Pop
Asiahn Brings ‘Boss Talk & Big Vibes’ to the Bedroom With ‘The Interlude’ EP: Emerging Artists Spotlight
The three-time Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter also sings her own jams — often about loving your own body or having somebody else love it — and they can be listened to in the daytime at the beach or nighttime in the bedroom. “Be careful how you carry me, dear/ It’s automatic to be overcome with fear/ But let me love you still,” she asserts on the soulful “My World.” “My music is very grounded in positivity, self love, finding yourself, sexy, ethereal, soulful, healing, boss talk, and big VIBES for EVERYONE (especially girls that love girls),” Asiahn tells Billboard. Asiahn’s five-track EP The Interlude debuts at No. 25 on the Heatseekers Albums chart with 2,000 equivalent album units earned, according to MRC Data. The sing...
Chloe x Halle’s Chloe Bailey Just Won the ‘Buss It’ Challenge: Watch
If you’re just now getting turned on to the “Buss It” challenge, congratulations, you’re already late. The first dance challenge of 2021 to swarm TikTok is based on up-and-coming Texas rapper Erica Banks’ single of the same name and it requires dancers to appear torn down in their no make-up/sweats look before dropping it low and twerking in full outfit and makeup. It has gotten some pretty great takes from the likes of Monica, Rico Nasty and DaniLeigh. But when Chloe X Halle‘s Chloe Bailey dropped her take on Thursday (Jan. 21) everyone pretty much called it game over. Bailey, 22, opens her bid in a colorful shower cap and black robe with gold cuffs, doing the requisite peek back for the Nelly-sampling line “I think my butt gettin’ big....
Maggie Lindemann’s Boots Were Made For Creeping
In 2019, she released “Friends Go,” a ska-tinged throwback that brought Lindemann’s preference for a guitar-driven sound to the forefront. The track “opened this door to something new, and I started writing more pop-alternative-rock-leaning music,” she says. “Friends Go” gained even more attention once super-drummer Travis Barker joined a version of the track, an experience that Lindemann calls “surreal” — and which turned out to be transformative for her. “When Travis hopped on it, I got a real taste of what it would be like to do that,” she says of accessing her punk rock side. “I immediately loved it, and I never want to go back to what I was doing.” Emboldened by a co-sign from rock royalty, Lindemann steadily released singles throughout 2020, each one edgier than the last —...
Ed Sheeran, Elton John, Sting Say Brexit Deal ‘Shamefully Failed’ Them
Music stars, including Elton John, Sting, Bob Geldof and Ed Sheeran, said on Wednesday (Jan. 20) that the U.K. government “shamefully failed” creatives with its post-Brexit trade deal and urged it to reach an agreement with the European Union to ensure visa- and bureaucracy-free tours. They highlighted that the trade pact, unveiled at Christmas, leads to “extra costs” and work that would “make many tours unviable, especially for young emerging musicians who are already struggling to keep their heads above water owing to the COVID ban on live music.” Instead, they called for “paperwork-free travel in Europe for British artists and their equipment.” One key concern is that under the trade pact touring musicians and their teams need separate vis...
Olivia Rodrigo Offers to User Her ‘Drivers License’ To Give Cardi B a Ride to McDonald’s
Cardi B complained that she can’t go on late-night McDonald’s runs because she doesn’t drive, so Olivia Rodrigo said she’d use her “Drivers License” to help her out. “Just like that girl wrote a song about getting her drivers license Imma write a song about the struggle of not having a drivers license,” Cardi tweeted on Tuesday night (Jan. 19). “I really wanted my McDonald’s at 4am last night instead of today but I couldn’t so I felt asleep hungry.” Rodrigo felt Cardi’s pain and hit her back right away, replying, “girl i will pick u up and take u wherever u wanna go,” which made Cardi very, very happy. “Yaaayyy !!! Let’s go to McDonald’s and get happy meals !” she responded. In addition to bonding wit...
Justin Timberlake Confirms Birth of Second Baby With Jessica Biel, Reveals New Son’s Name
Timberlake and Biel married in 2012 and welcomed their first child, son Silas, three years later. During their chat, JT revealed that Ellen was one of the few people “outside of the immediate family” to learn about Biel’s second pregnancy. “I think we were FaceTiming and you said, ‘Hey, you want to know a secret?’ and then Jessica walked in and you put your hand on her stomach. You were like, ‘I’m having another baby!'” the talk show host recalled. In September, Timberlake’s former *NSYNC bandmate Lance Bass revealed news about Phineas’ arrival while speaking with Entertainment Tonight. Reports swirled last summer that the couple had welcomed a second child, but neither had spoken publicly. Watch a snippet of Timberlake̵...
