Shanna Moakler is wishing the best for ex-husband Travis Barker after the drummer was hospitalized in Los Angeles on Tuesday (June 28). In statement shared with Entertainment Tonight, the model and actress said she’s hoping the rocker has a quick recovery.
“Thank you to everyone who has reached out with concern to my ex and father of my children,” she said. “I know he is in great hands and surrounded by loving support and the best medical teams available and his beautiful wife Kourtney.”
The producer and Blink-182 drummer had been spotted being taken into a hospital on a stretcher, with wife Kourtney Kardashian following behind him. The rocker and reality star married in May, then celebrated with a lavish ceremony in Portofino, Italy. They had previously tried to elope in Las Vegas, but were unable to get a marriage license at the time due to the late hour.
“I pray for a speedy recovery and for the comfort of my children as I know they are very concerned and worried,” Moakler continued. “Travis has beat the odds numerous times and I know with his support system he will do it again. I will always be there for him and my children.”
The former couple, who were married from 2004 to 2008, share daughter Alabama and son Landon. Prior to her relationship with Barker, Moakler was engaged to boxer Oscar De La Hoya, with whom she shares daughter Atiana.
After the drummer’s hospitalization, both Alabama and Atiana thanked fans for their messages of support for the rocker. “Thank you for the outpouring of love and prayers sent our way at this time,” Atiana wrote on Instagram Stories Wednesday (June 29). Alabama shared similar sentiments on her own Stories, writing, “Thank you guys for all the prayers and love, I appreciate you & love all of you.”
Neither Barker nor the reality TV personality have shared why he has been hospitalized, or his current condition. Billboard has reached out to reps for both the drummer and The Kardashians star.
Denzel Curry is tripling down on his unfavorable feelings toward Drake and Kanye West‘s recent album drops. In SPIN’s June cover story, the 27-year-old rapper he was brutally honest when addressing a tweet he made earlier this year dissing Certified Lover Boy and Donda, saying at the time that both releases “could’ve been better.”
First discussing his opinion on Drizzy, Curry explained that he was expecting Certified Lover Boy to match up to the quality of the “Jimmy Cooks” artist’s previous albums Take Care and If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late. “I was looking forward to Drake’s album, ‘cause Drake always got something,” he told the publication. “But then, when you get them albums, you’re like, ‘What the f–k are you doing?’”
As for his reasons on why Ye’s Donda should have measured higher, Curry simply said, “We don’t even really need to talk about Kanye West, it’s Kanye West.”
“But for them to go out, and go against each other and make that subpar work with the resources they have,” he continued. “These are the same producers it’s hard for me to reach out to because they don’t see the return. You’ve got all these resources, and y’all made subpar albums. I had limited resources, and I made a great one. That shouldn’t happen.”
Certified Lover Boy, which arrived in September 2021, debuted at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart, and spent five weeks in the top spot, and a total of 42 weeks on the chart. Donda, which dropped in August 2021, also debuted at the summit, and spent 43 weeks on the tally.
Curry’s most recent record was Melt My Eyez See YourFuture, which arrived in March and spent one week on the Billboard 200 at No. 51. A couple months after its release, the “Walkin’” musician first made known his opinions on Drake and Kanye via a May tweet reading: “Donda and CLB could’ve been better yall n—-s rich and got the greatest musicians at your disposal.”
But he didn’t stop there. He also took aim at the albums’ covers as well, tweeting at the time, “The artwork for both projects were booty.” The art for CLB featured 12 emojis of pregnant women, while Donda‘s was nothing more than a black square.
On March 22 in Pittsburgh, nine shows into the first leg of her When I Close My Eyes North American tour, Chelsea Cutler hit a wall. The Connecticut-born, New York-based artist had missed performing so much throughout the COVID-19 pandemic — deprived of the natural dopamine hit. But renewed adrenaline couldn’t compensate for a headache and strained vocal chords. Cutler finished her set at Stage AE and decided not to do her usual three-song encore.
“And I remember just feeling so guilty for making that decision, because I felt so selfish,” Cutler says. “From that point of the tour onwards, I was like, ‘I can’t let people down like that. These shows aren’t about me.’ That flipped the switch in me, and I was like, ‘I never want to make people feel disappointed. I never want people’s expectations to not be met.’ That takes priority over anything I could possibly be feeling.”
The 25-year-old singer, songwriter, and produceris trying to take a wider, less self-centered view in all aspects of her career right now.When I Close My Eyes is the name of her sophomore album, full of elastic, introspective pop songs about love, coming of age, and the pockets of peace she found when the world shut down. But in the eight months following its October release, Cutler has found it impossible to turn a blind eye to the tumult happening around her.
She estimates she’s lost upwards of 3,000 Instagram followers because she’s chosen to share how troubled she feels over stagnant gun control legislation, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill. Over the weekend, Cutler posted in disbelief over the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion, and she was met by a DM from a stranger questioning why she cares if she’s “a lesbian.” The vitriol extends to more homophobic messages when posting about her girlfriend of four years.
“It’s just hard for me to be quiet,” she says. “There’s this inevitable community that you create as an artist, when people are finding common ground through your music. They’ve created a space around my music, and there’s some degree of responsibility in keeping that space safe. I get so many messages from people, and the overwhelming majority are filled with such gratitude. I feel so emotionally connected to a lot of this fan base and want to keep representing them.”
Before Cutler could show up for her fans, she had to learn how to show up for herself.
Chelsea Cutler
Cutler signed with Republic Records in 2019, and landed a publishing deal shortly afterward, with 2020 shaping up to be her breakout year.
She had been operating at full tilt for the three previous years: dropping her 2017 debut EP Snow in October as an Amherst College student, dropping out of Amherst to open on tour for the Detroit-bred, genre-fusing artist Quinn XCII in 2018, also the year she put out synth-fueled EPs Sleeping with Roses and Sleeping With Roses II.Come 2019, Cutler teamed with Jeremy Zucker, another Mutual Friends management mate, for the celebrated indie-pop EP Brent, home to Platinum-certified ballad “You Were Good to Me,” which teed up her January 2020 debut solo LP How To Be Human. She was building a fan base, which now includes 8.5 million monthly Spotify listeners and 330,000 Instagram followers — by churning out bedroom pop breakup bangers. Ironically, she’d never felt more wanted.
“And then COVID happened, and a couple years go by, and you’re not the new kid at the label that everyone cares about — you’re not the new kid in the industry that everyone cares about,” she says. “I gained a little weight during COVID. I wasn’t touring. I wasn’t getting the validation I was used to.”
As a result, Cutler had more time to mindlessly scroll on social media. Usually, she prefers to use social media for self-expression, not self-promotion, but the industry had to overcompensate for artists’ inability to perform or connect with — and market to — their respective followings in real-life settings. It was starting to feel like a chore.
This January, Cutler posted an open letter about the newfound pressure placed on musicians to churn out social media content. The sentiment went viral amongst her industry peers, generating comments and reposts from the likes of Ryan Tedder, Julia Michaels, Lauren Jauregui, Hayley Kiyoko, and Niall Horan. It was, in hindsight, “the most insecure I’ve ever felt as an artist and as a person since starting this whole thing,” Cutler says.
“For a really long time, I sat in that feeling, and I just blamed COVID,” she adds. “I had to be like, Okay, this happened and now, what are you going to do about it?”
Last fall, on the co-headlining Stay Next to Me Tour with Quinn XCII, she recaptured the fleeting euphoria only found in performing. Privately, Quinn helped her develop a sustainable mindset — “ to embrace making music as not this competitive thing, but as a means of lifting other people up” — which was enhanced throughout her WICME Tour. She opened up to her girlfriend and other friends, and she engaged in therapy to proactively change her behavior and thought patterns.
By the end of April, Cutler had clarity. She marked the conclusion of her spring headlining run with an Instagram video carousel of sold-out crowds singing with her, and with the caption, reclaimed the power social media once had over her mental health and self-worth: “In a time of social media, data, and analytics, here is a reminder that you do not need hundreds of millions of streams, you do not need millions of followers, you do not need to feel defined by numbers. You just need real humans with real emotions experiencing real life together.”
“Lately, I’ve really seen Chelsea become the person she wants to be,” Quinn XCII says. “Through our recent conversations, I can tell how much she’s learned to focus on her craft and what’s truly important, rather than all the other nonsense and noise that comes from being a public figure. As a friend and collaborator, I’m so proud to watch her growth and see the way she’s been able to navigate through this industry and become such a voice to other young female artists.”
Cutler is using this summer’s festival circuit as another vessel for positive messaging. Whether it’s her Coachella debut, her hometown Governor’s Ball set or next month’s Lollapalooza, every festival stage is a platform to expose new people to her music. As someone who has primarily produced and written her own discography, it’s also a crucial opportunity to continue trailblazing in spaces not traditionally occupied by women.
“Existence is protest,” Cutler says. “I think existing and just giving that visibility to young women and girls who want to get into production, who want to get into songwriting, that’s the most important thing. I’ve been trying to work with women when I can.”
“One of the reasons I think Chelsea is so special is that she truly loves what she does and she shares that love with everyone around her,” says ROSIE, the surging New York singer-songwriter who took off from “Never the 1” and opened on the WICME Tour. “She taught me how to create catchy hooks while still writing from the heart, how to add unique textures and layers to a production. Most importantly, she has taught me the joy of experimenting with sounds and instruments while creating music. I feel like a kid again when I’m in the studio. I’m full of excitement and curiosity, and it’s all because of her.”
Last week, Cutler had a studio session with ROSIE and frequent collaborator Hazey Eyes. She wrote her first-ever song explicitly about a same-sex relationship.
Any fan of Cutler has likely heard the “Lucky” story by now.
“Lucky,” a 2019 single of Cutler’s featuring Alexander 23, was about her girlfriend — but back then, she wasn’t yet ready to vocalize that. She told her circle that she wrote the melodic How To Be Human track about her bernedoodle, Cooper, and the music video chronicled Cutler repaying her parents, team, and fans.
Cutler was grappling with shame — convinced 21 was too old to consider dating a girl for the first time — and built up in her mind how daunting coming out would be. In reality, nobody batted an eye.
“Me being open about my relationship with a girl was no different than when I was open about my relationship with a boy,” Cutler says. “I’ve never felt like I needed to validate my relationship because my whole four-year relationship, it’s been treated no differently than when I had my college boyfriend.”
The non-reaction from those closest to her empowered her to publicly open up about how in love she is to her fans and the masses at her own pace.
