entertainment blog
Bad Bunny Scores Eighth Week Atop Billboard Albums Chart, Edging NBA YoungBoy by 400 Sales
Bad Bunny has spent an eighth week atop the Billboard 200 chart with his album Un Verano Sin Ti. Released in May, the album climbed up from second position with with 108,800 equivalent album units, just 400 equivalent sales ahead of YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s The Last Slimeto, which debuted at No. 2 this week. (Though 400 album sales would have pulled NBA Youngboy equal with Bad Bunny, the equivalent number of paid streams of songs from the album would be 500,000.) In its 15 weeks on the chart, Un Verano Sin Ti has not left the top two. It is the strongest start to an album’s Billboard chart campaign since Drake’s 2016 LP, Views, which spent 17 consecutive weeks in the top two. Earlier this year, YoungBoy Never Broke Again also charted at No. 2 with the album Colors. A Guide to All the F...
Rough Trade to Launch Free Festival Indieplaza at New York’s Rockefeller Center
Rough Trade has curated a new—and free—festival called Indieplaza, coming to the plaza at New York’s Rockefeller Center on September 17 and 18. For the inaugural bill, the venerable store and label selected A Tribe Called Quest’s Ali Shaheed Muhammad to headline, with Yaya Bey, Mary Lattimore, Claud, Horsegirl, Automatic, King Hannah, They Hate Change, and Cola among the others set to feature. Nation of Language will play a DJ set. The festival—co-presented by Rough Trade and Rockefeller Center—will also include a band merchandise market, music-making workshops, and food and drink from local businesses, according to a press release. Since Rough Trade’s record store moved from Brooklyn to the Rockefeller Center last June, it has hosted a concert series at the Rainbow Room and contributed to...
Lizzo Shares New Video for “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)”
Lizzo has released a music video for the song “2 Be Loved (Am I Ready)” from her new album Special. She co-directed the video with Christian Breslauer, who handled the visual for “About Damn Time.” The “2 Be Loved” video picks up where the visual for “Truth Hurts” left off, with Lizzo taking a solo drive in the desert. Watch it below. Special came out last month and is the follow-up to 2019’s Cuz I Love You. It was led by the single “About Damn Time.” Next month, Lizzo will embark on a North American tour in support of the album. Earlier this year, Lizzo pulled double duty as the host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live; joined Harry Styles for a joint cover of “I Will Survive” during his headlining Coachella set; and performed at the BET Awards. She also pledged to donate $1 million ...
Solange Composes Score for New York City Ballet
Solange has composed a score for the New York City Ballet. Her piece for a chamber ensemble will accompany a ballet choreographed by Gianna Reisen. Solange’s music will be performed by some of her collaborators and also members of the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Solange and Reisen’s work will premiere on Wednesday, September 28, at New York’s Lincoln Center. The piece will be performed again on October 1, 8, 11, and 16 as well as May 2, 11, 13, 17, and 18. The show is part of the New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala, which pairs choreographers with designers. Solange and Reisen’s performance will feature costumes by Alejandro Gómez Palomo of Palomo Spain.
Megan Thee Stallion Faces Off Against Herself in New “Her” Music Video
Hot on the heels of the release of her sophomore studio album Traumazine, Megan Thee Stallion has dropped off the official music video for one of the record’s leading tracks, “Her.” Directed by Colin Tilley, the black-and-white visual sees the chart-topper perform fast-paced choreography alongside an army of backup dancers and engage in a showdown with a clone of herself. “Her” is the third Traumazine track to receive a video, following “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa and “Plan B.” Traumazine, which clocks at roughly 50 minutes, hosts 18 tracks and guest appearances from artists including Key Glock, Latto, Pooh Shiesty, Rico Nasty, Jhené Aiko, Lucky Daye, Sauce Walka, Big Pokey and Lil Keke. The record is expected to debut at No. 2, moving roughly 40,000 to 50,000 album-equivalent u...
Hit-Boy Says He Produced Beyoncé’s ‘Renaissance’ Cut “Thique” 8 Years Ago
Beyoncé’s long-awaited seventh studio album, Renaissance, dropped late last month. In August 2021, the singer revealed that she had been working on the LP for about a year, though it wouldn’t be for about another year after that when she finally put out the project. While most singles on Renaissance were presumably recorded in the past few years, Hit-Boy says that one hit track, “Thique,” dates back to 2014. Speaking on Rolling Stone‘s Music Now podcast, the producer shared they were working on an early iteration of “Thique” in tandem with a different Beyoncé collaboration. The singer ultimately decided to shelve the beat but would go on to revisit it years later, eventually giving it a spot on her latest album. “I had to sit on that beat for eight years!” Hit-Boy said on the podcast. “Tha...
