State Champ Radio r&b
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Thanks to the massive haul from her Renaissance world tour, Beyoncé is on the cusp of becoming a billionaire. According to a new estimate from Forbes magazine (paywalled), the singer’s net worth has ballooned by nearly $300 million this year to $800 million. Back in June, Queen Bey, 42, came in at No. 48 on […]
The Cincinnati Music Festival announced the lineup for its 2024 edition, which will be headlined by New Edition, Maxwell, Ne-Yo and Kem. The annual celebration of classic and contemporary R&B legends and hip-hop superstars will once again take over the home of the Cincinnati Bengals, Paycor Stadium, for two nights next summer.
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The first night, July 26, will be headlined by “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” neo soul legend Maxwell, with support from Ne-Yo, Fantasia, October London and Lakeside. Night two, July 27, will be toplined by New Jack Swing supergroup New Edition — Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Ronnie DeVoe and Johnny Gill — as well as Kem, SWV, Stokley and another artist to be announced.
In keeping with recent tradition, the jam-packed weekend will kick off with a night (July 25) celebrating hip-hop at the adjacent Andrew J. Brady Music Center, with a lineup to be announced soon.
“We are thrilled with this year’s lineup for the Cincinnati Music Festival presented by P&G,” festival producer Joe Santangelo said in a press release. “This year’s lineup is the most jam-packed R&B lineup we’ve ever had, representing fan favorites across the decades from New Edition to Maxwell to Fantasia, and so many more.”
Tickets for this year’s event are on sale now through the festival office (call (513) 924-0900), and will be available through Ticketmaster beginning Saturday (Dec. 16) at 10 a.m. ET.
CMF launched as the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival in 1962 as an all-jazz event and evolved over the year to embrace a wide variety of R&B, soul and pop acts, from Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis and Duke Ellington to Luther Vandross, New Edition, Whitney Houston, Earth Wind and Fire and many others. Last year’s event featured sets from Snoop Dogg, Al Green, Babyface, Jill Scott, Doug E. Fresh, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Jodeci, Midnight Star and others.
The latest superstar act to announce a 2024 Las Vegas residency are R&B legends Jodeci. The New Jack Swing quartet featuring DeVante Swing, K-Ci, JoJo and Mr. Dalvin announced on Tuesday (Dec. 12) that they’ll bring their aptly-named stay-put, “The Show, The After Party, The Vegas Residency,” to the Mandalay Bay Resort at the House […]
Seeing the list of stars we’ve lost in the calendar year is always a shock. But there’s something comforting about British artist Chris Barker’s annual visual homage to stars who’ve left this mortal coil, which this year includes yet another unfathomable tally of beloved singers, actors, public figures and personalities.
As always, Barker organizes the faces using the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover as the template, with this year’s model featuring Pogues singer Shane MacGowan front-and-center above the bass drum, flanked by Tina Turner and Sinead O’Connor. Just a few spots down, Tony Bennett smiles next to British guitar great Jeff Beck, with beloved comedian/actor Pee Wee Herman copping a squat in the foreground.
In a statement to Billboard about his eighth go-round, Barker — who has frequently pledged to make each year his last — says that after cramming all his work into November in the past, this year he began compiling his list in September because he knew this year would be jam-packed with subjects.
“This is the most overwhelming number of huge significant losses I remember in the eight years doing this since 2016. The front two or three rows are all really recognizable legends. It’s a bit much to be honest,” Barker says of the list that includes the above mentioned, as well as beloved British actor Barry “Dame Edna” Humphries, Raquel Welch, Friends star Matthew Perry, CSNY singer David Crosby, composer Burt Bacharach, De La Soul’s Trugoy the Dove and Calypso singer/civil rights activist Harry Belafonte.
Barker said he was glad that Pogues and Smiths fans were sharing the image of MacGowan and Smiths bassist Andy Rourke. He pointed out some other small touches he was happy to include were late artist Jamie Reid’s Sex Pistols flag under Herman’s feet, replacing the flag more earnestly commemorating Queen Elizabeth II in last year’s montage. “I also quite like the way I’ve used Steve Mackey from Pulp’s actual cardboard cutout from the Different Class album cover,” he says.
“I know it’s a very sad topic, it’s a very strange hobby and I really don’t know how I’ve ended up as this weird custodian of international grief, but people do really seem to like it so I’m kind of stuck with it now!” Barker says.
Among the other faces in the crowd are: actors Richard Roundtree (Shaft), Michael Gambon (Harry Potter), Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine), Lance Reddick (The Wire), Angus Cloud (Euphoria), Suzanne Somers, Richard Belzer, Gina Lollarigida, Jerry Springer and game show host Bob Barker, singers/musicians Sixto Rodriguez, Gary Rossington (Lynyrd Skynyrd), Jimmy Buffett, Yukihiro Takahashi (Yellow Magic Orchestra), Tom Verlaine (Television), Robbie Robertson (The Band), Steve Mackey (Pulp), Tim Bachman (BTO), John Gosling (The Kinks), Fred White (EW&F), Lisa Marie Presley, Randy Meisner (Eagles), Anita Pointer (Pointer Sisters), Astrud Gilberto, Dwight Twilley, Van Conner (Screaming Trees), Jane Birkin, The 45 King, Gary Wright, Paul Cattermole (S-Club 7), Gary Young (Pavement), Denny Laine (Wings) and Smash Mouth’s Steve Harwell.
In keeping with Barker’s comprehensive determination to keep the image as up-to-date as possible, the most recent iteration features two images of Hollywood icons we lost just last week, Love Story star Ryan O’Neal and legendary sitcom producer/writer Norman Lear (Good Times).
Check out the image and the key for the 2023 edition below.
In the five years that followed the release of SZA’s groundbreaking debut album, Ctrl, the acclaimed artist teased fans with the occasional one-off or collaboration — as the wait for the official follow-up continued to grow. So when she finally did return at the end of 2022 with her much-anticipated second album, SOS, the stakes were high. And throughout 2023, her record-breaking chart wins exceeded expectations.
With SOS, SZA ventured outside R&B’s boundaries by diving into gospel, grunge, pop-punk and rap; meanwhile, as her producer-engineer, Rob Bisel, previously told Billboard, “Her pen got sharper and more personal.” SOS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spent 10 nonconsecutive weeks there, the most of any R&B/hip-hop album by a woman since Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut spent 11 weeks at the top in 1991. Instead of its impact being limited to the final weeks of 2022, SOS became one of this year’s biggest releases.
It started with the groovy yet gruesome “Kill Bill,” which arrived as a single in January and eventually became SZA’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100; it also made history with an unprecedented 21-week siege atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The following month, she embarked on the SOS tour, telling Billboard at the time that she was “deeply excited to pop ass and cry and give theater” during her first-ever arena headlining stint, compared with her more intimate, stripped-down shows in the past. “When I finally saw the tour and how insane she was going with her choreography, range and stamina … it really hit me,” her producer Carter Lang previously told Billboard. “The transformation was super apparent.”
SZA found ways to keep SOS in rotation while on the road. In April, “Snooze” was released as the album’s sixth single and slowly grew into its next smash. It was serviced to (and succeeded at) rhythmic, R&B/hip-hop and pop radio, all of which culminated in a star-studded music video that arrived in August and featured Justin Bieber. Soon after its release, she recruited him for the song’s acoustic version. “Snooze” ultimately peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 and dethroned “Kill Bill” on Hot R&B Songs, where the former had ruled for 16 nonconsecutive weeks.
By September, SOS became the longest-running No. 1 title on Top R&B Albums, logging 50 weeks and counting at the summit. And to top it all off, SZA finished at No. 1 on four major Billboard year-end R&B/hip-hop rankings: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriters, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (SOS) and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (“Kill Bill”). SZA was also crowned the No. 2 Hot 100 artist of the year and No. 5 Hot 100 songwriter of the year, while SOS landed at No. 3 on the year-end Billboard 200 recap.
“We had a lot of really big moments in R&B this year, obviously SZA being one of those,” says Alaysia Sierra, head of R&B at Spotify. “She’s pop, alternative, R&B. She doesn’t want to be put in a box, but she can’t deny her foundation.”
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But SZA wasn’t the only R&B artist earning rave reviews following a prolonged album break. Janelle Monáe returned with The Age of Pleasure, which is Grammy-nominated for album of the year and blends more Afrobeats, reggae, funk and soul sounds compared with her 2017 left-of-center pop album, Dirty Computer. Jorja Smith released the kaleidoscopic Falling or Flying five years after her critically acclaimed debut, Lost & Found. And Kelela dropped the rapturous Raven, the follow-up to her first full-length album, Take Me Apart, from 2017. Taking their time to further develop their sound — regardless of expectations to make a specific type of music — wasn’t just better for their peace of mind but also for their artistry.
