Month: July 2022

The Project

Lava La Rue’s new EP, Hi-Fidelity, is out now via Marathon.

The Origin

Growing up, Lava La Rue was always playing in bands. “When I was 13, I wanted to be in an all-girl version of The Clash. Very West London, ska-punk inspired. The intersection of Caribbean culture and British punk.” But as they grew older, the costliness of rehearsal space drew the young creative to freestyling “because you just need a microphone.”

At college in London, La Rue met the group of artists who would soon change their life. “I think people assume we met at some really established music school but it wasn’t like that at all, it was a bit rundown. The music equipment was falling apart,” La Rue explains, but the lack of proper equipment didn’t stop the group of friends, who would soon call themselves NiNE8 Collective (including Biig Piig, Nayana Iz, Bone Slim, Mac Wetha, Nige and LorenzoRSV), from creating some of the most exciting music to come out of London.

But first, La Rue says, it was not that serious. The then-nameless NiNE8 was just a gang of newfound friends, hanging out in the smoking area in between classes, freestyling over borrowed beats blasted on a mini speaker. “We’d only have little pockets of time to do it at school so I’d be like, ‘F— it, after school we should go to mine and continue.’” From there, the at-home sessions attracted more friends, swelling until the troupe decided to rent proper venues.

Ever since, La Rue has been busy growing a grassroots career in music that allows them to flex their creative muscle as a rapper, singer, songwriter and even music video director. Recently, they were even tapped to direct Wet Leg’s vibrant, irreverent music video for “Ur Mom.” As evidenced by their wide-ranging projects, La Rue’s no-holds-barred career is a testament to what is possible for an indie artist who dares to dream big’s career today.

The Sound

When titling La Rue’s new EP, Hi-Fidelity, the idea was simple: describe the sound in words. With the title, La Rue makes their declaration that although they have been called “lo-fi rap” by critics and fans in the past, their new project is a polished, cleaner take on La Rue’s earliest roots, gigging with friends around West London. “I think I’m now circling back to the more live band feel for my music, like when I used to play guitar and stuff when I was younger,” they explain.

Today, with more resources for their creative projects than ever, La Rue says, “Now, if I make something sound lo-fi, it’s intentional.” They say their sound has evolved so thoroughly, in part because of access to instruments and recording equipment. “I always make do with whatever is there,” La Rue explains. “In the beginning that was just a really ghetto microphone and a sock to put on top of it.” Working around the limitations, though, is what pushed La Rue to freestyling and learning their own voice as a producer, a crucial part of developing the sonics now exemplified on Hi-Fidelity. “Now, when I’m working with other producers, I know what plug-in to ask for. What way to record something.”

On Hi-Fidelity, La Rue was inspired by early Beck songs, the Neptunes, Gorillaz, Turkish arabesque music and trying to emulate the strangest, most satisfying sounds through their own lens. “I was experimenting. There are some really minute little details that I put in that maybe people might not notice, but it’s really satisfying to me.”

Upon close listen, however, La Rue is correct: Hi-Fidelity’s brilliance is in its details.

The Breakthrough

For La Rue, deciding that they did not have to choose one specific path as a creative was key to building the varied career they wanted. “I feel like I’m never just one thing. I don’t know if it’s the Gemini in me or the non-binary in me, but I like the idea that I can do everything I want,” they explain. “Not to get too philosophical, but really all we are promised is this life. We should live as many experiences as we can. I don’t like the idea of saying, ‘I’m a musician, but maybe in an alternate universe, I would’ve tried directing.’ No, that’s bulls—. I can do both in this life. There is enough time.”

The Future

With a London headline show coming up in November, La Rue says, “Like my music, my live show is very different now.” They hope to build a world orbiting around Hi-Fidelity as “a center point to paint the picture of a more cohesive world, including live shows and merchandise. It all tells a story together that I want to make bigger and more polished and more fun than ever, but still very me.”

The Piece of Advice Every New Indie Artist Needs to Hear

“If you want to find the right collaborators and your musical soulmates, then you need to work on being very comfortable with being on your own s— first. Like knowing what you like specifically and knowing what your bag is. That’s when I feel like those people are drawn towards you. While it’s good for new artists to want to build a network, I think when you’re on your own wave and your sonics are clear, then the right people to work with will gravitate towards you. If you’re meant to work with someone, it will happen when you have the self-confidence of your own vibe first.”

The Most Surprising Thing You’ve Learned about the Music Industry So Far

“It’s pretty crazy how much musical genres and the concept of categorizing music can gatekeep a lot of artists from thriving. For example, in the U.K., we have the MOBO Awards which is the Black British music awards. There is no alternative or dance category for music, which sucks because it’s basically saying that they don’t recognize Black people who make music in that category. I think sometimes putting an artist into a category doesn’t allow them to thrive.”

The Artist You Believe Deserves More Attention

“There’s a band called English Teacher, a post-punk band from the U.K., that’s really f—ing cool. I’ve also been obsessed with this super young artist called Psykhi. He embodies this combination of alternative and punk worlds joining with the hip-hop and rap world. He almost flows like Playboi Carti, but he produces really grungy s—. He’s pretty underground, but he’s sick. I think he’s going to blow [up]. The U.K. right now has some incredible alternative artists and bands. Both of those artists are P.O.C. fronted and it’s nice to see more people of color taking up space in alternative music.”

The Thing That Needs to Change in the Music Industry

“Whenever it’s International Women’s Day or Pride Month or whatever, companies will show their support to artists for that time period, but they never look at the infrastructure of their company. Though they may highlight these minority groups visually, are they actually hiring those people? I don’t think there will be any change or progress if we just put people’s faces on social media instead of fixing this from the inside.”

Amid coast-to-coast frenzy about the $1.3 billion Mega Millions jackpot this week, there was only one magic number for Hollywood Bowl music fans Friday night (July 29): 30. That’s the number of hit-filled years that TLC and Boyz II Men each brought to the stage during their respective 70-minute sets that kept the audience screaming, dancing and singing along from start to finish.

Here are five memorable moments from the Grammy-winning groups’ performances at the Bowl, now celebrating its 100th anniversary:

Hey Mr. DJ: Plugging into the ’90s nostalgia vibe that was already percolating throughout the full house, DJ Bubz jump-started his pre-intro set with DMX’s “Party Up (Up in Here).” From there, the party shifted straight into overdrive as he expertly steered into Kris Kross’ “Jump,” Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” and Naughty by Nature’s “O.P.P.,” the latter of which elicited a boisterous audience sing-along and rabid arm waving. And still Bubz — who busted out his own share of energetic dance moves — kept it coming, cheekily sliding in a snippet of the theme song from TV’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before whiplashing into Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It,” Ginuwine’s “Pony” and Bell Biv DeVoe’s “Poison.” Then as four dancers dressed in silver shimmied onstage, Bubz ended his eight-minute run by asking the hyped-up audience one question: “Are you ready for TLC?!”

Still on the TLC Tip: Also dressed in silver, TLC’s Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas opened with “Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg” followed by “What About Your Friends” — and quickly proved that 30 years is nothin’ but a number. “We’re very happy to be here tonight,” said Chilli. “Some of you have been with us since day one … and you’re still here. We love you.” That showed as the ladies traded lead vocals, harmonized — and also kept in step with the dance crew — on a string of TLC hits including crowd-pleasers “Baby-Baby-Baby,” “Creep” and “Red Light Special” (with the stage bathed in red) as well as other cuts, such as “Diggin’ on You” and “FanMail.”

A key moment during this segment was T-Boz’s intro to the group’s No. 1 Hot 100 single “Unpretty.” Noted the singer, “This next song is near and dear to my heart because I wrote it from my heart. My boyfriend then made me feel like I wasn’t good enough. With social media now, the song still rings true today.” Then to applause, she added, “I kicked his a– to the curb.”

Remembering Lisa: Not surprisingly, the audience erupted when TLC launched into its signature No. 1 hit “No Scrubs” with Chilli noting in advance, “This one song is particularly important from generation to generation … some of you men have forgotten [audience laughs]. But we don’t ever, ever, ever want what?!” Fans screamed back, “No scrubs!” The evening’s most touching moment was a tribute to TLC co-founding member Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes with the evening’s closing song “Waterfalls” — featuring Lopes’ voice on track as well — as cell phone lights lit up the Bowl. Also a Hot 100 No. 1 for the group, the single was among several TLC songs co-written by Lopes, who died in 2002.

Expect the Unexpected: That was the theme of Boyz II Men’s performance, beginning with a moving overture of several of the group’s songs — including “A Song for Mama” — performed by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra led by its principal conductor, Thomas Wilkins. The theme was further underscored when Jo Koy walked onstage to introduce the group. “This is the greatest group to ever touch the microphone,” said the stand-up comic. “And we’re here to celebrate that tonight.” Wearing black tuxedos and strolling out to a standing ovation, baritone Nathan Morris and tenors Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman opened with “Oh Well,” a vocal-showcasing album track from 2002’s Full Circle.

Before segueing into “On Bended Knee,” one of several long-running Hot 100 No. 1 singles charted by the group over the years, Stockman explained what else was in store for the evening. “We wanted to do something special for you, [so] this is not your typical show,” he said. “We didn’t want to give you only what you expected. We want to give you a piece of us that you didn’t know existed.” Playing into that was the group being accompanied for the first time by the Bowl’s orchestra. Noted Stockman, “We learned about classical music going to school in Philadelphia. So this is like a homecoming.”

Pristine AF: Whether singing well-known early Boyz II Men cuts such as “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday,” “Water Runs Dry” and “I Will Get There” (from DreamWorks’ animated film Prince of Egypt) or lesser-known album tracks like the beautiful ballad “Girl in the Life Magazine,” the trio’s silky harmonies are still pure and mesmerizing — even more so against the orchestra’s symphonic backdrop. “We’ve always been about the music and singing organic, straight from the heart,” said Nathan at one point as the group’s band also joined them and the orchestra onstage.

And that led to another surprising twist: Shawn and Wanya picking up guitars as the group displayed their vocal versatility as well on a series of covers, beginning with Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.” From there, the trio rocked out on Journey’s “Open Arms,” Lenny Kravitz’s “Are You Gonna Go My Way” and the Guess Who’s “American Woman” (also covered by Kravitz in 1999). Diverting from the set list, the Boyz also performed engaging snippets of the Beatles’ “Come Together” and Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven.” Still the evening wouldn’t have been complete without closing with two of the biggest Boyz II Men songs — and popular crowd singalongs: “I’ll Make Love to You” and “End of the Road.”

Drake brought one of his musical idols to his stage at October World Weekend in Toronto: fellow Canadian Nelly Furtado.

“Thank goodness I’m a nice, humble, well-spoken — I like to deal with people the right way — because that’s the only way that you can get this next person out of the house to come do what they’re gonna do right now,” Drake told the crowd at his hometown club History on Thursday night (July 28).

“I don’t care how loud you sang tonight. Right now I need you to sing as loud as you possibly can because this right here took a lot,” he said.

“This next person’s music changed my life so much,” added Drake. “I love her with all my heart, so when she comes out here you better show her some f—in’ love too.”

Furtado then joined Drake on stage at a concert he’d billed as “a celebration of the music that paved the way for all of us.” She walked out to 2006 hit “Promiscious” before launching into her 2001 breakthrough, “I’m Like a Bird.”

Drake encouraged his “choir” of an audience to sing along — “they have beautiful voices,” he insisted — to “I’m Like a Bird.” He also chimed in himself, faithfully crooning “though my love is true” and other parts of the tune’s chorus before hugging the singer.

October World Weekend festivities continue on Monday. Chris Brown and Lil Baby headlined Budweiser Stage on Friday, July 29, and Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Wayne will be on the same stage on Aug. 1.

Watch a clip from Thursday’s show below, and check out a concert photo Drake shared on Instagram.

Five years after their last album and almost exactly three years after their last live set, ODESZA returned to their hometown of Seattle Friday night (July 29) and showed the roughly 17,000 people in attendance at the city’s Climate Pledge Arena that — despite the name of their latest album — there is truly no last goodbye.

The duo, Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, released their new LP, The Last Goodbye, on July 22, kicking off their tour a week later with a sold-out, three-night run at Climate Pledge that continues Saturday (July 30) and Sunday (July 31.) The tour will then extend across North America this summer with an amphitheater run. But with Friday night marking ODESZA’s return to live music, anticipation was extremely high, and Billboard was there to witness it.

