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Billie Eilish is setting the record straight after her comments about vinyl in Billboard‘s recent sustainability issue caused a bit of a stir.
In response to fan speculation over who she may have been referring to in the interview, during which the 22-year-old pop star called out the “wasteful” practice of releasing numerous album variants to drive sales, Eilish took to Instagram Stories Sunday (March 31) to clarify what she meant. “okay so it would be so awesome if people would stop putting words into my mouth and actually read what i said in that billboard article,” she began, writing in white text over a black background.
“i wasn’t singling anyone out,” she continued. “these are industry-wide systemic issues. & when it comes to variants, so many artists release them – including ME! which i clearly state in the article.”
Leading up to her new comments, Eilish and her mom, Support + Feed founder Maggie Baird, spoke to Billboard about their desire to see more sustainable practices in the music industry. Their past initiatives have included using 100% recycled black vinyl, as well as recycled scraps for colored variants and shrink-wrap made from sugar cane, when releasing different variants for the Grammy winner’s Billboard 200-topping album Happier Than Ever.
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“We live in this day and age where, for some reason, it’s very important to some artists to make all sorts of different vinyl and packaging … which ups the sales and ups the numbers and gets them more money,” Eilish said in the interview, published Thursday (March 28). “I can’t even express to you how wasteful it is.”
“It’s some of the biggest artists in the world making f–king 40 different vinyl packages that have a different unique thing just to get you to keep buying more,” she continued at the time. “It’s so wasteful, and it’s irritating to me that we’re still at a point where you care that much about your numbers and you care that much about making money — and it’s all your favorite artists doing that sh-t.”
After the piece went live, some fans on social media assumed that Eilish was targeting specific artists with her comments. Some thought that the two-time Oscar winner was indirectly shading Taylor Swift — whose upcoming album The Tortured Poets Department has four different deluxe editions available for purchase — while musicians such as Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Olivia Rodrigo and more have all released a variety of different pressings for single albums in recent history.
But as Eilish clarified in her new post, protecting the environment is a global issue that — much like her comments in the article — doesn’t come down to any one artist. “the climate crisis is now and its about all of us being part of the problem and trying to do better,” added the nine-time Grammy winner in her post, linking off to Billboard‘s site. “Sheesh.”
Read Eilish and Baird’s interview with Billboard here.
Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson has reached the milestone of 1,000 NHL games, and pop singer Vanessa Carlton lent her voice to be part of the celebration.
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Carlton remixed her hit song “A Thousand Miles” with Carlson-themed lyrics as part of a collaboration between the team and the production company Fresh Tape Media.
On Saturday night against the Boston Bruins, Carlson became the 128th defenseman in league history to skate in 1,000 regular-season games. Through his first 999, the 34-year-old has played the 41st-most minutes of any player in the league since ice time started being tracked officially in 1997-98, totaling just under 24,000 minutes — plus 3,005 more in the playoffs.
“He’s not just a point producer that is just playing the top of the power play and able to play that for 20 years,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “He’s playing that, plus he’s playing penalty kill, plus he’s playing 5 on 5 when you need to defend a lead and when you need to score a goal. That ability and uniqueness, there’s very few that log minutes in all those situations like he has throughout his career.”
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Carlson, who is originally from Natick, Massachusetts, but spent much of his childhood in New Jersey, has taken more than 26,000 regular-season shifts, all with Washington, since getting drafted in the first round in 2008 and making his debut in 2009.
“You try not to think about it like that,” Carlson said Saturday morning when told that stat.
Carlton’s song remix was released after the player with a similar sounding last name spoke to reporters following the team’s morning skate.
Carlson is the 80th player to dress in 1,000 games with one team. His milestone comes a couple of weeks after teammate T.J. Oshie hit 1,000, and going through that helped prepare Carlson for what to expect not only Saturday night but next weekend (April 7 vs. Ottawa) when the Capitals hold a ceremony to honor him.
“You got so much going on now, in the now, in this league and where we are and just worrying about what’s at stake all the time,” Carlson said. “Just trying not to be a distraction to what we have on our plate right now and where we are.”
The Capitals are trying to return to the playoffs after missing last year for the first time in Carlson’s pro career. He was a huge part of their 2018 Stanley Cup run, playing in all 24 games and recording 20 points while averaging nearly 26 minutes a night.
