Month: September 2023

After 25 years in the music industry, Mýa is showing no signs of slowing down. The pop-R&B star made her debut in 1998, when she put out her self-titled studio album via Interscope Records. The debut single from the album, “It’s All About Me” with Sisqó, reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and put the world onto Mýa’s sultry, angelic voice and cutting-edge R&B sound that infiltrated the mainstream pop market while drawing influences from hip-hop, dancehall, techno and more.

She revealed in a new interview with Billboard News that the outfit she wore in the “It’s All About Me” music video, which was inspired by the traditional red Chinese wedding dress, is her all-time favorite look. “I sketched that outfit on paper, drew the designs that I wanted and I saw it come to life,” she said. “But this is something that I’ve been doing for years. I have this whole sketchbook of outfits that I wanted to create before I signed my first deal. And so, that was one of them. The seamstress brought it to life, and that was an amazing experience for me as a brand new artist.”

In June, she re-created the UNC jersey dress from her 2000 “Best of Me (Part 2)” video, featuring Jay-Z, while she was performing at Charlotte R&B Music Experience. (This reporter also re-created the UNC jersey dress look, as well as Mýa’s outfit from the 1999 “Take Me There” video with Blackstreet, Mase and Blinky Blink, due to endless claims that she resembles the singer. Decide for yourself in the video interview above!)

Aside from her iconic looks, pop-dancehall collaborations have been another constant in Mýa’s storied career. Over the years, she’s worked with Jamaican reggae and dancehall artists like Beenie Man (“Girls Dem Sugar,” “Lie Detector,” “Docta”), Sean Paul (“Things Come & Go”), Spice (“Take Him Out”) and, most recently, Bounty Killer, on her latest steamy single “Whine.”

“Funny story is I had a solo version of the video shot two years prior to reaching out to Bounty Killer,” she says. “And I’ve always wanted a feature on that record. And so we went back down to Jamaica two years later, to the same location, and put Bounty Killer in the video, inserted him, and it all looks cohesive now.”

Of her pop-dancehall collaborations, Mýa says they feel like a family effort. “Every time I go down there, it’s usually for music. But then my associates, music friends, become like family over the years. We understand the beauty of independency but also working together. And so, that’s a big part of the culture, too,” she explains. “I think it’s important also to just be authentic for representation, so it was important for me to be in Kingston, in the heart of Jamaica, to capture the essence of the good vibes and the music, the culture and the people and the dance.”

Outside of her debut LP’s 25th anniversary this year, Mýa also celebrated the 20th anniversary of her third album Moodring, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and earned her another Hot 100 top 20 hit with “My Love is Like…Wo.” (Missy Elliott co-produced the track two years after working with her on the five-week No. 1, Grammy-winning smash “Lady Marmalade” with Christina Aguilera, P!nk and Lil’ Kim from the Moulin Rouge! soundtrack.)

Earlier this year, she collaborated with Interscope/UMe to release the digital deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Mya, the digital deluxe 20th anniversary edition of Moodring and the “25th Anniversary Remix” of “It’s All About Me,” accompanied by the Brian Friedman-directed choreography video. Come December, Mýa will ring in the 15th anniversary of her fifth album Sugar & Spice.

“I was a baby, I was a kid, everything was brand new. Working in the studio with Dru Hill for the first album was really like a family and a camp, so I had big brothers around me … I learned a lot from them, watching them,” she reflects. “It’s just a beautiful journey. I’m excited as well about what’s to come. I just love music, so it’s a blessing to just still be here 25 years later and still feel like it’s brand new.”

Watch the full video interview above.

On Sept. 15, Billboard China and QQ Music, a subsidiary of Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), launched the original music collection THE ONE Endless Dream.

Over the past six months, through a joint selection and recommendation process by QQ Music and Billboard China’s editorial team, 30 musical works were selected. Together, they create a collection that presents unlimited creativity in original Chinese music.

The original music collection THE ONE Endless Dream crosses dimensions and music genres, bringing together 30 groups of highly representative singers and musicians from various fields in the Chinese music industry, including angel-like vocalist Zhou Shen, Chinese soul singer-songwriter TIA RAY, versatile cross-genre singer Fiona Sit, Chinese rap star Ma SiWei , stylistic icon MIKA, young singer Pinlin Zhao, Tencent Music artist Nono Chen and more, as they convey the voice of China to the world.

In the collection, 30 high-quality original musical works are presented in three chapters: Dream Big, Dream Crazy, and Dream Wild. From big names to emerging original musicians, these music creators, with their boundless and wildly imaginative musical aspirations, not only bring fans great music, but also inspire them to set free their imaginations, dare to dream big, and courageously pursue their dreams. In this collection, Laure Shang’s “Follow Your Heart” is an inspiring declaration of bravery, Lala Hsu’s “Behind the Earth” conveys unwavering determination to venture into the unknown, Bonan Yao encapsulates love and creates a dream that never wakes with his “Dumbbell,” Chen Zhuoxuan’s “Skylight” signs “there are more dreams to pursue,” and Jiaqi Chen’s “Set Off” takes listeners on a fantasy journey of freedom with the rhythm of the music.

THE ONE Endless Dream is not only a collection for discovering amazing music, but also a platform for talented music creators to shine on a bigger stage, bringing “Chinese Treasures” paying attention to for music fans worldwide.

In March, Billboard China teamed up with QQ Music to launch the global original music competition THE ONE, collaboratively working with TME’s Qimingxing Music Assistant, Tencent Musician Platform’s NEW FORCES PLAN and premium labels to set up three major competition units: Musical Work, Fresh Face and Label, aimed at discovering music “dream makers” with unlimited creativity and helping talented music creators in reaching a broader audience.

This original music collection also includes several high-quality original musical works uncovered through the three units of THE ONE. Among them, PinkWave from the Qimingxing Musical Work Unit, Jiayuan Dou from the Label Unit, and Slow-mo, Fuzi Zuo, and Duanpaoxiaoshuo from the Fresh Face Unit have all showed their outstanding creative prowess, and with their unique and fresh original compositions, they have demonstrated the thriving vitality of the Chinese original music.

To propel these talented music creators and their exceptional musical works into the international spotlight, Billboard China and TME will collaborate to integrate their internal resources. QQ Music and Tencent Musician Platform, subsidiaries of TME, will provide extensive promotional resources for the collection, while Billboard China will also continuously cover its official overseas websites and Chinese official social media channels. Furthermore, the collection will have a special collaboration with Billboard China Live to start a series of performances, providing selected musicians with more performance opportunities, and boosting them to step onto bigger stages, thus extending their dream of music boundlessly.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group has been consistently perfecting its service system and industry collaboration capabilities, integrating resources from various sectors in the industry, and continuously constructing a service system and support ecology for high-quality original content. Going forward, Tencent Music Entertainment Group aspires to continue leveraging its capabilities, discovering more exceptional original musicians and Chinese original musical works, continuously propelling high-quality development and worldwide propagation of Chinese music, and championing Chinese originality.

David Foster is set to host and perform at the 37th annual Carousel Ball on Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Hyatt Regency Denver. Counting Crows and Foster’s wife, singer Katharine McPhee, are also set to perform.

Foster is a 16-time Grammy winner, including three wins for producer of the year, non-classical. He also won a Primetime Emmy for The Concert for World Children’s Day (2003) and has received three Oscar nominations for best original song. Counting Crows are two-time Grammy nominees. McPhee was runner-up on American Idol in 2006.

Attendees are likely to hear many of Foster’s most famous songs, including hits for Earth, Wind & Fire, Boz Scaggs and Chicago; Counting Crows’ “Mr. Jones”; and McPhee’s cover version of Judy Garland’s immortal “Over the Rainbow.”

The event, held every two years, is committed to increasing awareness for type 1 diabetes, raising funds for clinical care and research at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, and supporting programs run by the Children’s Diabetes Foundation. Funds are raised through sponsorships, dinner tickets, a live and silent auction, and contributions.

Dana Davis is event chairman. Barbara Davis is honorary event chairman.

This year’s event will honor Satish Garg, MD with the Founders Award, while Juli and Joe Smolen will receive the High Hopes Tribute Award.

The Children’s Diabetes Foundation is the fundraising arm of the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes. The foundation, located in Aurora, Colo., was established by Barbara and Marvin Davis in 1977 after their daughter, Dana, developed diabetes at the age of seven.

As *NSYNC revisit their boy-band days ahead of the release of their first new song in more than 20 years, they have one question: “Who had us pose like that?!”

On Tuesday (Sept. 19), the quintet posted a new Instagram video with that caption, that shows the five bandmates casually entering a room together, soundtracked by Simple Plan’s 2002 song “I’m Just a Kid,” only to fall into a completely ridiculous group pose. We then flash to the original photo, taken in January 2001, which has every guy making an over-the-top facial expression without any context or explanation against a white backdrop.

Justin Timberlake posted the video to his own account with the simple caption “Just kids.” Jersey Shore star Snooki shared her thoughts in the comments section, writing, “I’m calling 911 i can’t handle all of this.”

She’s not alone: Fans are freaking out over the prospect of getting the first new music from *NSYNC — Timberlake, JC Chasez, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone and Chris Kirkpatrick — since 2002 when “Better Place” from Trolls Band Together arrives on Sept. 29. The guys kicked the fan frenzy into overdrive last week when they reunited on the MTV Video Music Awards stage to present Taylor Swift with the best pop award. The next day, “Better Place” was announced in a new trailer for the Trolls threequel, in which Timberlake returns to voice the troll Branch.

Ahead of next week’s song release, on Thursday, the group will appear on Hot Ones, the First We Feast online series that asks celebrities spicy questions as they eat progressively spicier chicken wings. Timberlake previously appeared on Hot Ones solo in April 2020, when he revealed that the FCC nearly pulled “Di– in a Box” from Saturday Night Live last-minute. Good thing they relented: The song, which Timberlake co-wrote with Katreese Barnes, Asa Taccone, Jorma Taccone, Andy Samberg and Akiva Schaffer, won a Primetime Emmy for outstanding music and lyrics.

Watch the new video below: