Pop
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Chappell Roan is ready to continue the pink pony club fun. The star took to Instagram on Friday (Oct. 25) to tease a potential single called “She Gets the Job Done” alongside a series of Polaroid photos of herself rocking her own merch. “This is a clue. Just let that sink in,” she captioned the […]
On today’s (Oct. 23) episode of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century podcast, we reach No. 7 of our list with a producer-turned-rapper-turned-all-consuming-celebrity, who has been unavoidable in pop culture for the last two decades — often for his artistic brilliance, sometimes for his business ventures or personal life, and particularly in recent […]
Ariana Grande‘s has made her diagnosis of Lady Gaga‘s new single “Disease.” On Friday (Oct. 25), the Joker 2 star made her long-awaited pop music comeback with the release of her upcoming seventh album’s lead single, a dark dance track that finds Gaga singing, “I could play the doctor, I can cure your disease/ If […]
10/25/2024
The mogul purchased the pop star’s six-album catalog for upwards of $300 million in 2019.
10/25/2024
When you’re already number one you can take some chances. Secure that her 2020 pandemic home NPR Tiny Desk concert still holds the record for the most-seen Tiny Desk ever with more than 130 million views, Dua Lipa was back in the crowded public radio offices on Friday (Oct. 25) when her second stripped-down show highlight tracks from this year’s Radical Optimism album.
Speaking to NPR’s Ari Shapiro in an interview before the four-song episode dropped, Dua explained that she flipped the uptempo album track “Happy For You” into a stripped-down piano and voice ballad that represented the song in its “purest form,” stripped of the bubbling electronic production. “It is what it is in the moment, and I think you just feel that song differently,” she said. “You listen to the lyrics in a different way, and it was really fun to think about it and take it back to the basics.”
She also talked about how she flipped the oft-used phrase “if these walls could talk” on “These Walls” by “personify[ing] the walls, because no one knows you more than the four walls in your room.”
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The mini-concert opens with an unplugged, meditative take on “Training Season,” highlighted by acoustic guitar and electric piano and a gently thrumming bass and angelic backing vocals before the singer’s seven-person band picks up the pace and (gently) rocks the office with a jazz pop take on the Radical Optimism single.
“I’ve always wanted to come down and be by the desk,” a smiling Dua told the assembled NPR staffers. “We did a at-home Tiny Desk in 2020, so this feels really, really special,” she added, cheekily wondering if anyone had seen that little record-setting show. She then slipped into the chilled out “These Walls” before setting up “Happy For You” by saying she’s always been inspired by the way artist’s reimagine their songs for the series.
Which is why she also switched up the arrangement for the song about her being happy that her ex has a new girlfriend, swapping the original’s wistful pop dance vibe for a skeletal, emotion-forward keyboard and voice arrangement that brought new poignancy to the wish-you-the-best lyrics.
“Even the hard parts were all for the best/ I see where you’re at now, you picked up the pieces/ And then you gave them to somebody else,” she sings over keyboardist Georgie Ward’s gentle backing. The session ends with the album’s first single, the certified banger “Houdini,” whose slinky, joyful vibe likely sent the NPR crew shuffling back to their desks with a big smile on their faces.
Check out Dua’s Tiny Desk show below.
“It’s always interesting to meet your peers that you’ve influenced,” says Zac Hanson.
As the trio Hanson, Zac and his brothers Taylor and Isaac have, after all, been making music together for 30 years — the equivalent of an entire career for many artists. Those peers have included some of today’s biggest hitmakers, who’ve looked to Hanson’s success and stability as a potential model for their own.
“We sat in our studio with Billie Eilish and FINNEAS when they happened to be in town, [with] their parents talking to us saying, ‘We basically decided they should make music ’cause we saw Hanson and you guys seemed like you were OK,’” Taylor recalls. “Like, that’s insane … and here they are, they’ve done incredible, beautiful work.”
Other artists, the brothers reveal, have visited Hanson simply looking to get their take on new music. “In the same studio, Ed Sheeran, when he was opening for Taylor Swift, [was] like, ‘I wanna play you some songs.’ … And you’re just going, ‘This is really fun!’” Isaac says with a laugh.
Hanson is currently celebrating 20 years since going independent and starting their own label, 3CG Records, where they released their third album, Underneath. The band is on a North American tour in support of a deluxe re-release, Underneath: Complete.
“These songs are all richer, layered, we produced a great deal of it,” Taylor says of Underneath. “It’s a record that really works well in a live setting and it’s exciting to go back and really lean into those songs,” which include the radio hit “Penny and Me.”
In a wide-ranging and loose chat with Billboard News, the Hanson brothers also talk about their foray into beer-making with their Mmmhops Pale Ale, also getting a re-release, alongside a new beer, Pink Moonlight Hazy Peach IPA, created in collaboration with noted independent craft brewery Destihl.
Watch the full interview — in which the brothers also discuss their thoughts on how to, as Isaac puts it, “fix the music industry” — above.
Billie Eilish just reacted exactly how anyone would to Rihanna saying she wants to collaborate — with utter disbelief. Shortly after the Fenty Beauty said that the “Bad Guy” singer is her dream duet partner, Eilish reposted the former’s remarks on Instagram Stories Thursday (Oct. 24) and wrote, “what in the absolute f–k.” “oh my […]
Billboard’s Friday Music Guide serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
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This week, Lady Gaga supplies an antidote for hungry fans, Halsey channels the greats and Megan Thee Stallion unveils another act. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Lady Gaga, “Disease”
Lady Gaga’s new single was produced and written with Andrew Watt, a guitar virtuoso who’s become a guru to rock veterans, as well as Cirkut, one of pop’s most prolific studio whizzes; that pedigree informs a stomping new track that balances arena heft with nimble melodies, as Gaga sings, “Screamin’ for me, baby / Like you’re gonna die / Poison on the inside, I could be your antidote tonight!” in between fluttering vocal refrains and booming percussion.
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Halsey, The Great Impersonator
Most new albums are knowingly influenced by the artists that predated their creators, but few of them are enacted as purposeful homages quite like Halsey’s The Great Impersonator, which hopscotches across personal heroes ranging from Dolly Parton to David Bowie to Britney Spears; the track list can be a guessing game of who-inspired-what, but more often, Halsey’s own songwriting and perspective power the brightest spots.
Megan Thee Stallion, Megan: Act II
Following her June album Megan with a 13-track deluxe edition, Megan Thee Stallion has given fans an embarrassment of riches to cap off a highly successful year: “Bigger in Texas” sets things off with classic trash-talking Meg and “Mamushi” receives a giddy remix featuring TWICE, but “Roc Steady,” a flip of Ciara’s “Goodies” featuring Flo Milli, is the clear highlight.
Summer Walker, “Heart of a Woman”
Even though Summer Walker’s upcoming album will be called Finally Over It, but the R&B star still isn’t on “Heart of a Woman,” a sumptuous showcase for her complex emotions as she recognizes a relationship she can’t quit: “I try to be strong,” Walker sings, “but how much can I take?”
Addison Rae, “Aquamarine”
As Addison Rae continues making the transition from TikTok superstar to aspiring music A-lister, her pop aesthetic is coming into focus, with “Aquamarine” extracting the breathy flirtations from previous single “Diet Pepsi” and applying them to a sleek, futuristic dance-pop sheen.
Kelsea Ballerini, Patterns
A meditation on personal strength and moving on from divorce, Patterns may be Kelsea Ballerini’s most moving collection of songs to date, as the country-pop star sharpens her pen while examining her regrets and hopes; the opening run of songs on Patterns, including the poignant “Sorry Mom” and rousing “Baggage,” demonstrates why Ballerini remains such a captivating presence in the genre.
Gigi Perez, “Fable”
With “Sailor Song” a viral smash and an Island Records deal in hand, Gigi Perez has quickly returned with “Fable,” an acoustic sing-along searching for answers that replicates the rawness of her breakout single and sounds like it could be another hit for the singer-songwriter.
Jin, “I’ll Be There”
Jin’s upcoming album is titled Happy, and pre-release track “I’ll Be There” certainly lives up to that adjective: here, the BTS member is all smiles while reveling in pop-rock bliss, deploying a woo-oo-oo post-chorus that lodges in your brain before your first listen is even complete.
Linkin Park, “Over Each Other”
On “The Emptiness Machine” and “Heavy is the Crown,” the first two songs released from Linkin Park’s upcoming album From Zero, Mike Shinoda is the first voice heard, a steadying force before new vocalist Emily Armstrong arrives; with “Over Each Other,” however, Armstrong delivers an impressive vocal showcase, unleashing her frustration over miscommunication as the production blinks and shudders.
Editor’s Pick: Soccer Mommy, Evergreen
On her fourth Soccer Mommy album, Sophie Allison expertly finds a middle ground between the lo-fi production of her early work and the hearty, pop-adjacent rock of her more recent output; with personal loss as a central focus, Evergreen feels like Allison’s most complete record to date, and a standout during a crowded season for indie releases.
Nicole Scherzinger may have been one of the last people to communicate with Liam Payne before the singer’s death on Oct. 16 following a fall from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In an interview with Billboard about Scherzinger’s “one-of-a-kind” Broadway performance in Sunset Blvd., composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that Scherzinger — who met Payne when she was a judge on the English X-Factor, where One Direction were formed — had been in communication with Liam on the day of his death.
“She was still texting him that day, and [that evening] the reviewers came in [to SUNSET], she’d just heard that he died,” said Webber of the previews for the musical in which Scherzinger stars as Norma Desmond. “And the fact that she even did the show at all is extraordinary. I mean she is an amazing, amazing woman. She is without any question one of the finest performers I’ve ever worked with.”
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On Thursday (Oct. 24), Scherzinger posted a tribute to Payne on Instagram in the form of a letter to her late friend. “Dear Liam, I will forever cherish and treasure the time we shared together, from fifteen years ago when One Direction was born, right up until just a few weeks ago,” she wrote. “It was such a blessing to get to work with you recently. We shared the same love and passion for music and I will forever remember the meaningful and joyful conversations we had.”
The accompanying photo showed a smiling Payne posing with Scherzinger and former Destiny’s Child member and solo star Kelly Rowlands from the set of their Netflix series Building the Band. The music competition series — which also features host Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean — began filming this summer with the premise of talented singers tasked with forming their own bands without seeing each other first. At press time a spokesperson for the series had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on plans for airing the series in the wake of Payne’s passing.
“It’s been so hard to process that you’re no longer here, but I am grateful to have known your kind heart, sweet soul and character,” Scherzinger continued. “You brought so much joy, light, and laughter to the lives of those that truly knew you. I will ‘miss you’ my friend and carry you in my heart. My thoughts and prayers are with your family.”
In 2022, a previously unseen clip from 1D’s formation on X-Factor revealed that it was Scherzinger who was instrumental in putting solo singers Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson together as a group. “We thought of each of you as individuals, and we just feel that you’re too talented to let go of,” Scherzinger said at the time. “We think it would be a great idea to have two separate groups,” she continued as judge Simon Cowell broke the tension by announcing that the newly formed band would be going through to the next round.
The unseen portion of the video showed that Scherzinger was heavily involved in putting together the members of the group that she gushed at the time would be the “cutest boy band ever! The little girls are gonna love them!… They’re just too talented to get rid of. And they’ve got just the right look and the right charisma on stage. I think they’ll be really great in a boy band together,” she said.
At the time, Cowell predicted that confident Payne would likely the “leader” of the newly formed group. “They’re like little stars,” Scherzinger said of the five boys who had initially auditioned as solo acts; Payne had also auditioned as a solo act two years earlier in 2008. “So you can’t get rid of little stars. You put them all together,” Scherzinger said.
On Wednesday, Buenos Aires police raided the luxury hotel where Payne was staying when he died, reportedly taking away a number of items, including hard drives and CCTV footage. Payne, 31, died after falling from a third-floor balcony, with an autopsy report revealing that he died from a number of injuries, including internal and external bleeding caused by the fall. Investigators reportedly found a number of substances in his body at the time, including a recreational drug called “pink cocaine,” a mixture of substances that often contains ketamine combined with MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids and/or psychoactive substances. Full autopsy details are not expected for several more weeks.
Scherzinger is the latest star to post a tribute to Payne, following on the heels of statements from his former 1D bandmates, 5 Seconds of Summer’s Ashton Irwin, Justin Bieber and the singer’s girlfriend of two years, Kate Cassidy, among many others.
Police in Buenos Aires raided the hotel where Liam Payne was staying before his death on Oct. 16 in a fall from a balcony. According to the Associated Press, a police special investigations unit descended on the Casa Sur Hotel on Wednesday night (Oct. 23) on orders from the prosecutor’s office, reportedly seizing a number of items including computer hard drives and footage from hotel CCTV cameras.
Payne, 31, died after falling from a third-floor balcony, with an autopsy report revealing that he died from a number of injuries, including internal and external bleeding caused by the fall. The AP reported that an initial investigation suggests that the late One Direction and solo star was alone before his death and had a “breakdown” following the consumption of drugs; police reportedly found a number of substances in his body at the time, including a recreational drug called “pink cocaine,” a mixture of substances that often contains ketamine combined with MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids and/or psychoactive substances. A handmade aluminum pipe was also found in his Argentina hotel room, according to ABC News. Full autopsy details are not expected for several more weeks.
On Oct. 16, streams and sales of both 1D and Payne’s music have surged in the U.S. and globally in the wake of the singer’s shock passing. Official on-demand U.S. streams of 1D’s five-album catalog totaled 5.9 million, a vault of 174% over 2.1 million the previous day, according to Luminate. On Oct. 17, they rose further to 22.2 million, up 278% over the day before.
In addition, globally, 1D pulled 21.3 million streams on Oct. 16, a 76% gain from 12.1 million on Oct. 15. The group’s catalog soared 298% to 84.9 million streams on Oct. 17.
In the week since Payne’s death, fans have turned the site of his passing into a makeshift shrine, laying candles, teddy bears, photos and other totems around the hotel entrance. Payne’s father, Geoff Payne, is reportedly currently in Buenos Aires helping to make arrangements for the transfer of his son’s body back to England, with officials expected to release it around Oct. 28.
Payne’s girlfriend, Kate Cassidy, was the latest member of the singer’s inner circle to pay tribute to the beloved star in an Instagram post on Wednesday in which she called him her “best friend [and] the love of my life.” His romantic partner of two years, Cassidy wrote, “None of this feels real, and I can’t wrap my head around this new reality of not having you here. I’m struggling to figure out how to live in a world without you by my side. Together, we got to be kids again, always finding joy in the smallest things.”
The influencer also noted that a few weeks prior to his death Payne wrote her a note confessing his hopes to marry her within the next year. “Liam, I know we’ll be together forever, but not in the way we had planned. You’ll always be with me,” Cassidy said. “I’ve gained a guardian angel. I will love you for the rest of my life and beyond, carrying our dreams and memories with me everywhere I go.”