Pop

11 Aug 2023

Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’ Music Video With Ludacris Hits 3 Billion Views on YouTube

Oh, baby! Justin Bieber and Ludacris‘ music video for the former tween star’s breakout single “Baby” has hit 3 billion views on YouTube.

The “Baby” video came out in 2010 and effectively introduced the world to the young heartthrob with a skater haircut, high-pitched voice and smooth dance moves who would go on to help define pop music for the next decade. The visual features a 15-year-old Bieber wooing a girl with an epic dance-off at a bowling alley, joined by Ludacris, whose rap verse about a teen romance remains wholly iconic.

The year it was released, “Baby” became the most-watched video in YouTube history at the time, surpassing Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” with 246 million views. It was also the most-disliked video on the platform until 2018, when that year’s YouTube Rewind amassed more dislikes than “Baby” in just one week.

In 2020, Bieber celebrated the 10-year anniversary of his career breakthrough with a nostalgic Instagram post, sharing a throwback to the decade-old cover art of his multiplatinum single. The song served as the lead single of his debut album, My World 2.0 and debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, trumping the successes of his earlier singles such as “One Time” and “One Less Lonely Girl.”

“Baby” isn’t the first of Bieber’s music videos to join the exclusive 3 billions club, with 2015’s “Sorry” currently approaching 3.7 billion. In 2016, the “Yummy” singer became the first artist to crack 10 billion combined views on Vevo.

Watch the “Baby” music video above.

11 Aug 2023

Kevin Costner Declares He’s ‘Officially a Swiftie’ After Seeing The Eras Tour With His Daughter

No one is immune to the Swiftie spell, not even two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Costner.

After seeing Taylor Swift perform at one of her SoFi Stadium shows in Inglewood, Calif., with his daughter, Costner took to Instagram to declare that he’s officially fallen into the Eras Tour concertgoer to certified Swiftie pipeline. “My videos are blurry, but I had an amazing time with my daughter at the @taylorswift show,” the actor wrote, captioning a trio of photos and videos of Swift onstage.

“I was absolutely blown away watching her art bring so many people together,” he continued. “I had a great view of her band and had a blast watching them, too. An inspiring night. I’m officially a Swiftie!”

The Bodyguard star was close to the side of the main stage, where he snapped videos of Swift singing “22” and “Don’t Blame Me.” In one picture he shared, thousands of fans in the audience could be seen with their light-up bracelets, glowing in tandem with the stage effects.

Costner — who is also the frontman for country rock band Kevin Costner & Modern West — isn’t the first star to attend an Eras Tour concert and come out of it a diehard fan of the “Anti-Hero” singer. Diplo shared that he’s a “motherf—ing Swiftie now” after catching a concert in Las Vegas, and former Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt raved about Swift after seeing her opening night in Glendale. “So much respect @taylorswift,” he wrote. “When your fans pay for a ticket, they are getting their money’s worth and some.”

The Yellowstone actor was one of dozens of celebrities to show face at one of Swift’s six concerts at SoFi, including Lupita Nyong’o, Meghan Markle, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, Selena Gomez, Austin Butler, Mariska Hargitay, Jeff Goldblum and more. Stars such as Halsey, Sadie Sink, Anya Taylor-Joy and Karlie Kloss were at the pop star’s Wednesday (Aug. 9) finale show — which marked the end of the Eras Tour’s first U.S. leg — where they joined thousands of fans in witnessing Swift’s announcement that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) will arrive Oct. 27.

See Kevin Costner’s post about the Eras Tour below:

11 Aug 2023

Friday Music Guide: New Music From Olivia Rodrigo, Karol G, Trippie Redd and More

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, Olivia Rodrigo wrestles with a (great) bad idea, Karol G keeps collecting W’s and Trippie Redd shows a new side of himself. Check out all of this week’s picks below:

Olivia Rodrigo, “bad idea right?” 

