Month: October 2022

Kanye West sat down for a bombshell two-part interview with Tucker Carlson last week, and on Tuesday (Oct. 11), even more footage from the controversial sit-down came to light.

In one clip that Fox News left on the cutting-room floor, shared by Vice, the rapper reveals that he was vaccinated when questioned by Carlson about the COVID-19 pandemic and associated healthcare response. Later in the interview, Ye goes on a tangent about Planned Parenthood, calling founder Margaret Sanger “a known eugenics” (Planned Parenthood has roundly denounced West’s claim that Sanger was a eugenicist) who created the organization “with the KKK to control the Jew population.”

“When I say Jew, I mean the 12 lost tribes of Judah, the blood of Christ, who the people known as the race Black really are,” he went on. “This is who our people are: the blood of Christ. This, as a Christian, is my belief.” (Ye seems to be mixing up his Old Testament stories, given that it’s the 12 tribes of Israel, with Judah being one of the ancient prophet Jacob’s 12 sons.)

Ye’s fixation on Judaism didn’t stop there, though. The rapper also stated, “Think about us judging each other on how white we could talk would be like, you know, a Jewish person judging another Jewish person on how good they danced or something. I mean, that’s probably like a bad example and people are going to get mad at that sh–,” before pausing to add, “I probably want to edit that out.”

The Yeezy designer also brought Hanukkah into the discussion when discussing his four kids with ex-wife Kim Kardashian. “I was biting my tongue on my political opinion because I thought it would be better for my children. And now you look up, and my kids are going to a school that teaches Black kids a complicated Kwanzaa,” he told Carlson, going on to vaguely add, “I prefer my kids knew Hanukkah than Kwanzaa. At least it will come with some financial engineering.” (He’s possibly making reference here to anti-Semitic conspiracies that Jewish businessmen puppeteer the global financial system.)

Elsewhere in the unaired footage, Kanye bizarrely made claims that LVMH — the parent company of Louis Vuitton — “killed” late fashion designer Virgil Abloh, that “professional actors” and “fake children” were put in his house to manipulate and “sexualize [his] kids,” and that the Kardashians “kidnapped” his daughter Chicago on her birthday. (Khloé Kardashian has already hit back at the latter accusation, saying that Kanye was actually the one who requested dual birthday parties for the now-4-year-old.)

Watch unaired footage from Kanye’s Fox News interview on Vice.

Maluma celebrates his first No. 1 debut in almost six years on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart with the arrival of “Junio” atop the Oct. 15-dated ranking. While he’s scored 22 champs, he last debuted at No. 1 through his featured role in Shakira’s “Chantaje” in November 2016.

“Junio” storms in at No. 1 after its first official tracking week with 8.9 million in audience impressions earned in the week ending Oct. 9, according to Luminate. The track was released via Sony Music Latin/WK on Sept. 29 and performed live at the 2022 Billboard Latin Music Awards that same night.

“Junio” is the third song to debut at No. 1 on Latin Airplay in 2022, of the total 38 songs that have reached the top this year. Only one other Latin act has achieved the feat, Romeo Santos through two No. 1 debuts: “Sus Huellas” (Feb. 26-dated ranking) and “Sin Fin,” his first team-up with Justin Timberlake (list dated Sept. 17).

Among Maluma’s 22 champs, “Junio” marks his ninth win as a soloist, unaccompanied by any other act. He first earned a No. 1 on his own with “Borro Cassette” in 2015.

With 22 crowns on his account, Maluma ties with Wisin for the fifth-most overall since the chart launched in 1993. Let’s look at the scoreboard:

35, J Balvin
32, Enrique Iglesias
28, Ozuna
27, Daddy Yankee
22, Maluma
22, Wisin
20, Romeo Santos

Beyond its Latin Airplay coronation, “Junio” concurrently debuts at No. 1 on Latin Rhythm Airplay. It’s Maluma’s 19th ruler there and his first debut atop the ranking since “Chantaje” in 2016.

Further, the pop rhythmic “Junio,” also makes progress on Latin Pop Airplay, rallying 19-1 in its second week. It’s the biggest jump since 2007, when Juanes’ “Me Enamora” surged 23 rankings (24-1) also in its second week.

Elsewhere, “Junio” opens at No. 28 on the multi-metric Hot Latin Songs chart, which blends airplay, streams, and sales.

Louis Tomlinson is gearing up for the release of his next album. On Tuesday (Oct. 11), the One Direction alum revealed that he will release a brand-new track called “Out of My System” on Friday.

Tomlinson shared the news via Twitter and Instagram by teasing a snippet of the track’s instrumental, which sees the singer going for something slightly more gritty and rock-inspired. The snippet was included in a grainy video with overexposed and burnt spots for a vintage feel, with a drum set and mic taking focus.

“Out of My System” will be the second single to be released from Tomlinson’s forthcoming album, Faith in the Future. The album’s lead track, “Bigger Than Me,” arrived Sept. 1 and peaked at No. 35 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart. The track also found success on Billboard‘s Hot Trending Songs chart, where it debuted at No. 14 on the chart dated Sept. 17.

The 30-year-old announced the arrival of his album on Aug. 31, writing via Instagram, “I’m so excited to finally tell you that my new album Faith in the Future is out 11th November. After living with this album for a while I can’t wait for you all to hear it. Thank you for allowing me to make the music I want to make,” along with a photo of the album’s official cover art.

See Tomlinson’s announcement and listen to the first snippet from “Out of My System” below.

Four months after releasing “Grrrls,” Lizzo gave fans some context about her decision to change the song’s lyrics on Tuesday (Oct. 11).

The singer’s use of the ableist slur “sp-z” in the track’s original lyrics came up during her new cover story with Vanity Fair, in which she explained, “I’d never heard it used as a slur against disabled people, never ever. The music I make is in the business of feeling good and being authentic to me. Using a slur is unauthentic to me, but I did not know it was a slur.

“It’s a word I’ve heard a lot, especially in rap songs,” she continued, “and with my Black friends and in my Black circles: It means to go off, turn up. I used [it as a] verb, not as a noun or adjective. I used it in the way that it’s used in the Black community. The Internet brought it to my attention, but that wouldn’t [have been enough] to make me change something.”

However, another aspect of the controversy the “About Damn Time” singer didn’t expect was the backlash that came after she released a new version of the song, with one contingent of fans and media personalities like Charlamagne Tha God and Jerrod Carmichael arguing that artists should never bow to public pressure to change their art.

“Nina Simone changed lyrics — is she not an artist?” Lizzo countered. “Language changes generationally; Nina Simone said you cannot be an artist and not reflect the times. So am I not being an artist and reflecting the times and learning, listening to people, and making a conscious change in the way we treat language, and help people in the way we treat people in the future?”

During her sit-down with the magazine, the recent Emmy winner also opened up about how she handles racist and fatphobic comments on social media, her relationship with boyfriend Myke Wright and more.

Revisit Lizzo’s “Grrrls” below.

It’s a common occurrence for Kelly Clarkson to have guests on her eponymous talk show, but it’s certainly rare for another guest to join her for the show’s opening Kellyoke bit. Viewers of Tuesday’s (Oct. 11) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show were treated to the former Voice coach performing a duet of her Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Breakaway” with fellow pop hitmaker Sam Smith.

Clarkson was first up to the plate for the new version of the track, tackling the emotive opening verse before Smith colored the track with their signature, rich tone. “Trying hard to reach out/ But when I tried to speak out/ Felt like no one could hear me/ Wanted to belong here/ But something felt so wrong here/ So I prayed (I would pray)/ I could break away,” they sang before joining Clarkson for the chorus, the duet portion of the track.

Clarkson took the higher portion of the duet, while Smith went low, singing, “I’ll spread my wings and I’ll learn how to fly/ I’ll do what it takes till I touch the sky/ And I’ll make a wish, take a chance, make a change/ And break away,” their voices melting together like honey.

“Breakaway,” the first single and title track from Clarkson’s 2004 album, was a hit for the American Idol alum, peaking at No. 6 on the Hot 100. The track spent a total of 46 weeks on the chart.

Smith was also Clarkson’s guest on the show, revealing on Clarkson’s couch that Ed Sheeran gifted him — as well as Elton John — “a six-foot-two marble penis … It’s two tons and I’ll have to get it craned into my house.”

Watch Clarkson and Smith team up for their duet of “Breakaway” below.