Music News
From Stray Kids to J-Hope, What’s Your Favorite K-Pop Album of 2022? Vote!
There’s been no shortage of excellent K-pop albums in 2022 and Billboard wants to know which full-length has helped define your year. Though BTS remained on hiatus as the seven members prepare to start their mandatory service in the South Korean military, both RM and J-Hope delivered solo albums to keep ARMY happy. J-Hope’s Jack in the Box came first with its vintage hip-hop sound, colorful cover art by KAWS and concept inspired by Pandora’s Box. Five months later, RM dropped Indigo, complete with a star-studded guest roster that included Erykah Badu (“Yun”), Anderson .Paak (“Still Life”), Tablo (“All Day”) and more. BLACKPINK also came raring back with their full-length sophomore effort Born Pink while TOMORROW X TOGETHER dropped Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child and SEVENTEEN repackaged their...
Queen’s Brian May and Sade Producer Robin Millar Knighted in U.K. New Year Honours List
Queen guitarist Brian May and record producer Robin Millar top the list of music industry professionals recognized in the King’s 2023 New Year Honours List, an annual tradition celebrating the achievements and service of exceptional individuals from across the United Kingdom. Brian May, who co-founded British rock band Queen in 1970 and continues to tour and record with the group, receives a knighthood for services to music and his charity work. May was previously made Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2005. Becoming a knight or a dame is one of the highest-ranking awards in the British honours system, followed by CBE, and then Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). A knighthood or damehood entitles recipien...
Adam Lambert Needs a Hero for His Moody New Bonnie Tyler Cover: Listen
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a new cover song by Adam Lambert! On Friday (Dec. 30), Lambert shared his latest in a new string of covers with “Holding Out for a Hero,” his rendition of Bonnie Tyler‘s 1984 hit. For his version, Lambert brings the tempo down from its frenetic original pace, and replaces the iconic, chunky piano chords with a syncopated, sinister bass and guitar section that permeates the track. When it comes to his voice, though, the singer keeps the pure glam-rock sound alive with his signature growl as a choir joins him for the chorus. The new cover comes as Lambert preps his next album, High Drama, for release in the new year. The LP will consist entirely of covers, two of which the star has already shared with the world (his renditions of Noël Cowa...
White House’s 2022 Year-End Review References a Taylor Swift Lyric
Taylor Swift’s “22” completely changed how people think about its title number. Even the White House isn’t immune to the 33-year-old pop star’s contagiously catchy melody — at least, that’s what the executive branch’s official year-end review, posted Thursday (Dec. 29), would suggest. Written by domestic policy advisor Susan Rice and published on the White House’s website, the report summed up several of the Biden-Harris administration’s major accomplishments in 2022. But first, it began with the best, most obvious word-lyric association. “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling ‘22,” Rice wrote, referencing the lyric from the chorus of “22.” She also posted the quote on Twitter. I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling ‘22. The past year undoubtedly brought its share of daunting challenges...
Here Are the 2023 Grammy Nominees for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media
The Recording Academy has added compilation producer and music supervisor credits for the nominees for best compilation soundtrack for visual media. These names were not on the nominations list when it was first published on Nov. 15. The category pits the soundtracks to four feature films – ELVIS, Encanto, Top Gun: Maverick and West Side Story – against the soundtrack to a TV series, Stranger Things. The soundtrack from that Netflix series is vying to become the second from a TV series to win in this category, following Boardwalk Empire: Vol. 1 (2012).The category was introduced in 2000. Four of these five soundtracks are credited to Various Artists, rather than specific artists. The exception is Top Gun: Maverick, which is credited to Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, Hans Zimmer and Lorne B...
BLACKPINK Takes Over Los Angeles With Album Promo in 5th ‘Born Pink Memories’ Video: Watch
BLACKPINK is continuing to to share memorable moments from the year, and with just a couple of days left in 2022, the group released its fifth installment of “Born Pink Memories” on Friday (Dec. 30). Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The new episode sees members Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé kicking off a series of promotional events to support the release of Born Pink in the United States. In the visual, the quartet touches down in Los Angeles for Spotify and BLACKPINK present Born Pink: The Pop-Up Experience. The two-day event took place Sept. 16-18 and saw the K-pop idols posing for photos in the event space, interacting with the special merch items and celebrating the album’s release with glasses of champagne. After the ...