“It’s hard making music as a Black woman [because] we don’t get the luxury to try something and have it be something that’s genuinely part of us,” SZA previously told Billboard. “You have to allow people to get to know different parts of it.”
She’s following the trajectory laid out by artists like Beyoncé and Usher, who have R&B roots but later crossed over and found mainstream pop superstardom. Decades into their careers, they are dominating the world’s biggest stages: Beyoncé’s Renaissance world tour grossed $579.8 million, according to Billboard Boxscore — making it the highest-grossing tour by a woman, a Black artist and any American soloist — while Usher will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show next year in Las Vegas, the home of his two residencies that combined are expected to exceed $100 million in earnings by early December, according to Billboard’s estimate.
SZA is well on her way. She is the most nominated artist at the 2024 Grammys, with SOS up for album of the year and six different songs nominated in various genre categories. More Black women R&B artists are present in the Big Four categories: Victoria Monét is the second-most nominated, with seven nods, while Coco Jones has five.
Sierra believes that R&B artists like Monét and Jones, both of whom are up for best new artist, have the best shot at elevating to pop music’s upper echelon. “Our next superstars are R&B artists,” Sierra says. “When you think about a pop star, they’re going to be making R&B music.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 9, 2023, issue of Billboard.
In what amounts to a virtual avalanche of fresh tracks, Frank Ocean posted a second snippet of new music in as many months on Thursday (Dec. 7). The reveal of the untitled track came in a 24-second video posted on Ocean’s Instagram Story in which the elusive crooner danced with great enthusiasm to an untitled […]
Britney Spears‘ best-selling memoir The Woman in Me featured the stories behind a number of iconic and difficult moments from the “Toxic” singer’s life and career. But one that really struck a chord with so many fans — thanks to actress Michelle Williams’ unforgettable reading of it in the audiobook version — was a scene […]
SPOILER ALERT: This story contains the identity of the contestant eliminated on Wednesday night’s (Dec. 6) episode of The Masked Singer.
During his deep run into season 10 of The Masked Singer, Husky proved he was a big dog with a series of impressive performances. The canine with deep-blue eyes wowed the judges with his soulful spin on Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets,” busting out a sky-high falsetto and working the crowd like a veteran. He seemed more in his favored lane on a growly, fist-pumping run through Rick James’ “Super Freak,” on Harry Potter Night, which got judge Nicole Scherzinger thinking it could be R&B singer Tank, while Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg guessed it might be Brian McKnight or Babyface.
Robin Thicke said no to both of those, keying in on a crying-emoji clue that made him think it might be actor Terrence Howard, while always-wrong Ken Jeong suggested another sometimes weepy thespian, Morris Chestnut. The key clue, as it turned out, was the singer’s early success with the ladies, who, he said, would often shower him with their undergarments when he was onstage.
On Wednesday’s rock-themed Group C finals show — which featured a cameo from Poison’s Bret Michaels singing “Nothing but a Good Time,” as well as covers of songs by KISS and Mr. Big — Husky got emotional with the Bon Jovi ballad “Always,” once again proving his range with a lighters-in-the-air-worthy performance. Jeong clued into a “wild” clue and thought it might be DJ D-Wrek from host Nick Cannon’s long-running Wild ‘N Out series, while Thicke clued in on a carousel and doubled down on his earlier guess that it was none other than “Pony” singer Ginuwine.
The night also saw the elimination of Tiki (Sebastian Bach), with Group B champion Sea Queen moving on to the season finale.
Billboard spoke with Ginuwine before his elimination about coming out of his shell to do the show, why the Husky appealed to his “go-getter” personality, and how he felt about the viral Justin Timberlake “fo shiz” moment in Britney Spears’ recent The Woman in Me memoir.
You’ve done a bit of reality TV, including Celebrity Big Brother in the UK in 2018, but is it safe to assume this was even weirder than sharing a house with a drag queen, ballet dancer and a detective?
It’s two totally different shows. … I’m pretty much a reserved person. I try to stay out of the limelight as much as I possibly can, but over the last few years, I’ve tried to get out of being such a loner and come out of my shell and try some things, so I just gave it a chance. Now I’m back in my reserved mode.
