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A-ha’s chart-topping hit, “Take on Me” reached two billion YouTube views this week, marking the first song released in that decade to achieve this milestone. The Norwegian trio — Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, who were 22, 26 and 24, respectively at the time — released their debut album, Hunting High and Low, in […]
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Candace Owens shared that her YouTube channel has been suspended due to antisemitic comments made by Ye aka Kanye West last month.
On Monday (September 9), conservative media personality Candace Owens shared that YouTube shut down her channel for seven days. She stated that an appearance by Ye aka Kanye West on her show in August was the reason for it. “There will be no show today, or at all this week. That’s because @YouTube has issued me a strike and a one-week suspension for my sit-down with Kanye. They also removed the interview as “hate speech”, as it was mass reported by Zionists. Their tactics never change,” she wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. She also shared screenshots of the messages she received from YouTube.
https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1833550415171932214
The comment in question was Ye claiming that Jewish people control the media.” Owens felt that a recent discussion that she had with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach on Piers Morgan’s show led to the suspension and demonetization of her channel. The channel currently has 2.4 million followers. “The world knows why I am being targeted and frankly, I have never felt more confident that I am the right person for this to happen,” she added in another post on X.
“Thus far, I have had zero strikes on my @YouTubeCreators account,” she said, continuing: “I have now been inundated with 3 back-to-back content hits within minutes, plus an email that I am now fully demonetized. We all know exactly who is behind this and why.” The suspension is a blow to Owens, who was fired by The Daily Wire after a public feud with co-founder Ben Shapiro over Israel and antisemitism.
A spokesperson for YouTube confirmed the suspension to the New York Post. “We’ve suspended channels associated with Candace Owens from the YouTube Partner Program following repeated violations of our policies, including our Advertiser-Friendly Guidelines and Community Guidelines,” Jack Malon said in a statement. The statement went on to say that she would no longer be able to make money from the platform, but creators would be able to reapply in 90 days.
Maroon 5 and Cardi B‘s cameo-stuffed 2018 video for “Girls Like You (Volume 2)” has reached the billion views mark on YouTube. The female empowerment anthem and fifth single from the band’s fifth album, 2017’s Red Pill Blues, got a bonus-edition visual in May 2018 with Cardi slotted-in midway through for a verse about her her come up from stripper to world-beating rap superstar.
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The ascension to the billie club for the Vol. 2 version of the tune marks the fifth time both M5 and Cardi have landed billion view music videos on YouTube.
The original video for Billboard Music Award-winning song — which spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and 33 weeks in the top 10 — has racked up more than 3.6 billion views to date. That David Dobkin-directed clip found the camera swinging in a circle around M5 singer Adam Levine as a series of famous female singers, comedians, athletes, activists, politicians, actresses and models materialized behind the vocalist and danced along to the bouncy pop tune.
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Among the stars popping in were: Camilla Cabello, Phoebe Robinson, Aly Raisman, SarahSilverman, Gal Gadot, Lilly Singh, Amani al-Khatahtbeh, Trace Lysette, Tiffany Haddish, Angy Rivera, Franchesca Ramsey, Millie Bobby Brown, Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Lopez, Chloe Kim, Alex Morgan, Mary J. Blige, Beanie Feldstein, Jackie Fielder, Danica Patrick, Ilhan Omar, Elizabeth Banks, Ashley Graham and Rita Ora, as well as Levine’s wife, model Behati Prinsloo and their daughter, Dusty Rose.
In addition to dancing and lip synching along to the tune, a number of the women in the clip rock message T-shirts with pointed social messages, including immigration activist Rivera’s “Undocumented Unafraid Unapologetic” one, as well as U.S. gymnast Raisman’s “Always Speak You Truth” shirt and activist Fielder’s “Divest, Water Is Life” top.
Watch the “Girls Like You (Volume 2)” video below.
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BLACKPINK have two billion reasons to celebrate this week after the video for their 2019 No. 41 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Kill This Love” became the K-pop girl group’s second visual to cross the double billion mark. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Kill This Love” now […]
Kesha fans were sent for a loop on Sunday (Aug. 18) after claims that the “Eat the Acid” singer’s name was removed from the video credits of Pitbull‘s 2013 hit “Timber.” According to screenshots posted on Reddit of what appeared to be the altered credentials for the visual for the single from Mr. Worldwide’s Meltdown […]
Susan Wojcicki, a pioneering tech executive who helped shape Google and YouTube, has died, her husband said. She was 56.
Wojcicki played a key role in Google’s creation and served nine years as YouTube’s CEO, stepping down last year to focus on her “family, health, and personal projects I’m passionate about,” she said at the time.
She was one of the most respected female executives in the male-dominated tech industry.
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Her collaboration with Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin began shortly after they incorporated their search engine into a business in 1998. Wojcicki rented the garage of her Menlo Park, California, home to them for $1,700 a month, cementing a formative partnership. Page and Brin — both 25 at the time — continued to refine their search engine in Wojcicki’s garage for five months before moving Google into a more formal office and later persuaded their former landlord to come work for their company.
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Wojcicki joined Google, now known as Alphabet, as its marketing manager in 1999 and served in various positions as Google grew its online advertising presence by acquiring YouTube in 2006 and DoubleClick in 2008. She served as Google’s senior vice president of advertising and commerce from 2011 to early 2014 and CEO of YouTube from 2014 to 2023.
“Her loss is devastating for all of us who know and love her, for the thousands of Googlers she led over the years, and for millions of people all over the world who looked up to her, benefited from her advocacy and leadership, and felt the impact of the incredible things she created at Google, YouTube, and beyond,” Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said in a note to employees.
Former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, who was vice president of Google’s sales and operations from 2001 to 2008 before decamping to Facebook, said in a Facebook post that Wojcicki was formative in her tech career.
“She taught me the business and helped me navigate a growing, fairly chaotic organization at the beginning of my career in tech,” Sandberg wrote. “She was the person I turned to for advice over and over again. And she was this person for so many others too.”
Her husband, Dennis Troper, announced her death in a social media post late Friday.
“My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after 2 years of living with non small cell lung cancer,” he wrote.
“Susan was not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many,” Troper said.
No other details of her death were immediately provided.
Wojcicki and Troper’s 19-year-old son, Marco Troper, died in February at the UC Berkeley campus where he resided as a freshman student.
Ahead of the release of his highly awaited studio album Rayo, J Balvin continues to crown YouTube’s Billion Views Club as the artist with the most titles in the coveted club. He has a total of 15 music clips with more than 1 billion views, at time of publishing, and surpasses previous titleholders such as Ozuna and Justin Bieber.
The Colombian artist’s most recent BVC entry is his collaboration on Tainy’s “Agua,” part of the 2020 The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run movie soundtrack. The next visual clip that’s closest to the 1 billion mark is “Sensualidad” with Bad Bunny and Prince Royce (currently at 930 million views).
In 2023, Balvin reclaimed his crown as the artist with the most videos in YouTube’s Billion Views Club, climbing to the top with the entry of David Guetta’s 2018 “Say My Name,” in collaboration with Bebe Rexha and Balvin.
“With the move, Balvin breaks a three-way tie with Bad Bunny and Ozuna for the artist with the most entries in the Billion Views Club as a lead, featured artist or collaborator,” according to former press release. At that time, “Say My Name” marked the French DJ’s fifth title with more than one billion views, as well as Rexha’s third entry, and Balvin’s 14th entry.
The artist born José Álvaro Osorio Balvin made his comeback in early 2023 after a nearly 10-month hiatus from social media and creating music.
“Really right now, I’ve been focused on my family,” he previously told Billboard about his break. “I left social media to be connected to my reality and to my family. That has taught me a lot — to live more in the present. Obviously, I miss my fans, but when the time is right, I’ll be back.”
Balvin’s sixth studio album, Rayo, is set to drop Aug. 9, following his sets La Familia (2013), Energía (2016), Vibras (2018), Colores (2020), and José (2021).
In celebration of his new set, Billboard spotlights all of his music videos in the coveted BVC, below:
“Mi Gente,” J Balvin & Willy William
YouTube established its coveted “Billion Views Club” in 2012, when Psy’s “Gangnam Style” made history as the first-ever music video to hit one billion views on the platform.
Since then, countless music videos have formed part of the elite music video club, including those of Latin acts such as Karol G, Daddy Yankee, Christian Nodal, Becky G, Myke Towers, Romeo Santos and Los Angeles Azules.
To date, the fastest Latin music video to reach one billion views was “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee, surpassing the impressive number in only 97 days. “Mi Gente” by J Balvin and Willy William followed, reaching one billion views in 103 days.
With more than eight billion views, the former is currently the second-most-watched music video, overall, on YouTube — behind just Pinkfong’s “Baby Shark,” but above Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You,” and “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, to name a few.
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Balvin, on the other hand, is the Latin artist with the most music videos in the Club, having racked up 15 in total at the time of publishing.
“The Billion Views Club represents the diverse mix of global sounds and voices that have helped make YouTube the home of music,” YouTube Music Trends manager Kevin Meenan explained in a YouTube blog post. “The list serves as a reminder of the power of the visual pairing with a great song, with the music video – alongside features like Premieres and Shorts — serving as the ultimate way for artists to share their art and vision directly with fans.”
Below, check out every Latin artist — as a lead, featured artist or collaborator — with more than five music videos to enter YouTube’s Billion Views Club:
J Balvin
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Source: Bounty Tank / Youtube
HipHopWired got the chance to speak exclusively with YouTube star Bounty Tank, who is preparing to release his new album Kick Door University.
The world of reality television has produced quite a few notable stars, and with that in mind, it’s not hard to see how Bounty Tank is the next one up in that progression of fame. The Cleveland, Ohio native is the star of his own YouTube series (recently added to Tubi) which is in its sixth season and has over 780,000 subscribers including paid members in addition to a social media following of over 1 million subscribers. For Bounty Tank aka Franklin Frazier, becoming a bounty hunter was a pivot after attaining a nursing degree from Hampton University which he attended on a football scholarship. His goal to become a U.S. Marshal was put on hold due to hiring freezes, which led him to the world of bounty hunting.
A desire to serve his community and lead with understanding is at the heart of Bounty Tank’s mission, and that energy has led him to dive further into creating music, which is another passion of his. Beginning in 2019, Bounty Tank started to create and release singles, leading to his first album Skeletons being released in 2021. On the verge of his upcoming album, Kick Door University, HipHopWired got the chance to talk extensively with him about his music and his career.
HipHopWired: With your pivot into getting into rap, what was the inspiration for that?
Bounty Tank: Honestly, what planted the seed was – “I got my own show, so why pay someone or pay somebody else for music on the show, when I can do my own?” I’ve always had a passion for music, so it just made sense.
HipHopWired: So with that – when you rhyme, what’s the energy that you like to evoke? Every MC pretty much has their own energy that they want to give off to their fans like for you? How would you define that?
Bounty Tank: I have energy just telling stories about what’s going on in my life. I’m a regular guy. So whatever the vibe is, or the story of the lyrics that I’m talking about, I just like to give. I have a lot of laid-back stuff. I got some songs where I’m just amped up. I mean, it just depends on the vibe of the song. So I think I’m naturally just a laid-back, kind of smooth type of rapper.
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HipHopWired: With the album coming out, are we going to get that mixture?
Bounty Tank: The album is called Kick Door University, but the next single coming out, “Mr. Kick Door” is pure energy – I’m talking about “Okay, I need my money”, (laughs) and it’s full energy. It’ll be a mixture. There’ll be some smooth songs on there too.
HipHopWired: Pivoting back to the show – how’s the feedback been from fans who’ve stuck with you starting the show, seeing you evolve into this artist, in addition to being in the bounty hunter profession, how’s that feedback been?
Bounty Tank: Everybody’s excited. Everyone’s happy to be back. I’ve been gone for six months filming. So everyone’s excited man, they’re loving it. I mean, they like the excitement that the show brings, they like the music, and the energy coming with it. So yeah, it’s a good feedback. It’s crazy.
HipHopWired: One thing that I got from just getting the chance to watch some of the show -the one thing that stands forth is you pretty much being that presence of a guiding light. You’re doing it in a way that most people who have their own preconceptions of being a bounty hunter have them shattered. That is amazing to see. Is it challenging at times to keep that consistent?
Bounty Tank: No, that’s just embedded in me. At the core, I just like to help people so it’s not hard. You know, the people that receive it, they’ll get it and the people that don’t receive it, they just don’t get it. But I’ve always had that door open and lane open. So that’s easy for me because that’s just it’s me, it’s my core.
HipHopWired: And you’ve gotten some great feedback already from like Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre giving you a shout-out. Has there been anybody else, you know, from the rap world that’s been giving you the green light, like, “keep going”?
Bounty Tank: It’s a lot of people that watch the show, man…Justina Valentine. she rocks with the show, man. Nick Cannon. There’s a ton of people. I was talking to DJ Drama a couple of months ago, he was on tour and he was watching the show, man. So it’s a lot of people tapped in.
HipHopWired: So, what are your go-to songs, aside from your music, what are your go-to Hip-Hop tracks? Something like, “I need to get my day started or maybe I want to wind down a little bit?”
Bounty Tank: Man, it depends on the vibe, what I’m doing. If I’m on some therapeutic, trying to chill and get my mind right, I’m going to listen to some J. Cole or Kendrick Lamar…it depends on the vibe and really what I have going on to get my day started. Just to get pumped up, man, I might throw some Lil Wayne. The Carter.
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Those loud bangs you’re hearing are not pre-Fourth of July fireworks, but the sound of Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj‘s 2014 collaboration “Bang Bang” cruising past the two billion views mark on YouTube. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The high water spot for the official […]