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Warning: This story contains mentions of suicide.
Lisa Marie Presley was so overcome with grief following the death of her son Benjamin Keough that she kept his body packed in dry ice in her home for two months. According to NBC, the shocking revelation is included in the new memoir, From Here to the Great Unknown, which daughter, Daisy Jones & the Six star Riley Keough, completed after her mother’s death at 54 in January 2023.
“My mom had my brother in the house with us instead of keeping him at the morgue,” Keough wrote in the book. “They told us that if we could tend to the body, we could have him at home, so she kept him in our house for a while on dry ice.”
Keough said that it was important for her mother — the only child of late rock legend Elvis Presley — to have proper time to say goodbye to her son, who died by suicide in 2020. “The same way she’d done with her dad. And I would go and sit there with him,” she said, noting that California doesn’t have any laws that mandate exactly when a body needs to be buried or disposed of. Keough used archival tapes of her mother’s memories to help finish the book.
“My house has a separate casitas bedroom, and I kept Ben Ben in there for two months,” according to Presley, who had begun working on the memoir before her death; Presley died of a small bowel obstruction caused by complications from prior weight loss surgery. “There is no law in the state of California that you have to bury someone immediately. I found a very empathic funeral home owner,” Presley wrote. “I told her that having my dad in the house after he died was incredibly helpful because I could go and spend time with him and talk to him. She said, ‘We’ll bring Ben Ben [her nickname for her son] to you. You can have him there.’”
She added, “I think it would scare the living f—ing p-ss out of anybody else to have their son there like that. But not me.” Lisa Marie was nine-years-old when Elvis died in 1977.
The room where Benjamin’s body was reportedly kept at 55 degrees and Presley and Keough got tattoos that matched Benjamin’s from an artist who came to their home. When asked if they had any photos of the piece they wanted to replicate, Lisa Marie told him, “no, but I can show you,” referring to ink Benjamin had on his collarbone with Keough’s name and another on his hand with Presley’s name; the mother and daughter got Benjamin’s name tattooed on the matching parts of their bodies.
Even by the unusual rules that the Presley’s lived by, Keough said the tattoo incident was one of the most bizarre ones she’d experienced. “Lisa Marie Presley had just asked this poor man to look at the body of her dead son, which happened to be right next to us in the casitas. I’ve had an extremely absurd life, but this moment is in the top five,” she wrote.
Shortly after that, one of Keough’s brothers made it clear he didn’t want the body in the home anymore and Keough, channeling her late sibling, imagined how he might have observed the scene. “‘Guys,’ he seemed to be saying, ‘this is getting weird.’ Even my mom said that she could feel him talking to her, saying, ‘This is insane, Mom, what are you doing? What the f—!,’” Keough said.
According to People, the book details how the family held a funeral service for Benjamin in Malibu and Keough placed a pair of her yellow Nikes that her brother had always loved in the casket. In a previous interview with People prior to the book’s release, Keough revealed, “My mom physically died from the after effects of her surgery, but we all knew she died of a broken heart.”
Both Presley and her son are buried at Graceland, where Elvis is also interred.
Now that we know Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan are both eligible for best new artist at the 2025 Grammy Awards, who will win? Well, on the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are taking a closer look at the hotly contested Big Four category, thanks to Billboard awards editor Paul Grein’s breakdown […]
Justin Timberlake was scheduled to bring his Forget Tomorrow World Tour to New Jersey’s Prudential Center on Tuesday night (Oct. 8). However, shortly before doors at the venue were scheduled to open, the star took to Instagram to announce that the show has been postponed. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest […]
When Olivia Rodrigo floated over the heads of more than 50,000 concertgoers on a crescent-moon lift, suspended from the rafters at Philippine Arena, she couldn’t help but get a little bit choked up.
“Someday I’ll be everything to somebody else,” she sang, her voice wavering as she pushed through the final lines of Sour‘s “Enough for You.”
For the fans in the crowd witnessing her deeply meaningful first-ever performance in the Philippines, the 21-year-old pop star — who is half Filipina — was certainly more than enough. In addition to making the Oct. 5 concert a Silver Star Show, allowing everyone in attendance to purchase seats for less than $30 in U.S. currency, Rodrigo also donated all the net ticket proceeds to Jhpiego, a charity with global reach providing life-saving care to combat cervical cancer, malaria, HIV, complications from pregnancy and childbirth, and more conditions. Plus, the three-time Grammy winner visited the organization’s office in Manila to discuss women’s health and reproductive rights, both of which Rodrigo has championed throughout 2024 with her own Fund 4 Good.