Sheryl Crow has a friend in Olivia Rodrigo. While chatting about her new album Evolution on Late Night With Seth Meyers on Thursday night (March 28), the 62-year-old singer-songwriter opened up about her bond with the “Drivers License” singer.
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“I met her at Billboard Women in Music and I just really liked her,” Crow recalled. “I’d already had her record and I loved the way she wrote. It’s very punk, it’s like the Breeders meets Deborah Harry.”
Both women were present at the 2022 Billboard Women in Music ceremony, where the “Strong Enough” artist presented Rodrigo with Woman of the Year. “Sheryl, I am such a massive fan of you and your songwriting and I’m so grateful that you’re here,” the former Disney star said in her acceptance speech. “It really means the world.”
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In November, it was Rodrigo’s turn to show up for her friend, with the pair performing “If It Makes You Happy” together at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in honor of Crow’s 2023 induction. Since then, the duo have sung the 1996 hit side-by-side at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville and, most recently, at one of the “Vampire” artist’s Guts World Tour shows.
Backstage at the RRHOF ceremony, Crow told Billboard of her connection with Rodrigo: “All I can say is I paid homage to the women that were before me, and I know how much they mean to me. I don’t take it lightly at all. I still look to them — my friendship with Stevie Nicks is genuine, but I’m still in awe of her. Yeah, I don’t take it lightly.”
“I’m so impressed with how down to earth and together she is, like unfazed by it,” Crow added of Rodrigo to Meyers. “I’ve gotten to know her since then, and I adore her.”
Released Friday (March 29), Evolution marks Crow’s first album since 2019’s Threads. Rodrigo also recently unveiled a new set, dropping the deluxe version of her Billboard 200-topping sophomore record Guts last week.
Watch Crow’s Late Night With Seth Meyers interview above.
Kelly Clarkson heightened the emotion of an already emotional track during her popular Kellyoke segment on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Friday (March 29), taking on Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Takin’ a drive, I was an ideal/ Looked […]
In the hours since Beyoncé dropped her new album Cowboy Carter first thing Friday (March 29), the expansive, genre-bending project has captured a lot of people’s attention — including a number of fellow celebrities. That includes the A-list collaborators featured on the LP, who are now able to hear all 27 tracks for the first […]
Taylor Swift is always with Travis Kelce, even when she’s not actually with him. While the Kansas City Chiefs tight end was out golfing recently, one of his friends started playing the pop star’s 2014 smash “Bad Blood” on the course, prompting an adorable victory dance from the football star. In a video shared by […]
Beyoncé is continuing to change the game with Cowboy Carter, an expansive, genre-mixing exploration of the singer’s upbringing, heritage and musical influences that arrived promptly at midnight Friday (March 29). With a whopping 27 tracks, the project gives listeners a lot to sink their teeth into. Featuring voice note interludes from an array of country […]
Following calls for him to withdraw from and boycott the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s inclusion amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Olly Alexander explained why he will still be participating in the annual competition on Friday (March 29).
In a statement posted to his Instagram, Alexander responded to activist group Queers for Palestine, who wrote the singer an open letter asking him to withdraw from the contest. “I wholeheartedly support action being taken to demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the return of all hostages and the safety and security of all civilians in Palestine and Israel,” he wrote. “I know some people will choose to boycott this year’s Eurovision and I understand and respect their decision.”
The “Dizzy” singer continued, saying that he took “a lot of time to deliberate” over the correct course of action, and decided that withdrawing from Eurovision “wouldn’t bring us any closer to our shared goal.” Alexander said he and a number of other contestants spoke and decided that “by taking part we can use our platform to come together and call for peace.”
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In its original open letter, Queers for Palestine applauded Alexander’s “vision of queer joy and abundance you’ve offered through your music, and share your belief in collective liberation for all,” then asked him to “heed the Palestinian call to withdraw from Eurovision … There can be no party with a state committing apartheid and genocide.”
Alexander also shared a statement from a collective of other Eurovision participants — signed by himself, Ireland’s Bambie Thug, Norway’s Gåte, Portugal’s Iolanda, San Marino’s Megara, Switzerland’s Nemo, Denmark’s Saba, Lithuania’s Silvester Belt and Finland’s Windows95Man — saying that they “stand in solidarity with the oppressed and communicate our heartfelt wish for peace, an immediate and lasting ceasefire and the safe return of all hostages.” They added that they felt “it is our duty to create and uphold this space, with a strong hope that it will inspire greater compassion and empathy.”
Queers for Palestine later responded to Alexander’s decision, saying that while they “welcome” responses from both the singer and his fellow contestants, they found both statements lacking. “When [Alexander et al] use that voice to downplay the genocide in Gaza by vaguely calling it a mere ‘situation,’ they misuse their power. When they choose to ignore the call for a boycott issued by the largest Palestinian coalition, in historic Palestine and in exile, they risk condescending to the people who are being occupied and massacred and are asking for our solidarity.”
This is not Alexander’s first time sharing his thoughts on the ongoing war in Gaza. Shortly before he was announced as a participant in Eurovision 2024, the singer signed an October 2023 open letter from LGBTQ activist group Voices4London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and calling out Israel as an “apartheid regime.” After Alexander was announced as the U.K.’s representative for the annual contest, a source for the Conservative Party spoke to The Daily Telegraph to criticize the BBC for choosing the singer as a representative for the U.K., calling the decision “either a massive oversight or sheer brass neck from the BBC.”
Read both of Olly Alexander’s full statements below:
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, Cowboy Carter arrives, Camila Cabello upends expectations and J-Hope continues his winning streak. Check out all of this week’s picks below:
Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter
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There was a time when Beyoncé was known more for her radio fodder and less for her full-length thematic statements; Bey has spent a little over a decade flipping that script, and while she’s still scoring hits (like her most recent No. 1 single, “Texas Hold ’Em”), she has become one of modern music’s boldest album auteurs. Cowboy Carter, which refracts country music’s history through her superstar prism, heralds a sound and then shifts its shape, blending popular voices and classic songs into a singular vision that ranges from acoustic lullabies like “Protector” to show-stopping workouts like “Ya Ya.” It’s a work of staggering ambition and execution, and as with all of her recent projects, the legend of Beyoncé continues to grow.
Camila Cabello feat. Playboi Carti, “I Luv It”
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“I Luv It” is bananas: Camila Cabello repeats the titular phrase breathlessly as synths whirr around her words, then a sample of Gucci Mane’s classic single “Lemonade” drops, and finally Playboi Carti slides in to mumble some game before the single collapses. The whole affair is off-the-wall pop experimentation, but for Cabello, that might be exactly what the doctor ordered as she enters the next phase of her solo career — “I Luv It” is brash and knowingly surprising, which is more than enough.
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J-Hope, Hope on the Street Vol. 1
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After 2022’s Jack in the Box demonstrated J-Hope’s solo ambitions and hip-hop panache, Hope on the Street Vol. 1 continues expanding his artistic world while also recruiting some special guests. BTS fans will love hearing Jung Kook stop by “I Wonder…” and its warm production bed, while Benny Blanco and Nile Rodgers help engineer the clap-along dance cut “Lock / Unlock” — all the while, however, J-Hope remains a commanding presence, giving each track the pop of attitude it needs.
mgk x Trippie Redd, genre:sadboy
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Machine Gun Kelly and Trippie Redd are frequent collaborators and kindred spirits, mussing up the lines between rock and hip-hop and using their vulnerabilities to connect with younger listeners. At 27 minutes, the collaborative project genre:sadboy allows MGK and Trippie to play off of each other at a brisk pace, telling their tales of dissatisfaction and yearning on tracks like the understated “Lost Boy” and the Frou Frou-sampling “Beauty,” and proudly leaning in to that “sadboy” label.
Editor’s Pick: Sheryl Crow, Evolution
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Sheryl Crow thought her 2019 album Threads would be her last; thank goodness she was mistaken. Evolution is a rollicking affair that more squarely centers Crow’s personality after her guest-packed previous album: the recent Rock Hall inductee has tapped producer Mike Elizondo to make her pop-rock musings smack a little harder, but her smoky voice and witty lyricism are the stars of the show, and haven’t dulled one bit after a long layoff and a few decades in the game.
Beyoncé‘s new album Cowboy Carter arrived Friday (March 29), bringing with it a number of surprises — including an unanticipated but gorgeous Miley Cyrus collaboration on the track “II Most Wanted.” Shortly after the 27-track LP dropped, the “Flowers” singer shared her gratitude for her place on the project, which also features country legends Dolly […]