In honor of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off Nov. 20, Billboard has reached out to Latin artists who are big fútbol fans to ask what the sport means to them. For our first installment, we spoke to Mexican actor and singer Diego Boneta (Luis Miguel: The Series) who is a self-declared soccer aficionado and is ready to support La Selección Mexicana — of course proudly wearing “la verde” (Mexico’s jersey) — during the tournament. Below, Boneta’s “What Fútbol Means to Me,” as told to Billboard.
My earliest memories of fútbol go back to when I was a kid, definitely. I’d play at recess with my friends. I even got signed up for fútbol classes when I was younger. I wasn’t amazing, but I was good and I really enjoyed playing. I grew up watching La Selección Mexican games. Fútbol matches were and are to this day a big deal for my family. Whenever La Selección is playing, nos ponemos la verde, and we watch the game at home, we’ll have friends and family over, we’ll have micheladas and root for them. I’m the type that will be on the edge of my seat the whole time and just start screaming at the television. I’m a screamer for sure.
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The one World Cup song that has truly stuck with me is Ricky Martin’s “Cup of Life.” To this day, I love that song so much and it brings back many memories. Music is a big part of the World Cup and fútbol. Especially after personally having sung at some big stadiums, like Maracanã [in Brazil] back in the day, I feel like music goes hand in hand, that’s why having a great World Cup song is so important. It makes the event much more memorable.
The game that, as Mexicans, we’re probably all waiting for during this World Cup is the Mexico vs. Argentina game. That is the match to watch. I’ll be at home, watching with my family and friends, having some tequila, of course it all depends on what time they’re playing … But hopefully we’ll be celebrating afterwards and eating all the botanas you can think of, like guacamole, some tacos, cacahuates japoneses, papitas preparadas. Fútbol is really about us coming together, celebrating our country and roots. It’s about unity, culture, food, having fun. It’s very powerful, if you think about it.
My prediction for the México-Argentina game? 2-1, Mexico wins. Viva México!
A C. Tangana se lo ve contento, satisfecho. El motivo de esta buena energía es que minutos antes de esta entrevista culminó el ensayo que tenía como objetivo dar “algunos retoques” al show que presentará en Latinoamérica durante este mes en el marco es su gira Sin Cantar Ni Afinar, comenzando el jueves (10 de noviembre) en el Auditorio Citibanamex de Monterrey, México y pasando por Colombia y Argentina antes de terminar el 29 de noviembre en Chile. Mientras conversamos, sostiene su teléfono móvil y camina de lado a lado por el patio de la sala de ensayos.
Para el artista madrileño es habitual tener alguna cámara cerca. Sobre todo en las instancias previas a un show, ya que su concierto está pensado como un verdadero rodaje cinematográfico, donde la música y la creatividad visual son la base de lo que quiere que el público perciba y guarde. La puesta, cuidada en cada detalle, está planteada para ser disfrutada con todos los sentidos, por lo que hay una gran inversión en arte y tecnología para que estén a la altura de la propuesta musical.
Contento con el aspecto visual del concierto, C. Tangana anticipa que será como una especie de obra de teatro, el rodaje de una película o videoclip. Cuenta que es una de las aristas del show que más orgullo le da, porque le da un carácter distinto y muy emocionante.
El artista traerá a la Argentina una de las puestas más grandes y desafiantes de la música en vivo de la actualidad. Para darle vida a sus composiciones, Pucho — como lo bautizó su familia de pequeño — no deja detalles al azar. “Este show ha estado a punto de arruinarme, pero quería hacer un espectáculo que estuviera a la altura del álbum”, dice a Billboard Argentina sobre la inversión económica que implica montar un concierto de estas características. Y es todo un desafío posicionarse al nivel de su disco, El Madrileño, que lo llena de orgullo y también a toda la cultura hispana. Sus canciones retoman las tradiciones de otras generaciones para rendirles homenaje y actualizarlas en composiciones de amor y despecho, excesos y obsesiones.
El entusiasmo por las tablas no es innato. El cantautor siempre se consideró más hábil en el estudio que en el escenario. “Siempre he tenido algo complejo como intérprete al no ser capaz de llevar la propuesta del estudio al show de una manera que fuese acorde”, confiesa. Para El Madrileño, su segundo disco, sucesor de Ídolo (2017),el artista luchó contra ese complejo e invirtió todos sus esfuerzos y capital disponible para construir un show único.