The entire thing was thanks in large part to a crucial partnership between Rodrigo and American Express, which has been working with the “Vampire” musician throughout her eight-month Guts World Tour. Before the run kicked off in February, the bank holding company facilitated the run’s Early Access ticket sale online and, ahead of the Sept. 8 release of Rodrigo’s Billboard 200-topping sophomore LP Guts, sponsored an album-themed pop-up for fans to explore in New York City.
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“We’ve had an incredible year working with Olivia to provide special access and moments to our Card Members,” reflects American Express’ Shiz Suzuki, vp of global brand sponsorships and experiential marketing, in a statement to Billboard. “Now we get to back her as she visits the Philippines for the first time where she has deep family roots, performs for her community and films content of her experience as a Filipina American in Manila to share with her fans worldwide.”
With only a handful of Guts dates left on her schedule and the Philippines concert in the books, Rodrigo has learned a lot since embarking on her first-ever arena tour this year. Below, the star opens up about her time abroad, life on the road, new music and more in a brief conversation with Billboard via email:
This is your first-ever concert in the Philippines. How is that milestone particularly special to you as a Filipino-American musician?
I’m so excited to be teaming up with American Express to bring the GUTS World Tour to Manila. This is such a special milestone for me to not only be visiting the Philippines for the first time but performing here for my fans. As part of this tour, I’ve had the chance to visit so many cool places I’ve never been before and play songs that I’ve been living with for so long, and the energy from the fans has been magical. I’m so proud of my Filipino heritage, so being able to bring this experience to the Philippines means the world to me.
In addition to making your Philippines stop a Silver Star show, you previously implemented Silver Star sales in North America. Why is it important to you to give fans a chance to see you for affordable prices?
It brings me so much joy to perform in front of my fans. We sing, we scream and we dance. I wanted to make this a Silver Star show in honor of my first time visiting the Philippines. All the net ticket sales from the show will go to my Fund 4 Good to help support Jhpiego and the incredible work they’re doing for reproductive healthcare in the Philippines. It’s been a dream to partner with American Express to help make this show possible.
Have you been writing songs while on the road? I know you haven’t even finished the tour yet, but can you give any hints about what your next album/new music will be like?
Writing songs is really therapeutic for me, so I’m always noodling around making stuff even when I’m not in the studio making an album. I’m definitely going to take a little vacation after this tour though! I’m trying not to put too much pressure on anything right now.
I saw you perform at Madison Square Garden in April and was so impressed. I also couldn’t stop thinking about how overwhelming it must be at 21 to have all those people – fellow performers, crew, venue workers, fans – be there just for you. What’s it like to lead such a massive enterprise, and what have you done to stay sane throughout the Guts Tour?
It’s overwhelming — in the best way — to work with such a large, incredible crew and put shows on every night in front of big audiences. Everyone’s energy is really inspiring and makes me want to bring my all every night. That being said, sometimes it can get very overstimulating. I’ve learned so much about how to take care of myself by being on the road. You have to prioritize rest and sleep and alone time, otherwise you start to go a little crazy.
What have you learned on the Guts Tour that you want to apply to your next tour down the line? Is there anything you’ll do differently?
The Guts World Tour was my first-ever arena tour and I learned so much, not only about performing and taking care of myself, but about being a part of a team. It was so much fun to have a little traveling tour family for so many months and I’m going to miss everyone dearly. The only thing I can think to do differently next time is to not overpack. My luggage is bursting at the seams!
It’s twice as nice for Chappell Roan as she charts her first two entries on Billboard’s Pop Airplay ranking in the top 10 simultaneously. “Good Luck, Babe!,” which became her first No. 1, leading the Sept. 21-dated list, places at No. 5 on the Oct. 12-dated chart, while “Hot to Go!” jumps three spots to No. 9.
Both songs were released on KRA/Amusement/Island Records and are being promoted to radio by Republic. The Pop Airplay chart ranks songs by weekly plays on over 150 mainstream top 40 radio stations monitored by Mediabase, with data provided to Billboard by Luminate.
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Roan becomes the first artist to lodge two initial Pop Airplay chart entries in the top 10 at the same time since Iggy Azalea just more than a decade ago. For 11 weeks in June-August 2014, the rapper’s breakthrough singles, both of which hit No. 1, ranked in the top 10 together: “Fancy,” featuring Charli XCX, and Ariana Grande’s “Problem,” featuring Azalea.
