Rock

29 Feb 2024

St. Vincent Unveils Fiery New Single ‘Broken Man’ & Announces New Album

The final day of February arrives with an abundance of blessings from St. Vincent. In addition to sharing a new song and music video titled “Broken Man” Thursday (Feb. 29), the singer-songwriter born Annie Clark also announced that her next album, All Born Screaming, is set to arrive this spring. 

Set over sharp-edged electric guitar and industrial-sounding percussion, “Broken Man” gets progressively angrier and grittier as Clark laments, “Hey, what are you looking at?/ Who the hell do you think I am?/ And what are you looking at/ Like you never seen a broken man.” 

In the music video, she sings the track’s lyrics into an old-fashioned microphone as parts of her body erupt into flames. By the end of the visual, the indie musician is completely engulfed in fire. 

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The song will appear on All Born Screaming, one of 10 tracks on St. Vincent’s seventh studio album – the cover of which borrows a shot of the singer spontaneously combusting from the “Broken Man” music video. Clark confirmed Thursday that the LP will drop April 26 via Virgin Music Group. 

“There are some places, emotionally, that you can only get to by taking the long walk into the woods alone — to find out what your heart is really saying,” she said in a statement. “It sounds real because it is real.”  

All Born Screaming follows St. Vincent’s 2021 effort The Nowhere Inn. She last released music in 2022, during which she dropped a single titled “Piggy” as well as a cover of “Funkytown” for the Minions: Rise of Gru soundtrack. 

Watch the “Broken Man” music video below. 

29 Feb 2024

Stevie Nicks to Headline BST Hyde Park Show in London

Stevie Nicks is joining the already power-packed lineup for this summer’s BST Hyde Park concert series in London. The Fleetwood Mac singer and solo star was announced as the headliner for the July 12 concert in Hyde Park, joining a roster of shows that already includes BST gigs by Kings of Leon, Kylie Minogue, the Corrs, Stray Kids, Shania Twain, Robbie Williams and Andrea Bocelli.

“Anything that draws me back to London — and therefore to England — fills my heart with joy,” Nicks, 75, said in a statement. “And to be able to visit and make music… is always a dream come true.” Tickets for the Nicks show will go on sale on March 6 beginning at 10 a.m. GMT, with an American Express cardmember presale kicking off on Friday (March 1) at 10 a.m. GMT; click here for more ticketing information.

The concert, with support acts to be named later, will be Nicks’ first show in the U.K. in seven years; Nicks performed at BST in 2017 in support of her old friend and duet partner Tom Petty. Nicks will be on the road throughout 2024, including an upcoming Sunday night (March 3) headlining show at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, NE, as well as a run of co-headlining stadium gigs with longtime pal Billy Joel on March 9 show at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX and June 21 at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

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Nicks will also hit a number of festivals this year, including the May 3-5 Lovin’ Life Fest in Charlotte, N.C. and the BottleRock Napa Valley show in Napa, CA, where she’ll perform on a bill that includes Pearl Jam, Ed Sheeran, Kali Uchis, Megan Thee Stallion, The Kid LAROI, Norah Jones and Mana (May 24-26).

29 Feb 2024

Paul Simon Talks ‘Good Friendship’ With Art Garfunkel in ‘Restless Dreams’ Doc Trailer

Fans will finally get to see Paul Simon dive into his songwriting legacy and the high points of his nearly seven-decade career in music when the biopic In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon hits streaming next month.

“People used to say, ‘Oh, you have your finger on the pulse,’” Simon says in voiceover in the 90-second trailer for the “definitive” musical doc chronicling the 82-year-old singer’s legendary career; the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and will bow as a two-part series on MGM+ on March 17 and 24. “No, I don’t have my finger on the pulse… I just have my finger out there and the pulse is running under,” Simon says.

In addition to taking viewers behind the scenes of the making of Simon’s 2023 album Seven Psalms, the Alex Gibney-directed doc promises to includes never-before-seen footage from throughout Simon’s storied career, from his days in Simon & Garfunkel to the global success of his landmark 1986 world music album Graceland.