C Tangana
Desembarco
Latinoamérica es un terreno con el que se siente en deuda. Especialmente la Argentina, donde tuvo que suspender su show meses atrás por conflictos con la logística. “Para mí es importante tocar en Argentina, suena un poco egoísta pero la verdad es que significa algo dentro de mi carrera, y también por la gente que me sigue. Lo espero con muchísimas ganas”. Por este motivo, Buenos Aires es su ciudad elegida para dar cierre a este año de cosechas que inició con el festejo del aniversario del álbum que lo puso en la cima de ventas en su país natal, España.
El Madrileño es, sobre todo, una vidriera de artistas de gran trayectoria y de nuevas promesas. Participan Niño de Elche, La Húngara, Toquinho, Ed Maverick, Gipsy Kings (Nicolás Reyes y Tonino Baliardo), Jorge Drexler, José Feliciano, Omar Apollo, Eliades Ochoa, Carin León, Adriel Favela, Andrés Calamaro, Kiko Veneno y Pepe Blanco (resucitado en “Cuando olvidaré”). No por nada el día que reveló las colaboraciones lo llamó “el disco de mi vida”.
La presencia de sus referentes se ve en las letras de canciones como “Nunca estoy”. Cuando dio a conocer el sencillo en 2020, incluyó el arte de Alejandro Sanz al cantar “y quién me va curar el corazón partío”, y el de Rosario Flores en “cómo quieres que te quiera si no estás aquí”.
Antes de plasmar este trabajo, C. Tangana sentía que su vida personal, la que cobija a Pucho y a las historias guardadas en un rincón del barrio Puerta del Ángel de su Madrid natal, había madurado más que su vida artística y con 26, 27 años empezó a gestar el disco. “Acepto que hasta esa edad había intentado ser exclusivamente un artista urbano, un rapero, pero la verdad es que el cien por ciento de mis influencias no son esas, hay mucha otra música que siempre he escuchado y admirado”, revela.
Encaminado hacia El Madrileño, su misión fue “envejecer con clase”, algo que considera bastante difícil. Quiso hacer algo de lo que aún pudiera sentirse orgulloso con 40 o 45 años, canciones que pudiera cantar con “esa edad”. “Creo que la música urbana tiene algo de juvenil que es maravilloso, pero no me gustaba mucho la idea de pensar que iba a tratar de ser un Peter Pan y continuar toda mi carrera haciendo ver que tenía 22 años”, dice.
Tal apertura con el pasado estuvo siempre inscrita en la vida de C. Tangana, quien se define como un hombre de pocos prejuicios. Habiendo crecido con una educación estricta en lo artístico, siempre se dejó llevar por sus gustos, algo que lo hizo crecer sin demasiadas ideas preconcebidas. Es un “abrazador” musical, porque en diversas instancias de su vida se alimentó de muchos estilos, sin quedarse en un género en particular. “Siempre me permití disfrutar de cosas distintas y eso se aplica a mi música”, argumenta.
No solo C. Tangana disfruta de haber incorporado las voces de la tradición en su álbum. Su obra también acercó a los jóvenes al flamenco. Sus canciones tendieron puentes entre España y América Latina. “Eso me lo decía mucho [Jorge] Drexler”, comparte sobre su vínculo con el uruguayo. “Tenemos una historia en común y una cultura que se unen en muchos lugares. Al final, si te pones a indagar un poco, surgen las concesiones y entiendes lo que ha influido el bolero en la música latina, en Cuba, Puerto Rico, Argentina y España. Hay muchos puntos de unión”.
C Tangana
La Sobremesa
Para fortuna de sus fans, este año continuó alimentando y alegrando los corazones de su público con La Sobremesa, una versión extendida de El Madrileño. La edición deluxe incluyó nueve temas adicionales, entre ellos colaboraciones con la estrella del flamenco urbano Omar Montes, la leyenda cubana Omara Portuondo, y el padrino de la bachata Luis Segura. También exhibió una nueva portada diseñada por el director de cine español Carlos Saura.