In which case, how did you end up on the show? Was it your idea?
Oh no! It wasn’t my idea at all! They just happened to call. I was pretty much forgotten for a minute until this year, a couple things went viral and my name was poppin’. … I definitely wasn’t even trying to go viral — that’s not my thing. Crazy stuff happens. [Laughs] But it was good because I got to try out new things.
Did you think you had a chance at winning?
Again, anything I was gonna try, I’m definitely gonna try to win, but there were obstacles that stop you. You have no authority over whether you stay or go; you just do your best and hope for the best.
Talk about those obstacles — what made it hard for you?
[Laughs] Wearing that mask! Because it was real hot and very uncomfortable. I had fun, but the only reason I felt like I didn’t make it as far as I possibly could have was because of the mask … which was very hot and I have asthma, so it dried me out and I couldn’t sing as well as I usually do. I was hoarse a whole lot. If you came to one of my concerts, you would definitely see a big difference, but I have no regrets. I’m glad I did it.
Gotta ask: Why Husky?
They sent me that one, and right off the bat I could relate it to who I am: an alpha male, a go-getter and just focused on whatever it is that I try. So that was the one that suited me perfectly.
And, like, a horse would have been too obvious right?
[Laughs] Yeah, that would have been way too obvious!
You really got to spread your wings, singing a couple of rockers from Elton John and Bon Jovi — plus that Rick James jam — how did it feel to get out of your comfort zone?
They picked those, but I was real happy about the Rick James one, but I didn’t know the other two. I had to learn them and they were totally out of my comfort zone. I’ve been in this business for 27 years and I’m used to doing my own stuff, not stuff I have to learn.
The guesses were all over the place — Terrence Howard, Morris Chestnut, Brian McKnight — how did you feel about them? Did any of them piss you off?
Nah, I wasn’t pissed off about the guesses; that’s part of the fun. I was more like, “You think it’s Brian McKnight? We sound totally different!” I knew Robin would have a better guess than anyone else because I’ve been around him a lot. Because I was hoarse, I might have sounded a little less familiar and I was trying to throw them off so they couldn’t get it, and I wasn’t going to try to sound like myself.
It’s been more than 20 years since you released a new album, do you have anything in the works?
The state of music, in my opinion, has changed dramatically. Unless you have a big machine behind you, a song lasts a month, but back in my day one song could last a whole year. It’s oversaturated and, for me, I’m just humble and blessed that I came out in the ’90s era with music that still stands the test of time. I’ve never worked as much as I’ve been working in the last 10 years — doing shows, people using my music, all that — and so I really don’t have to work, which is a blessing for me to do the ’90s tour all over Australia, Japan, and because I wrote so much of my music back in the days, the royalty thing is good.
You mentioned some viral moments earlier, so I have to ask about the Justin Timberlake “fo shiz, fo shiz” moment in Britney Spears’ memoir and if you remember that.
Nah, I don’t remember that. [Laughs] I would have probably looked at him very weird if he did that like she said. I just don’t remember that, but I remember him being a cool dude and me kicking it down there in Florida with [*NSYNC’s] producer at one time. Nah, I don’t remember that.
I have to ask because I’m obsessed: Is it fair to say — as I do all the time — that “Pony” has basically become the modern shorthand for sex thanks to Magic Mike and every karaoke bar playlist over the past 20-plus years? How does it feel to have a Marvin Gaye-level sex jam in your catalog?
I couldn’t have said it better myself! You absolutely hit it right on the head. The No. 1 karaoke song and it’s stood the test of time. Even more successful artists than myself have used it … Rihanna [2014’s “Jump”], Britney [a viral ALTÉGO “Toxic Pony” remix], Drake [2016’s “Fake Love”] … so many people. So it introduces me to the younger generation and it keeps me relevant.
Usher and BTS‘ Jung Kook are clearly having a blast with their team-up on JK’s “Standing Next to You.” In addition to dropping a new version of the song from the BTS singer’s debut solo album, Golden, on Friday, on Sunday (Dec. 3) the pair hit a dance studio to hoof it to one of […]
We already knew that BTS held Usher in high regard thanks to their famous shout-out to the R&B legend (“Don’t need no Usher to remind me you got it bad”) on their 2021 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Butter.” But on BTS member Jung Kook‘s new remix of his solo track “Standing Next to […]
