); Elysha Miracle to senior vp of rights data management (Nashville); Meredith O’Leary to vp of sync marketing, Concord Label Group (New York); Gary Paczosa to senior vp of A&R, Rounder Records (Nashville); Stephen Phillips to vp of sync, Concord Music Publishing (London); Kelly Voigt to senior vp of corporate communications (Nashville); and Marty Willard to senior vp of business & legal affairs (remote).

Parlophone Records announced several key promotions and hires, chiefly Jack Melhuish, who has been named GM. He will continue to oversee and develop campaigns for Parlophone’s roster while also taking on wider responsibilities at the label. Additionally, Arina Logacheva, Molly McNulty and Seb Smith have been hired as senior A&R managers while Jason Ngimbi was hired as junior A&R manager. Logacheva joins from Universal Music, McNulty comes from Kobalt Music Publishing, Smith comes from Believe Music and Ngimbi joins from BMG. Lastly, Grace O’Neill was promoted to head of radio while Sam Palm was promoted to head of the newly created insight department, where he will extend the work he’s been doing as streaming head by incorporating more robust audience data.

Marcus Wise was appointed CEO for the European region at Wise Music Group. Previously global head of media, the London-based executive will lead the company’s music publishing and recorded music interests across the continent. Additionally, Dave Holley was named Wise Music Group COO, also based in London.

Alexander Brose, former executive director and CEO of The Tianjin Juilliard School in China, will succeed Dr. Peter Simon as president/CEO of The Royal Conservatory of Music upon Simon’s retirement on Aug. 31, 2024. The transition will begin on Sept. 1, 2023, when Brose will assume the role of president designate and work closely alongside Simon leading up to his departure.

Allison Smith was promoted to vp of promotion at Big Machine/John Varvatos Records; she was previously national director of promotion. In her new role, Smith will continue cultivating relationships between rock radio and the Varvatos imprint’s roster, which includes Badflower, Ayron Jones, Starcrawler, The Struts and Violet Saturn. She can be reached at allison.smith@bmlg.net.

Samantha Steel was named COO at Triple 8 Management, where she will oversee operations, promote a positive company culture and vision and develop solutions for internal communications as well as growth potential for employees and clients. Steel first joined Triple 8 in 2017, when Good Time Inc., where she served as GM, was acquired by the company. She can be reached at Sam@Triple8Mgmt.com.

JukeJoint Foundation, a nonprofit designed to empower women of color in the music business, was launched by Fresh ‘N Sassy Productions and ENCORE Music Tech Solutions founder Janishia Jones out of Los Angeles. Current board members include Live Out L!ve CEO Candace Newman, Exceleration Music head of data strategy Britnee Foreman, Jammcard operations manager Katrina Lee and Mass Appeal head of finance Daphnee Pierre. The Foundation will help women of color forge key professional connections by providing access to music industry events, scholarships to assist in repaying student loan debt and grants to aid the launch of their own music businesses. It plans to open additional chapters in New York, Atlanta and Nashville.

Gail Berger was named senior vp and GM of automotive partnerships at SiriusXM, succeeding Rodney Pickett, who will retire at the end of the month. Reporting to chief commercial officer Joe Verbrugge, Berger will oversee the company’s automotive partnerships, automotive remarketing and automotive field operations teams responsible for growing SiriusXM’s presence in new and used vehicles. Berger, who has been with SiriusXM since 2012, was most recently senior vp of automotive remarketing.

Bryce Sherlow was promoted to A&R manager at Warner Chappell Music in Nashville, while Benji Amaefule was hired in the same role. Amaefule joins from media platform Country Central, where he served as head of artist and label partnerships; he also interviews Nashville artists and writers and reviews new music via his brand TheBenjiChord.

Drive Agency president/CEO Jessy Tolkan was appointed as chairperson of the board of directors at HeadCount, the nonpartisan, nonprofit voter registration organization that harnesses music, culture and digital media to increase voter turnout. She succeeds Peter Shapiro, who recently finished out his four-year term as chair but will keep a seat on the board.

Mary Beth O’Toole launched The Conduit Collaborative, a boutique public relations firm with locations in Los Angeles and Sacramento, Calif. The firm specializes in finding non-traditional pitch angles for clients, ranging from music artists to Washington lobbying firms. It offers a range of PR services, including tour press and red carpet services, and has already worked with the Janis Joplin estate, Universal Music and L.A. Live, among other clients. O’Toole can be reached at info@conduitcollab.com.

Sound Future Foundation, which harnesses the influence of the live event industry to further climate innovation, announced its new board of directors, including board chair Terah Lyons, who previously served as policy advisor to U.S. chief technology officer Megan Smith in President Obama’s Office of Science and Technology Policy and founding executive director of the global nonprofit Partnership on AI. The remainder of the new board includes treasurer Kelci Zile (sustainability partner, Madrona Ventura Labs); secretary Adam Brunner (senior planner & counsel, Wildstar Partners); Brandy Schultz (co-founder/chief marketing officer, Sound Future and founder of Adventure Nannies); Ashley O’Winter (co-founder/COO, Sound Future); Wesley Schultz (songwriter-producer-lead singer of The Lumineers); Sara Full (tour manager); Joe Atamian (senior vp, Wasserman Music); and Alex Bruford (founder/CEO/agent, ATC Live).

ASM Global appointed Leonie Patrick of the San Francisco Travel Association as GM for its San Francisco convention center the Moscone Center. “Her focus will be to actively create an international destination while driving a great value for live meetings and events that drive action within their communities,” said ASM Global executive vp of convention centers Dan Hoffend in a statement.

TAIT — a global group of designers, fabricators, engineers and innovators for live and location-based experiences — promoted Gemma Hodgson to chief commercial officer. Additionally, Jess Chalifoux has joined the company as vp of global business development. Chalifoux reports to Hodgson, who can be reached at gemma.guy@taittowers.com.

Sander Shalinsky was named legal counsel at SRG/ILS Group. In music, Shalinsky is best known for his work with The Weeknd and producer Bob Ezrin, among many other record labels, artists, publishers, managers and music executives.

Singer-songwriter Jewel co-founded Innerworld, a mental health platform that aims to “build the largest community in the metaverse for mental health support,” according to a press release. Jewel will serve as chief strategy officer, while founder Noah Robinson will serve as CEO.

CrossBorderWorks founder/CEO Vickie Nauman joined the advisory board of Web3 company Pixelynx, which develops new formats of music and experiences for the metaverse.

How Lana Del Rey Became ‘Completely Unburdened’ For Her Most Personal Material Yet

Lana Del Rey practices “automatic singing.” Using the improvisational songwriting technique, she lets her voice carry over accompaniments, not commandeering where her words or melodies take her, accepting all ideas she has in the moment and editing them later. Lately, her voice has led her home, back to memories of her childhood in Lake Placid, N.Y., and to ruminations on relationships with her family and the divergent paths they’ve taken.

That subject underpins her upcoming ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (out March 24). Del Rey, 37, says she hesitantly began to unpack this subject matter with her previous album, Blue Banisters — but now, she’s ready to dig deeper. “At first I was so uncomfortable,” she says of the more personal material. “Then, by the grace of God, I just felt completely unburdened.”

Lana Del Rey photographed on January 27, 2023 at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Lia Clay Miller

As a singer-songwriter, this year’s Visionary honoree has embodied that word for over a decade. Her 2012 major-label debut, Born To Die, made her a star and defined music’s Tumblr era, as a young Del Rey toyed with both the romantic and the darker sides of the American dream. Her “world building,” as she calls it now, for her early work created a collage of beautiful and disparate images, pairing hip-hop aesthetics with references to the Kennedy family, Elvis Presley with John Wayne, and old Hollywood glamour with biker gang grit.

Since then, Del Rey has pushed musical boundaries — seamlessly peppering an album with features from Stevie Nicks to Playboi Carti (2017’s Lust for Life), reworking a Sublime cover into a contemporary Billboard Hot 100 hit (2019’s “Doin’ Time”), for instance — while achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success. She has earned six Grammy nominations and holds the record for most No. 1s on Billboard’s Alternative Albums chart. And somehow, each week, it seems a new song from her vast catalog gains traction on TikTok. (“West Coast” and “How To Disappear” are two recent breakouts.) Younger artists often cite her as an inspiration — including Billie Eilish, whom Del Rey now calls “my girl. It makes me feel comforted that music is going in such a good direction.”

