State Champ Radio Pop
Page: 635
The Foo Fighters, Lizzo and The Strokes are among the headliners for this summer’s 2023 Fuji Rock Festival in Japan. The event slated to take place July 28-30 at the Naeba Ski Resort in Yuzawa, Niigata Prefectur will also feature sets from Lewis Capaldi, Louis Cole, Anderson.Paak’s NxWorries, Weezer, Alanis Morissette, Cory Wong, Denzel Curry, Slowdive, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Yo La Tengo and Black Midi, among many others.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Tickets for the event can be purchased now through Viagogo. Among the other acts on this year’s bill are: Alexander23, Balming Tiger, Dermot Kennedy, Fever 333, G. Love & Donovan Frankenreiter, Ginger Root, Gogo Penguin, Gryffin, Idles, Jatayu, Neal Francis, Overmono, Sudan Archives and more.
The announcement is just the latest in a growing list of festival headlining dates announced by the Foo Fighters following a nearly year-long layoff; the band last headlined a show at Lollapalooza Argentina in March 2022 and they performed a number of songs at a pair of tribute concerts to late drummer Taylor Hawkins in London and L.A. in September.
The band has eight festival stops on their roster so far, kicking off with Boston Calling on May 26, followed by Columbus, Ohio’s Sonic Temple Arts & Music Festival, Germany’s Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park in early June — which they were just added to as replacements for Pantera — a June 18 stop at Bonnaroo, the July 15 Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival in Milwaukee and The Town in Sao Paulo, Brazil on Sept. 9.
Following Hawkins’ unexpected death at age 50 last March before a festival date in Bogotá, Colombia, the group performed with a series of fill-in drummers at the tribute shows, but at press time had not announced who would be behind the kit for this summer’s gigs.
Check out the full 2023 Fuji Rock poster below.
From declarative album titles like Epik High Is Here and We’ve Done Something Wonderful to the more conceptual Shoebox and [e], Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz of Epik High have always been intentional in a multifaceted way with their record titles.
The hip-hop trio’s latest project leans toward the latter for the group to deliver a new sound that speaks to a fresh mindset and return to their roots as musicians after releasing their debut album 20 years ago.
“We like strawberry representing the album because it’s sweet and fresh, which is what we wanted to do at the beginning of our 20th anniversary,” explains group leader Tablo. “We thought that people would expect some music that is reminiscing and weighed down by the years, and we wanted to go against that expectation and just create something that sounds like three guys that just decided to create a group together. But strawberries are interesting because they’re so fragile; you can smash them up with your thumb but, somehow, they’ll stain on your table perfectly fine. And it reminds me of blood when it’s squished. So, there’s a little bit of pain in that sweetness. I think that that’s what Epik High is.”
Despite opening and closing the new Strawberry EP with, as they describe, “Epik High-ish” lo-fi tracks, the EP boasts some of the group’s most mass-appealing tracks in years inside: the knocking, melancholy hip-hop cut “On My Way” with Chinese K-pop star Jackson Wang, the disco-tinged “Catch” is smoothed out by a perfect feature from Hwa Sa of girl group MAMAMOO, plus an explicit, relatable freestyle from Tablo examines the online and real-life chaos of 2023. While Epik High has toured their brand of Korean hip-hop tour across the globe and scored multiples across Billboard‘s World Albums and World Digital Songs chart, Strawberry is intentionally described as a “global album” by the band to share their current mindset.
“Technically speaking, all our albums have been global, but not by choice, right?” muses Tablo. “K-pop and Korean music became a global thing even though it wasn’t ever a global release. But as a result, the audience for our albums has grown wider. And here’s how I approach progressing as a musician: I don’t think of myself as leading the way and my audience has to follow where I go—I will make music in the way that I want—but I believe that as my audience grows geographically and I’m flying there to perform for them, I want them in the center of my mind and my heart when I’m creating music. Before, I would create the music and the music’s audience grew. Now, that audience is affecting the way I create music as well, like, they’re in my mind when I make music…I think more because of COVID; I think how the entire globe is sharing the same fears and inspirations and hopes and dreams. We were just made more aware of it and, as a result, I think with this album, it’s just a mindset thing—calling it a ‘global album’ because there’s no real difference to how we’re releasing it; we’re just saying that because we want to remind ourselves that we are now speaking to people all over the world and we want them to know that we care about them.”
