NEWS
Months After Her Arrest Made Global Headlines, Sama’ Abdulhadi Is Still Pushing Palestinian Techno
When she got out and home to her family in Ramallah, Abdulhadi’s situation had become an international story. The heart of the matter was essentially public opinion. While Abdulhadi had secured all of the proper permits from the Palestinian authorities to host the livestream, when word got out that a woman was playing techno at the site, an angry crowd turned up in protest, shutting down the show and looking for someone to blame for the perceived impropriety. Authorities arrested Abdulhadi. Critics accused her of desecrating a holy site; others said she’d simply become a scapegoat. While Abdulhadi is typically based in France — where she moved years ago after gaining acceptance into the artist-in-residency program at Cité internationale des arts and where she cu...
Moneybagg Yo Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘A Gangsta’s Pain’
Of A Gangsta’s Pain’s 110,000 equivalent album units earned in the tracking week ending April 29, SEA units comprise 106,000 (equaling 147.4 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks), album sales comprise 4,000 and TEA units comprise less than 1,000. The set was previewed by the top 20-charting Hot Rap Songs hits “Time Today” and “Hard for the Next,” the latter with Future. Moneybagg Yo first hit the Billboard 200 in 2017 with Heartless, which peaked at No. 177. He’s been prolific on the chart since, as A Gangsta’s Pain is his 11th charting effort, and ninth album to reach the top 25. Pain is his fifth top 10 album overall, and fourth consecutive top 10, following Code Red (No. 6 in 2020, with Blac Youngsta), Time Served (No. 3, 2020) and 43VA Heartless (No. 4, 2019). He g...
Tom Jones Lands Record-Setting U.K. No. 1 With ‘Surrounded By Time’
Surrounded By Time is Jones’ fourth leader in the U.K. and his first since 1999’s Reload. He also becomes the first Welsh soloist to top the national chart in nearly a decade, since Marina and The Diamonds’ Electra Heart, in 2012. In a slow week for new releases, the next highest debut is an album familiar to many, John Lennon’s 1971 solo debut LP, Plastic Ono Band (Apple Corps). The classic set enjoys a reissue rollout in various computations, blasting it to No. 11 on the weekly chart. Further down the list, a campaign for The Who’s third studio album The Who Sell Out sends the recording to No. 15, and a reissue of ska band The Selecter’s 1980 album Too Much Pressure (Chyrsalis) arrives at No. 24. Veteran alt-rock outfit Dinosaur Jr. snag their fifth Top 40 album with Sweep It Into Space ...
Billie Eilish Set to ‘Power’ Into U.K. Top 10
Eilish’s latest single is the third lifted from her upcoming sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, due out July 30 via Darkroom and Interscope Records. Previously released singles “Therefore I Am” and “My Future,” which respectively peaked at No. 2 and No. 7 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart. Both tracks cracked the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. There’s movement at the top of the chart blast for the first time in more than a month, as Tion Wayne and Russ Millions’ “Body” leapfrogs Lil Nas X’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” the leader for the past five weeks. Don’t bet the house on “Body” taking the crown. After just 48 hours, just 100 chart sales separate the two singles. “Confetti” by Little Mix is all set for a return to the upper deck of the ...
Fans Choose Billie Eilish’s ‘Your Power’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music
Billie Eilish‘s “Your Power” has topped this week’s new music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (April 30) on Billboard, choosing Eilish’s single from her upcoming album Happier Than Ever as their favorite new music release of the past week. “It’s an open letter to people who take advantage — mostly men,” Eilish said about the track in an interview published this weekend by British Vogue (of which she graces the cover). “I would like people to listen to me. And not just try to figure out who I’m talking about, because it’s not about that. It’s really not at all about one person. You might think, ‘It’s because she’s in the music industry’ — no, dude. It’s everywhere.” You Deserve to Make ...
5 Takeaways From Billie Eilish’s British ‘Vogue’ Interview
Eilish talked about abuse and implied that she’d been a victim. “I don’t know one girl or woman who hasn’t had a weird experience, or a really bad experience,” she said. Here are five things Eilish shed light on in British Vogue. How She Spent Her Unplanned Year at Home Eilish and her brother, Finneas, in the company of their dogs, spent the pandemic year swimming, cycling, fighting, eating Taco Bell and working on music in the basement, the article revealed. She’s very proud of the project: “I’ve grown so much and gotten so much better in my voice,” Eilish noted of her work on Happier Than Ever, due out on July 30. “It’s crazy to think about. I think change is one of the best gifts in the world.” This Is What ‘Your Power’ Is Really About The first...
