Month: April 2023

On Sunday, Morgan Wallen canceled his headlining show at Oxford, Miss.’s Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, moments before he was to take the stage as part of his One Thing at a Time Tour, enraging many of the approximately 60,000 fans who had already packed the stadium, and leading to rumors regarding the reason behind the cancellation.

After openers HARDY, Ernest and Bailey Zimmerman performed, a message appeared on screens flanking either side of the stadium stage, stating, “Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately Morgan has lost his voice and is unable to perform tonight. Therefore, tonight’s show has been canceled. Please make your way safely to the stadium exits. Refunds for tonight’s event will be available at point of purchase beginning tomorrow.”

Though a statement to the crowd noted that the last-minute cancellation was due to Wallen losing his voice, a TikTok video of a security guard at Vaught Hemingway Stadium, which suggested the real reason for the last-minute cancellation was that Wallen had been too drunk to perform, only added fuel to the rumors.

Posted Monday by TikTok user @thunderb4lightnin, the video went viral, earning 3.4 million views as of press time. In the video, the security guard comments that Wallen losing his voice is “bull crap” and agrees when asked by the attendee if Wallen didn’t perform because he was too drunk. The guard also claimed that Wallen was taken to the hospital by ambulance.

On Tuesday (April 25), Big Loud CEO Seth England responded in an attempt to shut down the rumors, sharing a statement from event company Best Crowd Management, which handled security for the concert at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

England shared a social media message from Best Crowd Management, which read, “A hired employee of BEST Crowd Management made false claims as it related to last night’s Morgan Wallen concert and we do not stand behind the detail in his statement. Please refer to Morgan’s social media pages for details.”

England added his own statement, writing, “Thank you @bestcrowdmanagement for correcting your employee, who made up an entire story that was nowhere close to true. Every detail was false. Laughable what some people will just say for a reaction.” He concluded, “Don’t Believe Everything You Read.”

Billboard reached out to Best Crowd Management regarding their social media statement but had not heard back by press time.

Wallen later rescheduled additional shows that had been slated for this week, telling fans on social media, “Y’all know how important my fans are to me, so I feel horrible about this news. There’s nothing more I want to do than be onstage playing for you guys. But as of today, I’m on doctor-ordered vocal rest and we have to reschedule this week’s shows. I appreciate and understand everything you do to get to my shows, so it would be unfair of me to put on a show that I know will not be 100%. I’m doing everything I can to speed up the process of getting to that mark 100%–MW”

This week, Wallen also became the first artist to have three songs in the top 10 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart simultaneously, with “Thought You Should Know” at No. 7, “Last Night” at No. 8 and “One Thing at a Time” at No. 9.

BLACKPINK is the revolution! The girl group wrapped up its second weekend headlining Coachella by sending BLINKs a heartfelt message of thanks on social media on Tuesday (April 25).

“Still feels surreal that we did this! Thank you @coachella for having us!” the foursome wrote in a series of Instagram Stories showing off their high-octane stage in the California desert. “And to all BLINKs out there, we could’ve never done this without you guys. We are forever grateful. Thank you again for these unforgettable two weeks and hope to see you all again!”

During both Saturday night headlining slots, Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo and Rosé ran through their entire catalog — from early hits such as “Whistle” and “Forever Young” to recent fan favorite smashes including “Pink Venom,” “Shut Down” and “Pink Venom.” Each set also included solo moments for each member, including Jennie’s as-yet-unreleased track “You & Me,” a medley of Rosé’s “On the Ground” and “Gone,” the explicit, unreleased version of Lisa’s “Money” and Jisoo’s brand new solo debut “Flower.”

Jisoo also took to her Instagram feed to share a celebratory selfie with her bandmates, writing, “@blackpinkofficial in your area” with the requisite black and pink heart emojis. In a follow-up post, the ME singer showed off more behind-the-scenes footage from the weekend, captioning the slideshow, “enjoyed pinkchella season to the mostest.” (Lisa also posted her own carousel while Rosé and Jennie have yet to share photos from the second weekend.)

Next, BLACKPINK is set to embark on an encore of their sold-out Born Pink World Tour, starting with a show at Mexico City’s Foro Sol on Wednesday (April 26). The North American leg of the encore begins later this summer with stops in New Jersey, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Check out BLACKPINK’s Stories about Coachella here and scroll through Jisoo and Lisa’s Pinkchella memories below.

