State Champ Radio Pop
Page: 622
Pink is back in business with Trustfall, an album that’s at or en route to the top of the charts around the globe. And when she hits the road in support of it, you’ll know about it.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Everything in Alecia Moore’s world, it seems, is shiny and large, colorful. Pink, even. The Philly native is a total drawcard.
Her ninth and latest album, however, explores some of the tougher angles of life.
On Tuesday night (Feb. 21), Pink stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, for an exploration of her music, family, courage and more.
Of her new LP and its title, she explains: “I feel like all of us are walking around sort of with this low level of trauma in our bodies and it takes a lot of trust to be human being these days, to get out of bed in the morning, go to work, and drop your kids off at school, and go to public places and participate in elections and have a vagina. It just takes a lot of trust.”
Not everything is shiny and colorful. “I know a lot of teenagers, also, I think a lot of people have anxiety, a lot of kids have anxiety, and a lot of us feel like we’re falling backwards. And we don’t know where the ground is now,” she says. “That’s a trustfall…you have to ask yourself, what’s worth falling for and who’s supposed to catch you, can you catch yourself.”
The pop superstar also discussed reuniting with Chris Stapleton on “Just Say I’m Sorry” (“it sounds dumb, but I just called him up. I am a fan”), collaborating with her own kids (no, they don’t want to follow her lead into showbiz), and the music industry (“I hate people who gave advice”).
And she shared her origin tale of the music biz, which began in the 1990s when Moore signed as a 16-year-old as part of an “absolutely terrible” group. The band was eventually shelved, but the fearless singer stepped up and out, signed a new contract at 17 and eventually released her own music to the world at age 20. “The business is very different now,” she explains.
Pink also performed “When I Get There,” lifted from Trustfall (Feb. 17), which dropped last Friday through RCA. Her Summer Carnival 2023 jaunt kicking off in late July followed by the TRUSTFALL arena tour starting Oct. 12 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.
Watch below:
After two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 in the last 10 months, Stray Kids have delivered another new project focused on the Japanese market.
Released the morning of Feb. 21 (Feb. 22 local time in Japan), The Sound marks Stray Kids’ first original Japanese full-length album. The 10-track record follows up two previous EPs that the boy band packaged for Japan with Circus from 2022 and All In from 2020. While those earlier EPs consisted of half or more remakes of their K-pop material, The Sound is a majority of original music.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Ahead of the full album today, several singles previewed the LP including “Scars” and “Thunderous (Japanese Version),” which were both originally released in 2021, “Case 143 (Japanese Version)” from 2022, and the rip-roaring title track “The Sound” from January, and rhythmic ballad “There” from Feb. 15, ahead of the full album today.
Demonstrating fan anticipation for the LP, the Kids took over the top 5 of Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter, dated Jan. 28, with the title track at No. 1, and the cuts “DLMLU,” “Novel,” “Battle Ground” and “Lost Me” at Nos. 2-5, respectively.
Two tracks from The Sound are on the Japan Hot 100 chart dated Feb. 18, 2023. After peaking at No. 14 last year, “Case 143” is at No. 78 for its 19th week on the chart. Meanwhile, “The Sound” is at No. 96 after debuting at No. 34 last week. So far, SKZ peaked at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 with “Scars” in 2021.
While Stray Kids’ most recent Korean albums have been able to top the Billboard 200 thanks to their wide availability in retail stores after signing with Republic Records, there’s no current indication that The Sound or any of the band’s other J-pop material will be made available in retail stores or via physical albums like other Korean bands (such as BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER) have previously done.
Looking ahead, Stray Kids will return stateside next month to make up the previously-postponed dates in Atlanta and Fort Worth as part of their Maniac World Tour, and hold their first-ever arena concerts in the U.S. for a pair of shows at Los Angeles’ BMO Stadium on March 31 and April 2.
Stream Stray Kids’ The Sound here.
After 2022 marked KCON’s in-person return following two years online, the world’s biggest K-pop festival has set 2023 dates for events in the U.S., Japan and Thailand in the coming months.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Once again, KCON will hold its flagship event in California with KCON 2023 Los Angeles between Aug. 18-20 at the Crypto.com Arena and LA Convention Center. Barring 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, the West Coast iteration of the festival has been held throughout the Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as the Staples Center) and LA Convention Center since 2015, with 2023 marking its 10th time in the city’s famous L.A. Live campus.
