Month: June 2022

J-Hope gave BTS ARMY its first tease of his new solo single “MORE” on Wednesday (June 29).

Shared on the official HYBE YouTube account, the 15-second teaser — which J-Hope also posted to his Instagram — depicts a single silver key with the song’s title etched into its face as industrial percussion builds a throwback, ’90s-inspired beat before the K-pop singer shouts, “‘Cause I want some more!’”

The BTS member’s first single off his forthcoming debut solo album Jack in the Box will premiere in full this Friday (July 1) at midnight ET, and will mark the first solo track released in the wake of the K-pop idols’ announcement earlier this month that they would be taking some time after nearly a decade of non-stop work together to focus on their individual projects for a bit.

Initially, the news sparked an online panic among the boy band’s ardent fanbase when the English translation of the septet’s Festa dinner said that the group would be going on “hiatus.” (It affected the South Korean economy as well, with HYBE stock losing $1.7 million in market value in the first hour of trading the day after the announcement. A week later, the company’s shares were still down 27.7 percent.)

Meanwhile, J-Hope isn’t the only member of BTS who’s already making musical moves. Fresh off the band topping the Billboard 200 for the sixth time with their new compilation album Proof, Jung Kook teamed up with Charlie Puth on the pop star’s new single “Left and Right.” The group also released an adorable animated music video for their latest single “Yet to Come.”

Stream the teaser for J-Hope’s “MORE” below.

There are some things that are too good to let go of, even if you’re Avril Lavigne. In a deeply nostalgic TikTok posted Tuesday (June 28), the 37-year-old pop-punk pioneer continued her 20-year anniversary celebrations of her 2002 debut album, Let Go, by recreating its iconic cityscape cover art, earning quite a few emotional comments from fans who’ve been with her from the beginning.

In the video, Lavigne walks into view from off camera and stops in the middle of the same New York City road intersecting Canal Street that she once posed on all those years ago as an up-and-coming 18-year-old artist. Wearing a long black coat and pants to mimic the outfit she wore in the original artwork, the “Love Sux” singer crosses her arms and stares down the camera, transforming for a moment back into the young musician who would soon become famous for tracks such as “Complicated” and “Sk8r Boy.”

“Just went to the location where I shot the cover of my debut album ‘Let Go’ here in New York,” Lavigne tweeted about the TikTok, which she wistfully captioned “20 years later…”

One of the people who commented on the video was none other than Lavigne’s fiancé, Mod Sun, whom she got engaged to in April. “This is so amazing!” the punk rocker wrote.

“This is amazing! Happy 20th Anniversary!” wrote Simple Plan, the band whose song “I’m Just a Kid” was used by Lavigne as the audio for her TikTok.

“Okay now I’m crying,” commented one fan, while another wrote, “Sigh. The good days.”

The “Bite Me” singer’s new post follows her release of an anniversary edition of Let Go. The original release peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 back in ’02, and remained on the chart for 97 weeks. The revamped edition features old tracks that previously hadn’t been available on streaming services.

@avrillavigne20 years later…♬ I’m Just a Kid – Simple Plan

Paris Hilton was one of the lucky few to get an invite to Britney Spears’ recent wedding to longtime love Sam Asghari, and now she’s sharing some inside scoop about her pal’s special day — including one extra special moment.

“It was a magical fairytale,” the “Stars Are Blind” singer told E! News on Tuesday (June 28). “I’m so happy for her. She’s like an angel. And it was just an iconic night with so many incredible powerful women and we had the most epic night ever.”

In fact, the heiress, whose friendship with the pop princess dates back decades, admitted that seeing her friend so happy made her emotional. “Just seeing her walk down the aisle in the dress, I was crying,” she said. “It was just so beautiful and romantic and just seeing sparkles and happiness in her eyes. And just seeing my Brit back and just in love and just the whole thing … the Cinderella carriage, the horses — it was just like a fairytale out of a storybook for Disney. She was a Disney princess.”

Later in the chat, Hilton also spoke about what sets Spears apart from most of the DJ’s other famous friends, and spilled some tea on what went down at the epic wedding reception following the ceremony. “She’s one of the kindest people in the world and is such an angel. She is not like any of the people in this town. She means a lot to me,” the Paris in Love star said.

“We sang ‘Stars Are Blind,’ me and Selena [Gomez], to Britney,” she added,” and then my mom [Kathy Hilton] took the mic and she started singing like the rest of it and it was so good. That was iconic.”

