News

Bjork Bows at No. 2 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums Chart With ‘Fossora’

Björk begins at No. 2 on Billboard‘s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart (dated Oct. 15) with Fossora. The set starts with 10,000 equivalent album units earned, including 9,000 in album sales, in the Sept. 30-Oct. 6 tracking week, according to Luminate.

It’s the Icelandic songstress’ sixth top 10 dating to the chart’s 2001 inception, a run that began with Vespertine (three weeks at No. 1, 2001). Björk’s other top 10s are Greatest Hits (No. 2, 2002), Family Tree (No. 6, 2002), Volta (nine weeks at No. 1, 2007) and Biophilia (No. 1, 2011).

Björk landed five earlier titles on the Billboard 200, led by Homogenic (No. 28, 1997). Volta brought Björk her highest rank, and lone top 10 to date, on the chart (No. 9).

Concurrently, Fossora arrives on Top Album Sales (No. 7), Vinyl Albums (No. 7; 5,000 vinyl copies), Top Alternative Albums (No. 9), Independent Albums (No. 15) and the Billboard 200 (No. 100), among other tallies.

Additionally on Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Shygirl (aka Blane Muise) starts at No. 7 with Nymph (3,000 units). The U.K.-based DJ/singer has scored two hits on the multi-metric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart: “Sour Candy (Mura Masa Remix),” with Lady Gaga and BLACKPINK (No. 24, September 2021), and as featured on FKA Twigs’ “Papi Bones” (No. 32, this January).

Speaking of Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Farruko flies20-12 with “Nazareno,” earning top Streaming Gainer honors following the Sept. 29 drop of a remix and video with Ankhal. The track, which reached No. 7 in June, earned 1.2 million U.S. streams, up 102%, in addition to gathering 2.6 million in all-format radio airplay audience impressions.

Shifting to the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart, MK collects his fourth top 10 and BURNS earns its first with “Better,” featuring Teddy Swims, who adds his second (13-10). The song is drawing core-dance airplay on Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel, iHeartRadio’s Evolution and KMVQ-HD2 San Francisco, among other outlets. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)

Selena Gomez Was Pursued for a Role on ‘Big Bang Theory,’ New Book Reveals

In the new book The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series, the show’s creators and producers discuss the Hollywood heavy-hitters who could have been on the cast — including Selena Gomez.

Big Bang Theory executive producer Steve Molaro revealed that the producers approached the Only Murders in the Building star several times. Before it was established that Amy (Mayim Bialik)’s parents were still together, Molaro had “kicked around an idea that Amy had been complaining about her awful stepsister,” who would be played by Gomez and be “beautiful and great and everyone loves her.” However, things never worked out due to scheduling conflicts.

Selena Gomez Gets Vulnerable in First Trailer for ‘Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me’: ‘I’m Grateful to Be…

It’s no secret that Gomez, 30, is a fan of the show, as revealed in a 2016 Instagram post. Gomez appears to be in her dressing room watching her computer screen with a mug in one hand. “The one thing that gets me going before anything. Sheldon Cooper – Big Bang Theory,” she captioned the post, garnering more than 2 million likes.

Also revealed in the book: Before Johnny Galecki earned the role of Leonard Hofstadter, the producers pursued Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin. “There’s a special ethereal quality to that actor that I thought might be great,” co-creator Chuck Lorre said in the book, with fellow co-creator Bill Prady adding: “We had a terrific meeting with Macaulay … and then we heard that he had decided he wasn’t interested.”

The book says Sandra Bullock was the “first go-to” to accompany Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) to Sheldon and Amy’s Nobel Prize ceremony before they cast Sarah Michelle Gellar to play herself. Why Bullock? Koothrappali has a “long love of her,” exec producer Steve Holland said. “We were excited about it, but we got a polite decline because she was shooting a movie and wasn’t available. But we were very excited Sarah was available to come on.”

Every Song Ranked on Stray Kids’ ‘Maxident’: Critic’s Picks

When Stray Kids hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with their Oddinary EP in March, it was a wake-up call to the music industry that the K-pop boy band had arrived on the scene with songs that stayed true to their underdog and outsider mentality. With the October release of Maxident, Stray Kids are back with more eyes on them than ever but refusing to re-create what brought them their breakout success.

Instead, Maxident lets the band venture into new territory — particularly love and relationships — but does so in their own way. The eight tracks on Maxident aren’t gushy, catchy love songs, but quirky and unorthodox explorations into all things connection. Just like the comforting theme of Oddinary in making the odd the ordinary, Maxident is relatable and clever in the way it approaches the subject, incorporating more extensive and universal themes in the tracks related to relationships one has with other people and with one’s self.

