Fire destroyed a house in Springfield Thursday night.
The Springfield Fire Department responded to a fire at a house at Nettleton and Webster.
Springfield Fire Captain Chad Davis said the house was a total loss.
The house was vacant so there were no injuries.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Alton
Cabool
Dora
Licking
Phelps County R-3
Success
West Plains
Willow Springs
Shemar Moore swung by The Jennifer Hudson Show on Thursday (Jan. 26) to share an amusing story about being turned down by Alicia Keys in his Soul Train days.
“I tried to get at Alicia Keys, I ain’t gonna lie,” he said with a laugh after naming the many, many famous faces he met during his stint hosting the musical variety show from 1999 to 2003. “I tried! And no, I’ve told this story from time to time but the short version of it is, I saw her at the Soul Train Awards, I was in my dressing room. I looked at the monitor, there she was with her cornrows. And this is when her song ‘Fallin’ was first blowing up, she was just getting ready to explode.
“So she’s playing the piano, doing her thing,” the Criminal Minds alum continued. “And my favorite instrument is the piano. So fast forward about four months, she’s having a listening party here in L.A. So me and my homie, I was like, ‘Yo, Alicia’s performing, we gotta go, we gotta go!’”
From there, Moore gathered up the courage to approach Keys at the rooftop listening party, and even inquired about what her “man situation was like.” However, the R&B star’s reaction was not what he expected.
“And she goes, ‘Check this out, son,’” he recalled to a giddy Jennifer Hudson, “‘I respect your flirt game. But my man situation is handled.’ I walked away so uncool, I was like [drops head in shame].”(At the time, Keys was dating Kerry Brothers Jr., though she’s since married longtime love Swizz Beatz.)
This week, Keys hit No. 1 on the Adult R&B Airplay chart with her KEYS II single “Trillions” featuring Brent Faiyaz (chart dated Jan. 28).
Watch Moore recount the story of Keys’ blunt rejection below.
Moneybagg Yo and GloRilla each secure a third top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart as “On Wat U On” debuts at No. 9 on the list dated Jan. 28. The entrance returns Moneybagg Yo to the top tier for the first time since 2021, while GloRilla nabs a third top 10 with her third chart appearance.
“On Wat U On,” the collaboration between the Memphis rap stars, starts with 9.2 million official U.S. streams logged in the week ending Jan. 19, according to Luminate. The sum prompts the track’s No. 6 opening on the Rap Streaming Songs chart and a No. 17 arrival on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs list. Though streams contribute the heavy majority of “On Wat U On” activity for the first week, the song did sell 1,000 downloads and registered 1.3 million in radio airplay in the same period.
As mentioned, both rappers achieve a third top 10 on Hot Rap Songs thanks to their joint effort. For Moneybagg Yo, “On Wat U On” follows “Say Sum,” which reached No. 7 in November 2020, and “Wockesha,” a No. 5 hit in October 2021. The new hit, however, does mark his first top 10 debut on Hot Rap Songs. His prior best among his 23 charted titles was a No. 12 start for “Shottas (La La)” in May 2021.
GloRilla, meanwhile, lands her third top 10 on Hot Rap Songs with her third chart visit. Her debut, “F.N.F. (Let’s Go),” with Hitkidd, achieved at No. 9 high in September 2022 and “Tomorrow 2,” with Cardi B, peaked at No. 2 the next month.
Elsewhere, “On Wat U On” is the top debut on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at No. 21 and enters the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 56.
In 1973, Mocedades competed at the Eurovision Song Contest with their anthem “Eres Tú.” The song didn’t win (it came second place) but it ended up becoming such a global hit that it made the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, a milestone for a Spanish group. Today, 50 years after its original release, Mocedades seeks to break generational barriers with a new version of their signature hit, featuring tenor Plácido Domingo, set to drop Friday (January 27).
Written by Juan Carlos Calderón, “Eres Tú” was translated into 70 languages (in English it was called “Touch the Wind”), sold one million copies in the U.S. alone and had an impressive run on the Billboard charts, debuting at No. 90 on the Hot 100 the week of January 12, 1974 and spending 17 consecutive weeks on the chart, where it peaked at No. 9 on March 23.
The new version of “Eres Tú” was produced by Jacobo Calderón, the son of Juan Carlos, who has given it new life with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra, the participation of Domingo and some modern touches, while still staying true to the original.
It’s all part of a big celebration for Mocedades, which last year released the album Infinito Duets (Fonovisa/Universal), where the group revisits its greatest hits along with Gloria Trevi, David Bisbal, Morat, Il Divo, Lucero, Arthur Hanlon, Pedro Fernández, David Bisbal, Ana Torroja and El Bebeto, among others.
After an Infinito Tour through Latin America and Spain, the group plans to release Infinito Duets 2, which guests including Marc Anthony. “Eres Tú” is the first single of this volume.
Billboard Español spoke exclusively with two essential members of Mocedades: Izaskun Uranga Amezaga, the only original founder member (with 55 years active with the band) and owner of the rights to the use of the name Mocedades worldwide, and José Miguel González Robles, a singer and manager who has taken on the task of modernizing the group, including with the Infinito Duets concept.
Why did you think of Plácido Domingo for the anniversary version of “Eres Tú”?
Izaskun: Because he has undoubtedly been the most international voice that Spain has ever had and the most universal voice in the Spanish language. He has sang on the most renowned world stages, and such an iconic song deserved a voice of such stature.
Were you concerned in any way that the accusations of harassment that Domingo has faced could harm the image of Mocedades?
Izaskun: We admire and love Plácido Domingo as a singer and we admire and love him as a person. Our contact with him has always been cordial, affectionate, respectful. I fully trust him and, above all, [we consider] one very important thing — the presumption of innocence. Plácido Domingo has not been tried, investigated or convicted.
Izaskun, you have been there since the foundation of Mocedades. Haven’t the long tours been exhausting for you?
Izaskun: As long as my voice and head don’t fail me, be it walking or pushing, I’ll keep singing until the end. I never plan to retire, nor has it crossed my mind.
Over the years, Mocedades has experienced a rotation of its members. Those who are no longer in Mocedades but were founders, do they have a profit share?
Izaskun: They have their share of percentage of royalties, a participation of the initial brand — but the rights to the exclusive use of the brand are in the name of Izaskun Uranga Amezaga.
José Miguel, you are a relatively new member, with a decade with Mocedades. Was it your idea to give the group a twist by recording these new versions?
José Miguel: They have called me the modernizer of Mocedades, but what I’ve tried to do in recent years is try to reach new generations with a concept of Mocedades adapted to the 21st century, not to feed on what we had. The concept has been that Jacobo Calderón, the son of the person who created the songs (Juan Carlos Calderón), adapts the songs so that 20-year-olds can find them fresh and current.
We have done everything. A record for Juan Luis Guerra, a symphonic record at the National Auditorium, two records have been made with mariachi — Por Amor A México y Por Amor A México Vol. 2 — and now the two Infinito Duets.
Has this new stage of Mocedades been intense work?
José Miguel: We have recorded many duets, so there’s a long way to go before the public knows about it. The title Infinito allows us to continue with the concept. All these years’ work is summarized in more than 600 performances around the world, more than 20 countries traveled, seven albums published, tours with people who are very important to us. With Armando Manzanero, for example, we toured for three years. And well, the stars that have been with us in more than 30 duets that we have already recorded.
Do you ever consider stopping to take a breather?
José Miguel: Not at all. Any fatigue is relegated to the background when you receive, touch, feel — but above all, are moved — by the loyalty and affection of so many Mexicans, Colombians, Peruvians, Uruguayans, Bolivians, Ecuadorians, Chileans, Argentines and Spaniards who continue to listen to our music. That is the greatest reward for hard work, for all those hours on airplanes, the waitings, or the bitter moments that you face sometimes.
As a rapper, Villano Antillano is armed with a fiery flow charged with cheeky wordplay and sassy one-liner quips, all helping her dismantle hate speech to boost the LGBTQ+ community. On the phone, Villana Santiago Pacheco’s self awareness and outlook is also invigorating, lending a critical perspective that partly explains why she’s so damn good at rapping.
Billboard Español spoke with the first Latin Artist on the Rise of 2023 on Monday (Jan. 23). She had just received her very first nomination for Premio Lo Nuestro’s all-genre new artist female category — a well-earned feat for years of flexing her lyrical prowess. She’s recognized next to luminary upstarts like Bad Gyal, Tokischa, and Young Miko.
Villana’s nod follows her banner 2022: her first Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. chart entries, viral releases, a widely viewed performance alongside Bad Bunny, and an unflinching debut album, La Sustancia X. This year, the Puerto Rican star is poised to perform at global festivals Lollapalooza Argentina and Chile, Colombia’s Estéreo Picnic and Bombastic in Spain.
“What makes you an outstanding rapper is not about how many words you know, or whether you can rap in an academic way — it’s about how you use the language,” she explains. “It can be the language of everyday life. I use a lot of words that maybe aren’t popular like in the rest of the world, but it’s how I speak Spanish, and how it’s spoken in the Caribbean. That’s what really makes a rapper.”
She is also arguably the biggest Latin female trans artist today. Yet navigating her artistic persona while medically transitioning hasn’t been a walk in the park. “I carry it in my mind knowing that I am so much more than that label,” she says, while making mention of Latin America’s deep-rooted history with homophobia, machismo and misogyny. “I get a bit detached [from discrimination], but I don’t let it get to me … I’m a public figure, and on top of that, I’m a trans woman, and it’s inescapable that that responsibility is there. So let’s educate.”
“The trans experience is very difficult, but I think it’s incredibly magical with the access to things. It’s something that 98% of the population is never going to understand, and it’s very dangerous as well,” she continues. “It’s been a long road, there are struggles ahead, and a lot to fight. But we’re here.”
Born in the mid-‘90s in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Villana Santiago Pacheco was consumed by music in nearly every facet of living, from cooking to cleaning. “There was always something playing,” she recalls. Her dad listened to salsa pesada “and very Caribbean things.” The very first CD she bought was Shakira’s 1998 ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? “I have memories of my childhood glued to a CD player, watching hours go by listening to the same songs, and seeing how the world evolved,” she muses.
Villana came of age in an interesting time and place. The cusp of a new millennium brought the supposed doomsday of Y2K, the world wide web phenomenon, and a newly-minted, world-conquering Latin pop wave. Then there was the 2000s golden era of reggaetón — the now-globalized style with roots in New York-influenced hip-hop, Panamanian reggae en español and underground DJ mixings, igniting beyond her native Island — led by soon-to-be-legends Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Zion & Lennox, and Wisin & Yandel.
“Reggaetón starts to take over [locally] and becomes mainstream,” she remembers of the time. “It was musical saturation all over the place.” Villana looked up to Puerto Rico’s hometown heroine, her reggaetón royal highness, Ivy Queen.
As a member of Gen Z, that also positioned her at the crux of the worldwide internet boom, with YouTube music videos making the rounds, rapidly exposing foreign musical works to international audiences. “The internet took over and globalization became bigger and bigger. [Local and international] music exploded, and I had access to a lot of things. I feel like I grew up in a very special time,” she reflects.
This led her to discover the otherworldly rock en español of Buenos Aires’ Gustavo Cerati, the jazzy sophistication of Londoners Sade and Nicki Minaj’s hard-hitting rap bars. “There are artists who have accompanied me and have been fundamental to my development as a human being, and not necessarily as a musician or artist,” she says. “I consumed so much of [Cerati’s] music, and he has accompanied me at different stages of my life very strongly. I feel that I can relate very much to all of his work … I grew up listening to Sade and I think there’s an excellence in her musicianship – her elegance as a woman and everything she can make you feel; she’s never vulgar. But it’s there, super sensual, and I’m really, really fascinated by it … Nicki Minaj, she changed my life.”
In roughly 2007, the budding artist spent countless hours devouring the overly confident verbal snaps of the Harajuku Barbie around the time of Playtime Is Over (2007) and Beam Me Up Scotty (2009). “Those [releases] completely changed the course of my trajectory as a person. I felt so much power within her music; it was like a very direct encounter with my femininity. That’s when I started writing and when I said, ‘I am going to rap’.”
Villana first self-released music on YouTube and SoundCloud. She was formerly seen as a queer male rapper with a sly, brassy and welcoming reflection on womanhood. However, it took time for her to get into the recording studio due to lack of support in her hometown.
“I would have broken out in Puerto Rico, but being a woman — and to a certain extent, being a maricón — with all the social impact, the marginalization, and all the discrimination that goes with it… Making a name for yourself in one of the most misogynistic, sexist, and violent countries against feminized people and women is very strong,” she says.
“Facilitating resources was very difficult, even having access to quality recording equipment to be able to make productions — I was literally in the trenches,” continues Villana, who also co-produces all of her music. “The first person who approached me was Mixhell de León from the La Maldad collective. Basically, he gave me studio time. He said, ‘You can record here as much as you want’.”
In 2019, she released her first EP Tiranía, which followed a string of trap and rap singles. Two years later, Villano Antillano got the support of one of the biggest acts to come out of Puerto Rico: Residente, who made her the face of one of his beers. “Residente is one of the artists who has been very supportive since I started,” she says. “Residente has not only supported me, but he has also supported a lot of queer artists from Puerto Rico and implemented [their work] in his work.”
On June 8, 2022, Villano Antillano teamed up with Bizarrap for their now infamous “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 51″ teamup, where onlookers saw the fiery wordsmith reintroducing herself with cool insouciance. This collab earned Villana her first entry on the Billboard charts, peaking at No. 65 on the Global 200 (Aug. 2022) and at No. 36 on the Global Excl. U.S. chart in July 2022.
Following the viral session with the Argentine hitmaker, Villana made another global appearance — this time with today’s world’s hottest superstar, Bad Bunny, as part of a widely streamed event at one of the most important venues in Latin pop: Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot.
“It was a very special moment for me. I carry it deep in my heart,” she says of the moment. “Not only was I seen in the country, but also in every house in the country, and in Latin America! Who knows how many trans girls saw me. Maybe there was a silence among the whole family, but there was that accompaniment [amongst them]. There is a very big fear, specifically from dads. Not necessarily that they don’t want you to be the way you are, they’re trying to shield you in a way from all the hurt that’s coming. Because the world [ostracizes] people like us.”
“Bad Bunny is an artist who has been merited as an artist with truth, and there is a lot of talk about how he implements and utilizes queer culture in all of his work,” she continues. “There’s even a scholarly class on him! I try not to dwell into it that much either, because at the end of the day I’m just a girl who got to get onstage with him, and that’s amazing.”
Name: Villana Santiago Pacheco
Age: 27
Recommended Song: “Kaleidoscópica”
Biggest Accomplishment: “To be the successful, feisty, beautiful woman I am today. That is my greatest accomplishment.”
What’s Next: “I am really enjoying this stage. I released my album, and I feel like I’m in my motherhood stage. I’m very excited to be on the road, to be going from festival to festival, and touring. So I’m going to be working a lot, but today I’m very excited to see how far I can take it, because now I have access to things that I didn’t have before. Now I am a household name, and I have things at my disposal and resources. So, I feel that now I can get freaky with it.”
Country Kelly, oh how we love you. The Thursday (Jan. 26) episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show saw the American Idol alumn stepping up to the plate for yet another one of her fan favorite Kellyoke covers, and decided to give a country track a spin. The powerhouse singer went with Hailey Whitters’ “Everything She Ain’t,” and injected the song with her own unique twang.
Accompanied by her band Y’all, Clarkson slipped into the sassy track with ease, letting her signature vibrato and runs shine through the track.
“The whiskey in your soda, the lime to your Corona/ Shotgun in your Tacoma, the Audrey to your Hank/ She’s got a little style and a Hollywood smile/ But believe me, honey, good as money in the bank/ I’m everything she is and everything she ain’t,” Clarkson soulfully sang on the chorus of the track.
“Everything She Ain’t” hails from Whitters’ third studio album, Raised, which was released in March. The country singer, whose song “A Beautiful Noise” earned a Grammy nomination last year in the song of the year category, had her television debut and performed “Everything She Ain’t” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Jan. 25.
Clarkson’s cover of the Whitters track is just one of the few country songs she has offered up for Kellyoke recently. She also gave Taylor Swift’s “Better Man” a try for the show’s opening segment, as well as Christ Stapleton’s “You Should Probably Leave,” in the past week.
Watch Kelly Clarkson perform “Everything She Ain’t” in the video above.
A woman from Texas will spend over six years in prison for stealing millions of dollars from victims in a catfishing scheme.
Prosecutors say 31-year-old Dominque Golden was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to charges of fraud and conspiracy at the federal level.
Investigators say that Golden, along with an unknown number of accomplices, tricked people across the U.S. into giving over $2.6 million to them through dating apps, Facebook and other media sources.
After receiving the money, it was funneled through numerous bank accounts and businesses that were created illegally or fictiously.
Police estimate Golden herself received close to $1.3 million
The victims in the case were from all over the country, including Rhode Island, New York, Colorado, North Carolina and Florida, as well as Missouri and Arkansas.
Her sentence will be served concurrently with a 4 1/2 year sentence she is currently serving in Georgia for a separate crime.
After its synch in HBO’s new series The Last of Us, Depeche Mode’s ‘80s hit “Never Let Me Down Again” blazes to No. 1 on Billboard’s LyricFind U.S. and LyricFind Global charts dated Jan. 28.
The LyricFind Global and LyricFind U.S. charts rank the fastest momentum-gaining tracks in lyric-search queries and usages globally and in the U.S., respectively, provided by LyricFind. The Global chart includes queries from all countries, including the U.S. The company is the world’s leader in licensed lyrics, with data provided by more than 5,000 publishers and utilized by more than 100 services, including Amazon, Pandora, Deezer, Microsoft, SoundHound and iHeartRadio.
“Down” reigns following its appearance in the series premiere of the HBO show (based on the video game of the same name), which premiered Jan. 15.
According to LyricFind, lyric searches and usages for “Down” zoomed 182% globally and 999% in the U.S.
Thanks to the synch, the song also found its way onto Billboard’s Alternative Digital Song Sales and Rock Digital Song Sales charts at Nos. 7 and 18, respectively. In the Jan. 13-19 tracking week, the song earned 1,000 downloads, up 1,199% from a negligible amount the previous period, according to Luminate.
It also saw a significant stream boost: 552,000 official on-demand U.S. streams Jan. 13-19, a 210% gain from Jan. 6-12.
“Down” reached No. 63 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. It can be found on 1987 album Music for the Masses, which peaked at No. 35 on the Billboard 200.
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen are soaking up their baby bliss. On Tuesday, the Cravings founder shared a close-up photo of Esti’s cute face via Instagram and gushed at how sweet the baby looked while sleeping. Legend followed suit with more baby photos on Wednesday (Jan. 25), sharing a beyond adorable snap of him and Esti together.
In the snap, the “All of Me” singer is smiling ear to ear in a cozy white turtleneck sweater while holding Esti, who is awake and wearing a precious pink sweater. “Our new love,” the 12-time Grammy winner captioned the photo, ending with red heart emoji. Teigen, equally enamored with their baby girl, commented “eeeee I love her.”
Legend and Teigen welcomed Esti on Jan. 13, a rep confirmed to Billboard. Legend shared the news during a private concert, during which he told attendees, “What a blessed day.” He also told guests that he had spent a significant amount of time at the hospital, resulting in him not getting much sleep before the event, but also noted he felt “energized” after the baby’s birth.
Esti arrives after the couple lost baby Jack while the cookbook author was 20 weeks pregnant. The two are also parents to 5-year-old Luna and 4-year-old Miles.
See Legend’s heartwarming photo with Esti below.