No artist until Roan had charted two maiden Pop Airplay hits in lead roles on both songs in the top 10 together since Macklemore and Ryan Lewis. For two weeks in May 2013, their “Thrift Shop,” featuring Wanz, and “Can’t Hold Us,” featuring Ray Dalton, spared space in the tier.
The last artist before Roan to boast two first Pop Airplay hits without any other billed acts in the top 10 simultaneously? Avril Lavigne, 22 years ago, for five weeks in September-October 2002 with “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi.”
The only other acts to chart two initial Pop Airplay hits without any guests in the top 10 simultaneously did so in the mid-1990s (following the survey’s 1992 start): Hootie & The Blowfish, Real McCoy and Ace of Base.
To date, Alpha Media-owned KBFF Portland, Ore., leads all Pop Airplay reporters with more than 2,000 plays of “Good Luck, Babe!” Bonneville International’s KMVQ San Francisco ranks first with nearly 1,000 spins for “Hot to Go!”
Across genres, a new crop of producers has broken out in recent years (some as recently as this past one). Some have quickly established themselves as go-to hit-makers; others are talented newbies who’ve just gotten their first tastes of success. But regardless of experience level, these producers — selected based on their histories on the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard’s Hot 100 producers chart, along with placements on other charts — are helping to define music’s future.
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Young but already established hit-makers, their big Hot 100 breakthroughs occurred within the past five years
Rob Bisel
The primary producer on SZA’s SOS, he’s charted 13 songs on the Hot 100 (12 by SZA, including “Kill Bill”); he’s also engineered big hits by Doja Cat, Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar and Tyler, The Creator.
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Nik D
Debuted on the Hot 100 in 2019 with Travis Scott’s No. 1 “Highest in the Room”; returned with hits by Drake and Metro Boomin before co-producing Jack Harlow’s No. 1 “Lovin on Me.”
Jacob Durrett
Produced on seven Hot 100-charting songs — six of them by Morgan Wallen, including Durrett’s debut entry, the top 10 hit “Wasted on You” — all since 2021.
Omer Fedi
Has placed 23 songs on the Hot 100 since his chart debut in June 2020, including four No. 1s: 24kGoldn’s “Mood,” Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me by Your Name),” The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s “Stay” and Sam Smith and Kim Petras’ “Unholy.”
The Kid LAROI (left) and Omer Fedi
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Charlie Handsome
Of the 54 Hot 100-charting songs he’s produced or co-produced, 23 are by Post Malone and eight are by Morgan Wallen; seven reached the top 10; and two (Jack Harlow’s “First Class” and Post and Wallen’s “I Had Some Help”) reached No. 1.
Jasper Harris
Since 2019, has charted 17 songs on the Hot 100 as a producer, including his first two top 10s in 2022: Jack Harlow’s “First Class” and Post Malone and Doja Cat’s “I Like You (A Happier Song).”
Jasper Harris (left) and Lil Nas X
David Dickenson
Blake Slatkin
Produced on 12 Hot 100-charting songs since 2020, including four No. 1s: “Mood,” “Stay,” “Unholy” and Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.” 2024 credits include Charli XCX, Omar Apollo and Wallows.
Leon Thomas III
Produced on SZA’s “Snooze,” plus Hot 100-charting hits by Drake, Jack Harlow and Ye/Ty Dolla $ign; he’s also worked on songs with Post Malone, Ariana Grande and Giveon.
Ty Dolla $ign (left) and Leon Thomas III attend Affinity Nightlife presents “Music Is Love | Love is Music” Grammys after party at Academy LA on Feb. 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
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After some time in the production world, they recently broke through to the charts’ top tier
Evan Blair
Cracked the Hot 100 with Nessa Barrett’s “I Hope Ur Miserable Until Ur Dead” (2021), then moved up the chart with Dove Cameron’s No. 16-peaking “Boyfriend” (2022); earlier this year, reached No. 2 with Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things.”
BNYX
Charted 13 songs on the Hot 100 as a producer, all since 2022. Four hit the top 10: Drake’s “Search & Rescue” and “IDGAF” and Travis Scott’s “K-Pop” and “Meltdown”; has also worked with Lil Tecca, Lil Uzi Vert and Yeat.
Yeat and BYNX
Jason Renaud
A.G. Cook
His first Hot 100 production credit was on Beyoncé’s “All Up in Your Mind” in 2022; this year, he returned with four Charli XCX tracks — “360,” “Girl, so confusing,” “Apple” and “Talk talk,” with Troye Sivan — which all hit the top 10 of Hot Dance/Electronic Songs.
Ernesto “Neto” Fernandez
One of the biggest current regional Mexican producers. First charted on the Hot 100 in February 2023 with Peso Pluma & Natanael Cano’s “PRC” and followed that with the No. 4-peaking “Ella Baila Sola” (the highest-charting regional Mexican song ever). He’s charted 19 total songs by Peso Pluma on the Hot 100, plus three by Xavi and one by Junior H.
Teo Halm
Has charted three songs on the Hot 100 as producer, all in 2022: Omar Apollo’s “Evergreen” and SZA’s “Notice Me” and “Open Arms.” Co-wrote Drake’s “Fair Trade,” which reached No. 3.
Sean Momberger
Produced on two recent No. 1s — Jack Harlow’s “Lovin on Me” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” — after making his first Hot 100 appearance in 2018 with Chris Brown’s “Tempo” and returning with Gunna and Future’s “Too Easy” (2021) and Lil Baby’s “Everything” (2022).
Sean Momberger at the Spotify Best New Artist Party held at Paramount Studios on February 1, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
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Nova Wav
The veteran female duo produced on Beyoncé’s “Cuff It,” which spent 35 weeks on the Hot 100 (reaching No. 6) and became her longest-charting song as lead artist, as well as on Bey’s “Jolene” from Cowboy Carter, which reached No. 7 earlier this year.
La Paciencia
The close Bad Bunny collaborator has charted 21 songs on the Hot 100 since June 2023, all by the Puerto Rican superstar, including two top 10s: “Where She Goes” (No. 8) and “Monaco” (No. 5).
RIOTUSA
Ice Spice’s right-hand producer charted six songs with her on the Hot 100, all since February 2023, including her two top 10s, “Princess Diana” (No. 4) and “Barbie World” (No. 7).
Austin Shawn
Produced all seven of Bailey Zimmerman’s Hot 100 entries, including the No. 10-peaking “Rock and a Hard Place” in 2023.
Gabe Simon
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Gabe Simon
First charted on the Hot 100 in 2022 with Jessie Murph’s “Pray” (No. 95) — then followed up with seven Noah Kahan hits, including “Stick Season” (No. 9), “Dial Drunk” and “Northern Attitude.” (The latter two made the top 40 and also topped the Triple A radio chart.) Earned two more Hot 100 top 40 entries this year with Koe Wetzel’s “Sweet Dreams” and Wetzel and Jessie Murph’s “High Road.”
They’re brand-new to the charts, but their achievements already make them worth watching
Grant Boutin
Charted for the first time in September 2023 with Tate McRae’s “Greedy” (which went to No. 3 on the Hot 100 and spent eight weeks atop Pop Airplay) and then with her “Run for the Hills.” He’s also worked with Meghan Trainor and Tomorrow X Together.
Sean Cook
Paul Russell’s inescapable “Lil Boo Thang” (No. 14 on the Hot 100) marked his first producer credit on the charts; he made a strong follow-up co-producing Shaboozey’s Hot 100 No. 1 “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
Sean Cook
Michael Tran/AFP/Getty Images
Dave Hamelin
Charted for the first time on the Hot 100 this year with five songs from Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter: “16 Carriages,” “Just for Fun,” “II Hands II Heaven,” “Tyrant” and “Amen.”
Hoskins
Charted for the first time on the Hot 100 with Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s No. 1 “I Had Some Help” and co-produced Post’s F-1 Trillion single “Guy for That” with Luke Combs (a No. 17 peak); previously had only produced one other charting song, Khalid’s “Present” (which spent a week on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in 2021).
Gerreaux Katana
Broke onto the charts and reached No. 15 with ascendant rapper Flo Milli’s “Never Lose Me.”
Florian Ongonga
Charted for the first time in July 2023 with three Gunna songs, including the No. 4-peaking “fukumean”; also produced Gunna’s “Prada Dem” featuring Offset, which reached No. 15 on Hot Rap Songs.
Tommy Richman’s Crew (Kavi, Mannyvelli, Jonah Roy, Sparkheem and Max Vossberg)
The breakout star’s creative inner circle all charted for the first time with their work on his Hot 100 topper “Million Dollar Baby;” Kavi, Roy and Vossberg followed that up with “Devil Is a Lie,” which peaked at No. 32.
Frank Rio
The go-to producer for Ivan Cornejo, he has produced on 16 Hot Latin Songs entries (including three top 10s) by the young singer-songwriter.
Frank Rio
NEON16
Jack Rochon
Three songs from Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter became his Hot 100 entrée: “II Hands II Heaven,” “Protector” and “Jolene.” He’s also worked with 6LACK, H.E.R. and Kehlani.