Despite Epik High intending for last February’s release of Epik High Is Here to be their final album, the trio naturally found themselves creating music again after career highlights like returning for their second Coachella performance and surrounding themselves with other musicians.
“So we actually did decide internally that Epik High Is Here would sort of be the last album,” Tablo explains. “Epik High Is Here Part 2 ends with ‘Champagne,’ which is sort of going back to the very first song on our first album [‘Go’ on Map of the Human Soul]. It’s like the curtain call. We were like, ‘We’ve made so many albums and I don’t think there’s anything we can really say. So, let’s continue to be Epik High and perform, but I’m not sure if we should ever make an album again. It was like a collective decision. What happened was…damn it, Coachella kind of inspired us again. We were like, ‘Oh my God…’”
Tablo says California continued to inspire the band despite their professional promises: “We just assumed that maybe we’ll release one single in October 2023 when it actually becomes 20 years, but nothing else. And then we were in LA for some festival, we just had like a week in L.A. but only one show so we had all this time. Being who we are, we ended up with a lot of musicians just making music and ended up with a ton of songs. We were like, ‘What do we do with these songs? We promised each other that we wouldn’t release an album,’ and then Tukutz was like, ‘This isn’t actually an album if we’re releasing three to five songs. Technically, it’s just a project.’ And I’m like, ‘You’re right. We did say we will never release another studio-length album so we’re not breaking that promise…yet.’ And we justified it to ourselves, hence, this situation.”
Let Epik High break down their new album/project/situation Strawberry below, track by track:
When TOMORROW X TOGETHER unveiled the first visuals for their Billboard 200 No. 1–contending album The Name Chapter: Temptation, the K-pop boy band quickly set the Internet ablaze with the dreamy, skin-baring set of photos and videos. Even if the group’s millions of fans and followers aren’t similarly preparing for fantastical photo shoots and TV performances on the regular, the quintet is honest about the relatable mindset to push towards their goals and showcase why TXT is increasingly earning its title as “K-pop’s voice of Gen Z.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
When discussing The Name Chapter: Temptation, TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai don’t differentiate when speaking about the ways diet, idleness and exercise affect their lives as both musicians and everyday people. At just 20 years old, youngest member HueningKai describing resisting certain meals as “a war against food” may be an essential part of his K-pop experience but also a battle that everyone fights from time to time. Taehyun mentioning “the temptation of laziness” may be more top of mind for a schedule-packed starlet, but who hasn’t had a morning of hitting the snooze button an extraordinary amount of times?
TOMORROW X TOGETHER don’t preach to rise above vices, nor do they try to appear as if they don’t fall to temptations themselves, but instead bring these shared experiences to life through more outstanding creative contributions (like “Happy Fools” with Coi Leray) and the most impressive choreography of their careers (watch “Devil by the Window” and new single “Sugar Rush Ride”). The guys emphasize that not only are their lived experiences inside The Name Chapter: Temptation, but the front-to-back listening experience previews the next page in their story, which is sure to continue this deeper look into these five engaging, empathetic superstars.
Read on for Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun and HueningKai’s reflections on their latest EP, new goals, favorite songs and more.
Congratulations on the new music, TOMORROW X TOGETHER! What are you most looking forward to starting this new chapter?
TAEHYUN: What I look forward to the most is the reaction of our fans when the music first releases. When we are preparing for the album release right now and that’s the time when we can most feel that “Oh, we are finally releasing the album” feeling.
Your album titles The Dream Chapter and Chaos Chapter give obvious hints about where the music will go, but The Name Chapter is a little more open-ended. Can you explain it?
