News

11 Jan 2023

6 Things You Didn’t See on TV at the 2023 Golden Globes

The 2023 Golden Globes took over the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, Calif., on Tuesday (Jan. 10), where the biggest names in television and film gathered to celebrate an impressive year of entertainment.

The top film prizes of the night went to The Fabelmans (drama) and The Banshees of Inisherin (musical or comedy), while the big TV awards went to House of the Dragons (drama), Abbott Elementary (musical or comedy) and The White Lotus (limited series, anthology series or a motion picture made for television).

Meanwhile, in the music world, Justin Hurwitz won best original score for Babylon, while “Naatu Naatu” from RRR was named best original song.

Beyond the onscreen excitement, moving speeches and viral-worthy moments, even more fun went down behind the scenes. Billboard was on site at the Golden Globes and the afterparty, and we’re breaking down the six best moments you didn’t see on TV. Check them out below.

11 Jan 2023

Watch Rachel Zegler Deliver a Passionate Cover of Taylor Swift’s ‘Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve’

Rachel Zegler delivered an acoustic take on Taylor Swift‘s “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” on social media on Monday (Jan. 9).

In the clip, the West Side Story actress strums her acoustic guitar as she runs through the Midnights bonus track’s devastating bridge and chorus, singing, “If clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die?/ Years of tearing down our banners, you and I/ Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts/ Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first/ And I damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil/ At 19/ And the God’s honest truth is that the pain was heaven.”

The heartrending ballad became an instant fan favorite when Swift released it as part of Midnights (3am Edition) just hours after dropping the standard version of the album back in October. The 20-track deluxe version also contained bonus tracks “The Great War,” “Bigger Than the Whole Sky,” “Paris,” “High Infidelity,” “Glitch” and “Dear Reader.”

Swift confirmed last week that she’s currently in the midst of rehearsals for her upcoming The Eras Tour, which is set to kick off March 17 and 18 in Glendale, Ariz.

Her announcement — tied to the 12-hour flash sale of exclusive digital copies of Midnights containing “behind the song” material on four different tracks — immediately had Swifties in their feelings. “Taylor saying the words tour rehearsal alone it’s all starting to feel real we literally see taylor in 2 and a half months,” one wrote, encapsulating the anticipation happening on Swiftie Twitter.

Watch Zegler’s acoustic cover of “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve” below.

11 Jan 2023

2023 Golden Globes: Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jennifer Coolidge & More Stars at Billboard’s Afterparty

The 2023 Golden Globes took place on Tuesday (Jan. 10), and featured a host of musicians and actors stepping out to honor the past year’s achievements in film and television. Taking place at Los Angeles’ The Beverly Hilton, the industry’s biggest and brightest stars walked the red carpet and attended the show — and Billboard‘s star-studded afterparty — in style.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were among the guests to grace the Globes, appearing in matching black ensembles. The “Work” singer — whose song “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was nominated in the best original song in a motion picture — wore a fitted black column gown with velvet panels and larger sleeves, while the “Fashion Killa” rapper was in a classic black-and-white suit with satin lapels.

Selena Gomez was also among the musicians to grace the Globes. The Rare beauty founder stepped out on the red carpet with her 9-year-old sister Gracie Elliott Teefey in tow. The 30-year-old, who was nominated for best actress in a TV series comedy or musical nomination for her portrayal of Mabel Mora in the hit Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building.

The fun didn’t stop there. Billboard‘s Golden Globes afterparty saw stars mingling with each other. Wednesday‘s Jenna Ortega and Percy Hynes White looked stunning in black ensembles; Abbot Elementary‘s Quinta Brunson posed for photos alongside Pose‘s Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, and Jennifer Coolidge lit up the room with Heidi Klum, who brought husband Tom Kaulitz (of Tokio Hotel) as her date.

See the stars at the 2023 Golden Globes afterparty powered by Billboard below.

