Month: August 2023

If you see them in the club, they’ll be acting real nice — because they just reunited for a new collaboration.

That’s right, 16 years after Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado unveiled their Billboard Hot 100 chart topper “Give It to Me” in 2007, the trio came together on Friday (Sept. 1) for their newest team-up, “Keep Going Up!”

Leading up to the release, Tim posted a teaser video for “Keep Going Up!,” which he captioned “WE BACK,” alongside peeking eyes and exploding head emojis. “Da king has returned!” The tease came a month after his Instagram post in which he and Timberlake hopped on a FaceTime call with Furtado while the pair worked on Tim’s upcoming sixth studio album.

“[Timbaland and Timberlake] had thought it out quite a lot,” Furtado previously told Billboard of working with her longtime musical collaborators. “What’s great about them is they’re like, ‘We want you to do your thing. We want you to lead the ship in that direction.’ Then they had some great music and parts together. If the three of us are on a song, then we’re all equals, and that’s a really good feeling.”

All three artists have released new music so far this year, with Timbaland teaming up with BIA in March on “I’m That B—-,” Furtado dropping the Dom Dolla-assissted “Eat Your Man” in June and Timberlake guesting on a remix of Coco Jones’ “ICU” in July.

Listen to “Keep Going Up!” below.

The Queen is back! Nicki Minaj is giving fans the first taste of her Pink Friday sequel with her new single, “Last Time I Saw You,” released on Friday (Sept. 1).

“Beggin me to stay and then you walk away/ There’s something that you wanted to say/ I was in a rush and you say you were crushed/ But I said I’d be back, it’s OK,” the 40-year-old superstar sings over a breezy, R&B beat.

Minaj first teased the track on Instagram Live earlier this month, and fans immediately gushed over the upcoming release.  “Glad you like the lyrics,” the rapper responded on X (formerly known as Twitter). The irony is that my fave part of the whole song is the very end… like the last 30 seconds. can’t wait for you guys to hear the whole thing.”

Minaj is also gearing up to release her fifth studio album Pink Friday 2 this November. The project will be Minaj’s first studio album since 2018’s Queen, which featured “Chun Li,” “Good Form” and “Barbie Dreams.” “Yesterday I worked on my current TOP 2 songs off [Pink Friday 2],” she tweeted last month. “The eargasms that y’all are about to have. Ooohhhh chiiiii huntyyyyy don’t make dat serveeeee.” 

Listen to “Last Time I Saw You” below.

On Aug. 15, Luke Combs and wife Nicole welcomed their second baby boy into the world, the couple announced Thursday (Aug. 31).

“8.15.2023 – Beau Lee Combs,” the country star and his wife captioned a co-post on Instagram. “Welcome to the world. We couldn’t love you more.”

In the Instagram video — soundtracked by Cory Asbury’s 2023 ballad “These Are the Days” — a pacifier and an infant’s hospital hat are laid out on a cream-colored blanket, joined by a developing Polaroid picture with “Beau Combs” and a heart written on it in Sharpie. As the video progresses, a picture of baby Beau comes into view.

Beau joins his older brother, 1-year-old Tex, who was born last summer, on June 19, 2022.

Combs announced the news of his second baby back in March, writing on Instagram: “Joining the 2 under 2 club! Baby boy #2 coming this September!!” — so it sounds like Beau came a couple of weeks early. He also took the opportunity to introduce the then-new song “Take You With Me” a few days before releasing his latest album, Gettin’ Older, which arrived on March 24. The sweet song addresses fatherhood and how quickly time passes. “I got a young’un of my own/ He’s too young to understand it/ When he gets a little older watching the stage where I’m standing/ He’ll know it’s about him when I sing I take you with me,” he sings.

Another song from Gettin’ Older, Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” has become one of the biggest hits of his career, so far peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spending five weeks at No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart.

See the video introducing Beau Combs below:

Myke Towers claims a fourth week atop Billboard Argentina Hot 100 as “Lala” crowns the Sept. 2-dated chart. The song ties with “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” by Bizarrap and Shakira, for the fourth-most weeks at No. 1 in 2023.

Here’s a recap of the longest-leading songs on the chart in 2023:

Title, Artists, Peak Date, Weeks at No. 1
“Los del Espacio,” LIT killah, Maria Becerra, FMK, Rusherking, Duki, Emilia, Tiago PZK & Big One, June 10, seven
“En La Intimidad,” Emilia, Big One, Callejero Fino, Feb. 25, seven
Un Finde: Big One CROSSOVER #2,” Ke personajes, Big One & FMK,“ April 22, five
“LaLa,” Myke Towers, Aug. 5, four
“Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53,” Bizarrap & Shakira, Jan. 21, four

LIT Killah, FMK, Rusherking, Maria Becerra, Duki, Emilia, Tiago Pzk and Big One’s “Los Del Espacio” rebounds to No. 2 after its seven-week domination. The song trades places with Becerra’s “Corazón Vacío,” which drops 2-3. Plus, Quevedo’s “Columbia” returns to its No. 4 high, while BM’s “Ni Una Ni Dos” dips 4-5.

Elsewhere, Luck Ra and BM add a new career top 10 as “La Morocha” climbs 15-10.

The Hot Shot Debut of the week goes to Los Ángeles Azules and Becerra’s first collab, “El Amor De Mi Vida,” which starts at No. 21.

Further, Trueno takes the week’s Greatest Gainer trophy, as “Tranky Funky” climbs 41 places, from No. 76 to No. 35.

Other debuts of the week include Jhayco’s “Holanda” at No. 34, Alan Gomez and BM’s “BM | MISSION 18” at No. 72, and Karol G and Peso Pluma’s “Qlona” at No. 74.

Miley Cyrus is strolling down memory lane in her ongoing TikTok series based on her new single, “Used to Be Young,” and in part 19, she reflects on a throwback photo in which she’s seen walking alongside her Hannah Montana costar Emily Osment, Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato.

While the other three girls look party-ready in dresses and heels, Cyrus is seen in sweatpants, and oversized cardigan and slipper-like boots. “This picture has become a meme, where it says, ‘Be the Miley of your friend group,’” she says, looking at the photo. “If you guys didn’t know I was bisexual from this damn picture, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.”

The 30-year-old superstar added that the girls were headed to the Cheesecake Factory after the Grammy Awards. “These are some classy ladies,” she teased.

Earlier in the day, Cyrus looked through a video of herself dancing the “Hoedown Throwdown” from 2009’s Hannah Montana: The Movie. “This was the original kind of like a TikTok dance,” she explained. She then called out the choreographer Jamal Sims for his hat, before joking, “Honestly, my zipper jeans aren’t doing anything for me either.”

See the two new parts of Cyrus’ “Used to Be Young” series below.

Beyoncé took the stage at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday night (Aug. 30), not only as a superstar performer, but also as the city’s honorary mayor.

“I’m so happy to be on this stage,” Bey told the crowd in a fan video posted to TikTok. “Y’alls faces are so beautiful. You know today is special because today I am the mayor.”

After smiling at the crowd, who cheered at their mayor of the day, the “Break My Soul” singer continued, “This is my gratitude tour. I don’t take any of this for granted. I know after 25 years I’m still able to do what I love because of your loyalty, because of your prayers. I’m so grateful for y’all.”

The Santa Clara City Council voted on Tuesday night (Aug. 29) to name Bey honorary mayor for the day and present her with a key to the city, according to The Mercury News. “The city of Santa Clara is excited about Beyonce’s upcoming visit to the world-renowned Levi’s Stadium,” Santa Clara spokesperson Michelle Templeton told the publication. “Her concerts will certainly bring a great deal of energy and excitement.”

According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, The Renaissance World Tour earned $127.6 million over 11 shows between July 8-30, claiming the largest one-month sum for any artist since the Boxscore archives began in the mid-1980s. Meanwhile, when her five-show run at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium grossed $42.2 million, it was noted that it was the highest grossing engagement ever by a woman, a Black artist, or any American artist.

The Swifties’ support for Taylor Swift is so strong, they crashed an entire app.

After the “Anti-Hero” singer surprised fans by announcing her Eras Tour concert was turned into a movie, fans flooded the AMC app attempting to buy tickets, which led to a site crash. According to Collider, the app shared a message noting that online reservations were temporarily unavailable due to high volume, and that that anyone looking to purchase tickets should visit their local AMC Theatre in person.

Billboard has reached out to AMC for more information. “AMC is also aware that no ticketing system in history seems to have been able to accommodate the soaring demand from Taylor Swift fans when tickets are first placed on sale. Guests wanting to be the first to buy their tickets online may experience delays, longer-than-usual ticket- purchase waiting-room times and possible outages. AMC is committed to ensuring any delays or outages are addressed as quickly as possible,” the company told The Hollywood Reporter earlier in the day.

According to a release, beginning October 13, every U.S. AMC Theatre location will run the movie at least four times per day on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sundays, with tickets for priced at $19.89 plus tax for adults and $13.13 for children and seniors plus tax (except for AMC’s branded premium large-format screens.) The film will be available in AMC theaters in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with tickets on sale now here and here.

Swift herself also posted a trailer for the film, writing, “The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon. Starting Oct 13th you’ll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America! Tickets are on sale now at http://taylor.lnk.to/TSTheErasTourFilm…. Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged. 1, 2, 3 LGB!!!! (iykyk).”