La Sobremesa comienza con la ya conocida “Demasiadas mujeres” y finaliza con una novedad, “Para repartir”. A pesar de dejar letras fuera de sus discos, su autor considera que el álbum “define muy bien quién es” porque en él dijo casi todas las cosas que tenía que decir. “Es algo que en otras épocas no me había salido muy bien”, confiesa.
Aunque se considera un amante de las cosas pequeñas y simples en la vida, Pucho cree que en su trabajo de artista le cuesta un poco más conformarse. “Uno de mis mayores motivadores es exigirme a mí mismo y no quedarme en la zona de confort”. Esta actitud de autoexigencia se refleja en su postura humilde, y en el nombre con el que designó a su gira más ambiciosa hasta la fecha: “Sin cantar ni afinar”. “Como no canto ni afino, lo que tengo que hacer son buenas canciones”, arroja. “Canciones tan buenas que permitan que alguien cantando tan mal como yo no importe, porque la canción llega igual”, comenta.
La Sobremesa no cayó del cielo. Luego de hacer historia con su álbum de oro, continuó el derrotero en su Tiny Desk, donde gestionó una puesta ambiciosa y más que original. Montó una pequeña fiesta flamenca para interpretar algunas de las canciones de El madrileño, acompañado de sus principales colaboradores. En 15:30 de sesión, mostró al mundo el valor de una tradicional sobremesa con música, rodeado de músicos como Antonio Carmona y familiares.
“Fue una forma de completar el disco porque la idea de La Sobremesa y el concepto de sacar la guitarra y cantar canciones que todos conocemos es algo que pertenece mucho a nuestra cultura”, comparte aludiendo a la tradición española y latina. El compositor quería que esa “situación” estuviera presente de algún modo en la totalidad de su obra, cuya propuesta en vivo conforma uno de sus pilares más importantes.
Por más que sea un apasionado del cambio constante y el movimiento, Pucho suele remitirse al pasado para recordar qué sentido tomar en el presente. “Me gusta no perder la raíz”. Mucho antes de convertirse en el músico que conjugó el pasado y el presente en su obra estrella, C. Tangana estudió filosofía. Siempre le preguntan si tiene algún acercamiento diferente a la música, pero él no está seguro: “Algo ayuda, el mundo en general dice que sí”.
En sus orígenes, Antón Álvarez Alfaro, su verdadero nombre, ya había tenido un apodo. Inició su carrera musical en 2006 bajo el pseudónimo de Crema, como integrante del grupo Agorazein. Se consagró dentro del panorama mundial con su single “Mala mujer” en 2017 y éxitos como “Llorando en la limo” (disco de platino) y “Bien duro” (disco de oro). Y su pluma le ha dado grandes triunfos: es coautor de la canción “Malamente” interpretada por Rosalía, trabajo que recibió dos Latin Grammy en 2018.
Su obra más ambiciosa, El Madrileño, se editó en febrero de 2021 bajo el sello Sony Music, obtuvo 10 seis nominaciones a los Latin Grammys y tres victorias: mejor canción alternativa, por “Nominao”, mejor canción pop/rock” por “Hong Kong”, en colaboración con Andrés Calamaro; y su productor, Alizz, se llevó el reconocimiento a la mejor mezcla por el álbum.
Este año está nuevamente “nominao” al Latin Grammy. Su colaboración con Jorge Drexler “Tocarte” compite por los premios a la grabación y canción del año, y su respectivo clip por el premio al mejor video musical versión corta.
El Madrileño tuvo su lugar en los charts de Billboard: ingresó en el N° 8 de Latin Pop Albums y tres de sus canciones le abrieron las puertas del Billboard Global 200: “Tú me dejaste de querer” (2020), “Ateo” (2021) y “Demasiadas mujeres” (2022).
Hace un par de años que C. Tangana cuenta con la validación de la industria, pero hoy le presta menos atención que antes. “Sigue siendo un honor la nominación de cualquier tipo de reconocimiento. Que Billboard te preste atención, para mí es un sueño de cuando era pequeño”. Sin embargo, cree que desde que empezó a colaborar con artistas clásicos y míticos, algo cambió. Como una especie de calma que llegó luego de compartir el estudio con sus referentes, como Eliades Ochoa, Calamaro o Drexler. “Me hizo sentir menos hambriento y más satisfecho. Pero siempre es un honor que otra gente te reconozca con tu música”, agradece.
El Madrileño se proyecta como un álbum que llegó para quedarse. Un clásico. Como resumió él en pocas palabras: “Para mí la música latina es esto, la vanguardia es esto y para mí lo clásico es esto”. Y, por más que no lo haya hecho a propósito, es un álbum que tiene mucha teoría. Sin dudas, un álbum que es tierra fértil para otra generación de músicos que se inspirarán de ahí y harán florecer sus futuros discos.
Cansado, pero feliz, Pucho siente que está “como justo después de una siesta”. Como si los últimos meses de su vida fueran el momento final de una fiesta, cuando la gente comienza a irse a su casa “y estás muy contento, pero también cansado”. Y es que un gran éxito conlleva un gran esfuerzo.
“Para cualquier persona que haga una pequeña gira por Latinoamérica, estar en Buenos Aires es algo fundamental”. Así será. C. Tangana se presentará el 22 y 23 de noviembre en el Movistar Arena bajo la producción de DF Entertainment. Dos noches para celebrar un álbum que se inscribió en el repertorio de los clásicos del mundo y compartir sus canciones “Sin cantar ni afinar”, pero con el corazón.
Jimmie Allen won’t be performing at Wednesday night’s (Nov. 9) 56th annual CMA Awards, where he was scheduled to team with Zac Brown Band and Marcus King for “Out in the Middle.”
“I was looking forward to performing with my friends @zacbrownband and @realmarcusking at the @countrymusic Awards, unfortunately I’m under the weather and won’t be able to. I’m looking forward to watching them and the other performers tonight,” Allen said on social media.
2022 CMA Awards: See the Full List of Performers & Presenters
Last year, Allen won new artist of the year at the CMA Awards, making him the first Black artist to win in the category since Darius Rucker in 2009 (Allen was previously nominated in the same category in 2020).
Other performances set to take place Wednesday evening include Brothers Osborne with The War and Treaty doing a rendition of a Rolling Stones classic, as well as several artists — including Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire and Carrie Underwood — honoring late singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn. Ashley McBryde will be joined by Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack and more to perform the Linda Ronstadt classic “When Will I Be Loved,” which was included on McBryde’s recent album Lindeville.
Kelsea Ballerini will team up with Kelly Clarkson and Carly Pearce for a performance of “You’re Drunk, Go Home,” from Ballerini’s Subject to Changealbum. Additionally, Alan Jackson will receive the 2022 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 2022 CMA Awards will be hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning and will air live on ABC on Wednesday night from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
This week: Drake and 21 Savage’s Her Loss album spurs gains for its sample sources, pop radio embraces TikTok hits with ever-accelerating velocity, and Christmas season is officially underway on streaming.
‘Her Loss’ is Daft Punk’s Gain
collaborative album Her Loss has already proven a streaming juggernaut, even by the standards of the two hip-hop superstars. The 16 songs on Her Loss — a return to form for Drake, following his dance detour Honestly, Nevermind earlier this year — still make up the entire top 16 of the current iTunes songs chart this Wednesday (Nov. 9), and every song is in the top 25 of the daily Spotify tally. The set (released via OVO/Republic/Slaughter Gang/Epic) is doing so well, in fact, that its success is even rolling over to its samples.
Tracks like The Isley Brothers’ “Ballad For the Fallen Soldier,” The Diplomats’ “Real N—as” and Ginuwine’s “Lonely Daze” are all sampled on Her Loss, but the standout lift is of Daft Punk’s eternal dance floor classic “One More Time,” which gets slowed down and paired with percolating percussion on “Circo Loco.” The sample has caused some listeners to seek out Daft Punk’s 2000 original – and as a result, daily U.S. on-demand streams of “One More Time” increased 55% (from 117,000 to 182,000, according to Luminate) upon the Her Loss release, and stayed relatively high throughout the following weekend. Daft Punk may have officially broken up early last year, but it’ll be cause for celebration to have Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo’s names appear as songwriters again on the Hot 100 soon enough. — JASON LIPSHUTZ
Is Pop Radio Adopting TikTok Hits More Quickly?
