International
Faouzia’s International Women’s Day Playlist With Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Blackpink & More: Exclusive
Singer-songwriter Faouzia has curated an International Women’s Day playlist exclusively for Billboard to celebrate the global day today (March 8). Faouzia, who recently released the stirring “Minefields” in collaboration with John Legend, looks up to some of the biggest voices in pop — including Rihanna, whose 2016 single “Needed Me” kicks off the playlist. “Rihanna has always been an inspiration of mine growing up and still to this day,” Faouzia tells Billboard of her first pick. “She is so strong, unique, and isn’t afraid to be herself.” Female forces like Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Blackpink and Miley Cyrus (who just happened to release the official music video for “Angels Like You” today) also made the list. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are loo...
Architects Draw First No. 1 In Australia
For Those That Wish To Exist also rules this week’s ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart and it’s the best seller in the U.K. Coming in at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart is Sheppard’s third album Kaleidoscope Eyes. It’s the Brisbane pop band’s third straight Top Two album, having hit No. 2 with their 2014 debut album Bombs Away and No. 1 with 2018’s Watching The Sky. Rounding out an all-new Top Three this week is Alice Cooper’s Detroit Stories. It’s the shock-rock legend’s highest-charting album in the ARIA charts era, equaling the peak of his 1977’s Lace And Whiskey. (The ARIA Charts were launched in 1983.) Detroit Stories becomes Cooper’s eighth Top Ten album in Australia and second successive Top Ten studio album, following Paranormal (No. 4 in August 2017). Also new to the chart th...
Michael Gudinski’s State Memorial Set For Rod Laver Arena
The 15,000-capacity first opened its doors for a concert back in 1988, when AC/DC rocked the house. In the years since, Gudinski’s Mushroom Group and Frontier Touring have brought some of the world’s biggest artists to Melbourne & Olympic Parks, including Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, and Ed Sheeran. Gudinski passed away last Monday (March 1), at the age of 68. As news spread, Rod Laver Arena and the neighboring AAMI Park were lit up as a mark of respect. Last Wednesday, Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the music man would be remembered “somewhere iconic that we can come together and celebrate his life.” He continued, “It will be a celebration of his life; the details will be finalized in coming days. It’s got to be COVID-safe of co...
Drake’s ‘What’s Next’ In Striking Distance of U.K. No. 1
Just 800 chart sales separate “Wellerman,” the leader on the First Look chart, and Olivia Rodrigo’s third-placed song “Drivers License,” the OCC reports. Last Friday, “Drivers License” logged its eighth successive week at No. 1 with another strong set of streaming results. A lead change isn’t out of the question. All three tracks from Drake’s Scary Hours 2 EP are poised to impact the Top 10, with “Lemon Pepper Freestyle” at No. 4 and “Wants and Needs” at No. 5. If the Canadian hip-hop star holds his momentum, he’ll have his 24th, 25th and 26th Top 10 singles in the U.K. when the chart is published this Friday. Also new to the chart blast is “Leave The Door Open” by Silk Sonic, the new project from Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. It’s at No. 16. Mars already has 18th Top 20 singles, wh...
Kis-My-Ft2 Debuts at No. 1, Official HIGE DANdism Rises to No. 4 on Japan Hot 100
Kis-My-Ft2’s “Luv Bias” blasts in at No. 1 on the latest Billboard Japan Hot 100, dated Feb. 22 to 28, selling 217,880 copies in its first week. The theme of the ongoing drama series Oh! My Boss! starring member Yuta Tamamori led physical sales, look-ups and Twitter mentions this week, and also performed well in radio airplay (No. 13) and video views (No. 15). Sales figures for the the seven-member Johnny’s boy band’s new single increased by about 37,000 copies from its previous release, “Endless Summer” (180,763 copies). 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 people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharin...
Listen to ‘The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run’ Soundtrack With Tainy, J Balvin, Monsta X, Weezer & More
Kicking off the soundtrack is Tainy and J Balvin’s “Agua” dropping Thursday, July 9. “I know that this song has good vibes and a lot of happiness, which we need during these moments,” Balvin expressed on Instagram. The uptempo track fuses the iconic SpongeBob intro with a party-starting reggaeton and bass melody. “This is an underwater party/baby, bring your umbrella / we’re dancing like fish in the sea, like fish in the sea,” the infectious chorus notes. SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run will debut digitally in the U.S via premium video on demand in early 2021 and then move exclusively to CBS All Access, ViacomCBS’ subscription video on demand and live-streaming service, following the premium video-on-demand window. You Deserve to Make Money Even When y...
