International
Alien Huang, Taiwanese Singer and Actor, Dies at 36
Taiwanese actor-singer-model Alien Huang has died. He was 36. Local news reports say Huang was found dead in his apartment in Taipei on Wednesday morning, local time. Tapei police said Huang appeared to have died suddenly in his bathroom by accident and that there were no drugs or alcohol or signs of a struggle at the scene. Police are continuing to investigate. Born Huang Hong-Sheng in Taipei in 1983, he began his career as an entertainer at 18, joining the boy band HC3. He later performed with the band Cosmo. From music he graduated to acting, appearing in films such as Wild and Holiday Dreaming and television series such as Freedom of Half Grown Ups and Mysterious Incredible Terminator. Huang was well known in Taiwan for presenting the variety show 100% Entertainment. [embedded content]...
YouTube Launches TikTok Competitor in India
YouTube Shorts allows users to record and upload 15-second videos straight from their mobile phones. YouTube is entering the race to usurp TikTok’s dominance in the short-form video space with YouTube Shorts, a new tool that will allow users to record and upload 15-second videos straight from their mobile phones. This week, YouTube will launch an early beta of Shorts in India, which in late June banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese-owned apps, citing security concerns. Since the ban, the popularity of TikTok competitor Triller exploded in India, surging to No. 1 on Apple’s App Store in the country. In its early beta launch in India, Shorts will boast a number of creation tools similar to those on TikTok and its competitors, including a multi-segment camera allowing users t...
Doves Are Flying Towards U.K. No. 1 With ‘The Universal Want’
Doves are soaring atop the midweek U.K. chart with The Universal Want (Virgin), their first album in more than a decade. The Manchester alternative rock outfit should nab a third No. 1 with The Universal Want, which is outselling the rest of the Top 5 combined, according to the Official Charts Company. The band already has five Top 20 albums, including chart leaders The Last Broadcast (2002) and Some Cities (2005). The trio’s most recent studio album Kingdom of Rust debuted at No. 2 back in 2009. Another Manc band is flying high on the Official Chart Update as Everything Everything’s Re-Animator (Infinity Industries) starts at No. 2. The indie rock outfit is well on pace to best their No. 5 chart peak, which they’ve managed on two occasions. Veteran goth-metal artist Mari...
Rolling Stones Crush U.K. Chart Record With ‘Goats Head Soup’
After a tight race, The Rolling Stones finished with another chart crown and a place in the history books. The legendary British rock band bagged the title in the final hour with their reissue of Goats Head Soup (Polydor), the second time the album has ruled the Official U.K. Albums Chart. On this occasion, Goats Head Soup finished with an advantage of just 800 combined sales over the midweek leader, Declan McKenna’s Zeros. With their latest chart feat, The Stones become the first band in history to land a No. 1 album across six different decades. The Rolling Stones now have 13 No. 1 albums, including the 1973 original edition of Goats Head Soup, placing them level with Elvis Presley and Robbie Williams. Only The Beatles have more career No. 1 albums in the U.K., at 16. Mick Jag...
TikTok Sale: ByteDance Partners With Oracle
ByteDance has selected Oracle as its partner for a deal to keep TikTok operating in the U.S., a source familiar with the talks confirms to The Hollywood Reporter. The decision comes as ByteDance has rejected a bid by Microsoft that earlier this summer was seen as the likely option for the company as it looked to avoid a shutdown of the popular social media app amid increased tensions between the U.S. and China. Microsoft confirmed that its bid had been rejected in a statement on its corporate blog on Sunday night. “We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests,” the company wrote. “To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, priv...
All-Star ‘Music From The Home Front’ Charity Fundraiser Returns to No. 1 In Australia
There’s a familiar feel to the top end of Australia’s albums chart this week as Music From The Home Front (Bloodlines/Universal) returns to No. 1 and Powderfinger’s classic Odyssey Number 5 (Universal) reenters at No. 2, while Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” (Atlantic/Warner) makes it a full month atop the national singles survey. The all-star Home Front album bagged two consecutive weeks at No. 1 in June and July, and returns for a third week off the back of its release on triple vinyl. The companion album to Michael Gudinski’s virtual concert on ANZAC Day, April 25, Home Front features performances from Jimmy Barnes, Crowded House, Dean Lewis, Tones And I and many others, with all profits going to Support Act, the charity that delivers crisis relief services to artists, crew and ...