Last year, KCON LA reported 90,000 fans attending across its three days of convention, panels, workshops meet-and-greets and concert activities headlined by artists like Stray Kids, ATEEZ, ITZY, The Boyz, Kep1er, TO1 and more.
After visiting Tokyo in October, KCON also revealed that it will return with its KCON 2023 Japan between May 18-20 at the Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba. The fest last visited the city for its two-day KCON Premiere Chiba event last year where K-pop boy band TO1 performed alongside J-pop acts like JO1 and INI. KCON 2022 Japan was held at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena with TO1, ATEEZ, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, fromis_9, LE SSERAFIM, NewJeans, Monsta X‘s Kihyun and more K-pop and J-pop acts performing.
KCON Los Angeles and Japan join the preciously announced KCON Thailand, taking place next month at the IMPACT Arena and IMPACT Exhibition Center throughout March 18-19 in Bangkok’s northern suburb of Muang Thong Thani. The festival has TO1, ATEEZ, Kep1er, JO1, BamBam, iKON,(G)I-DLE and more K-pop and J-pop acts scheduled to visit.
KCON followed up in a press release that each location would have “signature programming as well as content tailored for each region” and that KCON will be live streamed globally without regional limitations.
Despite increasing competition from new K-pop festival startups like last year’s KAMP and the upcoming We Bridge Music Festival & Expo, as well as more Korean artists appearing on long-running U.S. music fests like Coachella, Lollapalooza and Governor’s Ball, KCON has managed to keep its attendance and audience engagement strong for more than a decade now.
“KCON, which started out with an audience of 10,000 in 2012, has now grown into the world’s biggest K-culture festival,” said Kim Hyun-soo, Head of Live Entertainment Business at CJ ENM, in a statement. “This year, KCON will meet global fans in Thailand, Japan and the U.S., advancing the spread of K-pop and K-culture around the world.”
P!nk stopped by TODAY on Tuesday (Feb. 21) to dish on her new album TRUSTFALL and her plans for not one, but two tours later this year.
Calling the LP “one of” the best of her career, the pop star opened up to anchors Savannah Guthrie and Carson Daly about the special significance of album cut “Turbulence.”
“Everybody gets it,” she said of the vulnerable ballad. “And that kind of makes me sad and happy all at the same time. I hate telling people what a song is about ’cause it’s whatever it’s about for you, but for me, it’s just sort of speaking to anxiety. And almost walking my daughter through it, down that road. My favorite line is ‘Even when you say you can’t/ I will watch you dance through this turbulence.”
Later in the interview, P!nk also teased her touring plan for the remainder of the year, with her Summer Carnival 2023 jaunt kicking off in late July followed by the TRUSTFALL arena tour starting Oct. 12 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif.
“When you go and see Tina Turner and she’s 69 years old in Louboutins, running all around that stage sounding better than you ever have and dancing harder, you have no excuse,” she said of what fans can expect from her live shows — aerial acrobatics and all. “I’m gonna be 90 in a tutu, P!nk-erbell flying through the air. Yeah, why wouldn’t I? It’s so much fun.”
Watch P!nk’s sit-down with TODAY — including a sweet surprise from one of her late dad’s veteran pals — below.
Jonas Brothers dished all about the The Album and their new single “Wings” to Billboard News over the weekend from their Las Vegas residency.
“We didn’t really know which song to start with,” Joe Jonas admitted of choosing a precursor for their upcoming studio effort The Album. “We have love for all of them and it’s hard to call it a single. … I would call it an introduction song to the album. It really feels like a good entryway into what you’re gonna hear for the rest of the body of work.”
While fans will finally hear “Wings” on Friday when it’s released, the JoBros also revealed during the red carpet chat at their partnership with FlyOver Las Vegas that collaborator Jon Bellion did more than just executive produce their upcoming full-length.
“This is the first time we’ve said that, though, out loud,” Nick Jonas admitted after Joe started spilling the beans. “This is a big reveal here for Billboard: Jon is featured on one of our songs on The Album.” Kevin Jonas also jumped in to add that Bellion is “the only feature” on their follow-up to 2019’s Happiness Begins. (Joe’s amusing reaction to letting the proverbial cat out of the bag? “Oops!”)