Two years ago, Olivia Rodrigo preceded her debut album with a spectacularly emotional ballad and a head-banging pop-punk anthem; both of those songs, “drivers license” and “good 4 u,” reached the top of the Hot 100, and Sour became a year-defining full-length. Rodrigo is utilizing a similar playbook with her sophomore effort, GUTS, as the theatrical epic “Vampire” has been followed by the driving shout-along “bad idea right?” — although the new single is far from a rehash, instead mixing pop, riot grrrl rock and new wave into a compact call-and-response ode to ex-boyfriend temptation. More than anything, Rodrigo understands how to give wide swaths of listeners exactly what they need, regardless of tempo or sound — it’s the reason why she’s a superstar at the age of 20.

Karol G, Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season) 

Few popular artists are having a better commercial year than Karol G: after Mañana Será Bonito album became the first all-Spanish language album by a woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the Colombian superstar plotted headlining dates in football stadiums, performed on Saturday Night Live and popped up on the best-selling Barbie soundtrack. Now, the winning streak continues with Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), a companion piece to her recent album, but also a 30-minute project that stands on its own; new collaborations with Kali Uchis and Peso Pluma are especially dynamic, while previously released single “S91” sounds even more impactful in the context of a full-length.

Trippie Redd, A Love Letter to You 5 

A Love Letter to You 5 may be the fifth and final edition of Trippie Redd’s popular mixtape series that began in 2017, but the 19-track project feels particularly thoughtful and expansive, as if the hip-hop streaming juggernaut wanted to end the project with the biggest, best installment possible. Lil Wayne, Roddy Ricch and The Kid LAROI all swing by, although the pair of collaborations with Skye Morales, the gifted singer and Trippie Redd’s former partner, are especially poignant, and shed new light on a prolific star’s emotional range.

DJ Khaled feat. Lil Baby, Future & Lil Uzi Vert, “Supposed To Be Loved” 

Summertime is a season for beach days, backyard barbecues and star-studded DJ Khaled singles — and although it’s already mid-August, Khaled has come through with a song that will no doubt linger in the mainstream until the leaves begin to fall. “Supposed To Be Loved” not only corrals Lil Baby, Future and Lil Uzi Vert and lets them unfurls some surprisingly tender bars, but Khaled positions the hip-hop summit over a sample of Michael Jackson’s “P.Y.T.,” as extra insurance that the new single will be smooth and summer-friendly.

V, “Love Me Again” 

A few weeks after his BTS band mate Jung Kook topped the Hot 100 chart with his Latto collaboration “Seven,” V steps forward with his own solo bid, albeit with a very different sonic approach. “I wish you would love me again / No, I don’t want nobody else,” V sings, his vulnerability matched by sensitive R&B production that motions toward jazz and classic soul; the subtleties of “Love Me Again” begin to reveal themselves on the first listen, then deepen with each new play.

Editor’s Pick: The Hives, The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons 

Swedish punk veterans The Hives invaded America during the garage-rock movement of the early ‘00s, as singles like “Hate to Say I Told You So” and “Walk Idiot Walk” made their intense presences felt on MTV and alternative radio. The Death of Randy Fitzsimmons is the quintet’s first album in over a decade, but from the opening riffs of lead track “Bogus Operandi,” the group swaggers back into view like they never left, filling 31 hard-charging minutes with punk performances that will make any thirtysomething want to get back in the pit.

11 Aug 2023

Katharine McPhee Foster Cancels Jakarta Shows Due to ‘Horrible Tragedy’ in Family

Katharine McPheeFoster alerted her fans that she has been forced to cancel the final two dates in Jakarta this week due to an emergency in her family. The singer — who rose to fame as Katharine McPhee when she was the runner-up on the fifth season of American Idol — posted a message on Instagram on Friday morning (Aug. 11) explaining the situation.

“It’s with heavy heart I announce I have to miss our final 2 shows of our Asia run. David and I have had a horrible tragedy in our family and at least one of us needs to get back home to our family,” she said of herself and husband songwriter/composer David Foster.

“Please know how sorry I am and how much I wish to return one day and perform for you all.”