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The opening montage says it all, bouncing from footage of a fresh-faced Simon at the beginning of his career in the mid-1950s, to his historical free 1981 Concert in Central Park benefit show with former partner Art Garfunkel for 500,000 and the sessions for the meditative Psalms song cycle.

“I’ve never wanted to be anything other than a singer and songwriter,” says Simon, author of such indelible hits as “Homeward Bound,” “The Sound of Silence,” “Mrs. Robinson,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,” “Loves Me Like a Rock” and the South Africa-inspired Graceland, which won the 1987 Grammy for album of the year.

His collaboration with Garfunkel — which began when they were teenagers performing as Tom & Jerry — spawned dozens of hits and classic albums during the 1960s until their acrimonious split in 1970. The pair reunited several times over the next three decades for one-off shows and a 1993 world tour, though they would never again record a full album together.

“Artie, that was a good friendship,” he says lovingly about Garfunkel in the trailer. “We thought we should express what our generation felt.”

Watch the trailer for In Restless Dreams below.

28 Feb 2024

Jimmy Butler’s Emo Phase Continues in Fall Out Boy’s ‘So Much (For) Stardust’ Music Video

It was never a phase, mom! Especially for Jimmy Butler.

The NBA star appears in the new music video for Fall Out Boy’s “So Much (For) Stardust” released on Wednesday (Feb. 28), bringing back his viral “emo” hairstyle, featuring straightened locks in long bangs across his face, which he originally debuted last October for the Miami Heat’s media day.

In the clip, Butler rocks the exact same hairstyle, but this time paired with a sparkly purple cowboy outfit. He’s seen singing and dancing along to the lyrics in a Western-style venue, before FOB’s bassist Pete Wentz joins him dressed in a similar outfit, but in white.

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Fall Out Boy’s eighth studio album So Much (For) Stardust arrived in March 2023, with the album topping Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart. The project features a total of 13 tracks — including lead single “Love From the Other Side,” “Heartbreak Feels So Good,” a surprise Ethan Hawke collaboration titled “The Pink Seashell,” the album’s title track and more.

“‘Time is luck.’ Finish another tour. You reflect but not like a gem in the sun – more like a year long stare into yourself in another airplane bathroom,” the band — which consists of members Patrick Stump, Pete Wentz, Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley — wrote when announcing the album last year. “Sometimes you gotta blow everything you were and put the pieces back together in a new shape. The same but different – the foundation dynamited and the dust used to create the concrete pour. I have a tendency to get a little sad whenever I think about anything…but I also feel pure joy when I think that I exist at the same time as whales or that read happens to rise at a certain temperature. And that we happen to be spinning on this little blue rock at the exact same time together. So much (for) stardust.”

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Watch Fall Out Boy’s “So Much (For) Stardust” below.

28 Feb 2024

Courtney Love Rips Through Tom Petty, Cheap Trick Songs With Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong in London

It was just a typical night in Islington, U.K. on Tuesday (Feb. 27), with the lead singer of stadium-filling Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong, taking the stage at the 600-capacity venue The Garage with his side-project covers band, The Coverups.

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And while that was thrilling enough for the lucky fans who scored tickets, in addition to ripping through such classics as “A Million Miles Away” (Plimsouls), “I Wanna Be Sedated” (Ramones), “Ready Steady Go” (Generation X), “I Think We’re Alone Now” (Tommy James & the Shondells) and other favorites by Bryan Adams, the Pretenders, the Crickets, Buzzcocks and the Clash, Armstrong had one more trick up his sleeve.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Courtney Love,” Armstrong said halfway through the show according to fan video of the moment the Hole singer unexpectedly took the stage. “Thank you, Billie Joe. My name is Courtney Love – you may not remember me. I’ve been living in a cave in Birmingham for about nine years. We’ll give this a f–king try, right?”