It took 37 years to reach No. 1, now Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” (via Fish People) is proving hard to move from the U.K. chart summit.

Based on midweek sales and streaming data crunched by the OCC, “Running Up That Hill” is on track for a third consecutive week at No. 1.

Bush, who was nominated for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, is enjoying a remarkable resurgence off the back of season four of Stranger Things, which has featured the song in several life-or-death situations.

The chart race, however, is far from won.

Scottish DJ duo LF System fires 3-2 on the Official Chart Update with their viral summer single “Afraid To Feel” (Warner Records), while Beyonce is on the bounce with her comeback release “Break My Soul” (Columbia), which blasts to No. 4. “Break My Soul” is lifted from Renaissance, the followup to 2016’s Lemonade, and due out July 29.

Australian-Japanese singer-songwriter Joji has the No. 1 this week in Australia with “Glimpse Of Us” (Warner Records). In the U.K., the track inches closer to what would be his first Top 10, rising 19-14.

Charlie Puth could bag the highest new entry this week with “Left and Right” (Atlantic) his collaboration with BTS’ Jungkook. It’s on track for a No. 23 debut.

Also, Taylor Swift’s latest release “Carolina” (EMI) is cruising to the Top 40. It’s new at No. 30 on the chart blast, and should give Swift a 41st U.K. Top 40 hit.

Over on the midweek U.K. albums chart, Porcupine Tree is set to end a career-long drought with Closure/Continuation (Music For Nations).

The British prog-rock band’s 11th studio album enters the Official Chart Update at No. 1. If it holds its ground when the charts are published Friday (July 1), it’ll give the reunited band not only their first leader, but their first Top 10 appearance.

According to the OCC, Closure/Continuation makes a “strong showing” on physical sales in the first half of the chart week, with Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (Columbia) and Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind (OVO/Republic) its closest, respective rivals.

Based on midweek data, the Top 10 could also feature new titles from Chris Brown (Breezy at No. 6 via Chris Brown Entertainment/RCA), Luke Combs (Growin’ Up at No. 7 via Sony Music CG), Conan Gray (Superache at No. 8 via Island) and Eric Clapton (Nothing But The Blues at No. 10 via WEA).

The Smile’s A Light for Attracting Attention surges into the top 10 across multiple Billboard album charts following the set’s release on CD and vinyl on June 17.

The set reaches the top 10 on Top Album Sales, Top Rock Albums, Vinyl Albums, Tastemaker Albums, Independent Albums and Top Current Album Sales. It also debuts at No. 1 on Top Alternative Albums. (All charts dated July 2.)

A Light for Attracting Attention is the debut project from the trio, comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, with Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner. The album was initially released on May 13 via streaming services and digital retailers.

Also in the top 10 on Top Album Sales: the latest albums from Drake and Logic arrive, while catalog titles from Pearl Jam and Prince return to the tally thanks to new Record Store Day Drop releases.

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 Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement 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 news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

A Light for Attracting Attention re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 3 with nearly 20,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending June 23, according to Luminate (up from a negligible sales figure the week previous). Of that sum, physical sales comprised a little over 19,000 (15,000 on vinyl; 4,000 on CD) and digital download sales comprised the remainder of the week’s sales. Previous to the latest tracking week, the album had sold a little more than 5,000 – essentially all from digital album sales. (There were a handful of early sales of the vinyl album a week ago.)

Light had spent one week on Top Album Sales previously, at No. 18 on the May 28-dated chart, following its digital retail release. The set also re-enters Top Current Album Sales at No. 3 (after spending one week on the list in May at No. 13 after its digital bow). Top Current Album Sales ranks the week’s biggest-selling current albums (not including catalog – older – releases).

On the Vinyl Albums chart, which lists the week’s top-selling vinyl LPs, Light debuts at No. 2. The set was issued in two vinyl variants – a standard black vinyl pressing and a yellow-colored edition.

Light also starts at No. 1 on Top Alternative Albums, No. 2 on Top Rock Albums, No. 2 on Independent Albums and No. 3 on Tastemaker Albums.

Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums rank the week’s most popular alternative and rock releases, respectively, by equivalent album units. Independent Albums reflects the week’s most popular albums, by units, released by independent record labels. Tastemaker Albums ranks the best-selling albums at independent and small chain record stores.

At No. 1 on Top Album Sales, BTS’ Proof holds atop the list for a second week, selling 53,000 copies (down 80%). The album has now sold 319,000 copies in the U.S. after two weeks on sale. Harry Styles’ former No. 1, Harry’s House, is a non-mover at No. 2 with 23,000 sold (down 13%). It continues to reign as 2022’s top-selling album in the U.S., with 468,000 copies sold.