Cutler didn’t hide that When I Close My Eyes singles “Forever” and “You Can Have It” were written as odes to her girlfriend, the person who makes her the happiest — and the person she serendipitously first met backstage at a show, her perennial happy place.
“My friend from home is her roommate and friend from college,” Cutler says. “She had tagged along to a show on my first headline tour, and we just met because she was accompanying my friend. Our friend groups are so combined that we always say, ‘We totally would’ve met at some point down the line had we not met when we did.’”
So, this Pride Month should have been a culmination and a celebration for Cutler. Instead, it has been a harsh reminder for how far we still have to go.
“If anything, this is the first year that I have felt ostracized by my same-sex relationship,” Cutler continues. “We are truly experiencing the ripple effect of who has been elected in the last few years, and we’re certainly also feeling the ripple effects of the different ideologies that all these elections and appointments prompted. We look at what [Governor Ron] DeSantis is doing in Florida, and the Supreme Court justices mentioning they’d like to revisit some cases that have been important for same-sex relationships.”
During a February date night at a New York Rangers game, Cutler and her girlfriend accidentally photobombed paparazzi photos of Zendaya and Tom Holland’s date night. They made a graphic tee to commemorate the moment — because why wouldn’t they? — and cracked jokes on TikTok about their proximity to one of Hollywood’s hottest “it” couples.
But they experience the ramifications of homophobia, regardless of Cutler’s public-facing career. Cutler catches herself full with resentment every time she and her girlfriend are walking around New York City, and Cutler is reminded that she only thinks twice about kissing or holding hands in public because she has a girlfriend, not a boyfriend.
“This is the first time in my four-year relationship that I feel like I need to put my foot down and be like, ‘Why is the world trying to invalidate this? Why is there anything wrong with this?’” she says. “The reason that the legislation in Florida was so difficult for me to wrap my head around is because I don’t understand how people don’t get the fact that heteronormativity is just ingrained in children from day one. That’s the first time in four years that I was told that my relationship is otherness.”
The unfounded hatred hurts. Of course it does. Every human being is vulnerable to judgment, even if it’s from a keyboard warrior. But Cutler is one of the lucky ones — she realizes now more than ever — because she can rely on her family, friends, and fan base for unwavering support.
“I can’t sit here and tell you that I’ve not internalized everything that we see in the news every day. That would be a lie,” she says. “We’re trying to derive a little happiness wherever we can right now.”
Mutual Friends founder Jesse Coren, her manager since 2016, was initially drawn to Cutler because she didn’t sugarcoat anything in her music. Right now, he’s admiring her effort to try and find silver linings.
“Whether it’s empowering other young female artists to write and produce their own music — and leading by example — or advocating for causes she supports, it’s clear she’s not afraid to be a voice and knows how to use her platform for good,” says Coren. “As a public figure, that comes with a lot of challenges — often dealing with scrutiny and hurtful comments, but she’s become so comfortable with herself and creating a safe space for her fans that she continues to take on the responsibility despite that.”
When Cutler was a young girl, she was a massive Simple Plan fan. Around eight or nine years old, her parents helped her make a poster and took her to a concert near their Westport, Connecticut, home. The band saw Cutler holding the sign up in the crowd and brought her backstage.
“They couldn’t have been sweeter to me,” she says. “It’s one of my first formative memories, because I’ve also had the opposite experience, and it leaves a horrible taste in your mouth.”
In the acoustic-based, nostalgic When I Close My Eyes track “You’re Gonna Miss This,” Cutler sings, “Tryna be like all your heroes back in high school / Just to grow up and meet ‘em and realize they’re not like you.”
Cutler announced the WICME North American Tour Part II earlier this month and subsequently shared that the fall leg “will likely be the last headline tour I do for a year or so, at the least,” so that she can “take real time to make an incredible third album.” In other words, the pressure is on to replicate how Simple Plan made her feel back then for as many of her fans as possible. Her meet-and-greets are where it sinks in that she has become the childhood hero to someone else.
“Even though it’s a bit arbitrary, you’re still getting to spend a minute with every single person who wants to be there and is telling you how much your music or your career has impacted them,” Cutler says. “Through a computer, through streams, through data, even through DMs, it’s really, really hard to internalize that emotion. But when you’re having 60 of those conversations a day for two months straight, you’re like, ‘Oh, s–t, okay, I really understand the magnitude of what’s happening here.’”
Cutler often thinks about the pursuit of the unattainable. At October’s intimate When I Close My Eyes listening eventin the Lower East Side, she opened up to the select few fans in the room about the emotional letdown when a faraway goal is achieved, and “is just a part of your life now.” Making music, though, never gets old because it is no longer an external goal post. It is an intrinsic part of her.
“Music is an insatiable part of life,” she says. “Humans crave that kind of connection. We crave feeling like someone else understands us, and music is like human touch. It’s like having a best friend understand you. My love of music comes down to satisfying that instinctual desire to feel connected to other people. It’s the best feeling in the world, feeling connected.”
These days, Cutler has a morning routine. She wakes up, works out, walks her dog, and heads to her studio. She bought her first New York City apartment within the last year and transformed an extra bedroom into a fully functional, decked-out studio — a more conducive setup to her creative impulses. “I’d rather try to write a song and fail, than sit on it, like, ‘Ah, I don’t need to go to the studio today,” she says.
As she works on her third studio album, Cutler is freed from the pitfalls of perfectionism. She untangled herself from the chokehold of commercialization and reconnected to the girl who first started guitar and piano lessons as a child, made songs from scratch in her Amherst dorm room, and simply wanted to channel her pain for the better.
Last September, Cutler released “Devil On My Shoulder,” a raw glimpse into what her anxious and depressive spells look like. She feels more fulfilled and stimulated, a year-plus removed from penning the evocative piano ballad, but she’s not naive.
“I’m always going to cope with the things that I wrote about in a song like that, which you’ll definitely see in the next album,” she says.
Cutler has developed a reputation for crafting brutally honest, often sad songs. Some fans may miss past versions of her, but this is who she is now: Heading into album No. 3, Cutler is assured in exploring her multidimensionality and writing uninhibitedly. She understands from her own experience as a fan of The 1975, Jon Bellion, Coldplay, or Maggie Rogers that the most impactful artists follow their own muses, priorities, and inner voices, while trusting that true fans will evolve along with them.
“I’m reorienting myself to really believe that, fundamentally, what matters about my career is the way that I can impact other people,” she says. “It’s going to take months and years of practicing to really intrinsically believe it. Every single day, I’m practicing that selflessness and living [out] that my purpose is not, how much money can I make, how well-known can my name be, how successful am I? Instead, my purpose is, how many people can I impact, how many people can I enlighten, how many people can I provide solace to? When I’m on my deathbed, that’s going to be a much more fulfilling life to leave behind.”
Billboard’s First Stream serves as a handy guide to this Friday’s most essential releases — the key music that everyone will be talking about today, and that will be dominating playlists this weekend and beyond.
This week, Cardi B’s got a killer posse cut, J-Hope steps out on his own and Calvin Harris keeps the summer rolling. Check out all of this week’s First Stream picks below:
Cardi B feat. Kanye West & Lil Durk, “Hot S–t”
Part of the reason why the music world is breathlessly awaiting the official follow-up to Cardi B’s spectacular 2018 debut album Invasion of Privacy has to do with the high quality of the music she’s released leading up to the project, from “WAP” to “Up” to every top-notch guest verse in between. With “Hot S–t,” Cardi keeps the win streak rolling in a more straight-ahead trap lane, firing off some memorable one-liners (and an “Electric Slide” nod!) over a sizzling beat before ceding the floor to Lil Durk and Kanye West, who find balance by speeding up and slowing down the flow of the track, respectively.
J-Hope, “More”
With BTS taking a pause for now, J-Hope is leaping headfirst into a proper solo career with the upcoming project Jack In the Box and a prime slot at Lollapalooza this summer. “More” kicks off this new chapter with a title that speaks to J-Hope’s sonic ambitions and a style that’s fascinating to hear him tackle: the single is ostensibly a throwback hip-hop track with rock-band undercurrents that take less than a minute to bubble to the surface. The whole affair recalls Brockhampton’s caution-to-the-wind approach to pop-rap, and is as compelling a start to J-Hope’s time in the spotlight at BTS fans could hope to hear.
Calvin Harris feat. 21 Savage, “New Money”
Calvin Harris’ Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2 may still be more than a month away, but summer is in full swing, and the veteran producer is graciously bestowing listeners with another tune to soundtrack pool parties and backyard barbecues before the full-length arrives. 21 Savage, fresh off of stellar appearances on singles by Pharrell Williams and Drake, pairs his unflappable flow with glittery keys on “New Money,” and while the dance production may not be the sound that comes to mind when considering his steely flow, the MC’s pop instincts kick in and guide the track.
Luke Bryan, “Country On”
“Anytime you can reference country music fans in a song, and you can really make it feel natural, it’s great,” Luke Bryan says in a press statement about his new single, “Country On.” Bryan has long been a master at catering to his base and providing anthems that work in a stadium setting, and “Country On” will slot into his set list nicely, as a celebration of his supporters and a symbol of the charming songwriting that’s complemented his oak-tree voice for years.
City Girls feat. Usher, “Good Love”
City Girls understand that Usher is responsible for some of the biggest hooks of the 21st century, and for their new collaboration “Good Love,” they put his golden-voiced pop talents to work. The single harkens back to Usher’s late-‘00s/early-‘10s run as a dance floor maverick, with the R&B legend operating over percolating percussion as City Girls toast to a night out on the town and the standards they set for those who accompany; the pairing works, and it will be interesting to see how high “Good Love” can climb as a potential crossover hit.
The Country Radio Hall of Fame returned for 2022, held in person on June 30 as approximately 260 attendees celebrated at the Virgin Hotel in Nashville.
The Country Radio Hall of Fame officially celebrated a slate of new inductees, including off-air honorees Becky Brenner and Barry Mardit, as well as on-air honorees Whitney Allen, Debbie Conner, Cathy Martindale, Rachael Hunter and Steve Grunwald, as well as Bob Call, a 2021 Country Radio Hall of Fame inductee who was unable to attend last year’s event.
Townsquare Media’s Kurt Johnson, who also serves as president of the Country Radio Broadcaster’s board of directors, presented the evening’s first award, honoring Warner Music Nashville chairman/CEO John “Espo” Esposito with the CRB president’s award. Esposito joined Warner’s Nashville post as it was rebranded as Warner Music Nashville in 2009. He also helped propel Warner artist Blake Shelton to stardom, with hits such as the Trace Adkins collaboration “Hillbilly Bone.”