At their Saturday night show (Feb. 18), the band also shared the news onstage that they’re set to embark on a run of 60 to 70 dates across the U.S. starting in August. The whole tour will naturally be in support of The Album, which will be released May 5 via Republic Records.
Watch the Jonas Brothers’ full chat with Billboard News above.
She’s so sick of 17, but what about 20? Olivia Rodrigo used social media to celebrate turning the big 2-0 on Monday (Feb. 20).
“20 year old girrrrrlllllll,” the pop wunderkind captioned a photo of herself grinning over a tall cake decorated with “Happy Birthday” and a pair of flickering white candles. Though her eyes are closed in the snap, Rodrigo wears a gleeful smile covered in dark-red lipstick and a simple, strappy black top.
One day prior, Rodrigo marked the end of her “f—in’ teenage dream” with a cheeky selfie from the studio, writing, “2day is my last day of being a teenage dirtbag.”
The “Drivers License” singer also received plenty of love from her famous pals, sharing birthday posts from the likes of Addison Rae, Tate McRae, Iris Apatow, Lydia Night, Savannah Hudson and Madison Hu on her Instagram Stories.
The Kid LAROI and Conan Gray also added their birthday wishes, with the former writing, “Happy birthday queeeeeeeeeeeeeen…so grateful for u…love u!!!!!!! @oliviarodrigo” alongside a photo of himself and Rodrigo, while the latter shared a sweet tribute to his longtime bestie on his feed. “happy 20th my liv. watching u grow has been the greatest honor a boy could ask for. love u forever
The Weeknd and Ariana Grande aren’t done working together, and the superstar duo teased fans on social media on Tuesday (Feb. 21) with what seems to be a remix of the 2016 Starboy hit “Die For You.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“Wrote and recorded a verse for my friend after a 14 hour day on set. This certain exception had to be made….” Grande captioned a short video, in which she’s seen laying down harmonies and cutting vocal takes for a track, after a day of filming the movie adaptation of the musical Wicked, in which she plays Glinda the Good Witch. “You know what I’m thinkin’, see it in your eyes / You hate that you want me, hate it when you cry,” Grande is heard singing when she listens back to her vocal cut, which, of course, are lyrics to the chorus from “Die For You.”
The Weeknd reposted the video to Instagram, simply captioning the post with a smiling teary eyed emoji, without giving further information as to when this potential remix will be released.
It’s hardly the first time pop’s dynamic duo have worked together on a musical collaboration. In 2021, Grande and The Weeknd teamed up for the Billboard Hot 100-topping remix of After Hours‘ “Save Your Tears.” The Weeknd is also is featured on both “Love Me Harder” from Grande’s sophomore album, My Everything, as well as “Off The Table” from her 2020 album, Positions.
See below for Ariana Grande and The Weeknd’s “Die for You” teaser.
It’s a shorter week thanks to President’s Day giving us a three-day weekend, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s an easier one.
If you’re looking for some motivation to help power you through the start of another work week, we feel you, and with some stellar new pop tunes, we’ve got you covered.
