Month: July 2023

Singer/songwriter Jon Bellion is currently soaking up the success of Jung Kook‘s solo hit “Seven.” The track sits at No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Hot 100, making Jung Kook the second solo BTS member to top the chart after his bandmate Jimin’s “Like Crazy.”

But Bellion tells Billboard News in a new interview that he had no idea what the song’s destiny was going to be when he was writing it.

“l got a phone call from [record producer Andrew] Watt … this is probably two years ago. On a random Saturday, I kinda just took it into the studio myself and … kinda filled it out,” Bellion recalls. “It kind of in my mind fell by the wayside and was just like, ‘Oh, another song that you work on in a session.’ Like, ‘I really think it’s a great song, super catchy and can be really great for somebody.’”

He continued, “I think a lot had happened — I think [Hybe Corp. chairman] Bang and Scooter [Braun] linked up and they started operating and started to understand each other. I had no idea the gravity of Jung Kook being solo and it being fully English. I had no idea. I didn’t know what was brewing!”

While Bellion played a large role in what the song ended up becoming, he believes that the K-pop star and Latto — who has a featured verse on the track — are the true reasons why the track has had such positive reception.

“Records, when they get to a certain place, it needs to be tailored and it needs to feel like it fit,” he says. “The artists make it their song. We provide the bare bones and we provide the skeleton, but they need to make it believable, so I think that Latto came and crushed it.”

Watch Bellion’s full interview with Billboard News in the video above.

On Wednesday (July 26), Selena Gomez shared a sweet birthday message for her longtime friend Francia Raisa, eight months after the two had a public falling-out.

“Happiest of birthdays to this special human being,” Gomez wrote alongside three photos of the pair in happier times. “No matter where life takes us, I love you.”

In addition to being close friends, Raisa — who turned 35 on Wednesday — also donated a kidney to Gomez back in 2017 after the singer/actress suffered lupus-related organ damage. But their tight bond was tested late last year when Raisa — an actress on How I Met Your Father, Grown-ish and The Secret Life of the American Teenager — took issue with a comment Gomez made about another high-profile friend, Taylor Swift.

In a Rolling Stone cover story released in November, Gomez opened up about feeling like she “never fit in with a cool group of girls that were celebrities,” adding, “My only friend in the industry really is Taylor, so I remember feeling like I didn’t belong.”

“Interesting,” Raisa replied under an Instagram post resharing Gomez’s quote, in a now-deleted comment.

On a TikTok video summarizing the drama — which noted that Raisa was no longer following Gomez on Instagram — the Only Murders in the Building star commented, “Sorry I didn’t mention every person I know.”

In May, Raisa opened up to TMZ about the online bullying she’s faced since her back-and-forth with Gomez, telling a cameraman, “The only thing I’m going to say is in no way, shape or form does anyone condone bullying, especially Selena. She literally has a whole nonprofit dedicated to mental health [Rare Impact Fund], and I believe Rare Beauty even just had an event for mental health. So the fact that I’m now being bullied as I am, it’s messing with me mentally.”

As of press time, Raisa hadn’t yet acknowledged Gomez’s birthday post, but she seemed busy celebrating her big day in a poolside cabana, as evidenced on her Instagram. “If I’m not in a bikini on my birthday then it’s not my birthday,” she captioned three pics of herself in an orange string bikini and white eyelet coverup.

See Gomez’s post below:

YOASOBI’s “Idol” extends its record stay atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100 on the chart dated July 26, now at 15 consecutive weeks.

The Oshi no Ko opener has dominated the Japan Hot 100 since it first took the top spot on the April 19 list, and while overall points are on the decline, it continues its reign over streaming (17,831,823 streams, 15 straight weeks at No. 1), and karaoke (9 straight weeks at No. 1), while also returning to the top spot for video views from No. 2. The track also continues to perform well in downloads (16,369 units, No. 2) and radio airplay (No. 17).

Also holding at No. 2 this week is Jung Kook’s “Seven” featuring Latto. The first solo single by the BTS member dropped July 14 and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated July 29. The track is the second solo project by a member of the K-pop group to hit No. 1 on the list, following Jimin’s “Like Crazy.” In Japan, “Seven” comes in at No. 2 for streaming (14,601,063 streams, three times more than last week), No. 4 for downloads (12,656 units), and No. 2 for video.

Kenshi Yonezu’s “Chikyuugi” (Spinning Globe) debuts at No. 3 this week. The theme of Studio Ghibli’s latest animated movie The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki dropped July 17, three days after the movie opened in Japanese theaters. The song comes in at No. 1 for downloads (34,423 units), No. 11 for streaming (5,417,188 streams), and No. 4 for radio. The music video was released on Wednesday (July 26), adding some more fuel towards the song’s performance on next week’s chart.

Veteran pop-rock band Southern All Stars’ “Bon-giri Koiuta” bows at No. 7. The track is the first of three consecutive releases spanning three months celebrating the group’s 45th anniversary this year. It’s off to a strong start, coming in at No. 3 for downloads (16,317 units), No. 1 for radio, and No. 48 for video.

Tatsuya Kitani’s “Where Our Blue Is” slips 4-3 this week. The CD version of the Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 opener went on sale during the chart week, and the track comes in at No. 6 for sales, No. 5 for downloads (10,046 units), and No. 3 for streaming (8,215,198 streams). While it dropped slightly on the Japan Hot 100, the track jumps 15-5 for radio and 28-8 for video, collecting points in a balanced way overall. 

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from July 17 to 23, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English Twitter account.

Justin Timberlake and Timbaland are officially hard at work creating new music — and Nelly Furtado could be involved too.

On Tuesday (July 25), Timbaland took to Instagram and shared two new posts to his feed. The first, a photo of him in the studio with Timberlake on a FaceTime call with Furtado, is captioned: “Da dream team @justintimberlake @nellyfurtado.” The second is a snippet of Furtado’s vocals playing out in the studio; “Oooooooo boyyyyyyy. We back!!!!!!!!,” Timbo captioned the latter post.

The new Instagram posts come amid Timbaland reuniting with Timberlake on his forthcoming, sixth studio album. The producer recently spoke with Variety about the recording sessions for the LP, saying that “everything sounds great. Now it’s really on him how he plans to wrap it up and how and when he envisions it to come out. With an artist of his caliber, everything has to be aligned, but it’s done and it’s coming.”

Timbaland added, “But nothing too heavy, just giving you what you’d expect from us: not overthought, the lyrics are not so deep, it’s bob-your-head, dance-to-it music,” noting that the music is somewhat of a return to “FutureSex part two,” in reference to Timberlake’s acclaimed 2006 sophomore album FutureSex/LoveSounds.

As for Timbaland’s work with Furtado, he produced her breakout album Loose, which featured the hits “Promiscuous,” “Maneater” and “Say It Right.” Timberlake, meanwhile spent the 2000s collaborating with Timbo on “Cry Me a River,” “SexyBack,” “My Love” and more. Both Timberlake and Furtado also had guest spots on the producer’s 2007 album, Shock Value, including the smash collab “Give It to Me,” which featured both artists and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2007.

See Timbaland’s Instagram posts below.

Prince Royce picks up his 16th No. 1 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart thanks to “Me EnRD,” which ascends 4-1 on the July 29-dated ranking. With the new champ, Royce matches Carlos Vives for the second-most No. 1s by a tropical act, both with 16.

“Wow, happy with another No. 1 on Latin Airplay filled with colleagues from all different type of genres,” Royce tells Billboard. “Means so much, especially a song about DR where bachata was born.”

According to Luminate, “Me EnRD” crowns the all-Latin genre tally with 10.22 million audience impressions earned in the U.S. during the July 14-20 tracking week; that’s a 21% gain from the week prior. Plus, it ousts Karol G and Shakira’s “TQG” from its two-week lead with a 7% dip in impressions, to 8.6 million. It falls to No. 3.

As “Me EnRD” ascends to the summit, Royce becomes the only artist to top Latin Airplay, unaccompanied by any other act — among the 15 rulers — in 2023. The last artist to pull off the feat was Maluma when “Junio” reigned for one week in October 2022.

As mentioned, with “Me EnRD” advancing from No. 4, Royce banks his 16th ruler and enters a tie with Vives for the second-most No. 1s among tropical acts, trailing only Romeo Santos who continues at the helm with 21. Here’s the scoreboard of rulers by tropical acts on Latin Airplay since the chart launched in 1994:

21, Romeo Santos
16, Carlos Vives
16, Prince Royce
14, Marc Anthony
11, Gloria Estefan
6, Juan Luis Guerra y 440

“Me EnRD” was released April 20 and lands at the penthouse on Latin Airplay in its 13th week. It concurrently takes the lead on Tropical Airplay, where Royce collects his 23rd champ.

Tori Kelly‘s husband, German basketball player Andre Murillo, has shared an update on his wife’s health after her reported hospitalization Sunday for blood clots in her legs and lungs.

TMZ reported Monday that the Grammy-winning singer was rushed to the hospital over the weekend when she passed out at dinner with friends after complaining that her heart was beating too fast. According to the report, she was then transferred to Cedars-Sinai hospital, where she was getting treatment in the ICU as of Monday.

According to TMZ, doctors discovered blood clots in Kelly’s lungs and legs and were working to see if there were any clots around her heart. Billboard has reached out to Kelly’s reps for confirmation and more information about the hospitalization and hasn’t heard back as of press time.

In a new update posted to his Instagram Story on Wednesday (July 26), Murillo stayed positive about his 30-year-old wife’s condition but said she’s “not fully out of the woods.”

“Tori is smiling again and feeling stronger,” he wrote. “Not fully out of the woods but we see the sun. Just waiting on a few more answers.”

He ended his update with a message to Kelly’s fans and well-wishers: “Your love and kindness has been overwhelming. Thank you so much!”

Kelly and Murillo were married in May 2018, and the pair celebrated their five-year wedding anniversary this past spring.

Kelly, who is managed by SB Projects, signed to Epic Records earlier this year and unveiled her first single with the label, “Missin U,” and its Y2K-inspired music video in March. The song marked Kelly’s first new music since 2019’s Inspired by True Events and 2020’s A Tori Kelly Christmas. In 2019, she won best gospel album at the Grammys for her sophomore album Hiding Place and best gospel performance/song for “Never Alone.”