Lana Del Rey photographed on January 27, 2023 at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Lia Clay Miller

Since 2019, you’ve released four albums. Is it fair to say you have more creative energy than ever?

I think it might look like that! It’s funny because I keep telling people, “I haven’t worked in three years,” but really I just haven’t done shows in three years. As soon as I start getting ready for a show, that’s when it feels like work.

How has your process changed since Born To Die came out?

Eleven years ago I wanted it to be so good. Now, I just sing exactly what I’m thinking. I’m thinking a little less big and bombastic. Maybe at some point I can have fun creating a world again, but right now, I would say there’s no world building. This music is about thought processing. It’s very, very wordy. I’m definitely living from the neck up.

Lana Del Rey photographed on January 27, 2023 at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Lia Clay Miller

Can you remember what it felt like creatively when you were just starting out?

I think back to the beginning, being in New York. I would just go to a little deli by Grand Central and all you had to do to sit at the table for hours was buy a black coffee. I remember thinking, “I’m doing it. I’m living it.” It was all very thrilling. I was so psyched back then.

You recently featured on Taylor Swift’s “Snow on the Beach.” What was collaborating with her like?

Well, first of all, I had no idea I was the only feature [on that song]. Had I known, I would have sung the entire second verse like she wanted. My job as a feature on a big artist’s album is to make sure I help add to the production of the song, so I was more focused on the production. She was very adamant that she wanted me to be on the album, and I really liked that song. I thought it was nice to be able to bridge that world, since Jack [Antonoff] and I work together and so do Jack and Taylor.

Who do you consider to be a visionary?

Joan Baez. I sang with her recently. She gave me a challenge: She said, “Go down a little road and look for a left turn and find my house [in Northern California]. If you find it and can play ‘Diamonds and Rust’s’ high harmony, I’ll come to Berkeley with you and sing.” So my sister and I rented a car and searched for the house. I was very nervous. I don’t play guitar that well, but I learned the first three chords and sat across from her, [and when] we stopped playing, she was like, “Great, I’ll see you at Berkeley.”

And another visionary to me is Cat Power. I had heard that she would run offstage when she wasn’t feeling it or just turn her back to the [audience] and keep playing. That’s when I knew I could probably do this.

Lana Del Rey photographed on January 27, 2023 at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Lia Clay Miller

This story will appear in the Feb. 25, 2023, issue of Billboard.

Lana Del Rey: Photos From the Billboard Women In Music Shoot

Lana Del Rey practices “automatic singing.” Using the improvisational songwriting technique, she lets her voice carry over accompaniments, not commandeering where her words or melodies take her, accepting all ideas she has in the moment and editing them later. Lately, her voice has led her home, back to memories of her childhood in Lake Placid, N.Y., and to ruminations on relationships with her family and the divergent paths they’ve taken.

That subject underpins her upcoming ninth album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (out March 24). Del Rey, 37, says she hesitantly began to unpack this subject matter with her previous album, Blue Banisters — but now, she’s ready to dig deeper. “At first I was so uncomfortable,” she says of the more personal material. “Then, by the grace of God, I just felt completely unburdened.”

As a singer-songwriter, this year’s Visionary honoree has embodied that word for over a decade. Her 2012 major-label debut, Born To Die, made her a star and defined music’s Tumblr era, as a young Del Rey toyed with both the romantic and the darker sides of the American dream. Her “world building,” as she calls it now, for her early work created a collage of beautiful and disparate images, pairing hip-hop aesthetics with references to the Kennedy family, Elvis Presley with John Wayne, and old Hollywood glamour with biker gang grit.

Since then, Del Rey has pushed musical boundaries — seamlessly peppering an album with features from Stevie Nicks to Playboi Carti (2017’s Lust for Life), reworking a Sublime cover into a contemporary Billboard Hot 100 hit (2019’s “Doin’ Time”), for instance — while achieving both critical acclaim and commercial success.

Read her full Billboard Women in Music profile here.

Rihanna Slated To Perform “Lift Me Up” At 2023 Oscars

HipHopWired Featured Video

NFL: FEB 12 Super Bowl LVII - Eagles vs Chiefs

Rihanna, fresh from rocking the Super Bowl Halftime Show earlier this month, will find herself again on the stage at one of the most prestigious events of the year. The Barbadian superstar and business mogul will perform the soul-stirring “Lift Me Up” at this upcoming Oscars ceremony.

Rihanna is currently expecting her second child while still running her massive Savage X Fenty fashion and beauty empire, but it looked like the prospect of a new album is further in the rearview. However, with the halftime show and the impending Oscars performance, which was announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday (Feb. 23).

As one of the featured songs from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, the Oscar-nominated “Lift Me Up” is nominated for Original Song and serves as Rihanna’s first Oscar nomination. The song was written by Rihanna, Ludwig Göransson, Ryan Coogler, and Tems.

The 95th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood. The live event will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmell.

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty

Kay Flock Indicted On Racketeering & Murder Charges

HipHopWired Featured Video

Kay Flock

Kay Flock was one of eight individuals indicted with racketeering and murder charges among two Bronx, N.Y. gangs. The list of charges for Kay Flock has the potential to land him in prison for life or the death penalty.

Kay Flock, real name Kevin Perez, shot and killed a man in broad daylight in December 2021, just as the budding NY Drill rapper was finding some success as a musical artist. According to the press release released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of New York, Perez was a member of the Sev Side or DOA gang in the Bronx borough and was involved in several crimes with his codefendants dating back to 2019.

From the press release:

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Keechant L. Sewell, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing today of an Indictment charging KEVIN PEREZ, a/k/a “Kay Flock,” a/k/a “Kay,” a/k/a “KK,” DEVON MASON, a/k/a “BJ,” ERVIN BEAMON, a/k/a “EJ,” NICHOLAS JOHNSON, a/k/a “Nick,” SEAN SMITH, a/k/a “Sticky,” and JOSSI CASTRO, a/k/a “Jesse,” with racketeering conspiracy and other crimes related to their membership in “Sev Side,” or “DOA,” a street gang based in the Bronx, New York.

In a superseding indictment from January, the office named two other men, Iszayah Rowson and Michael Gant in the charges and noted their membership in the Third Slide gang, which maintained close ties to the Sev Side group.

The charges the 19-year-old Perez faces are Racketeering Conspiracy, Murder in Aid of Racketeering, Use of a Firearm Resulting in Death, Attempted Murder and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in Aid of Racketeering, Use of a Firearm for Attempted Murder, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.

Photo: Kay Flock / @officialkayflock

Lana Del Rey’s Father, ‘Accidental Musician’ Rob Grant, Prepping Debut Album, ‘Lost At Sea’

Lana Del Rey isn’t the only one in the family with chops. Her dad, Rob Grant, is getting into the music business this summer when he drops his debut album. “Rob Grant here! And the rumors are true! My new album Lost At Sea is coming out on June 9th,” wrote Grant on Instagram along with an image of the album cover, on which the hale and hearty singer stares out over the ocean as seagulls swarm around him.

Grant also released the collection’s first single, the majestic instrumental piano ballad “Setting Sail on a Distant Horizon,” which was co-produced by Del Rey’s frequent collaborator, Jack Antonoff along with Luke Howard. While Lana does not appear on that song — though she reportedly adds vocals to two other songs on the album — the singer makes a smiling cameo in a promo video Grant posted.

According to label Decca Records Grant’s compositions are the work of an admitted amateur with a passion for music. “An accidental recording artist, Grant has never had a lesson on any instrument in his life. No kind of formal musical training at all. He can’t read sheet music. But when he sits down at a piano, something magical happens,” reads a description on the label’s site.

“Notes flow from him and out pours composition after composition. The father of international icon Lana Del Rey, he enlisted an array of talent to contribute to the making of the album.” The collection promises features and writing assistance from his famous daughter, as well as production from Antonoff, Howard, Laura Sisk, and Zach Dawes.

Del Rey’s new album, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, is due out on March 24.

Check out Grant’s album announce and listen to “Setting Sail” below.

Brad Paisley Drops Song Featuring Ukrainian Pres. Zelenskyy on Anniversary of Russian War

A year ago, country star Brad Paisley watched the news on television as Russian troops invaded Ukraine and, like many people around the world, he felt helpless at the images of people fleeing their homes.

“The world felt like it was in a new place that it hadn’t been in decades,” the three-time Grammy winner recalls.

On Friday (Feb. 24), the one-year anniversary of the war’s start, Paisley is releasing a new song called “Same Here,” featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaking proudly about his country and people.

The song is Paisley’s first from his new record, Son of the Mountains, to be released later this year on Universal Music Group Nashville. The West Virginia native wrote the song with Lee Thomas Miller (co-writer on Paisley hits “The World” and “Perfect Storm”) and Dawes frontman Taylor Goldsmith. It’s a three-part narrative that reflects on universal similarities, despite distance and language.

While it doesn’t mention Ukraine specifically, the song ends with Paisley and Zelenskyy in conversation, recorded during a video call. Zelenskyy talks about Ukrainians’ desire for freedom, adding “There is no distance between our two countries in such values.”

“There’s just no differences,” Paisley told The Associated Press. “You can put us in different places with different flags and different languages, but we have so many similarities.”

Paisley is one of several celebrity ambassadors for Ukraine’s United24 crowdfunding effort, and has donated his time for other fundraising efforts to assist Ukrainians. But even he thought it would be a long shot to have the direct involvement of Zelenskyy, who has traveled the world advocating for Ukraine’s military and recovery efforts.

“I think he understands that art is how you reach the most people, especially in the heart,” Paisley said of Zelenskyy, who was an actor and comedian before becoming president. “He can give as many speeches as he can give, but it’s a lot easier to hear something with a melody maybe.”

Zelenskyy didn’t just sign off on the song; he also suggested some changes to it, Paisley said.

Paisley’s royalties for the song will be donated to United24 to help build housing for thousands of displaced Ukrainians whose homes were destroyed in the war, he said. Using his platform to advocate for causes important to him has always been part of his career, whether it was opening a free grocery store in Nashville with his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, or fighting hunger by donating 1 million meals during the pandemic.

“I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t sort of swing for the fence with things like this,” Paisley said. “For me, I’m happiest dealing with stuff as a songwriter that’s very true and very, very passionate. And sometimes I don’t know if you’d call it risky, but it’s more like it’s bigger than me.”

Paisley brings his passion on stage during live shows. He’s been changing the lyrics to his hit song “American Saturday Night,” for instance, to replace a reference to the U.S.S.R. to “There’s a Ukrainian flag hanging up behind the bar.”

The new record will be his debut on UMG since moving from Sony’s Arista label, and he said “Same Here” reflects the kinds of big universal themes on it.

“We do deal with stuff going on in the world,” Paisley said. “How do you sing about things that are truly big — a big deal right now — that also don’t feel like maybe they’re the type of thing that you would be singing about typically? And yeah, on this album I have kind of really dug deep and tried to say something.”

Paisley, who has visited U.S. troops in Afghanistan, said he’s been invited to visit Ukraine, which he’d like to do. In the meantime, he hopes the song’s message will bolster the country now facing down year two of the war.

“That’s where it gets really rewarding… feeling like maybe the heart of this helps paint the picture they want to paint,” Paisley said.

Fellow Five-Timers Woody Harrelson and Jack White Tell Chloe Fineman to Back Off in ‘SNL’ Promo

Woody Harrelson and Jack White will both join the five-timers club when they appear on Saturday Night Live this weekend. But before they hit the stage, the pair had to clear up a few things with cast member Chloe Fineman in this week’s promo for Saturday’s (Feb. 25) show.

In the first of two bits the trio shot, Harrelson does his job and hypes up White’s appearance, while a thirsty Fineman tries to get something going on the side with the Woodman. “Woody and Chloe back at it again,” she says with sass, snapping her fingers over her head, as White interjects, “Oh, I didn’t know you guys worked together before.”

