Month: July 2023

Billy Joel’s history-filled, 1989 hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire” got a modern-day update thanks to Fall Out Boy, and now the OG is giving his thoughts.

In a new interview with BBC Radio2 this week, Joel said that he has heard the new verses. “Everybody’s been wanting to know when there’s going to be an updated version of it, because my song started in ’49 and ended in ’89 — it was a 40 year span. Everybody said, ‘Well, aren’t you going to do a part two?’ I said, ‘Nah, I’ve already done part one.’ So, Fall Our Boy, go ahead. Great, take it away.”

While Joel’s track was filled to the brim with pop-culture headlines from the middle of the 20th Century to 1989, Fall Out Boy took over from there and continued the references from 1989 to the present. Taylor Swift — who was born in 1989 — is mentioned alongside Kanye West who notoriously grabbed the microphone from her at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

Among the many other references in the updated version are Woodstock ’99, Fyre Fest, Harry Potter, Twilight, Robert Downey Jr. in Iron Man, Stranger Things, Avatar, SpongeBob SquarePants, Pokemon, MySpace and many more.

Listen to Billy Joel’s thoughts on “We Didn’t Start the Fire” part two below.

Taylor Swift is Hayley Williams‘ hero — literally. Following the release of the pop star’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), the Paramore frontwoman took to Instagram to share the most recent of her friend’s many accomplishments.

Williams reposted an article to her Instagram Stories that reported Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is officially the most streamed country album in a single day in Spotify’s history. In simple text, Williams wrote, “there goes my hero” — a reference to Foo Fighters’ 1998 hit “My Hero,” which Paramore recently performed alongside the band for the June 18 finale of this year’s Bonnaroo festival.

The streaming feat also serves as a boost for Williams, who is featured on the “From the Vault” track “Castles Crumbling” on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). After Swift announced that Williams would be on the album, Williams took to Instagram to share her memories with the pop star and of listening to the album upon its release in 2010.

“Taylor was the first industry friend I ever made and hung out with outside of work things. When Speak Now dropped, I bought my friend’s record (as you do!) and listened to the whole thing in my first car, sitting still in the driveway. It’s my favorite Taylor Swift album for so many reasons,” the singer wrote, captioning a photo of Swift roller skating at Williams’ 21st birthday party.

Williams continued, “I wish I could go back to this moment at my 21st birthday and tell her one day she’ll legitimately own Speak Now and we’ll get to sing together on one of the songs.”

See Williams’ post about Swift below.

Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” now being promoted as her new single after it was released on her 2019 album Lover, jumps from No. 13 to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (dated July 15). The song becomes her 41st top 10 – extending her record for the most among women.

The track, which Swift wrote with Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent and produced with Antonoff, tallied 30.3 million in all-format radio airplay audience (up 35%), 14.9 million streams (up 11%) and 3,000 sold (essentially even week-over-week) June 30-July 6, according to Luminate.

The song was released on Swift’s 2019 album Lover and is now being promoted by Republic Records as her newest single. It has been gaining momentum in recent weeks, as Swift has been performing it on her current Eras Tour, her first in which she’s been able to spotlight songs from Lover, which was released shortly before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each concert on the tour is divided into 10 acts, encompassing nine of her LPs; the Lover era kicks off the show, with “Cruel Summer” performed in the opening set.

Nearly four years after Lover’s release, “Cruel Summer” becomes the set’s fourth Hot 100 top 10, joining lead single “Me!,” featuring Brendon Urie (No. 2 peak); “You Need to Calm Down” (also No. 2); and the title track (No. 10), all in 2019.

“Cruel Summer” is Swift’s 41st career Hot 100 top 10, the second-most among all acts and the most among women.

Most Hot 100 Top 10s:

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data, the lattermost metric reflecting purchases of physical singles and digital tracks from full-service digital music retailers; digital singles sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites are excluded from chart calculations. All charts (dated July 15, 2023) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday (July 11).

Jack White has no tolerance for those who rub elbows with Donald Trump, and he’s making sure everyone knows. On Monday (July 10), White took to Instagram to release a statement condemning celebrities who cozied up to the former POTUS at UFC 290 on Saturday.

“Anybody who ‘normalizes’ or treats this disgusting fascist, racist, con man, disgusting piece of sh– Trump with any level of respect is also disgusting in my book,” wrote the “Another Way to Die” singer. “That’s you Joe Rogan, you Mel Gibson, you Mark Wahlberg, you Guy Fieri. This is a statement from me, not a discussion/debate.”

Alongside his statement, White posted a photo set of the aforementioned celebrities saluting, posing and conversing with Trump during the event.

Over the weekend, Trump stopped by UFC 290 while carrying out a weekend of campaign stops in Las Vegas and Iowa. When he touched down at T-Mobile Arena, Trump was greeted by a slew of Hollywood stars, including two-time Academy Award winner Mel Gibson, Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg and celebrity chef Guy Fieri.

This is not the first time White has called out a fellow celebrity for supporting the former president: In November, the rocker called out former Twitter CEO Elon Musk for reinstating Trump’s Twitter account.

As a soloist, Jack White has earned six top 10 entries on the Billboard 200, including the No. 1 albums Blunderbuss (2012), Lazaretto (2014) and Boarding House Reach (2018). He also boasts a pair of entries on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest of which is his Beyoncé duet “Don’t Hurt Yourself” (No. 28) in 2016. As a member of The White Stripes, he has earned an additional three top 10 albums, as well as the seminal Grammy-winning hit “Seven Nation Army.”

Check out White’s statement below:

America’s Got Talent season 5 winner Michael Grimm is officially in recovery, his wife Lucie Zolcerva-Grimm shared with fans in an update posted to Instagram on Saturday.

Zolcerva-Grimm says the singer “is now in a recovery facility for physical therapy, speech therapy. His mind and body has disconnected so we are working on reconnecting that. So he’s been through a lot,” she said.

In a June 12 update to fans, Zolcerva-Grimm revealed that Grimm’s health started becoming a concern around Memorial Day weekend after he experienced body tremors and difficulty speaking. He was then rushed to the ICU and placed on a ventilator under heavy medication so as to prevent him having a stroke or flatlining.

The new update, however, is a more positive one — “I’m thrilled to say that his speaking voice is completely back. So the speech therapy portion of it has been very successful,” Zolcerva-Grimm said, adding that while her husband “doesn’t have a singing voice yet, he is not stressed over it. He feels that with proper vocal exercises and retraining he will get back on track.”

Grimm had also seen a large improvement over his mobility: “He is walking on his own and that’s a huge thing for us, getting that leg strength back, getting his coordination and his equilibrium back, those were all massive things. That’s probably his biggest win right now.”

The update came ahead of a planned four-hour benefit in Las Vegas to help pay for Grimm’s medical costs on July 9. Fans can also contribute to a PayPal for donations.

See Zolcerva-Grimm’s new update video below.

Madonna issued her first official statement on Monday morning (July 10) in the wake of her hospitalization last month with what was described as a “serious bacterial infection.” In an Instagram post, Madonna thanked her fans for all their positive energy, prayers and words of healing as she navigates this health issue, while assuring her followers that she is on the mend.

“I have felt your love. I’m on the road to recovery and incredibly grateful for all the blessings in my life,” wrote the 64-year-old singer who spent several days in the ICU in late June, forcing her to postpone her career-spanning Celebration world tour.

While Madonna did not get into detail about what is ailing her or her prognosis, she noted that the very first thing she thought of when she awoke in the hospital was her six children. “My second thought was that I did not want to disappoint anyone who bought tickets for my tour,” she continued. “I also didn’t want to let down the people who worked tirelessly with me over the last few months to create my show. I hate to disappoint anyone.”

For now, though, she said, her focus is on her health and getting stronger. “And I assure you, I’ll be back with you as soon as I can!” she promised. “The current plan is to reschedule the North American leg of the tour and to begin in October in Europe.” The post also included a picture of Madonna in which she is staring into the camera while wearing a black long-sleeve t-shirt and sparse makeup.

One of her longtime friends, Donatella Versace, commented on the post, writing, “We are with you all the way, Madonna. Thinking of you and sending you love, power and hugs for a speedy recovery. The world can’t wait to see you on stage again!!! I love you very much.”

Following news of her hospitalization, manager Guy Oseary issued an update on June 24. “Her health is improving, however she is still under medical care,” Oseary wrote. “A full recovery is expected.” At the time, a source close to the situation told Billboard that the singer was already out of the ICU and recovering; Billboard has reached out to reps for Madonna several times since the news broke, but no additional information on her illness or hospitalization has been released to date.

The Celebration Tour was set to launch in Vancouver, B.C. on July 15 at the Rogers Arena. According to Billboard Boxscore, the trek — which was slated to feature a set list covering four decades of hits from a catalog that includes 12 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s and 38 top 10 hits on that chart — was on track to net her more than $100 million. At press time the singer’s official site still listed the original tour dates, with updated routing not yet available.

See Madonna’s post below.

Joe Jonas has made one of the items of his bucket list come true. On Friday (July 7), the Jonas Brothers singer had the chance of a lifetime to perform on stage with Billy Joel at London’s BST Hyde Park, and took fans behind the journey on social media in a video posted to his Instagram.

“I just finished soundcheck. I’m doing something really exciting today. Bucket list. Major bucket list. Quite nervous, but the person I sang with is incredible and made me feel very comfortable,” the 33-year-old said in a video leading up to the performance. “The sun is officially down or just about to be down. I’m walking to stage. My friend is on his last song. Can you hear it? And I’m about to go join him up there. Wish me luck!”

The video then cut to Jonas being introduced and brought onstage for Joel’s 1983 hit “Uptown Girl.” Joel and Jonas joined forces for the single’s infectious ending chorus. “You know I’m in love/ With an uptown girl/ My uptown girl/ You know I’m in love/ With an uptown girl,” the pair finished. After concluding the track, Jonas and Joel embraced for a quick hug before the Disney Channel alum left the stage.

“This still feels unreal,” Jonas captioned the video. “Thank you to my friend @billyjoel for having me on stage to sing ‘Uptown Girl’ with you tonight in Hyde Park. You’ve been a big inspiration to me and this was a bucket list moment. Life made.”

Check out clips of Jonas performing “Uptown Girl” with Billy Joel below.