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The Iceman rollout continues. Drake announced plans for episode three of his Iceman stream, which is set to debut on Thursday night (Sept. 4) at 9 p.m. ET. It appears the stream was shot during Drake’s four-show run in Milan that concluded on Tuesday (Sept. 2). The 6 God is in the midst of a few days off before taking the stage in Paris on Sunday (Sept. 7). Explore See latest videos, charts and news After dropping off “What Did I Miss” and “Which One” featuring Central Cee as the lead singles into the Iceman era, there’s plenty of speculation that a third song is set to be premiered during the episode. At the end of the second Iceman episode, Drake teased a hard-hitting track that sent fans into a frenzy, and they’re holding out hope the untitled song will be debuted in full during episode three. “You gotta light the tower up for this,” Drake raps to open the unreleased tune while the stream shows him moving through the airport solo. Earlier this week, Drake joined Bobbi Althoff for another interview and the launch of her Not This Again podcast. Throughout the 80-minute chat, Drake touched on Los Angeles, his ideal woman, sniped at Rick Ross and defended himself from being labeled a “culture vulture.” “It’s the same way even in music. People will be like, ‘Oh, you’re a culture vulture.’ Or people will describe the collaborative efforts that I’ve put forth and the artists that I’ve picked up and lifted up or shone a light on as me taking,” he explained. “They’ll put a negative spin on it and try and tell me that it’s a self-serving thing or whatever, and I think I get really sensitive about that.” Look for the third episode of Iceman on Thursday at 9 p.m. on Drake’s YouTube account. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link

This summer’s Billboard Japan Hot 100 song chart featured a diverse assortment of songs showcasing the multifaceted quality of Japan’s pop music. Mrs. GREEN APPLE, now a household name in the country, continues to dominate the tally with unprecedented momentum, while the new girl group HANA that debuted just this April has kept two summer anthems in the top 10 for weeks. Songs from the 2000s and 2010s, such as ORANGE RANGE’s “Ikenai Taiyo” and HALCALI’s “Otsukare SUMMER,” are also drawing significant attention for their respective return to the mainstream. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Below, check out five memorable J-pop numbers selected by Billboard Japan from among the myriad of hits that soundtracked the summer of 2025. AiNA THE END “On The Way”  The opener for the anime series Dandadan Season 2 has made great strides on the Japan Hot 100, charting for nine consecutive weeks since its release and peaking at No. 5 on the list released Aug. 20. AiNA’s husky, powerful voice grabs your attention from the very first note, while the chorus overwhelms with her aching vocals belting out lyrics expressing determination. Another highlight to listen for is how the song incorporates the anime’s title Dandadan as a phrase in the lyrics, linking it firmly to the show’s universe. Fujii Kaze “Love Like This” Fujii Kaze’s “Love Like This” was released ahead of the singer-songwriter’s long-awaited 3rd album Prema, due Sept. 5. The heart-tugging electric piano intro evokes a vast beach at sunset. Is this a song about having found the love of your life, or a song celebrating the partner in your heart (= yourself) who will stay with you for a lifetime? The answer lies within the listener’s imagination. The accompanying music video is set somewhere in sun-kissed Europe and depicts a mature, unrequited love affair reminiscent of the visuals for Gwen Stefani’s “Cool.” Whatever the outcome, someone who has found unwavering conviction is “cool” indeed.  Official Hige Dandism “”Rashisa” Official Hige Dandism’s latest release was written for the animated feature film 100 Meters to be featured as its theme song. Synchronizing with the anime’s universe depicting the 100m sprint track event, frontman Satoshi Fujihara’s resonant vocals unfold over the speedy band sound evocative of a sprinter hurtling towards the finish line. The meaning of the song’s title, “Rashisa,” is “the quality that makes you who you are” in the context of the lyrics. While this quality can sometimes weigh you down, the powerful anthem embraces even that inner conflict and gives you a push forward. HANA “Blue Jeans” HANA’s second single “Blue Jeans” depicts a girl lacking confidence who falls fatefully in love (or so she believes). Starting with a muffled guitar refrain, the sound gradually builds intensity, clearly expressing the soaring emotions. The appeal of each of the seven members’ vocals shines through in this compact number and it’s no surprise that it launched with the highest total weekly points for any song this year on the Japan Hot 100 song chart. ORANGE RANGE “Ikenai Taiyo” The current trend in Japan is “Heisei,” meaning a revival of the culture around the 2000s and 2010s. ORANGE RANGE’s “Ikenai Taiyo” from 2007 symbolizes this throwback to the era that officially began in 1989 and ended in 2019. The five-man band hailing from Okinawa dropped a new music video accompanying the summery bop, packed with 72 recognizable Japanese pop-culture references from the Heisei era. The comic visuals drew attention not only from the band’s loyal fans, but also from a new generation of listeners. Other Heisei summer hits like RIP SLYME’s “Nettaiya” (2007) and YUI’s “SUMMER SONG” (2010) are also going viral again, making this a particularly noteworthy trend this year. Source link

Snow Man’s “CHARISMAX” debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, on the chart released Sept. 3. The nine-member boy band’s latest single, released digitally on Aug. 25, set new personal records for both first-week downloads and streams, topping the former metric and coming in at No. 16 for the latter. The track also hit No. 2 for video views and radio airplay. This marks Snow Man’s second Japan Hot 100 chart-topper this year following “SERIOUS,” and their eleventh No. 1 of its career. The group has been accelerating its global expansion, performing at this year’s SUMMER SONIC BANGKOK 2025 and on the K-pop music program M COUNTDOWN, while also launching pop-up shops　beginning in Seoul. BE:FIRST’s “Secret Garden” bows at No. 2. The popular boy band’s latest single, released Aug. 25, is currently being featured in Unilever’s promotional campaign. Downloads for the track launched with 31,085 units, surpassing the group’s previous release “Sora” in July to hit No. 2 for the metric. It also tops radio and video, while coming in at No. 2 for streaming. Explore See latest videos, charts and news HANA’s “Blue Jeans” holds at No. 3, staying in the top 3 for the seventh consecutive week since its debut on the Japan Hot 100. Debuting at No. 4 is STU48’s “Kizutsuku koto ga seishun da” with 210,234 copies sold in its first week, and Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu’s “Heart na mune no uchi” follows at No. 5 with 113,433 copies sold.  Elsewhere on the tally, Stray Kids’ “CEREMONY” charts for the second week, jumping 63-28 with streams gaining 222% compared to the previous week. Fujifabric’s poignant end-of-summer classic called “Wakamono no subete” from 2008 soars 73-44, surging in streams (137%) and radio airplay (186%). The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data. See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Aug. 25 to 31, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account. Source link

UPDATE (Sept. 4): Joe Henry, The McCrary Sisters, Old 97’s, Darrell Scott, and Jesse Welles are this year’s lifetime achievement honorees who will be honored at the 2025 Americana Honors & Awards. The ceremony will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Henry has won three Grammys as a producer in three different categories. He won for producing Solomon Burke’s Don’t Give Up on Me in 2003 (best contemporary blues album), Ramblin’ Jack Elliott’s A Stranger Here in 2010 (best traditional blues album) and Carolina Chocolate Drops’ Genuine Negro Jig in 2011 (best traditional folk album). Scott has received four Grammy nods in country and American roots music categories. “This year’s Lifetime Achievement honorees represent the heart and soul of the Americana community, from the legendary to the next generation of stars.” Jed Hilly, executive director of the Americana Music Association and Foundation, said in a statement. “It’s a privilege to recognize and celebrate these incredible artists whose expertise in their craft has left an indelible mark.”  The Americana Honors & Awards ceremony serves as the hallmark event of the association’s annual AMERICANAFEST, taking place Sept. 9-13 in Nashville. PREVIOUSLY (June 10): Sierra Ferrell, who won artist of the year at last year’s Americana Honors & Awards, is nominated in that category again this year, along with Billy Strings, who won in 2022-23; Charley Crockett, Joy Oladokun and Waxahatchee. Ferrell is vying to become the second woman to win artist of the year twice and the first to do so in back-to-back years. Brandi Carlile won in 2019 and 2021. For his part, Strings would become just the second artist to win three or more times. The late John Prine won four times. MJ Lenderman, Charley Crockett, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings were each nominated in multiple categories. Lenderman is up for album of the year for Manning Fireworks, song of the year for “Wristwatch” and emerging act of the year. Crockett is up for album of the year for Lonesome Drifter and artist of the year. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats are up for album of the year for South of Here and song of the year for “Heartless.” Welch & Rawlings are nominated for album of the year for Woodland and duo/group of the year. Larkin Poe, which won duo/group of the year last year, is nominated again in that category, as is the 2015 winner, The Mavericks. Jason Isbell, a three-time winner for album of the year, is nominated again this year for Foxes in the Snow. The 24th annual Americana Honors & Awards will be held on Sept. 10 at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Here’s the full list of nominees: Artist of the Year Charley Crockett Sierra Ferrell Joy Oladokun Billy Strings Waxahatchee Album of the Year Lonesome Drifter, Charley Crockett; Produced by Charley Crockett & Shooter Jennings Foxes in the Snow, Jason Isbell; Produced by Jason Isbell & Gena Johnson Manning Fireworks, MJ Lenderman; Produced by Alex Farrar & MJ Lenderman South of Here, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; Produced by Brad Cook Woodland, Gillian Welch & David Rawlings; Produced by David Rawlings Song of the Year “Johnny Moonshine,” Maggie Antone; Written by Maggie Antone, Natalie Hemby & Aaron Raitiere “Ancient Light,” I’m With Her; Written by Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O’Donovan & Sara Watkins “Wristwatch,” MJ Lenderman; Written by MJ Lenderman “Sunshine Getaway,” JD McPherson; Written by Page Burkum, JD McPherson & Jack Torrey “Heartless,” Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats; Written by Nathaniel Rateliff Duo/Group of the Year Julien Baker & TORRES Dawes Larkin Poe The Mavericks Gillian Welch & David Rawlings Emerging Act of the Year Noeline Hofmann MJ Lenderman Medium Build Maggie Rose Jesse Welles Instrumentalist of the Year Fred Eltringham Alex Hargreaves Megan Jane Kaitlyn Raitz Seth Taylor   Source link

Lady Gaga and Tim Burton chose an island built using pre-Hispanic farming methods in Xochimilco, a tourist area in the south of Mexico City, as the setting to seal a new collaboration between the pop superstar and the famed film director. The project combines dark, gothic and fantastical elements, characteristic of the theatricality that defines both artists’ work. The result is the music video for the song “The Dead Dance,” released on Wednesday (Sep. 3), which is part of the second season of Netflix’s series Wednesday. In it, Gaga also stars as Rosaline Rotwood, a deceased instructor from Nevermore Academy who helps Wednesday Addams (played by Jenna Ortega) in her mission to save her family and friends. (Gaga also recently released a deluxe edition of her Mayhem album this week, with “Dead Dance” as one of three new bonus tracks.) “The Dead Dance” takes place on the Island of the Dolls, surrounded by vegetation, a crumbling house, and hundreds of old dolls of all sizes. Over time, exposure to the elements has left the dolls dirty and worn, with peeling paint on their faces, tattered clothing, missing eyes, and no hair, creating a chilling and eerie atmosphere. Filmed in black and white, the clip features choreography reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” where Gaga emerges from the mist, rises, and begins to move and sway to the rhythm of the music. Prior to its release, videos and memes circulated on social media in recent months hinting at the collaboration between Gaga and Burton. Fans speculated after the Batman Returns and Beetlejuice director visited Mexico City, where he launched an immersive exhibition showcasing his most iconic works and characters. During that time, the filmmaker also toured Xochimilco and the nearby magical town of Tepoztlán, located just outside Mexico City. Meanwhile, Gaga returned to Mexico City in April after a 13-year hiatus to perform two sold-out concerts at the GNP Seguros Stadium. The show, titled “¡Viva La MAYHEM!”, featured the opera that had captivated audiences earlier this year at Coachella. But before both artists showcased this “haunted” location to the world, the Island of the Dolls had already been featured as a setting in the documentary by British musician and producer Steven Wilson, which accompanies his 2008 solo album Insurgentes, captured through the lens of Danish photographer Lasse Hoile. In 2010, in an interview with the Mexican newspaper El Universal, Wilson shared that the most beautiful part of filming in Mexico took place precisely at that location. “Mexico is like one big film set; it’s very cinematic and surreal, and incredibly inspiring for creating sounds and images,” the musician said. “Originally, we hadn’t planned to film so much in the country, but after being there, we were hooked.” At the end of last April, fellow pop star Christina Aguilera shared images on her Instagram account from her visit to Xochimilco, where she was seen enjoying time with friends and toasting with beer. In one of the snapshots, the diva is shown wearing a colorful flower crown reminiscent of the iconic painter Frida Kahlo’s signature style. Several decades earlier, during the height of the so-called Golden Age of Mexican Cinema, Xochimilco and its “chinampas” served as the setting for classic films like María Candelaria, directed by Emilio “El Indio” Fernández and starring Dolores del Río and Pedro Armendáriz. The film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946. In 1987, Xochimilco and its network of canals and artificial islands were declared a Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO, as they represent “an exceptional example of the Aztecs’ efforts to create a habitat in an environment hostile to humans.” The urban and rural structures created from the 16th century during the colonial period have been admirably preserved. Source link

The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week, for the upcoming Billboard Hot 100 dated Sept. 13, we look at Sabrina Carpenter’s first two singles from her just-released Man’s Best Friend set, and which may have the stronger performance on next week’s chart.  Explore See latest videos, charts and news Sabrina Carpenter, “Tears” & “Manchild” (Island/Republic): Pop superstar Sabrina Carpenter is all but guaranteed to have the top spot on next week’s Billboard 200 albums chart with her new set Man’s Best Friend. The follow-up to last year’s four-week Billboard 200 No. 1 Short n’ Sweet, Carpenter’s latest arrives on the back of a good deal of discourse around its provocative title and cover — which the singer-songwriter has largely shrugged off — as well as her second No. 1 on the Hot 100 with lead single “Manchild,” which became her first song to debut atop the chart upon its June release.   Next week, Carpenter will look to make it two No. 1 debuts in a row with winking, discofied second single “Tears” — which, as “Manchild” did, arrives along with a big new music video. Directed by Bardia Zeinali (who also helmed the Barry Keoghan-co-starring clip for Carpenter’s first Hot 100 No. 1, “Please Please Please”), the clip features a Rocky Horror Picture Show-inspired narrative, starring Emmy-winning actor Colman Domingo in drag, as well as elaborate staging and choreography. She has also maintained interest in the new video over the week by premiering multiple differing endings for the video — which originally closed with her killing her boyfriend, out of obligation to her personal brand — over the course of the album’s release week.   “Tears” is off to a very good start at DSPs, hitting No. 1 on both the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart and the Apple Music real-time chart, and maintaining in the top two on both throughout the week. On radio, it’s still only getting started, but is also set to make a fairly strong debut, possibly entering the top 25 on Pop Airplay, and earning 7.4 million in all-format audience over the first four days of the tracking week (Aug. 29-Sept. 1), according to Luminate. The one area where it’s clearly lagging behind where “Manchild” began is in sales, as “Tears” has had a good-not-great showing on iTunes, currently landing outside the top 25 on that real-time chart. (“Manchild” also had a sizeable first week in vinyl single sales; “Tears” is available for purchase only as a download.) “Tears” will also face continued competition from “Manchild” on the chart next week, as that song had slipped out of the top 10 on the Hot 100, but rebounds 14-7 this week with notable gains in both streaming and radio. Those streams should continue to rise for next week with the release of the full Man’s Best Friend (which “Manchild” leads off), and the song is also continuing to grow on radio, most likely tracking for a second week atop the Pop Airplay chart, and up another 5% in all-format audience over that Aug. 29-Sept. 1 period.   Whether “Tears” can outpace “Manchild” and put up a real challenge for the No. 1 spot may be determined by its final few days of tracking — as the song returned to the top of the Spotify daily listing after Labor Day Weekend, and may continue to swell from there as more and more listeners catch onto its charms.   HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI, “Golden” (Visva/Republic): The biggest challenge for “Tears” on the Hot 100 will of course be getting past HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” which holds at No. 1 this week for a third week, and which hasn’t stopped growing yet in either streams or sales. It’s taken back the top spot on the Apple Music real-time listing from “Tears” — and has traded off the Spotify daily No. 1 with Carpenter over the course of the week — and it continues to be one of the week’s best-sellers, currently ranking at No. 2 on the real-time iTunes chart.   And on radio, it’s officially taken off. The song is up 10% over that Aug. 29-Sept. 1 period, trending towards both the top 10 on the Pop Airplay chart and the top 25 on the overall Radio Songs listing. It’s crazy to say about a song by a fictional girl group from a K-pop movie musical — versus one of the most consistent radio hitmakers of the last two years — but radio may be the thing that keeps “Golden” out of range for Sabrina Carpenter’s latest to pass next week on the Hot 100.   Source link

Playtime isn’t over yet for Man’s Best Friend. On Thursday (Sept. 4), Sabrina Carpenter announced that she’s following up her new album with the digital release of a bonus track called “Such a Funny Way.” Sharing a glam photo of herself looking forlorn while talking on a phone, the pop star wrote to fans on socials that she had “a little surprise for you.” “‘Such a Funny Way’ is a song i am so proud of,” she continued. “The sentiment is one i always thought could really be the end of Man’s Best Friend in another universe! i didn’t want you to wait too long to have it and get to know it. it’s available for digital download now.” Now for sale on Carpenter’s website, “Such a Funny Way” can be downloaded along with the Man’s Best Friend album for $7.99. It was previously only available on the vinyl deluxe version of Man’s Best Friend, which dropped Aug. 29. The news comes shortly after the Grammy winner opened up about the inspiration behind “Such a Funny Way” on Apple Music 1 with Zane Lowe. “I interpret humor, obviously, in a light way, but it’s also used to cover something and it’s used to definitely cope with things and not always in the best way,” she said of the track. “I’ve had trouble in relationships before because people have been like, ‘Be serious.’ “So much of the time it feels maybe less mean or hurtful or spiteful to be able to just laugh about it, and that’s a good thing sometimes and sometimes it’s a bad thing,” she continued at the time. “So yeah, that one isn’t on the original version of the album, but it ends the album with the lyrics, ‘So funny that I have to laugh just so I don’t cry.’” Led by Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Manchild,” Man’s Best Friend marks Carpenter’s seventh album. It follows her breakthrough LP Short n’ Sweet, which spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 last year. See Carpenter’s announcement below. a little surprise for you“Such a Funny Way” is a song i am so proud of. the sentiment is one i always thought could really be the end of Man’s Best Friend in another universe! i didn’t want you to wait too long to have it and get to know it. it’s available for digital… pic.twitter.com/XxY4IHPxZO — Sabrina Carpenter (@SabrinaAnnLynn) September 4, 2025 Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link

Lauren Alaina’s multitasking skills are being tested. She starts a half-hour phone call about her current single — “All My Exes” featuring Chase Matthew — while changing diapers for her daughter, Beni Doll Arnold, born June 11. As the chat continues, she veers briefly from answering a question to talking with the baby, consoling the child through a bout with acid reflux. She never loses her place in the actual interview, though there’s little overlap between the concurrent threads. “It’s actually hilarious,” Alaina muses, “that I’m over here changing diapers and breastfeeding around the clock, and this is our current single.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news “All My Exes” isn’t a song that draws on motherly instincts — or even, one could argue, adult traits. Instead, it reflects an embarrassing public moment from a period when Alaina, now 30, was still on her own. “I was 22, 23, living in Nashville and dating other country music artists and dating other people in the business, and comedians, and all the wrong people, basically,” she says. “I wrote this song about one of those guys, getting into an argument downtown.” Not that the argument was the inspiration for “All My Exes.” Alaina wasn’t actually around when the song got started. Ben Johnson (“Bar None,” “Truck Bed”) and two pop writers, Whitney Phillips (Justin Bieber & Ariana Grande’s “Stuck With U”) and songwriter-producer Jimmy Gutch, dug in on “Exes” during a Zoom write at the peak of the COVID era in 2020 or 2021. Phillips brought in a hypnotic hook — “I ain’t saying that you’re right about me/I’m just saying all my exes would agree” — that formed the backbone for that day’s work. The “All My Exes” title naturally brought George Strait to mind. Johnson wasn’t bothered by the similarities. “Everybody already loves ‘All My Ex’s Live In Texas,’ ” he says. “I just think it’s fun to kind of flip that on its head.” They crafted a chorus and an opening verse in about two hours, building it around a slinky guitar riff with a soul-pop feel. Johnson sang on the demo with an expectation that it would turn into a guy-and-girl duet, and over the course of the next two years, several artists expressed interest in finishing “All My Exes.” “We kept rewriting the verses, trying to make it fit for different artists,” Johnson recalls. Listening back to the demo at one point, Johnson felt like it might fit Alaina, who he calls “one of my best friends.” He persuaded her to put her voice on the demo, and they subsequently agreed that “Exes” might benefit from making Alaina the lead voice and attempting to find a male collaborator to pair with her. Alaina’s then-boyfriend and now-husband, Cameron Arnold, thought it sounded like a hit and encouraged her to tackle “Exes.” Alaina and Johnson tweaked the song, and they set up a more formal writing session when Phillips was visiting Nashville. They shaped it around Alaina’s mutually headstrong breakup on Third Avenue, though phrasing made “Second Avenue” a better first-verse lyric. “I wasn’t a big go-downtown person until this six-month stretch of my life,” Alaina remembers. “I kind of mirrored this song about that fight, and he was just saying that I was too opinionated, and too loud, and too much. And I was like, ‘Well, you’re not the first to tell me this, thank you very much.’ ” Alaina and Arnold became friends with Matthew when both singers were opening acts on Jason Aldean’s 2024 Highway Desperado tour, and Arnold reached out to Matthew on his own with “Exes,” openly lobbying for a collaboration. “So Cameron A&R’d the record, basically,” Alaina says with a laugh. Matthew’s participation required yet another revision on “All My Exes.” “Once we knew Chase was going to be on it, I think Lauren and I got together and tweaked a few more things for Chase,” Johnson says. “Maybe that’s four writing sessions on it.” Producer Joey Moi (Morgan Wallen, HARDY) was spending large blocks of time in Los Angeles following the opening of Big Loud Rock, but Big Loud partner/CEO Seth England started priming him to fit in a session for “Exes” next time he was back in Nashville. They cut it at Blackbird Studio A with a small band — electric guitarist Tom Bukovac, acoustic guitarist Bryan Sutton and keyboardist Alex Wright — redoing Johnson’s demo and adding a few extra embellishments, including some Bukovac hooks that built onto the original riff. “He elaborated on it in the post-chorus, when the turn comes back around,” Moi says. “And all of the guitar melodies that are in the chorus — that’s all stuff we added in the studio.” They recorded Alaina’s vocals at Moi’s Big Loud studio in a fairly easy session. Despite the singer’s penchant for big notes, “All My Exes” called for a more restrained performance. “You don’t really have to use a ton of technique to sing this song,” Alaina says. “It’s kind of an earworm, and those songs are usually easier to sing.” It’s an approach that Moi has advocated for since she signed with Big Loud in 2022. “I’ve really preached that with her, because she always wants to do those big ad-libs,” he says. “In this climate, stylists beat powerhouses. Even in real contemporary music, it’s not powerhouse anymore. Even the powerhouses there, like Ariana [Grande], she will lean heavy on style, but she can do all the moves. Sabrina [Carpenter] is a powerhouse, but she does all of the real super-stylistic stuff.” Moi enlisted a co-producer, Jacob Durrett (ERNEST, Cole Swindell), to run a separate vocal session with Matthew in Nashville. Durrett also programmed the drum part, using 808 beats to provide a pop undercurrent beneath the country sound of the singers’ voices. They changed a lyric about Knoxville — the hometown of the guy Alaina originally referenced — to Nashville, reflecting Matthew’s residence. And while they dropped a few harmonies into the pre-chorus, the bulk of the singers’ performance was in unison in different octaves. “We tried to do harmony on the chorus, and it just felt bigger with the octaves,” Alaina says. “All My Exes” was one of five Alaina recordings that Big Loud released to digital partners in advance of her next album, and it set a personal streaming record for her in the track’s

At a time when social media rewards musicians who share their lives with the public, Japanese artist Ado is proof that mystery can also be a valuable commodity.  Explore See latest videos, charts and news The 22-year-old singer spent the spring and summer performing at arenas in 33 cities across Asia, Europe and the Americas, standing inside a see-through, cube-shaped cage that revealed only her silhouette. Without a video screen to show her face — even cameras and binoculars are strictly forbidden at her concerts — the audience focuses only on her electrifying voice and the orgy of light and graphics displayed behind her.  “I suppose one of the reasons why the people that come to my shows or listen to my music is so diverse because my style doesn’t specifically speak to a particular gender,” the 22-year-old singer tells Billboard’s Behind the Setlist podcast through an interpreter. “Perhaps it has to do with me not revealing my identity, but also my voice as well. It’s not typically feminine, and sometimes it can be even more powerful than a masculine voice.”  Although the audience could see only her silhouette, Ado was aware of her surroundings. “I see a lot,” she explains. “There’s some people out there who are jumping, and then there are others that are like laser fixed on my performance. There are little kids and they’re also older people as well. There’s a wide diversity in terms of my fans, from teenagers to older people [who] seem to love me or love my music, which I appreciate.” Ado has quickly ascended to a leading role in Japan’s push to export its music to the U.S. and other markets. Signed to Universal Music Group in 2020, Ado topped the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart the following year with the song “Usseewa.”  The global popularity of Japanese anime has helped Ado gain a following outside of her home country. In 2022, she was the singing voice actress for the animated film One Piece Film: Red and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart with “New Genesis” from the movie. Last year, she found a new audience as a guest on a remix of Imagine Dragons’ “Take Me to the Beach.” This year, Ado become Spotify’s most-streamed Japanese artist outside of Japan. On her recently concluded Hibana World Tour, Ado became the first Japanese artist to sell out such arenas as Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, SAP Center in San Jose, Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Uber Arena in Berlin, Accor Arena in Paris and Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Through it all, audiences know very little about her other than her music. As Ado is quick to point out, she’s not unique in hiding her identity. Anonymity is standard in Japan’s vocaloid music scene that centers around music made by a singing synthesizer software that creates vocals in the same way a person can use a digital audio workstation to create songs by dragging and dropping notes onto a screen. She grew up watching vocaloid videos on Niconico, a Japanese video sharing platform, and eventually become an utaite, a person who covers vocaloid songs. Utaite singers traditionally keep their identities a secret and use an avatar to represent their public persona.   “I thought, ‘Okay, this might be something that I can do.’ Because up until then, if I thought that if I were to sing or become a singer, it involved going on TV, showing who I was, you know, having a spotlight on myself. But being able to do this anonymously seemed to bring up endless possibilities.” Listen to the entire interview with Ado in the embedded Spotify player below, or go to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart, Podbean or Everand.  Source link

Are you ready for some football? Shaboozey sure is. The “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer has partnered with Amazon’s Prime Sports for “Let ‘Em Know,” a new song that will be part of the Thursday Night Football show opening and a national marketing campaign. The song — snippets of which can be heard in the commercial below and will be part of the campaign rolling out Thursday (Sept. 4) — will premiere Sept. 11 with the Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders game, and will lead TNF Tonight and Thursday Night Kickoff on Prime Sports each week. This is Prime Sports’ fourth year streaming NFL games on Thursday nights. “Our collaboration with Shaboozey has produced an incredible campaign that showcases TNF as the ultimate fan experience,” Stacey Rosenson, head of U.S. sports marketing for Prime Video, said in a statement. “Shaboozey is the perfect artist to kick off TNF each week and reflects our commitment to capturing the energy of starting the weekend on Thursday nights.” Composer Pinar Toprak’s original anthem, commissioned for ‘s debut in 2022, will continue to serve at TNF’s theme music. Shaboozey’s career continues to soar. “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” is the longest-running No. 1 by a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100 at 19 weeks. His follow-up, “Good News,” stands at No. 1 this week on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart. “Let ‘Em Know” continues Shaboozey’s connection with the NFL: He performed a three-song medley at the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving halftime show in November 2024 against the Chicago Bears. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link