Nevin Sastry and Shaboozey
Courtesy of Nevin Sastry
Nevin Sastry
Charted for the first time co-producing Shaboozey’s Hot 100 No. 1 “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”; also worked on the artist’s “My Fault” and “Drink Don’t Need No Mix,” which reached Hot Country Songs’ top 50.
This article appears in the Oct. 5 issue of Billboard.
Beloved 1980s pop group the Motels have been forced to cancel the remaining dates on their 2024 U.S. tour after singer Martha Davis revealed that she is in the midst of a second battle against breast cancer. In a statement released on Tuesday (Oct. 8), the 73-year-old vocalist said that a pair of planned November […]
With the first quarter of the 21st century coming to a close, Billboard is spending the next few months counting down our staff picks for the 25 greatest pop stars of the last 25 years. We’ve already named our Honorable Mentions and our No. 25, No. 24, No. 23, No. 22, No. 21, No. 20, No. 19, No. 18, No. 17, No. 16, No. 15, No. 14, No. 13 and No. 12 stars, and now we remember the century in Usher — a complete-package superstar who’s evolved with the times and amassed one of the century’s most formidable pop and R&B catalogs.
Not many artists can say they’ve made the successful transition from teen sensation to adult superstar. It’s an exclusive club whose membership brings to mind all-time greats like Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift… and then there’s Usher, baby: the singing, dancing triple-threat in the Braves hat and the U chain.
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This year, Usher has basically been running on one long career-spanning victory lap, celebrating his 30th anniversary in music and the 20th anniversary of his diamond-certified 2004 classic Confessions, and performing at the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show in February to the tune of 123 million viewers — the most-watched halftime show ever. And that’s not to say that he’s been stuck in the past either: This February also saw the release of his ninth studio album Coming Home (debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200), while in August, he also launched his Past Present Future arena world tour. And all this follows on the heels of Usher’s talk-of-the town My Way – The Vegas Residency that packed both The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in 2021 and the larger Dolby Live at Park MGM a year later – an act he took across the pond with the eight-date Rendez-Vous Á Paris, documented in a concert film released this September. Bottom line: the eight-time Grammy Award winner, who turns 46 on Oct. 14, is riding the wave of one of the most impressive, legacy-cementing comebacks of the last decade.
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It’s a multigenerational R&B/pop legacy built on nine Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 singles and 18 top 10 singles plus four Billboard 200 No. 1 albums. The latter streak began with the singer-songwriter’s epic 2004 album Confessions, whose nine weeks at the top led to it being crowned the Year-End Billboard 200’s No. 1 album – the same year that his era-defining “Yeah!” team-up with Lil Jon and Ludacris ended up No. 1 on the Year-End Hot 100. But more significant than the history-making chart stats, sales certifications and industry accolades that Usher has racked up along the way is his innate artistry — a crucial key to his staying power.
There’s his sensual, supple tenor, which easily shape-shifts from crooning balladeer to party jam belter and hits the entire emotional spectrum in between. Equally as arresting are the intricate choreography and smooth footwork that are the hallmarks of his energetic and engaging stage presence. Who else could make rollerskating and singing simultaneously look so cool and easy? Then there’s the music itself: Yes, R&B and pop played the central roles in his career evolution, but the inquisitive music lover has never shied away from experimenting with other genres — dabbling in everything from hip-hop and crunk to EDM and trap, crafting engaging melodies, ear-worm lyrics and hooks you can’t help but sing along with. He’s also been unafraid to reach out to the next generation, linking up over the last several years with younger artists like Chris Brown (“New Flame”), Summer Walker (“Come Thru”), Ella Mai (“Don’t Waste My Time”), H.E.R. (“Risk It All”) and Justin Bieber (the remix to Bieber’s Hot 100-topping hit “Peaches”) — all of whom no doubt also count Usher as a key influence on their own artistry.
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Usher Raymond IV was just 15 years old himself when LaFace/Arista Records began setting the stage for the precocious newcomer with the 1994 release of his self-titled debut album. Mixing R&B, hip-hop and new jack swing, the album — preceded by puberty claiming Usher’s vocal range at one point — bowed at No. 167 on the Billboard 200. Despite that low entry point, the project still proved to be a buzz-builder, presaging Usher’s first major breakthrough as a singer-songwriter on the cusp of the new millennium: 1997’s My Way.