Meet 2021’s ‘American Idol’ Top 10 (Including a Comeback Contestant)
The unprecedented twist adds an interesting footnote to Idol history. Every year, Billboard asks the top finalists to name their favorite Idols from previous seasons. This year, Gunn appears as a favorite alum and at the same time is a current contestant. Billboard asked Gunn if he knew that he was named as a past favorite by Cassandra Coleman, who mentioned him before she knew that he would be joining this season. “No, I hadn’t heard that yet. Wow! I just saw her in the hotel while I was coming in. That’s awesome.” Before Gunn’s win was announced, the top nine contestants spoke to Billboard via Zoom from their Orlando, Fla. hotel, as they spent last week at Disney World for this Sunday night’s show, which was the annual Disney evening, complete with son...
Katy Perry Transforms Into Tinker Bell for ‘American Idol’
“legolas’s gf flyin in hot with a pouch full of pixie dust to throw on anyone who doesn’t believe we have the best top 10 in @americanidol history #disneynight ok,” she tweeted alongside a video of her ear transformation. While Idol aired, Luke Bryan shared a clip on Twitter of Perry in full pixie dust mode. “Katy goes all out,” he commented, to which she replied, “Why would I go halfway? That’s for losers.” See Perry’s getting-ready process, plus the final look, below. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help g...
Fatal Shooting In Louisville Nightclub Leaves 1 Dead, Jack Harlow In Attendance
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Prince Williams / Getty A shooting turned deadly inside a Louisville nightclub where area rapper Jack Harlow was in attendance. The incident left one person dead and another injured after an apparent argument took place inside the establishment. According to local outlet Courier-Journal, the shooting took place early Saturday morning (May 1) at the Vibes Restaurant and Ultra Lounge as part of a Kentucky Derby weekend event. As reported by the outlet, officers arrived at around 1:30 a.m. at the nightclub and discovered a woman was dead from a gunshot wound with another man suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. As spotted by TMZ, Jack Harlow was in the building enjoying the scene as captured by an attendee’s smartphone. Off to Harlow’s right, the vi...
Supreme To Open A New Store in Milan On May 6
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Supreme / Supreme The rumors were true. Ubiquitous streetwear brand Supreme is opening a new brick and mortar store in Milan, Italy in May. Per NSS magazine, the purveyors of the box logo will be opening up shop on May 6. The store’s address is Corso Garibaldi 20, and the building reportedly unveiled a huge Supreme logo as part of the reveal. The recent Supreme social media posts tagged in Milan were surely a dead giveaway, too. Supreme has plenty of ties to Italy, good and bad. The luxury Air Max 95’s the brand dropped in late 2019 sported Italian leather. However, also in 2019, there was a brand called SUPREME Italia finessing and selling blatantly knock-off gear throughout Europe, and flourishing. But the legal battle with Supreme and Supreme Italia is...
Jay-Z Closes Sale Of TIDAL To Jack Dorsey’s Square
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: MEGA / Getty A lot more people than are willing to admit it now thought that Jay-Z was crazy when he purchased TIDAL back in 2015. Getting in on the streaming wave early paid off for the Brooklyn rapper turned mogul, who has finalized the sale of the streamer to Jack Dorsey of Square fame for $350 million. TMZ reports that the deal was closed on Friday, May 30. Dorsey announced in March that he intended to give Jay-Z a bag for TIDAL, at least partially. Jay-Z launched Tidal back in 2015—he purchased the Spotify rival for a healthy $56 million—with a celeb-filled announcement that included “partners” like Kanye West, Rihanna and Madonna. No word on whether or not they’ll be getting a check courtesy of the sale, if they’re still around. However, the deal re...
Fatboy Slim and Bootsy Collins Release 4K Remaster of Christopher Walken-Led Video for “Weapon of Choice”
Twenty years ago, when most of the people reading this article were in grade school or still in the womb, Fatboy Slim and the funk legend Bootsy Collins released the Grammy Award-winning single “Weapon of Choice.” While the song itself is iconic enough, many people have distinct memories of its unforgettable music video. Now, in honor of the track’s 20th anniversary, they’ve released a 4K remastered version of the video. The video was directed by the highly-acclaimed filmmaker, Spike Jonze, known for his work on Being John Malkovich, Her, and the Jackass series. For the musical accompaniment, Christopher Walken was recruited to star in the video. Delightfully bizarre like much of Jonze’s work, the video simply features Walken extravagantly dancing through...