At press time the singer/actress had not detailed the nature of the family tragedy, but she had received a number of supportive messages from her friends, including husband Foster’s ex, actress/songwriter Linda Thompson, who wrote, “sending you and David love & hoping that everything is OK.” Nicole Scherzinger wrote, “sending my love and prayers for your family,” while Orange is the New Black actress Kimiko Glenn, fellow former Idol contestant Pia Toscano and Amanda Kloots offered their love and support as well.

McPhee and Foster, who have a two-year-old son, started dating in 2017 and got married in 2019; David Foster has five daughters from his previous relationships. The couple have been on the road together this summer on the David Foster & Friends tour, with the Jakarta dates slated to kick-off at the Sentul International Convention Centre on Saturday (Aug. 12).

A spokesperson for McPhee Foster had no additional comment at press time.

See Foster’s post below.

11 Aug 2023

Katy Perry Teases ‘KP6 Era’ During Residency Show

Katy Perry put some hip into it when she dropped a playful tease about her upcoming studio album during one of her Las Vegas PLAY residency gigs on Wednesday. In video captured by fans, the singer alluded to her last two albums while offering a tantalizing confirmation about her next era.

“If you couldn’t love me in my Witness and Smile eras, then you can’t love me in my KP6 era,” the singer said on stage while throwing a playful hip swivel in for good measure. Witness (2017) and Smile (2020) failed to match the commercial success of of Perry’s 2010 breakthrough album Teenage Dream or 2013’s Prism.

Perry hasn’t released a new album since the birth of her daughter Daisy Dove in Aug. 2020, but in an interview with Good Morning America this week the singer said she’s hard at work on album number six, which she hinted was inspired by the birth of her child with fiancé Orlando Bloom.

“I haven’t put any new material out since my Darling Daisy. I think that I’m writing a lot and have written a lot from a place of love because I’m feeling so much of it – so much unconditional love, that love you never knew existed,” she told GMA.

“I’m always writing, I have been, but I think what’s really important to me is to be celebrating the world that I’ve got to build with all of these wonderful songs and to be responsible for a life for a three-year-old. I will be back, but let me get this right.” Perry did not offer a timetable for the release of the album.

After a two-year run of Katy Perry: Play that began in Dec. 2021 at the Resorts World Theatre at Resorts World Las Vegas, the singer is preparing to hit stop on the residency in the fall, with the last run of shows slated for Oct. 4-Nov. 4.

See a video of the tease below.

11 Aug 2023

Olivia Rodrigo Uses New Instagram Music Feature to Celebrate ‘Bad Idea Right?’ Debut

Olivia Rodrigo officially dropped her second Guts single, “Bad Idea Right?,” first thing Friday (Aug. 11), and the 20-year-old star had some fun launching Instagram’s new music feature to celebrate the release.

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She launched the “music in carousels” feature by sharing her own photo carousel using the new song. Starting now, all Instagram users can add music to their own photo carousels.

Additionally, Instagram users can now invite up to three friends to co-author a post or reel together, allowing all collaborators to share likes, views and comments. With the new “Add Yours” feature on reels, creators can pin up to 10 of their fans’ reel submissions using their prompts.

Earlier this week, Rodrigo sent out an email to fans, writing that she’s “so stoked” to share “Bad Idea Right?” with them. “The song is pretty different from vampire & shows another side of GUTS that’s a little more fun & playful,” she added. “Cannot wait to share it with you alllllll. Love to ya always!”

“Bad Idea Right?” follows lead Guts single “Vampire,” which Rodrigo released in June, just a few days after announcing that the album arrives on Sept. 8. The single debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the Grammy winner’s third song to reach the chart’s summit after Sour‘s “Drivers License” and “Good 4 U.”

See Rodrigo’s new “Bad Idea Right?” Instagram photo carousel and music video below.

10 Aug 2023

BTS’ V Turns on the Waterworks With ‘Rainy Days’: Watch

V brings a little sunshine to ARMY with his “Rainy Days.”

The BTS superstar turns on the waterworks with this latest single, a ballad, arriving at the stroke of midnight.

“Rainy Days” will splash on the K-pop singer’s debut solo album, Layover, a six-pack set to drop on Sept. 8, and includes the first release “Love Me Again,” which appeared Wednesday with an official music video.

