Charlie Puth paid homage to Nicki Minaj in an recent interview with GQ, proclaiming himself as a member of the “Barbz,” referring to rapper’s massive fan base. Puth cited Nicki’s early success after dropping her mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty as a major inspiration for him.
“I’ve always loved Nicki. I remember in the early days of Twitter, hearing that this new artist Nicki Minaj sold a million copies of her mixtape by herself and got signed to Cash Money,” said Puth. “I was so enamored with the fact that you could do something on your own and then transfer all that success to a major label….”
Puth says Nicki’s interactions with her fans inspired him to show his own audience his real self. The “We Don’t Talk Anymore” singer was in awe at the success of her recent single “Super Freaky Girl,” which recently took the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. He attributed the success of the song to the mutual dedication that exists between Nicki and her fans.
“The Barbz will kill for her,” said Puth. “ And the reason why the Barbz will kill for her is because they’ve been with her for 10-plus, 15 years.”
Puth also described Madonna as another recent inspiration for him and his writing. His recent single “There’s a First Time for Everything” is based on Madonna’s “Into the Groove,” released in 1985.
“I wanted to [recapture] the feeling that it gave people in 1985 when they first heard that song,” Puth said of the writing process. “I was just thinking of a bunch of scenarios where music could be played in the background.”
Puth’s third studio album, Charlie, arrives on Friday (Oct. 7).
Kanye West took to social media on Thursday (Oct. 6) to share a video of Fox News host Tucker Carlson stopping by the new Yeezy offices for a visit.
“TUCKER CARLSON STOPPED BY THE NEW YEEZY OFFICE FUN GOD IS GOOD,” the rapper captioned the clip on his Instagram feed.
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After being served a welcome drink known as the Donda (“I’m pretty open-minded about what I put in my mouth,” Carlson said), the Fox News personality learned all about Yeezy’s latest experiment in 3D-printed shoes — including the possibility of creating a “3D printing facility, like a farm.”
“Can I ask a stupid question?” Carlson asked a Yeezy employee about the futuristic footwear. “Are they assembled? Is the sole attached or are they printed…” He then seemed positively mind-blown when the employee explained that each shoe was “one solid piece” produced over 30 hours. (“So no labor costs, then?” he chimed in before trying a boot on himself.)
Carlson’s visit included an interview with West that will air Thursday night on Fox News.
It’s been a typically controversial week for West, whose Yeezy Season 9 show at Paris Fashion Week included him and conservative activist Candace Owens wearing matching long-sleeved shirts emblazoned with the phrase “White Lives Matter.”
The stunt prompted an official response from the Black Lives Matter organization, and Ye found himself feuding with everyone from Gigi Hadid — over his mockery of Black Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson for criticizing the show — to former sister-in-law Khloé Kardashian.
Since then, he’s also pulled both Justin Bieber into the fray over whether or not he’s been “canceled” and lashed out at former friend John Legend via Instagram.
BLACKPINK is (almost) in your area! Leading up to the K-pop group’s Born Pink world tour, devoted Blinks — who were lucky enough to secure tickets, that is — just received the first official taste of what the tour’s visual setup will be like once Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa and Rosé hit the road this fall, thanks to teaser images posted to the group’s Twitter on Wednesday.
The first of the two teaser images features a black space with a concrete-looking floor and thick, white smoke billowing in thick clouds. The second is the complete opposite, with green grass, flowery walls and pine-tree arms providing a garden-like setting.
“#BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR [BORN PINK] SPOILER,” the group captioned its teaser post, along with a link to the Born Pink official tour website. “October has finally come! BLINKs, are you ready for the BLACKPINK WORLD TOUR [BORN PINK]?”
The visual teaser comes at an appropriate time: BLACKPINK’s Born Pink world tour is scheduled to kick off on Oct. 15, with its first two dates taking place in Seoul, South Korea. The tour will continue through June 2023 and will make stops in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
The Born Pink world tour will bring BLACKPINK’s recently released album Born Pink to life. The eight-song set debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, while singles “Shut Down” and “Pink Venom” peaked at Nos. 25 and 22 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
See the two new teaser images for the Born Pink world tour below.
Fueled by the viral hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the Encanto soundtrack topped the Billboard 200 for eight consecutive weeks earlier this year. That stands as the longest continuous run at No. 1 so far this year. But it’s very far from the record.