But more eyes on Stray Kids also gives them a prime opportunity to introduce the inner-workings of their group with songs performed by the band’s different sub-groups. 3RACHA (the hip-hop and production-focused trio made up of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han) create a self-titled drill track, while Lee Know, Hyunjin and Felix (the performance-based trio, nicknamed “Danceracha”) come together for “Taste,” as Seungmin and I.N (the singer-focused duo nicknamed “Vocalracha”) have “Can’t Stop.”

Get to know a new side of Stray Kids and read on for our ranking of Stray Kids’ Maxident tracks and why listeners will “STAY” with each song far beyond release week.

‘Halloween Ends’: How to Watch the Slasher Film From Home

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

“It’s been four years since Michael Myers vanished without a trace.” And now Michael Myers returns for another round of gory murders in Halloween Ends.

The sequel to 2021’s Halloween Kills will scare its way into movie theaters and onto Peacock on Thursday (Oct. 14).

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

In the film, Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is living with her granddaughter, working on her memoir and finally starting to embrace life, until a local murder forces her to confront the past (i.e. Michael Myers).

The cast includes James Jude Courtney, Will Patton, Andi Matichak, Rohan Campbell, Kyle Richards, Nick Castle and Stephanie McIntyre.

Halloween Ends is based on the horror character created by James Carpenter and Debra Hill. Carpenter, Curtis, Ryan Friemann, David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Couper Samuelson, Ryan Turek, Jeanette Volturno and Christopher H. Warner are executive producers on the film, directed by David Gordon Green. Chris Bernier, Paul Brad Logan, Danny McBride and Green penned the script.

Read on for directions on how to watch Halloween Ends from home.

How to Watch Halloween Ends Online

Halloween Ends is a Peacock exclusive that will premiere on the streaming platform at midnight.

Not subscribed? Peacock starts at $4.99 a month for the Premium, ad-supported package and you can stream from any compatible device (TV, phone, computer, or tablet). To stream without commercials, try Peacock Premium Plus for $9.99 a month.

From Peacock Originals — Vampire Academy, A Friend of the Family, Meet Cute, They/Them, I Love You, You Hate Me and more — to daily news, sports, pop culture content, kid’s programs, Spanish-language series and live sporting events (Premier League, WWE, Sunday Night Football, etc.), the streaming platform has a little something for the whole family.

Want to watch Peacock for free? You may be eligible for a free Peacock subscription through your cable provider (click here for more information). Another money-saving option: join Peacock on a discount. The platform is currently offering a one-year subscription for just $19.99 (regular $49.99).

Peacock

$19.99/year

$49.99/year

The Resort, LoveIsland USA, One of Us is Lying, Angelyne, Bel-Air, Dr. Death, Joe vs. Carole, The End is Nye, Last Light, Vigil, Saved by the Bell, We Are Lady Parts, Girls5Eva, Rutherford Falls, Days of Our Lives, The Real Housewives franchise, Below Deck, an episodes of cult-favorite shows like The Office, Yellowstone and Modern Family are all on Peacock. Stream new and older movies on Peacock, including recent releases such as Beast, Jurassic World: Dominion, The Black Phone, Minions: Rise of Gru, and Honk for Jesus: Save Your Soul.

Watch the Halloween Ends trailer below.

Megan Thee Stallion Confronts Nude Cast Member In ‘SNL’ Promo: ‘Your Whole WAP Is Out’

Megan Thee Stallion will take on both hosting and performing duties on Saturday Night Live this weekend.

The “Hot Girl Summer” rapper will pull double duty on Saturday (October 15), and in a hilarious new promo trailer informed a cast member her “WAP” was out.

In the trailer, Meg is greeted by a fully nude Sarah Sherman, with the Houston Hottie proclaiming: “Sarah, bitch, do you know you are completely naked?” She then goes on to add, “Your whole WAP is out,” in reference to her hit song with Cardi B.

You can check 0ut Megan Thee Stallion’s SNL promo below:

Saturday Night Live has sported some rap heavy-hitters this season. Earlier this month Kendrick Lamar and Willow served as musical guests, with the former performing “Rich Spirit,” “N95” and “Father Time” with Sampha off his Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers album.

Meg will likely perform a few songs from her newest album Traumazine, which dropped on August 12.

Tory Lanez On Upcoming Megan Thee Stallion Trial: ‘I’m Facing 24 Years In Prison’

The project bowed at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 with 66,000 total album-equivalent units sold in its first week, marking her fifth consecutive Top 10 placement on the albums chart.

