Month: August 2022

It’s official: LF System’s summer hit “Afraid To Feel” (Warner Records) has the U.K.’s longest unbroken run at No. 1 this year.

The disco-pounder clocks eight-straight weeks at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, eclipsing the seven-week reign of Encanto’s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” at the beginning of 2022.

“Afraid To Feel” is the market’s most-streamed track with another 4.6 million spins, and it extends its lead as the longest-running dance No. 1 of the decade, the OCC reports.

Holding at No. 2 is DJ Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal’s ”B.O.T.A (Baddest Of Them All)” (via Rosebud) while OneRepublic’s Top Gun: Maverick tie-in ”I Ain’t Worried” (Interscope) lifts 6-5 for a new peak.

The highest debut on the chart published Aug. 26 belongs to Aitch, as “Close To Home” starts at No. 7. The title track from his debut LP, which starts at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Album Chart, “Close To Home” is the Manchester rapper’s seventh U.K. top 10 single.

Nicki Minaj earns her 14th U.K. top 10 appearance with “Super Freaky Girl” (Warner Records) up 15-10, while Australian DJ and producer Luude is on the verge of a second top 10 with the drum ‘n’ bass tune “Big City Life” (Warner Records) with Mattafix, lifting 16-11.

Finally, K-pop stars Blackpink enjoy a seventh U.K. Top 40 splash with “Pink Venom” (Interscope), lifted from their forthcoming second album Born Pink. It’s new at No. 22.

Steps has beaten Aitch and the Queen of Pop to snag the U.K. chart crown — and claim a record — with The Platinum Collection (via Sony Music CG).

The British five-piece pop band earns its first leader on the Official U.K. Albums Chart in 11 years, and fourth overall, with a compilation that celebrates a 25-year career which spawned 16 top 40 hits, including No. 1s with “Heartbeat/Tragedy” and “Stomp.”

With their latest chart feat, the singers — Lee Latchford-Evans, Claire Richards, Lisa Scott-Lee, Faye Tozer and Ian “H” Watkins — set a record. They’re the first British, mixed-gender group to earn a No. 1 album in four consecutive decades, the Official Charts Company reports.

They step into an elite club, which includes Rolling Stones (they’ve since clocked up No. 1 albums in six separate decades), Stereophonics and ABBA, while Australian pop star Kylie Minogue became the first female artist to land a No. 1 LP in five different decades when Disco led the Official U.K. Albums Chart in November 2020.

The Platinum Collection was the most bought album — on physical and digital copies — during the most recent chart week, the OCC reports.

Meanwhile, Manchester rapper Aitch earns his own slice of chart history with debut album Close To Home (Capitol), the most-streamed set of the cycle, bowing at No. 2.

Close To Home is the first title to impact the chart to include an NFT collection as part of the release. Fans of the hip-hop artist can select collectible tokens which are bundled with physical copies, and approved by the OCC for inclusion in the Official Charts.

After pushing Steps at the halfway mark, Madonna’s remix collection Finally Enough Love (Rhino) bows at No. 3 on the chart, for the U.S. pop veteran’s 23rd U.K. top 10 album. Madonna misses out on extending her list of leaders to 13, an achievement that would have put her equal No. 2 on the all time-list with Robbie Williams and Elvis Presley (the Beatles are still the band to beat with 15 No. 1s).

Meanwhile,  Brendon Urie’s Panic! At The Disco bags a fifth top 10 with Viva Las Vengeance (DCD2/Fueled By Ramen), new at No. 5; Oasis’ former record-setting third album Be Here Now (Big Brother) returns to the top 10 following the release of a 25th anniversary edition; while  Demi Lovato‘s rock reinvention, Holy Fvck (Polydor), starts at No. 7 for their fifth U.K. Top 10 album.

Blackpink makes history with “Pink Venom” (Interscope/Universal), as it blasts to No. 1 on Australia’s singles chart.

With their hot start, the foursome becomes the first K-pop group to debut at the summit of the national singles survey, beating the No. 2 start for BTS’ 2020 hit “Dynamite.”

“Pink Venom,” the first single from the upcoming album Born Pink, beats Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” (Universal) and Harry Styles’ “As It Was” (Columbia/Sony), respectively, to give Blackpink its first leader in Australia.

Blackpink has a special connection with Australia. Band member Rosè (aka Roseanne Park) was born in Auckland, New Zealand and raised in Melbourne. At age 15, the world of K-pop came calling when, at her father’s suggestion, she auditioned for South Korean music company YG Entertainment. The rest is chart history.