At a time when the ‘70s-influenced neo-soul movement — embodied by D’Angelo, Erykah Badu and Maxwell — was making its mainstream ascendance, Usher’s refreshing brand of contemporary R&B was striking a chord with fans by way of its youthful, vibrant take on love, sexuality and burgeoning adulthood. The now-7x-platinum RIAA-certified project spun off three top-two Hot 100 smashes: “You Make Me Wanna…,” “Nice & Slow” (his first No. 1) and “My Way.”
A year after the millennium’s arrival, Usher catapulted into the upper level of the Billboard 200 with the No. 4 first-week debut of 8701. Initially titled All About U, his third album was delayed from its original 2000 release date thanks to leaks of several tracks, including under-performing first single “Pop Ya Collar.” Collaborating with a bevy of hitmakers — Antonio “L.A.” Reid, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox — the revamped and retitled album (reportedly a reference to the year Usher first performed publicly, 1987, and the album’s Aug. 7, 2001 release date) found Usher delivering a spirited and emotive next-gen take on love and relationships primarily inspired by R&B/soul giants such as Wonder, Jackson, Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway.
Two of the album’s U-titled tracks, “U Remind Me” (the new album’s official first single) and “U Got It Bad” nabbed the top spot on the Hot 100. A third, “U Don’t Have to Call,” reached No. 3. Since certified 5x platinum, 8701 gave Usher his first Grammy for best male R&B vocal performance (“U Remind Me”) plus a second win in that category the following year (“U Don’t Have to Call”). An added plus: fans finally got the chance to experience firsthand the versatile tenor’s falsetto and other vocal riffs plus his agile dance moves when the showman-in-the-making embarked on his first concert outing, 2002’s 44-city 8701 Evolution Tour.
If 8701 was Usher’s coming-of-age bow, 2004’s Confessions was the coronation of his status as one of the marquee pop artists of the 2000s. Bowing at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 1.1 million, the now diamond-certified, career-defining project found the 25-year-old crooner reuniting with Dupri and Cox and Jam & Lewis, sharing deeper experiential musings about love and relationships alongside banging party jams. Chief among the offerings on the dance, pop, hip-hop and crunk-infused album were three Hot 100 No. 1s: the club-ready “Yeah!” with Lil Jon and Ludacris, the yearning “Burn” and the guilt-wracked “Confessions Part II.” Added as a bonus cut to the album’s deluxe edition, the nostalgic love duet “My Boo” with Alicia Keys became Usher’s fourth No. 1 of the calendar year, with fifth single “Caught Up” becoming the set’s final top 10 hit. Confessions later won the Grammy for best contemporary R&B album. Prior to the end of 2004, Usher added yet another top five hit to his arsenal when he and Ludacris reteamed with Lil Jon on the latter’s single “Lovers and Friends.”
Confessions’ epic success sparked a string of three more Billboard 200 No. 1 albums for Usher, reminiscent of idol Michael Jackson’s No. 1 run beginning with 1982’s Thriller in 1982. Usher’s own run kicked off four years after Confessions with 2008’s Here I Stand. By then a husband and father, Usher ongoing maturation musically and personally was reflected in its six single releases. Those included the synth-layered, Polow da Don-produced lead single “Love in This Club” featuring Young Jeezy (another Hot 100-topper, and the set’s biggest hit) and the Grammy-nominated ballad/title track. Here I Stand was another success, but industry observers noted as well that the album’s double-platinum success paled in comparison to Confessions’ more ee-popping achievements.
Here I Stand was followed by fellow No. 1 albums Raymond v. Raymond in 2010 and Looking 4 Myself in 2012. The former project, certified 3x platinum and released in the wake of the artist’s divorce from Tameka Foster, included the Hot 100 No. 1 dance-pop single “OMG,” produced by and featuring will.i.am, as well as the R&B hits “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” and “There Goes My Baby.” Also of note was the song “Papers”: Recorded before the singer filed for divorce, the song was a insightful and vulnerable nod to the personal struggles he was dealing with at the time. The song reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and peaked at No. 31 on the Hot 100.
Usher deepened his experimentation into electronic music, with forays into Euro-pop and dubstep, on Looking 4 Myself. His first project for RCA Records boasted the respective top 10 and top 20 hits “Scream” and Grammy winner for best R&B performance “Climax,” co-produced by Diplo. The latter track, an electronic-punctuated slow jam about a tenuous relationship, brought Usher some of his strongest critical acclaim. However, the album – lauded for its alt-R&B vibes in what Usher described as “revolutionary pop” — was his lowest-selling No. 1 entry. At that same time, mainstream R&B was in the midst of shifting away from the pop star hybrid model that Usher symbolized, and moving towards more underground-leaning emerging stars like The Weeknd, Frank Ocean and Miguel.
The ebb and flow that can accompany any veteran hitmaker’s career trajectory continued for Usher into the mid- to late 2010s. Prior to the 2016 release of his eighth studio album Hard II Love, he released three singles in 2014 — the Grammy-nominated, platinum-certified R&B hit “Good Kisser,” “She Came to Give It to You” featuring Nicki Minaj (a top 20 Rhythmic Airplay hit and the electro/R&B percolator “I Don’t Mind” featuring Juicy J (No. 11 on the Hot 100; No. 1 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs). All three were intended for Hard II Love, but only appeared on the album’s Japanese edition.
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Leaning back in a more R&B direction, the artist collaborated with songwriter-producers such as Raphael Saadiq, Pop & Oak, The-Dream and Metro Boomin for the resulting Hard II Love. Debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, the album gained the dubious distinction of becoming Usher’s first album to not bow at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 12 years, and failed to generate a Hot 100 hit bigger than the No. 32-peaking Young Thug collab “No Limit” (though the song topped R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, while later single “Missin U” went top 10 on Adult R&B Airplay). Meanwhile, his last North America tour had been 2014’s UR Experience.
Five years after Hard II Love — with no new full-length releases, aside from his 2018 mini-album A alongside producer Zaytoven — Usher and his team placed their bets on another venture: launching his first Las Vegas residency. The July 2021 gamble paid off in more ways than one: The sold-out My Way tenure wasn’t only an affirmation of Usher’s estimable career, it also doubled as a creative rebirth and introduction to a new generation of fans. Next came the Super Bowl and the ongoing world tour. In between, Usher’s ninth studio album Coming Home arrived — the first release on his indie label Mega, co-founded with L.A. Reid and in association with Larry Jackson’s gamma. Featuring the No. 25 Hot 100 hit “Good Good” and “Risk It All,” the project bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 to become his highest-charting effort in over a decade.
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Growing up musically and personally in the public eye isn’t an easy feat. But Usher has proven his staying power with aplomb — and an indefatigable outlook. As he told Billboard in August 2021 with his always-disarming smile, “People are critical. But you continue to do it for the love. You do it for the people to connect with what you’re trying to articulate. That pressure is there every time. That’s why I try to give myself as much of a shot as I possibly can by giving fans variety. You’re going to like something.”
Read more about the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century here — and be sure to check back next Tuesday as we start to unveil our top 10 artists!
Chris Martin and Coldplay are going back to the start. The group announced yet another extension of their record-setting Music of the Spheres tour on Tuesday morning (Oct. 8) via a set of summer 2025 North American shows that will kick off more than three years after the tour first touched down in the U.S. and Canada on May 6, 2022; it officially launched in San José, Costa Rica in March 2022.
The 10 newly added gigs will include Coldplay’s debut stadium performances in Stanford, CA, El Paso, Denver, Las Vegas, Nashville and Madison, WI; in fact, the latter gig will mark the first music event at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Camp Randall Stadium since a 1997 Rolling Stones gig. The band will also have the honor of being one of the first bands to perform at Toronto’s newest venue, the 50,000-capacity Rogers Stadium, set to open in June 2025.
After launching on May 31 at Stanford Stadium, the tour will hit Las Vegas, Denver, El Paso, Toronto, Foxborough, MA, Madison and Nashville before winding down on July 26 at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium.
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Fans can sign up for an artist presale now through Thursday (Oct. 10) at 10 a.m. ET here; artist presale begins on Friday (Oct. 11) at 9 a.m. local time, with a general onsale launching on Friday at noon local time here. The group will also offer up a limited number of affordable $20 Infinity tickets for every show at noon local time on Nov. 22, with a two-ticket limit per purchaser.
According to a release, since the tour’s launch it has sold more than 10 million tickets across shows in Europe, North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, making it the most-attended tour by a group of all time. Support acts for the 2025 shows have not yet been announced.
In the meantime, the Spheres tour will visit Australia again in late October and early November before moving on to Abu Dhabi and Mumbai, India in January 2025, followed by Hong Kong and Seoul in April. The band also announced an update on their extensive sustainability initiatives on the tour, which they said has produced 59% less CO2e emissions on a show-by-show basis to date than their 2016-2017 stadium tour, exceeding their original target of 50% reductions. They also noted that more than nine million trees have been planted around the world as part of the tour’s green efforts, with another million to be planted before year’s end.
Last week, Coldplay released its 10th album, Moon Music, which features the singles “We Pray” and “feelslikefallinginlove.”
Check out the Music of the Spheres 2025 North American dates below:
May 31 — Stanford, CA @ Stanford Stadium
June 6 — Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium
June 10 — Denver, CO @ Empower Field at Mile High
June 13 — El Paso, TX @ Sun Bowl Stadium
July 7 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Stadium
July 8 — Toronto, ON @ Rogers Stadium
July 15 — Foxborough, MA @ Gillette Stadium
July 19 — Madison, WI @ Camp Randall Stadium
July 22 — Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium
July 26 — Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium
Charli XCX told us that in order to properly embrace “Brat Summer” you need to be a little chaotic and “trashy.” But between dropping her Brat album in June, then cueing up the all-star deluxe edition, Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat version (due out on Oct. 11), co-executive producing the soundtrack for the movie Mother Mary and launching her Sweat Tour with Troy Sivan on Sept. 14, the 32-year old singer/songwriter has been anything but messy so far this year.
In fact, she’s been super productive and totally focused. Case in point: did you know that Charli filmed her debut movie role in director Pete Oh’s upcoming drama ERUPCJA? According to Variety, Charlie popped over to Poland for a few weeks in August to film her co-starring role in the drama that also features playwright/actor Jeremy O. Harris (Slave Play) and Lena Góra (Imago). The film reportedly explores the volatile relationship between two women — the title is the Polish word for “eruption” — Góra and XCX (whose character is named Bethany) on the latter’s visit to Warsaw.
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How is it possible to film a whole movie that co-stars the singer whose whole aesthetic was copped by Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign? It kind of isn’t, according to director Ohs. “[Charli] definitely got recognized a bunch of times,” Ohs said. “She was always really sweet. She took selfies with many a Polish fan.”
Co-star Harris said those photos are how their “secret project” got leaked. “I had a gut feeling that our plan to keep it low key was going to be difficult,” he said. “And that was affirmed the first night I went out in Poland. We were staying at the Nobu Hotel, and that’s close to the queer section, so I walked over to a gay bar, and there was a sign advertising a ‘Brat’ party.”
Harris said when the production moved to a nightclub to film a scene it was “almost impossible” to get it done because of the buzz about the “365” singer. “Every single person in the club was like, ‘Oh my god, Charli XCX is here to do a secret performance.’ And it was like, ‘She is, but not the one you think,’” he said. “We were shooting the same week Obama put her on his playlist as well, which is hilarious.”
Ohs also explained how he roped the pop star into one of his signature seat-of-your-pants productions, which are shot in order and written as they go along, with dialogue often conjured the day before, or morning of, filming. Before Charli dropped Brat in May, she bumped into Ohs and Harris — who had previously worked together on the HBO doc Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play – at a bar in New York’s Lower East Side at 3 a.m., where Harris introduced her to Ohs.
After Harris described Ohs’ unique filmmaking process to Charli, the director said she responded, “‘I want to do one,’” to which he replied, “‘What are you doing in August? Want to come to Warsaw?”
Charli then reportedly DM’d Ohs the next day and said she was in. “The way he talked about making his films felt akin to making an album and the chance meeting also felt equivalent to the conversational and spontaneous nature of his film making,” Charli emailed Variety about working with Ohs. “Our processes felt linked in some kind of way and it felt right and exciting to pursue some kind of collaboration.”
Those pre-production chats also reportedly included Charli’s suggestion that she play against her brash, unapologetic persona. “She was like, ‘I think it should be completely not me. I feel like I could play super shy,’” Ohs said. “So we’re talking like, Charli XCX is completely unrecognizable as Bethany.”
Ohs added that, “Charli is an excellent actress. She is a performer. She understands what it’s like to have a camera pointed at her. She understands how to convey things through all the different ways in which we communicate, whether it’s with body language or your voice or your facial expressions. She had a scene where she cried, without being asked – she could deliver all the goods. She’s a legit actress. I am proud of us for making a movie this way during Brat summer.”
According to Variety, the film is the first in an upcoming string of big screen roles for Charli, which will also include Greg Araki’s erotic thriller “I Want Your Sex” with Olivia Wilde and Cooper Hoffman, a remake of 1978’s documentary-style horror film Faces of Death, as well as Julia Jackman’s graphic novel adaptation 100 Nights of Hero. She is also producing original music for the Amazon comedy series Overcompensating.
The Brat remix album due out on Friday will have reimagined tracks featuring Robyn and Yung Lean, Ariana Grande, the 1975, Troye Sivan, Addison Rae, Lorde, Tinashe, Bon Iver and Billie Eilish, among others.