“I moved here 13 years ago to see if I could help Warner Music Group get its Nashville operation back to a proud place,” Esposito told the audience. ” I never tried to be the smartest one in the room, I just hoped that I could bring my passion, organizational skills and sense of humor to this town. And to the people at the newly named Warner Music Nashville, I wanted to help people find joy in the work.”
He noted that Blake Shelton is the only artist still on the Warner Music Nashville roster since 2009.
“The first thing I did was announce to the company that A&R was going to run the company … we are going to win or lose based on what they do,” Esposito told the audience. “I told the team we were going to build the company around Blake.” Since 2009, Shelton has notched approximately two dozen No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Under Esposito’s tenure, the WMN roster now also includes Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Cole Swindell, Cody Johnson, Ashley McBryde, Breland, Bailey Zimmerman and Randall King.
Espo also addressed the recent news that he will transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus of Warner Music Nashville, while Ben Kline and Cris Lacy have been promoted to co-presidents of Warner Music Nashville.
“I’m not going away. I will be available to Warner for quite some time,” Espo said. “What I will do after that? I’ll figure that out … But I’ve made too many friends [to leave].”
Trisha Yearwood was honored with the CRB artist career achievement recipient. Previous artist career achievement recipients include Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Vince Gill, Randy Travis, George Strait, and the Judds.
RJ Curtis, the executive director for Country Radio Broadcasters, read words penned by Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern to honor Yearwood. Yearwood’s sister Beth was in attendance, as was Yearwood’s husband and fellow country music luminary Garth Brooks.
“She is one of the most grounded, genuine and normal artists there is … she personifies class and kindness,” Trahern wrote, also praising Yearwood as having “one of the most powerful voices in the history of country music, period.” The artist was also lauded for her multifaceted career, including roles as an author, actress, businesswoman (Yearwood has launched a home goods line as well as collection of pet food/accessories), and host of the popular cooking showTrisha’s Southern Kitchen.
Lauren Alaina was in attendance to honor Yearwood, singing “Walkaway Joe” and “She’s in Love With the Boy.” Earlier this year, Yearwood officially inducted Alaina as a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
“Lauren talked about ‘She was in Love with the Boy.’ She wasn’t born when [the song] came out,” Yearwood noted. “The power of that song speaks to the power of country radio, and it’s the reason I’m still here 30 years later. To the women of country who have won this before me, I’m humbled and honored to be on this list.”
The first Country Radio Hall of Fame recipient of the evening was 2021 honoree Call. During his 44-year career, Call has served as an air personality, program director or market manager, with the past 41 years being at KYGO in Denver. He was the first program director at KYGO, beginning in 1980 and was promoted to operations manager in 1987 and has served as KYGO’s GM/market manager since 1989.
“Whatever success I’ve had over the years, it has come from working with and for some amazing people,” Delaware native Call said. He noted that he retired in December, adding, “I can only hope I have left a legacy behind in radio.”
“This is the manager in me,” Call summed. “Budgeting time is coming for radio stations, but find a few dollars to give to a young person to get them to [Country Radio Seminar]. There’s nothing better than CRS.”
Doug Rice, president of Performance Racing Network, inducted Martindale, who began her country radio career in 1974 at KSCS in Dallas, serving as PD, APD and MD. In 1983, she began working at WSM AM/FM, a post she held for 17 years, working mornings, afternoons and even working as the music director. She also became the first woman to earn the No. 1 rated drive-time show on Nashville radio during that time. From 1984 through 1994, she hosted Nashville Network and in 1993 started co-hosting Racing Country/Racing Country Classic. Martindale is also a three-time finalist for CMA large market and/or syndicated personality of the year and is a member of the Tennessee Radio Hall of Fame.
Martindale recalled having to rely on an oxygen tank to breathe as a child, and being told she wouldn’t live to age 21. “I wasn’t supposed to be here,” she said. “I had 17 jobs before I ever got into radio, where I could be anybody I wanted to be. I was the link between a fan and their heroes. After 48 years, I still get excited to be the first to hear that new music.”
“Most of us here did not have women mentors because we were the pioneers, so I have a lot of guys to thank,” she said. Martindale thanked radio luminaries including Ralph Emery, Ed Salamon, and Charlie Chase.
Conner’s radio career began in 1966, with time spent at KHAK/Cedar Rapids, WMPS/Memphis, WSAI/Cincinnati, WCAO/Baltimore, WYCT/Pensacola, and WIL/St. Louis, where she spent 12 years. She previously served as a midday host on the Sirius Satellite Roadhouse Channel and has hosted Country Oldies Hall of Fame Segments since 2014. Conner also ascended in her career while being a single mother to two children.
“I was told I was taking a man’s job, a man who had a family to support. Well guess what, so did I,” she said. She also noted the naysayers she encountered with every step up the radio ladder. “I was told, ‘They’ll put you in overnights, but you’ll never get put on evenings or afternoons.’ I was the first woman to do afternoon drives in Cincinnati,” she said, later adding words of gratitude for radio executives who did open doors for her advancement in radio.
“Kenny Rogers once said, ‘The saddest thing is to be a former entertainer.’ You’ve taken me from a former radio personality, to a forever-something,” Conner concluded.
Country Radio Hall of Fame committee chairman Joel Raab honored Mardit, who has spent 47 years in the radio industry, including time at WEEP in Pittsburgh and WWWW in Detroit. He spent 12 years with WWWW and earned honors from Billboard, CMA and a NAB Marconi Award.
Mardit shared several stories from his career, including the time a competing radio station acquired a copy of Kenny Rogers’ “Love or Something Like It” first.
“There were no MP3s, no wave files,” he recalled. “I said, ‘How about you put that on a Greyhound and I’ll have it by the morning.’ That’s how we got the song on the radio. I waited at the terminal until 3 in the morning and it didn’t come in until 5 a.m. but we got it on the radio … It’s a whole different world [now].”
EMI’s Jackie Stevens honored Allen, recalling the story of how Allen’s parents bought her a red transistor radio when she was five years old, something that launched a lifetime love of radio. Allen began her career in 1979, transitioning to country radio in 1982. During her career, she’s worked at KCBQ in San Diego, Top 40 Pirate Radio in Los Angeles and KIIS. She joined the nationally syndicated After Midnite in 1995 and was hired at KZLA Los Angeles in 2003. She launched “America’s Hot List” in 2005 and expanded into shows including “The Big Time” and “Big Time Saturday Night.”
“I did not expect this. I never dreamed this big, and I dream pretty big … thank you for this incredible honor,” Allen said.
Brenner, currently a consulting partner with Albright & O’Malley & Brenner Country Radio Specialists, previously spent a combined 26 years at KMPS in Seattle, where she handed everything from on-air, promotions, programming and director of operations duties. She is a 20-year CRB board member and past president of the organization and has served on the board of the Country Music Association since 2005.
“I’m a huge country fan and the music matters more to me than anything,” Brenner said, also noting the satisfaction she has received from being able to help the greater community through her work in radio.
“There are so many stories to be told about the impact of radio,” Brenner said. “Hosting the united cerebral palsy marathon, being able to collect bikes for children during Christmas, raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research radiothon … it is so fulfilling.”
Audacy’s Tim Roberts inducted Audacy morning show hosts for WYCD Detroit, Hunter and Grunwald. They switched from top 40 to country in 2005, the same year Carrie Underwood won American Idol, and around the same time Luke Bryan and Taylor Swift were just starting their careers. Rachel and Grunwald received the NAB Marconi Award in 2012 and in 2016.
As the evening concluded, video tributes for Hunter and Grunwald poured in from Keith Urban, Bryan, Underwood, Chesney, Little Big Town and Gary LeVox, thanking the radio duo for the long-lasting impact they’ve had on their careers.
It may not feel like there’s much to celebrate this year with the recent mass shootings, the stripping of fundamental women’s rights, and other tragedies that have overwhelmingly taken over news feeds. But in the spirit of Fourth of July and the celebration of independence, we figured we’d put together a list of Latin songs that have empowered us to self-liberation.
In the list of our 12 tracks that fall within the theme of independence, there’s Bad Bunny‘s “Andrea” because, despite speculation on social media and the news, the Puerto Rican star has affirmed that this collaboration with indie duo Buscabulla is about “a woman who’s still alive and with the desire to grow, be free, be respected and understood,” he explained during an interview with Chente Ydrach. The chart-topping star added that it was not inspired by the tragic case of Andrea Ruiz, who was a victim of femicide in Puerto Rico. “Anyone could be an ‘Andrea,’ and I love how women are identifying with the song.”
There’s also Francisca Valenzuela’s “SALÚ,” which is part of her latest album Vida Tan Bonita (Such a Beautiful Life). The track is a joyful and feel-good anthem that is also a standout from her 11-track set. “Cheers to the good and the bad/ Cheers for unsuccessful attempts/ We’re changing, always changing/ Raise your glass, cheers,” the Chilean singer-songwriter sings in the chorus. The entire album is about “small reflections that have to do with the difficulties of life,” Valenzuela previously told Billboard. “They are songs that were born out of moments of conflict, but with the desire to resolve them and succeed.”
The playlist also includes Pedro Capó’s “Gracias,” which sends positive vibes as the Puerto Rican artist reminds listeners of what really matters in life. “We keep making songs even if we don’t win Grammys/ But I wake up, open my eyes and by my side, a great mother … I never lose faith and I always learn from failure when it’s my turn to lose,” he sings.
Below are 12 songs Latin that you should stream this Fourth of July weekend:
Drake dominates with his 11th No. 1s on both the Billboard 200 and Billboard Hot 100, as Honestly, Nevermind and its closing track, “Jimmy Cooks,” featuring 21 Savage, bound in atop the U.S.-based charts (dated July 2), respectively. Further, the Canadian superstar crowns the Billboard Artist 100, marking his record-extending 16th week topping all three premier charts simultaneously.
Even further, Drake debuts all 13 chart-eligible songs from Honestly, Nevermind on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. Again, “Jimmy Cooks” leads his haul, at Nos. 3 and 12, respectively, stretching to “Down Hill,” at Nos. 55 and 158.
Those two songs, and every other new Drake arrival, rank considerably higher on the Global 200, where domestic streams and sales are included, than on the Global Excl. U.S. ranking, where stateside data is removed from the equation.
Songs from Honestly, Nevermind combined for 400 million streams worldwide in the week ending June 23, according to Luminate, with 59% of those clicks from the U.S. That domestic majority is in stark contrast – more than double – to the 27% average in the U.S. among all other songs on this week’s global tallies. (The only song with a higher share of stateside streams than any Honestly, Nevermind tracks on this week’s charts is “Wait for U” by Future featuring Tems and, yep, Drake.)
As Billboardreported in June, North American rap acts universally struggle, at least relative to their home-country success, to export internationally, in large part due to language and cultural barriers for the primarily American-grown, English-language genre.
The catch this week is that Honestly, Nevermind is not a rap album.
Drake’s decade-plus discography spans pop, R&B and hip-hop, but has centered on rapping, exemplified by his record 25 No. 1s on Billboard‘s Hot Rap Songs chart and 12 No. 1s on Billboard‘s Top Rap Albums survey. His sum of chart-topping rap songs includes “Jimmy Cooks,” but that song is an outlier among Honestly, Nevermind‘s tracklist, one of just two of the album’s cuts to qualify for Hot Rap Songs (with the other, “Sticky,” new at No. 4).
Much of the album blends house and Afrobeats, fueling Drake’s first appearance on Billboard‘s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart, where Honestly, Nevermind arrives at No. 1, concurrent with 10 debuts from the LP on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.
The album’s focus on melody and diverse production has notably prompted a warmer welcome overseas than Drake’s previous lyric-heavy rap efforts. Last September, songs from Drake’s album Certified Lover Boy infused the Hot 100, occupying a weekly record nine of the top 10 spots in the set’s debut week.
And while all 21 of that trademark hip-hop album’s tracks debuted on both global charts, only 32% of its streams were from outside the U.S. in the release’s debut week. That’s compared to, as noted above, 41% for the songs from Honestly, Nevermind. So, while Drake’s name-brand recognition as one of the world’s biggest rappers results in his newest album overperforming in the U.S. as compared to beyond, his newly expanded sonic footprint helped lead to a more balanced global audience for his latest music.
Cardi B‘s first single in a year and a half, “Hot Shit,” dropped Friday (July 1), and features two fellow heavyweight guest rappers — Kanye West and Lil Durk. And now that the song has finally hit streaming services, the 29-year-old Grammy winner is opening up about how it’ll set her next projects into motion as well as how each of her collaborators ended up signing on to the project — at one point revealing that Kanye’s verse was created at a particularly rough point in his life.
Sitting down with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Cardi revealed that she’d actually first recorded “Hot Shit” in 2019, before she even made 2020’s “WAP,” her No. 1 hit with Megan Thee Stallion. “People always loved this record, but I always felt like it needed a male feature,” she explained, saying that the newly released song had always felt very masculine in her mind. “I did not know which male artist to put on this record because this has a certain type of beat that I feel like only certain artists could freak it.”
The male feature she was envisioning eventually became two, with Ye coming on board earlier this year when he was making headlines for his Instagram posts and public campaign against Pete Davidson, the boyfriend of his ex-wife Kim Kardashian. “Kanye gave me this verse a couple of months ago when he was just all over the media, because of all of the things that were going on,” Cardi shared. “I like how his verse, it’s personal, but it’s not that personal.”
In one part of Ye’s lengthy verse, he spits, “Another headline, ‘Where your hat at?’/ ‘Nigga, go home, where your kids at?’”
“I’m so happy that he gave me this verse,” she continued. “And I had a lot of conversations with Kanye West. I learned so much about him and he’s such an amazing, sweet person. I’ve been feeling like, I wish a lot of people have conversations with him so they could just see the real … the him.”
Cardi still felt like something was missing from the track, which is how Lil Durk came into the mix at the suggestion of her record label. Though she’d never met him before, the “What Happened to Virgil” rapper turned in his portion of the song in just one day, adding a “young energy” to the recording. “I feel like Durk verse is really street,” she told Lowe. “I see almost Bronx kids listening to his verse. And then when Kanye verse come in, you see people that are more into that money, into that grown s–t.”
Now that she’s released “Hot Shit” — which followed her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “Up” — Cardi says she has a lot of plans for the future that she’s definitely ready to get started on. “It’s like right after this record, I have another one that is different from this record,” she said. “And right after that, I really just want to put that album together. I’m just trying to put all my plans together and everything together.”
“I’ve been preparing myself for a festival and I haven’t performed in a crowd since 2019,” she continued. “And my body’s definitely changed. I’m finna be 30, and I just had a really big baby. Just even my body, the way that I program, I’m a little bit different now. So right now I’m trying to break my shell with everything. Even now, I’m really nervous. I haven’t put out a single since’ Up.’ I’m ready to go on beast mode. I’m ready for it.”
It’s, of course, always a good time to celebrate chart achievements. But with today being July 1, it’s especially fitting to spotlight feats from the first six months of this year.
Here’s a look at 11 honors tallied on Billboard‘s charts over the first half of 2022 (with many more surely ahead with new music set for the year’s second half from Beyoncé, Lizzo and other stars).
Encanto Cast
Mirabel’s powers, and those of the rest of the Family Madrigal and more, helped spark Encanto‘s breakout hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” to a five-week Billboard Hot 100 command, from the charts dated Feb. 5 through March 5. The song became the first Hot 100 No. 1 released on Walt Disney Records; the first for its sole writer, Lin-Manuel Miranda; and the third – and longest leading – from a Disney film, after Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart and Sting’s “All for Love,” from The Three Musketeers (three weeks at No. 1, 1994), and Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle’s “A Whole New World,” from Aladdin (one week, 1993).