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Love then crashed through revved-up takes on Cheap Trick’s 1977 power pop classic “He’s a Whore” and the 1979 Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers tune “Even the Losers” and, according to NME, came back for an encore of Cheap Trick’s iconic “Surrender.”

The show also included Armstrong and company’s takes on David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust,” Nirvana’s “Drain You” and the Strokes’ “Last Nite,” as well as a run through the Green Day singer’s side project The Longshot’s 2018 song “Love is For Losers.”

Love has kept a low musical profile since the 2010 release of the Hole album Nobody’s Daughter, which was followed by a series of one-off singles including “You Know My Name” and “Mother.” In Oct. 2023, Love teased tracks from what she said was the imminent follow-up to her first official solo album, 2004’s America’s Sweetheart; at press time she had not provided an update on a release date for that project.

Check out some footage of Love’s surprise appearance and other tracks from Coverups’ show below.

27 Feb 2024

Perry Ferrell on Jane’s Addiction Making the Rock Hall Ballot: ‘Check Off Cher’s Box, Too’


Perry Farrell is of two minds regarding the second Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination for Jane’s Addiction.

“I would like the world to view Jane’s in the same light as the greats, but that’s as far as it goes,” he tells Billboard in the midst of the Horns, Thorns en Halos Farewell Tour by Porno For Pyros, his other band with Jane’s drummer Stephen Perkins. “I don’t really get off on trophies. I’ve always kind of felt like I’m on my own island. It’s nice of them to consider me, (but) I’m not so sure I belong there.”

A vanguard of the alternative rock scene, Jane’s Addiction was previously nominated for the Rock Hall in 2017. The on-and-off group’s fourth and most recent studio album, The Great Escape Artist, was released during 2011, and it’s released two live albums since, in 2013 and 2017. A non-album single, “Another Soulmate,” came out in 2013. The group toured during 2022 and 2023 with original bassist Eric Avery back in the lineup but not guitarist Dave Navarro, who was struggling with effects from long COVID. The group has reportedly been in the studio working on new material as well.

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Asked if he wants people to vote for him, Farrell, a co-creator of Lollapalooza, responded, “That’s up to you. If you’re gonna do it, check off Cher’s box, too.” He also voiced support for an eventual induction for the MC5, which has been nominated six times. Jane’s currently ranks 12th in the fan voting for the Rock Hall. Public votes can be cast via vote.rockhall.com.

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Rock Hall concerns are currently taking a back seat while Farrell and Perkins criss-cross the country with Porno For Pyros — including original guitarist Peter DiStefano but with Mike Watt subbing for Martyn LeNoble.

“We are just playing elegant, gnarly, unpredictable punk-jazz,” Farrell says of the shows, which are mixing songs from the band’s two studio albums with the recently released “Agua” and “Little ME” and occasional covers. “We’re getting the job done by spreading a good message. I think we’re getting to spread a message that I think the world sorely needs right now — not tomorrow. When we go out and play Porno, I feel like we’re able to relate and inspire people through music. It’s the nicest experience that can happen to you.”

Farrell adds that despite the tour’s name this may not be the last we see of Porno For Pyros. “It really depends on what goes down,” he says. “If we all enjoy each other’s, not just company but each other’s musicianship, how we are playing on stage…. That’s the most important thing. I see Porno as a project. I have projects that I do in my life. Porno’s a very important one. I would never say never.”

27 Feb 2024

Mark Ronson Shares Paul McCartney’s NSFW Call for the Rock Hall to Induct Foreigner

Mark Ronson brought a message from Sir Paul McCartney with him to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday night (Feb. 26) — but he wasn’t sure he should have.

The producer began by chatting with Jimmy Fallon about his campaign to get Foreigner — of which Ronson’s step-dad Mick Jones is the guitarist — inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. To help sway voters, he put together a compilation of videos from famous friends vocalizing their support for the rock band.

“We decided to go all out this year and really try and get Foreigner on the ballot for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” he explained. “I called in some favors. So there’s some people I’ve met along the way making music myself that I knew were fans of Foreigner, like Jack Black and Dave Grohl and Slash.”

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But when he got the Beatles’ superstar’s submission, he said he was shocked to find that it was somewhat NSFW. Fallon then rolled the clip, self-filmed by McCartney in his car.

“Foreigner not in the Hall of Fame? What the f–k?” the Beatles/Wings rocker succinctly declares in the video before abruptly ending the recording.

“I’ve never heard Paul McCartney curse,” said Ronson, laughing. “He’s a knight! I don’t want to be the first person to ever post a video of Paul McCartney dropping the f-bomb.”

The eight-time Grammy winner went on to talk about his work on the soundtrack for Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie movie, which spawned Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For?” and “I’m Just Ken” (the latter is written by Ronson and performed by Ryan Gosling in the flick). Both songs are in the running for best original song at the 2024 Oscars ceremony, which airs March 10, and “Ken” took home the same prize at the Critic’s Choice Awards in January.

Ronson told Fallon that he started out with phrases like “I’m just Ken, anywhere else I’d be a ten” and “blond fragility” and built the song from there before pulling out his phone and playing the original demo for the Tonight Show audience. The low-quality recording features the “Uptown Funk!” musician roughly singing what later became Gosling’s lyrics, about which he said, “I sound like the lead singer of Chicago after three packs of cigarettes.”

Watch Mark Ronson on The Tonight Show above.

27 Feb 2024

Eric Clapton’s Love Letters to George Harrison’s Then-Wife Pattie Boyd Are Headed to Auction

There are few tropes better than love triangles — especially when they involve three rock icons. From March 8-21, auction house Christie’s will host an online auction of items from the personal collection of British photographer and model Pattie Boyd, who served as a muse for both George Harrison and Eric Clapton.

Deemed as “one of the greatest muses in rock history” by Christie’s via a press release on Monday (Feb. 26), Boyd inspired a plethora of songs between the two musicians. Boyd was married to Harrison during the peak of Beatlemania, the band’s foray into psychedelia and post-breakup (1966-1977). Harrison’s Boyd-inspired Beatles tracks include “I Need You” (1965) and Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers “Something” (1969) and “For You Blue” (1970).

Clapton, a close friend of Harrison’s, pursued Boyd for years via a series of love letters, some of which are available at the auction. “I am writing this note to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings toward a subject well known to both of us,” he opens one letter. “What I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband, or if you have another lover? All these questions are very impertinent I know, but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me… you must let me know!”

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By 1974, upon discovering his multitude of extramarital affairs, Boyd left Harrison. Five years later, she and Clapton married, eventually splitting in 1987 due to substance abuse issues and infidelity. In Clapton’s catalog, Boyd can lay claim to inspiring “Layla,” the 1971 No. 12 Hot 100 hit, which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame just 27 years after its release (1998).

For her part, Boyd believes auctioning off these items (which include photos of herself, Harrison and Clapton, as well as postcards, telegrams and letters) is a part of her healing journey.

“I thought, ‘Do I need them? Do I need to keep going into Pandora’s Box?’ I’ve enjoyed them for many, many years, and now it’s time for other people to see and enjoy them. It’s only right I should pass them on,” she mused to Christie’s, where items will be on display at Christie’s in London from March 15-22.

27 Feb 2024

Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss Lead 2024 Outlaw Music Festival Tour

Willie Nelson‘s upcoming Outlaw Music Festival Tour just might be the most star-studded one yet. The outing — which launches June 21 in Alpharetta, Georgia — will feature Willie Nelson & Family, Bob Dylan, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and John Mellencamp, along with Brittney Spencer, Celisse and Southern Avenue on various dates throughout the tour. Billy Strings, who just headlined three Nashville shows, will join the tour for a special concert outside Seattle, Washington at The Gorge.

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“This year’s Outlaw Music Festival Tour promises to be the biggest and best yet with this lineup of legendary artists. I am thrilled to get back on the road again with my family and friends playing the music we love for the fans we love,” Nelson, 90, said in a statement.

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The Outlaw Music Festival made its debut in 2016 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The sold-out show garnered so much acclaim that organizers Blackbird Presents, Mark Rothbaum and Nelson developed it into a hugely-popular touring franchise that has welcomed artists including Chris Stapleton, Neil Young, Luke Combs, Van Morrison, ZZ Top, Sheryl Crow, Eric Church, Bonnie Raitt, Tyler Childers and more over the years.

Tickets for this year’s tour go on sale to the general public on Friday (March 1) at 10 a.m. local time here. Citi is the official card of the tour, with Citi cardmembers having access to presale tickets on Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. local time until Feb. 29 at 10 a.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program.

See the full list of tour dates and lineups for the 2024 Outlaw Music Festival Tour below:

June 21 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

June 22 — Charlotte, N.C. @ PNC Music Pavilion

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

June 23 — Raleigh, N.C. @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

June 26 – Virginia Beach,VA @ Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

June 28 — Syracuse, NY @ Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

June 29 — Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

June 30 — Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

July 2 — Mansfield, MA @ Xfinity Center

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

July 6 — Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

July 7 — Hershey, PA @ Hersheypark Stadium

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Celisse

July 29 — Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Brittney Spencer

July 31 — Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Brittney Spencer

Aug. 3 — Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Brittney Spencer

Aug. 4 — Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Brittney Spencer

Aug. 7 — Boise, ID @ Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Brittney Spencer

Aug. 9 — Spokane, WA @ ONE Spokane Stadium

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Brittney Spencer

Aug. 10 — George, WA @ Gorge Amphitheatre

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Billy Strings

Brittney Spencer

Sept. 6 — Somerset, WI @ Somerset Amphitheater

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Southern Avenue

Sept. 7 — Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Southern Avenue

Sept. 8 — St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Southern Avenue

Sept. 11 — Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Southern Avenue

Sept. 12 — Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Southern Avenue

Sept. 14 — Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Southern Avenue

Sept. 15 — Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music Theatre

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Southern Avenue

Sept. 17 — Buffalo, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater

Willie Nelson & Family

Bob Dylan

John Mellencamp

Southern Avenue

26 Feb 2024

Taylor Swift Passes The Beatles for Most Weeks in Billboard 200’s Top 10 in Last 60 Years

Taylor Swift carves out another Billboard chart record as she surpasses The Beatles for the most weeks spent in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the last 60 years across all her top 10-charting albums combined.

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On the latest Billboard 200 chart (dated March 2), Swift has three albums in the top 10, which ups her cumulative total of weeks in the top 10 to 384 — across all her 16-top 10-charting albums combined. She’s in the top 10 on the latest list with three former No. 1s: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) at No. 6, Lover at No. 7 and Midnights at No. 9.

Since the Billboard 200 combined its previously separate mono and stereo album charts on the Aug. 17, 1963-dated chart, Swift now has the most weeks in the top 10. She steps past The Beatles, who have a total of 382 weeks in the top 10 across their 32 top 10-charting albums. (The Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956.)

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Swift first visited the top 10 on the Nov. 24, 2007-dated chart when her self-titled debut climbed 26-8. The Beatles first hit the top 10 on the Feb. 8, 1964, chart, when Meet the Beatles! vaulted 92-3. The Beatles were last in the top 10 on the Nov. 12, 2022-dated chart, when a deluxe reissue of the 1966 album Revolver prompted its re-entry on the list at No. 4.

Among Swift’s top 10-charting albums, the one with the most weeks in the top 10 is Midnights, with 68 weeks in the region. It’s followed by 1989 (60), Fearless (58), Lover (54) and Folklore (30).

As for The Beatles, the band’s five albums with the most weeks in the top 10 are Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (35), Abbey Road, A Hard Day’s Night (28 each), Meet the Beatles! (21) and 1 (20).

Following Swift and The Beatles among acts the most weeks in the top 10 (since August 1963) are The Rolling Stones (with 309), Barbra Streisand (277) and Drake and Mariah Carey (233 each).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multimetric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new March 2, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Feb. 27. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X and Instagram.