“Oh, it’s a figure of speech, like ‘Woody and Chloe back at it,’ or ‘Woody and Chloe starring in a hit movie,’” Fineman adds nervously as Harrelson reminds the feature player to stop asking him to cast her in his next movie.

In the second promo Fineman tries to get her groove back and tells Harrelson he’s “the best” host. “Am I?,” he wonders, noting that considering that White is the musical guest, a better pairing might have balanced things out a bit. “Wouldn’t the best host be Jack Black?” he asks.

“You know, white-black, yin-yang, you know I think it could really help bring America together,” he suggests, as Fineman just double-checks to make sure the famously toke-loving actor understands that he does actually have to host this week.

“Stop tearing this country apart, Chloe!,” White implores her.

Harrelson — who appears in the upcoming basketball drama Champions and the HBO political series White House Plumbers — previously hosted Saturday Night Live in 1989, 1992, 2014 and 2019. White who dropped two albums in 2022, April’s Fear of the Dawn and July’s Entering Heaven Alive, has performed on the show five times as well, dating back to his White Stripes days.

The show airs every Saturday live on NBC at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT. For those without cable, the broadcast will also stream on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, which you can sign up for at the link here. Having a Peacock account also gives fans on demand access to previous SNL episodes as well.

Check out this week’s SNL promo below.

Pink Powers to No. 1 On Australia’s Chart With ‘Trustfall’

Pink blasts to No. 1 on Australia’s chart with Trustfall (via RCA/Sony), the U.S. pop superstar’s ninth studio album.

With Trustfall debuting at the summit of the ARIA Chart, published Feb. 24, Pink bags a seventh leader in the parts, bringing her total number of weeks at the top to 44, ARIA reports.

Pink is considered an “honorary Aussie,” and she’s certainly spent enough time here to earn it.

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

On her 2009 Funhouse Tour, she criss-crossed the country for an astounding 59 shows, an epic adventure that took three months and saw her sell 650,000 tickets. Not bad for a country of less than 25 million at the time.

For her Truth About Love Tour in 2013-14, Pink completed 46 dates; and for the Australasian leg of her Beautiful Trauma World Tour in 2018, she spent over two months on these shores, nailing 42 arena dates.

According to Billboard Boxscore, Pink is the highest-grossing act of the 2010s in Oceania with about $135 million. She even has her own ladies’ toilet block at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, where she has smashed attendance records.

Her albums are also surefire hits. Among Pink’s leaders, three have logged more than eight weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart: Funhouse from 2008 (nine weeks), Greatest Hits… So Far!!! from 2010 (13 weeks) and The Truth About Love from 2012 (10 weeks).

The Philly native also ruled the national chart with I’m Not Dead (2006), Beautiful Trauma (2017) and Hurts 2B Human (2019).

Meanwhile, the title track from Trustfall flies 34-19 on the ARIA Singles Chart, for Pink’s 44th top 20 hit in Australia, a feat that includes 37 top 10 appearances.

As Ed Sheeran winds his way around the country for his latest stadium tour in support of = (equals via Atlantic/Warner), two of the Brit’s LPs return to the top 10. His latest release from 2021, equals, rises 17-6, while divide (÷) from 2017 is up 15-8.

Another English superstar pop artist is currently touring Australia, and enjoying sales bumps for his recordings. Harry Styles, who is working his way around the country for the domestic leg of his Love On Tour trek, sees his global hit single “As It Was” (Columbia/Sony) gain 9-5, while its parent album Harry’s House holds at No. 2.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (Columbia/Sony) beds down for a sixth consecutive week at No. 1.

If it returns for a seventh week at the penthouse, “Flowers” will equal the reign of Miley’s dad Billy Ray Cyrus, with his 1992 smash “Achy Breaky Heart.”

Finally, another pink-tinged artist is making a statement on Australia’s charts. The English singer, songwriter and producer PinkPantheress’s “Boy’s A Liar” (Parlophone/Warner) lifts 3-2, a new peak, thanks to a viral cut featuring rising U.S. rapper Ice Spice.