“Bruno” also boasts the most credited acts — seven — ever on a Hot 100 No. 1: Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz, and the Encanto Cast (all singing as the characters that they voice in the movie).
“My job is to raise my hand and let [the] room of animators and incredibly creative people know what music can do,” Miranda marveled to Billboard upon the song’s chart success. “Your job as the musical dramatist is to sort of say, ‘Here’s where I think music can elevate and help tell our story.’ ”
Glass Animals
The group’s “Heat Waves” completed a record 59-week climb to No. 1 on the Hot 100 (dated March 12). It led the Alternative Airplay chart nearly a year earlier and drew subsequent buzz via interaction on TikTok. “And that’s the most incredible thing,” the band’s Dave Bayley told Billboard. “That’s, like, the highest praise, as someone who’s written something, that you can possibly ask for: for someone to create something back.”
Adele
Adele’s multi-format smash ballad “Easy on Me” topped the Radio Songs chart for 15 weeks (through the chart dated March 12) – her longest career reign among five No. 1s, besting the 11-week dominance of “Hello” in 2015-16.
Elton John
“Cold Heart (Pnau Remix),” with Dua Lipa, a mashup of four John classics, returned the legend to the Hot 100’s top 10 in January and spent its most recent week in the tier on the chart dated March 12. That week, John expanded his span of top 10s to 51 years, one month and two weeks, dating to his first frame in the top 10 with “Your Song” in 1971 – the longest such span among all acts not involving holiday titles. The collab also became John’s record-extending 18th Adult Contemporary No. 1.
Morgan Wallen
The singer-songwriter’s Dangerous: The Double Album spent its 51st week atop Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart (dated April 2), a new high-water mark at No. 1 since the list began in 1964. (The release is up to 63 weeks at the summit and counting.) The set surpassed the twin 50-week reigns of Luke Combs’ This One’s for You (2017-19) and Shania Twain’s Come On Over (1997-2000).
Yahritza y Su Esencia
The sibling trio’s “Soy El Unico” bounded onto the April 9 Hot 100 at its No. 20 peak, becoming the highest-charting regional Mexican song in the chart’s history.
The act comprises Yahritza Martinez (vocals, guitar) and her older brothers Armando (4-string acoustic bass) and Jairo (12-string guitar), with their older sister Adriana serving as their manager. When the band members began performing on camera as the song surged, “They did everything so naturally that I had no idea they had this in them,” Adriana mused to Billboard. “I was so emotional watching them … because that’s my little sister. I was blown away.”
The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber
“Stay”-ing power: The pair’s “Stay” spent its first 43 weeks on the Hot 100, including seven at No. 1, in the top 10 (through the chart dated May 14) – a record for the most time logged in the top 10 consecutively from a song’s debut.
Bad Bunny
With the launch of Un Verano SinTi atop the May 21-dated Billboard 200, Bad Bunny became the first artist with as many as two entirely non-English-language leaders on the list. His El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo ruled for a week in December 2020. (Only one other album fully in a language other than English has topped the chart: The Singing Nun’s self-titled set, for 10 weeks in 1963-64.)
Harry Styles
Styles’ third LP, Harry’s House, opened with 521,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Luminate, on the Billboard 200 chart dated June 4 – his top career week and the biggest weekly total for an album this year. A week earlier, Kendrick Lamar set 2022’s top mark to that point, when Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers soared in with 295,000 units.
Bush’s 1985 anthem “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” blasted back onto the Hot 100 at No. 8 (June 11) and rose to its No. 4 high a week later, powered by its sync in the fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Having originally charted, reaching No. 30 in 1985, the song wrapped the longest run to the Hot 100’s top five in terms of time from a debut on the ranking to the top five – 36 years, nine months and two weeks – for a non-holiday hit in the list’s history.
Bush beamed, “‘Running Up That Hill’ is being given a whole new lease of life by the young fans who love the show — I love it, too!”
BTS
The South Korean superstars scored their sixth Billboard 200 No. 1 with the premiere of Proof on the June 25 chart. It launched with 314,000 equivalent album units – the biggest week for an album by a group this year.
Poison frontman Bret Michaels is giving fans an update after the rock band unexpectedly canceled its Thursday (June 30) set in Nashville after he was hospitalized. In a Friday (July 1) Instagram post, the rocker thanked fans for their support and to offer a few details about his situation.
“To all the incredible fans in Nashville, thank you for all your well wishes!!” he began his text-only message. “I was truly fired up to get on stage in the Music City and perform, but due to an unforeseen medical complication & following hospitalization, it was not possible.
“I send my deepest apologies for being unable to rock the stage tonight!!!” he continued. “I’m working on being back 100% very soon & hope you rocked hard with my friends Motley/Leppard/ Joan and Classless Act!!!”
Poison had recently kicked off the massive Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, Motley Crue, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The tour of North America had originally been planned for 2020, but like many other tours, was postponed due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The next show on the Stadium Tour is scheduled for Saturday, July 2, in Jacksonville, Fla. The band has not yet announced whether or not it will play that show.
TMZ was first to report the Rock of Love star’s hospitalization on Thursday. According to the outlet, members of Poison walked on stage and told concertgoers that the band’s frontman had been hospitalized after he had a “bad reaction to medication.” Fans at the show also shared the news of Michaels’ hospitalization in social media posts.
