State Champ Radio Pop
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Billboard’s First Stream 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, Miley Cyrus grows with “Flowers,” Shakira doesn’t hold anything back alongside Bizarrap, and Sam Smith recruits two pals to keep evolving. Check out all of this week’s First Stream picks below:
Miley Cyrus, “Flowers”
Throughout her career, Miley Cyrus has remade her image and sound at the start of a new album era, from the grown-up synth-pop of Can’t Be Tamed to the audacious hip-hop influence of Bangerz to the pensive country-pop of Younger Now to the homage-paying guitar-rock of Plastic Hearts. As a sleek, disco-adjacent midtempo pop track, “Flowers,” the first taste of upcoming album Endless Summer Vacation, doesn’t tip its hand and reveal a radical sonic reinvention for Cyrus — but that lack of transformation actually benefits the superstar, who sings of changing course and finding self-fulfillment after a breakup, in this context. Singing with wisdom and a steady sense of space on “Flowers,” Cyrus shows that she can still conjure pop magic, but can also feel comfortable in her own skin.
Bizarrap & Shakira, “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53”
“This is for you to be mortified, to chew and swallow, swallow and chew,” Shakira declares on volume 53 of Bizarrap’s acclaimed (and increasingly popular) music sessions — and indeed, the collaboration is intended as an evisceration, with several haymakers directed at Shakira’s ex-husband, soccer star Gerard Piqué, already making the rounds on social media. However, don’t let the tabloid fodder outshine Shakira’s most vibrant single in years: “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” is rich with hooks, beat changes and invigorated singing, as if dunking on her ex has unlocked the most dazzling version of an all-time superstar.
Sam Smith feat. Koffee & Jessie Reyez, “Gimme”
The Sam Smith Renaissance continues with “Gimme,” a lush dancehall riff on which the singer-songwriter, having recently tinkered with their microphone persona on the sweaty hyperpop smash “Unholy,” downplays their crooning for a more subtle, sensual delivery, to great effect. Instead of sacrificing the intimacy of a sexually charged song like “Gimme,” guest stars Koffee and Jessie Reyez switch up the song’s chemistry and make every second of the track, from the chiming refrain to the bumping second verse, as impactful as possible.
Moneybagg Yo & GloRilla, “On Wat U On”
Give Moneybagg Yo and GloRilla, two rock-solid Memphis rappers increasingly crucial to mainstream hip-hop, a bass-heavy beat with a menacing piano line, and the results are probably going to be stellar. Yet “On Wat U On” represents more than a reliable head-knocker from the CMG label mates: as the pair justify their kiss-offs while cosplaying in an unstable relationship, they form a symbiotic relationship of loners who know what they want and can toss in the right ad-libs to demonstrate as much (GloRilla earns extra points for dropping “Hate yo’ ass!” to punctuate a line).
Margo Price, Strays
In the summer of 2020, during the throes of the pandemic, Margo Price and her husband/collaborator Jeremy Ivey spent six days in South Carolina taking a ton of hallucinogenic mushrooms and furiously penning the album that would eventually become Strays; that backstory explains the inhibited songwriting at the heart of the country-folk mainstay’s fourth album, but also underscores how nuanced the album can be in between more free-wheeling moments. Tracks like the kicky “Been to the Mountain” are balanced out with “County Road,” a poignant message to a young victim of a car accident, and “Lydia,” a powerhouse ballad about abortion that stands among Price’s best work.
PartyNextDoor, “Her Old Friends”
About 95 seconds into new single “Her Old Friends,” PartyNextDoor locks into a groove that reminds casual fans why he’s still such an exciting presence in popular R&B: his voice floats up then twists back down, and stacked vocals circle in and out of harmonizing, as if a ghostly chorus can’t decided whether or not to support him. The new track follows singles like “Sex in the Porsche” and “No Fuss,” hinting at the first PND full-length since 2020… but regardless of when that arrives, moments like that in the middle of “Her Old Friends” are worth savoring.
Taeyang and Jimin joined forces to release their new collaborative single “Vibe” on Friday (Jan. 13).
On the track, the two boy band veterans trade verses, singing and rapping, “You know we got that vibe baby/Look at you, look at you/You got the vibe, I can feel it, It’s a vibe.”
Accompanying the song is a suitably vibey visual, which captures the pair’s slick dance moves and charisma.
“Vibe” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Trending Songs Powered by Twitter chart (dated Jan. 14) before it was even released, largely thanks to the collab’s announcement and its accompanying swoon-worthy teaser posters featuring the two idols.
The track marks Taeyang’s first solo track since he was discharged from his mandatory service in the South Korea military in Nov. 2019. Last year, the BIGBANG member inked a new deal with YG Entertainment subsidiary The Black Label, and the boy band also returned from their four-year-long hiatus with their single “Still Life.”
Meanwhile, Jimin’s 2022 collaboration with Ha Sung-woon already holds the record for the second-longest reign at No. 1 on the Hot Trending Songs chart, tied with SB19’s “Bazinga.” The BTS member rang in his 27th birthday — which was celebrated by ARMY worldwide — last fall, just weeks after releasing the first preview images of his solo photo folio Me, Myself, and Jimin: ‘ID : Chaos.’
BIGBANG may have their years in the military behind them, but the members of BTS are just starting to begin the enlistment process required by their home country. In Dec., Jimin and his band mates sent Jin and his freshly buzzed locks off to basic training at the army base in Yeoncheon in a heartwarming video shared to the group’s official YouTube channel.
Watch Taeyang and Jimin’s “Vibe” below.
A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys, the latest in a series of “Grammy Salute” specials, will tape Wednesday, Feb. 8, three days after the 65th annual Grammy Awards are held in Los Angeles. The live concert special will feature a star-studded lineup paying tribute to the classic pop/rock group. It will tape at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and will air on CBS later this year.
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The show will tape six weeks after the airing of the previous “Grammy Salute” special; Homeward Bound: A Grammy Salute to the Songs of Paul Simon, aired on Dec. 21.
Here’s something they probably won’t tell you on the “Grammy Salute” special: The Beach Boys never won a Grammy in competition, despite four nominations. Even their masterwork “Good Vibrations” went 0-3 at the Grammys. (During The Beach Boys’ 1960s heyday, Grammy voters were still trying to decide what they thought of contemporary pop/rock.)
Grammy voters have since decided they like it – and The Beach Boys in particular – very much. The group received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2001. Wilson was named MusiCares person of the year in 2005. Five Beach Boys recordings have been voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which functions as a second chance for the Grammys to reward worthy records they may have missed the first time around.
Since The Beach Boys’ heyday, Brian Wilson has received six more Grammy nominations, winning twice – best rock instrumental performance for “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” (2004) and best historical album for The Smile Sessions (Deluxe Box Set) (2012).
The Beach Boys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 (with Elton John doing the honors). Wilson was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2007.
The Beach Boys logged four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – “I Get Around” (two weeks in July 1964), “Help Me, Rhonda” (two weeks in May/June 1965), “Good Vibrations” (one week in December 1966) and “Kokomo” (one week in November 1988). Brian Wilson was not involved with the latter smash, which was featured in the Tom Cruise film Cocktail.
The group notched two No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 – Beach Boys Concert (four weeks in December 1964) and Endless Summer (one week in October 1974).
The Beach Boys were formed in Hawthorne, Calif., in 1961. The group’s original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson; their cousin Mike Love; and friend Al Jardine. Three of the members are still living – Brian Wilson, 80; Love, 81 and Jardine, 80. Dennis Wilson died in 1983 at age 39. Carl Wilson died in 1998 at age 51.
The Recording Academy, Joel Gallen’s Tenth Planet Productions, and CBS are behind A Grammy Salute to The Beach Boys. AEG Ehrlich Ventures, headed by Ken Ehrlich, the former executive producer of the Grammy Awards telecast, oversaw past specials in this series.
The musical directors of several Grammy-branded specials have received Primetime Emmy nominations for outstanding music direction. Two have won in that category. Don Was won for The Beatles: The Night That Changed America (2014). Greg Phillinganes won for Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All Star Grammy Salute (2015).
Rickey Minor was nominated for music direction of two Grammy-branded specials – Stayin’ Alive: A Grammy Salute to the Music of The Bee Gees (2017) and Aretha! A Grammy Celebration for the Queen of Soul (2019). Davey Johnstone was nominated for Elton John: I’m Still Standing – a Grammy Salute (2018), and Sheila E, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were nominated for Let’s Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince (2020).
Miley Cyrus kicked off the new year by unveiling her brand new single “Flowers” on Friday (Jan. 13).
“I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand/ Talk to myself for hours, yeah, some things you don’t understand/ But I can take myself dancing, yeah/ I can hold my own hand/ Yeah, I can love me better than you can,” she sings on the self-assured anthem.