It’s a stripped back number, framed around V’s vocals, a snapping snare and an eccentric piano refrain. Big Hit Entertainment describes the fresh cut as an “alternative pop R&B track,” a statement reads, a “perfect mix of vintage percussion and modern drum sounds gives off a unique vibe.”

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The music video for “Rainy Days” follows V as he gets about an ordinary day, waking up, prepping food, working, resting.

On it, he sings: “Rainy Days, I’m thinking ‘bout you/What to say/Wish I knew how to/Find the way/Right back to you.”

As previously reported, V worked with NewJeans creative director/ADOR president Hee Jin Min on the forthcoming LP, with BigHit revealing that Min oversaw the entire production of the collection, including music, choreography, design and promotion.

For “Rainy Days,” she says, “I wanted to focus on V’s inner self instead of his outwardly glamor. I had specific styles of music that I wanted to suggest to V, considering his vocal tone and style. As soon as he heard the tracklist I made for him, we instantly agreed on the direction.”

The new tune, she continues, “acts as an intro for the album, and V’s serene vocals and visuals stand out.” 

Big Hit announced Tuesday that Layover will include a total of six tracks: “Rainy Days,” “Blue,” “Love Me Again,” “Slow Dancing,” “For Us” and a bonus track piano version of “Slow Dancing.”

And the tracklist comes with a suggestion, that ARMY listen to the album’s tracks in order, from 1-5, noting that “Slow Dancing” is the focus track of the collection, describing it as a “1970s romantic soul style track [that] exudes a laid-back and free-spirited feeling.”

V’s solo efforts come after releases from his fellow BTS members: Jung Kook released “Seven” featuring Latto — which crowned the Billboard Hot 100 — last month, while Suga’s D-Day arrived in April and Jimin’s FACE (including the Hot 100 No. 1 “Like Crazy”) in March.

His earlier releases include “Stigma,” “Singularity,” “Winter Bear” and “Inner Child”; more recent original solo songs are 2021’s “Christmas Tree,” which was on the soundtrack of the Netflix K-drama Our Beloved Summer and last year’s version of the holiday classic “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”

Watch “Rainy Days” below.



10 Aug 2023

Olivia Rodrigo’s New Single Isn’t A ‘Bad Idea Right?’: Stream It Now

More Olivia Rodrigo music is never a bad idea, right? The Grammy-winning pop superstar has unleashed “Bad Idea Right,” the latest single from Guts, her forthcoming sophomore studio album.

“Oh, yes, I know that he’s my ex / But can’t two people reconnect? / I only see him as a friend / I just tripped and fell into his bed,” she sings in the chorus of her latest guitar-heavy track. “Bad Idea Right” follows “Vampire” as the latest taste of Guts; the new track also arrives alongside its Petra Collins-directed music video. In a teaser posted to her Instagram on Thursday (Aug. 10), OIivia finds herself both on the inside and on the outskirts of a raging house party.

Last month (Jul. 15), “Vampire” became Olivia’s third single to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Serving as the lead single for Guts, “Vampire” has yet to leave the top ten of the Hot 100. Guts serves as the follow-up to Rodrigo’s debut studio album, Sour, which won her three Grammys including best pop vocal album and best new artist. Rodrigo revealed the official tracklist for Guts, which includes notable titles like “All-American B—h” and “Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl,” last week (Aug. 2).

Olivia Rodrigo has 13 entries on the Hot 100, including five top ten hits: “Drivers License” (No. 1), “Good 4 U” (No. 1), “Vampire” (No. 1), “Deja Vu” (No. 3) and “Traitor” (No. 9). On the Billboard 200, the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series star spent five weeks at the top with Sour.

Stream “Bad Idea Right?” here:

10 Aug 2023

Did Lorde Just Tease New Music? Fans Think So

Fans are gearing up for a new Lorde era, all thanks to a cryptic post the 26-year-old singer shared to Instagram on Thursday (Aug. 10).