Born Pink is the followup to 2020’s The Album, which came in at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart and on the U.S. Billboard 200, for the highest-ever ranking in history by a female K-pop group on the all-genre list.

Meanwhile, The Queen of Pop is crowned on the ARIA Albums Chart with Finally Enough Love (Warner). Madonna’s remix collection blasts to No. 1 on debut for her 12th leader.

Homegrown punk rockers The Chats start at No. 2 with their second studio album, Get F**cked (Ingrooves/RKT). It’s an ARIA Charts peak for the trio, whose first album High Risk Behaviour hit No. 5 on the tally and was shortlisted for best hard rock heavy metal album at the 2020 ARIA Awards.

Also new to the top tier of the ARIA Chart is I Prevail’s True Power (Concord/Universal), new at No. 5. That’s the Michigan rock band’s third consecutive top 10, and a new career peak, eclipsing the No. 6 best for 2019’s Trauma.

Close behind is Five Finger Death Punch’s Afterlife (BNM/MGM), new at No. 6; and Viva Las Vengeance (Atlantic/Warner), the latest album from Brendon Urie’s Panic! At The Disco, new at No. 10.

Taylor Swift was the top winner at the 2022 Video Music Awards, with three wins – video of the year, best long-form video and best direction, all for “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version).”

This year’s VMAs was held at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Sunday (Aug. 28).

Swift is the first artist to win video of the year three times. She previously won for “Bad Blood” (featuring Kendrick Lamar, 2015) and “You Need to Calm Down” (2019).

This echoes Swift’s achievement at the Grammy ceremony in 2021 where Swift became the first female artist to win album of the year three times. But here, Swift is the first artist to achieve this feat period, with no gender qualifications necessary.

With these three awards, Swift’s career tally of VMAs jumps to 14, which puts her in fourth place all time, behind Beyoncé (29), Madonna (20) and Lady Gaga (18). Yep, female solo artists are the top four winners of all time.

Jack Harlow won four total awards, though that includes two technical categories. Lil Nas X and Harry Styles each collected three awards. Nicki Minaj, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Lisa of BLACKPINK each won two.

The show included some genuine surprises, as when Lisa beat BTS for best K-pop and Anitta beat Bad Bunny for best Latin.

LL Cool J, Minaj, and Harlow “anchored” the show. Minaj received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Red Hot Chili Peppers received the Global Icon Award. Both of these artists also won competitive awards.

Here are some of the key records that were set at the 2022 VMAs.

After hitting Brooklyn’s Barclays center in 2021, the MTV Video Music Awards returned to the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. on Sunday (Aug. 28).

Nicki Minaj, who recently earned her first solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Super Freaky Girl,” was named the 2022 VMAs Video Vanguard Award winner, putting her into a rarified category that includes Michael Jackson, Madonna, Missy Elliott and other pop culture royalty. Additionally, Minaj co-hosted the show alongside LL Cool J and Jack Harlow. Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were the 2022 VMAs Global Icon Award recipients, also performed on the show.

Harlow opened the evening with his own “First Class” and a surprise appearance — Fergie, the Dutchess herself, joined him on the VMAs stage to perform “Glamorous,” her Hot 100-topping single that his own Hot 100 topper “First Class” samples.

Additionally, the VMAs saw performances from a huge list of genre-crossing artists: Anitta, Bad Bunny, J Balvin and Ryan Castro, BLACKPINK, Kane Brown, Eminem and Snoop Dogg, Marshmello and Khalid, Lizzo, Måneskin and Panic! at the Disco. Snoop and Slim Shady brought the metaverse to the Prudential Center, performing half of their song in their Bored Ape avatars.

Doja Cat, Harlow and Harry Styles were the top nominees at the 2022 VMAs, with eight nods each. Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Lil Nas X had seven nods each, with Billie Eilish scoring six nods. BTS, Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, Future, Lizzo, Taylor Swift and The Weeknd all earned five nominations.

From Harlow’s show-opening number to Anitta’s show-stopping booty shaking to Minaj’s knockout medley of hip-hop classics, here are all the 2022 VMAs performances, ranked.

From BLACKPINK’s debut performance of their new K-pop hit “Pink Venom” to Nicki Minaj’s speech and energetic medley of hits in honor of her Video Vanguard Award, music fans were spared no iconic moment at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday (Aug. 28), which aired live from the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The event marked the second time the awards ceremony was held in person since the coronavirus pandemic, returning to full capacity and managing to secure attendance from the most prolific and talked-about stars of the past year, including frequent Billboard chart-toppers like Jack Harlow, Lizzo, J Balvin and more.

Though the biggest moments of the evening were captured on camera for fans of the ceremony to watch from the comfort of their homes, Billboard had the chance to go behind the lens and see the best moments of the ceremony that didn’t happen on screen. Here are seven things at the 2022 VMAs you didn’t see on TV.

Lizzo Is Her Own Biggest Fan

Lizzo followed Jack Harlow’s show-opening performance of “First Class” (which included an unannounced Fergie cameo) with her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “About Damn Time” before flowing seamlessly into her Special single “2 Be Loved” (both of which she performed completely solo onstage). After soaking up applause from the audience, the singer gave herself an appreciative round of applause too and a hearty scream after a job well done.

BLACKPINK’s Sweet Friendship Moment

Prior to taking the stage to deliver the debut performance of their Born Pink lead single, “Pink Venom,” Lisa, Jisoo, Jennie and Rosé showed just how strong their bond is ahead of gracing the stage by hyping each other up in a friendship circle, where they all locked hands and danced together prior to assuming their positions. The love went both ways: The Blinks in the audience had the group’s lightsticks out in full force, bumping to the beat of the energetic track to show their true fandom and love for the girls.

Nicki Minaj’s Barbz Out in Full Force

After a sizzling medley of her biggest hits, Minaj accepted the coveted Video Vanguard Award and made sure to thank the artists that inspired her and the producers and record labels that have helped her release music, and even sweetly touched on the importance of mental health. Before concluding her speech, Minaj also thanked her Barbz, who were out in full force and chanted the rapper’s name so loudly, the Prudential Center was vibrating with the fan group’s collective energy — which Taylor Swift was part of, as she urged the crowd to give the rapper a standing ovation.

Lisa’s Best K-Pop Win Stuns the Crowd

The competition for best K-pop was stiff. Power players of the genre — including BTS, Itzy, TWICE, Stray Kids and more — were all nominated in the category alongside BLACKPINK’s Lisa and her solo debut “Lalisa,” which ultimately won the award. The reaction from the audience was mixed, with cheers from the crowd noticeably low as she was announced as the winner and went onstage to accept the award. Devoted Blinks, however, filled in the gaps from the audience by chanting her name, and Lisa’s fellow BLACKPINK members excitedly cheered on their bandmate from the side of the stage.

Becky G Supports Anitta’s First VMA Win

After taking the stage for a lively — and twerk-filled — performance of “Envolver,” Anitta held back tears while accepting best Latin video for the track, which saw friend and collaborator Becky G give her a sweet and enthusiastic standing ovation from her seat.

Manėskin’s Chaps & Nipple Pasties Challenge the Crew

Manėskin brought the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll for their performance of “Supermodel” — and the cameras capturing the spectacle barely knew what to do when lead singer Damiano David flashed his assless chaps. But the shenanigans didn’t stop there: Bassist Victoria De Angelis then sent the camera crew into panic mode, suddenly appearing shirtless and in nipple pasties. Producers covered up the moment with a jump cut away from her bare chest, and she later went down to join fans in the pit for further concealment.

Red Hot Chili Peppers & Their Multiple F-Bombs

While engaging in what Anthony Kiedis called a “thank-off” with Flea, the actual thank you’s were sparse and the F-bombs were plenty: Flea uttered the work “f—” at least six times in a row, likely to the distress of the production crew.

Multi-platform star Dove Cameron took home the Moon Person statue for best new artist at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night (Aug. 28), her first win at the VMAs in her first nomination.

Presented the award by Avril Lavigne, a former winner in the category herself for breakthrough hit “Complicated” back in 2002, Cameron declared herself “so floored, so moved” to be this year’s recipient. She went on to dedicate the award to “all of the queer kids out there, who don’t feel that they can take up space and inhabit the fullness of who they are,” and thanked them for their help in “getting an overtly queer song onto mainstream radio” — referring to “Boyfriend,” her 2022 breakout single, and its lyrical themes of attempting to romance a woman away from her male significant other.

Cameron was one of six nominees for the category, and one of three finalists, along with Italian rock band Måneskin and Korean boy band Seventeen. The singer-songwriter shouted out her fellow nominees, raving that some of her “all-time favorite artists” were also nominated in the category.

“Boyfriend” became Dove Cameron’s biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100 this spring, peaking at No. 16 on the chart. Earlier in the night, Cameron delivered a smoky rendition of the song on the VMAs’ pre-show, along with newer single “Breakfast,” in her first-ever performance on MTV’s biggest night. She also handed out the award for song of summer, which went to the VMAs’ co-host and opening performer, Jack Harlow, for his Hot 100 No. 1 single “First Class.”