Month: January 2023

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (via Columbia) is digging in for a third consecutive week at No. 1 in the U.K.

The U.S. pop star’s latest hit powers to the lead on the midweek chart, and is currently outselling its nearest rival, Raye’s “Escapism” (Human Re Sources) featuring 070 Shake, by more than two-to-one, the Official Charts Company reports.

“Flowers” is already Miley’s longest-reigning No. 1 in the U.K., beating the single-week runs for her previous leaders “We Can’t Stop” and “Wrecking Ball,” both from 2013.

Based on midweek data captured by the OCC, the highest new entry on the chart proper could belong to KSI and Oliver Tree with “Voices” (Atlantic). It’s on track for a No. 11 debut, for what would be KSI’s 18th and Tree’s third top 40 appearance.

Sydney-raised, Los Angeles-based singer and rapper The Kid LAROI is also targeting a top tier debut with his new track, “Love Again” (Columbia). It’s new at No. 22 on the Official Chart Update, for what should be the artist’s fifth top 40 appearance. “Love Again” is the second cut from the Kid’s forthcoming debut album, The First Time, which is set for release later this year.

Meanwhile, Miguel’s 2010 single “Sure Thing” (Jive) continues to enjoy a renaissance after going viral on TikTok. It’s up 13-7 on the Chart Update. The track entered the top 10 for the very first time last week, nearly 13 years after it originally dropped.

Further down the chart blast, singles by Tiësto and Tate McRae (“10:35” up 14-13 via Atlantic/Ministry of Sound), Cian Ducrot (“I’ll Be Waiting” up 19-18 via Polydor), Mimi Webb (“Red Flags” up 22-19 via Epic) and Coi Leray (“Players” up 37-20 via Uptown/Republic Records) are on the climb.

All will be revealed when the Official Charts are published late Friday.

Last fall, NCT 127 teased the possibility of a deluxe repackaging of their 2 Baddies album by telling Billboard to “look forward to being surprised by something unexpected.” Four months after the LP earned the K-pop boy band their second top 3 entry on the Billboard 200, the group unveils their Ay-Yo – The 4th Album Repackage album with three new songs, including the sleek title track single.

While NCT 127’s previous title track “2 Baddies” seized listeners’ attention with its unrelenting chant chorus, the group’s latest takes a much more subtle approach with looping beats, delicate piano accents, and a surging, synthesizer-led chorus. Like they teased last year, the guys themselves also bring out unexpected musical moments in “Ay-Yo,” like when the silky-voiced vocalist Jaehyun kicks off the second verse with a rap section.

The accompanying music video is a mash of surprise delights too. Members like Doyoung and Jaehyun serve their best James Bonds with slick black outfits among a backdrop reminiscent of inside a pistol barrel as made famous in the 007 movies.

Meanwhile, leader Taeyong pulls off what will be one of 2023’s most shocking hairstyles with punky, pointy spikes that fans have found reminiscent of NCT label mates and K-pop pioneers TVXQ! and Super Junior.

In between the release of 2 Baddies and Ay-Yo, NCT 127 released a music video for their b-side “1, 2, 7 (Time Stops)” and held concerts in North America, Asia and Latin America as part of their Neo City – The Link world tour. The guys only wrapped their last show on Jan. 28 at Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes arena before dropping this new LP that includes its title track, the previously teased “DJ” plus hip-hop/pop hybrid “Skyscraper.” 

Watch Taeyong, Doyoung, Jaehyun, Taeil, Mark, Yuta, Johnny, Jungwoo and Haechan in “Ay-Yo” below.

Muni Long released the Spanish version of her single “Hrs & Hrs” on Monday (Jan. 30) as part of her new Spotify Singles.

With The Avila Brothers taking the reins on production, the Spanish-language track finds the rising R&B star asking, “¿Pero te puedo cantar…en español?” (i.e. “But can I sing to you…in Spanish?”) before launching into the sultry groove.

“Lo tuyo, es mío, ahora/ Puedo hacer esto por horas/ Sentar y hablarte aquí por horas/ Regalarte unas rosas/ Nos bañamos en las olas/ De champaña y una cena/ Pero eres tu que me devoras,” she croons, roughly translating the sentiments of the 2022 slow jam, which was named one of Billboard‘s best R&B songs of the last year.

As part of the Spotify Singles, Long also gave The Carpenters’ 1971 classic “Superstar” a rhythmic spin, not unlike Luther Vandross’ famous cover, singing, “Long ago and oh, so far away/ I fell in love with you before the second show/ And your guitar, it sounds so sweet and clear/ But you’re not really here, it’s just the radio/ Don’t you remember, you told me you loved baby/ You said you’d be comin’ back this way again, baby/ Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh baby/ I love you, I really do.”

Long is currently nominated for best new artist at the upcoming 2023 Grammy Awards, while “Hrs & Hrs” picked up nods for both best R&B performance and best R&B song. Ahead of the telecast this Sunday, she was celebrated with a special event at the Grammy Museum.

Stream Long’s “Horas y Horas” and her “Superstar” cover below.

The annual G’Day USA Arts Gala took place on Saturday night (Jan. 28), bringing together Australians and Americans to celebrate and showcase Australian creativity, talent and strong partnership with the United States.

To kick off the evening, The Kid LAROI delivered a surprise acoustic performance of his Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping Justin Bieber collaboration, “Stay.” He went on to accept the Excellence in Music award by the evening’s host, Angela Bishop, with his parents in attendance in the crowd. “I’m not really a big award guy, but I will say this is something I’m really honored to take, not just because it’s really cool, but I have both of my parents here tonight,” the 19-year-old New South Wales native told the audience. “I’m pretty shy, I don’t like doing this type of stuff, but I’m doing this for them because I know this makes them really really proud.”

Later on in the evening, supermodel Miranda Kerr was presented with the Excellence in Arts award, given to her by her friend Katy Perry, who also happens to be married to Kerr’s ex-husband Orlando Bloom. “Many of you may be confused as to why I’m presenting Miranda with this award,” Perry said during her presentation. “It doesn’t fit the ex-wife, new wife narrative. Many in the media would like to see us mud wrestle, but this is about love, and Miranda is love.” 

“I’m here to present the Excellence in Arts award to my sister from another mister, my health and wellness guru, and the heart of our family, Miranda Kerr,” she added.

See photos from the event via G’Day USA’s Instagram page below.

Morgan Wallen‘s third album is officially on the way. The country star took to his socials on Monday (Jan. 30) to spread the news about his genre-blending upcoming LP, One Thing at a Time.

Wallen revealed that the album, which contains a whopping 36 tracks — including two songs with features from HARDY and ERNEST — will be released via Big Loud / Mercury / Republic Records on March 3. The announcement also featured the album’s cover art — a photo of him posing in front of his grandmother’s home in Sneedville, Tenn. — and the album’s track list. To celebrate, Wallen will be dropping “Last Night,” “Everything I Love” and “I Wrote the Book” from the album on Monday night. Fans can pre-order the album now.

“This record represents the last few years of my life, the highs and the lows,” the country singer shared in a press release. “It also brings together the musical influences that have shaped me as an artist – country, alternative and hip-hop. There are 36 songs on this album because we just kept exploring with fresh lyrics, music and production ideas and these are the songs that felt right to me. It was a blast to create, and I was so grateful to be back in the studio to lay this out for my fans.” 

“I just try to tell it how it is – the good, the bad, the love, the heartbreak. That’s all I know how to do,” Wallen added. “My hope is that this album makes my fans proud; makes ‘em laugh, smirk, cry, and think – just like it did for me.”

One Thing at a Time is the follow-up to 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album, which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and a whopping 92 weeks (so far) atop the Top Country Albums chart. This will be Wallen’s first full-length project since he was caught on video saying the N-word in February 2021 and was temporarily suspended by his label and had his music pulled from streaming playlists and radio. He has since apologized and gone on to perform (and pick up prizes) at awards shows and returned to the road.

See Wallen’s album announcement below.

Harry Styles‘ stardom knows no bounds.

The former One Direction member counts fellow musicians, former U.S. presidents and even preschoolers as his fans — something How I Met Your Father star Hilary Duff can confirm, thanks to her 4-year-old daughter Banks.

The actress appeared on the Monday (Jan. 30) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show and spoke with Clarkson about recently celebrating her daughter’s birthday, which consisted of a Styles concert.

“She got a lot of cool presents, but I think the most exciting one for her is she’s a massive Harry Styles fan. So when we bought the tickets, I was like, ‘This is for me.’ It was so good,” Duff told the host.

She continued, “Matt [Koma], my husband watches the show. I’m like, ‘Are you having a good time? Are you enjoying this?’ And he’s having the time of his life but he’s absorbing and staring. And I’m over here partying and singing along, and he’s like, ‘I can’t hear because you’re singing so loud and embarrassing all of us.’ And Banks did the same thing. When we were driving, I thought she was going to rip her car seat out. Every word jamming so hard, wanted her window down, hair flying … and when we get there [surprised face].”

Hopefully Banks’ birthday won’t be the last time Duff takes her out to see Styles. The pop star will be completing his final Love on Tour dates on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at the Acrisure Arena, Southern California’s newest 11,000-capacity world-class venue in Greater Palm Springs.

Watch Duff talk about her daughter’s love of Styles in the video above.