Pop
J. Cole, The Black Keys & Alan Jackson Lead Busy Top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales Chart
At Nos. 2-9 on the new chart, there are debuting albums from The Black Keys, Alan Jackson, ENHYPEN, St. Vincent, Phoebe Bridgers featuring Rob Moose, Nicki Minaj, Yoko Yakahashi and Megumi Hayashibara and Myles Kennedy. Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now MRC Data. Pure album sales were the measurement solely utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart n...
Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon Talks ‘Invisible’ Single & ‘Future Past’ Album, Reflects on First Hot 100 No. 1
Onboard for Future Past — Duran Duran’s 15th studio album — are producers Erol Alkan, Mark Ronson and Giorgio Moroder. The set will also feature special guests in Blur’s Graham Coxson on guitar, David Bowie’s former pianist Mike Garson, and guest vocals from the “absolutely magical” Lykke Li (with more collaborators promised to be announced at a later date). On the Pop Shop Podcast, Le Bon chats about how “Invisible” evolved over time and speaks to those “who feel they haven’t got a voice,” how its eye-popping music video was created using an artificial intelligence named Huxley, why there was a long wait between albums, and how the band connected with producer Alkan. In addition, Le Bon also discusses his joy in hosting his weekly music show Whooosh! on SiriusXM, alongsid...
Olivia Rodrigo Is ‘So Happy’ After ‘Good 4 U’ Becomes Her Second Hot 100 No. 1
“Good 4 U” music video director Petra Collins, who’s helmed many visuals for Selena Gomez, commented, “!!! Duh,” while Conan Gray cleverly quoted her latest chart topper, “as the legendary olivia rodrigo once said, good 4 u bestie.” Dan Nigro, who co-wrote “Good 4 U” and produced all of Sour, also shared the Hot 100 graphic and a screenshot of a three-way celebratory FaceTime call with Rodrigo and singer-producer Alexander 23. “Holy Sh–!!! Good 4 U just debuted at #1. So thankful to be able to make music with such close friends…. and thankful to the amazing team surrounding us that kept pushing us to make this song better!” he captioned the images on his IG. Alexander 23 shared the same FaceTime sc...
Inside The Weeknd’s Billboard Music Awards Car Choreography: ‘There Was a Lot of Trust’
Directors Alex Lill and Charlie Morse recall coming up with the idea for “car choreography,” says Morse, before anything else. Morse soon after storyboarded their ideas (seen below) to show the larger team their vision. “From those drawings came a lot of realizations about all the different shapes you could do with cars, and I was doing a lot of them from the top down just to showcase the arrangements, and that’s when we realized that a lot of these play well from an aerial shot, which you see in the final big pullout” that they filmed using a drone. “One of the things we were always inspired by was those old 1950s synchronized swimmers,” says Lill. “So it was kind of recontextualizing that. We weren’t trying to do a Fast & Furious type th...
Nick Jonas Thanks Wife Priyanka Chopra For Helping Him ‘Feel My Best’ For 2021 Billboard Music Awards Hosting Gig
Nick said Priyanka helped him carry on after a “brutal” tumble off his bike. Nick Jonas thanked his wife, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, for helping him “feel my best” for Sunday’s 2021 Billboard Music Awards after a bike accident left him injured last week. “I started this last week by taking a brutal tumble on a bike fracturing my rib and ended it hosting the @bbmas with my incredible wife by my side who helped me every step of the way to recover and feel my best. I love you @priyankachopra,” Jonas tweeted early Monday morning (May 24) alongside a photo of him hugging his wife. The actress posted the same pic, with a supportive message for her husband, who not only capably hosted the COVID-safe show from Los Angeles, but also performed a medley with the ...
Doja Cat and SZA Perform “Kiss Me More” at 2021 Billboard Music Awards: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-24T00:17:37+00:00“>May 23, 2021 | 8:17pm ET Open a new tube of chapstick and check out Doja Cat and SZA’s first performance of “Kiss Me More” at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. “Kiss Me More” is the first single from Doja Cat’s upcoming album, Planet Her, and Sunday marked the first time she and SZA have sung it together live on stage. Surrounded by dancers with their heads in giant orange balls, the pair delivered a stylish performance. SZA sang from atop a rotating pedestal platform before kicking it down to Doja for a dance-remix breakdown. Check it out ahead. After jumping into bed with hyper-sexualized songs like the “34+35” remix, you might be wondering, why a song about l...
