entertainment blog
Christian Nodal to Receive ‘Extraordinary Evolution’ Award at 2022 Latin American Music Awards
Telemundo unveiled that Christian Nodal will be recognized with the Extraordinary Evolution Award at the 2022 Latin American Music Awards, which will take place on April 21 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The special award is “presented to a young performer who has demonstrated change and accelerated growth as an artist, to reach the pinnacle of success in a short period of time,” according to an official press statement. Previous title holders include Maluma, Becky G, and Ozuna. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Nodal, a five-time nominee at this year’s Latin AMAs, is also confirmed for a musical performance at the show. The Regional Mexican star first entered the Billboard charts in 2017 with his debut single “Adios Amor,” which hit No. 1 on the R...
Shawn Mendes Gets Spiritual As He Embarks On His Biggest Tour Yet
“I hit a low point a few years ago,” Shawn Mendes admits, his brow furrowing beneath his shaggy curls. The sun is setting over a Santa Monica, Calif., apartment complex, and Mendes is leaning forward from his seat as he explains a recent major life change: his embrace of spirituality. It started with meditation to bring a little balance to his chaotic life of pop stardom. That turned into reading religious texts, which turned into a deep dive on the Bhakti movement in Hinduism. For nearly a year, Mendes has spent every Thursday meditating and discussing scriptures like the Bhagavad Gita with Jay Shetty, the author of Think Like a Monk. “I think everybody has a moment where they just decide it’s time to kind of do something different,” says Mendes matter-of-factly. Now spirituality is “a pa...
Conversations With Every 2022 Oscar Best Original Song and Score Nominee
The music nominees for the 94th annual Academy Awards include Oscar veterans such as Diane Warren (her 13th nomination) and Hans Zimmer (his 12th), as well as six first-time nominees — Germaine Franco, Van Morrison, DIXSON and Beyoncé, and Billie Eilish and FINNEAS. Three of the nominated songs are by individual songwriters — Lin-Manuel Miranda, Warren and Morrison. This runs counter to the prevailing trend on the Billboard Hot 100, where collaborations rule. Meanwhile, Encanto was the only film to land nods for both best original song and best original score. It is the first film in three years to register in both categories — Black Panther and Mary Poppins Returns both achieved the feat at the 91st Oscars. Ahead, song and score nominees discuss what the recognition means leadin...
The Hello Group Launches Music Publishing Arm in Partnership With Sony
The Hello Group, a multi-faceted entertainment company, is adding to its capabilities with the launch of a music publishing operation that has pacted with Sony Music Publishing for global administration and other services. Hello Group – which provides label services, artist management, digital marketing and other capabilities – has added a music publishing arm, dubbed THG Publishing, whose initial roster includes Alawn, Andy Love and Lauren Dyson. THG’s core focus will be on placing songs in the K-pop and J-pop markets. THG Publishing’s clients have been involved in writing or co-writing songs that have appeared on No. 1 albums on at least a dozen Billboard albums charts, as well songs that have attained high positions in global and international song charts. They include ITZY’s “Icy,” (Dy...
Lil Durk Projected To Earn First No. 1 With ‘7220’
Lil Durk is projected to achieve a new feat on next week’s Billboard 200 with his latest project, 7220. According to HITS Daily Double, Durkio is on track to earn his first No. 1 entry on the 200 chart; 7220 is expected to garner a total of 120,000 to 130,000 equivalent album units — enough to end the eight-week chart-topping reign of the Encanto soundtrack. Hip Hop By The Numbers also states that 7220‘s numbers are 128% higher than his latest first week peak for a solo project, which was 57,000 units for Just Cause You Waited 2, and that it will be the second hip-hop album to sell more than 100,000 units in its first week after Gunna. 7220 boasts a total of 17-tracks with heavy-hitting features from Future, Gunna, Summer Walker and Morgan Wallen. The album title is a refere...
Kid Cudi to Star in Brittany Snow-Directed Film September 17th
Kid Cudi is set to star in Brittany Snow’s new feature film directorial debut, September 17th, reports Variety. Snow decided to cast Cudi after working together as actors in A24’s new horror movie X. “I couldn’t believe that [Snow] wanted me in it,” Cudi told Variety. “She had told me about the movie while we were on set [for X], but she never asked me to be in it. I was like, ‘Maybe she’s waiting to see how [X] turns out.’ It’s gonna be awesome. Really great script.” Cudi’s other recent film credits include his appearance in Don’t Look Up alongside Ariana Grande as well as the third film in the Bill & Ted franchise. There’s also a new documentary about him. X is in theaters this weekend; watch the trailer below. Content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates f...