“After the show we went swimming.. these times are beautiful and they freak me out and there’s so much to tell you,” Lorde wrote alongside a series of snaps of herself swimming in a dimly lit pool. “No this is not the start of anything out there, just want u to know there’s a light on inside me .. show it to you soon.”

See her post here. Fans in the comment section clung onto the “show it to you soon” portion of the caption, theorizing that Lorde might share her latest feelings by way of a new album. The star, however, has yet to confirm anything on the way.

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“ik you pregnant with L4, admit it,” one Instagram user commented, while another joked, “‘this is not the start of anything’ me when I lie.”

Earlier this year, Lorde revealed that she’s working on her fourth studio album, the follow-up to 2021’s Solar Power. “It has taken me quite a while [to start working on it],” she told Ensemble magazine. “I mean, I do just take a long time… I do a lot of research, I write a lot down.”

While she didn’t share any details about who she’s working with or when it will be arriving, she didn’t indicate any plans of releasing an album in 2023. “Anything could happen. Let’s see,” she added.

10 Aug 2023

The Band Camino Dug Deep on Their Sophomore Album ‘The Dark’ in Order to Grow

The Band Camino are in their healing era, whether they actively realize it or not. When it comes to romantic relationships, the Nashville-based trio have been known in their music to be self-deprecating and even admit to unhealthy patterns for the sake of love.

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But their sophomore album, The Dark, despite its title, looks different. On “Same Page,” singer and guitarist Jeffery Jordan lets go of a relationship that seems perfect on paper, but things aren’t as they seem. On “Novocaine,” Spencer Stewart (vocals, guitar) allows himself to open back up to love — even if he feels like he needs something to numb the fear. On “Let It Happen,” the boys do as they say and let life come to them as it will.

“This album feels more mature,” Jordan tells Billboard, with Stewart agreeing and adding, “It’s another year of life and we’ve been trusting ourselves a lot more.”

And while the romantic and psychological themes of the album come from a more mature headspace, so does the music. The group took the emotion-filled lyricism and infectious hooks that fans love and “refined it,” as Jordan notes, with the final result diving deep into what a healing heart feels like, encompassed with sleek guitar riffs and swelling drum beats to help dance through the emotional rollercoaster of musical therapy. The Dark paints the picture of a band who is in fact the same page, as the aforementioned song title seeks.

“I feel like when we first started out and we got our record deal, we were so immersed in the whole whirlwind of it,” drummer Garrison Burgess recalls, “But we figure out how we work together better as time goes on because we’ve gotten to know each other and longer. We can go through hard things in our own lives, and get to live together through each other’s individual hardships.”

Jordan playfully adds, “If we didn’t like each other, this would be a lot harder.” He then takes a more serious tone, continuing, “We lucked out with compatibility, for sure. It’s hard to find it with people whom you’re touring with, creating with and in the studio with all the time.”

Stewart offers that the trio “communicate really well,” as can be seen on the most basic level in how coherent their albums always sound. “When you know, you know,” he says of his bond with his bandmates.

While chatting with The Band Camino, one topic that comes up frequently is the pressure of a sophomore slump after a successful 2021 self-titled debut that featured lasting hits including “I Think I Like You” and “Song About You.”

“If you start thinking about a sophomore album in the wrong way, it can f— you up,” Jordan admits, before Stewart chimes in to comfort his longtime friend and musical collaborator, marking yet another indication of the group’s emotional synchronicity.

“Growth is never linear ever,” Stewart assures Jordan, adding, “It can be tough to have that pressure to make sure you always succeed in order. You don’t want to fail and fall out of people’s eyes and then go on to make your best work on the third one but it’s too late.”

Jordan quickly finds grounding in the conversation, once more proving his mental and emotional growth over the last few years. “The pressure does force me to think about why I love doing what I’m doing,” he concludes. “It pulls me out of the numbers game and the success game and the Instagram attention game. I think about the fact that I started this because I was in my bedroom, playing my piano and it made me feel something.”

As we wrap our conversation, it became abundantly clear how much digging into The Dark stepped the Band Camino directly into the light. The Dark is out August 11 via DBLBLK Records/Elektra Records.