BTS Perform “Butter” For First Time at 2021 Billboard Music Awards: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-24T02:00:35+00:00“>May 23, 2021 | 10:00pm ET BTS just served up a heaping helping of “Butter” at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards. The K-pop idols’ performance marked their first live rendition of “Butter” since its release just two days prior. On stage from Seoul, the septet sang the song across several elaborate set pieces, including one made to look the Billboard Music Awards red carpet. Replay “Butter” below, and head here to see other performances from tonight’s Billboard Music Awards, including Doja Cat with SZA, The Weeknd, and Duran Duran. Related Video During the awards show, BTS also took home trophies for Top Duo/Group, Top Song Sales Artist, and Top Social Ar...
The Weeknd Performs “Save Your Tears” at 2021 Billboard Music Awards: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-24T02:50:26+00:00“>May 23, 2021 | 10:50pm ET The Grammys pissed off one of music’s biggest names when they completely snubbed The Weeknd at this year’s awards ceremony, and you can bet the Billboard Music Awards aren’t making the same mistake. Not only did they hand the After Hours singer seven trophies before the televised event even began, they gave him the first broadcast award of the night for Top Hot 100 Artist. (And a handful more after that.) Later in the show, they also provide him with a whole dang parking lot for his performance of “Save Your Tears”. The Weeknd’s performance made innovative use of vehicles instead of backup dancers. It began with him leading a gang of r...
P!nk Accepts the Icon Award at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards as an ‘Apology’ From Jon Bon Jovi
In accepting her award, P!nk took time to thank all her fans for continuing to support her throughout her career, and looked forward to a time when touring officially came back. “I love what I do and I love the people that I get to do it with, and we’re pretty good at what we do, but it wouldn’t matter if no one came to see us and play with us,” she said, gesturing to the live audience. “So all of you guys out there, and around the world, thank you for coming out and for letting us all heal together. I can’t wait until we can do it all again, until we can just sweat all over each other.” Closing out her speech, the “So What” singer made sure to let her fans know to keep sight of what’s important in these dark times. ...
Lil Nas X Rips His Pants on ‘SNL’ While Pole Dancing During ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’: Watch
Surrounded by a hell-themed backdrop and shirtless dancers, the artist was noticeably caught off guard by the wardrobe malfunction, evidenced by a wide-eyed look of surprise as it happened, followed by a quick grab of his crotch for the remainder of the performance. Nevertheless, he finished out the song like a pro. Lil Nas X dropped “Montero” on March 26, along with a video that generated plenty of controversy, which led to a spoof on SNL. In the visual, the artist at one point pole dances down to hell, where he proceeds to give Satan a lap dance. The track debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and went on to top both the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts. For his second song on the SNL finale, hosted by actress Anya Taylor-Joy, Lil Nas slowed things down ...
Ariana Grande Remembers Manchester Bombing Victims 4 Years Later: ‘My Heart Is With You’
The singer added, “Manchester, my heart is with you today and always.” Her tribute also included the names of those who died in the bombing. The attack on May 22, 2017, killed 22 people and injured nearly 1,000 when a bomber detonated a homemade device as fans were streaming out of the show. Last August, the brother of the suicide bomber who set off the deadly explosion was sentenced to a minimum of 55 years in prison. Hashem Abedi had denied helping plan the Manchester Arena attack but was found guilty of murder, attempted murder and conspiring to cause explosions Grande postponed her tour following the tragedy, but returned to the venue shortly after for an all-star benefit concert for the victims of the bombing. The event featured Pharrell Williams, Miley Cyrus, Justin Biebe...
Lady Gaga Details PTSD from Sexual Assault by Unnamed Music Producer
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-21T16:21:37+00:00“>May 21, 2021 | 12:21pm ET Lady Gaga has opened up in a new interview about the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of an unnamed music producer early in her career. (Trigger warning for anyone who may become upset from details or descriptions of sexual assault and rape.) During the emotional sit-down — which comes from the first episode of Oprah and Prince Harry’s new Apple TV+ docuseries The Me You Can’t See — the pop star discussed how the rape left her with lasting emotional scars. “I was 19 years old, and I was working in the business, and a producer said to me, ‘Take your clothes off,’ Gaga recalled through tears. “And I said, ‘No.” And I left, and th...
