bbfree
Everyone’s Talking About Billie Eilish, Kamala Harris & Mary J. Blige at the 2020 DNC
Billie Eilish, Prince Royce and Jennifer Hudson rocked the house as the 2020 Democratic National Convention rolled into its third day. Due to the pandemic, this year’s DNC is beaming out to the world as a virtual event. While the cheering and flag-waving is subdued this time around, that hasn’t stopped millions of Democrats from closely following their party’s events, with an epic presidential election less than three months away. On an historic night that saw Kamala Harris accept the Democratic nomination for vice president, the theme on day three was “vote.” And “vote for change.” That message was captured in the music which flowed from the stage. “You don’t need me to tell you things are a mess,” Eilish said before she debuted the new song “My Future,” acco...
Former ‘AGT’ Champion Darci Lynne Performs Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby’ With an Aussie Accent: Watch
America’s Got Talent alum Darci Lynne always has a special trick up her sleeve. On Tuesday night (Aug. 19), that trick was Ivan, “with an eye.” A big, single eye. The Oklahoma City won season 12 of AGT with her ventriloquism magic, and she hasn’t lost any of it, judging by her performance during the latest Quarter Final. Lynne and her puppet, who we’re told is a visitor all the way from Australia, dropped in for a performance of “Baby” by Justin Bieber. That is, “Baby” performed with an Australian accent. You’ve never see Biebs covered like this before. Check it out below. [embedded content] You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful...
Nashville Venues Encourage Fans to #MaskNowPartyLater to Speed Concerts’ Return
Promoters in the city have launched a new social media awareness campaign, asking the touring industry to step up and spread the word. Venues and event creators in Nashville have banded together to encourage Americans to wear a mask and take safety precautions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 through a new campaign. The #MaskNowPartyLater campaign officially launched Wednesday (Aug. 19) with the incentive of bringing awareness to the live music sector and how slowing the spread of the virus now will bring live music back sooner. The collective of event creators, vendors, sports teams, venues, athletes and artists in Nashville began educating the public on what it’s going to take to get live events back sooner with the hashtag and are now calling upon the entire sector to step up and sha...
Universal Music Publishing China Hosted a ‘League of Legends’ Songwriting Camp With Riot Games
As the music industry continues to invest deeper into the lucrative esports space, Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) China and Riot Games China have concluded a songwriting camp focused on promotional songs for the game publisher’s upcoming 10th League of Legends World Championship. The camp took place at the end of July and brought together 14 UMPG China songwriters — both virtually and in the GUM Studio Shanghai recording facility — to create six songs for the widely-viewed championship, which takes place this year in Shanghai from Sept. 25 to Oct. 31. “Music and gaming are activities of no boundary. When matching them well, possibilities are endless,” said UMPG China managing director Joe Fang. “I am honored to be partnering with Riot Games on t...
Teen Kelvin Dukes Gets the Judges Bouncing With ‘Valerie’ Cover on ‘AGT’: Watch
Age is just a number. Just ask Kelvin Dukes. The Maryland native cruised into the Quarter Finals stage of America’s Got Talent, despite being just 14 years of age. On Tuesday night (Aug. 18), Dukes delivered a popping performance of “Valerie,” made famous by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson, and originally recorded in the 2000s by The Zutons. Performing on an isolated stage in a set just like the one in Bruno Mars’ “Uptown Funk,” Dukes had the judges bopping along as they watched on the big screen. The kid has all the moves. This week, Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson is filling in for an injured Simon Cowell, after Kelly Clarkson helped out last week. Watch the performance below. [embedded content] You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined ...
John Legend, Bette Midler, Cher and More Celebs Roar After Night 2 of Democratic Convention
There were legends everywhere on night 2 of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, as Joe Biden was officially nominated as the party’s presidential candidate; Biden’s wife Jill, former president Bill Clinton and 2004 candidate John Kerry delivered speeches; and John Legend gave a rousing performance of “Never Break.” Due to the pandemic, this year’s Convention is a virtual one. But that hasn’t stopped millions of Democrats from tuning in, and feeding their minds ahead of the 2020 election. Thousands turned to social media to share their thoughts on what turned out to be a pivotal night for the Democrats, as Biden was picked to face off with president Donald Trump just months out from the general election. Judging by the wave of comments on Twitter, the real winner toni...
NME Launches In Asia
NME, the venerated British music title, has launched in Asia. Based in Singapore and operated by BandLab Technologies, the NME.com/Asia site will hope to feed the growing appetite in southeast Asia for music news, features and pop-culture insights. Currently, the platform has a split of 60-70% international content from the flagship U.K. title, and 30-40% local content. A core team of four writers handle copy from across the region, led by Iliyas Ong, former editor of Time Out Singapore; and Karen Gwee, former editor of Bandwagon and writer at NPR. The initial push-out focuses on Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, Meng Ru Kuok, CEO of BandLab Technologies tells Billboard. “Singapore is unique, it imports music very well and it tends to the indie music scene, in which NME is strong.” ...
Mariah Carey Sets ‘Rarities’ Collection With Lauryn Hill Collaboration
Mariah Carey is bringing a ray of sunshine to 2020. The diva is dropping an album of deep cuts, The Rarities, on Oct. 2. The new LP will cap a frenetic release schedule for Mariah. It’s scheduled to drop just days after the release of The Meaning of Mariah Carey, a memoir set to arrive Sept. 29. “This one is for you, my fans,” she says of The Rarities. “It’s to celebrate us, and to thank you for years of pure love and support. I am so grateful to you.” The 15-track album will feature the previously-unreleased “Save The Day” with Lauryn Hill. A bonus set will contain 17 recordings cut live at the Tokyo Dome in the 1990s, including “Emotions,” “Open Arms,” “Forever,” and “Fantasy.” Pre-orders and pre-saves are here. The pop icon hinted at the collection in June, as she celebrated...
Soundtrack Your Brand Signs Global Licensing Deal With Universal Music
The Swedish company, which operates in 73 markets, is pushing to disrupt the background music segment of the market. The growing segment of music streaming for businesses has taken another step forward. Soundtrack Your Brand, a cloud-based music service that is trying to become the Spotify of the business streaming world, signed a global licensing deal with Universal Music Group to use its catalog of music on the platform. The Stockholm-based company, which says it is the world’s fastest growing B2B music platform, delivers the flexibility of music-streaming technology to brands and businesses. Founded in 2013 with Spotify as a co-founder, Soundtrack Your Brand operates in 73 countries and competes in the background music segment with startups like Rockbot as well as with entrenched player...
Taylor Swift Becomes First Artist to Spend 40 Weeks Atop Artist 100 Chart
Plus, Cardi B re-enters at No. 5 and Megan Thee Stallion jumps to No. 6. Taylor Swift scores her landmark 40th total week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Aug. 22), thanks to the continued success of her new album, Folklore. The set notches a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 136,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, two weeks after it debuted with 846,000 units, the biggest single-week sum for any album since Swift’s last LP, Lover, in September 2019. Swift concurrently charts three songs from Folklore on the latest Billboard Hot 100 (after all 16 tracks from the set’s standard edition debuted in its opening chart week). “Cardigan” leads at No. 24, after it soared in at No. 1, followed by “The 1&#...
Bruce Springsteen, Bette Midler, Maggie Rogers & More Get Worked-up About 2020 Democratic National Convention
With less than three months until the election, there’s an awful lot a stake. And a ton of work to do. That wasn’t lost of “blue” voters, as the 2020 Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday night (Aug. 17), in a virtual format. A lineup of music stars are expected to appear during the days-event, including John Legend, The Chicks, Jennifer Hudson and Billie Eilish. On opening night, indie pop star Maggie Rogers, bluesman Leon Bridges, Broadway star Billy Porter and musician Stephen Stills slotted into the action. The Boss made something of a spiritual appearance as “The Rising” soundtracked Joe Biden’s bid for the presidency. Thousands watching on at home shared their thoughts on speeches by Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders and more as #DemConvention trended on social media. Bruce S...
Biffy Clyro Blast Into Lead on Midweek U.K. Albums Chart
Biffy Clyro aren’t celebrating yet, but the veteran rockers are charging to a third No. 1 album in the U.K. Biffy’s A Celebration of Endings (Warner Records) leads the Official Chart Update, and is currently outpacing the rest of the Top 5 combined, the OCC reports. A Celebration of Endings clocks up the most physical and download sales at the midweek point and is on track to equal the No. 1 positions of their 2013 LP Opposites and 2016’s Ellipsis. Celebration leads an all-new Top 4 at the halfway point, as indie rock outfit Sea Girls’ debut Open Up Your Head (Polydor) opens at No. 2; Manic Street Preacher James Dean Bradfield is at No. 3 with Even in Exile (Montyray), his first solo studio album in 14 years; and English folk-rock veterans Levellers mark their return with Peace (On The Fid...
