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28 Nov 2022

Jennifer Lopez Reflects on 20th Anniversary of ‘This Is Me… Then’ & How Ben Affleck ‘Knows All the Words’

It’s been 20 years since Jennifer Lopez unveiled her third studio album, 2002’s This Is Me… Then, much of which was inspired by her then-relationship with Ben Affleck. Now, the singer is reflecting on the album and her rekindled romance with her now-husband.

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“It is a little bit like the Twilight Zone. It doesn’t happen,” Lopez told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe this week. “That album, This Is Me… Then really captured a moment in time where I fell in love with the love of my life. It’s all right there on the record. I didn’t even realize what was happening and what I was doing. It was just every day going from the set to the recording studio, doing the thing, being in love, him coming into the studio, writing ‘I’m Glad,’ […] Me tweaking the lyrics with him. Every single song that we wrote there, me writing ‘Dear Ben’, it was such a special moment in time to have captured.”

As expected, the Good Will Hunting actor “loves” the album. “He knows all of the words. It’s crazy. He also was with me while I was creating it,” she shared. “You’re listening to the demos in the car. You’re listening to the mixes. ‘I wrote this today. What do you think of this?’ It was that over and over again for two years while we were together. He knows it so well and he loves it so much. He’s my biggest fan, which is awesome, and supporter. When he came back into my life again, the same thing happened where I felt so inspired and so overtaken with emotion that it was just pouring out of me.”

Lopez also shared that her 2004 breakup with Affleck was the “biggest heartbreak of my life.” “I honestly felt like I was going to die,” she said, noting that she couldn’t perform songs from This Is Me… Then because it was too painful. “It sent me on a spiral for the next 18 years where I just couldn’t get it right. But now, 20 years later, it does have a happy ending. It has the most would-never-happen-in-Hollywood ending.”

Now, the multihyphenate is gearing up to release her new album This Is Me… Now, which was inspired by her marriage and how much she has grown over the years. “I think what the message of the album is very much if you were wondering if you have, like me at times, lost hope, almost given up, don’t. Because true love does exist and some things do last forever and that’s real,” she said.

Watch the full interview below.

28 Nov 2022

The 100 Greatest Jock Jams of All Time: Staff List

What is a jock jam?

Well, in the ’90s it was whatever ESPN defined it as for the purposes of their series of Jock Jams compilations: Most often, hip-hop-flavored dance-pop bangers which implicitly (and sometimes explicitly) promoted physical movement of any and all kinds. But defined more broadly for our purposes at Billboard, a Jock Jam is a song that has come to define the in-game experience at a pro sports arena: Any song that, after years of stadium (over-)usage, is as familiar to sports fans’ ears as sneaker squeaks, referee whistles and Zamboni organ groans. It’s a canon that spans rock, hip-hop, dance and country, and still includes pop songs old and new.

To celebrate this canon, Billboard presents our list of the 100 greatest jock jams of all time. We tried to stay away from jams that only really made sense for one sport (like John Fogerty’s “Centerfield”) or one city (like Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston”), in favor of the classics that could work in the most games in the most places. These are the songs that helped define sports culture in this country for decades, which may have fallen in and out of favor with music supervisors as hip songs of the moment, but which will forever produce a Pavlovian response of sports-readiness. It’s a Hall of Fame in which AC/DC are The Beatles, 2 Unlimited are Michael Jackson, and The Baha Men… well, they’re still The Baha Men, but forever bronzed at their 2000 peak.

Now, a bunch of us here at Billboard are sports junkies, but we didn’t trust our own experiences and recollections in this matter to be anywhere near complete. So to help flesh out our Top 100 and determine the absolute cream of the bumper-music crop, we consulted the experts: Stadium entertainment officials, DJs, and general music men and women of the MLB, NHL, NFL and especially the NBA worlds. They were kind enough to give us their picks for the stadium-anthem GOATs, and explanations for their selections are interspersed throughout our list.

And now, let’s sound the horn and get our countdown underway. Y’all ready for this?

28 Nov 2022

Doja Cat Says She’s ‘Never Felt More Beautiful’ Since Shaving Her Head

Doja Cat is the cover star for Dazed magazine’s Winter 2022 The Beautiful Issue, and as the title suggests, the “Say So” singer looks stunning and effortlessly cool with her bright pink buzz cut.

