billboard
Billboard Expands in Asia With Launch of Billboard China
Billboard is expanding its global footprint in Asia. On Monday (Aug. 8), Billboard announced the launch of Billboard China along with plans for its rollout. “We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Billboard brand in China,” Billboard President Mike Van said in a press release announcing the news. “We look forward to providing a platform for Chinese musicians to share their art and unique sound amongst a global audience. Today marks the beginning of another exciting chapter in Billboard’s evolution and we are eager to witness the proliferation of new artists shaping pop culture.” Billboard China adds to the list of the publication’s international editions and music content in Asia, following Billboard Japan and Billboard Korea. Per the press release, Billboard will work closely with ...
Billboard Welcomes Andrei Radaza to Executive Team, Promotes Anjali Raja
Billboard is pleased to announce two updates to our executive team: Andrei Radaza is joining Billboard as svp/head of sales and Anjali Raja has been promoted to svp of business ops and audience development. Radaza is a new hire who began his advertising career with True Agency back in 2004 working on multicultural accounts for Nissan and Infiniti. Since then, he’s also held sales positions at Blackrock Digital, Vox Media and Complex, where he was vp of brand partnerships and oversaw the outlet’s Style vertical. Radaza also comes to Billboard with a requisite passion for music grounded in an early love of ’90s and 2000s hip-hop. The proud father of two currently has everything from Tyler, the Creator and Freddie Gibbs to Snoh Aalegra, Tems and Cleo Sol cycling on his playlist of favorites. ...
NAYEON Shares Her ‘Happy’ Reaction to New Billboard Chart Records: Exclusive
NAYEON‘s debut at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 with her solo effort didn’t just make her the first-ever K-pop star to enter the Top 10 of the main U.S. albums chart, but it landed the TWICE member a slew of record-setting achievements. For its first week out, IM NAYEON: The 1st Mini Album earned 57,000 equivalent album units, which marks the largest week of 2022 for any album by a woman or female-led group, as previously reported. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Of that sum, album sales comprise 52,000 units to make it the top-selling album of the week and debut at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart to make her the only K-pop soloist to start atop the chart to date. The “Pop!” star also earned another No. 1 on World Albums, making her the first f...
The Smile’s ‘A Light for Attracting Attention’ Tops Alternative Albums, Hits Top 10 on Album Sales Chart
The Smile’s A Light for Attracting Attention surges into the top 10 across multiple Billboard album charts following the set’s release on CD and vinyl on June 17. The set reaches the top 10 on Top Album Sales, Top Rock Albums, Vinyl Albums, Tastemaker Albums, Independent Albums and Top Current Album Sales. It also debuts at No. 1 on Top Alternative Albums. (All charts dated July 2.) Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news A Light for Attracting Attention is the debut project from the trio, comprising Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, with Sons of Kemet’s Tom Skinner. The album was initially released on May 13 via streaming services and digital retailers. Also in the top 10 on Top Album Sales: the latest albums from Drake and Logic arrive, whi...
All Hail King Kendrick: Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers Debuts at No. 1
Five years passed between Kendrick Lamar’s last album DAMN and his new one, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, and during that time pawns have fallen off the board and knights have jumped around, but the king stayed the king. As Billboard has revealed, Mr. Morale has clinched the top spot in the Billboard Top 200 for the upcoming list dated May 28th. Along the way, Lamar has hit a couple of notable benchmarks. This is his fourth straight album to debut at No. 1, putting him in a tie for 14th place, well behind current record holders Taylor Swift, Kanye West, and Eminem, who each accomplished the feat 10 times in a row. Besides that, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers moved 295,500 equivalent album units in its first week — the most of any album in 2022, beatin...
Billboard Promotes Mike Van to President & Dana Droppo to Chief Brand Officer
Mike Van has been named the new president of Billboard and Dana Droppo has been promoted to chief brand officer, Billboard parent company Penske Media Corporation announced Friday (May 20). Van — previously Billboard‘s executive vice president and head of global partnerships — will be responsible for all revenue operations and financial performance of the Billboard brand as president. He started at Billboard in 2018 and previously held leadership positions in advertising and sales at Pandora, Electronic Arts and Complex. During his time as executive vp and head of global partnerships, Billboard set all-time sales records. Droppo — who was previously Billboard‘s senior vice president of marketing, as well as vice president, brand experiences, and vice president and creative director for bra...
Billboard Music Awards, with No Fucks to Give, Also Books Travis Scott
One week after announcing Morgan Wallen’s first major awards show appearance since being caught shouting the N-word on camera, the Billboard Music Awards has doubled down by booking Travis Scott. The 2022 BBMAs will mark Scott’s first awards show appearance since his Astroworld Festival in November, which left 10 people dead. The Houston rapper is still facing a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit brought forth by victims of the tragedy, for which he has denied responsibility on multiple occasions. On top of that, the FBI announced they had joined the Houston Police Department in their ongoing investigation of the event earlier this year. After launching his Project HEAL safety initiative project in March, however, Scott has slowly trickled back into the public ey...
One Year After Using N-Word, Morgan Wallen Will Perform at 2022 Billboard Music Awards
One year after a camera caught Morgan Wallen shouting the N-word, the country superstar has been invited to perform at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. As Billboard reported, the decision was made by MRC (formerly Media Rights Capital), one of the world’s largest entertainment conglomerates which, in addition to producing music award shows, films (Knives Out, Baby Driver), and television series (Ozark, The Great), also owns Billboard as well as The Hollywood Reporter. MRC said it made the decision to invite Wallen after an “extensive internal discussions by a dedicated group of diverse staffers.” In a statement to Billboard, the company wrote, “We oppose discrimination, harassment, or racism of any kind. We believe in treating everyone with dignity and respect. After a...
Ashanti Lives Her ‘Dream’ as She Receives Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
R&B star Ashanti was officially commemorated with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday morning (April 7) — a feat her mom, famous momager Tina Douglas, predicted decades ago. “It’s surreal,” Ashanti told Billboard, moments after unveiling her star and taking photos with longtime friends and collaborators Tichina Arnold and Ja Rule. “I’m shocked, stunned and over the top grateful. This is a staple in my career and the fact that it will be here forever is a big deal.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The historic honor comes 20 years after the release of Ashanti’s self-titled debut studio album, which premiered at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and charted for 55 weeks. The Grammy-winner and actress has since released 18 Hot 100 tracks...
Pusha T & Jay-Z Release New Pharrell-Produced Collab ‘Neck and Wrist’: Listen
Pusha T and Jay-Z released their all-new single “Neck and Wrist” first thing Wednesday (April 5). Teasing the song by quoting what appears to be a lyric by Jay-Z, Pusha T wrote on Instagram and Twitter, “‘We got different Saab stories, save your soliloquies…’ – Hov.” The track, produced by Pharrell, comes less than a week after Pusha T shared an Instagram photo posing with the hitmaker. “You ain’t got emeralds greener, you ain’t got Richard to sleeve ya… and I got a Rolls that’s in the grove that I ain’t drove, sh– I don’t know the reason,” he captioned the post. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Neck and Wrist” also comes just days after the Friday release of Pusha T’s new EP, G.O.O.D. — a 25-minute, five-track project complete with featur...
Snoop Dogg Releases First Metaverse Music Video With ‘House I Built’: ‘It’s About Keeping It Real’
Thanks to his track “House I Built,” new Death Row Records owner Snoop Dogg has released the first-ever virtual music video produced in the Sandbox Metaverse. The Sandbox and Animoca Brands announced the news Thursday. Later this year, Snoop Dogg will helm his debut Metaverse concert, also in The Sandbox. His tune “House I Built” appears on his latest album, BODR, which dropped via Death Row Records in February. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The Dogg appears as a voxel avatar in the visual, which features Blondish along with Steve Aoki and was created using VoxEdit and Game Maker, The Sandbox’s free user-generated content creation tools. Snoop Dogg said in a statement, “The ‘House I Built’ track draws a parallel between how I’ve const...
Here Are the Answers to the Latest Billboard x VersusGame Matchups: Rosalia, Lil Nas X & More
Last week’s Billboard and VersusGame matchups challenging your chart-predicting prowess featured Rosalía, Lil Nas X, Elton John and Dua Lipa. Billboard and VersusGame have joined forces to bring music fans a one-of-a-kind, user-generated experience with games that test knowledge of pop culture for a chance to win prizes. Billboard is hosting bi-weekly head-to-head challenges on entertainment and pop culture gaming app VersusGame, where fans can vote on their favorite artists and songs and wager on who will top the charts and more. VersusGame data shows that fans have predicted correct chart outcomes nearly three out of four times so far. Last week’s challenges featured the following questions: Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest vid...