Department of Justice Argues TikTok Employee Can’t Stop Trump’s ByteDance Ban
The Department of Justice argues a TikTok employee’s fear that the executive order banning transactions with Beijing-based parent ByteDance will keep him from getting paid isn’t enough to warrant a temporary restraining order that would keep the Department of Commerce from enforcing it. President Donald Trump on Aug. 6 issued an order that would bar “any transaction by any person” with ByteDance or any of its subsidiaries. TikTok on Aug. 24 sued, arguing its due process and first amendment rights were being violated. The same day, a technical program manager named Patrick Ryan sued Trump and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross Jr. arguing that the vaguely worded ban on transactions between U.S. persons and ByteDance could mean that he can’t get paid. Earlie...
Wonho to Partner With LiveXLive for Pay-Per-View Global Concert
Wonho is coming to a screen near you. The South Korean singer announced on Wednesday (Sept. 9) that he’s partnering with LiveXLive for a global pay-per-view concert on Sept. 26. The show will mark his first live solo act and the debut performance for his first solo album, Love Synonym #1 : Right for Me, out Sept. 4. The performance will feature songs from Wonho’s new solo album, plus other original and cover songs and a unique PPV experience with behind-the-scenes footage. “LiveXLive is fortunate to be able to support Wonho’s return to his fans, the WENEE’s, and the career he loves. Our platform is built for moments like these and we are excited to power this one-of-a-kind concert experience together. We saw an incredible response for the Monsta X live show and anticipate W...
Craig David Signs Worldwide Publishing Deal With Round Hill Music
British R&B star Craig David has signed a global publishing deal with Round Hill Music. The new arrangement, announced Wednesday (Sept. 9), includes all of David’s catalog, including his U.K. chart-topping debut album Born to Do It, and a futures agreement that will see all his new music administered by the independent music publisher. The 39-year-old singer is one of Britain’s most successful male solo artists of the millennium, with 23 U.K. top 40 singles, including two No. 1s (“Fill Me In” and “7 Days”), and a pair of No. 1 albums. In the U.S., David has twice cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard 200 and he has landed three songs on the Hot 100 chart, including a career-best No. 10 with “7 Days”. His trophy cabinet includes three Ivor Novello Awards and a brace of MTV Europe Mu...
Liz Phair Signs With Chrysalis Records for Forthcoming Album
After relaunching as a frontline label in February, U.K.-based Chrysalis Records has signed singer-songwriter Liz Phair for the release of her forthcoming album. The deal was announced Wednesday (Sept. 9). Phair’s signing with Chrysalis follows that of Laura Marling, whose Mercury Prize-nominated album Song For Our Daughter was released in April by the relaunched label in partnership with Partisan Records. A two-time Grammy nominee, Phair scored a breakthrough with her influential 1993 debut album Exile in Guyville, which finished at the top of the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics’ poll that year. She followed it up with five more studio albums, including the Gold-selling Whip-Smart and 2003’s pop-driven Liz Phair. The latter album’s lead single, “Why Can’t I?”, netted Phair ...
The Rolling Stones Heading For Big Splash on U.K. Chart With ‘Goats Head Soup’ Reissue
A 21-year-old Englishman stands in the way of another Rolling Stones chart triumph. Declan McKenna leads the U.K.’s midweek albums chart with his sophomore effort Zeros (Columbia), ahead of the Stones’ Goats Heads Soup (Polydor) reissue. Based on weekend sales activity reported by the Official Charts Company, Zeros has shifted the most physical units in the week so far to lead the Official Chart Update. McKenna got his break in 2015 when he won Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition. His debut album What Do You Think About The Car? peaked at No. 11 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart following its release in 2017. Meanwhile, the Stones are rolling on to another big chart impact with Goats Heads Soup, an album that ruled the national sales tallies on both sides of ...
Ted Cockle, Amy Thomson Join Hipgnosis Songs
Ted Cockle, the Universal Music Group stalwart who most recently served as Virgin EMI president, has joined Merck Mercuriadis’ Hipgnosis Songs. Three months after announcing his departure from the U.K. label, Cockle is today (Aug. 8) unveiled as president of Hipgnosis Songs. Also joining the company is Amy Thomson, a management and marketing veteran who takes the role as chief catalog officer. The incoming executives will be expected to help “grow and care for songs and their legacy” within the expanding Hipgnosis Songs catalog, reads a statement announcing their arrival. “It’s a testament to the iconic song catalog that we have assembled over the last two plus years, and our songwriters, that we have been able to attract executives with the extraordinary talent, pedigree and success of Te...