At 5:30 p.m. on the hot and sunny Friday, fans adorned in ODESZA merch gathered around the edges of Climate Pledge Arena, the world’s first zero-carbon arena, in wild anticipation of ODESZA’s impending return. Venue doors opened at 6 p.m., with fans flowing in from all sides of the arena. Many immediately got in lines at the various merch booths and some ran to get food and drinks, while groups of friends reunited in the aisles. All together, the inside of the arena turned into an ODESZA-themed convention, with LED screens showing various animation renders done by the the duo’s Foreign Family Collective team setting the mood.

People began to find their seating around the arena, with the floor a little less than half-full at 7:20 p.m., when Foreign Family Collective signee Ford began his set with “Craving” from his 2018 album (The) Evening. It was an apt welcome to an amazing night of music and spectacle, with the artist warmly greeted the crowd, saying this was his first time performing in an arena and that he was excited he was to be opening for ODESZA for the next three nights. He played a remix of “Flashing Lights,” which got some heads bobbing, and then “Living, Breathing,” one of his faster-paced songs. He ended his set with “Bedford Falls,” a track laden with calm drum beats and lo-fi inspiration.

Sylvan Esso was next on the night’s lineup and began playing at exactly 8:11 p.m. Amelia Meath, the duo’s singer, carried the performance with her crisp, powerful vocals that sounded extremely pleasant blasting out of the arena speakers. Nick Sanborn, the duo’s producer, laid the foundation of dancey beats and modular sounding notes to cohesively bind with Meath’s vocal prowess. As the end of their set neared, fans began to return from food and drink runs, last-minute bathroom adventures and merch hauls to get to their spots for the main event.

Nearing their scheduled start time of 9:25 p.m., all seating areas of the arena quickly filled up, and the floor that was still relatively empty at break was now packed to the brim — but from the center toward the back of this area, there was still plenty of room to move and dance. (This writer was given a heads-up about being in the center for the first three songs, a pro tip that should be taken into consideration for other concertgoers.) Then all the lights went dark, with the crowd shouting ecstatically and fans who were sitting down standing up to join in the cheering.

Seconds after hitting 9:25 p.m., the stage slowly came to life. The ODESZA ​​icosahedron logo illuminated as “This Version of You” began playing. Fans were shouting and cheering, and chills were felt as Julianna Barwick’s meditative introduction from the song welcomed all into a positive mindset and deeper thought. Her voice on the arena speakers was calming, yet strong and confident. As the song built, you could feel the electricity in the air as people emotionally prepared themselves for an hour-and-a-half-long musical adventure.

The duo then played a new song, “Behind the Sun” — which sounds like classic ODESZA — with explosive pyrotechnics pairing beautifully with the song’s drop. The sample of Iranian artist Simin Gharem’s song “Sib” combined beautifully with the percussive and bass-heavy work, showing off their expertise in finding samples that work so well in their music. It wouldn’t be an ODESZA show without hearing coveted VIP versions of original tracks, which included “All We Need,” “Something About You” (mashed up with “Love Letter”), “Memories That You Call” and a surprising D’n’B VIP mix of “Falls” that worked incredibly well.

While the duo’s previous tours have nearly mythic status among fans, ODESZA’s visuals Friday night absolutely floored the crowd and certainly compared to, and in many instances topped, what they’ve done in previous shows, exploring different themes in vivid ways. Their visuals also took a darker turn, with frames of an android-looking figure clothed in gold running against a strong current and navigating through an apocalyptic wasteland, while “Keep Moving” from ODESZA side project Bronson played. There was also a demonic wolf trying to tear itself out of the screen, and during “Loyal,” a barrage of arrows hit the screen followed by a skeletal knight menacingly walking through a field.

There were a few crowd shout-outs as well, with Mills saying, “It’s so good to be back. We’re so glad to be playing in our hometown again.” The classic “Lemme see you one more time!” from Mills also got the audience shouting, dancing and forgetting struggles and tough times, even if temporarily. The fans were an important part of why the spectacle felt so big and all-encompassing. Everywhere you looked, there were smiles, people were in awe at the visuals and production and strangers acted like friends. (Special shout-out to the Foreign Family Collective Discord community members, as they offered helpful tips and awesome recommendations for folks visiting Seattle for the shows, and welcomed many new fans of ODESZA this weekend.)

