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Sabrina Carpenter is repping her hometown in style. During the pop superstar’s Short n’ Sweet Tour stop at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, Carpenter stepped onstage to perform “Espresso” in a bedazzled Philadelphia Phillies jersey with her name on the back, along with the fittingly cheeky number 69. “Hometown show!!! I […]
New Lil Nas X music is around the corner! The 25-year-old superstar took to social media to tease a release he has in store. “GUESS WHOS FINALLY DROPPING NEW MUSIC NEXT MONTH ?!!” he captioned the self-taped video, in which he’s seen dancing around his bedroom to a bouncy unreleased song. “Hit me with your […]
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By the mid-2000s, Swedish songwriter and producer ILYA — who was then in his late teens — was “grinding, grinding, grinding” without gaining much momentum. It wasn’t until years later, thanks to a fortuitous meeting, that his career finally took off.
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ILYA, now 38, recalls how meeting producer Shellback changed his life, as the latter introduced him to the acclaimed and mysterious Max Martin. Soon after, ILYA scored his first smash hit co-producing and co-writing on Ariana Grande and Iggy Azalea’s 2014 collaboration “Problem,” which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. His working relationship with Martin — and Grande — has continued, most recently on the pop star’s sixth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, Eternal Sunshine.
The album produced two Hot 100 No. 1s: lead single “Yes, And?” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love),” both of which credit ILYA. But those are from far the only hits he’s had a hand in this year; ILYA’s 2024 credits also include Conan Gray, Coldplay and Tate McRae, the latter of whom ILYA helped score her highest Hot 100 debut to date with “It’s ok I’m ok.”
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“It wasn’t that long after [McRae’s 2023 second album] Think Later that we were in the studio again,” says ILYA, who reveals that they ideated her current smash before Think Later even arrived. “It was just an idea that just popped back into our life and we were like, ‘Actually, let’s finish this thing.’ It’s just been continuous since that.”
You’ve worked with Tate before. What is your metric of, “I want to keep this relationship going?”
Nowadays, it’s just good vibes. I don’t want to be stressed at work because I’ve been doing it for such a long time now. So my main thing is just like, can we just have fun in the studio?
When did sessions start after her 2023 album, Think Later?
It was a little continuous because she loves writing and being in the studio. “It’s ok I’m ok” is one of those records where it was like, “Let’s just have fun; let’s make something weird.” I think it shows a brand-new side to her. The more I’ve worked with her, the more I feel like she knows herself as an artist. This one was [started] before Think Later — she knew that it wasn’t right for that moment, but she picked it back up and we really worked to make it into her vision of what she was seeing the song as. That, to me, is really amazing to see.
Tell me more about how the song came together.
The chorus started as a joke. We were in Sweden writing, and when she’s in the studio and so focused, she doesn’t want to eat or drink anything. She’s just like, “I need to finish this song now.” Me being the way I am, I’m always like, “Do you want something to drink? Do you want something to eat?” And she would be like, “It’s OK, I’m OK,” [always] in the same note. And I was just like, “Wait, that’s actually kind of catchy.” And now it’s a song. I like it because it came from her — that’s how she says it.
Do you have a favorite part of this song?
It’s harder for me to listen in that sense, because I’m a part of the song. But I do love when people pinpoint little details that you’ve put there on purpose. I love that.
You have to let go of analyzing. Once the song is out, depending on how people [react] to it, I’m also affected on how I’m listening. If a song comes out and it doesn’t work or it’s not a big thing, then I’m trying to analyze why it wasn’t instead of just enjoying the song. But nowadays I’m a little bit better at that.
Your credits in 2024 include other notable projects such as Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine. With the Grammys approaching, what are your hopes?
I think next year’s Grammys [ceremony on Feb. 2] is going to be insane. I’m hoping we’re going to get nominated, but it’s going to be such a competitive year. It might be the best Grammys in a long time in the sense of who’s going to be nominated and what potential performances there might be. There was so much good music this year.
This article originally appeared in the Oct. 5 issue of Billboard.
Working behind the scenes, interpersonal connection is everything — so Billboard asked a variety of booked and busy producers to talk up the rising stars, in-demand innovators and still-evolving veterans they want more artists and listeners to know about.
