Pop
Ciara Spills How Her ‘Goodies’ Hit Almost Went to Britney Spears
Ciara launched her “Level Up Radio” with Apple Music Hits last week, and she spilled a “crazy story” about how her debut No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 single “Goodies” almost went to Britney Spears. Had Ciara’s name not been attached to the Petey Pablo-assisted hit, she would’ve missed out on her career-defining success with a No. 1 song that stretched out on the chart for seven weeks straight and is platinum-certified by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). “When I had this record, I knew that it was a very, very special record. And I worked so hard on this record, and this industry can sometimes bring you incredible challenges,” she recalled. “But unbeknownst to me… it was myself a...
Girls Aloud’s Sarah Harding Reveals She’s ‘Fighting’ Breast Cancer
Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding took to Instagram on Wednesday (Aug. 26) to share some heartbreaking news. Alongside a photo of herself in a hospital bed, she revealed her breast cancer diagnosis. “Earlier this year I was diagnosed with breast cancer and a couple of weeks ago I received the devastating news that the cancer has advanced to other parts of my body,” she revealed. “I’m currently undergoing weekly chemotherapy sessions and I am fighting as hard as I possibly can.” “I understand this might be shocking to read on social media and that really isn’t my intention,” she continued. “But last week it was mentioned online that I had been seen in hospital, so I feel now is the time to let people know what’s going on and this is the best way I ca...
Treasure Scores New Peak on Social 50 Chart
The group leaps to No. 3, surpassing its previous peak of No. 5 earlier this month. K-pop boyband Treasure reaches a new peak on Billboard’s Social 50 chart, leaping to No. 3 on the list dated Aug. 29. The Social 50 is powered by data tracked by music analytics company Next Big Sound and ranks the most popular artists on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Wikipedia. The chart’s methodology blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers with artist page views and engagement. Its latest tracking period ended Aug. 20, and BTS is No. 1. Formed in 2019, Treasure first reached the Social 50 earlier this year, debuting at No. 40 on May 30. Its previous peak had been No. 5, achieved on Aug. 15. Treasure’s rise coincides with the release of its debut songs, “Boy” and “Come to Me,” on Aug. 7. I...
Sheldon Riley Reimagines Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ on ‘AGT’: Watch
Sheldon Riley hides his face behind a mask, but there’s nothing shy about his performances. As the quarter-finals continued Tuesday night on America’s Got Talent, the mysterious Australian singer chose a particularly dramatic crystal mask for the occasion, and delivered a powerhouse cover of “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.” Riley totally reimagined Kylie Minogue’s pop classic as an epic heartbreaker. The son of an Aussie mother and a Filipino father, Riley (real name Sheldon Hernandez) amassed a following during his run on The Voice Australia in 2018, earning a spot in the final four. He returned to the series last year as an All-Star and competed for a chance to represent Australia at the 64th Eurovision Song Contest. Watch his latest AGT performance below. [embedded content] You Deserve t...
What’s Your Favorite Beyoncé Music Video of All Time? Vote!
From flaunting a barren finger and dancing in a one-shoulder bodysuit for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” to smashing a car window with a baseball bat in a long yellow dress for “Hold Up,” Beyoncé‘s music videos are fraught with raw emotion and fashion-forward. [embedded content] Her cinematic pieces have always incorporated parts of cinema, since she starred as Foxxy Cleopatra in her first solo accompanying visual of her funky disco R&B jam “Work It Out,” the lead single from the 2002 comedy flick Austin Powers in Goldmember where she first played the character. She’s also cut up clips from her seminal visual albums, 2016’s Beyoncé: Lemonade and 2020’s Black Is King, as separate videos. Recently, s...
Bob Marley Crowns Top Facebook Live Videos Chart Thanks to Ziggy Marley Tribute Set
Bob’s son performed a set on his father’s official Facebook page to help commemorate his 75th birthday year. A video of Ziggy Marley performing songs by his legendary father Bob on the latter’s Facebook page rules Billboard’s Top Facebook Live Videos chart for July 2020. The chart, the latest of which recaps July 2020 activity, is a monthly look at the widest-reaching and most-reacted-to videos posted by musicians on Facebook Live, as tracked by media analytics company Shareablee. Rankings are determined by a formula that blends reactions, comments, shares and first-seven-days views. Since removed from Bob Marley’s page, the hour-long upload, which was posted July 19, featured Ziggy Marley performing multiple songs, the latest in a series of tributes to Bob in 2020, during which he would h...