Who’s Your Favorite IFPI Top 10 Global Recording Artist of 2020? Vote!
BTS were named the 2020 IFPI Global Recording Artist of the Year, an annual honor that recognizes an act’s worldwide popularity across streaming and sales, including vinyl, downloads and CDs. But which of the IFPI’s Top 10 Global Recording Artists is your favorite? The K-pop boy band set a benchmark by becoming the first award-winning act to perform primarily in a language other than English as well as the first South Korean and first Asian act to take the title. Taylor Swift comes in second after winning the top accolade in 2014 and 2019, with 2016 and 2018 champion Drake in the third slot. More U.S. and Canadian acts such as The Weeknd (No. 4) and Billie Eilish (No. 5) flood the top 10. Juice WRLD is the only act who appea...
Swedish House Mafia Parts Ways With Columbia Records: Exclusive
Two sources familiar with the matter also tell Billboard that Swedish House Mafia has parted ways with their manager, Patriot Management’s Ron Laffitte, who took over for longtime manager Amy Thomson following the group’s 2018 reunion show. After splitting up in 2013 following their 53-date One Last Tour, the trio reunited for a show-closing performance at Ultra Music Festival 2018. There they teased a full-on reunion, with SHM member Axwell announcing to the crowd, “It’s Swedish House Mafia for life this time.” In the three years since, the group has played about a dozen dates in Europe, Asia, Mexico and Saudi Arabia, with these shows containing new, as-yet-unreleased music. In June of 2019, due to supposed scheduling conflicts, band members Sebasti...
The Avalanches’ Win Australian Music Prize With ‘We Will Always Love You’
“We’re so thrilled to be the winners of the prestigious AMP Award and be amongst the esteemed winners of the past,” reads a statement from The Avalanches following their win. “We’d love to thank everyone involved in making this award happen especially SoundMerch, also to the many people who helped us put this record together. A truly special day for us and we’re so grateful.” SoundMerch is headline sponsor for this year’s award, which carries A$20,000 ($15,600) in prize money for the winner. We Will Always Love You dropped last December and features assists from the likes of Blood Orange, Jamie xx, Weezer, Denzel Curry, and is the follow-up to 2016’s Wildflower, which opened at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The LP “overflows with ideas, samples, and guests acro...
Hipgnosis Songs Poaches Publishing Vet Richard Rowe
Prior to that, Rowe co-founded R2M Music Publishing. Rowe made his mark with the Sony Music Group, in particular its music publishing division, which he helmed for 15 years as president. Today, Rowe is “one of the most important and successful executives in the music industry,” Mercuriadis acknowledges in a statement. “He helped build Sony ATV into the company it is today and played an important role in bringing Round Hill Music Royalty Fund successfully to the market in the wake of Hipgnosis.” Mercuriadis paid tribute to Rowe’s “incredible” dealmaking skills, including the partnership with Michael Jackson bringing The Beatles copyrights to Sony ATV, and the acquisition of Acuff-Rose Music which included the catalogs of Roy Orbison and The Everly Brothers. Rowe’s career started in 1979 at ...
Maximo Park on Track For First U.K. No. 1 With ‘Nature Always Wins’
Just 2,500 chart sales separate the Top 5 on the chart blast. Maximo Park crashed through with their 2005 Warp debut A Certain Trigger, which caught the attention of the NME and earned a Mercury Music Prize nomination. Their sophomore album Our Earthly Pleasures, from 2007, peaked at No. 2 on the Official Albums Chart and is their only Top 10 album to date. Nature leads an all-new Top 7. Cooper’s Detroit Stories could become the shock-rock legend’s highest position on the U.K. chart since 1989’s Trash peaked at No. 2. Detroit Stories is the best-selling album on CD at the halfway mark. Meanwhile, metalcore group Architects could snag their first U.K. Top 10 album with For Those That Wish To Exist (Epitaph), new at No. 3 on the Chart Update. It’s the most downloaded LP over the p...
UNIABUJA appoints DVC academic, administration
The Governing Council of the University of Abuja has approved the appointment of Prof. Clement Alawa and Prof. Abubakar Abba as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), respectively. Their appointment was disclosed in a statement issued by Dr Habib Yakoob, the Head, Information and Public Relations of the university on Tuesday. Yakoob said the council’s approval followed the endorsement of the vice-chancellor’s request by the institution’s senate. He said Alawa was re-appointed for another two years after a successful first tenure as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic). He said that the appointments were confirmed at the 89th regular meeting of the Governing Council on Monday. The statement said: “Alawa, a Professor of Animal Production was born on J...
