taylor swift
Page: 12
Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour is kicking off in less than two weeks, and the pop star’s close friend, model Gigi Hadid, is already preparing to have a major lack of composure when Swift performs live and in person.
“I’m a psychopath at a Taylor show,” Hadid said on the Tuesday (March 7) episode of E! News, while promoting the new season of her Next in Fashion reality competition. “I go nuts. I’m not cool at all. I’m like the most embarrassing friend.”
As a close friend of the “Lavender Haze” singer, Hadid was likely not one of the many fans trying to score tickets to the pop star’s The Eras Tour, the demand of which crashed Ticketmaster servers and resulted in an investigation of the ticket company by the United States Senate to see if it has abused its power over the live music industry. But Swift will surely hook Hadid up. “I’ll make it to a few,” the model said of the upcoming concerts. “I try to make it to as many as I can.”
And as for attire, Hadid likes to stay comfy to have room to dance the night away. “I like to boogie, so I’m usually in jeans and T-shirt. I’ll rep some Taylor merch if I get some,” she added.
Swift’s Eras Tour is scheduled to kick off March 18, starting with a pair of dates at Glendale, Ariz.’s State Farm Stadium. HAIM, Paramore, Beabadoobee, GAYLE, Muna, Gracie Abrams, Phoebe Bridgers, Girl in Red and Owenn are among the acts Swift has asked to join her on the trek, which marks the pop star’s biggest tour to date.
For the third consecutive quarter, Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group took their usual No. 1 spots on Billboard’s Publishers Quarterly ranking for the last quarter of 2022.
Sony topped the Top Radio Airplay ranking, while UMPG had the biggest share of Hot 100 songs.
Harry Styles and Kid Harpoon (birth name: Thomas Edward Percy Hull) were the top Radio Airplay songwriters, thanks to their collaboration on “As It Was” and two other hits from Styles’ 2022 album, Harry’s House — which Kid Harpoon also produced — that ranked in the quarter. Both songwriters are published by UMG.
Despite that duo’s strong showing, the No. 1 Radio Airplay song for the quarter was Steve Lacy’s “Bad Habit.” Five writers are credited, including Lacy as Steve Thomas Lacy Moya, Brittany Foushee, Diana “Wynter” Gordon, Matthew Castellanos, and John Carroll Kirby. The top 10 publishers that have a share in that song are: Sony, UMPG, Warner Chappell and Kobalt.
On the Hot 100 ranking, Taylor Swift, also published by UMG, was the top songwriter and scored the No. 1 song for the quarter, “Anti-Hero.” Thirteen songs from her album midnights, placed in the ranking; Swift co-wrote 12 of them and is the sole author of “Vigilante Shit.” Both Sony and UMPG have stakes in “Anti-Hero.”
Sony’s No. 1 showing on the Top Radio Airplay publishers ranking actually represents its seventh consecutive quarter and 40th time overall at the top of that chart. Its market share slipped to 28.89% from 31.60% in the third quarter of 2022, but its song count was up one, with the publisher placing 64 tunes on the ranking.
On the Hot 100 publishers ranking, Sony’s market share fell more than 7 percentage points, from 29.79% in the third quarter to 22.71% in the fourth, and its song count followed suit, dropping from 64 to 58. That said, the publisher is on a bit of a hot streak when it comes to the Country Radio Airplay publisher ranking: it took the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive quarter, improving its 27.60% third-quarter market share to 28.93%.
UMPG has emerged as a powerhouse in the Hot 100 publisher rankings. For the three consecutive quarters that it finished No.1, its market share has remained above 30% — a feat last achieved by Sony on the Top Radio Airplay chart in 2014.
UMPG’s quarter-to-quarter market share grew from 30.75% to 31.63%, and its song count rose from 60 to 63. The publisher also grew its market share in the Radio Airplay ranking from 23.98% in the third quarter to 25.66% — almost 10 percentage points over No. 3 publisher, Warner Chappell Music, despite a song count that fell from 56 to 52 in the fourth quarter.
On the Radio Airplay ranking, Warner Chappell, Kobalt, and BMG once again held the No. 3 through No. 5 spots, respectively, although Warner Chappell’s quarter-to-quarter market share grew 13.60% to 15.73%. Its song count fell, however, from 48 to 46 tunes.