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“These twin brothers who go by TWO FRESH. I met Sherwyn years ago at a writing camp and I liked what I was hearing, [so] I started following him on Insta and noticed he was doing the artist thing himself. Everything I heard was fire to me, and I felt more people must know about this. But it wasn’t until recently that I found out he and his brother [KingJet] were a producer duo and have done a lot of stuff together. They have this raw, alternative, funky, soulful sound. Sometimes they remind me of N.E.R.D or similar. They are like the cool cats to me.” —D’MILE (SILK SONIC, VICTORIA MONÉT, H.E.R.)
Sherwyn and Kingjet of Two Fresh
Ben Outherevisuals
“TWO FRESH are behind some of my favorite genre-bending music in recent years, working with artists like Tommy Newport — ‘Tangerine’ is a favorite of mine — Samara Cyn, Duckwrth and Master Peace. For years they’ve been doing what people are gravitating toward now, blending live music with R&B, indie, rock, rap. I was immediately hooked by their pocket and feel — it’s impeccable.” —JULIAN BUNETTA (ONE DIRECTION, SABRINA CARPENTER, THOMAS RHETT)
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“OKLOU’S debut album, Galore, from 2020 is easily one of my favorite albums of the last few years. Her productions always have an incredibly sparse sound palette — her virtuosic writing for keyboard, plus her ability and confidence keep things so minimal — and she consistently makes amazingly beautiful and subtle harmonic choices. I would be so interested to hear her produce or write for other artists too.” —EASYFUN (CHARLI XCX)
Oklou
Gus Stewart/Redferns
“CECILE BELIEVE’s production always feels critical to me — always poised regardless of how much is going on and how hard she pushes elements. Her experimental and bold production decisions never usurp the heart of the track — it remains curious and compelling. Small wonder she is called upon by visionary avant-pop artists like the late great SOPHIE, Dorian Elektra and Caroline Polachek to collaborate.” —CATE LE BON (WILCO, ST. VINCENT, KURT VILE)
Cecile Believe
Julian Buchan
“I first became acquainted with OJIVOLTA (Mark Williams and Raul Cubina) in 2015, when they were working at my manager’s studio, Electric Feel, on multiple songs with Jon Bellion. We had an extensive conversation about the nuances and various technical approaches to producing a record, and I was deeply impressed by their vast knowledge and musical versatility. Over the next several years, we ended up collaborating on a couple of records and projects, including Halsey’s ‘Graveyard’ and [Ye’s] DONDA. They continue to impress me. While staying low key has its advantages, I believe everyone in the industry should know who they are.” —LOUIS BELL (POST MALONE, TAYLOR SWIFT, MILEY CYRUS)
Mark Williams and Raul Cubina of Ojivolta
Ryan Jay
“I met BUDDY ROSS as a very talented piano and synths player. He played on some records I was producing, and during that time he showed me music he was making on his own, and I was very impressed and signed him to my publishing company, Heavy Duty. He later got hired as the touring keyboardist for Frank Ocean, who quickly picked up on his level of talent. Buddy went on to be one of the main producers on Frank’s album Blonde. On top of his gift as a player and ability to build sounds on samplers, modular synths, various computer programs, etc., he plays and makes sounds with an emotion that is very rare. Everything he does makes you feel something. He brings many levels of depth to any artist he works with.” —ARIEL RECHTSHAID (ADELE, HAIM, SKY FERREIRA, VAMPIRE WEEKEND)
Buddy Ross
Max Wang
“HARRISON PATRICK SMITH, who just released his first album as The Dare. Someone sent me [The Dare’s] ‘Girls’ and asked me if I’d want to meet with him. I didn’t initially love the song, but after a few listens it started growing on me. Then I had breakfast with him and started to get to know him as a person. Twenty-something Harrison reminded me a bit of twenty-something Rostam. He kept sending me songs he was working on; they would just pile up. He’s prolific, and eventually I realized I liked most of the music he was working on. I think Harrison understands the intersection of ‘the song’ and ‘the sound,’ and it’s in this intersection that I think we producers do our best work. It’s not only about the song, and it’s not only about the sound; it’s about both, always, and I think Harrison gets that.”—ROSTAM (HAIM, CARLY RAE JEPSEN, SANTIGOLD, MAGGIE ROGERS)
Harrison Patrick Smith
Theo Wargo/Getty Images
“One of my favorite producers, and people, in the world is CHONG THE NOMAD! She’s an incredible producer, songwriter and DJ based in Seattle. I discovered her music around 2018 through my manager. I immediately knew that someone with a name like that had to be making something crazy and different. We set up a hang a few weeks later and ended up making six or seven crazy beats together. Her ability to bring something different to the table every time has been key in pushing her own sound as both an artist and beat-maker. Drum-wise, she’s in a lane of her own. Always taking risks and providing rhythmic pockets that push other producers and artists to go above and beyond. I can play the craziest jazz piano riff, and she will find a small clip she likes in two seconds, chop it, flip it and put an insane beat over it that sounds like nothing else.” —ROGÉT CHAHAYED (TRAVIS SCOTT, BIG SEAN, JACK HARLOW, DOJA CAT)
Chong the Nomad
Jason Murray
“I first discovered JAY JOYCE when Little Big Town released ‘Pontoon’ in 2012. There was just something unique about the sound of the mandolin he captured and the heavy slapback on the vocals that made me stop for a second and say, ‘Who did this? This is so cool and different!’ The rest of the record was equally as sonically interesting — and, comparing that to their previous work, highlighted how a producer can change the sound of an artist and put them on a different trajectory. Jay always strives to capture sounds in an outside-of-the-box way that makes a record stand out. He’s always using weird gear I’ve never heard of, like an amp that was custom-made out of an old film projector. I hear rumors of him drinking mass amounts of Diet Coke and staying up into the early hours just experimenting with sounds. He has a level of creative genius that makes so many artists want to work with him.” —ALEX KLINE (TENILLE ARTS, TIGIRLILY, TEDDY ROBB)
Jay Joyce
Courtesy of ACM
“There is this kid I really admire; he goes by the name of TAIKO: a producer from Chile, super young but with a very interesting catalog. I discovered his music through Instagram, then a little time passed by and he was already doing stuff for J Balvin, Eladio Carrión, Mora, Jhayco. He even released an EP with all the Chile talent — that, for me, is a scene that we all should be more aware of. I don’t know which of his multiple talents is my favorite — I just think he creates these beats that carry a lot of personality and lead the artist to be inspired easily with his sound, having big songs in return.” —SKY ROMPIENDO (J BALVIN, FEID, BAD BUNNY)
Taiko
Jason Koerner/Getty Images
“I look up to JEFF BHASKER and MIKE ELIZONDO. I first became familiar with Mike when I was a studio assistant on an album for Muse at [Rick Rubin’s] Shangri-La. We never crossed paths, but he was working with them over at his studio, and hearing his name led me to do a deep dive into his catalog. [And] it’s hard for me to pinpoint when I became familiar with Jeff’s work — I kept seeing his name pop up on so many songs I loved. I first crossed paths with him in 2018 while I was a studio assistant at Shangri-La for the Harry Styles album Fine Line, and he was always so kind and encouraging to me as a young, aspiring producer.
Jeff Bhasker
Timothy Norris/Getty Images
Mike Elizondo
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
“Both of these guys are such sonic chameleons. Just extremely versatile. I love how Mike’s career has so many distinctive chapters — weaving from Eminem and 50 Cent to Fiona Apple to Avenged Sevenfold and Twenty One Pilots and Turnstile to even movies like Encanto. [And I’m] inspired by the fact that Jeff’s success really started kicking into gear in his 30s. I always respect and admire producers who paid their dues and had to grind out their path. Versatility is a huge factor in the longevity of both of these guys — which seems like an increasingly difficult feat these days. Both have weathered huge shifts in music and culture — and, in fact, have driven many of those shifts. They’re both musically fearless and follow their ears.” —ROB BISEL (SZA, KENDRICK LAMAR, DOJA CAT)
This article appears in the Oct. 5 issue of Billboard.
In May, Olivia Rodrigo was due to be one of the first artists to play at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena. The city’s new indoor arena, funded by Oak View Group and has Harry Styles as an investor, was beset by delays and resulted in a number of canceled shows, including two dates by Rodrigo. Now […]
I’m not crying, you’re crying. In the case of Celine Dion and Kelly Clarkson, both things can be true. On Tuesday (Oct. 8) Dion posted a tear-stained video of her reaction to Clarkson’s moving Kellyoke cover of Celine’s iconic 1997 Titanic ballad “My Heart Will Go On” on the singer’s daytime talk show last month.
“I just saw you singing ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ and I’m crying again,” the Canadian star said in the clip where she was seen wiping away tears. “You were absolutely incredible, fantastic. I loved it so much. I hope we can see each other in person soon.”
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“So, I got this video sent to me and and it all flooded… I was working with Jason [Halbert] my musical director here at the show… we were actually doing stuff for Kellyokes, and all of a sudden I get this thing from my manager and I cried,” Clarkson said while describing her reaction to Dion’s high praise in a two-minute video posted Tuesday night from what looks like her dressing room.
“Because it was Celine Dion saying that she saw my performance and she knows my name,” Clarkson, 42, explained with a beaming cat-swallowed-the-canary smile while casually swinging her arms and throwing an aw shucks look up at the ceiling. “So that’s cool.” Clarkson then rolled the Dion video and said that it blew her away, adding that there was one thing in particular that made the compliment extra special.
“Twenty-two years ago on American Idol I got laryngitis,” the OG Idol winner recalled, noting that everyone got sick at the time and despite her vocal struggles she had to take the stage to belt Dion’s equally challenging 2002 ballad “I Surrender All.”
“I bawled that night because I’m just mortified that Celine Dion is going to see this performance,” Clarkson, who was 19 at the time, said of her impressive take on the song, delivered while wearing an asymmetrical, one-strap black dress and bejeweled choker. “I could have cared less about votes at that point. I just didn’t want to see Celine Dion see or hear this because it was so bad, because I was so sick.”
Cut to 22 years later, and Clarkson said she finally got the Celine performance she’d always wanted. “And I felt like I sang it all right, you know?” she said. “I got to honor someone who is such a hero to me, vocally, like she is one of my main inspirations of why I’m a singer.” Clarkson said she’ll probably watch the video over-and-over, while also not-so-low-key, inviting Dion to come visit her on her show. “Like, I can quit now in life,” she gushed about checking off the ultimate career bucket list item.
Along with the video posted on X, Clarkson wrote, “@celinedion you have no idea how much you even noticing my existence means to me! Thank you so much for being such an amazing example of true passion and being one of the greatest vocalists of all time that I am still, to this day, inspired by [heart emoji].”
Check out Clarkson’s video below.
.@celinedion you have no idea how much you even noticing my existence means to me! Thank you so much for being such an amazing example of true passion and being one of the greatest vocalists of all time that I am still, to this day, inspired by ❤️ pic.twitter.com/tAqJVkN9JU— Kelly Clarkson 🍷💔☀️ (@kellyclarkson) October 9, 2024
By now you surely have heard or read stories about how Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff are huge vinyl nerds. The Democratic presidential candidate and Second Gentleman have made a habit of popping into local record stores to pick up records in the midst of the harried campaign season. But on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show on Tuesday (Oct. 8), Harris opened up a bit more about her musical obsessions, beginning the chat with a touching story about how she and Emhoff reacted to the news that Prince died back in April 2016.
Stern opened the special afternoon interview by playing his favorite Prince album — the 1989 Batman soundtrack — cueing up “Batdance” because he said he was aware Harris was a big fan of the late singer. Though Stern was adamant the Purple One’s 11th studio album — which sat at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for six weeks — was his finest work, Harris adamantly, and politely, disagreed.
“No, 1999 I thought was spectacular, you can go back to his early days. Him on the guitar, there was just nothing like it,” said Harris, who also stopped by The View and The Late Show on Tuesday as part of an intensified media schedule in the final month of her still too-close-to-call race with convicted felon former President Donald Trump.
“Even you look at Bruno Mars today, who’s just been influenced by Prince,” she said, before sharing the anecdote about how she and Emhoff honored the “Purple Rain” star after they heard about his death from an accidental fentanyl overdose at age 57. “The night he passed Doug and I were in L.A. and actually just — he and I have very different musical tastes… [he’s into] Depeche Mode, that’s him, I grew up kind of hip-hop — but Prince is the one intersection where we both love and we just played Prince all night long. We dance, we sang his songs, that was our little tribute.”
The hour-long interview, the longest sit-down Harris has done since becoming the surprise, 11th-hour Democratic candidate following President Biden’s unprecedented decision to step down from running for a second term back in July, touched on a number of salient political topics as well. Harris said she was incensed at reports in a new book by legendary political reporter Bob Woodward that Trump sent hard-to-get COVID testing machines to his friend Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in the midst of the pandemic, adding that she thinks the twice impeached Trump is getting played by his autocratic friends.
“I grew up in the neighborhood,” Harris told Stern. “Some would say you’re getting punked if you stand in favor of somebody who’s an adversary over your friends on principles that we all agree on.” While she declined to say who she would put in her cabinet if elected on Nov. 5 when Stern predicted that it would likely include former Wyoming-congresswoman-turned-Trump-antagonist Republican Liz Cheney — who is voting for Harris, along with her father, former VP Dick Cheney — Harris said, “I gotta win, Howard. I gotta win. I gotta win. And listen, but the thing about Liz Cheney, let me just say, she’s remarkable.”
In addition to revealing her obsession with Formula One racing and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton in particular, and calling Trump a “loser” several times, the friendly chat ended with Harris’ recollection of attending U2’s mind-bending opening run at Las Vegas’ Sphere.
“Oh my God have you been to the Sphere?,” Harris excitedly asked Stern when he mentioned that she was spotted at one of the U2 shows there in January. “Let me just say basically everyone should go in with a clear head,” she laughed after Stern, who wore a three-piece black suit for the in-studio chat, said he was freaked out by the reports of the overwhelming visuals that he feared were “too much.”
“Like don’t be high,” Stern said. “Correct,” Harris responded with one of her signature belly laughs. “Because it’s a lot. Like there’s a lot of visual stimulation… I love U2 and actually it was a surprise for Doug.”
Watch Harris talk U2 and Sphere below.
This Thanksgiving is about to get a whole lot more musical. Republic Records and Verve Records announced on Wednesday (Oct. 8) that Wicked: The Soundtrack, which accompanies the upcoming film, will be released on Nov. 22. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The soundtrack, which features music and […]
Charli XCX could not have planned it better if she tried. After more than 15 years of writing and producing hit songs, the “360” singer was so convinced that fans were not going to like her Brat album that she purposely pinched pennies on the now-iconic cover art in order to shift funds to photo shoots and other promotional efforts.
“Where the actual first idea of doing a text cover came from was to save money,” Charli told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe by way of explaining how the lime green blurry imagery came to be. “I was like, ‘This album is not going to appeal to a lot of people.’” Thinking it didn’t make sense to do an elaborate cover shoot, but instead maybe spend money elsewhere, Charli decided to make the cover as basic as possible, never thinking it would become so influential that fashion houses would cop the color and style for their collections.
“I was like, ‘I think I will do a press shoot and then maybe we just save on the album cover,’” she told Lowe, noting that her manager, creative director and friends all though the lower case cover text was “the stupidest idea ever,” begging her “no! Not the text cover!” Charli being Charli, that only made her more adamant about seeing her vision through, which began with her mocking up the idea on her phone.
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“This actually is really good. It actually feels like it very much embodies the word ‘brat’ to kind of not be there because that is sort of less of the norm, I suppose, for female artists,” she said. “That felt punchy. The pixilation makes it looks like it’s kind of been done in this rush… you didn’t get the proper hi-res file… I knew it would generate this conversation. I knew that a lot of people would be sort of frustrated or disappointed by it. And I think for me, it’s like I would rather have those conversations, which actually in some cases became quite explosive, than a picture where people are like, ‘She looks good.’”
As for the shade, Charli said she and her team went round-and-round on the proper tint, wanting to go for the one that the most people in her inner circle had “the most adverse reaction to.” For the record, manager Brandon Creed weighed in with, “this is really hard to look at,” which made Charli think that she’d definitely nailed the “perfect” shade.
When Lowe described how “obsessed” people have become with the brat visual aesthetic, to the point that some have said she “claimed a color,” the singer laughed. Charli said she was at home when she came up with the concept, thinking that she’d been pictured on the covers of all her albums up to that point — except for her 2016 EP Vroom Vroom. “Actually it kind of punctuates the pattering in quite a nice way, but also, like, handy because it’s going to be a lower spend,” she said. Plus, she’s really enjoyed watching her fans writing think pieces about the cover and the marketing of the project.
The left-field idea has clearly worked, as Charli’s album spawned “Brat Summer,” as well as catching the eye of presidential hopeful Vice President Kamala Harris, who also copped the aesthetic for her social media feeds after the singer proclaimed “kamala IS brat.” She will double-down on success on the upcoming Brat and It’s Completely Different but Also Still Brat (Oct. 11) which features remixes with Robyn, Yung Lean, Ariana Grande, Troye Sivan, Lorde, Tinashe, Billie Eilish and many more.
Check out Charli’s Lowe interview below.