Categoría: Billboard

Billboard and Telemundo announced on Monday (Sept. 22) the first wave of artists that are set to perform at the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Danny Ocean, Ozuna, Olga Tañón, Laura Pausini are set to take the stage at the James L. Knight Center in Miami on Thursday, Oct. 23. Also confirmed to perform are La Arrolladora Banda El Limón de René Camacho, Beéle, Juan Duque, Musza, Netón Vega, NXNNI and Óscar Maydon. Pausini — who will be honored with the Billboard Icon Award — had been previously announced as a performer. Meanwhile, Danny Ocean, Netón Vega and Óscar Maydon are all finalists at the 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards, scoring multiple entries throughout a number of categories. Bad Bunny leads the list of finalists, with 27 entries, setting a historic record for the awards. The Puerto Rican superstar is followed by Fuerza Regida with 15 mentions and Rauw Alejandro with 14. Leading the female artists is Karol G with 10 mentions, matching those of rising regional Mexican artist Tito Double P who also has 10, while Peso Pluma is a nine-time finalist. The 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards will broadcast live on Telemundo and also stream on the Telemundo App and Peacock, and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean on Telemundo Internacional. The event coincides with Billboard Latin Music Week, which returns to Miami Beach Oct. 20-24 with a roster of star speakers, including Kali Uchis, Daddy Yankee, Xavi, Laura Pausini, Ozuna and many more. Get your tickets today for the Billboard Latin Music Week 2025 here. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link

In what appears to be a growing backlash to Disney’s temporary suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Sarah McLachlan said she and other scheduled performers at Sunday night’s (Sept. 21) premiere of the doc Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery would not be taking the stage in a show of support for free speech. “It’s a gift for all of us to see [this film], but also I’ve grappled with being here tonight and around what to say about the present situation that we are all faced with, the stark contraction to the many advances we’ve made watching the insidious erosion of women’s rights, of trans and queer rights, the muzzling of free speech,” McLachlan said in a statement at the premiere of the documentary that chronicles her launch of the history-making all-female touring music festival in 1997. McLachlan did not specifically mention Kimmel or his suspension, but it seemed clear what she was referring to as the Lilith doc is airing on the Disney-owned Hulu; Disney is also the parent company of ABC. “I know you’re expecting a performance tonight, and I’m so grateful to all of you for coming, and I apologize if this is disappointing, but we have collectively decided not to perform but instead to stand in solidarity in support of free speech,” McLachlan added after she and Jewel were expected to perform at the premiere. The Hollywood Reporter noted that the invitation to the premiere did not specify who was slated to perform, but only promised “special surprise performances,” with a source telling the magazine that McLachlan and Jewel were slated to take the stage with another surprise guest. “I think we’re all fearful for what comes next, and none of us know, but what I do know is that I have to keep pushing forward as an artist, as a woman to find a way through, and though I don’t begin to know what the answer is, I believe we all need to work towards a softening to let in the possibility of a better way, because I see music as a bridge to our shared humanity, to finding common ground,” McLachlan added. McLachlan then leaned into the lessons she said she’d learned from launching the Lilith Fair at a time when promoters and naysayers told her that audiences did not want to attend a show with more than one female headliner. “If Lilith taught me anything, it taught me there is a great strength in coming together to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down,” she said. “So I really hope this documentary inspires everyone to continue to try and create positive change in your communities, to keep lifting each other up, keep championing the causes you believe in with kindness and empathy because ultimately we’re all in this together.” Amid calls for boycotts of its amusement parks, streaming service and related businesses, the scotched performances at The Ford in L.A. were the first notable public fallout for Disney after it suspended Kimmel’s show last week following his monologue jokes about the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said in the monologue of his Sept. 15 show in comments that appeared to drew the ire of the Trump administration and many on the right as investigators continue to search for the motive in the shooting. After station owners Nexstar and Sinclair said they would be pre-empting Kimmel in the wake of the comments, ABC parent company Disney said it would suspend the show indefinitely. The decision has set off a firestorm of controversy, drawing backlash and outrage from fellow late night hosts, A-list actors and free speech advocates who fear the move is a capitulation to the Trump administration and an erosion of the nation’s bedrock free speech rights. Olivia Rodrigo, who appears in the Lilith film, took to her socials over the weekend to voice her frustration over Kimmel’s suspension, saying she was, “so upset over this blatant censorship and abuse of power. I stand with Jimmy Kimmel and I stand for freedom of speech.” Source link