James Charles Says He Received ‘Death Threats’ After JoJo Siwa Makeover
James Charles had us “sister shook” last week when he unveiled his latest makeover, replacing JoJo Siwa‘s characteristic bows and glitter for a glam smokey eye. Despite the 17-year-old former Dance Moms star looking gorgeous at the end result, Charles took to Twitter to share that the video’s feedback wasn’t the most positive. [embedded content] The makeup mogul explained that some fans were expecting a celebrity other than Siwa for the makeover, and were disappointed at the reveal. “I said today’s collab was with someone I I [sic] waited two years to work with & I was so excited for and now I’m getting death threats because stan twitter assumed it would be their fav and it wasn’t there are a TON of huge artists I’d love to film with one day, be...
Justin Timberlake Recalls Recording ‘SexyBack’ With Timbaland & How Working With Him Fulfilled His ‘Prophecy’
Justin Timberlake and Timbaland have been cemented in pop music history as a certified hitmaking team, but as a 14-year-old boy, JT thought it was his “prophecy” to work with the megaproducer. In a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Timberlake shared his Essentials Playlist that rewinds through 20 of his biggest hits old and new, from his career-defining No. 1 hit “SexyBack” to his reflective new sound on “Mirrors” to his “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” happy dance anthem from Trolls in 2016. But when it came to “SexyBack,” the 39-year-old hitmaker remembered the pushback he initially received. He told Lowe about the concerns those from the label had about the first single of his 2006 album FutureSex/...
Selena Gomez Is Celebrating Blackpink Collab With a Special Serendipity Ice Cream Flavor
Selena Gomez‘s “Ice Cream” collaboration with Blackpink is arriving later this week, and what better way to celebrate than with some actual ice cream? Ice cream brand Serendipity and the iconic Serendipity3 Restaurants announced on Monday (Aug. 24) its newest investor and ice cream flavor with Gomez. The pint, called Cookies & Cream Remix inspired by the upcoming collab, is made with pink vanilla ice cream, crunchy cookie bites and gobs of gooey fudge. In an Instagram video announcing the flavor, Gomez is seen eating it in the best way possible, by the spoonful straight out of the container. “So, basically, it’s heaven,” the singer said of the chocolate-y cookie goodness. “Growing up and loving the iconic Serendipity restaurant, I couldn’t be more ex...
BTS Bring the Summery Good Vibes in B-Side ‘Dynamite’ Music Video
BTS is heating up the summer with a bang. The group unveiled their retro-tinged B-side music video for their smash English single “Dynamite” on Monday (Aug. 24). Similar to the original music video, the clip finds the K-pop stars in a number of groovy outfits, busting a move everywhere from in their bedrooms and on a colorful basketball court, to in a record store, coffee shop and outside a disco club. The septet channel John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, breaking out their best hustle and disco finger points in the “B-side” footage. The OG music video from BTS counted 101.1 million views within 24 hours of its release, YouTube confirmed to Billboard, making it the music video with the biggest first-day debut to date. More than 3 million...
Which ‘Dynamite’ Song Blows You Away? Vote!
BTS lit up the internet over the weekend with their English-language single “Dynamite,” thus joining the list of powerhouse jams named after the explosive. The K-pop boy band clocked in 101.1 million YouTube views within 24 hours of the music video’s release, making it the biggest first-day debut to date on the platform, according to YouTube’s statement to Billboard. And in the single’s first three days, “Dynamite” already made BTS’ best debut on Billboard‘s Pop Songs radio airplay chart (dated Aug. 29) by securing a No. 30 spot. [embedded content] But pop and rock songs about the explosive matter have been around for decades with Taio Cruz‘s No. 2 Hot 100 hit “Dynamite” lighting up clubs since...
Here’s How Lewis Capaldi Feels About No Longer Being a One-Hit Wonder
With “Before You Go” entering the top 10 of the Hot 100 chart, the Scottish singer-songwriter has embraced his fate as “the ballad guy.” “I’m still here, with no signs of leaving.” That’s how Lewis Capaldi confirms to Billboard that he remains under quarantine at his parents’ house in Bathgate, Scotland, as he’s been throughout the coronavirus pandemic. “And they are extremely sick of me.” The singer-songwriter’s father works in food distribution and his mother is a nurse; while Capaldi has been stuck at home with his 2020 touring plans scrapped, his parents have been out and about as essential workers. “They both spend long days at work and come home to their 23-year-old son, who’s essentially unemployed at this point, to see him in his underwear, cheesy Doritos all over his stomach,” he ...