Phil Spector Built a Wall of Sound That Couldn’t Contain the Monster Within Him
But Spector was different. At the start, on the Teddy Bears’ “To Know Him is To Love Him” — a rephrasing of the epitaph from his father’s gravestone that Spector turned into a Hot 100 No. 1 in 1958 — his sound was not so very far removed from the other recordings of the day, many of which carried the spacious aura of the rooms in which they were cut, investing early rock and pop with the mystical sense that new frontiers were being explored. Eventually though, he recognized how to make that aura the centerpiece of his records. You can hear how he did just that in the very first hit on Philles, the Crystals’ “There’s No Other Like My Baby” from 1962. Built like a rocket with three stages, it begins simply, with bass, guitar and voice rippling outward in stark echo before a piano...
Dionne Warwick Joined TikTok — But No, She Will Not Be Doing the ‘Buss It’ Challenge
The legendary singer, whose wit has become a treasure to the Twitter crowd, promised she’ll start becoming active on TikTok “when I gain enough followers.” Just don’t expect her to follow all the trends. “I just asked my team what the ‘buss it’ challenge was,” wrote Warwick, after followers apparently suggested she try it out. “Why are you asking me to do that? Don’t make me delete TikTok before I even start.” In another message, she scolded, “Use the good sense God gave you.” See her tweets below (and don’t worry: she has no plans to stop tweeting), and follow her on TikTok at @dionnethesinger. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begi...
Jay Sean Sings a Verse From the Point-of-View of Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Drivers License’ Love Interest: Watch
Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” has inspired Jay Sean to give the breakout hit a little re-write — from the point-of-view of the song’s love interest (whoever that might be). “I love the song Drivers License by Olivia Rodrigo – I decided to write and record the ‘guys response’ version,” Sean tweeted Sunday night (Jan. 17). “I was in my feels on this one … beautiful song I had to hop on this trend,” he explained on TikTok, where he posted a short clip of his creative take on Rodrigo’s debut single, which looks to be 2021’s first runaway hit. 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 t...
Jennifer Lopez Laughs Off Botox Claims for the ‘500 Millionth Time’: ‘That’s Just My Face!’
But not everyone was convinced that Lopez’s beautiful wrinkle-free complexion results from good genes and the use of beauty products. “But can I just mention that brows and forehead doesn’t move at all when you talk or try to express… you definitely have Botox. And tons of it. And it’s all good. Just saying,” one person commented. J. Lo quickly came to her own defense, reminding the world for the “500 millionth time” that she hasn’t had plastic surgery or received Botox treatments. “LOL thats just my face!!! ….For the 500 millionth time… I have never done Botox or any injectables or surgery!! Just sayin’,” Lopez responded. “Get you some JLO BEAUTY and feel beautiful in your own skin!! The star wasn’t done quite yet. “And here is a...
10 Signature Phil Spector Productions, From Darlene Love to the Beatles
The Crystals, “Da Doo Ron Ron” (1963) After many of the first-wave American rock ambassadors dropped off the scene temporarily (such as Little Richard and Elvis Presley) or permanently (such as Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens), it seemed there wasn’t much innovation in rock until the Beatles arrived. Phil Spector was a major exception to that rule in the U.S., however, and the Crystals’ “Da Doo Ron Ron” is a perfection distillation of musical approach: A simple, lyrically uncomplicated song delivered with a youthful enthusiasm from a group of young African American females, augmented by an impenetrable wall of orchestral pop at a breakneck pace (courtesy his group of studio pros known as the Wrecking Crew). With Dolores “LaLa” Brooks on lead, ...
Fans Choose Zayn’s ‘Nobody Is Listening’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music
Last week, Zayn topped the new music poll with his comeback single, “Vibez,” which earned nearly 70% of the fan vote. Nobody Is Listening arrives almost three years after the R&B singer’s 29-song 2018 album, Icarus Falls. In addition to “Vibez,” the new set features previously unreleased the previously unreleased track “Better,” which peaked at No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October. Placing second on the past week’s tally with 38% of the vote was Gomez’s new Spanish-language single “De Una Vez,” a rhythmic pop track that touches on healing and empowerment. It marks her first Spanish-sung song since “Un Año Sin Lluvia” in 2010. Coming in third with 10% of the vote was an all-star remix of Grande...
