Month: May 2023

Bad Bunny’s “Where She Goes” bounds in at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart (dated June 3). With the launch, he becomes the first soloist with as many as three No. 1s since the survey began.

Meanwhile, FIFTY FIFTY’s “Cupid” spends a second week atop the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. survey.

Plus, Shakira’s ballad “Acróstico” ascends to the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, from No. 11 to No. 8.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, which started in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.

Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.

Bad Bunny ‘Goes’ Straight to No. 1 on Global 200

Bad Bunny’s “Where She Goes” launches atop the Billboard Global 200, with 71 million streams and 3,000 sold worldwide May 19-25, following its May 18 release. The Spanish-language song arrives as his third No. 1 on the chart, after “Un x100to,” with Grupo Frontera, for two weeks earlier in May, and “Dakiti,” with Jhay Cortez (now Jhayco), for three weeks in November-December 2020.

Bad Bunny becomes the first soloist with three Global 200 No. 1s; overall, he’s second only to BTS, with six. Justin Bieber, BLACKPINK, Drake, Olivia Rodrigo and Taylor Swift each boast two.

“Where She Goes” marks Bad Bunny’s first Global 200 entry with no accompanying artists since he released his LP Un Verano Sin Ti, which dominated the U.S.-based Billboard 200 for 13 weeks in May-October 2022.

Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” dips to No. 2 on the Global 200 after three weeks at No. 1, having become the chart’s first leader for the regional Mexican genre.

FIFTY FIFTY’s “Cupid” slips to No. 3 from its No. 2 Global 200 high; Yng Lvcas and Peso Pluma’s “La Bebe” retreats to No. 4 from its No. 3 best; and Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” keeps at No. 5, after 12 weeks on top in January-April.

‘Cupid’ Hits Target Again Atop Global Excl. U.S.

FIFTY FIFTY’s “Cupid” adds a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, despite drops of 6% in streams, to 61 million, and 13% in sales, to 2,000, outside the U.S. May 19-25.

Yng Lvcas and Peso Pluma’s “La Bebe” logs a fourth week at its No. 2 Global Excl. U.S. best.

Bad Bunny’s “Where She Goes” debuts at No. 3 on Global Excl. U.S., with 48.1 million streams and 1,000 sold in its first full tracking week. He notches his record-extending 14th top 10 on the tally, further distancing himself from runners-up BTS and Swift, each with 10.

Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” holds at No. 4 on Global Excl. U.S., following a record-tying (with Harry Styles’ “As It Was”) 13 weeks at No. 1 beginning upon its debut in January, and Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma’s “Ella Baila Sola” descends 3-5, after reaching No. 2.

Elsewhere in the Global Excl. U.S. top 10, Shakira’s “Acróstico” climbs 11-8, up 6% to 55.6 million streams outside the U.S. The Colombian-born superstar — who was crowned Woman of the Year at the first Billboard Latin Women in Music celebration May 6 — earns her fourth top 10 on the chart, all within the last year, with three in 2023. “TQG,” with Karol G, topped the March 11 survey, upon its debut; Bizarrap and Shakira’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” hit No. 2 in January; and “Te Felicito,” with Rauw Alejandro, reached No. 6 in June 2022.

The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated June 3, 2023) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (May 31, a day later than usual due to the Memorial Day holiday in the U.S. May 29). For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.

Matty Healy made a lot of people upset after he laughed at racist, body-shaming comments about Ice Spice in recent podcast appearance. But now, he thinks the controversy “doesn’t actually matter.”

“Nobody is sitting there at night slumped at their computer, and their boyfriend comes over and goes, ‘What’s wrong, darling?’ and they go, ‘It’s just this thing with Matty Healy,’” the 1975 frontman told The New Yorker in a Monday (May 29) profile. “That doesn’t happen.”

“You’re either deluded or you are, sorry, a liar,” he continued, addressing fans who claimed to be offended by the remarks. “You’re either lying that you are hurt, or you’re a bit mental for being hurt. It’s just people going, ‘Oh, there’s a bad thing over there, let me get as close to it as possible so you can see how good I am.’ And I kind of want them to do that, because they’re demonstrating something so base level.”

The controversy in question went down in February when Healy went on The Adam Friedland Show to promote The 1975’s latest album, Being Funny In a Foreign Language. After bringing up that Ice Spice had once said she was a big fan of the band, the show’s hosts proceeded to make jokes about the “Princess Diana” rapper sounding like an “Inuit Spice Girl” and a “chubby Chinese lady.” They went on to mockingly imitate Chinese and Hawaiian accents, and joked about what Healy should say when sliding into Ice Spice’s DMs. The podcast episode has since been removed from Apple and Spotify.

Healy later half-apologized for laughing at and engaging with the hosts’ remarks during a 1975 concert in Auckland, New Zealand. “I just feel a bit bad, and I’m kind of a bit sorry if I’ve offended you,” he said onstage. “Ice Spice, I’m sorry. It’s not because I’m annoyed that me joking got misconstrued. It’s because I don’t want Ice Spice to think I’m a d–k. I love you, Ice Spice. I’m so sorry. I don’t want it to be misconstrued as mean.”

Since then, Ice Spice has teamed up with Taylor Swift — whom Healy is rumored to be dating — for a blockbuster remix of the pop star’s Midnights track “Karma.” When announcing the remix, the pop superstar said of the rising star, “I’m a massive fan of this brilliant artist and after getting to know her I can confirm: she is THE ONE to watch.” The two have since released a joint music video for the project, and the “Munch” artist also joined Swift onstage for three nights in a row at MetLife Stadium to debut the remix live at the Eras Tour.

While some fans may be questioning the motives behind the remix, Jack Antonoff — who has collaborated with both Swift and The 1975 — he’s standing by Healy. “I think Matty is a deeply sincere person, who can, at different points, be misunderstood because of how much he enjoys a bit,” Antonoff said in the New Yorker piece. “If you don’t know him, if you don’t get him, because you’re not really tuned in to the work, you might assume a cynicism that is literally not there.”

The U.K. organization Women in CTRL is the second recipient of IMPALA’s Changemaker award, it was announced on Tuesday (May 30). The not-for-profit organization, founded by Nadia Khan, seeks to advance gender equality in the music industry.

Women in CTRL encourages women and non-binary persons to find their strengths, develop their own personal brands and build the tools and confidence to become leaders. The organization runs creative growth programs, community workshops, mentoring, training, organizing events and more.

Women in CTRL also publishes research and reports, such as the “Seat at the Table” report looking at the representation of women, with an intersectional focus on Black women, in the boardroom of U.K. music trade bodies. They also released the “Women in Radio” report looking into the experiences of women in the radio industry to identify the barriers women face.

Women in CTRL has also partnered with AIM and Amazon Music to launch a new apprenticeship program, “Amplify,” which aims to improve access to music industry careers for women and non-binary people.

“It’s an honor for Women in CTRL to be chosen as the second recipient of the Changemaker award,” Khan said in a statement. “This recognition affirms our work, inspires us to continue and highlights the independent community’s collective determination and passion in driving positive change within the music industry. Women in CTRL firmly believe in the transformative power of sharing best practices and learning from the exceptional organizations that IMPALA champions.”

“Women in CTRL is an inspiration to all in the sector who seek to bring change,” Helen Smith, IMPALA’s executive chair, said in a statement. “It’s an honor to be able to showcase their work through our Changemaker Award.”

The Changemaker Award puts the spotlight on projects that champion DEI work (dubbed “equity, diversity and inclusion” in Britain). The recipient is selected yearly by IMPALA’s DEI task force. Launched in May 2022, the award highlights projects that have an impact on the independent music sector. It is presented yearly during European Diversity Month.

The POWER UP initiative was the inaugural recipient last year. Launched in January 2021, POWER UP provides mentoring, support and grants for 40 Black music creators and industry professionals.

IMPALA was established in 2000 and now represents nearly 6,000 independent music companies. IMPALA’s mission is to grow the independent music sector sustainably, return more value to artists, promote diversity and entrepreneurship, improve political access, inspire change and increase access to finance.

Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour runs through August, but this past weekend’s shows at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, marked the last dates featuring her friend Phoebe Bridgers as one of the opening acts.

“Yeahhhh so the last three nights were a dreamscape and totally overwhelming,” Swift said of her MetLife concerts in a Monday (May 29) post on Instagram, where she shared a handful of new concert photos. “I love every single one of you who came to those 3 shows in Jersey, all 217,625 of you.”

“@phoebebridgers, I’ll miss you out here my dude, thanks for the duets and the dressing room heart to hearts,” she wrote, adding an emoji of two pink hearts to her message.

In addition to having her own set as an opener on The Eras Tour, Bridgers joined Swift onstage to perform their from-the-vault duet “Nothing New” at the past 10 dates.

“You are my hero,” Bridgers said Sunday night before they sang the Red-era song together. The pair shared a sweet hug, and Swift said, “Thank you for being the friend that you’ve been to me. This is really something we could’ve written in a note to each other,” she joked, “Just be like, ‘Thank you for being a friend that I will never ever stop confiding in and trusting. I love you with everything,’ but yeah, this is the last time we’re gonna get to sing together on this tour.”

In her Instagram note on Monday, Swift also wrote, “I was so excited to welcome @owennmusic to the Eras Tour! And @icespice i love youuuu and I’m still buzzing from getting to sing with you all three nights! This tour has become my entire personality. See you soon Chicago!”

See Swift’s latest post on Instagram.

This past weekend, Matty Healy voiced the questions many have been asking amid his recent public appearances with Taylor Swift. The 1975 frontman vaguely addressed the situation on stage at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend festival in Dundee, Scotland, on Saturday (May 27).

“Is it all a bit?” he asked the crowd — not exactly defining what “it” is, but presumably referencing widespread chatter that he might be dating Swift. “Is it sincere? Will he ever address it?”

“All of these questions and more will be ignored in the next hour,” Healy quipped. “Ladies and gentleman, this is The 1975.”

Before Healy headed back on the road with The 1975, there were sightings of him at Swift’s dates on The Eras Tour in Nashville and Philadelphia, where he showed his support for the “Anti-Hero” star from the VIP tent and was seen joining opener Phoebe Bridgers on guitar. He wasn’t seen at her Foxborough, Massachusetts, concerts after that, but at the May 20 show Swift — who last dated Joe Alywn, for six years — gave a somewhat cryptic life update to her fans: “I’ve just never been this happy in my life, in all aspects of my life, ever,” she said from the stage, adding, “It’s not just the tour, I just sort of feel like my life finally feels like it makes sense.”

Outside of The Eras Tour, on May 16, Healy and Swift were spotted leaving Electric Lady Studios in New York City together, hours after he was reportedly spotted near her apartment. As the two exited the studio to get to a car waiting for them outside, Healy guided Swift past a gathering of fans with his hand at her lower back.

Days before that, the singers were pictured dining, and possibly holding hands, at Casa Cipriani in New York City. Mutual friend and collaborator Jack Antonoff joined them for dinner.

And during Swift’s May 5 concert in Nashville, eagle-eyed fans noticed she mouthed the words “This one is about you. You know who you are. I love you” from the stage during her performance of “Cardigan.” Interestingly, Healy said the exact same thing at his own concert two days prior.

See the clip of Healy talking to the audience at Radio 1’s Big Weekend fest below.