Given its themes of independence and self-reliance, it’s certainly an interesting coincidence that Cyrus chose to drop the song on ex Liam Hemsworth’s 33rd birthday. The two were together off and on for almost ten years after meeting on the set of 2010’s The Last Song and married in Dec. 2018, though they split less than a year later in the summer of 2019. (Their divorce was eventually finalized in Jan. 2020.)
“Flowers” is the superstar’s first release on Columbia Records after spending the last near-decade signed to RCA Records for hit albums that included 2012’s Bangerz, 2015’s Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz, 2017’s Younger Now and 2020’s Plastic Hearts. The ballad will also serve as the lead-off to her upcoming eighth studio set Endless Summer Vacation, which will arrive in full on March 10.
In December, Cyrus hosted her second annual NBC holiday special, Miley’s New Years Eve Party, to say goodbye to 2022. Along with co-host Dolly Parton, the special featured Cyrus performing with Sia and Paris Hilton (“Stars Are Blind”), David Byrne (David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance”) and Fletcher (her own “Midnight Sky”).
Watch Cyrus’ “Flowers” music video below.
Indy, the younger sister of Lorde, announced her upcoming debut EP Threads on Thursday (Jan. 12) with the release of the new single “Hometown.”
The five-track project from the newcomer, born Indy Yelich O’Connor, will arrive Feb. 17 via TMWRK Records featuring the new single as well as previously released tracks “Killer” and “Threads.”
“Hometown” certainly owes a debt to her famous sister’s signature style on tracks like “Royals” and “Team,” what with its suburban setting and wistful production as Indy sings, “Nineteen and we haunted streets that we knew so well/ I cut my feet on the love and the lust I felt/ Stuck in the quiet of my hometown/ You’re wonderin’ if we’ll go back to bein’ friends/ I just stay quiet so you know now/ That if I could, you know I’d do it all again/ I gave you all of my midnights/ But baby, now that it’s daytime/ You are stuck in the quiet of my hometown/ I have to go now” with a familiar deep, throaty voice.
“‘Hometown’ is about the memories from my teen years in suburbia that I’ll never forget,” the pop upstart said in a statement. “This song is very nostalgic for me, as it makes me think of driving through the suburbs, taking the long way to go past an ex’s house, returning from the big city and staying at your parents’. Everybody has somebody from their past they hold close. Knowing you’ve outgrown this person, the first inklings of real love, innocence, the sadness of having to let them go.”
Lorde, meanwhile, spent the majority of 2022 on the road in support of her third studio album Solar Power. In a November newsletter to fans, she detailed the challenges of touring in a post-pandemic industry, writing, “Basically, for artists, promoters and crews, things are at an almost unprecedented level of difficulty. Let’s start with three years’ worth of shows happening in one. Add global economic downturn, and then add the totally understandable wariness for concertgoers around health risks.”
Stream Indy’s “Hometown” below.
Kelly Clarkson has risen through the ranks to become a queen of cover songs thanks to the opening segment of The Kelly Clarkson Show. But for the Thursday (Jan. 12) episode, the American Idol alum decided to switch things up and do a Kellyoke Classic — a performance of one of her own songs. This time, she gave her 2017 track “Didn’t I” a chance to shine on the daytime program.
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Soul was the name of the game for the first Kellyoke Classic of the year. The three-time Grammy winner, accompanied by her band Y’all, performed with her full range, belting with a full tone and hitting several vocal runs with ease.
“Baby, didn’t I?/ Didn’t I give you everything?/ You got the best of me, baby/ Baby, didn’t I/ Hear you crying on my shoulder?/ Beg and hold me ’til it’s over?/ When you’re lonely, just remember/ I gave you everything/ D-d-didn’t I?” Clarkson sang on the chorus.
“Didn’t I” was released on Clarkson’s 2017 album, Meaning of Life. Though the song — a deep cut from the record — did not hit any major charts, the album did reach the Billboard 200. Meaning of Life spent a total of 20 weeks on the all-genre tally and peaked at No. 2 three weeks after the album’s October release.
As for Clarkson’s traditional Kellyoke covers, she gave Blink-182’s “All the Small Things” a shot on Wednesday’s episode, and performed Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World” and Ronnie Milsap’s “Lost in the Fifties Tonight” earlier this month.
Watch Clarkson perform “Didn’t I” above.
Together, Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding delivered a pair of EDM classics with 2012’s “I Need Your Love” and 2014’s “Outside.” Now it looks like we may be getting more music from the pair.
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On Thursday (Jan. 12), Harris tweeted a casual photo of himself and Goulding in the studio, writing simply “back in the studio with Ellie Goulding!!” along with a CD emoji. In the photo Goulding, dressed all in black, smiles for the camera while standing in front of the mic clutching her headphones, while Harris, bearded, smiling and draped in green flannel, handles selfie duty.
Together, Harris and Goulding hit No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August of 2013 with “I Need Your Love.” Coming from Harris’ all time classic LP 18 Months, the song spent 25 weeks on the chart and served as a key track of the EDM era. 2014’s “Outside” — from Harris’ Motion — reached No. 29 on the Hot 100 and spent 20 weeks on the chart. Goulding was indeed one of the genre’s most crucial voices, appearing on tracks by Harris, Skrillex, Major Lazer, Seven Lions and a flurry of other genre stars.
In timing that perhaps means something but could also mean nothing at all, this news comes two days after it was announced that Harris is returning to Coachella this year, a show that will mark his first time playing the fest since 2014.
Either way, any new music from Harris would function as the followup to his 2022 album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. II, which itself featured a hefty list of collaborators including Halsey, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dogg and many more.
See Harris ad Goulding’s studio picture below.
Ashley Tisdale detailed her struggle with alopecia in a new social media post on Wednesday (Jan. 11).
“In my young twenties, I noticed that there was, like, a little bit of a bald spot right at my hair line,” the High School Musical star said in the video. “And I asked my hair colorist, ‘What is that?’ And she was like, ‘Oh, that’s alopecia.’ I didn’t even know what that was.
After receiving an official diagnosis from her dermatologist, the actress learned the condition is “autoimmune, and a lot of it’s triggered by stress.”
“Any type of hair loss can affect your self-esteem, especially if you feel like you’re the only one going through it. That’s why I want to talk about it openly—because it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes it’s connected to hormones, other times to heredity, and for me, it’s connected to stress overload,” Tisdale added in the caption of the post.
The “Love Me & Let Me Go” singer went on to share a few of the solutions that have helped her deal with alopecia over the years, from stress management techniques like yoga, meditation and therapy to using platelet rich plasma and investing in the auto-immune paleo diet.
Back in August, the Disney Channel alum stepped back into the shoes of Sharpay Evans for a TikTok recreation of “I Want It All” from High School Musical 3, co-starring social media personality Chris Olsen in lieu of her co-star Lucas Grabeel.
Watch Tisdale open up about her alopecia journey below.
SEVENTEEN sub-unit BSS unveiled the teaser for “Second Wind,” their first single in five years, on Sunday (Jan. 8).
The visual, which features the words “Ladies and gentlemen they call us BSS” emblazoned over a red dirt running track, promises that the trio of Seungkwan, DK and Hoshi will release the track on Feb. 6. (The unit takes its acronym of a name from “BooSeokSoon,” the three letters from the idols’ Korean names.)
The phrase on the poster also served as the opening line of BSS’ debut single, “Just do it,” back in 2018. Since then, the trio have remained busy with their 10 other bandmates, releasing albums like 2019’s An Ode and 2022’s Face the Sun as well as the latter’s deluxe repackaging as Sector 17.
BSS aren’t the only SEVENTEEN members branching off in the wake of the boy band’s successful 2022, either. Vernon closed out the year by dropping his third solo project in the form of mixtape Black Eye as well as the pop-punk-infused title track’s brash music video.
SEVENTEEN also has a high-profile evangelist in Wednesday star Emma Myers, who spent the beginning of her debut late-night appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last week excitedly explaining the math behind the boy band’s name (“There’s thirteen of them…And there are three different groups…And then there’s one team. So thirteen plus three plus one is SEVENTEEN,”) to host Jimmy Fallon and the audience.
Meanwhile, Joshua, Dino and Mingyu hinted that “fresh music” will be coming from the whole of SEVENTEEN sometime in 2023 exclusively to Billboard‘s Tetris Kelly while attending LA3C in December.
Check out the teaser for BSS’ new single “Second Wind” below.
Samsung NXT 2.0 is nearing the end of this stage of the competition as the contestants have finished their final challenge in the singing face-off.
After weeks of sharing cover tracks and their own original material, the 12 contestants tried their hand at the last challenge in the showdown, using their vocal chops, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch5. For this round, the dozen had a batch of hits, varying in genres, moods and languages, to which they were instructed to create the music for their track — using their voice — and sing the cover in just 60 seconds using the Samsung products. As they have in the past, the dozen showed up with their submissions, sharing renditions of Rihanna’s “Stay,” Shawn Mendes’ “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” and more.
As with the previous round, the contestants have since been ranked on a specialty Billboard chart, which serves as the cumulative chart average and revealed the top trio advancing to the next round of the competition as finalists. Click here to see who made it to the top. In the weeks to come, each will partake in an intimate one-on-one mentorship session with mentors Mariah Angeliq, Flo Milli and BIBI.
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The winner of Samsung and Billboard’s NXT 2.0 competition will land on the cover of a special digital issue of Billboard, receive a meeting with a record label, studio time to record their first single, funding for a music video and tickets to the 2023 Billboard Music Awards. Check out each submission as part of the customize it challenge, and click here to follow along for the latest on the Samsung NXT 2.0 competition.
Andrew Leonforte
Shawn Mendes happens to be one of Leonforte’s biggest musical influences, so “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back” was an easy pick for the aspiring star. “I had so much fun reimagining this incredible song,” the contestant said of creating the backbone of his submission.
FIKI
Fiki wanted to choose a track that she was really going to connect with and Rihanna’s “Stay” featuring Mikky Ekko happened to be that song. “I knew that performing this song would showcase my vocal strength and ability,” she said of her cover song video submission.
Julian King
King opted for Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” for challenge three based on pure nostalgia. “It takes me back to middle school, traveling to Italy, during our ‘rock band’ phase,” he said while speaking about giving the 2004 hit a customized makeover.
Kyn Rose
For Rose’s submission, the aspiring star opted for a cover of Rihanna’s “Stay,” with layers of heavenly harmonizing as the foundation of the track — and that has been a longtime idea for the contestant. “Every time I’ve listened to the song, I couldn’t help but sing harmonies and additional vocals to it, and I’ve always pictured a beautiful choir singing this song in a dark, echoey room,” he explained.
Lordus
@iamlordus Ok ya’ll 🥁 pls! Sooo this week’s #SamsungNXT challenge was a challengeeee!😳 But listennn as hard as this was for me I think I did what needed to be done! #ad we were asked to create our own backing track using just our voice and our hands, NO instruments! While also showcasing our #GalaxyWatch5 on the GalaxyZFlip4. Thank youu sm @billboardnxt and @samsungus for this opportunity! This is the Final challenge to determine who’s their TOP3‼️ Please continue to support me the way you’ve been! I appreciate all the love and support so far! LET’S KEEP ME IN THE TOP 3!!! We can do this! Please LIKE, COMMENT, & SHARE this video to let them know why I’m #samsungnxt unsigned artist! ………. #fyp #fypシ ♬ original sound – Lordus
Lordus knows the power of transforming a track and she had her eyes set on “There’s Nothin’ Holdin’ Me Back” for the last challenge. For her submission, she flipped the pop record and gave it the Lordus treatment with her silky smooth delivery and vocal foundation to pair.
Mar’yana Hicks
“Stay” got Hicks on her feet to show off some dance skills, in addition to her vocals. For this round, the contestant said she went with the tender ballad as it “represents [her] style and range very well.”
Nicole Tortolani
Instead of creating a backing track using her vocals, Tortolani let a live a capella version of “Stay” take the forefront of this submission. “It is a beautiful composition and the higher notes are a touch of class inside the melody,” she said of the 2012 hit.
Nyla XO
Nyla XO’s went with a Brandy Brunch-style approach for her cover of “There’s Nothin’ Holdin’ Me Back,” where she showed just how she created the backing track. Throughout the submission, she shined a light on her original composition, highlighting vocal bass, soprano, adlibs and more.
Peyton McMahon
McMahon is a big fan of both Rih and Mikky Ekko, so he said he was excited to put his touch on “Stay.” Stacking a number of vocal harmonies together, the aspiring singer delivered big belts and falsetto runs on top of his backing track.
Vaishalini
Janelle Monae’s “Make Me Feel” is an all-time favorite for Vaishalini. In fact, she and one of her best friends used to keep it in constant rotation when it dropped. She brought that love for the song to life with her smooth approach, a ton of vocal layering and minimal beats.
Wampy
For Wampy, the contestant picked a Spanish song that had a significant impact on his childhood during his upbringing in Chicago. For his cover of Selena’s “Como La Flor,” he kicked things off with clean vocals, before elevating the submission to new heights with a customized backing track.