11 Jan 2023

Singer & Influencer Malú Trevejo Sued for Abuse by Former Employees

Singer and influencer Malú Trevejo is being sued by four former staffers for abuse.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by Billboard, plaintiffs Victoria Barreto, Ralph Colon, Edwardo Vidal and Witchneverson Lacroix allege they “endured mental, emotional, sexual and physical punishment” during their employment with the 20-year-old artist. They are now suing her for battery, defamation and sexual misconduct, among other complaints, and are seeking $4 million in damages.

Trevejo’s ex-employees — who stopped working for her between 2021 and 2022 — also claim that the Cuban-American social media star, who rose to prominence in 2017 with her first single, “Luna Llena,” berated them with racial slurs.

According to the civil lawsuit — filed in Miami against the singer and her company — Trevejo made sexual advances toward Barreto, who was hired in October 2021 as Trevejo’s personal assistant, once she began working for her. Barreto claims Trevejo asked her to “sleep with her in her bed, cuddle with her and watch television, controlling and claiming possession of” her during the course of her employment (which lasted three months). When she turned down Trevejo’s requests, Barreto “experienced increased aggression, dismissive responses” and would be called “stupid” or “dumb,” she claims.

Also in the complaint, Colon, who is listed as Trevejo’s security/bodyguard, claims he was “abused” by her one week after starting the job. According to Colon, Trevejo “frequently ignored” his security advice, “forcing” him to put himself in the line of danger in “avoidable” situations.

In a statement to Billboard, Trevejo’s attorney said, “Ms. Trevejo is aware of the false allegations in the lawsuit and looks forward to defending herself against these baseless claims.”

The lawsuit comes almost five years after Trevejo was granted a motion to disaffirm her obligations under her recording agreement with Universal Music Latino, a division of UMG Recordings. Malú asserted that her contract with Universal Music Latin was void on grounds that she was underage (14 years old) when she signed the recording and co-management agreement with Universal Music Latino imprint In-Tu Linea, adding that it was never certified by the court.

You can read the full lawsuit below.

11 Jan 2023

Record Label Market Share Q4 2022: Republic’s ‘Midnights’ Run Outpaces a Surging Sony

With 2022 now officially in the books, the U.S. market share report is in: with Bad Bunny, Lil Nas X and Harry Styles leading the way, it was a banner year for Sony Music, as it gained in both overall market share and, more drastically, in current market share on the leading Universal Music Group, narrowing the gap among releases less than 18 months old to 6.58% in 2022 — a chasm that stood at 13.7% at the end of 2021.

But there was good news for UMG, too, as Republic Records rode a red-hot fourth quarter — led by Taylor Swift’s Midnights, the No. 2 album of all of 2022 despite only being released in October — to rank No. 1 among labels in current market share for the entirety of 2022, coming in at 10.38%. That makes it the only label to top double digits in the final ranking of the year. And UMG maintained a double-digit lead in overall market share over second-place Sony, leading 37.54% to 26.87% despite the latter’s gains throughout the year. Interscope Geffen A&M finished the year as the No. 1 label in overall market share once again, coming in at 9.63%, though it was down from the 10.08% share it held at the end of 2021.

Sony’s overall market share grew 0.76% year over year — up to 26.87% in 2022 from 26.11% in 2021 — marking a big stride forward for the music group. That gain was largely at the expense of Universal Music Group, which dropped 0.66% year over year, from 38.20% in 2021 to 37.54% at the end of 2022. Meanwhile, Warner Music Group’s market share grew from 16.06% in 2021 to 19.05% in 2022, though that is not an apples-to-apples comparison; this year, Warner-owned distributor ADA — which distributes dozens of independent labels — was factored into WMG’s market share, adding 2.96% to its total and accounting for almost all of Warner’s jump. (The move more accurately aligns Warner’s distributed market share with the other majors, which also include their distribution wings in their totals.) That switch also explains the commensurate dip for the indie sector, which fell from 19.63% in 2021 to 16.54% in 2022.

In current market share, Universal fell more than 4%, from 37.89% in 2021 to 33.57% in 2022, with all three other major players picking up that slack, led by Sony, which ballooned significantly almost 3 percentage points to 26.99% in 2022 — up from 24.19% in 2021. Warner — even taking into account the 3.32% in current share added by ADA — was also up, from 14.42% in 2021 to 18.30% in 2022 (an increase of 0.56% beyond the ADA bump), while the indie sector went from 23.50% last year to 21.14% in 2022, which is up 0.96% year over year when taking into account the loss of the ADA labels. Universal did, however, raise its catalog percentage from 38.33% in 2021 to 38.94% in 2022, while the other three all fell slightly.

Following Interscope in overall market share, Atlantic remained in second, at 8.89%, although it, too, was down slightly from 2021, when it posted a 9.17% overall share of the market. Republic ended the year in third — the only label in the top five to grow its overall market share year over year — with an 8.44% mark, up from 8.28% through the end of 2021, while Columbia (6.98%) and Capitol Music Group (6.40%) rounded out the top five. (A note on these labels: Interscope’s market share includes Verve [0.85%]; Atlantic’s includes the now-combined 300 Elektra Entertainment Group [2.35%], which would have been good enough for ninth place on its own; Republic’s includes Island [1.51%], Cash Money [0.71%], Big Loud, Imperial and Mercury; Columbia includes some indie labels from distributor RED; and Capitol includes Virgin [1.78%], Motown/Quality Control [1.05%], Capitol Christian Music Group [0.61%], Astralwerks and Blue Note.)

In sixth, Warner Records — which includes Rhino, Warner Latin and a chunk of Warner Nashville in its market share — grew year over year, from 6.16% in 2021 to 6.35% in 2022, having steadily increased its share each quarter of the year. RCA, whose market share stands alone, did the same; the label came in seventh, growing in each quarter to a finish of 5.12% — up from 4.89% in 2021 — wrapping the year strongly with the four-week No. 1 run of SZA’s S.O.S. In eighth, Epic Records also picked up market share, rising to 2.63% in 2022 from a 2.38% share in 2021. Def Jam, in ninth, faltered to 2.07%, down from 2.25% in 2021; while Sony Nashville jumped into 10th, leapfrogging UMG Nashville by growing its market share from 1.99% to 2.04% year over year.

UMG Nashville dropped to 11th, slipping from 2.04% in 2021 to 1.85% in 2022, while Concord jumped from 13th (1.68%) in 2021 to 12th (1.73%) in 2022. Disney — with its early-year Encanto boost — was up to 1.60% in 2022 from 1.40% the year before, good for 13th, while Universal Latin (1.47%) and Sony Latin (1.24%) rounded out the top 15, both up from the year prior as well.

Republic had a big fourth quarter (9.57%), with four major releases — Stray Kids’ Maxident, Swift’s Midnights, Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss and Metro Boomin’s Heroes & Villains, all of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — collectively topping the Billboard 200 for eight weeks. That helped boost its current market share from 8.77% through the first three quarters of the year to 10.38% by year’s end, with that late push taking it to No. 1 among all labels in terms of current market share in 2022.

Atlantic, in second place in current share, essentially maintained its level from last year, coming in at 9.15% (from 9.16% in 2021), though it moved up one spot from third place; while Interscope dropped sharply, from a stellar 11.05% in 2021 to 8.72% in 2022, falling from first to third. Columbia and Capitol, in fourth and fifth, respectively, both fell in share, the former from 6.83% to 6.67% and the latter from 5.64% to 4.97%; while Warner and RCA, in sixth and seventh, both grew in share, the former from 4.48% to 4.86% and the latter from 4.37% to 4.65%.

Outside the top seven labels, there was a bigger shakeup in current market share. Epic Records moved up to eighth place, gaining from a 2.04% current share in 2021 to 2.23% in 2022, while Sony Nashville jumped up to ninth, growing to 1.89% from 1.59% in 2021. Alamo made the biggest leap, all the way up to 10th in current share in 2021 at 1.56% in its first full year as a standalone Sony Music label; in 2021, its share was split between UMG and Sony as it was sold midway through the year, making an apples-to-apples comparison difficult. BMG, in 11th, held steady at 1.42%, while Disney, perhaps unsurprisingly, surged into 12th, up to 1.36% year over year from 0.52% in 2021. Def Jam, however, saw its current share sink from 2.21% in 2021 to 1.27% in 2022, finishing 13th, while Sony Latin (1.24%) and UMG Nashville (1.23%) rounded out the top 15.

As is generally the case, catalog market share tracked similarly to overall market share, as older titles generally perform consistently as a percentage of the market year over year. But both UMG and the indie sector grew year over year, while Sony and Warner, the latter accounting for the ADA switch, were both down slightly as well.

11 Jan 2023

Nick Carter Releases Emotional Tribute Song to Late Brother Aaron Carter: Listen to ‘Hurts to Love You’

Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter released an emotional tribute to his late brother Aaron Carter, “Hurts to Love You,” on Wednesday (Jan. 11). The ballad was accompanied by a video featuring footage of the siblings as children, and a message from Nick on Instagram.

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“We all have someone in our lives that no matter what they do and how bad it hurts you still love them,” he wrote. “So I worked it out the best way I know how.”

Aaron, who struggled with substance and mental health issues, died unexpectedly in November at age 34.

“Feel like we’ve been through some wars together/ Nobody else could understand/ Way too many nightmares to remember,” Carter sings over a spare, heartbeat-like beat. “Always hoped your tomorrows/ Would be better than the days before/ I hoped you’d find your road to follow/ To a place you were happy in this world,” he adds before the heartbreaking chorus, “Cuz it hurts to love you, but I love you still/ Miss you with all my heart you know I always will.”

Singer and TV personality Aaron Carter was found dead on Nov. 5. While no cause of death has yet been revealed, a spokesperson for the LAPD said at the time that a “suspicious death” had taken place at the address of Carter’s residence.

Following his younger brother’s death, Nick shared a number of photos featuring Aaron from their childhood. “My heart is broken. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded,” he wrote at the time. “I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed. Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here.”

Listen to “Hurts to Love You” and see Nick’s post below.

11 Jan 2023

Trending Up: New Year’s Bash Leads to Gains for Miley and Dolly, Gracie Abrams Gets a ‘Ginny & Georgia’ Bump & Tory Lanez Makes Chart Return

Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up column, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip. 
 
This week: Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton reap streaming benefits from their much-watched New Year’s Eve special performance, Gracie Abrams eyes her first crossover hit after a valuable Netflix synch and the recently convicted Tory Lanez hits the Hot 100 for the first time in a couple years.

Miley & Dolly’s Classic Singles Rise After the Ball Drops

Miley Cyrus is about to kick off a new era with the release of “Flowers,” the lead single to her forthcoming album (and Columbia Records debut) Endless Summer Vacation. Two weeks before the scheduled debut of “Flowers,” however, Cyrus kicked off a new year alongside her godmother Dolly Parton, as the host of Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party on NBC, ringing in 2023 on network television with hits, covers and medleys of both.

Cyrus has been covering Parton’s “Jolene” in concert for years, so naturally it made sense to belt out the classic single (which is turning 50 this year!) alongside the legend who wrote and recorded it. “Jolene,” which Cyrus and Parton sang after warbling some of Patsy Cline’s “Walkin’ After Midnight” together on New Year’s Eve, received a bump on streaming services last week as a result, with a 29.6% increase in U.S. on-demand streams (up to 1.71 million), along with a 57% bump in digital sales, in the week ending Jan. 5, according to Luminate.

“Wrecking Ball,” which Cyrus and Parton sang together on the show before segueing into Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” fared even better. Cyrus’ first career Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper (which is turning 10 this year!) scored a 44.5% rise in streams during the same week, up to 1.79 million for the week ending Jan. 5. “Wrecking Ball” also earned a digital sales increase of over 400% for that week.

Plus, Cyrus used Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party as the network TV platform to announce “Flowers,” dropping a pair of teasers in between hosting and performing duties as 2023 got underway. Widely announcing an upcoming single while also causing an older hit’s streaming revival — now that’s an enviable way to flip the calendar. – JASON LIPSHUTZ

Ginny & Georgia Doesn’t “Miss” With Gracie Abrams Synch

Interscope’s Gracie Abrams has steadily built a devoted fan base — and a reputation as your favorite singer-songwriter’s favorite singer-songwriter – over the past few years, but has yet to score the sort of crossover hit enjoyed by some of her more famous supporters. That may be changing with the recent streaming growth of her tear-jerking ballad “I miss you, I’m sorry,” a highlight from her 2020 debut EP, Mirror. The song got a big showcase moment in the finale of the Jan. 5-released second season to Netflix’s hit dramedy Ginny & Georgia, playing over a lovelorn montage of Ginny (Antonia Gentry) and her on/off romantic interest Marcus (Felix Mallard), both getting emotional while separately looking at old photos of the couple together. 

As more viewers connected with the finale’s sentimental moment, the song has climbed steadily in streams – from 54,000 daily on-demand official U.S. streams on Jan. 5 to 81,000 by Jan. 8, according to Luminate, a gain of 50%. That number looks to still be growing in the days since, as fans of both Abrams and Ginny & Georgia have begun to spread it on TikTok and other social platforms. The increased exposure should be coming right on time for Abrams, who is set to release her long-anticipated debut full-length, Good Riddance, via Interscope on Feb. 24. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER

Tory Lanez Returns to Hot 100 Following Trial Guilty Verdict

While Tory Lanez awaits sentencing after being found guilty on three felony counts in the 2020 shooting of star rapper Megan Thee Stallion, he returns to the Hot 100 with his first new entry on the chart since the year of the assault. 

“The Color Violet,” a Weeknd-reminiscent pop&B track from his 2021 One Umbrella release Alone at Prom, slowly developed into a prolific streaming hit over the course of 2022, and climbs 22.2% to 5.5 million in weekly official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Jan. 5, according to Luminate. While the song does not yet have a radio presence of any kind, as programming directors are likely reluctant to publicly support the disgraced singer-rapper at this point, streaming audiences have not been so dissuaded – and their embrace of “Violet” earns it a No. 87 bow on the Hot 100 this week. — AU

11 Jan 2023

Nike Releasing ‘No Finish Line’ Book Celebrating 50 Years Of Greatness

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Nike x No Finish Line

Source: Nike / Splash News

Always looking to inspire the next generation of athletes and go-getters, Nike is readying the release of a new book dubbed No Finish Line (no relation to Finish Line) in which they celebrate 50 years of innovative designs and sports while giving a sneak peak at what another 50 years may hold for us.

Nike x No Finish Line

Source: Nike / Splash News

On Tuesday (Jan. 10), Nike dropped the news of their upcoming book which was designed by Zak Group. The bool features custom illustrations by Bráulio Amado along with words from Nike’s Chief Design Officer, John Hoke, and speculative fiction by journalist Geoff Manaugh and author Sam Grawe. With an eye to the future of sports designs, John Hoke says that No Finish Line is ultimately a book that is “an expression of our belief in the limitless potential of sport — and design.”

“It’s been said that the best way to predict the future is to create it. At Nike, we wholeheartedly agree. For over 50 years, we’ve endeavored to create a better future for athletes. This compels us forward, always. When we say, ‘There is no finish line,’ it’s not a lazy reference to an unending grind or destination-less journey, but rather an expression of our belief in the limitless potential of sport — and design.”

With this opening paragraph from a foreword by Nike’s Chief Design Officer, John Hoke, the tone is set for “No Finish Line,” a new book that aims to invite, inspire and provoke the next generation of athletes to create a better world through design and sport.

Through exploratory, multilevel conversations on design and critical inputs to it — such as sport research, technology and manufacturing — “No Finish Line” charts Nike’s 50 years of game-changing design and innovation in the service of athletes and sport and projects a vision for the next 50 years. In addition to the foreword from Hoke, the book includes speculative fiction by journalist Geoff Manaugh and essays from Sam Grawe, the author of “Nike: Better Is Temporary.” The essays describe five major shifts design may undergo in the coming decades. To arrive at these shifts, Grawe interviewed more than a dozen of Nike’s most inspiring designers, scientists, engineers, researchers and leaders, yielding unprecedented insights into Nike’s creative process. The collective voices projected a future of design that evolves from product to platform, performance to promise, elite to everyone, sustainable to symbiotic, and static to sensorial.

This sense of promise and evolution propels readers forward as “No Finish Line” defines Nike’s culture of innovation through the lens of the athletes, designers and scientists at its cutting edge; celebrates design not as an outcome, but as an endless journey; and suggests we can shape a better future by simply daring to create it.

Y’all know this book will inspire more than a few designers to conjure up some futuristic sports attire that’ll keep you looking dipped while balling out on the court or field. Hopefully, they have the good sense to copyright their work before shopping it around because y’all never know who y’all end up dealing with. Just sayin.’

No Finish Line is set to hit shelves Feb. 14 and will retail for $26. Just please, don’t make this a Valentine’s Day gift over an actual pair of sneakers. Just sayin.’

Will you be checking out No Finish Line? Let us know in the comments section below.

Nike x No Finish Line

Source: Nike / Splash News

Nike x No Finish Line

Source: Nike / Splash News

11 Jan 2023

The Contenders: YoungBoy Makes His ‘Case’ for the Top Spot, BTS Arrives on Vinyl 

Welcome to The Contenders, a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming Billboard 200 albums chart dated Jan. 14): SZA’s SOS continues to dominate, while YoungBoy Never Broke Again makes a quick return after a busy 2022 and a half-decade-old BTS album debuts on vinyl.  

YoungBoy Never Broke Again, I Rest My Case (Motown/Never Broke Again): After an absurdly prolific 2022 that included seven full-length releases – two collaborative albums, four mixtapes and one official album – star rapper YoungBoy Never Broke Again returns, just two weeks into 2023, with his fifth solo studio album, I Rest My Case. The 19-track set is his first release on his new Motown label, after completing his deal with Atlantic in 2022.  

From the early returns, YoungBoy’s previous productivity may be working against him, since the album’s tracks have not taken over the daily DSP charts like past YoungBoy solo albums, the last three of which hit the Billboard 200’s top two. Case will also not be helped by any big-name guests, since the album has no features on its 11 tracks. It will have its work cut out for it getting YoungBoy back to the chart’s top five, let alone threatening the four-week reign of SZA’s SOS blockbuster, which shows little sign of slowing down in its fifth week.  

BTS, Love Yourself: Her (Big Hit/Universal): The Love Yourself: Her EP release marked a big U.S. breakthrough for K-Pop superstars BTS back in 2017, reaching the Billboard 200’s top 10 and spawning their first two Billboard Hot 100 hits in “DNA” and “Mic Drop.” The EP is likely to return to the chart’s top tier after making its physical debut on vinyl — the septet’s first-ever release on the format — along with a package that includes seven photo cards (one for each member), two posters, a sticker and a bookmark.

French Montana & DJ Drama, Coke Boys 6 (Coke Boys): Outside of YoungBoy, few hip-hop artists were as prolific on the 2022 charts as DJ Drama, who notched hit albums alongside Jeezy, Snoop Dogg and several other big-name rappers. He’s back this week with veteran New York hitmaker French Montana, for the latest installment in the latter’s signature Coke Boys series. CB6 boasts 20 tracks and a wide variety of big-name guests, including fellow rap stars Kodak Black, Nav and A$AP Rocky, and the set already has its own Money Heist Edition deluxe reissue, adding an extra nine tracks to the total.