Global
New Around the World: Demi Lovato’s ‘Cool for the Summer’ Reheats on Global Charts
Glass Animals, GAYLE and Anitta infuse the upper reaches of the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated April 2) with songs from 2020, ’21 and ’22, respectively. But elsewhere on the global tallies, a hit from the mid-2010s roars back. Demi Lovato debuts in the top half of both global charts with 2015’s “Cool for the Summer,” at No. 66 on the Global Excl. U.S. list and at No. 93 on the Global 200. The song, from 2015, earned 13.4 million official streams and sold 950 downloads worldwide in the week ending March 24, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. Those figures represent increases of 224% and 573%, respectively, week-over-week. [embedded content] “Cool” is resurging as a sped-up, pitched-up remix of it has gone viral, soundtracking numerous dance videos ...
Japan’s Miyashita Yuu Talks New Album, Including ‘Platinum End’ Closer ‘Koufukuron’
Since 2008, when Miyashita Yuu kicked off his career as a “utaite” singer posting covers of Vocaloid songs on the Japanese video-sharing platform Nico Nico Douga, he has branched out from being a cover singer to being a songwriter, composer, arranger, illustrator and animator of music videos, gifting fans with his multitalented artistry. He released three albums as an amateur artist, beginning with his first project Zouka (“Artificial Flower”) in April 2013, his follow-up from May 2014 called holidays, and his third set called “Suimyaku” (“Water Vein”) in April 2016. He wrote and sang all the songs on these albums and even illustrated the covers. Miyashita made his major-label debut in August 2016 with his first album Tsumugi no Ki, then followed up with Ao ni Aruku in December 2018 and Sa...
New Around the World: Aitch & Ashanti’s ‘Baby’ Update Hits Global Excl. U.S. Chart
Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” continues to simmer atop the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated March 26), while Lil Durk debuts a double-digit sum of tracks from his new No. 1 Billboard 200 album, 7220, on the Global 200. Elsewhere on this week’s global surveys, British rapper Aitch makes his first appearance, debuting on the Global Excl. U.S. list at No. 109 with “Baby,” alongside Ashanti. Released March 10, the song arrives propelled by 7.2 million official streams and 2,300 downloads sold outside the U.S. in the week ending March 17, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. Those figures make up 96% and 98%, respectively, of the song’s worldwide totals. It’s likewise the first global chart entry for New York-born Ashanti, building upon her extensive U.S. ch...
How a 2-Year Delay Changed ATEEZ’s First U.S. Arena Tour & Inspired Their Next Steps
When ATEEZ returned to America for the first time since 2019, the breakout K-pop group wasn’t as much amazed by upgrading from 800-person-capacity clubs to sold-out arenas as they were with finally reuniting with the actual people in the audience. “We just saw them on screens for two years, but now finally we see each other,” says Hongjoong, ATEEZ’s bubbly leader who turns into the fervent and fiery captain onstage. “When we were in Korea, we had online fan meetings with many American fans, but it felt like we were watching them on TV. It’s really amazing to see them in person; it’s almost unbelievable.” Explore Explore ATEEZ See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news With puppy-like energy palpable as they hang out together, hardly any question for ATEEZ g...
SixTONES Scores Sixth No. 1 With ‘Kyomei’ on Japan Hot 100
SixTONES’ sixth single “Kyomei” blasts into No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated March 9, putting an end to Aimer’s seven-week streak at the top of the tally. The six-member Johnny’s boy band scores its sixth No. 1 with this track, which is the opener for the ongoing anime series Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon season 2. “Kyomei” sold 402,093 copies in its first week to rule the metric (though about 100,000 copies short of its previous single, “Mascara”), while also coming in at No. 1 for look-ups and radio airplay. The track also did well on Twitter (No. 4) and came in at No. 53 for video views, so the two physical metrics of the chart’s methodology (sales and look-ups) fueled the song to No. 1 this week. Explore Explore SixTONES See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos,...
Japan’s Online Vocaloid Scene’s Influence on Current J-Pop Mainstream, Explained
Fifteen years since the release of the groundbreaking singing voice synthesizer software Hatsune Miku in 2007, Vocaloid has become an essential part of the current J-pop landscape. Numerous artists whose music careers got started by producing and sharing tracks made with Vocaloid software — “Vocalo” is now a J-pop sub-genre and its producers are collectively called “Vocalo-P” in Japanese — have broken into the mainstream, including hitmakers Yonezu Kenshi and YOASOBI, who have dominated the Japan charts in recent years. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Why have so many gifted artists emerged from the Vocaloid scene? What are some of the factors that led to Vocalo-P creators becoming solo singer-songwriters or forming groups with other artists to...
New Around the World: ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ Goes Bilingual on Global Charts
For those who haven’t been paying attention, Disney’s Encanto is a hit. Its soundtrack has ruled the Billboard 200 for seven of the last eight weeks, and its breakout, fast-talking ensemble anthem “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has spent more weeks at No. 1 — five to-date — on the Billboard Hot 100 than any other track from a Disney movie in the chart’s history. Beyond the U.S., the accolades continue. “Bruno” spent three weeks atop the Billboard Global 200 and cracked the top 10 of the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart. Now, on the March 5-dated Global Excl. U.S. chart, the song doubles up, ranking at No. 14 in English and debuting at No. 121 in Spanish. Carolina Gaitán and Mauro Castillo, from the English-language version, are joined by fellow Colombians Daniela Sierra, Juanse Diez, Olga Lu...
Years & Years Release New ‘Starstruck’ Remix With Rising J-pop Artist SIRUP
British singer Olly Alexander’s solo project Years & Years dropped a brand-new remix of “Starstruck” on Tuesday night (Feb. 15), joined by rising J-pop singer-songwriter SIRUP. The release of the new remix comes on the heels of Years & Years’ latest album Night Call debuting at No. 1 on the Official UK Albums Chart, becoming Alexander’s second chart-topping set. Explore See latest videos, charts and news “Starstruck (SIRUP Remix)” adds the 34-year-old J-pop artist’s uniquely groovy style of rap and vocals over Alexander’s feel-good vibes. The It’s a Sin star shares how the collaboration came about: “I heard a song SIRUP made with another British artist, Joe Hertz, called ‘MAIGO.’ I loved that song, and thought his style would really suit ‘Starstruck,’ because he does a lot of...
Tiago PZK, LIT Killah, Nicki Nicole & Maria Becerra’s ‘Entre Nosotros’ Rules Argentina Hot 100 for 12th Week
Tiago PZK, LIT Killah, Nicki Nicole and Maria Becerra are pushing to break a record as their remix of “Entre Nosotros” tops the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart (dated Feb. 5) for a 12th week. It’s the third-most weeks at the top, along with Maluma and The Weeknd’s “Hawai” and Pedro Capo’s “Calma” with Farruko (both spent 12 weeks at No. 1), since the chart launched in 2018. They stand just behind Karol G and Nicki Minaj’s “Tusa” with 25 weeks atop the ranking, and “Otro Trago,” the all-star collab by Sech, Darell, Nicky Jam, Ozuna & Anuel AA (13 weeks at No. 1). Here’s the list of the titles with the most weeks at No. 1 on the Argentina Hot 100 ranking: Weeks at No. 1, Title, Artist25, “Tusa,” Karol G & Nicki Minaj13, “Otro Trago,” Sech, Darell, Nicky Jam, Ozuna & Anuel AA12,...
Aimer Returns to No. 1 as Holiday Favorites Soar on Japan Hot 100
Aimer’s “Zankyosanka” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 dated Dec. 29, tracking the week from Dec. 20 to 26, 2021. The anime theme song ruled the tally two weeks prior and continues to maintain momentum. [embedded content] “Zankyosanka” rules streaming for the third week and video views for the second week in a row, both decreasing slightly figure-wise but still going strong. The track racked up 8,904,311 weekly streams (from 9,649,396 the week before) and 2,655,800 views (from 3,183,554) during the chart week, while slipping to No. 2 for downloads after reigning over the metric for two weeks. In other metrics, it comes in at No. 60 for Twitter mentions and No. 29 for radio airplay. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The song that to...
BE:FIRST and Its Fans Achieve Success on Hot Trending Songs Charts
BE:FIRST, a Japanese group led by musician and music producer SKY-HI, is enjoying tremendous success on the U.S. Billboard charts. The Hot Trending Songs global charts track Twitter posts by artists’ fans and other Twitter users around the world. BE:FIRST’s debut single “Gifted.” — which was released on Nov. 3 — took the No. 1 spot with a commanding lead, a rarity for a Japanese artist. Even now, a month after the single’s release, it still enjoys a high place on the charts. Posts from BESTY, BE:FIRST’s supporters, are generating constant buzz on Twitter. There are also fan accounts who share daily chart updates. [embedded content] As reported in numerous news articles, “Gifted.” took the No. 1 position on the Nov. 10 Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, dominating the digital metrics of downloa...
Lee Mujin on Being Billboard K-Pop 100 Rookie of the Year: ‘I’m Still Hungry for More’
At the turn of the year 2021, no one expected that the “Rookie of the Year” on the year-end Billboard K-Pop 100 would go to a male solo artist. Major entertainment companies had introduced brand-new bands such as aespa, ENHYPEN, Treasure and STAYC at the end of 2020 and most of us had our attention on them. To our surprise, a young male singer showed that he was not an ordinary rookie singer by setting the record for most No. 1 appearances on the Billboard K-Pop 100 in 2021. This up-and-coming star singer is Lee Mujin, who was the runner-up in Sing Again, JTBC’s music competition show. Explore Explore Lee Mujin See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Sing Again is a rebirth talent show for unknown singers, including those who have released popular original sou...