billy woods and Preservation Announce New Album Aethiopes
Aethiopes is the forthcoming new album from billy woods and Preservation. It’s out April 8 via Backwoodz Studioz and features El-P, ELUCID, Boldy James, Quelle Chris, Despot, Denmark Vassey, Breezly Brewin, Shinehead, and Fatboi Sharif. Check out the tracklist and artwork below. The new album follows woods’ 2019 records Hiding Places and Terror Management, plus the 2020 Moor Mother collaboration Brass and the 2021 Armand Hammer album Haram. It’s the first full collaborative album from Preservation since his 2015 album with Ka, Days With Dr. Yen Lo. Aethiopes: 01 Asylum02 No Hard Feelings03 Wharves04 Sauvage [ft. Boldy James & Gabe Nandez]05 The Doldrums06 NYNEX [ft. ELUCID, Denmark Vessey & Quelle Chris]07 Christine 08 Heavy Water [ft. Mike Ladd, Breeze Brewin & El-P...
‘Encanto’ Makes It Nine Weeks Atop Billboard 200 Albums Chart
The Encanto soundtrack snags a ninth nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated March 19). The set earned 72,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 10 (down 9%), according to MRC Data. Encanto also surpasses 1 million equivalent album units earned in the U.S., as the latest tracking week brings its to-date sum to 1.03 million. The soundtrack album was released on Nov. 19, before the film arrived in U.S. theaters on Nov. 24. The movie was released via the Disney+ streaming service a month later (Dec. 24). The album spent its first week at No. 1 on the Jan. 15, 2022-dated chart. See latest videos, charts and news In the last five years, only two albums have spent at least nine weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200: Encanto and Morgan Wallen’s Danger...
Here’s Where Oscar Music Races Stand After BAFTA Film Awards, Critics Choice Awards
Hans Zimmer’s score for Dune won at both the BAFTA Film Awards and the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday (March 13), which puts it in a strong position heading into the 94th annual Academy Awards on March 27. But here’s something to keep in mind: Germaine Franco’s score for Encanto, which may be Zimmer’s strongest challenger for the Oscar, wasn’t nominated for either the BAFTA or Critics Choice Award. Encanto beat Dune at the SCL Awards, presented by the Society of Composers & Lyricists, on March 8. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The eventual Oscar winner for best original score in each of the past two years — Hildur Guðnadóttir’s Joker and Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste’s Soul — won all three of these prelimi...
Dave’s ‘Starlight’ Glitters Atop U.K. Chart
Encanto’s magical reign atop the U.K. singles chart comes to an abrupt end as Dave’s “Starlight” (via Neighbourhood Recordings) debuts at No. 1 with the year’s fastest sales. “Starlight,” a surprise release, caught Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” off-guard as it fires to the top with 63,000 combined chart sales, the OCC reports. That first-week sum includes 7.7 million streams, the biggest opening week for any track in 2022, according to the charts compiler. Dave, winner of best hip hop/grime/rap act at the 2022 Brit Awards, now has 11 Top 10 singles, and a second career No. 1 following 2018’s “Funky Friday” featuring Fredo. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The seven-week streak of “Bruno” comes to a crashing halt, as the Disney release tu...
Stereophonics Snag Eighth U.K. No. 1 Album With ‘Oochya!’
Stereophonics power to an eighth U.K. chart crown with Oochya! (Stylus), their 12th studio album. Oochya! blasts to No. 1 on debut, outpacing its nearest competitor by a margin of 2-to-1, according to the Official Charts Company. With that feat, the Welsh rock act matches the chart success of Taylor Swift, Oasis and R.E.M. Led by singer Kelly Jones, the band has previously summited with Performance and Cocktails (from 1999), Just Enough Education to Perform (2001), You Gotta Go There to Come Back (2003), Language Sex Violence Other (2005), Pull the Pin (2007), Keep the Village Alive (2015) and Kind (2019). The runner-up on the latest Official U.K. Albums Chart is Marillion, the veteran British rock band whose 20th album An Hour Before It’s Dark (Ear Music) bows at No. 2. Explore See latest...
Kanye West Names Hollywood Unlocked Founder Jason Lee as His Head of Media and Partnerships
Kanye West has struck an official partnership with Hollywood Unlocked founder-CEO, Jason Lee. Lee is officially joining Ye’s team as his Head of Media and Partnerships. Variety reports that Lee’s appointment was due to the relationship he fostered with Ye after a video interview with Hollywood Unlocked last month. Lee explained, “I think after the interview on Hollywood Unlocked, it was clear that we had an aligned vision for leveling the playing field in media.” He added, “Ye voiced a vision for a company he was building, and that media was an arm of that, and he felt I could be an asset.” Lee also revealed that Ye consulted him for the launch of DONDA 2. Lee praises Ye and calls him a “genius – in tech with Stem Player, in product and fashion with Yeezy, Gap and Balenciaga, with Donda Ac...