These 10 tracks from artists including Victoria Monét & Bryson Tiller, Princess Nokia, Hippo Campus, Riton, the Zombies and more will get you energized to take on the week. Pop any of these gems into your personal playlists — or scroll to the end of the post for a custom playlist of all 10.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Victoria Monét and Bryson Tiller, “We Might Even Be Falling In Love (Duet)”
The only valid complaint you can levy against Victoria Monet’s “We Might Even Be Falling In Love (Interlude)” from her 2020 EP Jaguar is that at 51 seconds, the twinkling funk-soul treat is over far too soon. So it’s an overdue boon to the tune that Bryson Tiller teamed up with the singer-songwriter to expand the track into a duet for Spotify Singles; it’s only 40 seconds longer, but you’ll relish every moment. – Joe Lynch
The Zombies, “Love You While I Can”
Fittingly released on Valentine’s Day, “Love You While I Can” is a gentle, harmony-laden acoustic celebration of love from British rock legends The Zombies. It hails from their upcoming album Different Game (March 31), which follows on the heels of their documentary Hung Up on a Dream making its premiere at SXSW this year. – J. Lynch
Seán Barna, “Ben Whishaw Smiled”
Over the mischievous, bubbly rhythm of “Ben Whishaw Smiled,” Kill Rock Stars signee Seán Barna paints a vivid picture of romance and/or lust in the wee, booze-soaked hours of a Greenwich Village night. It hails from the singer-songwriter’s upcoming full-length An Evening at Macri Park (May 12), which takes us across the East River and into the heart of queer Brooklyn nightlife nerve center Marci Park. – J. Lynch
Hippo Campus, “Kick in the Teeth”
Is Hippo Campus in its cowboy era? All signs seem to point to ‘yee-haw’ with the release of their new track, “Kick In the Teeth.” The laid-back song sees the band trading its indie rock sensibilities to experiment with some country twang, much to the delight of fans. Lead singer Jake Luppen’s vocals complement the genre shift quite well, languidly flowing over lax guitar melodies and harmonizing with himself so smoothly, even the hardest of rancheros would weep. “I’m about as lonely as a cowboy can be/ And a night without you is a kick in the teeth/ So when you go home, could you think about me?” he sings. – Starr Bowenbank
Princess Nokia, “Closure”
Princess Nokia always has always been a genre bending chameleon when it comes to her music. In fact, they gave listeners a sharp reminder on 2020’s “The Conclusion” (“All my albums differ, and I am really proud of that/ ’Cause I like to experiment, and I see nothing wrong with that”) that switching it up should be expected. With this in mind, new track “Closure” — Nokia’s pivot to nostalgic, Y2K-coded pop-rock — feels more like a return to form. Chugging guitars and bright drums serve as the perfect backdrop as she sings of an effervescent new love that provides the perfect distraction as she moves on from a dead relationship. – S. Bowenbank
The Aces, “Always Get This Way”
The Aces make a glittering return on high-energy single “Always Get This Way,” but beneath its ‘80s-leaning synths and poppy melodies lie raw, relatable lyrics that tell the truth about mental health struggles. Lead vocalist and guitarist Cristal Ramirez is brutally honest on the track, and reveals sleeping problems, appetite loss and other markers of depression. “This song is about shame, panic, and struggle. It’s about the fact that we hold no space for those struggling mentally in our society, and just kinda wish they’d get over it and quit being an inconvenience,” Ramirez says of the track, which gives fans the first look into the band’s forthcoming LP, I’ve Loved You For So Long. – S. Bowenbank
Eloise, “Giant Feelings”
At first blush, the new single from London singer-songwriter Eloise might be mistaken for a coffee-shop nod-along, all gentle harmonies and disarming guitar fuzz. But “Giant Feelings” is actually pissed-off, post-breakup fare, with Eloise bemoaning lingering sentiment while wondering, “When’d you get to be so damn cruel?” Romantic frustration rarely sounds this at ease, and that’s a testament to the Trojan horse that Eloise has made into a potential breakthrough single. – Jason Lipshutz
Maude Latour, “Heaven”
The chorus of “Heaven,” Maude Latour’s blazingly romantic new single, sounds primed for a TikTok takeover, as she snappily lists the reasons why her subject should give in to the bliss of love — but without the rest of the song creating a golden halo of feelings around it, the hook would sound tossed-off instead of hard-earned. “Heaven” carefully constructs its pop joy, and Latour does a fine job dancing around the main refrain, then doubling down when it returns. – J. Lipshutz
Riton feat. Soaky Siren, “Sugar”
Leave it to Riton — the U.K. dance veteran who’s been on a hot streak of late contorting classic hooks into different positions — to turn 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop” into the foundation of a boisterous, far more uptempo club track. With Soaky Siren providing a nimble vocal take over the sped-up, years-old beat, “Sugar” functions like Riton’s 2021 international hit “Friday”: familiar yet irresistible, a killer hit spun on its head. – J. Lipshutz
Stolen Jars, “Somewhere Else”
One half of Brooklyn duo Stolen Jars, Cody Fitzgerald, is active in the world of film scores, having recently helped compose the music for the Disney film Noelle; the other half, Sarah Coffey, is something of a TikTok sensation, with over 200,000 followers. They don’t need to be lobbing out gorgeously aching indie-pop tracks like “Somewhere Else,” which flares up with some pandemic-ridden stir-craziness and fluttering drums… but we’re all the luckier to have them. – J. Lipshutz
Jessica Simpson celebrated her dad’s birthday with a family reunion photo on Monday (Feb 20).