The guys brought out singer Noami Wild for “Higher Ground” and “Better Now” (which originally featured MARO) and Charlie Houston for “Wide Awake.” Wild looked comfortable on stage, and it was in fact comforting to see her perform live again after her run on the A Moment Apart Tour. Keen listeners seemed to have caught on, but almost every new song they played Friday night was layered subtly with songs from past albums, marking this tour as a celebration of not only the new album, but the entire ODESZA catalog.

The ODESZA drumline, also back for this tour, deserves its own praise, as they are a wonderful act on their own. They were surgically precise with their movements and completely in sync with each other, and their presence dominated the arena whenever they performed a solo. The trumpet players stood on their raised platforms, creating a pleasant symmetry on either side of the duo, their sound echoing vibrantly throughout. After a short transition through faded lights, a drummer and bass guitarist took the stage for the encore, “The Last Goodbye.” It culminated in a flurry of magical confetti where fans grabbed at pieces of icosahedron-labeled paper as the on-screen visuals depicted the same figure from the opening segment touching and rippling the screen, which quickly dissipated into darkness.

Mills and Knight, alongside all the musicians and drumline, gave one final bow while a harmonic version of “Light of Day” played in the background.

The first night of a series of three sold-out shows at Climate Pledge Arena was a resounding success. While the direction of their music has definitely shifted, it blends the emotive and electronic nature of past albums with a deeply introspective look into the adventure ODESZA has taken from their 2012 debut, In Return, to today. After a decade of the group, Friday night proved that one thing remains true — ODESZA  is meant to be seen, and heard, live.

Taylor Swift has topped a list of celebrities whose private jets have produced the highest amount of carbon dioxide so far this year, according to a new study.

U.K.-based sustainability marketing firm Yard shared a report on Friday (July 29), revealing that the pop superstar’s jet flew 170 times between Jan. 1 and July 19, totaling almost 16 days in the air. The aircraft’s total flight emissions were 8,293.54 tonnes of carbon, which is 1,184.8 times more than the average person’s total annual emissions, the study says.

“Taylor’s jet is loaned out regularly to other individuals,” a spokesperson for Swift told Rolling Stone. “To attribute most or all of these trips to her is blatantly incorrect.”

For the study, Yard used data from the Twitter account @CelebJets, which tracks private jet travels from celebrities. The data was compiled from the beginning of 2022 and included the number of flights taken by each star, average flight times, miles and total CO2 emissions.

Other musicians on the top 10 list included Jay-Z (No. 3), Blake Shelton (No. 5) and Travis Scott (No. 10).

Earlier this month, Drake took some heat after @CelebJets reported that he flew on a private jet for only 14 minutes from Hamilton, Ontario, to Toronto. The rapper cleared up the controversy by commenting on the Instagram page of @RealTorontoNewz, which picked up the story.

“This is just them moving planes to whatever airport they are being stored at for anyone who was interested in the logistics,” Drizzy wrote in the comments section, adding, “Nobody takes that flight.”

Drake and Swift weren’t the only celebrities being called out for their private jet usage as of late. Kylie Jenner was also dubbed a “climate criminal” for her own private flight from Camarillo, Calif., to Van Nuys.

From career milestones and new music releases to major announcements and more, Billboard editors highlight the latest news buzz in Latin music every week. Here’s what happened in the Latin music world this week.

An Esteman Proposal

This week, Colombian singer-songwriter Esteman popped the big question to his boyfriend Jorge in Paris and captured the heartfelt moment on Instagram. “I share this moment with you, that although I was dying of nerves and could hardly sing with emotion, it was very special for us,” he wrote on the post. As a result, Esteman released his new single, inspired by his real-life love story, called “Un Dia en Paris.”

 

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The Latin Grammys Return

This week, the Latin Recording Academy announced that the 23rd annual Latin Grammys will take place Nov. 17 and will return to Las Vegas. Additionally, nominees will be announced on Sept. 20. The 2022 ceremony is set to broadcast live from the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and will air live on Univision beginning at 8 p.m. ET, preceded by a one-hour pre-show starting at 7 p.m. ET. According to the Latin Recording Academy, the first round of voting will take place between July 28 and Aug. 8. The final round of voting is set for Sept. 30 to Oct. 13.

