Month: August 2023

Dave and Central Cee’s “Sprinter” has another race on its hands.

The hit U.K. hip-hop single has the edge at the halfway stage in the chart week, though two singles from the Barbie soundtrack are trailing close behind.

If “Sprinter” (via Live Yours/Neighbourhood) does keep its momentum, it’ll secure a 10th consecutive week at No. 1, extending its lead as the longest-reigning homegrown hip-hop single ever in the U.K. and drawing level with Miley Cyrus’ run with “Flowers” for the market’s longest-ruling single this year.

Dua Lipa or Billie Eilish could have a say in that.

Lipa’s Barbie cut “Dance The Night” (Warner Records) trailed “Sprinter” by about 1,000 combined units after the first 48 hour of the chart cycle, the Official Charts Company reports, and holds at No. 3 on the midweek chart.

Eilish’s “What Was Made I For?” (Interscope), also from Barbie The Album, and the best-seller on Australia’s latest ARIA Chart, is at No. 2 on the chart blast.

Meanwhile, Nathan Dawe, Joel Corry and Ella Henderson could return to the top 10 with “0800 Heaven” (Atlantic), up 11-8 on the Official Singles Chart Update, while Becky Hill and Chase & Status’s “Disconnect” (up 15-9 via Polydor) and Gunna’s “Fukumean” (up 13-10 via 300 Entertainment) are gaining on the chart blast.

Just outside the top 10 is Calvin Harris and Sam Smith’s latest collaboration “Desire” (Columbia), up 17-11 for what would be a new chart peak. If it heads further north, it would be Harris’ 30th top 10 single and Smith’s 13th.

Also looking up is Anne-Marie and Shania Twain’s “Unhealthy” (Atlantic/Asylum/EMI), which could bounce 22-17 for a new peak. “Unhealthy” is the title track to Anne-Marie’s third studio LP, which bowed at No. 2 on the national albums chart.

Finally, Doja Cat is looking to pounce on the chart with “Paint The Town Red” (Kemosabe/RCA). Doja’s latest tune, which is expected to appear on her as-yet untitled fourth studio album, is set to start at No. 20 in the U.K. for the week’s top debut.

All will be revealed when the Official Charts are published late Friday, Aug. 11.

Yothu Yindi, the Australian rockers, activists, and traditional songmen, will be inducted into the National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) Hall of Fame this weekend.

Hailing from a small Yolŋu town in Northeast Arnhem Land, Yothu Yindi had a global hit with their 1991 song “Treaty,” written to highlight the then-Hawke Government’s broken promise of a treaty with Aboriginal people.

Blending rock and traditional Aboriginal music, “Treaty” went on to win song of the year at the ARIA Awards, one of the collective’s eight career wins.

Yothu Yindi played it the following year in New York to help launch the United Nations’ “International Year of the World’s Indigenous People,” and the track would log two weeks on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.

Later, the trailblazers performed their signature track at the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, and, in 2012, elevation into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Their influence can be seen today in Australia’s music landscape. Multiple award-winning Yolŋu surf-rock act King Stingray — multiple nominees at the 2023 NIMAs — includes band member Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu, the nephew of late Yothu Yindi frontman Mandawuy Yunupiŋu, and the Stingers’ Roy Kellaway is the son of the veteran act’s bass player, Stu Kellaway.

The current incarnation of Yothu Yindi features frontman Yirringa Yunupiŋu, nephew of Mandawuy, who had co-founded the group in 1986.

From the start, Yothu Yindi “was about indigenous culture, about indigenous rights, about our rights and place in Australia,” Mandawuy told guests at the ARIAs in 2012, adding that his group “has been about messages and bringing people together and asking them and the people to respect and understand one another.”

Yunupiŋu, who died in 2013 at the age of 56, and bandmate Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupiŋu, who passed in 2017, aged 46, will be posthumously saluted when Yothu Yindi is inducted for “its long and powerful contributions to Indigenous and Australian music,” reads a statement from organizers.

The induction ceremony will take place during the 19th annual NIMAs, the annual celebration of Australia’s First Nations music community, set for Saturday, Aug. 12 at Darwin Amphitheatre on Larrakia Country.

As previously reported, the Stingers are up for song and film clip of the year. Other multiple nominees include gifted vocalist Budjerah and Arnhem Land newcomers Wildfire Manwurrk.

Sponsored by Amazon Music, the NIMAs will feature performances from Thelma Plum, Barkaa and Budjerah, while veteran pop star Jessica Mauboy will be on hand to present an award.

Travis Scott makes a massive return to the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Aug. 12), thanks to the arrival of his new studio album, Utopia.

All 19 songs from the set rank on the Hot 100, pushing Scott’s total from 93 to 111 total charted songs in his career. (One track from the album, “K-POP,” debuted a week earlier.) The rapper becomes just the 15th artist in the chart’s 65-year history to log 100-plus career entries on the survey.

Utopia debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 496,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week (July 28-Aug. 3), according to Luminate. It captures the third-biggest week of 2023 for any album and the largest for any R&B/hip-hop or rap release.

Here’s a look at all of Scott’s songs on the Aug. 12-dated Hot 100 (all of which are debuts except “K-POP”).

Travis Scott on the Aug. 12-Dated Hot 100:
No. 3, “Meltdown,” feat. Drake
No. 5, “FE!N,” feat. Playboi Carti
No. 11, “I Know?”
No. 14, “Hyaena”
No. 16, “Thank God”
No. 17, “Topia Twins,” feat. Rob49 & 21 Savage
No. 18, “K-POP,” with Bad Bunny & The Weeknd (after debuting a week earlier at No. 7)
No. 19, “My Eyes”
No. 23, “Modern Jam,” feat. Teezo Touchdown
No. 25, “Delresto (Echoes),” with Beyoncé
No. 26, “Telekinesis,” feat. SZA & Future
No. 27, “Sirens”
No. 28, “God’s Country”
No. 34, “Skitzo,” feat. Young Thug
No. 36, “Circus Maximus,” feat. The Weeknd & Swae Lee
No. 38, “Til Further Notice,” feat. James Blake & 21 Savage
No. 46, “Lost Forever,” feat. Westside Gunn
No. 49, “Looove,” feat. Kid Cudi
No. 53, “Parasail,” feat. Yung Lean & Dave Chappelle

Notably, thanks to their featured appearances, Rob49, Westside Gunn, Yung Lean and famed comedian Dave Chappelle all earn their first Hot 100 appearances.

With 111 career Hot 100 entries, up from 93 before this week, Scott passes Elvis Presley (109), Lil Uzi Vert (106), Justin Bieber (105), Jay-Z (105), YoungBoy Never Broke Again (103), The Weeknd (96) and Eminem (95) for the 10th-most in history.

Here’s an updated look at every act that has charted 100-or-more songs on the Hot 100, which began on Aug. 4, 1958.

Most Career Billboard Hot 100 Hits:
298, Drake
212, Taylor Swift
207, Glee Cast
185, Lil Wayne
167, Future
141, Kanye West
136, Lil Baby
132, Nicki Minaj
114, Chris Brown
111, Travis Scott
109, Elvis Presley
106, Lil Uzi Vert
105, Justin Bieber
105, Jay-Z
103, YoungBoy Never Broke Again

Of Scott’s 111 songs to chart on the Hot 100, 52 have reached the top 40, six have peaked in the top 10, and four have hit No. 1: “Sicko Mode” (in 2018; it includes uncredited vocals from Drake, Swae Lee and Big Hawk), “Highest in the Room” (2019), “The Scotts,” with Kid Cudi (2020), and “Franchise,” featuring Young Thug and M.I.A. (2020).

Before Scott, the last artist to gain entrance to the Hot 100’s 100 hits club was Lil Uzi Vert, last month. Before that, YoungBoy Never Broke Again reached the milestone in May, and, fittingly, became the youngest artist to ever achieve the feat, at age 23.

Presley, whose career predates the Hot 100’s launch, became the first artist to tally 100 total hits. He scored his 100th in May 1975 with “T-R-O-U-B-L-E.”

As for who might be next in line to join the elite club after Scott, The Weeknd is currently at 96 Hot 100-charted songs, followed by Eminem (95), Young Thug (92), James Brown (91), Lil Durk (87), 21 Savage (85), Beyoncé (82), Juice WRLD (79) and Gunna (77).

While it’s rare for artists to chart triple-digit entries on the Hot 100, it’s become a more regular occurrence since the ranking began including streaming figures (which make up the chart’s data mix with radio airplay and sales). As such, certain artists have been able to chart a high number of songs on the Hot 100 in recent years after releasing high-profile albums. The model contrasts with prior decades, when acts generally promoted one single at a time in the physical-only marketplace and on radio. That shift in consumption helps explain why artists have been able to chart many songs over short spans in recent years.

Nelly and Ashanti continued to fuel rekindled relationship rumors on Monday (Aug. 7) with an adorable Instagram Story.

In the brief video, the duo are seen cuddling up to each other while singing Usher’s 1997 hit single, “Nice & Slow.” Watch the clip on Nelly’s IG Stories before it disappears here.

The “Body On Me” singers began dating back in 2003 and the details of their romance was somewat of a mystery to fans before they ultimately broke up in 2013. In June, fans began buzzing when Ashanti and Nelly attended the 3rd Annual Birthday Ball for Quality Control CEO Pierre “P” Thomas and were photographed together on the red carpet. The two have yet to confirm their current relationship status.

“What I will say is we’re in a better place,” Ashanti said of the former couple’s relationship on Watch What Happens Live back in December. “You know, cause before, it was like [mimics fighting]. But we’re cool now. Yeah, we have some conversations, you know. So it’s cool.”

Usher, meanwhile, recreated the cover art of “Nice & Slow” in September to celebrate his album My Way‘s 25th anniversary. A deluxe edition of the album was released Sept. 16, and features newly reimagined versions of three songs –“Nice & Slow,” “My Way,” and “You Make Me Wanna” — a mini-doc, and more.

Last week (Aug. 4), Ciara debuted the Chris Brown-assisted “How We Roll,” the lead single from CiCi, her forthcoming EP. Today, the R&B powerhouse sat down with Billboard to reflect on the 20-year anniversary of her debut album, her recent K-Pop collabs, and the sound of CiCi.

“I feel blessed. I feel like I’m just getting started at the same time,” Ciara gushed. “To know that it was 20 years ago that I was just really, really ambitious… dreaming big, I envisioned that I’d be sitting somewhere like this 20 years later.” In 2004, Goodies, Ciara’s debut studio album, debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The record spawned three consecutive smash hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the Missy Elliott-assisted “1, 2 Step” (No. 2), the Ludacris-featuring “Oh” (No. 2), and the No. 1-peaking “Goodies” (with Petey Pablo).

Reflecting on the dominance of Goodies, Ciara said that she was very aware of her success during that moment because she always “believed in [herself].” “I was on camera, documented right at the graduation, and the guy said, ‘So, Ciara, where do you see yourself a year from now?’” the “I Bet” singer recounted. “And in my super-Atlanta thick accent, I said, ‘I see myself having the No. 1 song on the Billboard charts!’ And then literally, “Goodies” was No. 1 on the Billboard charts. I dreamed big!”

Speaking on her more recent music, the Grammy-winner described her new Chris Brown duet as “a great example of that feel-good R&B, dance, rhythmic, melodic energy that you can play at a house party. It’s gon’ set the house party off right.” She noted that this collaboration with Chris Brown is something that the pair have wanted to do for “a long time.” “It was an artist’s dream come true for the both of us,” she remarked.

The pair’s new single, “How We Roll,” is the first official single from Ciara’s forthcoming CiCi EP, which she describes as “classic [Ciara], but elevated.” “It’s got a super strong R&B core,” she revealed. “CiCi is that ‘turn that lip up, get a lil stank… Ciara, she keeps it cute, she’s a mom of three, she’s unbothered,” she said, outlining the two sides of her that are present on the upcoming project. “I really wanted to bring that classic R&B energy to this project.”

CiCi follows a string of 2023 releases from Ciara including “Da Girls” and the Summer Walker-assisted “Better Thangs.” The “Level Up” singer also released a slew of collaborations with Asian artists this year including XG (“Left Right Remixx”, Jackson Wang (“Slow”), and Agnez Mo (“Get Loose”). “I feel like I’m touching and tapping into a lot of the boxes I always wanted to, and that was one of them,” she said. “That audience is so special. It’s fascinating to see how they react to their own artists, I’m like ‘That’s the energy that you want. That’s the energy that you want to be apart of.’”

Ciara has earned four top ten albums on the Billboard 200, including 2006’s chart-topping Ciara: The Evolution. On the Hot 100, the “Body Party” singer has notched 21 entries, including notable hits such as “Promise” (No. 11), “Level Up” (No. 59) and “Lose Control” (No. 3).

NewJeans touched down in the United States and made their first ever performance stateside at Lollapalooza on Thursday (Aug. 3). Arriving to Chicago just days after their second EP, Get Up, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, the group also made history at the first female K-pop group to grace one of the festival’s stages.

Originally livestreamed on Hulu and Weverse on the day of the NewJeans’ performance, Bunnies can now watch the group — which consists of members Danielle, Haerin, Hanni, Hyein and Minji — perform their set in full on their official YouTube page as of Monday (Aug. 7).

The girls kept the energy up with 48 minutes of performances of their most known and well loved tracks, in addition to recently released songs from Get Up. “Hype Boy” and a rock version of “Cookie” kicked off the set, while “OMG,” “Ditto” and “Super Shy” got the fans in the crowd singing and dancing their hearts out.

Following the performance, Hanni took to the group’s fan communication app, Phoning, to express gratitude for being able to appear at Lollapalooza Chicago.

“This whole experience has been so incredible and crazy and unreal and just the most amazing experience we could’ve possible [sic] experiences and I don’t know if I’ll be able to express how thankful I am to everyone in words!” the 18-year-old wrote. “Being able to perform on such an international based festival and for it to be our first stage in the US made it even more special than it already was.”

Watch NewJeans perform at Lollapalooza in the video above.

Travis Scott celebrated his Billboard 200-topping album Utopia on Monday (Aug. 7) with a performance at Rome’s Circus Maximus, and the show featured a rare onstage appearance by Kanye West.

“There is no Utopia without Kanye West. There is no Travis Scott without Kanye West. There is no Rome without Kanye West. Make some noise for Ye,” Scott told the crowd before Ye took the stage, according to Pitchfork. The duo performed their collaboration, “Praise God,” off Ye’s Donda album.

The performance marks Ye’s first public performance since a string of controversies, from publicly posting violent remarks about Kim Kardashian’s now ex-boyfriend Pete Davidson to vocalizing antisemitic and racist rhetoric on multiple occasions.

Throughout the set, Scott performed a number of tracks off Utopia, including his The Weeknd and Bad Bunny team-up “K-Pop,” as well as his Beyoncé and Justin Vernon-featuring “Delresto (Echoes).” He also performed some pre-Utopia hits including “Highest in the Room” and “Butterfly Effect.” 

Circus Maximus served as Scott’s replacement show for his canceled Pyramids of Giza concert in Egypt. Live Nation Middle East tweeted their reasoning for the cancellation, citing “complex production issues,” while Scott responded to fans seeking a further explanation. “Egypt in the pyramids will happen but due to demand and detail logistics they just need a bit a time to set lay on lands. I will keep up posted on a date which will be soon love you alllll,” he wrote on Twitter. 

Utopia blasted in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Aug. 12), marking the third-biggest week of 2023 for any album and the largest for any R&B/hip-hop or rap release. The project bows with 496,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 3, according to Luminate.