TAEHYUN: We always talk about growth. We’ve talked about friendship for The Dream Chapter, and some love being broken in our Chaos Chapter. And, finally, we arrived at The Name Chapter and you know you have to grow up but sometimes you don’t want to yet. That’s what this EP is about: You’re tempted to stay in “Neverland” because it’s sweet and you’re young and free. But at the end of this album, you say “Farewell, Neverland” because you know you have to go, so you have to go.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER always put your stories into your albums. How do you relate and fit with what you just described?
TAEHYUN: The overarching theme of this album is “temptation.” And I think that we come across many temptations from different places as we grow. The track that I’ve felt like it’s really our story is the third track “Happy Fools.” We all contributed in making this track and it talks about a story of how we fall into the temptation of laziness. YEONJUN did a beautiful job top lining the song, and all five of us contributed to the lyrics writing so it truly became our song.
What does the new single “Sugar Rush Ride” represent in your story?
HUENINGKAI: I think this song really incorporates our overarching theme of this album, which is temptation, really well. So it talks about a temptation of a sugar rush, which is irresistible and very, very sweet. So, I think it represents our refreshing, dreamlike and even sexy charms.
SOOBIN: It’s not only about an experience that we have, but I think it’s an experience that everyone has. So, I think everyone can resonate with the song too.
“Sugar Rush Ride” has the lyric, “The devil said, ‘Gimme, gimme more’” and you have the “Devil by the Window” song. With the album’s theme, what temptations do you battle in your lives?
HUENINGKAI: I think the temptation that you come across in everyday life is diet. So, when you go on a diet, you can’t really resist the temptation of food. It’s basically a war against food. So, I think that’s the strongest and scariest temptation we can ever come across.
YEONJUN: I agree.
You guys always look great and the Internet went wild with your concept photos. Did you do anything specific to prepare for those, either mentally or physically?
YEONJUN: Yeah, I worked out almost every day.
Tell us more about the visuals for this album: You have “Daydream,” “Nightmare,” “Farewell,” and “Lullaby” concept photos.
TAEHYUN: I can basically explain our concept photo that it has different concepts and, I think, they’re basically in a chronological order. In “Daydream,” we depict how we fall into the temptation and how happy and pleased we are falling into the temptation. For “Nightmare,” we express how we recognize that we have fallen into the temptation and try to fight off the temptation. In “Farewell,” we finally overcome the temptation and take one step further away from the temptation.
You always emphasize wanting to grow with every album release. In what ways do you feel like you grew with this new album?
HUENINGKAI: Every time we release a new album, we give a try to new and various genres. And of course, for this album as well, we gave a try to many new genres. So it was our first time trying Afropop genre, which is a pretty difficult genre but I think everyone did a very good job in recording “Tinnitus (Wanna Be a Rock)” and we wrapped that up pretty nicely. And other than the songs, I think the concept photo–wise, it was our first time trying that concept of a “dreamlike” concept, but every member did a good job pulling off that concept.
What’s everyone’s favorite track on the album?
TAEHYUN: That’s my favorite today, “Tinnitus (Wanna Be a Rock).”
HUENINGKAI: I would choose “Farewell, Neverland,” the last track.
YEONJUN: I’ll choose “Happy Fools.”
SOOBIN: I’m the same with HUENINGKAI, the last track, “Farewell, Neverland.”
BEOMGYU: I will choose “Happy Fools” too.
TOMORROW X TOGETHER has hit No. 4 on the Billboard 200. I have a really good feeling about this album, but do you have any new goals, hopes or dreams this time?
HUENINGKAI: Of course, to perform at the bigger stages and perform at the AMAs.
YEONJUN: Attending [American Music Awards] was a really good experience, but next time we want to perform.
TAEHYUN: We also want to build and strengthen our color. We want people to listen to our music and think, “Hey, that’s TXT and that was awesome.”
What else do you want to emphasize to fans with this release?
TAEHYUN: Fans want spoilers and hints every time we release a new album. And I want to tell our fans that if you listen to the tracks from Number One to Number Five, in order, then you can get a hint for our next album.
Artists, music executives, songwriters and more descended on Los Angeles’ Nightingale Plaza on Wednesday night for the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) and Billboard Grammy Week Showcase.
Throughout the star-studded night, Demi Lovato, Sabrina Carpenter and Jimmie Allen each performed an intimate set, highlighting the work of a particular songwriter who helped each craft the sound of their latest studio set. Carpenter, the rising star behind Emails I Can’t Send, put a spotlight on Amy Allen, with whom she duetted on their co-written single “Vicious.”
Later in the evening, Allen performed a brand-new track titled “Small Town Anthem” as well as his 2022 hit “Down Home” before posing alongside Nashville powerhouse Liz Rose, who sits on the NMPA board of directors and was awarded song of the year during the party for co-writing “All Too Well” hand-in-hand with a certain superstar by the name of Taylor Swift back in 2012.
Lovato eventually closed out the musical festivities with back-to-back performances of “Feed” and “4 Ever 4 Me” from their 2022 album Holy Fvck — both of which were penned by Laura Veltz along with 11 more of the album’s 16 pop-punk-infused tracks.
Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason jr. and NMPA president David Israelite were both on hand for the soiree, as well as songwriters from Makia, Nija Charles and Alex Raphael to Amber Mark and Patty Smyth. Heading into the 2023 Grammys on Sunday, Charles, Veltz and Allen are all among the inaugural pack of nominees for the first-ever award for songwriter of the year, non-classical.
Check out Billboard‘s exclusive gallery of the NMPA and Billboard Grammy Week Showcase below.
Taylor Swift surprised Swifties on Thursday (Feb. 2) with a new version of Red (Taylor’s Version) on vinyl, and it’s finally available in, you guessed it, burning red.
“How are we celebrating All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)’s #GRAMMYs nominations? Dancing ‘round the kitchen in the refrigerator light…and heading to store.taylorswift.com to get #RedTaylorsVersionVinyl in burning red, while supplies last,” Taylor Nation shared on its social media accounts to spread the news.
Previously, the red edition of the re-recording had only been available as a Target exclusive, while the vinyl sold from Swift’s official webstore was just basic black when the album was released in Nov. 2021. At the time, the fan favorite record moved 605,000 album equivalent units to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Of that number, 114,000 were vinyl sales, and Red (Taylor’s Version) ultimately ended the year as the third top-selling vinyl of 2021 after just seven weeks of sales.
While some fans clamored in the comments for info on the next re-recording their queen might have up her sleeve — ahem, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), anyone? — others were happy to revel in the refrigerator light of their favorite autumn album. “I remember this era all too well,” one fan commented. Others added sentiments like, “it’s always time for the red era,” “More like all too unwell now,” and “red (taylor’s version) as a red vinyl??? absolute PERFECTION!!!” (There was also a particularly hilarious joker, who couldn’t help deadpanning, “We were all wrong Red (Taylor’s Version) was actually next.”)
At this weekend’s Grammy Awards, Swift’s ten-minute version of “All Too Well” is up for both song of the year and best music video. Meanwhile, vault track “I Bet You Think About Me” earned a nomination for best country song and “Carolina” from Where the Crawdads Sing got a nod for best song written for visual media.
Get a look at the red version of Red (Taylor’s Version) below.
Selena Gomez used social media to bare her face without a stitch of makeup, glam or filtering in a new post on Thursday (Feb. 2).
“Me,” she captioned the trio of selfies simply and confidently. In the first two, she wears a blue crewneck sweater, the semicolon tattoo on her wrist peeking out as she’s cozied up on a white couch. By the third, the pop star has changed into a black Champion sweater and leans out of a rain-strewn window as she rests her chin on her hand.
Thousands of followers latched onto Gomez’s simple statement, with the official account for Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building account mirroring back, “You” in the comments. For her part, Nicola Peltz Beckham declared her pal, “Most beautiful ever.”
Other non-famous fans appreciated Gomez’s choice to post the photos barefaced, even including a red blemish between her nose and lip. “Finally a celebrity who shows herself without filters or masks of make up and she is truly beautiful, in a way than could help people ([especially] girls) on understanding that we don’t need so many tricks to appear at our best,” one wrote. “The most important thing is just being yourself and be proud on presenting you as you are.”