 

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Daddy Yankee’s Farewell Tour

This week, Daddy Yankee kicked off his farewell tour “La Ultima Vuelta,” where he’s performing 31 of his biggest hits and newer anthems, including “Remix,” “Despacito” and “Gasolina,” to name a few. In March, Yankee announced that he’s retiring from music. The reggaeton star culminated his musical run with Legendaddy, his first new studio album in 10 years, and this world tour. Daddy Yankee’s La Última Vuelta Tour continues with upcoming shows in Seattle, Las Vegas, Miami and Chicago. Check here for dates.

 

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Bad Bunny for All

Also on tour is Bad Bunny, who officially kicked off his World’s Hottest Tour trek with three back-to-back shows in Coliseo José Miguel Agrelot de Puerto Rico. To celebrate, the Puerto Rican singer also hosted “Viewing Parties” across different spots in La Isla del Encanto for fans who didn’t nab a ticket. In true Bad Bunny fashion, every location was packed, enjoying the Livestream concert, where Bad had special guests such as Bomba Estereo, The Marias, Chencho Corleone and more.

 

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Bizarrap’s On Fire

Bizarrap achieved a new milestone this week with his Quevedo-assisted “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52.” The club-ready track is currently No. 1 on both the Billboard Global 200 the Billboard Global Excl. U.S., with 88.3 million streams — a 38% week-to-week increase, according to Luminate. Additionally, the track is only the second fully Spanish-language song to top the Global 200 in the chart’s two-year history, following Bad Bunny and Jhay Cortez’s “Dákiti” in 2020.

 

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Jackson Wang embodies the title of his upcoming album Magic Man with a superpowered music video.

After the song made its live debut during Wang’s Coachella set with 88rising earlier this year, “Cruel” has finally been unveiled alongside a cinematic music video. The track’s rough, rock-pop production couples with a visual showcasing a fire-breathing Jackson fighting off a gang of soul-sucking female antagonists. In the middle of a burning city, the Chinese singer shows off his superpowers and super physique through rubble, ash and stones with all hope looking lost for the star until an unexpected twist at the end.

Along with his new single, the GOT7 member also revealed upcoming details about his forthcoming Magic Man album. With the pre-order information for U.S. fans, Wang shared that the new LP will drop on Sept. 9, 2022, with a slew of exciting merchandise bundles and packages for the release, including items like a silver vinyl record, a “zine CD” version, two collector’s editions of the album, clothes, box sets and more. 

Magic Man will feature 10 tracks including the previously released single “Blow,” which dropped in March this year. Notably, earlier singles like “100 Ways” and “LMLY” weren’t on the final tracklist, despite both entering the Pop Songs airplay chart upon release in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Peep the tracklist and “Cruel” music video all below.

Jackson Wang, Magic Man tracklist:

1. Blow
2. Cruel
3. Champagne Cool
4. Go Ghost
5. Drive It Like You Stole It
6. Come Alive
7. Just Like Magic
8. All the Way
9. Dopamine
10. Blue

Jon Pardi unveiled “Last Night Lonely” as the lead single for his fourth studio album,  Mr. Saturday Night.

“It’s definitely got the same values, but it’s still a different story and it’s a different sound,” Pardi told Billboard of the track. “And it’s got a fiddle solo.”

If you need a guide to follow along with Jon Pardi’s “Last Night Lonely,” find the lyrics below:

Two of the artists nominated for the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards go way back with the VMAs, to the very first show in 1984.

Madonna, who is nominated for best long-form music video for “MADAME X,” was nominated for best new artist in a video at the inaugural MTV Video Music Awards for “Borderline.” She didn’t win — the award went to Eurythmics for “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This”) — but she left with something even better than an award: She stole the show with her fully committed performance of “Like a Virgin,” in which she writhed around the floor of Radio City Music Hall in a wedding dress.

The other 2022 VMA contender who was nominated at the first VMAs is Elton John. The pop legend is nominated this year for both song of the year and best collaboration for “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” his hit collab with Dua Lipa. Elton was also a double nominee at the first show, for the exuberant “I’m Still Standing,” which was up for best choreography in a video and best editing in a video.

