Pop
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2023 has been a packed year for the boys of ATEEZ. The K-pop group — which consists of members Hong Joong, Seong Hwa, Yun Ho, Yeo Sang, San, Min Gi, Woo Young and Jong Ho — recently went No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Album Sales chart with its Outlaw EP, hit up this year’s KCON LA for a headlining performance and are about to embark on a series of tour dates in Latin America. In between the group’s stacked schedule, the K-pop stars stopped by Billboard News to discuss their latest career highlights.
Host Tetris Kelly kicked off the interview congratulating the group for the Outlaw EP’s success (the set also peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200), and asked the members their thoughts on why it had such positive reception.
“I think this era is a whole different ATEEZ, so that why many ATINY [the group’s fan name] and many audience wanna get some new piece of our album,” Hong Joon mused. “After we got a high number on the chart, we had pressure also, but we try to enjoy these days. We try to have a good mindset to make new songs. After debut, we try to put something deeper into it, like a new genre of music.”
K-pop has become one of the most popular genres of music in the last few years, and as a result, ATEEZ’s rise comes at the right time. Min Gi reflected on this shift and noted “there’s a growing change as K-pop is becoming more widely accepted by the general public despite the language differences.”
The shift has also led to the expansion of ATINY. The group recently mobilized across the world to perform flash mobs of the group’s single “Bouncy” in public spaces, with many of the videos going viral across social media.
“I think the only people that can really capture the ATEEZ energy are our ATINY, so seeing them follow along with our dance was really fascinating,” Yun Ho said of the dance videos. “It made me want to set more cool choreographies that we can do together in the future.”
Up next for the group is the continuation of its The Fellowship: Break The Wall tour. The trek continues on Aug. 30 with a stop in Santiago, Chile, and will visit Bogota, Singapore and Manila next month.
Watch ATEEZ’s Billboard News interview above.
She already taught you what your heart sounds like with “Padam Padam.” Now, Kylie Minogue is ready to put the pressure on with her new single. In a post to her Instagram on Wednesday (Aug. 30), Minogue revealed the release date for her latest single, “Tension.” Due out on Thursday (Aug. 31), the clip played […]
What a difference a few days make. After rocking more than 170,000 during her headlining sets at the Reading and Leeds Festivals over the weekend, Billie Eilish took things way, way down on Tuesday night (Aug. 29) for an intimate club gig at the 1,500-capacity Electric Ballroom in London. The lucky fans who snagged tickets […]
Harold Childs, who broke through industry barriers in the ‘70s as a Black man overseeing pop music promotion at A&M Records, died of leukemia in Los Angeles on Sunday, Aug. 27. He was 80 years old. Childs’ death follows that of A&M co-founder Jerry Moss, who died Aug. 16.
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Known for his innate business savvy, vibrant personality and dapper style, Childs spent more than 50 years in a music career that included tenures with RCA Victor, Qwest Records and Warner Bros. Records.
“He was a consummate ‘Record Man,’” Direct Management co-founder Martin Kirkup tells Billboard of Childs, a longtime friend and fellow A&M alumnus. “I was vp of artist development from 1975-85 and worked with Harold for most of that decade. He was passionate about the wide range of music that A&M embraced, with great instincts for the tactics and strategy of breaking records. But what really made him special was his personal warmth, good humor and his endless interest in other people. That’s why people were so devoted to him.”
Ray Harris, founder and chairman emeritus of the Living Legends Foundation, worked with Childs at Warner Bros. where the former served as the label’s senior vp of Black music promotion. Sharing his memories of Childs with Billboard, Harris says, “They say your name and reputation will reach a stranger’s door before you do. It was such with Harold Childs. When I entered the music business in the ‘70s, Harold was one of the people I would constantly hear about. He worked at one of the hottest independent labels [A&M] as vp of promotion in charge of the pop department as well as other genres of music.
“That was unique,” adds Harris, “because Harold was an African American male navigating through a pop world normally carved out for our white counterparts. There was very few African Americans moving in that world during that period. Childs not only moved in it, he was a dominant part of that company’s success. I got to know Harold and found him to be classy, fashion-forward, professional and a nice guy. Sleep well my friend, you’ve made your mark.”
Born May 8, 1943 in Philadelphia, Childs was a student at the city’s Dobbins High School when he began working in the stock room at Marnel Record Distributors. He later segued to RCA Victor as regional promotion manager where he worked with artists such as Peter Nero and Henry Mancini. Then in 1969 he joined A&M as national sales and promotion director for its CTI (Creed Taylor International) imprint, based in New York.
Relocating to Los Angeles in 1971, Childs retained his same role for A&M solely after CTI became independent. During his subsequent appointments as vp of promotion in 1974 and senior vp of promotion and sales in 1978, Childs played an integral role in A&M’s evolution as one of the industry’s leading independent labels in the ‘70s and ‘80s. He and his team broke projects from the Carpenters, Cat Stevens, Captain & Tennille, Peter Frampton, Supertramp, the Brothers Johnson, Styx, Joe Jackson, the Police, the Human League and George Harrison’s A&M-distributed Dark Horse label.
Leaving A&M in 1984, Childs joined PolyGram as senior vp and then served as president of Quincy Jones’ Qwest Records at the latter’s request. During a later stint at Warner Bros. Records, Childs headed the label’s jazz promotion department, working with a roster that included Al Jarreau, David Sanborn and George Benson, who began his career at CTI.
Ed Eckstein, former president of Mercury Records, described being mentored by Childs as “a godsend and a blessing to say the least. I got to see firsthand — during my years working with Quincy Jones — [Childs’] unique field general, fearless-leader style of leadership; the level of respect he received from his troops and associates, coupled with the results he accrued, was awe inspiring. Harold was smart, incisive, sharp, demanding, funny, fair and the Essence of Sartorial Splendor at all times.”
Childs’ resumé includes serving as senior consultant for Soundboard Marketing. The Los Angeles-based company has collaborated with brands such as Paul Mitchell Salons as well as Timothy B. Schmidt of the Eagles, Ray Parker Jr. and producer Patrick Leonard. Childs was also a consultant for Japanese-based Alpha Records, working as its U.S. liaison in a sales and promotion capacity. The Living Legends Foundation presented Childs with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
Donations in memory of Harold Childs may be made to The United Negro College Fund.
This past Friday, we got new music from three of the biggest child TV stars-turned-pop superstars ever: Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and Ariana Grande. Gomez put out the carefree pop song “Single Soon,” Cyrus released the reflective ballad “Used to Be Young,” and Grande put out a 10th-anniversary digital deluxe edition of her debut album […]
For years, musicians pretty much had just one artistic outlet for dissing their enemies: through song. That would all change for good circa 1981, however, when the modern music video was born — bringing with it a whole new way for singers and rappers to creatively dunk on their haters, exes, backstabbers, copycats and everyone […]
When Tony Bennett died July 21 in his hometown of New York at the age of 96, the world lost one of the last great interpreters of the American Songbook. Billboard has 32 years on Tony — although we can only wish we had such unflagging class and charisma — and we have to admit that we greeted the crooner with a “Cold, Cold Heart” when he debuted in 1951. But we quickly came to appreciate the way he flew us to the moon.‘Cry’-ing Shame
When 24-year-old Anthony Dominick Benedetto rebranded himself as Tony Bennett and debuted on Columbia Records, Billboard didn’t exactly bet on the “Rags to Riches” singer. The May 12, 1951, issue called “I Won’t Cry Anymore” a “competent etching” and dismissed “Because of You” as an “adequate” song “with nothing special to offer.” By the time the latter track topped Billboard’s pre-Hot 100 pop chart, Bennett’s performances routinely “bowled over the bobby-sox crowd,” according to the Sept. 29, 1951, issue. Hey, we’re a trade publication — not Nostradamus.
Golden Gate, Golden Pipes
Over the next decade, as Bennett delivered a series of era-defining hits, Billboard was full steam ahead on the Tony train. “Ol’ pro Tony leaves ’em gasping,” raved a Dec. 8, 1962, review of a Carnegie Hall concert. “Tony, like a crafty veteran pitcher in baseball, grew stronger as the night grew longer.”
Saving Face
An in-depth interview in the Nov. 30, 1968, issue found the crooner getting candid: “The trend in the music business was moving away from me,” he said. “I held out and finally I found [‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’] and had my first hit record after a long dry spell.” Bennett also said he had stuck to his guns when Hollywood called, revealing that one studio floated a “contract that called for remodeling his nose.” His reply? “I liked my nose then, and I like it today.” His praises were also sung by a chorus of all-star supporters, including Duke Ellington, Bob Hope and even jazz pioneer Louis Armstrong. “If Tony Bennett who swing sings wonderfully can’t send you,” Armstrong said, “there’s a psychiatrist right up the street from you. DIG him.”
Plugged In to the Next Generation
“Bennett continues his reign as the crooning choice of Generation X,” reported the July 2, 1994, Billboard in the wake of his hit MTV Unplugged album, asking, “What will Grandma do to rebel? Start buying White Zombie CDs?” Bennett’s cross-generational appeal didn’t wane over the next two decades. “Tony Bennett achieves his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Duets II, making the 85-year-old the oldest living artist to reach No. 1,” reported the Oct. 8, 2011, issue. Three years later, Bennett beat his own record when he returned to No. 1 on the Oct. 11, 2014, chart at age 88 with Cheek to Cheek, his album with Lady Gaga. The record still stands.
The Good Life
“I feel on top of the world,” Bennett told Billboard in an Aug. 11, 2016, interview. “I’m singing well. The audience loves what I’m doing. All I can tell you is I have a blessed life.”
This article originally appeared in the Aug. 26, 2023 issue of Billboard.
The year of Taylor Swift is continuing strong. The superstar broke another record on Spotify on Tuesday (Aug. 29), becoming the first female artist in the streaming platform’s history to reach 100 million monthly listeners. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Spotify announced the news on social media, […]
TOMORROW X TOGETHER is already ready for a new chapter. On Tuesday (Aug. 29), the five-piece boyband announced that its next album, The Name Chapter: FREEFALL is set to arrive this fall — just three months after the K-pop sensations dropped their last album, Sweet.
The news comes via social media posts on both the band and BigHit Music’s accounts, simply sharing the upcoming album’s title and a mysterious video teaser. In the 24-second clip, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s signature “X” symbol fittingly freefalls through an abyss of animated streaks of color, ending with a sprinkling of eery piano notes.
According to a Weverse statement from BigHit, the record will drop Oct. 13. Pre-orders will be available starting Wednesday (Aug. 30), with more details about the album still to come in a separate notice on TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Weverse.
The Name Chapter: FREEFALL will mark Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai’s fifth studio album, following 2019’s The Dream Chapter: Magic, 2021’s Still Dreaming and The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE and this year’s Sweet, their most recent full-length project. Both Still Dreaming and Sweet are Japanese-language albums, with the latter debuting at No. 3 on the World Albums chart earlier this summer.
The guys of TXT are also fresh off their headlining performance at this year’s Lollapalooza, as well as the release of their joint single with the Jonas Brothers, “Do It Like That,” which dropped July 7 and charted for one week on the Billboard Global 200. The South Korean stars opened up about the collaboration in an interview with Billboard last month, during which Taehyun noted that the JoBros “were even cooler in person.”
“Their friendliness helped us work together in a chill environment,” he continued, with Beomgyu adding, “Jonas Brothers were incredibly welcoming from the moment we met. They were just as enthusiastic as we were about shooting content, which we really appreciated.”
See the announcement for The Name Chapter: Freefall below:
NMIXX traveled stateside once more to perform at this year’s KCON LA, which took place at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Aug. 18-20. Backstage at the festivities, the girl group — which consists of members Lily, Haewon, Sullyoon, Bae, Jiwoo and Kyujin — caught up with Billboard News to talk about the event, as well […]