Kobalt held on to its No. 4 berth despite a significant drop in song placements from the third quarter, from 43 to 34, and a market-share decline from 13.21% to 10.38%. Fifth-ranked BMG eked out a .05 percentage point gain from 3.12% to 3.17%, as a result of boosting its song count from nine to 11.
The success of David Guetta & Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue),” the No. 6 song on the quarter’s top radio chart, resulted in a newcomer making the top 10: the Italian collection society S.I.A.E. Direzione Generale, which is credited as one of the song’s publishers by the Harry Fox Agency. As a result, S.I.A.E. ranked No. 7 on Radio Airplay, with a 1.38% market share, and No. 9 on the Hot 100 publisher ranking with a 1.24% share.
The remainder of the Top Radio Airplay top 10 consists of Concord at No. 6 with 2.19% share, up from the prior quarter’s 1.48% share when it ranked No. 8; at No. 8 for the fourth quarter was Higpnosis, with a 1.29% share, down from the prior quarter’s 1.77% when it ranked No. 6; Downtown held steady at No. 9 with 1.28%, down from 1.59% in the third quarter, and Big Machine at No. 10 with 1.25%.
Christmas music made its usual strong showing in the fourth quarter Hot 100 publisher ranking, vaulting St. Nicholas Music to No. 5 in the ranking with a 6.17% market share, thanks to “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” “Holly Jolly Christmas” and “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” all of which were written by Johnny Marks. Brenda Lee’s recording of “Rockin’” was the quarter’s No. 6 Hot 100 song.
The holiday season also boosted Dean Kay’s Demi Music to the No. 7 slot on the Hot 100 publisher ranking, solely on the strength of Andy Williams’ “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year,” which gave Desi a 1.91% market share for the quarter. A single song — OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” — also put Downtown in the No. 8 spot.
Forbes revealed this week its list of the world’s 10 highest-paid entertainers, who, combined, made more than $1.3 billion last year.
Topping the list are Genesis and Sting, who made $230 million and $210 million, respectively, thanks to selling their music. Genesis topped 2022 with a $300 million music rights sale to Concord Music Group in September, while Sting also made $300 million before fees by selling his entire musical catalog, both solo and with The Police, to Universal Music Group in February.
Among the other major artists on the list was Taylor Swift, who came in at No. 9 with $92 million. According to Forbes, income streams from physical record sales, streaming, digital downloads, licensing and sync were the primary source of the superstar’s major income last year.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Bad Bunny came in at No. 10 with $88 million, and the Puerto Rican rapper can attribute much of his financial success to his massive Último Tour Del Mundo and The World’s Hottest Tour, plus endorsements from Corona, Cheetos and Adidas.
In December 2022, Swift was named in Forbes’ list of the world’s 100 most powerful women, ranking at No. 79. The success of Midnights and her re-recorded albums Red (Taylor’s Version) and Fearless (Taylor’s Version) were highlighted, along with her political influence and November’s Eras Tour ticket sale meltdown.
See the full list of the world’s highest-paid entertainers here.
Once again, Taylor Swift had fans meeting her at midnight on Friday (Feb. 10) for a new release — this time, a remix of Midnights album opener “Lavender Haze.”
The remix of the violet-hued love song comes just two weeks after Swift dropped the dreamy “Lavender Haze” music video, which she directed and co-starred alongside the sultry model and trans activist Laith Ashley. “This one really helped me conceptualize the world and mood of Midnights, like a sultry sleepless 70’s fever dream. Hope you like it,” Swift said of the inspiration behind the music video.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The original song, which was co-written by Swift, Jack Antonoff, actress Zoë Kravitz, Mark Anthony Spears, Jahaan Akil Sweet & Sam Dew, opens the 12-time Grammy winner’s 10th studio album, Midnights. With the album, Swift made one of the most historic weeks in the 64-year history of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, as she became the first artist to claim the survey’s entire top 10 in a single frame. “Lavender Haze” clocked in at No. 2, just behind lead single “Anti-Hero.”
Listen to the remix of “Lavender Haze” below.
Paramore joined Zane Lowe for an interview on Apple Music 1 this week, where the band discussed their return to music with their new album This Is Why.
Frontwoman Hayley Williams revealed that one of the songs on the record, “Running Out of Time,” was actually inspired by none other than Taylor Swift. “I remember when we were 19 and I was closer with Taylor Swift at that point because we both lived in Nashville, and we’re both experiencing our own versions of real success for the first time,” she recalled. “I went over to hang out. She’s a really good cook, by the way. She’s a really good cook. She has taught me how to make stuff that I did not retain at all.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Williams continued by remembering that Swift had a “little closet” where she kept gifts that she could send to people as a thank you, birthdays or holidays. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, my life is so not together,’” she shared. “I was like, ‘I can barely remember to send someone a card or flowers.’ There are still Christmas gifts at my house that I have not sent to my friends just sitting there in the back of my closet. Two of the people I was supposed to give a gift to, I was like, ‘Sorry, I forgot to put [the gifts] in my suitcase so you still don’t get a gift.’ I wish that I was the person that felt like I had all my s— together and I was like, ‘Oh, I had some extra time, so I’m just popping by with some flowers.’ That kind of a thing, that is my idealized self.”
In January, Paramore appeared on Billboard‘s digital cover, where the trio discussed their return as a band. “At this point, I don’t understand how we’re still doing it,” Williams shared. “Because it just feels like against all odds every single time — which, honestly, I feel like we’re the most annoying band in the world because it’s always like, ‘Oh, we overcame this, and now we’re making this album.’”
The National is gearing up to release their ninth studio album, First Two Pages of Frankenstein on April 28, and the band’s Bryce Dessner sat down with Hanuman Welch for ALT CTRL Radio on Apple Music 1 this week to discuss the project.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Most notably, Taylor Swift is featured on The National’s “Alcott,” which will be included on the forthcoming album. The National previously worked with Swift on Evermore‘s “Coney Island,” and Bryce’s brother Aaron Dessner frequently collaborates with the 11-time Grammy winner. “We’re all big fans of Taylor, and she’s been really generous with us, inviting us to be part of ‘Coney Island,’” Bryce shared. “And obviously my brother’s worked with her a lot, and I’ve done a bunch of orchestration for her albums.”
He continued, “‘Alcott’ is a song that she co-wrote with Matt [Berninger], where she co-wrote the lyrics. It’s really amazing to hear her, the way she was able to take what Matt had done and then reinvent the song, and it’s really a special song.”
As for the inspiration behind The National’s literary album title, Bryce explained that Berninger came up with the name, after the frontman went through a pause in creativity. “I think he was just blocked about what he wanted to sing about, lyrics weren’t coming,” he shared. “And typically in the past, he’ll pick up favorite books, and so apparently he picked up Frankenstein, the [Mary] Shelley book — people know the film and some people don’t realize it’s based on a book — and that helped him get out of his, somehow opened a door for him. I’m not sure why, maybe thinking about monsters or something. But, it helped open the flood gates and in the later stages of the album, he started writing really quickly.”
Listen to the full interview on-demand on Apple Music here.
Taylor Swift encouraged her fans to “meet me at midnight” on Friday (Jan. 27), when she unveiled the much anticipated music video for her Midnights opening track, “Lavender Haze.”
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Swifties have been waiting for the “Lavender Haze” music video for months, especially since the “Bejeweled” music video premiered in late October. Swift shared the Cinderella-inspired “Bejeweled” visual just two weeks after dropping the first Midnights music video, which was for the album’s No. 1 lead single, “Anti-Hero.”
Swift actually shared a teaser video for all of the album’s music videos during Thursday Night Football, mere hours before Midnights hit streaming services Oct. 21. “Those projects are the Midnights Music Movies, the music videos that I made for this album to sort of explore visually the world of this record,” she said at the time. “I love storytelling, I love songwriting, I love writing videos, I love directing them … I’m really proud of what we made and I really hope you like them. We worked with some amazing actors.”
Watch the “Lavender Haze” music video below.
Lewis Capaldi is the latest celebrity to make a surprise appearance during The 1975‘s tour, and he hopped onstage at the band’s Newcastle, England, show on Tuesday (Jan. 24) to deliver a cover of Taylor Swift‘s “Love Story.”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“I was going to sing one of my songs next, but I thought it would just be better to play a Taylor Swift song,” the Grammy nominated artist told the crowd in a video he shared to TikTok, before delving into the opening lines of Swift’s Fearless hit. He also performed The 1975’s fan-favorite track, “Antichrist,” off the group’s 2013 self-titled album.
Capaldi’s cover comes just two weeks after Swift herself joined The 1975 at the O2 Arena in London on Jan. 12, where she live-debuted her latest hit single, the eight-week Billboard Hot 100 chart topper, “Anti-Hero.” She also performed The 1975’s “The City” on acoustic guitar.
