Month: November 2022

Harry Styles’ scheduled concert Friday night (Nov. 4) at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles has been pushed back by two days, after a bandmate became unwell.  

“Out of an abundance of caution,” reads an official statement from the venue, the date is rescheduled to Sunday (Nov. 6) “due to band illness.”

All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date.

The message continues, “All additional show dates will play as scheduled,” noting an email from Ticketmaster will be sent directly to ticket holders with more information.

Styles has made the Forum his house for a weeks-long mini residency, spanning 15 shows and wrapping Nov. 15. The British pop singer kicked off the North American leg of his trek in August, and moved into the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., on Oct. 24.

Styles’ Love On Tour is in support of Harry’s House, his third solo album release after One Direction split. Harry’s House has been a critical and commercial hit. The album logged six weeks at No. 1 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, and its single “As It Was” dominated the national survey for an impressive 10 weeks. It’s not just the fans who tuned in. Harry’s House was also shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, which spotlights the year’s best albums from the U.K. and Ireland.

In the United States, Harry’s House checked in for two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (all three of his LPs have hit the summit), and “As I Was” rules the Billboard Hot 100 for a whopping 15 weeks. Along the way, he made history with three tracks in the Pop Airplay Chart’s top 10.

Central and South America Love On Tour dates come next, then Styles returns to Australia and New Zealand in February-March 2023 for a run of stadium shows, followed by more dates across the U.K. and Europe.

After the most creative media(less) rollout of the year — a Vogue cover and NPR Tiny Desk included —Drake and 21 Savage finally unleashed their joint album, HER LOSS, on Friday (Nov. 4).

The 16-track offering was originally slated for Oct. 28, but according to Drizzy was postponed due to his righthand producer and engineer Noah “40” Shebib contracting COVID shortly before the release date. “Our brother [Shebib] got Covid in the middle of mixing and mastering the crack,” the Toronto rapper wrote on an Instagram story. HER LOSS marks Drizzy’s second collaborative project, following his cult-favorite 2015 mixtape alongside Atlanta-made powerhouse Future, What a Time to Be Alive.

Holding a little more experience in that arena, HER LOSS is 21 Savage’s fourth collaborative project. He released three others alongside Metro Boomin, one of which included the Migos rapper, Offset.

Considering Drake and 21 Savage’s undeniable synergy, fans welcome HER LOSS with open arms, ready to be re-upped after the pair’s tease in June with “Jimmy Cooks,” the only rap track on Drake’s house album, Honestly, Nevermind. “Jimmy Cooks” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart and foreshadowed the collaborators’ latest offering.

Ahead of the album, Drake and 21 Savage didn’t do too much talking, instead letting their marketing strategy speak for them. They let loose rapid-fire content after announcing the project on Oct. 22, including a Vogue cover story that wasn’t, a deepfake interview with Howard Stern about porn, love and dating, and their own mock-Tiny Desk set up.

On the topic of settling down, Drake told Stern, “I’m sure I could. I think that eventually once all this is said and done for us, that addiction of work and success and forward movement is over, I feel we’re all going to need something real. Hopefully it’s not too late.”

What’s real when you’re Drake? Combining the best of four or five women, which seems to be what keeps the lover boy rapper within the grips of serial dating.

Previously, Drake and 21 Savage joined forces on “Knife Talk” from Drizzy’s Certified Lover Boy, “Mr. Right Now” from 21 Savage’s Savage Mode II collab album with Metro Boomin in 2020, Drake’s stand-alone release “Sneakin’” in 2016 and more.

Listen to HER LOSS in full below now.

Few images are more Philly than Rocky running those steps at the Museum of Art, or Dr J throwing one down on a hapless defender. Add to the list Meek Mill performing at a full Citizens Bank Park, ahead of the World Series Game 5.

Mill hyped the Phillies faithful with a rendition of “Dreams and Nightmares,” the lead song and title track from his debut album.

The two-time Grammy Award nominee entertained tens of thousands of fans ahead of the contest between the Phillies and Houston Astros, with both teams entering the ballgame with two wins.

After breathlessly busting out his 2012 number, and urging the stadium to “make some noise,” Mill took a ride out with franchise mascot Phillie Phanatic.

Away from the field, Meek recently struck an arrangement with WME that sees the MC form a “strategic partnership” with the talent agency, focusing on his new initiative, Culture Currency, and representing him in all areas. Earlier, the Philly native separated from Roc Nation Management after 10 years. He stated on social media that the split between both parties was amicable.

Earlier in 2022, Meek expressed frustrations with his label Atlantic Records after scoring a No. 3 debut on the Billboard 200 with his fifth and latest album, Expensive Pain. “They didn’t put nothing into expensive pain and then said I can’t drop another project for 9 months at the end of my contract after I made them 100’s of millions ….. how would can anybody survive that … most rappers can’t speak because they depend on these companies “I don’t,” he tweeted. 

Last year, Meek received the Nelson Mandela changemaker award, which honored him for his altruism and social work with REFORM Alliance. Meek serves as the organization’s co-chair alongside his friend and Philadelphia 76ers partner, Michael Rubin. 

Across his career, Meek has landed seven top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, including No. 1s for 2018’s Championships and 2015’s Dreams Worth More Than Money.

He’s also impacted the Billboard Hot 100 with 64 songs, his peak position a No. 6 for 2018’s “Going Bad” featuring Drake.

Despite bringing the energy, Mill wasn’t able to get the home team over the line. The Astros outlasted the Phillies 3-2, to take a 3-2 series lead as the teams head back to Houston for game 6.

Showtime has picked up George & Tammy, the six-part limited series about country icons and married couple George Jones and Tammy Wynette, starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain.

The premiere episode will debut simultaneously on Showtime and the Paramount Network on Dec. 4 following Yellowstone. The series had originally been slated to run entirely on Paramount before it shifted to Showtime. 

“Jessica and Michael are truly extraordinary as Tammy and George and their searing performances and undeniable chemistry bring to life the legendary relationship of the King and Queen of country music,” said Chris McCarthy, president/CEO, Showtime and Paramount Media Networks, via a statement. “The creators and the entire cast have delivered a series with the subtlety, nuance and complexity that are the hallmarks of the Showtime brand and what our viewers deserve and demand.”

In addition to Shannon and Chastain, the series also stars Steve Zahn, Kelly McCormack, Walton Goggins, Pat Healy, David Wilson Barnes and Katy Mixon. Created by Abe Sylvia and directed by John Hillcoat, it is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Freckle Films, Mad Chance, Brolin Productions, Aunt Sylvia’s Moving Picture Co. and Blank Films Inc.

“I am thrilled Showtime is bringing George & Tammy to audiences all over the world,” said David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios and Executive Producer. “This has been Jessica, Abe & [executive producer] Andrew [Lazar’s] labor of love for 11 years and to see it all come together is pure joy.  Jessica and Michael bring all of the heart, love, tragedy and drama to this epic love story of George & Tammy.”

Shannon and Chastain are presenters on Nov. 9’s CMA Awards. 

Kanye West shared a string of tweets on Thursday (Nov. 3), during which he revealed that he will be taking a “fast” from speaking, alcohol, sex and porn.

“I’m not talking to nooobody for a month,” he captioned a post that reads, “I’m taking a 30 day cleanse, a verbal fast. No alcohol, no adult films, no intercourse.” He concluded by noting that his “Twitter still lit,” implying that he will still be active on social media during his cleanse.

Ye continued his Twitter spree by praising basketball star Kyrie Irving, who has also been controversial about in the news in the past few years.

West’s Instagram account was restricted again on Monday (Oct. 31) following his latest reported violation of the platform’s policies. “We deleted content from @kanyewest for violating our policies and placed a restriction on the account,” a Meta spokesperson told Complex. “We may place restrictions on accounts that repeatedly break our rules, for example, we may temporarily restrict them from posting, commenting, or sending DMs.”

The latest locking of Ye’s account comes after Instagram and Twitter both placed temporary restrictions on his social media accounts after he posted antisemitic comments earlier in October.

“Miss You” continues to double up on Billboard‘s multimetric Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart (dated Nov. 5), with one version surging by Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz and one by southstar.

Oliver Tree and Schulz storm three spots again this week (7-4), after debuting three weeks ago at No. 10, earning top Streaming Gainer honors with their version of the song. “Miss” motors with 5.9 million official streams, up 16%, and sales of 500 downloads, up 193%, in the U.S. in the Oct. 21-27 tracking week, according to Luminate.

Concurrently, the track improves on Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs (4-2) and bows on Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales (No. 13).

The twosome is not alone with “Miss You,” as Berlin-based southstar (aka Leon Kirschnek) starts on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs with his version of the song at No. 11, fueled by 1.6 million domestic streams.

“Miss You” has the distinction of having two separate but very similar versions, with the first released by southstar in late July; a second, by Robin Schulz and Oliver Tree (whose track “Jerk” is sampled on the southstar version), dropped less than a week later. 

Fred again.. Again

London-based producer/singer/DJ Fred again.. (real name Fred Gibson) debuts at No. 25 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs with “Delilah (Pull Me Out of This).” The track, which begins with 803,000 stateside streams, is the fourth and highest charting hit from his album Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022), released Oct. 28.

Fred Again.. has tallied 10 titles on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, starting with “Don’t Judge Me,” with FKA Twigs and Headie One (No. 23, February 2021). His haul includes “Delilah” and three other songs from Actual Life 3: “Bleu (Better With Time)” (No. 30, Oct. 1), “Danielle (Smile on My Face)” (No. 45, Oct. 8) and “Kammy (Like I Do)” (No. 48, Oct. 22). His collab with Swedish House Mafia, “Turn on the Lights Again..,” featuring Future, is his top-charting entry (No. 16, this August).

TELYKast Has Good Reception

Shifting to the Dance/Mix Show Airplay tally, TELYKast bounces into the top 10 with “Body to Body” (11-6). It’s the act’s third top 10, after “Nobody to Love,” with Loren Gray (No. 8, June 2021), and “Unbreakable,” with Sam Gray (No. 2, December 2021).

“Body” is scoring core-dance airplay on SiriusXM’s BPM, Music Choice’s Dance/EDM channel and iHeartRadio’s Evolution Network, among other outlets. (The Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart measures radio airplay on a select group of full-time dance stations, along with plays during mix shows on around 70 top 40-formatted reporters.)