INI Talks About Its ‘Awakening’ Album and the Band’s Future
INI is a global boy band made up of 11 members (Rihito Ikezaki, Takumi Ozaki, Masaya Kimura, Takeru Goto, Yudai Sano, Fengfan Xu, Hiromu Takatsuka, Shogo Tajima, Hiroto Nishi, Kyosuke Fujimaki, and Jin Matsuda), the winner of one of Japan’s biggest audition shows, PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON 2. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Since debuting on Nov. 3, 2021, they’ve released three singles, all of which took first place on Billboard Japan’s weekly singles sales chart, Top Singles Sales. On Dec. 14, they released their long-awaited first album, Awakening. Hopes are high for their further success. Billboard Japan interviewed the entire band and talked to them not only about the album, but also about the current state of INI. You’ve already mad...
Ian Tyson, ‘Four Strong Winds’ Singer, Dies at 89
Ian Tyson, Canadian country music icon, passed away at 89 on Thursday (Dec. 29). Family members confirmed the news in an official press release and stated that the icon took his last breaths on his ranch in southern Alberta, Canada. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Tyson was an integral figure in the Canadian folk scene. He made his official debut to the world of country in 1956 at the Heidelberg Café in Vancouver in 1956 and would go to play with a rock and roll band called The Sensational Stripes. The singer would then strike gold by 1959 after meeting Sylvia Fricker — the pair would perform as Ian & Sylvia, graduating from part-time performers to becoming a full fledged musical act in 1961 and marrying each oth...
Naomi Ackie & Nafessa Williams Belt Out Whitney Houston Classics for Song Association
Naomi Ackie and Nafessa Williams stopped by Elle on Wednesday (Dec. 28) to play a round of Song Association filled with Whitney Houston tracks. Naturally, as the stars of the new biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody managed to fit plenty of Houston hits into their game using the words saving (“Saving All My Love For You”), broken (“Where Do Broken Hearts Go”), okay (“It’s Not Right But It’s Okay”), woman (“I’m Every Woman”), man (“All the Man That I Need”) and tonight (“I’m Your Baby Tonight”). However, the two actors also ventured outside the late icon’s extensive discography to belt out tracks like “In the Heat of the Night” by Ray Charles, Adele’s “One and Only,” “Who Wants to Live Forever” by Queen and “So Good” by Destiny’s Child. Ultimately, they went 13 for 15, matching previous score...
SZA Teases Vengeful ‘Kill Bill’ Music Video: ‘It’s What Y’all Deserve’
SZA dropped a teaser on Thursday (Dec. 29) for the upcoming visual for her new single “Kill Bill.” In the 20-second clip, the R&B star appears to suit up for revenge, zipping up a red-and-black moto jacket, sheathing a katana and jetting off on a motorcycle before “SZA…Kill Bill…A film by Christian Breslauer” flashes across the screen in bold, red lettering. After promising the full-length music video is “coming soon,” the teaser ends with a ferocious tag, in which SZA twirls around to decapitate a fighting dummy with her sword. “It’s what y’all deserve,” she tweeted alongside the video using a saluting emoji, SOS sign and white heart. “Kill Bill” instantly became a fan favorite when the recent Billboard cover star released her long-awaited sophomore album S.O.S in early December and e...
Taylor Swift Returns to No. 1 on Billboard Artist 100 for Record-Extending 58th Week
Taylor Swift rebounds to No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Dec. 31), spending a record-extending 58th week as the top musical act in the U.S. thanks to the continued success of her album Midnights. Plus, RM re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 6, a new best for the BTS member as a soloist. Swift’s Midnights ranks at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart with 155,000 equivalent album units earned in its ninth week (Dec. 16-22), according to Luminate. Of those nine weeks, five have been spent at No. 1, making it her sixth album to have five or more weeks at the summit. Swift is the only woman with as many as six albums that have reigned for five or more weeks, tying her with Garth Brooks for the second-most among all acts, since the chart became a combined stereo and mono survey in 1963. ...
The Weeknd Teases New Music Video for ‘Dawn FM’ One-Year Anniversary
The Weeknd is closing in on the one-year anniversary of his fifth studio album, Dawn FM, and if you’re a fan, you might want to keep an eye on his YouTube page as the date draws nearer. In a Wednesday (Dec. 28) tweet, the 32-year-old hitmaker teased that a new music video for a song off the record is in the works, just in time for the milestone. Dawn FM arrived one week into 2022 on Jan. 7, two years after his No. 1 record After Hours was released. On Wednesday, a fan on Twitter asked the Toronto native — born Abel Tesfaye — “dawn fm almost a year old, how do you feel?” “i feel istheresomeoneelsemusicvideo-ish,” he simply replied. “Is There Someone Else?” is the 10th track on Dawn FM. So far, lead single “Take My Breath” and subsequent tracks “Out of Time,” “Sacrifice,” “Gasoline” and “How...