The Sam Smith–Kim Petras collaboration “Unholy” reaching the top five of Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart shouldn’t be a surprise: the Capitol/EMI team-up has been a smash since its September release and last month becoming both artists’ first career Hot 100 chart-topper. Smith has been a top 40 fixture for years, and “Unholy” is built around a tenaciously catchy hook that’s ripe for the format. Yet “Unholy” — which climbs four spots to No. 5 on the Pop Airplay chart in the week ending Nov. 6 after a 17% gain in plays at U.S. monitored top 40 stations, according to Luminate — started off squarely in the TikTok-hit range, with Smith and Petras teasing the track weeks ahead of its official release; the fact that it’s already a top five Pop Airplay hit, in only its sixth week on the chart, suggests that the format is starting to react to and adopt these sort of viral singles more rapidly than ever before.
Smith may have been a proven commodity at pop radio — albeit mostly with songs significantly more stately than the cacophonous and sexed-up “Unholy” — but Steve Lacy certainly wasn’t, and his “Bad Habit” has become a top 40 smash for RCA after growing on TikTok and streaming, up one spot to No. 2 on Pop Airplay. Meanwhile, The Weeknd’s “Die for You,” a song from his 2016 Republic release Starboy that has recently been revived online, reaches a new high of No. 10 on Pop Airplay this week, taking 11 weeks for programmers to switch attention away from more recent Weeknd fare and toward the resurrected fan favorite. Other songs with TikTok origins, from Stephen Sanchez’s “Until I Found You” to Jax’s “Victoria’s Secret” to Rosa Linn’s “Snap,” are also making waves on pop radio, sitting comfortably on the chart alongside new A-list radio singles from artists like Taylor Swift and Rihanna.
TikTok’s influence on popular music has been common knowledge for years, but the current Pop Airplay chart nods to the fact that viral hits no longer require multiple months to cross over to radio listeners. Expect that pipeline to keep speeding up, and more songs like “Unholy” to make that leap in a matter of weeks. – J.L.
Eminem’s “Mockingbird” Flies Again
Just when you thought TikTok’s predilection for sped-up versions of distinctly low-energy older songs couldn’t get any stranger, here comes Eminem’s “Mockingbird.” The dolorous 2005 single (from the rapper’s fourth Aftermath/Interscope LP Encore), written as an ode to daughter Hailie, has picked up steam on the service thanks to multiplefaster versions of the track making the rounds – inspiring everything from sing-along challenges to clips of teens taking care of their younger siblings. Whatever the logic behind the trend, the song has subsequently soared on streaming, going from 1.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams the week ending Oct. 6 to over 3.1 million streams four weeks later – a gain of 104%, according to Luminate. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
20-Something Singer-Songwriter’s “QUARTER LIFE CRISIS” Strikes a Viral Chord
As All Time Low,Wheatus and countless other acts have discovered over the past couple years, there are few more proven recipes for TikTok success than a song that allows users to flash back to past photos – often providing contrasting juxtaposition with their more adult current look and life. Taylor Bickett is the latest artist to benefit from this. The unsigned Nashville singer-songwriter’s post-adolescent lament “QUARTER LIFE CRISIS” has inspired countless such clips with its “I swear sixteen was yesterday/ But now I’m closer to twenty-eight” lyrics. The 23-year-old’s clever track has already spiked 158% to nearly a million official on-demand U.S. streams for the week ending Nov. 6, according to Luminate — presumably making Bickett’s mid-20s look a lot brighter than they might have seemed when she wrote the song. – A.U.
Season’s Gainings: The Christmas Season Kicks Off Right on Time
If you had any doubt that the end of Halloween is now officially the start of pop music’s holiday season, the numbers this year make the trend pretty unmistakable. As we waved goodbye to Michael Jackson, Ray Parker Jr. and Bobby “Boris” Pickett this Nov. 1, holiday perennials from Brenda Lee, Bobby Helms and (of course) Mariah Carey all exploded with triple-digit percentage gains in official on-demand U.S. streams: “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was up 176% to 615,000, “Jingle Bell Rock” up 185% to 602,000, and “All I Want for Christmas Is You” up a whopping 236% to nearly 1.3 million streams. In other words, if you’re getting dirty looks from your neighbor for already putting up your Christmas decorations this week, point them to the Spotify or Apple Music charts and let them know that you’re not starting early – they’re just already late. – A.U.
The next step in the development of a new corner development at Sunshine and National is underway after the company in charge of the project revealed their latest plans.