“My beautiful family together forevermore,” the one-time pop star captioned a photo of herself with her parents — Joe and Tina Simpson — and her younger sisterm, Ashlee Simpson. “I am proud of us for all that we have accomplished unconventionally with pure honesty. I love each of you exactly as you are…unconditionally, completely, fully, entirely, and endlessly. Happy 65th Birthday Dad!!! Bein’ loved by you has given purposeful soul to my life.”
A second photo in the slideshow featured Simpson and her dad posing with her husband, Eric Johnson, and their 3-year-old-daughter Birdie.
As longtime fans will surely remember, Simpson’s father managed her through her early music career until she fired him from his professional role in 2012, an experience she reflected on in her 2020 memoir Open Book. In the tome, the “I Think I’m in Love With You” singer also claimed her dad didn’t approve of her first husband, Nick Lachey, but still liked to exercise control over the relationship.
She founded her namesake fashion empire, The Jessica Simpson Collection, back in 2005. Ten years later, the brand was making $1 billion dollars in annual sales.
Jessica’s younger sister Ashlee is now married to Evan Ross, and most recently surprised the crowd at Demi Lovato’s L.A. tour stop in September when the younger pop star brought her out to perform her Autobiography era single “La La” together
See the Simpsons reunite for Joe’s birthday celebration below.
Rihanna logged her largest streaming week ever in the U.S. following her Super Bowl LVII halftime show performance on Feb. 12.
According to tracking firm Luminate, which provides data for Billboard’s charts, her collected songs (on which she is the primary artist, per Luminate) earned 166.13 million U.S. on-demand official streams in the week ending Feb. 16. That’s up 155.6% compared to the previous week’s sum of 65 million.
Rihanna’s previous best week by streams – and only other week where she surpassed 100 million – was the week ending Feb. 25, 2016, when her collected songs rung up 101.53 million clicks in the U.S. (shortly after the release of her most recent studio album, Anti).
Rihanna’s top five most-streamed songs in the week ending Feb. 16, by official on-demand streams in the U.S., were “Umbrella,” featuring Jay-Z (9.53 million; up 203.4%), “Lift Me Up” (8.68 million; up 31.5%), “Diamonds” (8.44 million; up 288.2%), “Love on the Brain” (8.11 million; up 105.4%) and “We Found Love,” featuring Calvin Harris (7.61 million; up 264.5%). Of those, Rihanna performed three during her halftime show: “Umbrella,” “Diamonds” and “We Found Love.” (“Lift Me Up,” meanwhile, is her only song released in a lead role this decade, having arrived last October.)
On the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart (dated Feb. 25), “Umbrella,” “Diamonds” and “We Found Love” (all former No. 1s) re-enter at Nos. 37, 44 and 48, respectively, while “Lift Me Up” climbs 52-41 (after it debuted and peaked at No. 2 on the Nov. 12, 2022-dated chart).
Over on the Streaming Songs chart (dated Feb. 25), six Rihanna tracks dot the 50-position ranking. “Umbrella” debuts at No. 25, “Lift Me Up” re-enters at No. 35, “Diamonds” re-enters at No. 39, “Love on the Brain” re-enters at No. 41, “We Found Love” debuts at No. 45 and “Needed Me” re-enters at No. 48. (“Umbrella” and “We Found Love” were released in 2007 and 2011, before the launch of the Streaming Songs chart in January 2013.)
Halftime Songs Only: As for only the dozen songs Rihanna performed during the halftime show, they tallied 75.12 million on-demand official streams in the U.S. (up 273% compared to the 20.11 million they earned in the previous week). The most-streamed halftime tune was, as noted earlier, “Umbrella,” with 9.53 million clicks.
Even More Gains: Outside of Rihanna’s streaming increases, the entertainer saw robust gains in overall equivalent album units, traditional album sales and digital track sales in the week ending Feb. 16. In terms of equivalent album units, her catalog earned 142,000 for the week (up 179.3%). Her album sales grew to 12,000 (up 338%) and her digital track sales jumped to 73,000 (up 433%).
All Feb. 25-dated charts will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on Feb. 22, one day later than usual, owed to the Presidents’ Day holiday on Feb. 20 in the U.S. For all chart news, following @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