Two catalog albums return to the top 10, following new vinyl pressings for Record Store Day’s Drop on June 18. Pearl Jam’s Live On Two Legs, first released in 1998, jumps back onto the chart at No. 4 (a new peak) with 16,000 sold (up from a negligible sum the week previous). It also debuts at No. 1 on Vinyl Albums.

Prince returns with The Gold Experience, originally released in 1995, re-entering at No. 5 on Top Album Sales (a new peak) with 14,000 sold (up from basically nothing a week earlier). Nearly all of the sales for both Live On Two Legs and Gold came from vinyl. (On Billboard’s charts, The Gold Experience continues to be credited to The Artist [Formerly Known As Prince], as the album was originally billed to his then-stage name, an unpronounceable symbol. Its new vinyl pressing also credits the symbol.)

Live On Two Legs was reissued in a double LP gatefold package on crystal clear vinyl, while The Gold Experience was reissued as a double LP on gold-colored vinyl (paying homage to a promotional version of the set released on vinyl in the U.S. in 1995). Live On Two Legs originally debuted and peaked at No. 16 on Top Album Sales (Oct. 12, 1998), while The Gold Experience had debuted and peaked at No. 6 (Oct. 14, 1995). Total U.S. album sales for Live On Two Legs is nearly 1 million, as the set’s cumulative sales now climb to 985,000. As for The Gold Experience, it surpasses a half-million sold, as its sales rise to 509,000.

Drake’s new studio album Honestly, Nevermind debuts at No. 6 on Top Album Sales with 11,000 sold – all from digital downloads. No physical release for the set has been announced. Drake has not released an album in a physical format in the U.S. since 2018’s Scorpion. Since then, he’s issued five further titles that have only been available to purchase as a digital download (So Far Gone and Care Package in 2019, Dark Lane Demo Tapes in 2020, Certified Lover Boy in 2021 and Honestly, Nevermind).

Olivia Rodrigo’s former No. 1 Sour is stationary at No. 7 on Top Album Sales with 10,000 sold (up 2%).

Logic’s latest album Vinyl Days starts at No. 8 with 9,000 sold (all from digital downloads and CD sales). Despite the album’s title, it was not available on vinyl LP.

Rounding out the new top 10 are a pair of former leaders: TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Minisode 2: Thursday’s Child falls 6-9 (9,000; down 30%) and SEVENTEEN’s SEVENTEEN 4th Album: Face the Sun dips 5-10 (9,000; down 47%).

In the week ending June 23, there were 2.107 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 7.5% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.726 million (up 8.7%) and digital albums comprised 381,000 (up 2.4%).

There were 701,000 CD albums sold in the week ending June 23 (down 22.8% week-over-week) and 1.014 million vinyl albums sold (up 51.3%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 16.203 million (down 10.7% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 18.652 million (up 1.1%).

Overall year-to-date album sales total 45.096 million (down 8.4% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 35.098 million (down 4.6%) and digital album sales total 9.998 million (down 19.6%).

Jimmy Barnes extends his record on Australia’s albums chart with Soul Deep 30 (via Bloodlines/Universal), new at No. 1, while Japanese-Australian artist Joji lifts 3-1 on the singles survey with “Glimpse of Us” (Warner).

Soul Deep 30 is a 30th anniversary celebration of Barnes’ fifth studio album, Soul Deep, which topped the ARIA Chart back in 1991 and scored the Aussie rock legend the best male artist and highest-selling album honors at the 1992 ARIA Awards.

With its best-selling debut, Soul Deep 30 gives the former Cold Chisel frontman a record 14 No. 1s in Australia.

Barnes, an icon in these parts who was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame with Cold Chisel in 1993 and again as a solo artist in 2005, dedicated his latest leader to Bloodlines managing director Warren Costello, who died May 29 at the age of 64.

“I’d like to pay particular tribute to Warren Costello from my record company who passed away recently,” he explains. “Waz was a huge part of my entire solo career alongside our great friend Michael Gudinski and Soul Deep 30 was our final collaboration. He always loved a No. 1 record, as did MG, so I really hope they both get to hear this news. I’d also like to thank Matt, Dean and the rest of the Bloodlines team for all the heartfelt work they’ve put into this album and tour.”

Drake has to settle with second-best with Honestly, Nevermind (Universal), which starts at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The new set arrives just nine months after Certified Lover Boy debuted at No. 1.