LF System’s ‘Afraid to Feel’ Enters Week 6 Atop U.K. Singles Chart
LF System feels like a champion for another week, as the Scottish electronic production duo extends its chart reign with “Afraid to Feel” (via Warner Records). The disco-chaneling tune has now led the Official U.K. Singles Chart for six unbroken weeks, and it’s again the most-streamed single in the country, racking up more than 5.5 million plays, the OCC reports. “Afraid to Feel” holds off Beyonce’s “Break My Soul” (Columbia) which stays at No. 2 in its eighth week, for its equal best position. With its runner-up finish, Beyonce again misses out on a chart double as her LP Renaissance enters a second week atop the national albums survey. The highest new entry on the latest U.K. singles chart, published Aug. 12, belongs to KSI and Tom Grennan with “Not Over Yet” (Atlantic) new No. 4. ...
Red Hot Chili Peppers Welcome Family, Dish the Hits at ‘Emotional’ Detroit Concert
It was a special family and friends night — with a guest appearance onstage by drummer Chad Smith’s mother — when the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ played Detroit’s Comerica Park on Sunday night (Aug. 14). Smith hails from the Detroit suburb of Bloomfield Hills, while frontman Anthony Kiedis was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Mich. Both of their mothers, Joan and Peggy, respectively, attended the show, along with other members of their families. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news After finishing the show with “By the Way,” Smith — who sported an olde English D, the Detroit Tigers’ logo, on his bass drum head — addressed the crowd of about 33,000, telling fans that “it means the world to us that you’ve supported us all these years, and it means ...
Powered by TikTok, Eliza Rose’s ‘B.O.T.A’ Blooms on U.K. Chart Blast
Give it time, and Eliza Rose just might be the baddest of them all. The London-based DJ, vocalist and radio host is flying on the U.K. chart blast with “B.O.T.A (Baddest Of Them All),” which was sent into the Top 10 last Friday (Aug. 12) after it blew-up on TikTok. Based on sales and streaming data from the first 48 hours of the new chart title, the empowering dance anthem lifts 10-4. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news At the top of the First Look chart is LF System’s “Afraid To Feel,” which is on track for a seventh consecutive week at the summit, while George Ezra’s “Green Green Grass” could return to its peak position at No. 2. Also taking flight on the chart blast is OneRepublic, which is eyeing a No. 6 spot — a potential new peak — thank...
Snoop Dogg Gets Into the Breakfast Cereal Game With ‘Snoop Loopz’
He loosened us with his wine, and pot brands, now Snoop Dogg hits us with his own wholegrain breakfast. Snoopy turns cereal killer with Snoop Loopz, a boxed brekky that will drop at grocery stores through his Broadus Foods business. Think gluten-free Froot Loops, with “more corn, more flavor and more marshmallows,” enthuses hip-hop entrepreneur Master P, who unveiled Snoop’s new snack food via his socials — accompanied with a cut of “Still A G Thang.” Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Founded by Calvin Broadus (aka Snoop Dogg), Broadus Foods already boasts a range of Mama Snoop’s breakfast products, including cereal, oatmeal, grits, pancake mix and syrup, and supports charitable organizations, including Door of Hope. Snoop is also cooking...
Blue Ivy Carter Earns Two Gold Plaques at 10 Years Old
Blue Ivy Carter, JAY-Z and Beyoncé’s eldest daughter, has received two gold certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) at only 10 years old. The first-born child of the Carters earned the two plaques after Beyoncé’s 2013 track “Blue,” which appeared on Beyoncé, and “Brown Skin Girl,” which appeared on The Lion King: The Gift, earned 500,000 units each. Blue Ivy is credited as a featured artist on “Blue” and a songwriter and vocal contributor on “Brown Skin Girl.” Blue Ivy adds the plaques to her growing collection of achievements, which include a Best Music Video GRAMMY Award for “Brown Skin Girl” and the record for the youngest person to appear on the Billboard Hot 100 after Hov credited her on the track “Glory” just two days after her birth. Elsewhere i...
NBA YoungBoy’s ‘The Last Slimeto’ Could Be His Last Album
YoungBoy Never Broke Again may be hanging up his rap career with The Last Slimeto. In a now-deleted Instagram post, the Baton Rouge rapper shared that he was simply proud of being able to finish something for the first time and is more than open to retire. “To be honest I really don’t care about this being my last album. I finally can say I completed something. I ain’t finish school. I never finish nothing but my smoke… but nah gangster I then shedded tears from the way y’all been doing me but it’s all for the better,” he wrote in the caption, adding a sweet note to his late brother and grandmother, “[T]ell li Dave and grandma I completed something and I’m doing fine.” Before closing it out, YB also seemingly threw a jab at Kodak Black, writing “P.S. you don’t like my fans I don’t like you...