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In the accompanying interview, the star reflected on her journey through playing with her look, and the range of reactions she gets online. “They’re like, ‘Oh, this can’t possibly be her simply having fun. She has to be out of her mind. She has to be cuckoo,’” she said. “Also, I have a really bad impulse control; I like to react to things really quick. If I’m in the right mood, or the wrong mood, I will snap back and I’ll have fun doing it.”

As for her latest ‘do, a shaved head and nonexistent eyebrows, Doja revealed that she’s loving it, despite at first thinking she looked like a “wrinkly penis.” “I have never felt more beautiful in my entire life, which is very strange. I felt beautiful when I had long hair. I definitely felt like a hot girl then, but I always do,” she explained. “There’s something so exhilarating about change; [it] showed me a different side of myself. I feel so new, fresh and sexy. I also feel better without make-up: having this bare head and so little make-up is a fun experience. It’s new, and I love it.”

She also shared her perspective surrounding her relationship with her body, something she said has grown. “Now, to me, beauty is going against [what society wants]. I love when you take something that is maybe classically beautiful and twist it and make it your own,” she shared. “For me, it’s more of an ‘are you happy?’ kind of thing. I want my fans to learn they don’t have to be like anyone else and the thing they want is already there. They just haven’t found it yet, and once they do they’ll be like, ‘How the f— did I not see it? How did I miss this?’”

Read the full interview here.

28 Nov 2022

Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ Tops Holiday 100, As Chart Returns for 2022 Holiday Season

The Holiday 100 jingles back to Billboard’s charts menu, ranking the top seasonal songs of all eras via the same formula used for the Billboard Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay and sales data.

Mariah Carey‘s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” – which surges from No. 25 to No. 5 on the Hot 100 – rules the Holiday 100 for a 52nd week of the chart’s 57 total weeks since the list launched in 2011; it has topped the seasonal survey for 37 consecutive weeks, dating to the start of the 2015-16 holiday season.

The only other Holiday 100 No. 1s to date: Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe,” for a week in the 2011-12 holiday season; Pentatonix’s “Little Drummer Boy” (one, 2013-14) and “Mary, Did You Know?” (two, 2014-15); and Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (one, 2014-15).

Carey’s 1994 carol crowns all three Holiday 100 component charts (with all surveys dated Dec. 3): Holiday Streaming Songs (21.5 million streams, up 54%, in the Nov. 18-24 tracking week, according to Luminate); Holiday Airplay (20.6 million airplay audience impressions, up 80%); and Holiday Digital Song Sales (3,000 sold, up 57%).

The song also boasts top honors on Billboard’s Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs chart.

“When I wrote [it], I had absolutely no idea the impact the song would eventually have worldwide,” Carey marveled of “Christmas” last year. “I’m so full of gratitude that so many people enjoy it with me every year.”

Rounding out the Holiday 100’s top five is a quartet of classics released in the 1950s-60s: Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (No. 2), Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (No. 3), Burl Ives’ “A Holly Jolly Christmas” (No. 4) and Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (No. 5).

Meanwhile, one song newly released this holiday season debuts on the Holiday 100: Kane Brown’s “Blue Christmas” (No. 58, led by 3.5 million streams, up 79%), after it arrived Nov. 10 as an Amazon Music exclusive. The song joins Elvis Presley’s iconic 1957 original version, at No. 22 on the Holiday 100.

The entire latest Holiday 100, along with all seasonal and other charts, will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Nov. 29).

28 Nov 2022

Drake Showers DJ Khaled With Luxury Toilets for His 47th Birthday

DJ Khaled turned 47 on Saturday and got quite the birthday gift from Drake in the form of multiple — yes, multiple — luxury toilets.

“@champagnepapi real talk – my Queen and I been wanting this for our house!! thank u my brother!!” the hitmaker wrote in an Instagram Reel showing off the hygienic gifts. “Nahhh this No regular toilet ? this that TOTO! Same model as the ones in the embassy…I LIKE WHAT DRAKE LIKE!! Love brother!! Thank you for the gift.”

According to Khaled’s effusive commentary in the video, the Toto toilets come complete with heated seats, a UV light cleaning system, air-refreshing deodorizers, a night light, operation via remote control and a bidet function (“The water, too, that splats up!”).

“If you’ve ever been to Drake’s house, you know Drake’s house is worth, like, 500 million dollars. So yes, Toto. It’s not about the money, it’s just about, he went and got the best of the best so he gifted us a few of these Toto toilet bowls and I’m hearing…I ain’t try it yet but I’m hearing there’s some music involved too, might play some music. Nah, real talk!” he raved. “Shout-out to Toto, Drake, thank you for this gift. This is the most amazing toilet bowl I’ve ever seen in my life!”

Khaled and Drake most recently collaborated on God Did single “Staying Alive” with Lil Baby, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also bounded its way to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Rhythmic Airplay, Hot Rap Songs and Streaming Songs charts in August.

28 Nov 2022

Pusha T Shares How Kanye West’s ‘Disappointing’ Antisemitic Posts ‘Affected’ Him

Pusha T is speaking out on Kanye West‘s string of antisemitic remarks over the past month.

“It’s definitely affected me. It’s been disappointing. As a Black man in America, there is no room for bigotry or hate speech. So yeah. It’s been very disappointing,” Pusha, who recently worked with Ye on his It’s Almost Dry album, said in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times.

However, the rapper still has musical respect for his collaborator. “Creatively, Ye has meant freedom to me,” he said. “A lot of times, people would try to get me to change certain things about my process, change certain things about me lyrically, change certain things about the content. He never has been like that. He always saw me for who I was and knew how to take it to the next level.”

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Pusha continued, “We actually have a lot of the same taste, we love just barred-out rap. He would tell me things like, ‘Man, you just be the extreme version of yourself. And I’m gonna be the extreme version of myself.’”

Ye took to Twitter in October  to use antisemitic rhetoric in his posts, then continued to amplify his hate speech in interviews. The reaction from the public was swift, with several companies — including The Gap, Balenciaga, and more — terminating their relationships and brand deals with the rapper.

Forbes has also reported that Ye has lost his billionaire status after Adidas announced on Oct. 25 that it was dropping his due deal, and that the brand does not tolerate hate speech.

28 Nov 2022

LL Cool J to Be Honored at Urban One Honors in Atlanta

LL Cool J will receive the entertainment icon award at the fifth Urban One Honors, which will tape at The Eastern in Atlanta on Friday, Dec. 2. David and Tamela Mann will receive the inspirational impact award. R&B singer and actor Tank will host the show.

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The two-hour telecast, with the theme “Celebrating Icons of the Culture,” is set to premiere on Monday, Jan. 16, 2023 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) on TV One and Cleo TV, a division of Urban One.

A lifetime achievement honor, music innovation honor, and the first-ever Phoenix honor will also be presented on this year’s show. Those honorees are expected to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 1.

LL Cool J received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2017 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the award for musical excellence category in 2021. He’s a two-time Grammy winner for best rap solo performance and a five-time host of the annual Grammy Awards telecast.

Tamela Mann won a Grammy for best gospel performance/song six years ago for “God Provides.” She and her husband David Mann star in TV One’s The Manns.

The show will include a performance by Keke Wyatt and a celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop with DJ Spinderella (Salt-N-Pepa), Monie Love and Doug E. Fresh. The show will also include appearances by Rev. Run (Run DMC, “Run’s House”) and Lamman Rucker (TV One’s Bad Dad Rehab: The Next Session).

LeToya Luckett will host a backstage pass segment featuring interviews with the show’s honorees, performers and presenters.

Urban One Honors is executive produced by Eric Tomosunas and Robert A. Boyd II of Swirl Films. Kim Burse serves as musical director. Marilyn Gill serves as executive producer. Kashon Powell is vice president of programming for Radio One and Susan Henry is executive producer in charge of production for TV One.

For more information, visit TVOne.tv.

28 Nov 2022

Megan Thee Stallion Explains Why Releasing the ‘Vulnerable’ Album ‘Traumazine’ Made Her ‘Nervous’

Megan Thee Stallion became the first Black woman to appear on the cover of Forbes‘ 30 Under 30 issue Monday (Nov. 28) and opened up about the pressure of her sophomore studio set Traumazine in the accompanying interview.

“This album was really personal to me,” she told the magazine. “This is, like, the first time I ever, you know, talked about things that I’m feeling or talked about things that I’m going through. So it kind of made me nervous to write a lot of these songs. It makes me nervous to perform some of these songs. And I was kinda just like, ‘OK, I’mma write this stuff and I’mma just put it out. Hmm, Hotties, what you got to say about this?’

“My emotions sometimes make me a little nervous,” the rapper continued. “Like, to be vulnerable can make me a little nervous sometimes so…I just feel like I’m still processing how the album feels to other people.”

Released back in August, the LP contains the hit singles “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa, “Plan B,” “Pressurelicious,” “Her” and “Ungrateful,” and bowed at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

However, these days, Megan has more in her sights than just conquering the music industry. “I want to be bigger than just my music. I want people to know Megan as everything that she ever wanted to be: Megan the artist,” she said, later adding, “My mind is in a place where I feel like I can do whatever I want to do because nobody ever told me I couldn’t.

“So getting into writing, getting into directing, getting into acting,” Megan concluded, “I feel like, yeah, now y’all see I’m not one-dimensional. I’m everything that I say I am.”

Read Megan’s Forbes‘ 30 Under 30 story here, and get a glimpse of her fierce cover look below.

28 Nov 2022

ONE N’ ONLY Talk New Single ‘Good Day,’ Thriving on Praise & More: Interview

Japan-based boy band ONE N’ ONLY — consisting of members EIKU, TETTA, REI, HAYATO, KENSHIN, and NAOYA — recently digitally dropped its bouncy new single “Good Day.” The six-member dance and vocal unit has been steadily expanding its global fanbase, particularly in Asian and South American countries, through their unique style of music they’ve coined “JK-pop” that blends the best qualities from both genres.

Billboard Japan caught up with the members for the first time since they performed in front of their fans in Brazil at the end of July. The members chat about “Good Day” and share their thoughts on the danceable tune, plus give away some behind-the-scenes details about its recording and choreography in this latest interview.

You recently released your new song “Good Day.” Could you tell us a bit about this cheerful, uplifting number?

NAOYA: It’s like we’ve added another track to our repertoire of cheerful numbers such as “Video Chat,” “LUCKY” and “HOLIDAY.” “Good Day” is a song that really looks great performed live and can be presented in a different way from the other songs I just mentioned. It’s just a lot of fun to dance to. It brings out the members’ genuine expressions. It’s also unusual in that it starts and ends with the A melody (first verse). I’m pretty sure it’ll becomeone of our signature songs in the future. 

It’s very addictive.

REI: Yes, it is. I think it’s a song that really goes straight into people’s hearts. I want it to be the kind of tune where people think, “Yes!” when they hear the intro at a concert.

EIKU: I really like the choreography of the chorus. The part where the members dance facing each other just makes me smile, and I tried to make the song feel fresh and spontaneous in my own way when we recorded it. 

You make eye contact one-on-one?

KENSHIN:  We do, a lot!

NAOYA: I’m on the outermost end of the formation, so I get to make eye contact with KENSHIN, then look other way and make eye contact with SWAG [the group’s fans]. It’s one of the fun parts of the song, so I’m looking forward to performing it live as much as we can.

How do you feel when you face each other individually like that?

KENSHIN: It cheers me up! I love seeing the other members faces close up like that. But when I make eye contact with EIKU, I always crack up.

EIKU: He twitches his eyebrows. He tries to make me laugh.

KENSHIN: I also make eye contact with NAOYA, and he looks at me like, “How’s this?” [Laughs] We goof off like that, so fans are encouraged to look out for those moments.

REI: HAYATO is over there looking like he has nothing to do with this conversation, but he’s the one who makes the weirdest expressions.

HAYATO: I don’t deny it. [Laughs]

TETTA, anything you want to add about the track?

TETTA:  I really like the A melody(first verse) too. Actually, I heard that our choreographer came up with the dance for this part by imagining me dancing to it. The soft spot I have for this part has grown even more after hearing that. Besides, the choreographer praises me every time I dance to it.

KENSHIN: We all tend to thrive on praise.

TETTA: Yeah! Praise us! 

Do you all often praise each other? 

REI: We often praise TETTA after he finishes singing. Also, HAYATO’s rapping is really awesome. I was surprised at how much he evolved during the fall tour. But in Sapporo, he called SWAG “twag.” [Laughs]

HAYATO: I did my best to pretend it didn’t happen. [Laughs] That was my first time performing a solo on stage, and since it was my own idea, I was still sort of pondering what to do. That was part of the reason why I got nervous onstage and blurted out “twag.” It was pretty vexing so I was super careful during the rest of the performance. [Laughs]

KENSHIN: No, you really did better with each performance. The final was even more amazing with the added emotion.

REI: You’re always quick to praise, KENSHIN.

TETTA: The momentwe finished “STARLIGHT~Mirai no Tobira~,” you came over to tell me it was great and it made me so happy.

KENSHIN: I can’t hide my feelings. I want to communicate my thoughts every time.

Getting back to the subject, HAYATO, tell us your favorite part of this song.

HAYATO: I like the part where REI sings, “Life goes on, risou o koete (beyond ideals).” His voice matches and it feels so good. It really does go “beyond the ideal.” I’d like everyone to listen carefully to that part along with the lyrics.

REI: Sweet. You pointed out what I was aiming for! Actually, that part is deliberate and I’m singing at full volume while staying relaxed.

HAYATO: So that’s why it feels “beyond the ideal”! After that, you tighten it up with “ready.”

REI: Thanks for saying all that. [Laughs]

HAYATO: The cadenced way you handle the ending of each line is really cool, too.

REI: I learned that from TETTA.

Did you decide who sings which parts by yourselves?

TETTA: The writer of the song had all the parts laid out at first, but we discussed things among ourselves and changed it while were recording it.

REI: My part we spoke about just now used to be EIKU’s at first, right?

EIKU: Yeah. But REI’s voice fits better, and since I’m in charge of the beginning of the chorus, it’s better to have someone else do it. REI’s voice adds a really nice touch to the song.

KENSHIN: It turned out really well. It’s really great because EIKU’s chorus brims with encouragement and respect for those who live and work hard every day, and it can be interpreted as us saying, “Let’s keep on growing together from now on.” It’s heartening and uplifting so I recommend listening to it in the morning.

NAOYA: First thing in the morning is good.

KENSHIN: Recently I’ve been challenging myself to play this song the moment I wake up and get ready to leave the house during the three minutes it takes to finish. Everyone should give it a try!

NAOYA: That sounds pretty thrilling. [Laughs]

—This interview by Kana Yoshida first appeared on Billboard Japan.

28 Nov 2022

Official HIGE DANdism Returns to No. 1 on the Japan Hot 100

Official HIGE DANdism’s “Subtitle” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Nov. 23, extending its record to four weeks atop the list.

“Subtitle” rose to No. 1 again powered by streaming (21,377,577 to 21,708,199, No. 1 for the metric), downloads (22,717 to 19,838, No. 1), and video views (2,934,239 to 3,025,749, No. 2). While showing a slight decrease in downloads, the track continues to add weekly streams and views, and the track has also accumulated more points overall compared to the week before.

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Naniwa Danshi’s “Happy Surprise” sold 517,381 CDs in its first week to rule sales and look-ups, but couldn’t add enough points through the other metrics (No. 11 for video, No. 10 for radio airplay, No. 39 for Twitter mentions) to debut at the top and launches at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100. Still, the rising Johnny’s boy band has sold over half a million CDs in its first week for three singles in a row — its debut single “UBU-LOVE” sold 632,655 copies and the follow-up “The Answer/Sachiare” sold 534,004 copies — showcasing the seven-member group’s rising popularity.

Last week’s No. 1 song, King & Prince’s “Tsukiyomi,” falls to No. 7, but continues to perform well in various metrics, coming in a No. 1 for video, No. 2 for look-ups and Twitter, and No. 4 for sales. In particular, the track has been coasting along in the top 5 in video since its debut on the metric, moving 1-5-5-4-3-1 and logging its highest weekly view count this week at 3,957,470 views.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, Twitter mentions, YouTube and GYAO! video views, Gracenote look-ups and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Nov. 14 to 20, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.