The VMA nominations were announced on Tuesday. The awards will be presented Aug. 28 at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

Elton has never won in a competitive VMA category, though he and his longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin received a special recognition award in 1987. (It would be nice if Elton finally won one of the few awards that has eluded him. Now he just needs to buckle down and win an Emmy so he can become an EGOT.)

Madonna has won 19 competitive VMAs and one non-competitive award, the Video Vanguard Award. Interestingly, she received that award in 1986, one year before she finally won her first competitive VMA for “Papa Don’t Preach.”

Madonna’s biggest night at the VMAs came in 1998 when she won six awards – five for “Ray of Light” and one for “Frozen.” “Ray of Light” brought Madonna her only VMA for video of the year, following back-to-back nods in that category for “Like a Prayer” in 1989 and “Vogue” in 1990.

Madonna’s most recent VMA win came in 1999 when “Beautiful Stranger” from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me won best video from a film.

But the 1984 show is where she seized the moment, took a huge risk (it could have been remembered as a disaster) and became the most talked-about star in the music business overnight. At the time of the VMAs (Sept. 14, 1984), she had not yet reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 and had cracked the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 just once, with “Borderline,” which peaked at No. 10 in June. Within five months, she had topped both charts for multiple weeks.

In his 2017 list of the 100 greatest awards show performances of all time, Billboard’s deputy editor Andrew Unterberger ranked Madonna’s 1984 VMAs performance No. 2 (just behind Beyoncé’s Lemonade medley on the same show in 2016). Here’s how Unterberger described it: “The singing is occasionally pitchy, the staging feels a bit haphazard, and the presentation is downright low-budget by modern-day standards. But if you had to pick one four-minute clip to demonstrate what an award-show performance could and should be at its best, there’d be absolutely no debate: Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin,’ in which she stepped down from a wedding cake at the very first Video Music Awards and writhed her way into the heart of the 1980s. Before Madonna, the best award-show performances could hope for was to get people to buy the record, after her, they became the historical record; the way we remember stars at their most iconic, and the way they demonstrate their immortality, no matter whose names are in the night’s envelopes. It’s the veritable big bang for the format as pop art.”

Several of the top nominees and performers from the 1984 awards have since died, which is sobering, but perhaps not surprising. Thirty-eight years is a long time. They include David Bowie, who was one of the inaugural recipients of the Video Vanguard Award, the first winner of best male video for “China Girl,” and a performer on the show (albeit pre-taped and from London, where he sang his then-current hit “Blue Jean”).

Other 1984 nominees who have since died include Michael Jackson, a video of the year nominee for “Thriller” and a three-time winner on the night (albeit a no-show: his awards were all accepted by his pal Diana Ross); Donna Summer, a best female video nominee for “She Works Hard for the Money”; plus numerous group members – Ric Ocasek of The Cars (the upset video of the year winners for “You Might Think”), Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen, Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones, Freddie Mercury of Queen, Eric Carr of KISS, and Eric Woolfson of the Alan Parsons Project.

Dan Aykroyd, one of the stars of the top-grossing film of 1984, Ghostbusters, and Bette Midler, who was between hits at the time, but is always a hoot, co-hosted the first VMAs. Performers on the show, in addition to Madonna and Bowie, were Tina Turner (“What’s Love Got to Do With It,” which went on to win Grammys for record and song of the year in February 1985), Rod Stewart (“Infatuation”), Huey Lewis & the News (“I Want a New Drug”),  ZZ Top (“Sharp Dressed Man”) and Ray Parker Jr. (“Ghostbusters”).

Post Malone and Roddy Ricch‘s newest collaborative track, “Cooped Up,” served as a single to Malone’s Twelve Carat Toothache, released in June.

Speaking with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, Malone talked about working with Ricch and said, “He’s just such an incredible man and just a natural performer and vocalist and lyricist. And he just gets after it, and it’s so cool. Dude, and just to watch him grow. And he’s such a beautiful, beautiful man. And so talented, man. I’m so pumped.”

If you need a guide to follow along with Post Malone’s “Cooped Up” featuring Roddy Ricch, find the lyrics below: