Ed Sheeran’s next album campaign is already off to a flying start in the U.K., where lead single “Eyes Closed” (via Atlantic) is racing to No. 1.
“Eyes Closed” dropped last Friday (March 24), ahead of Sheeran’s Subtract album, due out May 5, and it’s the new No. 1 on the Official Chart Update.
If it holds its turf, “Eyes Closed” will give Sheeran a 14th U.K. No. 1, an effort that would see him pass Madonna (13) and draw level with Cliff Richard and Westlife (14 each) on the all-time list.
A Sheeran chart victory would spell the end of a 10-week reign for Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” (Columbia). As it stands, Cyrus’ streak is just one week short of Tones And I’s 11-week reign with “Dance Monkey,” the all-time stretch at No. 1 in the U.K. for a solo female singer.
After becoming the first solo member of BTS to crack the top 30 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, Jimin is set for become the first member of the superstar K-pop to crack the U.K. top 20.
Jimin’s “Like Crazy” (BigHit Entertainment), which arrived last Friday with an official music video, is set to enter the chart at No. 11, having slipped from No. 7 on the first chart blast in the cycle.
“Set Me Free – Pt 2” and “Like Crazy” both appear on Jimin’s solo LP Face, which also hit digital service providers last Friday.
Finally, British singer and songwriter Paris Paloma is eyeing her first appearance in the U.K. top 40. “Labour” (via Nettwerk), which has been described as a fiery feminist anthem, starts at No. 30 on the Official Chart Update.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Singles Chart is published Friday, March 31.
Lana Del Rey doesn’t need to take the tunnel, she’s on a direct path to the U.K. No. 1.
The alternative pop artist leads the midweek U.K. chart with Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd (via Polydor), her ninth studio album.
If it holds its course, Ocean Blvd will give Del Rey her sixth U.K. chart crown in just over a decade, a list that includes Born to Die (2012), Ultraviolence (2014), Lust for Life (2017), Norman F*cking Rockwell! (2019) and Chemtrails Over the Country Club (2021).
Lana’s latest leads an all-new top 5 on the Official Chart Update, which sees Depeche Mode and Fall Out Boy set to snag podium spots.
DM’s Memento Mori (Columbia), the Rock Hall-inducted synth-pop legends’ first album since the death last year of bandmember Andy Fletcher, is on track for a No. 2 debut, the band’s highest position on the U.K. chart in 10 years. Dave Gahan and Co. have raked-in 17 top 10 appearances on the U.K albums survey, most recently with 2017’s Spirit (No. 5).
Reunited U.S. pop-rock act Fall Out Boy is eyeing a fifth U.K. top 10 finish, with So Much (for) Stardust (Parlophone) debuting at No. 3 on the chart blast.
Pink Floyd could return to the top 5 with a live version of the prog-rock legends’ iconic album Dark Side of the Moon, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary. The Dark Side of the Moon – Live At Wembley 1974 (via Parlophone) forms part of a special anniversary collection, which includes a boxed set of Dark Side, which has chalked-up 557 weeks on the Official U.K. Albums Chart (and counting) but remarkably has never hit No. 1. Its peak position is No. 2, though Floyd has led the chart with six titles.
Completing the top five on the midweek survey is U.S. country star Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old (Sony Music CG), at No. 5. It’s on course to become Combs’ highest charting LP in the U.K.
Further down the list, Japanese rock act BABYMETAL is heading for a first U.K. top 10 appearance with The Other One (Cooking Vinyl), new at No. 7 on the midweek survey, while Georgian/British singer and songwriter Katie Melua could bag a ninth U.K. top 10 with Love & Money (BMG), set to debut at No. 10.
All will be revealed when the Official U.K. Albums Chart is published Friday, March 31.
After IVE established itself as a leading girl group in the next generation of K-pop acts with three hit singles, the sextet begins the next, most international step in their career yet with the release of their next single under a brand-new label deal.
The opening lyrics to IVE’s latest track, “Kitsch,” seems prophetic as member Wonyoung opens by singing, “It’s our time.” While the new song has all the markings of a quintessential global-pop hit to stand alongside past IVE singles “Eleven,” “Love Dive” and “After Like,” “Kitsch” crucially includes the girls’ now-signature themes and lyrics of oozing confidence and self-love.
“Even our OOTD is just so like us/ When it comes to my favorite things/ Don’t judge them,” leader Yujin sings before youngest member Leeseo ends the verse with, “I live the way I want, what more do you want/ That’s my style.”
The accompanying music video plays off the similar YOLO themes of following one’s unique path as Wonyoung sings in front of a mural of herself, and the girls ferociously and playfully dance together in front of a neon sign with the phrase: “You’re So Weird, Don’t Change.” There’s even a bit of social commentary when the camera pans to a design on one of the members’ jacket back, with details boasting the phrase “Books, not guns. Culture, not violence.”
“Kitsch” is the pre-release buzz single for the group’s forthcoming full-length album I’ve IVE dropping next month. The track comes as the first step after IVE signed a worldwide deal with Columbia Records in the States. Columbia will team with IVE’s Korean label Starship Entertainment (home to Monsta X, WJSN, CRAVITY, Jeong Sewoon, and other K-pop artists) and Kakao Entertainment America (the new, U.S.-based branch of Kakao Entertainment (the media and music-distribution subsidiary under South Korean technology company Kakao).
“We’re thrilled to be embarking on IVE’s global journey with Columbia Records, a company with a rich history in pop music,” said Joseph Chang, head of Kakao Entertainment America, in a press release. “This partnership holds significant meaning for us. By strengthening the production and distribution capabilities of our music and artists in North America, we look forward to increasing the global competitiveness of Kakao Entertainment’s music business.”
After what Kakao Entertainment describes as “IVE’s North America debut,” the company pledged overseas support for its artists careers and expanding its music business globally.
Beyond Starship, Kakao Entertainment owns and distributes music multiple K-pop labels including IST Entertainment (home to popular groups like Apink, Victon, The Boyz and Weeekly), EDAM (an agency created for solo superstar IU that recently expanded by signing WOODZ), and Antenna (the label founded by musician and TV host You Hee-yeol boasting rock bands, ballad singers, entertainment hosts and more).
For international distribution outside the U.S., IVE has signed with Sony Music’s subsidiary distributor The Orchard.
IVE’s full-length album I’ve IVE (which stands for “I Have IVE,” per press release) drops on April 10 with new songs alongside “Kitsch” as well as a new single.
U2’s Songs of Surrender debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated April 1), selling 42,000 copies in the United States in the week ending March 23, according to Luminate.
Notably, of the set’s first-week sales, vinyl accounted for 19,500 copies sold. That marks U2’s biggest sales week on vinyl since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991.
Songs of Surrender’s is available in multiple configurations, including a standard 16-track version, a 20-track deluxe and a 40-track super deluxe (with the latter divided into four 10-track chapters named after each band member: Bono, Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr.). Sales were also helped by a dozen vinyl variants of the album, including exclusive editions sold by Amazon, Target and independent music stores.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new April 1, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on March 28. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums rank the week’s most popular rock and alternative albums, rock albums and alternative albums, respectively, by equivalent album units. Vinyl Albums tallies the top-selling vinyl albums of the week. Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s best-selling current (not catalog, or older albums) albums by traditional album sales.
Of Songs of Surrender’s 42,000 copies sold, physical sales comprise 33,500 (19,500 on vinyl; 13,500 on CD; and 500 on cassette) and digital downloads comprise 8,500.
TWICE’s Ready To Be: 12th Mini Album falls 1-2 on Top Album Sales in its second week (29,500; down 80%), Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights climbs 5-3 (12,500; up 22%) and Morgan Wallen’s former leader One Thing at a Time dips 3-4 (11,000; down 41%). Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation descends 2-5 with nearly 11,000 (down 80%).
TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s chart-topping The Name Chapter: Temptation falls 4-6 (almost 11,000; down 4%). 100 gecs’ 10,000 Gecs debuts at No. 7 with 7,000 – marking the first chart entry for the duo.
NCT 127’s Ay-Yo: The 4th Album Repackage falls 6-8 on Top Album Sales with 6,000 sold (down 35%), Tyler, the Creator’s Flower Boy vaults 44-9 with nearly 6,000 (up 151%) after the set was reissued on vinyl LP and Stray Kids’ former No. 1 MAXIDENT descends 9-10 with nearly 6,000 sold (down 1%).
In the week ending March 23, there were 1.832 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 6.5% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.492 million (down 7%) and digital albums comprised 340,000 (down 4.2%).
There were 627,000 CD albums sold in the week ending March 23 (down 14.5% week-over-week) and 855,000 vinyl albums sold (down 0.9%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 7.552 million (up 1.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 10.532 million (up 25.3%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 22.442 million (up 7.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 18.197 million (up 14%) and digital album sales total 4.245 million (down 12.8%).
Monday night’s (March 27) iHeartRadio Music Awards celebrated the artists we hear most across the airwaves, with Lenny Kravitz hosting and performing.
Taylor Swift collected the Innovator Award and Pink won the Icon Award, but who else took home prizes?
Related
Taylor Swift Accepts Innovator Award at 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards: ‘You Have to Give Yourself…
Find the night’s big winners below:
Song of the year “About Damn Time”- Lizzo WINNER: “Anti-Hero”- Taylor Swift “As It Was”- Harry Styles “Big Energy”- Latto “Enemy (from the series Arcane League of Legends)”- Imagine Dragons “First Class”- Jack Harlow “Ghost”- Justin Bieber “Heat Waves” – Glass Animals “Industry Baby” – Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow “Woman” – Doja Cat
Artist of the year Beyoncé Doja Cat Drake Dua Lipa WINNER: Harry Styles Jack Harlow Justin Bieber Lizzo Taylor Swift The Weeknd
Best duo/group of the year AJR Black Eyed Peas Blackpink Glass Animals WINNER: Imagine Dragons Måneskin OneRepublic Parmalee Red Hot Chili Peppers Silk Sonic
Best collaboration “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”- Elle King & Miranda Lambert “Cold Heart”- Elton John & Dua Lipa “half of my hometown”- Kelsea Ballerini ft. Kenny Chesney “I Like You (A Happier Song)” – Post Malone ft. Doja Cat “Industry Baby” – Lil Nas X & Jack Harlow “One Right Now”- Post Malone & The Weeknd “Sweetest Pie” – Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa WINNER: “Unholy” – Sam Smith & Kim Petras “Wait For U” – Future ft. Drake & Tems “You Right” – Doja Cat ft. The Weeknd
Best new pop artist Dove Cameron Gayle WINNER: Jax Nicky Youre Steve Lacy
Country song of the year “Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis ft. Luke Bryan “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini ft. Kenny Chesney WINNER: “She Had Me At Heads Carolina” – Cole Swindell “The Kind of Love We Make” – Luke Combs “Wasted On You” – Morgan Wallen
Country artist of the year Carrie Underwood Jason Aldean Kane Brown Luke Combs WINNER: Morgan Wallen
Best new country artist Bailey Zimmerman WINNER: Cody Johnson Elle King Elvie Shane Priscilla Block
Afrobeats artist of the year Burna Boy CKay Fireboy DML WINNER: Tems WINNER: Wizkid
Hip-hop song of the year “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)”- Hitkidd & GloRilla “First Class” – Jack Harlow “Girls Want Girls” – Drake ft. Lil Baby “Super Gremlin”- Kodak Black WINNER: “Wait for U” – Future ft. Drake & Tems
Hip-hop artist of the year WINNER: Drake Future Kodak Black Lil Baby Moneybagg Yo
Best new hip-hop artist B-Lovee WINNER: GloRilla WINNER: Latto Nardo Wick SleazyWorld Go
R&B song of the year “Break My Soul” – Beyoncé “Free Mind” – Tems “Hrs And Hrs” – Muni Long WINNER: “I Hate U”- SZA “Smokin Out The Window” – Silk Sonic
R&B artist of the year Blxst Muni Long Silk Sonic WINNER: SZA Yung Bleu
Best new R&B artist Blast Brent Faiyaz WINNER: Muni Long Steve Lacy Tems
Alternative song of the year “Black Summer”- Red Hot Chili Peppers “Edging”- Blink-182 WINNER: “Enemy (from the series Arcane League of Legends)”- Imagine Dragons “Heat Waves”- Glass Animals “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)”- Kate Bush
Alternative artist of the year Imagine Dragons Måneskin WINNER: Red Hot Chili Peppers twenty one pilots Weezer
Best new artist (alternative & rock) Beach Weather BoyWithUke WINNER: Giovannie and the Hired Guns Turnstile Wet Leg
Rock song of the year WINNER: “Black Summer”- Red Hot Chili Peppers “Patient Number 9”- Ozzy Osbourne ft. Jeff Beck “Planet Zero”- Shinedown “So Called Life”- Three Days Grace “Taking Me Back”- Jack White
Rock artist of the year Ghost WINNER: Papa Roach Red Hot Chili Peppers Shinedown Three Days Grace
Dance song of the year “Cold Heart”- Elton John & Dua Lipa “Escape”- KX5, Kaskade, Deadmau5 ft. Hayla “Heaven Takes You Home”- Swedish House Mafia & Connie Constance “Hot In It”- Tiësto & Charli XCX WINNER: “I’m Good (Blue)”- David Guetta & Bebe Rexha
Dance artist of the year WINNER: Anabel Englund Joel Corry Sofi Tukker Swedish House Mafia Tiësto
Latin pop/reggaeton song of the year “El Incomprendido” – Farruko/ Víctor Cárdenas/ DJ Adoni WINNER: “MAMIII”- Becky G & Karol G “Me Porto Bonito”- Bad Bunny ft. Chencho Corleone “Moscow Mule” – Bad Bunny “Provenza”- Karol G
Latin pop/reggaeton artist of the year WINNER: Bad Bunny Daddy Yankee Farruko Karol G Rauw Alejandro
Regional Mexican song of the year “Cada Quien”- Grupo Firme ft. Maluma WINNER: “Cómo Te Olvido” – La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de René Camacho “Si Te Pudiera Mentir”- Calibre 50 “Ya Solo Eres Mi Ex” – La Adictiva “Ya Supérame”- Grupo Firme
Regional Mexican artist of the year Calibre 50 Christian Nodal El Fantasma WINNER: Grupo Firme La Adictiva
Best new Latin artist Blessd WINNER: Kali Uchis Quevedo Ryan Castro Venesti
Best lyrics (socially voted category) “About Damn Time” – Lizzo “abcdefu” – Gayle WINNER: “Anti-Hero” – Taylor Swift “Buy Dirt”- Jordan Davis ft. Luke Bryan “Glimpse Of Us”- Joji “Lift Me Up”- Rihanna “N95” – Kendrick Lamar “pushin P” – Gunna ft. Future, Young Thug “Super Freaky Girl” – Nicki Minaj “Wasted On You” – Morgan Wallen “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”- Lin-Manuel Miranda performed by the Cast of Encanto
Best music video (socially voted category) “Anti-Hero”- Taylor Swift “As It Was” – Harry Styles “Calm Down”- Rema & Selena Gomez “Don’t Be Shy”- Tiësto & Karol G “Don’t You Worry”- Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, David Guetta “Envovler” – Anitta “Left and Right”- Charlie Puth ft. Jung Kook of BTS “Pink Venom”- BLACKPINK “Tití Me Preguntó” – Bad Bunny WINNER: “Yet to Come” – BTS
Best fan army (socially voted category) “Barbz”- Nicki Minaj “Beliebers”- Justin Bieber “BeyHive” – Beyoncé “Blinks”- Blackpink WINNER: “BTSArmy”- BTS “Harries” – Harry Styles “Hotties”- Megan Thee Stallion “Louies”- Louis Tomlinson “RihannaNavy”- Rihanna “Rushers”- Big Time Rush “Selenators” – Selena Gomez “Swifties”- Taylor Swift
Social star award (socially voted category) Bailey Zimmerman Charli D’Amelio Em Beihold Gayle GloRilla WINNER: JVKE Lauren Spencer-Smith Yung Gravy
Favorite tour photographer (socially voted category) Bad Bunny – Siempreric Demi Lovato – Angelo Kritikos Dua Lipa – Elizabeth Miranda Halsey – Yasi WINNER: Harry Styles – Lloyd Wakefield Louis Tomlinson – Joshua Halling Luke Combs – David Bergman Machine Gun Kelly – Sam Cahill Olivia Rodrigo – Donslens Post Malone – Adam DeGross twenty one pilots – Ashley Osborn YUNGBLUD – Tom Pallant
TikTok bop of the year (socially voted category) “About Damn Time”- Lizzo “As It Was” – Harry Styles “Bad Habit” – Steve Lacy WINNER: “Bejeweled”- Taylor Swift “Big Energy”- Latto “Cuff It”- Beyoncé “Envolver”- Anitta “Just Wanna Rock” – Lil Uzi Vert “Made You Look”- Meghan Trainor “Super Freaky Girl” – Nicki Minaj “Unholy”- Sam Smith & Kim Petras “World’s Smallest Violin”- AJR
Favorite documentary (socially voted category) Halftime – Jennifer Lopez Life in Pink – Machine Gun Kelly Love, Lizzo– Lizzo Niall Horan’s Homecoming: The Road to Mullingar With Lewis Capaldi – Niall Horan + Lewis Capaldi WINNER: Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me – Selena Gomez Shania Twain: Not Just a Girl – Shania Twain Sheryl – Sheryl Crow Untrapped: The Story of Lil Baby – Lil Baby
Favorite tour style (socially voted category) Bad Bunny Carrie Underwood Dua Lipa Elton John WINNER: Harry Styles Lady Gaga Lil Nas X Lizzo Machine Gun Kelly Olivia Rodrigo Rosalía The Weeknd
Favorite residency (socially voted category) “An Evening with Silk Sonic” – Silk Sonic “Enigma + Jazz & Piano” – Lady Gaga “Let’s Go!” – Shania Twain “Love In Las Vegas”- John Legend WINNER: “Love On Tour” – Harry Styles “Play”- Katy Perry “Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency” – Carrie Underwood “Usher: My Way – The Las Vegas Residency” – Usher “Weekends with Adele” – Adele
Favorite use of a sample (socially voted category) Beyoncé’s “Summer Renaissance” – sampled Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” Blackpink’s “Pink Venom” – sampled 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P,” Rihanna’s “Pon de Replay,” and Biggie’s “Kick In The Door” Chlöe’s “Treat Me” – sampled Bubba Sparxxx & Ying Yang Twins’ “Ms. New Booty” David Guetta & Bebe Rexha’s “I’m Good (Blue)” – sampled Eiffel 65’s “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” DJ Khaled & Drake’s “Staying Alive” – sampled The Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” Doja Cat’s “Vegas” – sampled Shonka Dukureh’s “Hound Dog” Jack Harlow’s “First Class” – sampled Fergie’s “Glamorous” Latto’s “Big Energy” – sampled Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” Lizzo’s “Break Up Twice” – sampled Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)” Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl” – sampled Rick James’ “Super Freak” WINNER: Taylor Swift’s “Question…?” – sampled Taylor Swift’s “Out of The Woods” Yung Gravy’s “Betty (Get Money)” – sampled Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”
Police across Missouri, include several departments in the Ozarks, are investigating “swatting” text and false reports of school shooters.
The incidents happened at Springfield’s Kickapoo High School, as well as high schools in Ozark, Branson, Knob Noster, Sedalia, Carthage and Carl Junction on Monday.
All were determined to be pranks.
This happened hours after a school shooting in Nashville.
Here is a news release from the Ozark Police Department on the situation.
By its very name, “underground” music should be something you have to “dig” for. You have to seek it out, stray a bit from the beaten path and try something that feels a little risky. In this way, it seems diametrically opposed to the “mainstream,” which is very easy to find because it sits at the top of the charts, gets played on the radio (often ad nauseum), and requires little to no research to learn about.
The class war between “mainstream” and “underground” dance music fans has existed for over a decade, since EDM roared into mainstream consciousness and many “serious” heads looked on aghast. This era cemented the idea that those who “do their research” have a one-up on the “uneducated” masses, because underground folk have earned some kind of status by way of taking ownership of their playlists, and mainstream music lovers just take what they’re given.
In the greater conversation of today’s U.S. electronic music industry, the “underground” is usually defined as house and deep house, techno and tech house; while the “mainstream” consists of EDM bangers, dance-pop crossover hits and maybe, sometimes, bass-heavy American dubstep.
But after attending Ultra Music Festival 2023 this past weekend (March 24-26) in Miami’s Bayfront Park, and scoping the lineups of large parties at the surrounding Miami Music Week, the so-called “underground” sound has clearly become as popular, if not more so, than its chart-topping counterpart.
So what are we even talking about now when we talk about underground music and the culture surrounding it?
Indeed, how “underground” is a back-to-back set from house/techno heroes Maceo Plex and Michael Bibi when it draws roughly 10,000 people into a covered stage the size of a small airplane hangar, just a five-minute walk from where Zedd is bringing out the trendiest up-and-coming rapper in the world? (Ice Spice’s cameo on the Ultra mainstage during Zedd’s Saturday night set even inspired hate from EDM fans on the Internet, despite her massive popularity and the fact that her 2021 hit “No Clarity” directly samples one of the star producer’s biggest hits.)
There’s a narrative that lives within dance music; this idea that one is lured to the rave scene by some big EDM pop hit and attends a couple festivals with their friends, mostly hanging around the mainstage to hear familiar favorites. A couple years down the line, if they keep going to dance festivals, they start exploring the side stages and get exposed to house and techno. Soon they trade their daisy bra for a black T-shirt and sunglasses, and now they’ve “evolved” into a “serious dance music fan.”
This narrative is bolstered by many within the industry, whether it’s a promoter trying to book more European acts Stateside or a blogger on Twitter reminding everyone that “we all started at the mainstage,” and surely it fits some people’s actual lived experience. But it also reeks of oversimplification into neat demographics that can be exploited for profit. Surely we all realize that in reality, people are more nuanced than “bass bro” or “black T-shirt techno.”
There are lots of other people who were turned on to dance music by some other means of exploration, and some people skip the dance-pop train entirely. On the way home from Ultra on Sunday night, a friend of mine rattled off intimate life details about Italian house and techno DJ Joseph Capriati, but had never even heard the name Illenium, and only the latter artist has a Hot 100 tune.
Where does my friend fit in the grand scheme? In fact, right there Ultra Music Festival alongside the Marshmello stans, standing a few feet away from the guy in a Deorro jersey jammin’ out to a tech-house set from Mind Against. Maybe all of our tastes are a little different, but we’re all dancing in the same field.
Yes, there’s something sexy about being part of the “underground.” It’s got a sense of exclusivity, like you’re special for being there, even if tech-house has become the scene’s prevailing genre — one that was nearly unavoidable over the weekend regardless of what stage one was at. The “underground”s exotic allure is the backbone of Ultra’s “Resistance” concept. The brand debuted at the festival in 2015, the same year Major Lazer and DJ Snake released their record-setting “Lean On” and Martin Garrix collaborated with Usher, two feats that represented the peak of EDM’s U.S. radio saturation.
With a debut 2015 lineup that included Tale of Us, Sasha, Jamie Jones and The Martinez Brothers, the idea seemed to be that house and techno DJs were somehow “resisting” the urge to do mainstream pop things, and that those who flocked to the stage were in the cool corner doing something really interesting. It’s not that they weren’t, but it’s hard to argue that anything happening on this massive stage, in front of its massive crowds, was somehow more exclusive than anything else going down in Bayfront Park. It’s even harder to argue now.
Maybe there’s not a huge overlap between the people who want to see Art Department and people who want to see Armin Van Buuren, but ultimately, both those categories of people will spend hundreds of dollars on a ticket, along with airfare, hotels and other amenities during one of the most expensive weeks in Miami tourism. Both acts are really popular. Otherwise, Ultra wouldn’t book them.
Not only are the Resistance stages popular, they’re also highly favored by the overall Ultra brand. Case in point, Ultra’s Resistance residency at newly opened South Beach mega-club M2. It follows in the footsteps of Ultra’s existing and highly lauded Resistance residency in Ibiza, and it debuted this week with performances by house and techno stars Carl Cox, Sasha and John Digweed, Solardo, Anfisa Letyago, Charlotte De Witte and other mainstays of the Resistance brand.
De Witte, the Belgian DJ-producer known for hard-edged dark techno, also made her debut on Ultra’s mainstage on Friday evening. The set was positioned like some kind of coup, with Ultra presenter Damian Pinto asking the audience to show de Witte the same amount of love they would for any of the other more familiar main stage acts, as if this incredibly talented and well-known international DJ accidentally ended up on the festival’s biggest stage without anyone having have ever heard of her.
Was it the first time a “serious” techno DJ played the Ultra main stage? Maybe, but Deadmau5 has played here, and he’s no stranger to the genre. Hardwell’s big comeback set last year was pretty dark and bangin’, both emphasizing and capitalizing on how popular the style has become for audiences worldwide. To act like de Witte’s performance was some kind of wild upset seems a little disingenuous, and a bit patronizing to audiences overall.
Dance world classism is so entrenched, it’s begun to affect the artists themselves. A producer friend who wasn’t playing Ultra this year but who came to the festival to hang and support her peers talked about the disappearance of “middle class DJs” – a phenomenon not dissimilar to the current economic crisis that’s diminished the strength of a true American middle class.
According to her, some artists feel they have to choose between high-paying, seemingly “mainstream” gigs like Ultra, EDC Vegas and the like, or walk a “more honorable” path playing “culturally-rich” spaces for much lower fees. It’s a decision that’s become increasingly difficult as corporate interests take control of the scene, and one that suggests the amount of money artists make or number of people they play in front of somehow defines the quality of their art. But it’s dangerous thinking, both in terms of how it might limit creativity, and in the sense of the welfare of artists who’d shirk financial gain for fear of losing credibility.
The Megastructure at Ultra Music Festival 2023
Ultimately, this week’s Ultra and Miami Music Week proved that “underground” house and techno is really popular in the United States — just like many scenesters critical of EDM during the boom days hoped it someday would be. If you needed more proof, consider the 5,000-capacity mini festivals thrown at Miami venue Factory Town every night last week, including the sold-out Afterlife showcase featuring Tale of Us, Camelphat and Mathame, who then played to massive crowds at Ultra’s Resistance Megastructure four days later.
But at the end of the day, if one really loves music, “popular” shouldn’t be a dirty word. Tastes change and evolve over time, on micro and macro scales, but it’s slippery to suggest that the type of music one likes says anything about one’s value or intelligence as a human. (Case in point is M83, who played Ultra back in 2012 and who recently faced backlash from DJs on Twitter for saying he regrets any crossover EDM fame, due to his distaste for the fans that scene brought him.)
This past weekend, it was cool when Kayzo’s live guitarist stood on a cage while fire spit from every corner of the Ultra live stage. It was really cool when a giant, 3-D lineup of exterminators shot cryo over the crowd at Eric Prydz’ stunning Holo show in the Megastructure. It was dope that Swedish House Mafia played Fred Again.. tracks between the trio’s classic hits as they closed out the main stage on Sunday and it was fun when Kaskade and deadmau5 bantered back and forth like besties while spinning on giant, glowing cubes. It was sick when Tiësto dropped drum’n’bass out of nowhere, and it was neat to hear Carl Cox create a live remix of Daft Punk’s “Da Funk” on the fly.
As genres continue melting into one another, “underground” music draws massive crowds, and the mainstage gets increasingly experimental, it’s hard to argue that many (or any) true “rules” to dance music remain. But — from the mainstage to the Resistance stage to all the places where mainstream and underground overlapped and to musical moments beyond — much of what went down at Ultra 2023 made people dance. Certainly, that remains the best test of what’s good.
Jimin is having a big week on Billboard’s latest charts (dated April 1). The South Korean singer/dancer becomes the first member of BTS to score an unaccompanied solo top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, as his “Set Me Free, Pt. 2” debuts at No. 30.
The song, released March 17 via BigHit Music/Geffen/Interscope Records, starts with 6.4 million U.S. streams and 63,000 downloads sold in its opening week, according to Luminate. It concurrently launches at No. 1 on both the all-genre Digital Song Sales chart and World Digital Song Sales, marking his second leader on each list.
The single also starts at No. 5 on Billboard Global Excl. U.S. and No. 8 on the Billboard Global 200 (56 million streams; 42,000 sold worldwide).
“Set Me Free, Pt. 2” is Jimin’s second solo entry on the Hot 100 outside BTS (which boasts six No. 1s, among six top 10s). He first charted beyond the group with his TAEYANG collab, “Vibe,” in January (No. 76 peak), and became the seventh and final member of BTS to score a solo entry on the Hot 100.
Of the 14 solo songs by BTS members to hit the Hot 100, “Free” is the third to reach the top 40, and the first unaccompanied. Juice WRLD and Suga’s “Girl of My Dreams” hit No. 29 in 2021 and Charlie Puth’s “Left and Right,” featuring Jung Kook, peaked at No. 22 in 2022.
Here’s a look at every song by a BTS member to chart on the Hot 100, listed chronologically:
Artist Billing, Title (Peak Position; Peak Date) J-Hope feat. Becky G, “Chicken Noodle Soup” (No. 81; Oct. 12, 2019) Agust D (Suga’s alternate billing), “Daechwita” (No. 76; June 6, 2020) Juice WRLD & Suga, “Girl of My Dreams” (No. 29; Dec. 25, 2021) V, “Christmas Tree” (No. 79; Jan. 8, 2022) Jung Kook, “Stay Alive” (No. 95; Feb. 26, 2022) PSY feat. Suga, “That That” (No. 80; May 14, 2022) Charlie Puth feat. Jung Kook, “Left and Right” (No. 22; July 9, 2022) J-Hope, “More” (No. 82; July 16, 2022) J-Hope, “Arson” (No. 96; July 30, 2022) JIN, “The Astronaut” (No. 51; Nov. 12, 2022) RM with Youjeen, “Wild Flower” (No. 83; Dec. 17, 2022) TAEYANG feat. Jimin, “Vibe” (No. 76; Jan. 28, 2023) J-Hope with J. Cole, “On the Street” (No. 60; March 18, 2023) Jimin, “Set Me Free, Pt. 2” (No. 30; April 1, 2023)
Jimin also becomes the seventh member of BTS to hit No. 1 on the Emerging Artists chart, thanks to “Free.” RM was the first, for a week in November 2018, followed by Suga, for a week in December 2021; V (one week, January 2022); Jung Kook (one week, February 2022); J-Hope (one week, July 2022); and JIN (one week, November 2022). (Suga also appeared on the chart via the moniker Agust D in 2018.)
The Emerging Artists chart ranks the most popular developing artists of the week, using the same formula as the all-encompassing Billboard Artist 100, which measures artist activity across multiple Billboard charts, including the Hot 100, Billboard 200 and the Social 50. (The Artist 100 lists the most popular acts, overall, each week.) However, the Emerging Artists chart excludes acts that have notched a top 25 entry on either the Hot 100 or Billboard 200, as well as artists that have achieved two or more top 10s on Billboard’s “Hot” song genre charts and/or consumption-based “Top” album genre rankings.
For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Are you still listening?
3628718256
Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)