Earlier this month, Megan Thee Stallion also made her twerking MCU debut in the third episode of She-Hulk: Attorney At Law.

Rumors also began to spread earlier in October that Meg may have secured a spot in Stranger Things’ fifth and final season.

‘The Lord of the Rings’ Series: How to Watch ‘The Rings of Power’ Finale for Free on Prime Video

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season finale drops on Friday (Oct. 14). Amazon Studios’ series is set thousands of years before the events in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, with the epic drama following new and familiar characters battling a re-emergence of evil on Middle-earth.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

According to Amazon, the series takes viewers back to an era “in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”

Rings of Fire premiered via Prime Video on Sept. 1. Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Nazanin Boniadi, Peter Mullan, Benjamin Walker, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Ema Horvath, Lenny Henry and Owain Arthur are among the cast. Also launching on Friday, The Official The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Podcast, hosted by Felicia Day. 

Read on for directions on how to stream the series for free.

How to Watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video for Free

The Lord of the Rings series is a Prime Original, which means that Prime members can stream the show at no additional charge. The finale drops on Friday at midnight ET. 

Not a member yet? Join Prime under a free 30-day trial to watch Rings of Power and other content in the massive library of TV shows and movies, Thursday Night Football games and more.

Besides Rings of Power, other Prime Video exclusives include Samaritan, A League of Their Own, The Terminal List, Reacher, Making the Cut, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Harlem, The Boys, Fairfax, Upload, The Wheel of Time, The Legend of Vox Machina, I Want You Back and The Summer I Turned Pretty.

Prime Video

$14.99 a month after free 30-day trial

Love music? Prime Video has music-related movies, documentaries and exclusive concert films like Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby, The Weeknd x The Dawn FM Experience, Tyler the Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost Tour Live and Mary J. Blige’s My Life.

After the free trial, Amazon Prime will cost $14.99 a month (or $139 a year). Besides instant access to Prime Video, the membership includes fast and free delivery on millions of items, exclusive discounts for Prime members only, two-hour grocery delivery via Amazon Fresh, unlimited photo storage, Amazon Music, Prime Gaming and other perks.

Additionally, Amazon Prime provides 50% discounts for qualifying students, EBT and Medicaid recipients. See details here.

You can also rent (or buy) movies such as Top Gun:Maverick, Nope, Elvis, Jurassic World Dominion, The Lost City, and Sonic: The Hedgehog 2 on Prime Video and stream programs from other platforms, including Paramount+, Starz, Discovery+, BET+, AMC+, and Showtime.

Tom DeLonge Shares Letter to Matt Skiba After Rejoining Blink-182: ‘Thank You for Being a Member of Our Band’

Blink-182‘s Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge announced their plans earlier this week to reunite for a brand-new album and a world tour, leaving fans to wonder the fate of Matt Skiba.

The Alkaline Trio frontman filled in for DeLonge and became an official member of the band in 2015, recording the 2016 album California with the group. While its unclear what Skiba’s plans post-Blink are, DeLonge personally reached out to him to express his gratitude for filling in during his absence.

DeLonge shared a personal note he wrote to Skiba via Instagram on Thursday (Oct. 13), captioning a screenshot of his message, “I sent this to Matt personally, but it’s important for the world to know that I honor him. Thank you, @matttskiba.”

The note reads: “Hi Matt, Tom DeLonge here. I wanted to take take a minute and say thank you for all that you have done to keep the band alive and thriving in my absence. I think you are enormously talented (I still love to listen to your band to this day). You have always been so kind to me, not only in the press, but also to others. I really noticed. Emotions between the three of us in Blink have always been complicated, but Mark’s cancer really put things in perspective. But to be honest, the band would not even be here today if it were not for your ability to jump in and save the day. So from my heart to yours, thank you for being a member of our band.”

Blink-182’s new era is kicking off with a bang — in addition to an international tour, which will see the trio heading to North and South America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand — the members plan to release a new, yet-untitled album. The forthcoming album’s lead single, “Edging,” will be released Friday.

See DeLonge’s Instagram post below.

Nicki Minaj’s ‘Super Freaky Girl’ Will Compete in Pop Category Not Rap at 2023 Grammys

Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” is spending its eighth week on top of Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart, but at the Grammys, the song will compete in the pop category.

Explore

Explore

See latest videos, charts and news

See latest videos, charts and news

Minaj originally submitted the track — which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August — to the rap categories at the Grammys, but the decision was overturned by the Recording Academy’s rap committee, according to a source. That group determined that Minaj’s playful and pop-sounding song sampling Rick James’ 1981 classic “Super Freak” should compete for best pop solo performance instead of rap awards.

Representatives for Minaj and The Recording Academy did not immediately reply to The Hollywood Reporter‘s emails seeking comment. Nominees for the 2023 Grammys will be announced on Nov. 15, and the live telecast will air on Feb. 5, 2023, on CBS. Voting for the first round of nominees begins Thursday and ends on Oct. 23.

Minaj has released a number of pop and hip-hop hits throughout the years that feature her rapping or singing — sometimes both on the same track. Her debut solo single, 2010’s “Your Love,” was pop-adjacent with its sample of Annie Lennox’s 1995 cover version of “No More I Love You’s,” and Minaj has released other pop-heavy songs like “Super Bass” and “Starships,” which Hot 97 radio host Peter Rosenberg famously dubbed “not real hip-hop” and caused Minaj to pull out of the station’s annual Summer Jam concert.

But of Minaj’s 10 Grammy nominations, she’s only competed in pop once — for best pop duo/group performance with “Bang Bang” alongside Ariana Grande and Jessie J. The majority of her Grammy nominations have been in rap, including best rap album for Pink Friday and The Pinkprint, best rap song for “Anaconda,” and best rap performance for “Moment 4 Life” and “Truffle Butter.”

“Super Freaky Girl” is in similar company to Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts”: The singer-rapper’s breakthrough track topped Hot Rap Songs for 13 weeks and eventually led the all-genre Hot 100 chart for seven weeks but it didn’t compete in the rap categories at the Grammys. Instead, it was nominated — and won — best pop solo performance at the 2020 show.

Other songs that feature rap elements that have competed for best pop solo performance include Doja Cat’s “Say So,” which includes her singing and rapping, and Post Malone’s “Better Now,” which meshes hip-hop, alternative and pop sounds.

Collaborative songs that topped Billboard’s rap chart but competed for best pop duo/group performance at the Grammys include Iggy Azalea and Charli XCX’s “Fancy,” Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” and Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road,” which won the honor in 2020.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were originally kicked out of the rap Grammys when the duo had a breakthrough with the hits “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us” at the 2014 show. But that decision was later overturned — and heavily criticized — when the group swept the rap Grammys, besting Kendrick Lamar and others — a decision even Macklemore denounced. As a result, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis didn’t submit their sophomore album for Grammy contention at the 2017 show.

This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.

Lil Peep’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit Reaches Settlement

Lil Peep‘s mother Liza Womack has reached an out-of-court settlement in her wrongful death lawsuit against her son’s management team.

According to The Blast, attorneys for both sides — Womack and First Access Entertainment (FAE) — told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Teresa A. Beaudet that the case was resolved “in principle” earlier this week.

Lil Peep passed away following a drug overdose in 2017. His mother sued FAE over his death, claiming they, along with former manager Brian “Chase” Ortega and tour manager Belinda Mercer, enabled her son’s drug use and pushed him to perform when he was in no shape to do so.

Womack is suing FAE for wrongful death, negligence and breach of contract. However, FAE denied any wrongdoing in a statement issued in 2019.

“Lil Peep’s death from an accidental drug overdose was a terrible tragedy,” FAE said. “However, the claim that First Access Entertainment, any of its employees, or Chase Ortega, or anyone else under our auspices was somehow responsible for, complicit in, or contributed to his death is categorically untrue.”

Peep’s mother spoke to Pitchfork about her son’s case in 2021 explaining why she filed the lawsuit and what she hoped to accomplish with it in the first place.

Stream Lil Peep’s Posthumous Compilation ‘EVERYBODY’S EVERYTHING’

“If people are held accountable for their actions, I will feel that justice has been done,” she said. “You learn to live with the pain, and you’re a different person, because when your child dies, the person that you were dies, too. But I will be glad, and I hope to feel satisfaction.”

Earlier in the year, Judge Beaudet had given the green light to move forward with the trial after Womack “demonstrated a casual connection” when it came to the negligence shown by First Access Entertainment during her son’s 2017 drug overdose in Arizona.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n6ORm0O0X48&feature=oembed

Judge Beaudet believes that FAE could’ve done more to create a safer environment for Lil Peep.

“If you’re going to create an environment like that where drugs are flowing, and you’re providing it, and hey, you actually don’t have any life-saving device or any Narcan to help people who are going to have a problem with these drugs, it seems to me you are creating a very dangerous situation there,” the judge said.

The trial was reportedly slated to begin in March 2023, with both FAE and Peep’s tour manager Belinda Mercer taking on the suit.