Among the string of stars who have also joined the British rock band on their global tour over the past few months are Charli XCX, Phoebe Bridgers and Jack Antonoff. The 1975’s UK tour continues until Jan. 30, before they head off to South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand in the spring.
Talk about “Fifteen” minutes of fame! It turns out one of the contestants on the new season of ABC’s The Bachelor has a surprising connection to Taylor Swift.
Eagle-eyed viewers realized during the season 27 premiere that Christina Mandrell once starred in the superstar’s music video for 2008 Fearless single “Fifteen,” exactly 15 years before she was vying for Bachelor Zach Shallcross’ heart. In the clip, Swift recounts her freshman year of high school with longtime best friend Abigail Anderson, and at the very end, she stands outside in the rain as a young Mandrell glances over at her while chatting with her own bestie.
For her part, Mandrell poked fun at both her music-video past and dating-show present on social media, writing, “Apparently I look at Zach the same way I look at Taylor Swift. New Conspiracy theory, first I stared at Taylor, then stared at Zach, which inevitably leads to me crying on the STAIRs.”
Of course, in the decade-plus since Swift tapped the Bachelor contestant for her “Fifteen” video, she’s released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) as the very first album in her grand plan to re-record her back catalog. The 2021 version of “Fifteen” became an instant fan favorite, with many Swifties remarking that the bittersweet nostalgia of the track has only grown stronger since Swift first recorded it at 18.
Time will tell how far Christina Mandrell — niece of Hot Country Songs chart-topper Barbara Mandrell — gets on The Bachelor.
Swift’s recent clash with Ticketmaster over ticketing for The Eras Tour has already launched a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee over the debacle, complete with baked-in lyrical references to “All Too Well” and “Anti-Hero” from Senators Amy Klobuchar and Richard Blumenthal during questioning.
Relive Mandrell staring down Taylor in “Fifteen” below.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Tuesday (Jan. 24) to analyze the ticketing industry following the chaotic handling of the Taylor Swift The Eras Tour ticket sale by Ticketmaster.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
During the Senator Amy Klobuchar and Senator Richard Blumenthal-led hearing, titled “That’s The Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment,” a number of senators made references to the 11-time Grammy winner during their statements.
To have a strong capitalist system, you have to have competition,” Klobuchar said in her opening statement. “You can’t have too much consolidation — something that, unfortunately for this country, as an ode to Taylor Swift, I will say, we know ‘all too well.’”
Meanwhile, Blumenthal said, “Ticketmaster ought to look in the mirror, and say, ‘I’m the problem, it’s me,” in reference to Swift’s eight-week Hot 100 chart topper “Anti-Hero,” off her recent album, Midnights. Senator Mike Lee also made a lyric reference to a Midnights track, ending his remarks with, “I have to throw out, in deference to my daughter Eliza, one more Taylor Swift quote: ‘Karma is a relaxing thought, aren’t you envious for you it’s not?’”
Following the Nov. 15 presale, Ticketmaster eventually canceled its general onsale for the remaining 170,000 tickets to Swift’s tour. In December, the company announced a new strategy to sell the passes over the course of four weeks and recently concluded that effort. At the time, the company said “historically unprecedented demand” caused the failure, but blamed bots then, too — saying that 14 million fans and more than 3 billion bots hit the site. That excuse did little to satisfy the more than 100,000 fans who were kicked out of line during the bot attack, and even Swift spoke out blaming the company. With many fans calling for Ticketmaster’s punishment and several even taking legal action against the company, Berchtold also plans to apologize directly to Swift and her followers.
See some of the Swift quotes during the hearing below.
.@SenAmyKlobuchar: “Competition policy is very important to me…to have a strong capitalist system you have to have competition, you can’t have too much consolidation, something that unfortunately for this country, as an ode to Taylor Swift, I will say, we know ‘All Too Well.'” pic.twitter.com/hN7ninMrAi— CSPAN (@cspan) January 24, 2023
.@SenBlumenthal: “Ticketmaster had the temerity to imply that the debacle involved in pre-ticket sales was Taylor Swift’s fault because she was failing to do too many concerts. May I suggest…Ticketmaster outta look in the mirror and say, ‘I’m the problem. It’s me.'” pic.twitter.com/F8HDmsu0Tk— CSPAN (@cspan) January 24, 2023