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Orville Peck and Shania Twain Cut Loose In An Empty Dive Bar For ‘Legends’ Duet: Watch
Orville Peck just might be the ultimate show pony. Don’t believe it? Well, the unconventional Canadian country artist called his latest EP Show Pony. Coincidence? On Monday night, Peck showed us what he’s made of for a late-night TV performance with his compatriot Shania Twain, with an empty dive bar their location. Peck showed us some slick moves, his face hidden from view. Twain brought the class that comes with winning a swag of Grammys. And the pair had a moment with their rendition of “Legends Never Die” on The Tonight Show. Speaking to Billboard earlier this year, Peck admitted he was star-struck by working with Twain. “I’ve been the biggest Shania fan my whole life, and she was literally the last person I got to hang out with before [self-isolating],” he explained. They’...
Lewis Capaldi, Passed Over for a Grammy Nod for Best New Artist, Lands His 2nd Top 10 Hit on the Billboard Hot 100
Capaldi was also bypassed for a performance slot on the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 26. Lewis Capaldi is having the last laugh. Nearly nine months after the Scottish singer/songwriter was, surprisingly, passed over for a Grammy nod for best new artist, he lands his second top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Before You Go.” The song follows “Someone You Loved,” which led the chart for three nonconsecutive weeks last November—and received a Grammy nod for song of the year. (Capaldi co-wrote the ballad with Tom Barnes, Pete Kelleher, Benjamin Kohn and Sam Roman.) Nominations in the Big Four categories—album, record and song of the year plus best new artist—are determined by a nominations review committee which reviews the top 20 vote-getters of rank-and-file voting members. While ...
2 Men Indicted in 2002 Killing of Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay
Two men have been indicted in the 2002 slaying of hip hop artist Jam Master Jay, which until now had been one of New York City’s most notorious unsolved killings, three law enforcement officials told the Associated Press on Monday. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and did so on the condition of anonymity. One of them identified the suspects as Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan. Federal prosecutors were expected to announce the charges at a news conference Monday afternoon. Washington, who had reportedly been living on a couch at Jay’s home in the days before his death, was publicly named as a possible suspect or witness as far back as 2007. He is currently serving a federal prison sentence stemming from a string of robberies he committed while on the run from police afte...
Supreme Court Asked to Review ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Fight
Is the Supreme Court ready to make music history? One petitioner is giving nine justices of the high court such an opportunity while hardly being subtle about it. Here are the opening notes from a new cert petition: “It is fitting, perhaps, that the future of music copyright law be decided by a case about rock ‘n’ roll’s most iconic song, ‘Stairway to Heaven.’” The petition comes from Michael Skidmore, trustee for the Randy Craig Wolfe Trust — which is to say he’s representing an interest once belonging to Randy “California” Wolfe, singer-songwriter for the rock band Spirit. Wolfe authored a song “Taurus,” which many observers see as being extremely similar in structure to the opening of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.&#...
Drake Eyeing Strong Debut In U.K. With ‘Laugh Now Cry’
Joel Corry and MNEK’s summer smash “Head & Heart” is racing to a fifth week at No. 1 in the U.K., while Drake is rolling to a high debut with “Laugh Now Cry,” his collaboration with Chicago rapper Lil Dirk. Based on 48 hours of sales and streams, “Head & Heart” has a “comfortable” lead, according to the Official Charts Company. It’s holds the top spot on the Official Chart: First Look by a margin of 5,000 chart sales, with Nathan Dawe featuring KSI’s “Lighter” slotting in at No. 2. Drake’s “Laugh Now Cry” starts at No. 3 on the sales blast, and is set to become the Canadian rapper’s 17th Top 5 single and the first appearance on the Official U.K. Singles Chart for Lil Durk. The next highest debut could be “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus. It’s at No. 13 on the preliminary chart an...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ Enters Third Week at No. 1 In U.K.
Taylor Swift logs a third consecutive week atop the Official U.K. Albums Chart with Folklore (EMI), as Joel Corry and MNEK’s “Head & Heart” (Asylum/Perfect Havoc) locks-up a full month at No. 1 on the national singles survey. Swift’s latest set rules the current chart frame after blasting away the competition by a margin of 6,000 chart sales, according to the Official Charts Company. It’s the U.S. pop star’s fifth leader in the territory. Oxford four-piece Glass Animals score a career high with Dreamland (Polydor), new at No. 2. The LP easily eclipses the No. 23 best of their sophomore and most recent album, How to Be a Human Being, from 2016. Dreamland is the best selling vinyl title of the week. Heavy metal veterans Deep Purple enjoy a rare Top 5 appearance as Whoosh! (Ear Musi...
Taylor Swift’s ‘Folklore’ Extends Streak Atop Australia’s Albums Chart
Taylor Swift holds onto her Australia chart crown as Folklore (Republic/Universal) holds off new releases from Luke Bryan and In Hearts Wake for a third successive week at No. 1 on the ARIA Chart. Meanwhile, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s “WAP” (Atlantic/Warner) just misses out on a chart-topping bow on the national singles survey, as Jawsh 685 x Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” (Columbia/Sony) bags a sixth week at the summit. Folklore, which also rules the albums charts in the U.S. and U.K., should continue to chart high after its release on CD in Australia. It’s the only album this year to hold the ARIA No. 1 for more than two weeks. U.S. country star Luke Bryan has his third Top 10 as Born Here Live Here Die Here (Capitol/Universal) starts at No. 2, a new caree...
As Britain Starts Socially-Distanced Gigs, Many Venues Face Closure Amid Pandemic
When Keiron Marshall was 15, he found his way out of a desperate situation with help from an unexpected source: Eric Clapton. The guitar great was host at the first gig Marshall ever went to, and he was joined on stage by Gary Brooker of Procol Harum, The Who’s Pete Townshend and Beatle Ringo Starr. Since then, London’s music scene has been a liferaft for Marshall, a musician who now runs a group of small concert venues with his wife. Growing up in south London, he’d endured racial slurs and regular beatings because of his Pakistani heritage. His uncle was killed in a racially motivated attack; his mother was a heroin addict. But the music scene they know and love may soon be unrecognizable because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has plunged the U.K. economy into its worst recession on ...
‘Truth Hurts’ Suit Against Lizzo Dismissed by Judge
Lizzo is most likely feelin’ good as hell after a California federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against her by two songwriters who say they helped create “Truth Hurts.” Lizzo hit first in October 2019, asking the court for a declaration that brothers Justin and Jeremiah Raisen did not co-write her Grammy-winning hit song and therefore aren’t entitled to any of its profits. The songwriters countersued in February, arguing that “Truth Hurts” is a derivative work based on a song called “Healthy” that they created with the artist in early 2017. She maintains the only significant thing to come out of that session was the line “I just did a DNA test turns out I’m a hundred percent that bitch” which was inspired by a viral tweet that anot...
Arashi’s ‘Kite’ Sails to No. 1 on Japan Hot 100
Arashi’s “Kite” soars to No. 1 on this week’s Billboard Japan Hot 100, selling 636,590 copies during the chart week dated July 27 to Aug. 2. The quintet’s 58th single took the top spot by a wide margin after leading physical sales and look-ups, while also coming in at No. 2 for Twitter and No. 26 for radio airplay. A bit of chart trivia: the super-group’s previous single, “Brave,” debuted at No. 2 on the Japan Hot 100 last September after a close contest against the writer of “Kite” — hitmaker Kenshi Yonezu, who topped that week’s chart with “Uma to Shika.” “Brave” actually sold more CDs than “Kite” with 708,595 copies that week, coming in at No. 1 for sales, No. 2 for look-ups, No. 3 for Twitter, and No. 56 for radio. The weekly total for “Kite” was 39,590, surpassing “Brave,”...
Biggie’s Son CJ Wallace Releases His First Music as He Grows Social Impact Company
Over a Zoom video interview, Christopher “C.J.” Wallace, Jr. holds up his dad’s jersey that almost eclipses Wallace and the entire computer screen. “It’s a 5XXL,” Wallace tells Billboard. On the back of the jersey, ‘POPPA” is stitched in bright yellow letters against the hunter green fabric. The young entrepreneur was only five months old when his father, The Notorious B.I.G., was killed. Now 23, Wallace has finally done something he says he was “very scared of for the longest time”: releasing his own music, inspired by his dad’s. “I just avoided it because you don’t wanna mess up anything great,” says Wallace. Born in New York City and raised in Los Angeles, Wallace has been in the process of building his own legacy with Think BIG — a social impact company that he co-founded with bu...
R. Kelly’s Manager Charged With Placing Threatening Call to Theater Screening Abuse Documentary
The manager of R. Kelly was charged Friday (Aug. 14) for allegedly making a threatening phone call to a Manhattan theater that was screening a docuseries about the sex abuse allegations against the musician. Donnell Russell, 45, was charged in two counts with threatening physical harm by interstate communication, and conspiracy to do the same, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York. The charges stem from an alleged Dec. 4, 2018 call Russell made threatening a shooting at NeueHouse, which thereby halted the screening of Surviving R. Kelly, according to authorities. Multiple victims featured in the docuseries were to attend the event. Surviving R. Kelly explores allegations that Kelly engaged in abusive sexual relationships with minor girls and adult women. He...