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Taeyang‘s highly anticipated second EP has finally arrived. The BIGBANG singer released his newest project, [Down to Earth], on Tuesday (April 25), and it features two superstar collaborations with Lisa from BLACKPINK and Jimin of BTS.

“This album comes from various emotions and inspirations that I felt underneath my skin as I gazed at the sunset,” the K-pop star shared in a press release. “The sunset, which decorates a day’s end, welcomes the dark night and not a new morning. Just like the sunset, my world is colored with beautiful memories of the past, but what came back to me was the ceaseless night that followed. Thus, I began to realize that the image of myself over the past six years was not much different than the sunset.”

He continued, “In a way, I was deeply touched and felt relief by the silent sunset and how it greets the night, fulfilling its role in the most beautiful way possible. The repetitive and burdensome times that I could not overcome alone guided me ‘back to the drawing board’. Thus, this album allowed me to capture my heart that was ready to jump back up into a fresh new start.”

Jimin featured on the album’s first single, “VIBE,” which hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s World Digital Song Sales in January. New to fans is Taeyang’s collaboration with Lisa, the hip-hop and R&B heavy track “Shoong!” The song debuted alongside a sizzling performance video, in which the duo hit intricate choreography moves, and are supported by backup dancers.

“You keep my engine on purr, you could never get swerved/ How you move ’round the curves make me, ooh/ You got that thing that I want, know your love hit the spot/ And you never should stop, baby, shoong,” Lisa raps on her sultry verse for the track.

The album also includes tracks “Seed,” “Reason,” “Inspiration (featuring Beenzino)” and
“Nightfall (feat. Bryan Chase).”

Watch the music video for “Shoong!” above, and stream [Down to Earth] below.

This story is part of Billboard‘s Mujeres Latinas en la Música package.

In the last 12 months, Shakira has placed four songs at No. 1 on the Billboard Latin charts and has broken 14 Guinness World Records. She has also been celebrated with a retrospective exhibit at the Grammy Museum. 

Oh, and she has sparked something of a female revolution along the way. 

The Colombian superstar turned one of the most difficult years of her life into an unprecedented return to Spanish-language music by opening her heart to teach us that it’s OK to be vulnerable, and even “cash in” when suffering from heartbreak. 

The latest winning streak by the artist — who was already the woman with the most top 10 hits on Hot Latin Songs (34), the most No. 1s on Latin Airplay (18) and the most entries on Latin Pop Airplay (50), among other milestones — began in April 2022 with “Te Felicito” with Rauw Alejandro. The song reached No. 1 on the Latin Airplay and the Latin Pop Airplay charts, the latter of which Shakira had not led since “Clandestino” with Maluma four years earlier. 

Then came the heartfelt bachata “Monotonía” with Ozuna, which peaked at No. 1 on Latin Airplay and spent six weeks atop the chart. 

Shakira finished off the trilogy in January with the forceful “Shakira: BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Argentine DJ Bizarrap, in which she declared her new motto: “Women don’t cry anymore, they cash in.” The song earned her her first No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs since “Chantaje” with Maluma in 2016. 

The track also “cashed in” by breaking 14 Guinness World Records, including most played Latin song on Spotify in 24 hours (14.4 million) and most viewed video on YouTube in 24 hours (63 million). 

“What for me was a catharsis and a relief, I never thought would go straight to number one in the world at 45 years old, and in Spanish,” Shakira posted on social media, in Spanish. “I want to embrace the millions of women who stand up to those who make us feel insignificant… They are my inspiration,” she added. 

And just when it seemed like she had said it all, she made history again with “TQG” with Karol G. The collaboration — an explosive goodbye kiss for their respective exes — not only debuted at the top of Hot Latin Songs, but also earned both Colombian powerhouses their first No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. 

Having back-to-back hits is nothing new for Shakira, who debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2001 with “Whenever, Wherever” and hit No. 1 in 2006 with “Hips Don’t Lie.” But being at the top of the global charts two decades later, singing in Spanish, reaffirms her place as a true superstar — one capable of transcending languages, generations and borders as very few can. 

“What for me was a catharsis and a relief, I never thought would go straight to number one in the world at 45 years old, and in Spanish”

Shakira

And her influence and contributions go far beyond music. Shakira has been an advocate of education through her Fundación Pies Descalzos, which since 1997 has built and adapted nine public schools in Colombia that have benefited more than 152,000 children and their families. “It’s part of my mission,” she told Billboard nearly a decade ago, and she has kept it that way. 

In this inaugural edition of Latin Women in Music, the Woman of the Year — for her unprecedented past and current success — is, unquestionably, Shakira. 

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Maluma, Bizarrap, Carlos Vives, Camilo and More on Shakira’s Staying Power

“Working with Shakira, I immediately realized exactly why she is such a powerhouse in our industry. She is phenomenally talented, hardworking, relentlessly detailed-oriented and always delivers musical excellence.” —Maluma, artist

“The importance of having a Shakira in our music industry as a Colombian, a woman, or an artist, is that she teaches us with her example that we can have our own voice; that difference coupled with excellence and delivery make a good combo.” —Goyo, artist 

“Shakira isn’t a powerhouse. Shakira invented powerhouse. She has the nerve and the talent. Everything else is ‘only’ a great capacity to work and give it all.” —Alejandro Sanz, artist 

“Shakira is a tireless warrior, megatalented and capable of getting up and reinventing herself every day. Nothing is impossible for her. Not in her profession, nor in her personal life.” —Afo Verde, chairman/CEO, Sony Music Latin Iberia 

“Shakira represents so many women so well that she deserves to be Woman of the Year. She’s like a force who has the power to protect [others] in times of difficulty. … I remember when we were doing the video for ‘La Bicicleta’ when I managed to break the protocol and we ended up roaming through the neighborhood and arriving at her school. At that moment I think she was like Shakira the pelaíta, the girl from Barranquilla. She ordered the director to ‘follow us already,’ and we started. And that moment is felt in the video.” —Carlos Vives, artist 

“I’ve worked with everyone. Whitney, Michael Jackson, and I’ve never experienced that [level of] detail. She conducts a session like she’s teaching! … This girl, she’s the definition of music.” —Will.i.am, artist-producer 

“I was proud to be a part of her growth from the beginning of her career, and she deserves everything she has achieved. Her great talent, her perseverance; she has always put her passion first to bring something new to music and her fans. [When I met her,] she didn’t speak any English, and I said, ‘We’re going to do the crossover with you.’ … Six months later, she went for an interview and she spoke English better than me.” —Emilio Estefan, producer-composer 

“What’s most impressive about Shakira, beyond what a multifaceted and talented force she is as an artist, is just how far-reaching her impact is … I remember my first trip to Colombia with her many years ago to inaugurate one of the new schools she built through her Pies Descalzos Foundation, I was so blown away to see and hear firsthand how knowledgeable, passionate and committed she was to providing universal access to quality education for all in her country, and how intolerant she was of achieving anything less. I saw then how her dogged perseverance is to thank for her level of success.” —Jaime Levine, manager 

“Working with her was a master class in my career. She’s an artist in every sense, a tireless worker, talented and kind. No. 1 without a doubt.” —Jorge Ferradas, founder of FPM Entertainment and former member of Shakira’s management team 

“Only wonderful things happen to people who are absolutely dedicated to the pursuit of excellence. Shakira is one of those people. … For me as an artist, and especially as a Colombian artist, having such a reference since I was very little pushed me to be the best version of myself. When I was able to meet her and sing with her, I was able to confirm that everything I thought and felt was true.” —Camilo, artist 

“Collaborating with Shakira this year was an incredible experience for me, from which I learned a lot. We worked a lot on this song [‘BZRP Music Sessions, Vol. 53’], right up to the last minute! I thought I was detailed until I met Shakira.” —Bizarrap, DJ-producer 

“I know Shakira the artist, and it is no secret to anyone that she is incredible. But I also know Shakira the mom, and this version of her is at another level. The way she loves and gives her life for her two children is admirable. Seeing how she enjoys her children, how she talks about them with such pride, how she takes them into account for everything, makes me admire her more.” —Keityn, artist-composer 

Tickets to Billboard‘s Latin Women In Music can be purchased here.