Further down the list, the Living End frontman Chris Cheney bows at No. 8 with his solo debut, The Storm Before The Calm (Liberation/Universal).

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Joji earns a first No. 1 with “Glimpse of Us” for an all-Australian chart double. Joji now completes his own chart double: his sophomore LP Nectar from 2020 blasted to No. 1 on the national albums survey.

“In such a hotly-contested field of releases and incredible global artists, I’m thrilled to see an Aussie legend like Barnesy and an emerging artist as exciting as Joji receive the top honors,” comments ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd. “It’s just another example of the breadth, depth and enormous potential of Australian music. From everyone at ARIA, a huge congratulations to both artists.”

The highest new entry belongs to Drake, as his Honestly, Nevermind track “Jimmy Cooks” featuring 21 Savage enters at No. 4.

Over halfway into his sold-out, headlining show at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night (June 28), Machine Gun Kelly welcomed a close friend and collaborator to the stage: Landon Barker.

Just hours prior, news broke that Travis Barker — Landon’s dad — was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for a yet-unknown medical emergency, as first reported by TMZ.

MGK and Landon Barker performed their collaboration “Die in California,” included on the former’s second Billboard 200 No. 1 album Mainstream Sellout, which was released in March. His 2020 album, Tickets to My Downfall, was his first No. 1 album and first rock album. Barker produced and played on both projects.

While neither MGK nor Landon addressed the news, Landon’s sister Alabama shared an Instagram story which simply stated, alongside a teary-eyed emoji: “Please send your prayers.”

Also at the MSG show, Kelly played “God Save Me” from Mainstream Sellout, whose title Travis Barker had tweeted earlier in the day, with many news outlets assuming he was referencing his undisclosed medical issues.

MGK brings out Travis’ son Landon to perform their collab “Die In California” during sold-out MSG show pic.twitter.com/dtDd12JRvC

— Lyndsey Havens (@LyndseyAlana) June 29, 2022

On Tuesday evening, TMZ shared photos of the Blink-182 drummer being taken into an ambulance on a stretcher with Kardashian by his side. According to the site, before Barker was transferred to Cedars, he and Kardashian went to West Hills Hospital in L.A. to check out the health issue.

Billboard has reached out to reps for Barker and his wife, Kourtney Kardashian, for more details and hadn’t heard back at press time.

Machine Gun Kelly’s tour continues Friday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Kate Bush hasn’t finished her phenomenal chart run in the U.K.

The iconic English singer’s “Running Up That Hill” (Fish People) crosses the finish line in first place for a second consecutive week, thanks in part to its sync in season four of Netflix’s Stranger Things.

“Running Up That Hill” racks up 79,000 chart units during the latest cycle, including 8.7 million streams, to retain the crown.

Bush’s 1985 release took 37 years to reach the summit of the Official U.K. Singles Chart, a feat that wiped out several records.

Its creator made a rare public appearance last week for an interview with the BBC. Bush, we learned, still knows the song by its original name, “A Deal With God,” and she’s thrilled to see her music connecting with younger audiences.

“Running Up That Hill,” lifted from the Hounds of Love album, should stay on track for another strong result when the chart is published this Friday. That’s because a new trailer for the second half of season four the s features a different cut of the song, the OCC notes.

The highest new release on the latest singles chart belong to Drake and his surprise album release, Honestly, Nevermind (OVO/Republic Records). The LP’s final track, “Jimmy Cooks” featuring 21 Savage, is its highest flyer at No. 7, while “Massive” bows at No. 8 and “Falling Back” lands at 10.

Drake can now boast 34 U.K. Top 10 appearances.

Also new to the latest U.K. chart is Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul” (Columbia), lifted from her forthcoming album Renaissance. It arrives at No. 21 following its surprise release last Tuesday (June 21). “Break My Soul” is Beyonce’s 36th U.K. Top 40 appearance, and her first since 2017’s Eminem collaboration “Walk On Water.” Renaissance is due out July 29.

Meanwhile, Harry Styles denies Drake the U.K. albums chart crown as Harry’s House (Columbia) returns to the summit, 2-1.

Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind is new at No. 2 for his 11th U.K. Top 10 spot.

Close behind is Foals, whose latest effort Life Is Yours (Warner Records) starts at No. 3. It’s the British rock band’s seventh studio album and seventh appearance in the Top 10.

Foals had led the midweek U.K. chart, by a margin of some 6,000 combined sales ahead of Drake.