In the last 20 years, two albums have managed to string together 10 consecutive weeks at No 1 – Adele’s 21 from January to March 2012, and Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album from January to March 2021. The last album to log more than 10 consecutive weeks at No. 1 was the Titanic soundtrack, which was on top for 16 consecutive weeks in 1998.
Long continuous runs at No. 1 used to be fairly common. Between March 1956, when the Billboard 200 was introduced, and May 1998, when Titanic ended its long reign, 19 albums spent 15 or more consecutive weeks at No. 1. Let’s take a closer look at those albums that completely dominated the Billboard 200 in their time.
First, Michael Jackson’s Thriller deserves special mention. It was No. 1 for 17 consecutive weeks twice – from Feb. 26, 1983 to June 18, 1983, when “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” topped the Hot 100, and again from Dec. 24, 1983 to April 14, 1984, when the “Thriller” video dominated MTV and the album swept the 1984 Grammy nominations and awards. An interesting side note: Soundtracks to iconic ‘80s movies snapped Jackson’s 17-week winning streaks both times. Flashdance ended Thriller’s first long run at No. 1. Footloose ended its second.
Five of the six albums with the longest continuous runs at No. 1 since the inception of the Billboard 200 are film soundtracks, which dramatizes the power of the movie/music tie-in. The non-soundtrack with the longest continuous run at No. 1 (20 weeks) is Harry Belafonte’s Calypso, which was at the forefront of the calypso craze of the 1950s.
Carole King’s Tapestry has had the longest continuous run at No. 1 (15 weeks) of any album by a female solo artist. Billy Ray Cyrus’ Some Gave All has had the longest continuous run at No. 1 (17 weeks) for a country album – and for an artist’s debut album in any genre. MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em has had the longest continuous run at No. 1 (18 weeks) for a hip-hop album.
As we work our way through this, we’ll make note of the albums that unseated these blockbuster albums after such long runs. Some were unlikely “giant slayers” – notably albums by Bobbie Gentry and Gerry Rafferty. Here are all albums that logged 15 or more consecutive weeks at No. 1 from the inception of the Billboard 200 in March 1956 to the present, beginning with five albums that had 15 consecutive weeks on top, and ending with one album that had 29 consecutive weeks on top.
(From May 1959 to August 1963, Billboard published separate mono and stereo charts, which has complicated things for chart researchers ever since. For that four-year period, we show all albums that logged 15 or more weeks at No. 1 on either chart.)
Sportswear brand Adidas revealed on Thursday (Oct. 6) that it is reviewing its relationship with Kanye West, and the rapper has now responded.
“F— ADIDAS I AM ADIDAS ADIDAS RAPED AND STOLE MY DESIGNS,” Ye captioned a screenshot of CNBC‘s tweet reporting the news, which he shared to Instagram.
“After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review. We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period,” Adidas told the publication in a statement.
In June, West called out Adidas CEO Kasper Rørsted for “blatant copying,” sharing a photo of the brand’s $55 Adilette 22 sandals, which bear a resemblance in color scheme and general feel to Ye’s $70 Yeezy Slides, which are also produced by Adidas.
“No one should be held in that position where people can steal from them and say we’re just paying you to shut up,” Ye told Bloomberglast month. “That destroys innovation. That destroys creativity. That’s what destroyed Nikola Tesla.”
As of right now, Ye’s contract with Adidas, with which he created sneakers like the Yeezy Boost 350, expires in 2026. “They my new baby mamas,” he said in response. “I guess we’re just going to have to co-parent those 350s.”
Kanye has also previously expressed interest in working in the fashion world solo, away from his ventures with Adidas and Gap. “It’s time for me to go it alone,” he told Bloomberg. “It’s fine. I made the companies money. The companies made me money. We created ideas that will change apparel forever. Like the round jacket, the foam runner, the slides that have changed the shoe industry. Now it’s time for Ye to make the new industry. No more companies standing in between me and the audience.”
Kid Cudi stopped by Hot Ones on Thursday (Oct. 6) to chat about his new album Entergalactic and hinted at the possibility of retiring within a few years.
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The topic of throwing in the towel came up when host Sean Evans asked the rapper who he looked to as the blueprint for aging gracefully as an artist. “Yeah, like Jay-Z for sure,” he said. “But I don’t feel like I have what they have. I just don’t know if I wanna do music, drop albums for too much longer, you know? I’m kind of nearing the end on all things Kid Cudi, I think.”
“I’m really curious to see what else I can do,” Cudi added when pressed by the host. “I was thinking about this — and this is like a wacky idea I had years ago. But it would be cool to, like, one day be a kindergarten teacher. And just do that for a couple years. Like, when I’m, like, 50… And I just, like, infect the youth with that freshness. Get ’em young, and then those kids will just sprinkle the freshness to the world, and I’ll just be like, ‘Yes! Yes!’”
As the spice level of the hot sauces ratcheted up, Cudi also explained why he describes the style of his music as “space punk rock,” calling it, “Super synth-y but reckless and dangerous and edgy.”
The rapper’s latest album — the long-awaited Entergalactic — arrived last week. Dedicated to his late friend Virgil Abloh, the studio set was preceded by singles “Do What I Want” and “Willing to Trust,” the latter featuring Ty Dolla $ign.
The song reigns with 4.3 million audience impressions earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 2, according to Luminate.
It’s the band’s second leader this year, following the 14-week No. 1 “Black Summer” — the lead single from the group’s album Unlimited Love, released in April. No other artist boasts multiple leaders on the list in 2022.
The only other acts to ascend to No. 1 with a pair of Rock & Alternative Airplay No. 1s in a single year: Foo Fighters (in both 2021 and 2011), Cage the Elephant (2019) and Imagine Dragons (2018).
Concurrently, “Summer” places at No. 5 in its 35th week on Rock & Alternative Airplay, with 3.3 million impressions.
Before their double-up this year, Red Hot Chili Peppers ruled Rock & Alternative Airplay with the eight-week No. 1 “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” in 2011, followed by a 14-week command for “Dark Necessities” in 2016.
“Tongue” also bullets at No. 4 on Alternative Airplay and No. 8 on Mainstream Rock Airplay, both highs for the song, and ranks at No. 40 on Adult Alternative Airplay after reaching No. 36. On Alternative Airplay, “Tongue” became the band’s 27th top 10, one shy of Foo Fighters’ record 28.
“Tongue” is the first single from Red Hot Chili Peppers’ second studio album this year, Return of the Dream Canteen, due for release Oct. 14.
If there was any doubt about Kranium being at the forefront of the dancehall reggae market, set those aside. Emerging as a talented artist in multiple countries — mainly his homelands of Jamaica and the United States — Kranium is poised to take the next step in his career with his forthcoming eight-song EP, In Too Deep.
“Every time I create a record, I think of the obstacles of being a dancehall artist,” he tells Billboard. “That alone gives me enough confidence to relax and make sure that I’m putting out something that makes sense for everybody to enjoy.”
Kranium’s burning drive comes from being born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, but his flavorful swagger came from his move to the States at 12. The icing came when he carved out his breakout single with “Nobody Has to Know” in 2015. The gold-certified record received an extra boost when Ty Dolla $ign put his stamp on the remix, propelling the song to No. 2 and No. 44 on the Billboard Reggae Digital Songs and R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay charts, respectively.
The chart win landed Kranium a label deal with Atlantic Records later that year, and helped him accomplish a rare feat: becoming a star in the United States as a dancehall artist with little to no buzz in Jamaica. However, it came at a price, he explains, as life got rather dark once “Nobody Has to Know” became a hit.
“I really thought I was going to be a one-hit wonder,” he admits. “‘Nobody Has to Know,’ at that time, when it came out, was the only thing you were hearing. That was the only reggae that translated from the American market to Africa and the Caribbean at the time. It was a hard mountain and a high one at that.”
He adds: “I didn’t believe I would climb that mountain because that was the same time I went into a depression,” he says. “The first time I knew what anxiety and depression were was when that song came out. You get so much love, and then eventually it starts slowing down, and you start thinking everything doesn’t seem the same anymore, and then it’s like, ‘What’s next?’”
Kranium says that for artists in Jamaica, blowing up thereis an “amazing feeling” because “it’s one of the most musical places on Earth.” He adds that the island nation “accepts music with no reservations,” and that artists there can get a hit record at any age so long as the music is good.
He came to understand there really is no blueprint, and what’s popular in one region may not be the same on the other side of the world. Music is universal, and that understanding got Kranium out of his rut and into a period of creativity that generated more hit songs, such as “We Can” featuring Tory Lanez, “Gal Policy” and more.
“I’ve always wanted to make a difference,” he says. “But I just didn’t know how. All I knew was I can only do that by being consistent and understanding there’s no blueprint for success. You have to just keep creating.”
With his new album In Too Deep, Kranium is looking to expand on the outlook he’s found with his career, which revolves around the idea that different music markets have their own go-to records. The first single, “Without You,” featuring Queen Naija, released last week, is a lush record with hints of Afrobeat, dancehall reggae, and R&B sprinkled throughout.
“I feel like music changes at a very fast pace, if we’re being fair,” Kranium says. “The sound changes every day, and you have kids on the internet that are creating their own thing because of different impressions and outlets, so what I do is basically adapt to the sound of what’s going on now while still keeping that authenticity of how I personally think music is supposed to be and that’s how I stand out.”
The world has more or less opened back up after the pandemic stopped everything when it hit in 2020, and there’s a whirlwind of emotions flying around with being back outside. People want something to feel good about after a crazy few years, and Kranium feels he’s giving that with In Too Deep.
“In Too Deep can mean two things,” he shares. “I’m a very sexual and raw artist, but I feel like it’s going to catch them when they really listen to the project and realize that I’m in too deep. I have a record on here called ‘Paranoid’ about having people around, and then you have dope love songs that nobody ever really heard from me.”
The eight-track album will feature only two other appearances by R&B sensation BLEU and fellow Jamaican artist Dexta Daps. An album with expectations of hitting different markets is expected to have several guests join the fun, but Kranium believes you can’t just throw anyone on a song, and he won’t work with just anybody, because it has to make sense.
“The way I work with artists, I never have a specific person I wanna work with. I always make the song first, and then I think this person would sound dope on it,” Kranium explains. “I have some big artists who have hit me up for a record, and I turned them down because I don’t want to put something out that’s going to backfire or waste an opportunity.”
Kranium hasn’t announced an official release date, but says the album is coming sooner rather than later. And with this new journey, the Mo Bay product wants fans to know he put his all into the project and will pour out even more in the future.
“I want my fans to take away the quality and time spent, the emotion in each voice, the growth, and creativity of a youth born different,” he adds. “I spent 19 months on this album. I feel like the quality is quality, while trends come and go. I want to be the artist when I’m old and gone that I’m still getting sampled 20 to 30 years from now, and that only happens with the realness.”
In the week ending Sept. 29, Dirt earned 26,000 equivalent album units in the U.S, up 641%, according to Luminate. Of that sum, 23,000 comprise album sales – with 22,500 in vinyl sales. The reissue arrived Sept. 23, the first day of the charts’ tracking week.
The band now boasts three No. 1s each on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts, following the reigns of 2018’s Rainier Fog and 2013’s The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.
Dirt also re-enters the all-genre Billboard 200 at No. 9, its first visit to the top 10 since it debuted and peaked at No. 6 in October 1992, becoming Alice in Chains first of six top 10s.
The Grammy Award-nominated Dirt is the Seattle-born band’s longest-charting effort on the Billboard 200, with 103 weeks on the list (including the current week). The group’s second LP spawned five Mainstream Rock Airplay hits, paced by the No. 7-peaking “Rooster” in 1993.
The reissue, whose standard remastered version features two discs on black vinyl, also includes an apple-red variant via Walmart and a translucent orange vinyl available on Alice in Chains’ website. A deluxe box set was also put up for purchase as part of the reissue.
Growing up in Flagstaff, Arizona, in a family of four children, singer-songwriter Avery Anna has always been drawn to the self-expression of writing and music.
“I’ve been singing and writing in a journal for as long as I can remember,” the 18-year-old tells Billboard. “Songwriting came from that. When I was younger, I would sing with my grandpa and he would play Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. That’s where my love for country started, and I’ve been raised on it. Of course, later on, I came to love Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini and so many more.”
On Friday (Oct. 7), Anna will release her seven-song, major label debut EP, Mood Swings, via Warner Music Nashville. The release is the culmination of a journey that began, oddly enough, in her bathtub.
Bathrooms are well-known for their natural acoustics, and in October 2020, Anna posted a TikTok video of herself in a bathtub, singing A Great Big World’s “Say Something.” The clip went on to earn 10 million views on TikTok. One of those viewers was Matt Thomas, from country group Parmalee, who shared the video with writer/producer/manager David Fanning. Fanning and his 33 Creative management company manager/partner Tina Crawford reached out to Anna via Instagram, ultimately signing Anna to a management and production deal. In November 2020, she posted a teaser of new song, “Just Cause I Love You,” which went viral. Anna released the full song in January 2021. She now has 1.5 million TikTok followers.
Anna followed with “Narcissist,” which features the cutting lyrics, “And I know you’ll get over me/ But can you get over yourself?” The song, which she co-wrote with Fanning, Ben Williams and Andy Sheridan, reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart and No. 15 on the Digital Song Sales chart in March, later cresting at No. 22 on the Hot Country Songs chart in June. She has been racing through career milestones ever since, announcing her major label deal with Warner Music Nashville in late June. On Sept. 30, she made her Grand Ole Opry debut. And, oh yeah, she graduated from high school in May.
Anna spoke with Billboard about crafting Mood Swings, her tour essentials, and what’s singing with her mom.
How did your deal with Warner Music Nashville come about?
[Warner Music Group A&R exec] Rohan Kohli reached out, but at the same time I was getting offers from other labels. I was meeting with them over Zoom because I was in Flagstaff, Arizona at the time and still in school. [WMN co-presidents] Cris Lacy and Ben Kline, and [chairman/CEO John] Esposito and Rohan, they all really cared about the music, and they cared about what I had to say. And they were so inspired and driven and I was so excited. I felt like when I met with them, I just knew that they were the ones and that I needed to work with them.
“Narcissist” became a huge song for you. What do you recall about the writing session?
I brought my journal into the writing room, and we were reading through things that I had written, and we were talking about a relationship that I had been a few years back. They helped me identify all these feelings that I had. Honestly, writing it was something that I needed to get off of my chest, and something that I needed to do for myself.
But releasing it was for all of the people out there that needed to get it off of their chest, too. I didn’t realize how I felt so alone in that situation, but after releasing it, I saw how many people relate to that. It created this amazing community of people that felt safe in a space that I gave them.
And then Kelly Clarkson covered it for one of her “Kellyoke” segments on The Kelly Clarkson Show.
I just remember being so in shock and so awestruck. I used to watch Kelly Clarkson singing ‘Piece By Piece’ on American Idol over and over again on YouTube. Just knowing that she connected with a song that I wrote is insane, because my whole life it’s been me connecting with her songs. It was just crazy.
After “Narcissist” started getting some chart traction and your signing with Warner, what was it like going into the studio and crafting your sound with David? You already had the basis down for the songs themselves.
The songs on the EP are a direct representation of all the extreme emotions that I’ve felt in the past couple of years. I have sad songs like “Critic” and “What Made You Think?,” but it was really cool to be able to write songs that aren’t just sad and about a breakup. “La di da” and “Good Day” are upbeat and happy, then there’s the more acoustic, in-my-journal song like “Biggest T-Shirt.” It’s just so exciting to be able to reach those different parts of me that my fans haven’t seen yet.
“Biggest T-Shirt” is one of your more vulnerable songs.
I was in my bedroom at midnight, sitting on my floor in a big T-shirt reading through my journal from about three years ago. I was reading all these things that I was saying and I was noticing I was in a very insecure, had very little confidence. I also noticed all these things that I used to do, like I would go into my room and listen to music all day and I would just kind of block out the world and I would wear big T-shirts all the time. But I also noticed how I’ve changed and grown. I was just kind of grieving over my past self, and I wrote a verse and chorus of the song, and thought nobody would ever hear it because it was so deep and personal. But I had a Zoom write the next day with Chris McKenna, Lori McKenna and Colin Healy, and they made me feel so comfortable sharing all of that.
You grew up writing in journals and writing songs. Once you began co-writing and coming to Nashville, how did that impact your writing?
I used to just write in my bedroom and get up at like 5:00 a.m. and write a song before I went to school. But being able to open up to other people in the room and share my ideas with them, it creates a much better song. Everyone contributes in different ways, and it makes songs so much deeper and powerful.
What are your tour essentials?
I have to bring my Stanley water bottle. I have these little honey shots [for my throat] and, of course, my journal. I also have these little notes with happy quotes on them. I like to sign them and put them out in the seats at the shows before people come in, so that people can find them. It’s fun, because sometimes people will find them, take a picture, and tag me or DM me that they found them.
Going through your own playlists, who are some artists people might be surprised to find are on it?
Country is my heart and soul. I listen to so much Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, but also Donna Fargo.
You covered “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.” in a recent video.
I love that song. But I also loved Cage the Elephant and Noah Cohen and YEBBA.
Some of your early bathroom TikTok videos also feature you singing with your mom. Will your mom sing with you onstage or on an album at some point?
Singing with my mom is just something I love to do for fun. She’s always jokingly saying, “I don’t wanna be featured in your TikTok.” She’s kind of shy and she’s a busy woman. We’ve talked about it, but I think in the future I will definitely make her do something with me.
Are you still listening?
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