Late last month, the “Calm Down” singer shared a separate, cryptic post on her Instagram feed that left plenty of Selenators wondering if she was finally teasing a follow-up to her 2020 album Rare, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and contained hits like “Lose You to Love Me,” “Look At Her Now” and “Boyfriend.”
See Selena in all her fresh-faced glory below.
Halsey just earned her second Diamond Certified solo record with “Without Me,” but it’s not just a big moment for the pop star. It’s also a big milestone for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the organization known for awarding artists with Gold, Platinum and Diamond statuses based on song sales and streams, as “Without Me” marks the 100th song to ever reach the coveted Diamond benchmark.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The RIAA presented Halsey with their Diamond Certification during a special ceremony Wednesday (Feb. 1), after which the “Eastside” singer shared photos on Instagram and thanked her fans, record label and more. “Yesterday was just a littleeee out-of-body,” they wrote. “Without Me is my second diamond record, Closer was my first, but my very first one solo!”
It probably goes without saying, but achieving Diamond Certification is no easy feat — that’s why only 100 songs have received the award since its introduction in the late ’90s, after all. A Diamond Certification signifies that a track has gone 10x Platinum, meaning it’s garnered 10 million certified units or more.
“There were a few other really special stats I learned as well including that I have 75x platinum certifications across my catalog,” Halsey continued in their Instagram post. “This whole thing is so surreal. Huge thank you to @riaa_awards for coming out to present this incredible award… [and] all of the fans n friends for making this type of thing possible.”
“Here’s to more years and more tears and more songs,” she concluded.
In honor of 100 Diamond Certified songs, the RIAA released a video recapping every song to ever reach 10x Platinum status, starting with Elton John’s “Something About the Way You Look Tonight / Candle In The Wind 1997,” for which the inaugural Diamond award was created. See which songs from Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Cardi B, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd and more have gone Diamond by watching it on the RIAA’s website.
Over the past month, Mariah Carey has beckoned her fans toward “It’s a Wrap,” a luxurious album cut from her 2009 album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, and the Lambily has responded in kind. Since Carey launched a TikTok dance challenge in mid January, weekly U.S. on-demand streams of “It’s a Wrap” have soared by more than 1,000% compared to where they were at the beginning of the month, and have kept climbing as more Carey fans have participated in the challenge.
On Jan. 15, Carey acknowledged a sped-up version of “It’s a Wrap” gaining social media traction by performing her own elaborately choreographed sequence to the song. The clip, complete with backup dancers and a sandwich wrap at the end for a cheeky sight gag, has earned more than 575,000 views on TikTok to date.
Naturally, her diehard fans wanted to recreate her choreography over the following days — and on Jan. 26, the superstar shared a slew of her favorite fan clips. “Battery about to die.. just watched hundreds of videos of IT’S A WRAP ON TIKTOK!!! I can’t even know what to say!!!” Carey posted.
The combination of Carey kicking off the challenge with her own clip, then personally posting some standouts from the thousands of fan clips that followed, has helped generate tons of new interest in “It’s a Wrap” on streaming platforms. During the week ending Jan. 26, the song earned 1.65 million U.S. on-demand streams, according to Luminate — a massive increase from its pre-TikTok challenge total, as it earned 17,000 streams in the week ending Dec. 29.
“It’s a Wrap” was never released as a single from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, which was led by the top 10 hit “Obsessed,” and has yet to hit the Billboard Hot 100. Its TikTok revival follows Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” once again scaling the chart and reaching No. 1 during the holiday season.
Click here to read more about the “It’s a Wrap” TikTok revival and watch more of Carey’s favorite fan clips.
SEVENTEEN‘s subunit BSS — which consists of members Seungkwan, DK and Hoshi — unveiled the tracklist for its forthcoming album, Second Wind, on Wednesday (Feb. 1) through a sporty highlight medley that details the track themes and provided snippets of the songs to come.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The medley video was designed like a fitness app with goal trackers, measurement of energy and a community that consisted of the SEVENTEEN singers, who also serve as voice and fitness coaches for CARATs.
DK launched into his guiding messages, and explained in detail what fans may gain from the project’s lead single. “‘Fighting’ is the first and title track of BSS’ first single album, Second Wind,” he says in the video, as snaps of him running on a track and wearing sportswear appear onscreen.
“The song is like a positive energy. Your own cheerleaders BSS offer you to help you start a refreshing day thinking, ‘I can do this!’ You can start your day with brimming energy if you start with this song,” DK adds before an upbeat preview of the track starts to play.
Seungkwan was up next for the second track from Second Wind. “‘LUNCH’ is a song that will wash away the drowsiness of the afternoon and fill you with subtle but invigorating energy. ‘LUNCH’ is a song with a distinctive and cheerful melody that makes you want to keep listening! Should we have lunch together with this song?” he says, leading into a synth-heavy preview of the song.
Hoshi closes out the voice coaching with details about the final tune on the album. “The third track, ‘7PM’ is a good song to wrap up your tough and tiring day. I hope you can get pleasant comfort from this song on a day that feels especially longer than the others. Everyone, great job today as always. BSS is always by your side to support your day,” he says as he signs off, before a preview of the mellow song closes out the video.
Second Wind serves as the first single album for BSS since the release of the group’s debut single, “Just Do It,” in 2018. The album will arrive on Monday, Feb. 6.
Watch the Second Wind highlight medley in the video above.
Taylor Swift once wrote the lyrics, “This me swallowing my pride, standing in front of you, saying I’m sorry for that night,” allegedly about Taylor Lautner, and now, the Twilight actor is returning the favor. In a recent podcast appearance, Lautner opened up about regretting how he handled that fateful night in September 2009 when, seconds after he presented a VMA award to the pop star, Kanye West rushed the stage and took the microphone.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The recollection comes during a Wednesday (Feb. 1) episode of The Squeeze, a podcast hosted by Lautner’s wife, health influencer Taylor Lautner (that’s not a typo, they share the same first and last name!). When Mrs. Lautner asked Mr. Lautner which moment in his life to which he’d like to travel back in time and change, he said, “Probably the 2009 VMAs when I presented the award to Taylor and was unaware that the Kanye thing was not a skit.”
You might recall that this was also around the time Swift and the Home Team star dated, as confirmed during the podcast by Lautner’s wife. “You and Taylor [Swift] had just gone public,” the podcast host prompted.
“I presented the award to her,” the actor continued. “I took five steps back and was standing five feet behind her. Kanye jumps up on to the stage. I could barely hear it, I can’t see them, I’m just assuming this whole thing was a practiced and rehearsed skit. Because why else would Kanye West be jumping up on the stage interrupting Taylor Swift? It just didn’t make sense.”
The Tracers star went on to say he regrets his onstage reaction to the moment, even though he couldn’t hear what was happening at the time. “If you look back at it, I’m actually caught laughing and giggling at them,” he recalled. “The second she turned back around and I saw her face for the first time, I was like, ‘Oh, that wasn’t good.’”
It was a pop-culture moment that immediately went down in history: Swift winning best video, female artist for “You Belong With Me,” Kanye West grabbing the microphone and shouting the now infamous line, “I’mma let you finish, but …,” and Beyoncé’s horrified expression as he declared her the rightful winner of the award. It was the very beginning of a decade-long, on-off feud between the “All Too Well” singer and Ye, who, 13 years later, has been in and out of the news for making infinitely more shocking statements about antisemitism.
After that chaotic VMAs ceremony, Swift went on to release her 2010 third studio album, Speak Now, with songs seemingly dedicated to both Ye (“Innocent”) and Lautner (“Back to December”). In the latter track, she even appeared to reference the award-show incident, singing about how a love “held me in your arms that September night/ The first time you ever saw me cry.”
Watch Taylor Lautner reflect on the infamous Kanye West/Taylor Swift VMAs moment below:
