Month: May 2023

With Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid” soaring into the U.K. top 10, South Korea’s latest pop export snags a slice of U.K. chart history.

On the latest Official U.K. Singles Chart, published May 5, “Cupid” improves 18-9, giving Fifty Fifty honors as the first K-pop girl group to appear in the top 10.

True, BlackPink has smashed various records, and chalked up eight U.K. top 40 appearances along the way.

In the U.K., however, their best showing on the national singles tally is No. 17 for “Sour Candy” their 2020 collaboration with Lady Gaga. BlackPink does, however, boast a No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart with 2022’s Born Pink, and a No. 2 peak for 2020’s The Album.

Comprising Aran, Keena, Saena and Sio, Fifty Fifty was formed in 2022 by South Korean entertainment agency ATTRAKT.

The track caught fire on TikTok, where it has generated more than 8 million TikTok videos, and views on the short-video platform are at about 12 billion.

As “Cupid” opened its wings and took flight on sales and consumption charts last month, Warner Records/Warner Music Group Korea announced a partnership for the group.

Australians, meanwhile, are officially smitten with “Cupid”. The track zooms 6-2 on the latest ARIA Chart, also published last Friday. Blackpink already has its flag planted in the land Down Under; their Born Pink hit “Pink Venom” blasted to No. 1 there last August.

Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding keep the good times rolling, as “Miracle” (via Columbia) rules the U.K. survey for a fourth non-consecutive week.

The throwback ‘90s club tune continues to rack-up a market-leading volume of streams, bagging 5.4 million over the latest chart cycle, the Official Charts Company reports.

“Miracle” matches Goulding’s 2015’s release “Love Me Like You Do” for her longest reigning U.K. leader. It’s still a month off equalling Harris’ eight-week reign with “One Kiss,” his 2018 collaboration with Dua Lipa.

Meanwhile, David Kushner’s “Daylight” (Miserable Music) holds at No. 2 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart, published May 5, while Libianca’s Afrobeats sensation “People” (5K) lifts 4-3.

Another club tune dances up the chart this week — Switch Disco’s “React” (Relentless) featuring Ella Henderson, and sampling Robert Miles’ mid-’90s dream-house classic “Children”. “React” lifts 8-7, for a new high.

Close behind, “Cupid” (Attrakt) opens its wings and gives K-pop girl group Fifty Fifty a new chart high — and a piece of history. The slick pop production flies 18-9, giving the four-piece honors as the first K-pop girl group to crack the U.K. top 10.

Blackpink has set all manner of records, and accumulated eight U.K. top 40 appearances along the way. However, their best effort on the national singles tally is No. 17 for “Sour Candy,” their 2020 collaboration with Lady Gaga. Blackpink does, though, boast a No. 1 on the U.K. Albums Chart with 2022’s Born Pink, and a No. 2 best for 2020’s The Album.

Finally, London rapper Nines grabs his first U.K. top 10 as “Tony Soprano 2” (Warner Records) lifts 11-10. It’s one of three numbers from his new album Crop Circle 2 to make an impression on the top 40, as “Calendar” opens at No. 19 for the highest debut on the latest survey, while “Favela” featuring J Styles is new at No. 34, lifting Nines’ tally of U.K. top 40 hits to five.

Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez were both winners in music-related categories at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, where the HBO series The Last of Us, starring Pedro Pascal, took home the most awards of the night.

Swift’s “Carolina,” from the Where the Crawdads Sing soundtrack, was awarded best song. In the category, “Carolina” was up against movie soundtrack songs from Demi Lovato, Doja Cat, Lady Gaga, OneRepublic and Rihanna.

Gomez’s My Mind & Me was honored as best music documentary, where she’d competed with the films Halftime; Love, Lizzo; Sheryl and The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie.

The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards honored stars in movies and television, across scripted and unscripted, with a pre-taped ceremony that aired on Sunday (May 7). Drew Barrymore was set to host, but opted not to out of solidarity with the Writer’s Guild of America strike.

See the full list of winners below.

2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards Winners List

Best movie

Avatar: The Way of Water
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Elvis
Nope
Scream VI — WINNER
Smile
Top Gun: Maverick

Best show

Stranger Things
The Last of Us — WINNER
The White Lotus
Wednesday
Wolf Pack
Yellowstone
Yellowjackets

Best performance in a movie

Austin Butler — Elvis
Florence Pugh — Don’t Worry Darling
Keke Palmer — Nope
Michael B. Jordan — Creed III
Tom Cruise — Top Gun: Maverick — WINNER

Best performance in a show

Aubrey Plaza — The White Lotus
Christina Ricci — Yellowjackets
Jenna Ortega — Wednesday — WINNER
Riley Keough — Daisy Jones & The Six
Sadie Sink — Stranger Things
Selena Gomez — Only Murders in the Building

Best hero

Diego Luna —Andor
Jenna Ortega — Wednesday
Paul Rudd — Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Pedro Pascal — The Last of Us — WINNER
Tom Cruise — Top Gun: Maverick

Best villain

Elizabeth Olsen — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — WINNER
Harry Styles – Don’t Worry Darling
Jamie Campbell Bower — Stranger Things
M3GAN – M3GAN
The Bear — Cocaine Bear

Best kiss

Anna Torv + Philip Prajoux – The Last of Us
Harry Styles + David Dawson – My Policeman
Madison Bailey + Rudy Pankow – Outer Banks — WINNER
Riley Keough + Sam Claflin – Daisy Jones & The Six
Selena Gomez + Cara Delevingne – Only Murders in the Building

Best comedic performance

Adam Sandler – Murder Mystery 2 — WINNER
Dylan O’Brien – Not Okay
Jennifer Coolidge – Shotgun Wedding
Keke Palmer – Nope
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary

Breakthrough performance

Bad Bunny – Bullet Train
Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us
Emma D’Arcy – House of the Dragon
Joseph Quinn – Stranger Things — WINNER
Rachel Sennott – Bodies Bodies Bodies

Best fight

Brad Pitt (Ladybug) vs. Bad Bunny (The Wolf) – Bullet Train
Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) vs. Ghostface – Scream VI — WINNER
Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna) vs. Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) – Stranger Things
Keanu Reeves (John Wick) vs. Everyone – John Wick 4
Escape from Narkina 5 – Andor

Most frightened performance

Jennifer Coolidge – The White Lotus — WINNER
Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Cocaine Bear
Justin Long – Barbarian
Rachel Sennott – Bodies Bodies Bodies
Sosie Bacon – Smile

Best duo

Camila Mendes + Maya Hawke – Do Revenge
Jenna Ortega + Thing – Wednesday
Pedro Pascal + Bella Ramsey – The Last of Us — WINNER
Simona Tabasco + Beatrice Grannò – The White Lotus
Tom Cruise + Miles Teller – Top Gun: Maverick

Best kick-ass cast

Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Outer Banks
Stranger Things — WINNER
Teen Wolf: The Movie

Best song

Demi Lovato – Still Alive (Scream VI)
Doja Cat – Vegas (Elvis)
Lady Gaga – Hold My Hand (Top Gun: Maverick)
OneRepublic – I Ain’t Worried (Top Gun: Maverick)
Rihanna – Lift Me Up (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
Taylor Swift – Carolina (Where the Crawdads Sing) — WINNER

Best docu-reality series

Jersey Shore Family Vacation
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition
The Kardashians — WINNER
Vanderpump Rules

Best competition series

All-Star Shore
Big Brother
RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars — WINNER
The Challenge: USA
The Traitors

Best host

Drew Barrymore – The Drew Barrymore Show — WINNER
Joel Madden – Ink Master
Nick Cannon – The Masked Singer
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Kelly Clarkson – The Kelly Clarkson Show

Best reality on-screen team

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Vinny Guadagnino, Pauly D (MVP) – Jersey Shore Family Vacation
Tori Deal and Devin Walker – The Challenge: Ride or Dies
RuPaul Charles and Michelle Visage – RuPaul’s Drag Race
Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay, LaLa Kent – Vanderpump Rules — WINNER
Garcelle Beauvais and Sutton Stracke – The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Best music documentary

Halftime
Love, Lizzo
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me — WINNER
Sheryl
The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie

Best musical moment, sponsored by Sonic (social only)

Purple Hearts: “Come Back Home” — WINNER

Comedic genius award

Jennifer Coolidge — WINNER

Ed Sheeran‘s latest album, Subtract, has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (May 5) on Billboard, choosing the British pop star’s sixth studio release as their favorite new music release of the past week.

Subtract brought in nearly 57% of the vote, beating out new music from Lil Baby (“Go Hard”), Megan Moroney (Lucky), Toosii featuring Khalid (“Favorite Song (Remix)”), and others.

On Friday, Sheeran dropped a full visual album to accompany the emotional studio set. Featuring a music video for each of the 14 songs on the album’s standard tracklist, the 12 new visuals joined the previously released ones for singles “Eyes Closed” and “Boat” to tell the story of Subtract.

Subtract is the last installment in Sheeran’s decade-long mathematical album era, following 2011’s +, 2014’s x, 2017’s ÷ and 2021’s =.

The singer teamed up with The National’s Aaron Dessner — whom he met through pal Taylor Swift — to write and produce the upcoming album.

Trailing behind Sheeran on the poll is Lil Baby’s “Go Hard,” with 17% of the vote, and Moroney Lucky, with 13% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

The first edition of Billboard Latin Women in Music has arrived. Hosted by reggaetón royalty Ivy Queen and Telemundo television host Jaqueline Bracamontes, the two-hour music special celebrates game-changing Latin women in music: seven musicians and 40 executives. 

“We are excited to recognize a wide range of exceptional artists who reflect the astounding depth of talent to be found among women in Latin music,” said Leila Cobo, Billboard’s chief content officer for Latin/Español. “All these artists bring something exceptional to the table and we are honored to celebrate them.”

Ahead of the ceremony, Latin Women in Music presenters and honorees spoke to Billboard Español on the red carpet and defined what “powerful” means to them.

Paula Arenas: “For me to be powerful is to have love around me. It is the greatest power, it is the greatest desire. If I am happy, that makes me powerful; that makes me an empowered woman.”

Maria Becerra: “I think I am quite powerful, I would like to be more so; it is something that is built. You have to empower yourself, it’s not something that happens overnight, it’s a whole process. I love that other people feel powerful listening to my songs, or having you have an outfit [on], watching a performance… I find that great motivation in that and it’s super nice. [Feeling powerful] is also something that happens to me watching other strong artists.” 

Amara La Negra: “[I feel most powerful] now that I’m in this new stage of being a mother — I am a mother of twin girls. If you don’t feel more powerful than being a mother, having to work, and being fabulous when you see me, and everything at the same time…women are stronger than we actually know. For me it’s an honor being able to juggle all these things at the same time, and I think I’m doing a pretty good job at it.”

Goyo: “I feel powerful when I’m owning the strength and drive before getting on stage, that’s when I feel super powerful.”

Emilia: “I grew up surrounded by powerful women. The women I work with are powerful and they teach me something every day. They nurture me with values. The fact that I can have a team that gives me a lot of security and happiness, when it comes to work, makes me feel very powerful.”

Chesca: “As an artist I feel most powerful on stage, it’s where I get to be super free, I get to be who I am. Also when I’m around my family with my mom, my aunt, my cousins, we’re very empowering to each other. I think that’s why we became strong females.”

Evaluna: “[I felt most powerful] when I was giving birth. That was super random, but it was a very powerful moment.”

Ludmilla: “To be powerful you have to love first and have self-confidence; have a lot of self-love. You have to love first on the inside [in order to love] on the outside.”

Elena Rose: “I feel most powerful when I’m surrounded with my friends. Also when I feel God close to me, that he’s anywhere that I go, I feel very strong and taken care of.”

Ha*Ash: “[The time I feel most powerful] is on stage.”

A first of its kind for Latin music, Mujeres Latinas en la Música celebrates Latin female artists, executives and creatives who are proactively working for positive change, inclusion and gender parity in the music industry. Shakira will receive the first-ever Woman of the Year award. Other honorees include Ana Gabriel, who will receive the Living Legend Award; Emilia, who will receive the Rising Star Award; Maria Becerra will receive the Visionary Award; Evaluna, who will receive the Tradition and Future Award; Goyo, who will receive the Agent of Change Award, and Thalia, who will receive the Global Powerhouse Award.

The inaugural Latin Women in Music event was announced earlier this year as an expansion of Billboard’s Women in Music franchise. Billboard and Telemundo aim to further elevate Latin music globally and celebrate the women who have made a concrete impact on Latin music through their artistic achievements, or through tangible, noteworthy actions that have brought measurable recognition and opportunity to women, affecting positive change to the industry as a whole.

Watch Mujeres Latinas En la Música on Sunday (May 7) at 9 p.m. ET exclusively on Telemundo and Peacock.

Diddy kicked off F1 race weekend in Miami by bringing some special guests on stage during a private performance at Major Food Group’s “American Express Presents Carbone Beach” event on Friday (May 5).

In front of guests like Venus Williams, Dak Prescott and Luis Fonsi, Diddy ran through a string of hits at the exclusive supper club pop-up, which featured specially-curated dishes from celeb chef Mario Carbone and his namesake Italian restaurant.

Last night: @Diddy and @myfabolouslife surprise the crowd at Carbon Beach popup for #MiamiGP weekend pic.twitter.com/BmtN487htv

— Tim Chan (@mrtimchan) May 6, 2023

Diddy took to the stage shortly after dinner wound down, launching into “Bad Boys for Life,” before following with crowd pleasers “I Need a Girl” and “Been Around the World.” He soon announced that he had some “friends” joining him for the night, as the opening refrain to Fabolous’ “Make Me Better” played over the speakers. The Brooklyn rapper hopped onstage to trade lines with Diddy on the track before a solo performance of “Say Aah.”

Fabolous wasn’t the only surprise guest during Diddy’s set. Busta Rhymes came out shortly after (alongside Spliffstar), plowing through hits like “Pass the Courvoisier” and “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” before ending with his rapid-fire verse on “Look at Me Now.”

The way the anticipation builds for @BustaRhymes’ part of the song pic.twitter.com/9hlJ2kwWVa

— Tim Chan (@mrtimchan) May 7, 2023

Diddy hopped onto a table in the middle of the room to close out his set, as the crowd sang along to “Mo Money, Mo Problems.” The rapper made sure to end the night on a positive note, reminding everyone that he was now going by the moniker “Love.”

“We in the Love era now,” he said, “and I want you all to be love, and show love, to everybody around you.”

Diddy’s performance followed a surprise set by Diana Ross during the first night of Carbone’s South Beach popup. The ultra-exclusive event has seen a number of celebrities come through, and Friday’s dinner included stars like Madelyn Cline, Lukas Gage, Chris Appleton, Mason Gooding, Madison Bailey and Nigel Sylvester, who joined Tommy Hilfiger at his table.

The designer (and celeb crew) were in town to celebrate the launch of the Tommy x Mercedes-AMG F1 x Awake NY collection, a new capsule designed by Awake founder Angelo Baque and inspired by auto racing and Miami. Timed to the weekend’s Formula 1 race, the collection of graphic tees, polos, baseball jerseys and rugby shirts are available to shop on Tommy.com.