BK&M LCC presented the plan Wednesday using an animated rendering of what they expect the development to look like when completed.
The company showed the rendering to University Heights residents, who have voiced concern about the project after a historic home at the corner was torn down earlier this year.
The six story structure will feature first floor parking, restaurant and retail space, medical offices and executive loft areas throughout the building.
A zoning meeting for the project has been scheduled for December 15, with council members meeting on January 3 of next year.
A final vote on the rezoning project is expected to take place on February 6, 2023.
It’s been about five months since Rihanna gave birth to the son she shares with A$AP Rocky, and she is still is in awe of the rewarding experiences of motherhood. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of the Savage x Fenty Vol. 4 fashion show, Ri revealed a few of the moments that have made being a mom special for her so far.
“Oh my god, the mornings, like, seeing his morning face! Seeing a baby with, like, little bags and waking up and they’re just, like, startled. They’re trying to figure out where they’re at. It’s the cutest, it’s my favorite part of the day,” the singer said. “He’s amazing, he’s a happy baby.”
Motherhood is also serving as a major inspiration to Rihanna in the baby market. The singer revealed that it’s been difficult finding clothes that she likes for her son, and is tempted to create outfits for him herself.
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“You know, I always thought doing kid stuff would be cliche and the obvious thing to do when you have a baby. It’s, like, the obvious next step,” RiRi shared. “But when I went shopping, that’s when I realized like, OK, maybe I need to start making the stuff that I want my kids to wear because it’s hard! I got my own ideas.”
In the meantime, Rihanna is busy with her endeavors in the lingerie market. The Savage x Fenty Vol. 4 fashion show arrived on Wednesday (Nov. 9) via Amazon Prime. The showcase features performances from Anitta, Burna Boy, Don Toliver and Maxwell. The show will also include special appearances by Johnny Depp, Ángela Aguilar, Avani Gregg, Bella Poarch, Cara Delevingne, Damson Idris, Irina Shayk, Joan Smalls, Kornbread, Lara Stone, Lilly Singh, Marsai Martin, Precious Lee, Rickey Thompson, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Simu Liu, Taraji P. Henson, Taylour Paige, Winston Duke, Zach Miko and more.
The incomplete memoir Aaron Carter was working on at the time of his death is slated for release on Nov. 15. The result of three years of interviews by author Andy Symonds (My Father’s Son), Aaron Carter:An Incomplete Story of an Incomplete Life, will cover the troubled singer’s relationship with older brother Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, his drug use and struggles with mental health.
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“Aaron was an open book during the writing process,” author Symonds said in a statement. “It’s a tragic irony that his autobiography will never include all his stories, thoughts, hopes, and dreams as he intended.” According to a release, Carter, 34, was working on the book before he was found dead at his Los Angeles home over the weekend of as-yet-unspecified causes, recording hours of interviews with Symonds in which he chronicled the intense pressures of fame that often left him physically and mentally drained.
“I remember locking myself in the bathroom of one of our hotel rooms and falling asleep in the bathtub because I needed more sleep,” he told Symonds. “My mom broke down the door, afraid I was drowning in there.” In a preview, publisher Ballast Books also shared the story of the night he spent at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch, where he woke in the early morning to allegedly find the late King of Pop “crouched at the end of his bed in his underwear, apparently sleepwalking.”
“What the f–k!?’ I shouted and shook him a little to wake him. ‘Go back to your bed!,’” Carter said he told the pop icon. “He looked startled, like he was surprised to be there. He just mumbled, ‘Okay,’ then got back into his bed, and we both went back to sleep. I never asked him about it, and we never mentioned it. When I woke up in the morning, he was gone from the room.”
Other stories include Carter’s recollection of performing with Jackson at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Sept. 10, 2001, and then watching the first plane hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 on his way to the airport to board Jackson’s private plane. “In the book, Aaron is honest, funny, irreverent, and self-aware with amazing recall about the stories that shaped a childhood star into a troubled but talented adult,” Ballast said in a release.
While incomplete — the final version will feature notes in the manuscript by Symonds and the publisher hinting at the direction the book was headed — the release also promises stories about how making beats “saved” Carter’s life when he was at his lowest points. “I was always suicidal, especially through those years. I never attempted suicide but never had anyone to talk to about it,” the singer told Symonds. “But I knew I loved life too much to actually do it. Hopefully I won’t do it. Having lost my own family, I want to have my own. That’s the best feeling.”
It also delves into his relationship with older brother Nick, whom Aaron refers to as his “hero from about the time I could walk. He was eight years older than me, and aside from all the standard, cool big brother stuff, he also just happened to be in the biggest boy band in the world, doing exactly what I wanted to do. And he was happy to take me under his wing from early on.”
“My heart is broken. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded,” Nick Carter wrote on Instagram alongside a photo gallery of childhood photos with his brother over the weekend.
“I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed. Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here.”
According to TMZ, Carter was working on a sitcom called Group at the time of his death. The show about a collection of characters in group therapy will reportedly go forward and honor the singer by dedicated the show to his memory; Carter and the ensemble — featuring Freaks and Geeks‘ Samm Levine Bring It On Again‘s Anne Judson-Yager and Mike Starr (Dumb and Dumber) — completed work on the pilot episode a month ago and it will be shopped around to networks once post-production work is finished.
Louis Tomlinson dropped his latest single “Silver Tongues” on Wednesday (Nov. 9) via BMG.
On the track, the former One Directioner channels his best pop-punk rocker as he sings, “It’s times like these/ We’re so much happier/ Nights like these/ We’ll remember those stupid jokes/ Only we know/ You know, when I’m with you/ I’m so much happier/ Nights like these/ We’ll remember those songs we wrote/ Only we know.”
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Louis Tomlinson Unveils ‘Out of My System’: Listen
“Silver Tongues” is set to appear on Tomlinson’s upcoming sophomore album Faith in the Future, which will arrive Friday (Nov. 11), and contains fellow singles “Bigger Than Me” and “Out of My System.”
When it comes to his former bandmates, the singer recently cheered the news of Niall Horan joining The Voice as a coach for season 23, but admitted in a new interview this week with U.K. paper The Telegraph that he was initially jealous of Harry Styles’ solo success after One Direction went on hiatus in 2016.
“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me at first,” he told the publication. “Only ‘cos I didn’t know where to place myself, and really my only point of reference was other members of the band. But it’s not surprising to me that Harry’s the most commercially successful because he really fits the mold of a modern star.”
Tomlinson also questioned the possibility of a 1D reunion anytime soon during the chat, surmising that he and the guys won’t get back together for “at least another 10 years.”
SZA has a public service announcement to share: Get ready for even more new music. Less than two weeks after she released her new single “Shirt,” the R&B star has now dropped a stunning NSFW teaser trailer for a project titled “PSA.”
In the video, uploaded to her official YouTube channel Tuesday evening (Nov. 8), SZA poses in a brown bikini, while crouching in a ring of neon green flames. Other snippets filmed on a beach in the pitch-black night cut in and out, showing what looks to be the “Kiss Me More” artist pouring a luminous blue liquid onto her bare body from a plastic bottle.
“I always knew things would be just fine, I always knew it’d get worse with time,” she sings over twinkling piano and gorgeous stacks of vocal harmony. “You should go cry about it, not trying to fight about it.”
After the one-and-a-half-minute long video cuts to black, a quick snippet of morse code flashes by: three dots, three dashes and three more dots, translating to “S.O.S.”
The “Good Days” musician also posted the teaser to her Instagram Tuesday, which just so happened to be her 33rd birthday. “Happy birthday to me,” she captioned the video. “Clock starts now.”
As mentioned above, SZA’s teaser follows the Oct. 28 release of “Shirt,” her first proper piece of new music since the seven previously unreleased tracks she dropped in the summer as part of her Ctrl five-year anniversary deluxe package. Before that came 2021 single “I Hate U,” which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
On the same day as the song’s release, the Grammy winner also dropped a “Shirt” music video featuring Judas and the Black Messiah star LaKeith Stanfield. A few days before that, she revealed that her long-awaited sophomore album is coming “any day” now, and will include a selection of a hundred or so songs she’s recorded in the half decade since she released her debut LP.
A strong cold front will move through the Ozarks Thursday afternoon into Thursday night, bringing a good chance for showers and thunderstorms to the area.
The National Weather Service says an isolated strong to severe thunderstorm or two cannot be ruled out, but overall severe weather chances are low. Cold air will spread across the area behind the front.