SXSW London has confirmed on Monday (Sept. 22) it will return to the English capital in 2026 and announced ticket details for the upcoming event. The European edition of SXSW will run from June 1 to 6 in east London for a second consecutive year. The 2025 edition took place throughout venues and locations in Shoreditch in June. Tickets for the event are set to launch on Oct. 20 from the festival’s website. 2025’s program saw a live performance from Tems as part of Billboard’s The Stage, a European premiere of Eminem documentary Stans, and a visit from King Charles. Submissions for session proposals across the 2026 conference, music and screen verticals are also now open. The winning selections for the conference are reviewed by the public before being considered by an advisory group and editorial team for inclusion in the festival. The music festival and screen festival public submissions are managed by industry jury votes.  The submissions period for the conference program will close on Dec. 7, and from the following day, the public will be able to view and vote for their favorites. Submissions for the music vertical will close on Nov. 24, and close for screen on Dec. 31. SXSW London has also announced 15 “forward-thinking” conference tracks, which include topics such as artificial intelligence, startup innovation and immersive realities. In 2025, 9,868 submissions were made across its three verticals (screen, conference, music), with the conference strand attracting 40,000 public votes. The festival featured 400 talks, 1067 speakers, 562 music performances and 114 film and TV screenings. Katy Arnander, director of programming for SXSW London said in a statement, “Bringing SXSW to London has always been about creating a platform for convergence across technology, business and creativity. Now in our second year, that mission is more alive than ever, and the SXSW London open submissions allows us to build the festival around what is most current and vital in these sectors. “SXSW London 2026 will build on the momentum of our debut, expanding the scope of ideas, voices and disciplines we convene,” she continued. “We want our attendees to encounter unexpected perspectives and foster bold conversations, and we’re creating an environment for groundbreaking ideas to flourish in one of the most important capital cities in the world.” Source link

Fifty years after Earth, Wind & Fire broke through to the top tier of pop and R&B bands, they were subjects of a two-hour Grammy salute that aired on Sunday (Sept. 21). The airdate was a clever touch – “the 21st night of September” is line from one of their most famous hits, “September.” Unlike past Grammy Salute specials where other artists cover the subject’s songs, this special was built around a filmed EWF concert at the Hollywood Bowl, where the band was backed by the LA Philharmonic. But there were also inserts of performances of EWF classics by Jonas Brothers, Jon Batiste and Janelle Monáe and a warm, mostly spoken, tribute by Stevie Wonder. EWF have been showered with awards and honors in this century. The band was voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Five members of the group were voted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010. They received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2016 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2019. Fulwell Entertainment and Grammy Studios produced A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire Live: The 21st Night of September. Ben Winston (who is an executive producer of the annual Grammy telecast), Patrick Menton (a co-executive producer of that show) and Harvey Mason jr. (CEO of the Recording Academy) served as executive producers. Fans of these Grammy Salutes specials won’t have long to wait for the next one. A Grammy Salute to Cyndi Lauper: Live From the Hollywood Bowl will air on Sunday, Oct. 5 (8-10 p.m., ET/PT). Guests include Joni Mitchell, Cher, Angelique Kidjo, John Legend, SZA, Mickey Guyton, Trombone Shorty and Jake Wesley Rogers, with a video tribute from Brandi Carlile. Here are the five best moments from A Grammy Salute to Earth, Wind & Fire Live: The 21st Night of September. A Grammy Salute to Earth Wind & Fire ©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Taking on The Beatles The special, like the Bowl concert itself, opened with three of EWF’s million-sellers, “Shining Star,” “Sing a Song” and “Got to Get You Into My Life.” The group didn’t just cover The Beatles’ brassy classic from Revolver, they thoroughly reinvented it. White won a Grammy for his bold, even audacious, arrangement of the song, which was easily the best thing to emerge from a movie that was a notorious flop – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Songs Worth Hearing Twice Earth, Wind & Fire included full-length versions of “That’s the Way of the World” and “Shining Star” in their set, but we were also treated to covers of the songs by Janelle Monáe and Jonas Brothers, respectively. JoBros, the only non-Black artists on the show, did a very credible job on “Shining Star,” which was EWF’s only No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Jon Batiste performed “Can’t Hide Love,” a lesser-known EWF song which was the follow-up to “Sing a Song.” EWF didn’t include that one in their Bowl set. Inspiring Stevie Wonder In an insert, Wonder talked about his “great admiration for Maurice White,” and shared that when he heard “Shining Star,” it inspired him to write “I Wish,” the lead single from Songs in the Key of Life. Wonder didn’t add, but we will, that Songs in the Key of Life kept EWF from landing a third consecutive No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. Spirit, which followed their chart-topping That’s the Way of the World and Gratitude, peaked at No. 2, unable to dislodge Wonder’s masterwork from the top spot. (Wonder was the subject of his own Grammy Salute special in 2015, Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life – An All-Star Grammy Salute.) Those Killer Ballads EWF is probably best known as purveyors of upbeat pop/R&B/funk hits, but their ballads were every bit as good. The group included several in their show – “That’s the Way of the World,” “Reasons,” “Fantasy” and “After the Love Has Gone.” The latter song, the band’s first collaboration with David Foster, was EWF’s only track to receive Grammy nods for record and/or song of the year. The fact that EWF was equally good on upbeat material and ballads is a key reason for their longevity. All Hail the Originals EWF includes just three original (or nearly original) members – Verdine White, Maurice White’s younger brother; Ralph Johnson; and Philip Bailey, who was introduced as “The Voice.” The group’s mastermind, Maurice White, died nearly 10 years ago. EWF is one of those groups where the songs are the stars, more than the individual band members. The Four Seasons, ABBA and The Temptations are also in this little club, which ensures the longevity of the material. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link

Farm Aid 40, held Saturday (Sept. 20) in Minneapolis and headlined by founding musicians Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, is expected to be the most successful benefit for family farmers by the organization in many years, as sales of 36,232 tickets at Huntington Bank Stadium are added to contributions solicited on air during a five-plus-hour broadcast of the event on CNN.  But for Neil Young, it won’t be enough. “It’s one of the highlights of my life to have been part of this,” said Young, flanked by Nelson and Mellencamp, and joined by fellow Farm Aid board members Dave Matthews and Margo Price, at Farm Aid’s morning press conference.  “That said, there’s one thing that really strikes me about this day. And what I would like to say is, we need money so we can give it to the farmers and support the farmers. And we need to get it from these big corporations and billionaires that have taken all the farmers’ land or a great portion of it.” “We want donations from them,” said Young. “Huge donations to Farm Aid. We don’t want to give them favors. They bought hundreds and thousands of acres of farmland in this country as investments. And they’re living the good life. They need to stand up and pay a conscience tax to the farmers of America!” The 40th anniversary of Farm Aid and its mission — to build and strengthen a family farm-centered agricultural system in America that values family farmers, good food, soil, water, climate and strong communities — was celebrated Saturday with more than 12 hours of music.  In addition to Farm Aid’s board members, the remarkable bill included: Bob Dylan, Kenny Chesney, Billy Strings, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson, Trampled by Turtles, Wynonna Judd, Steve Earle, Waxahatchee, Eric Burton of Black Pumas, Jesse Welles, Madeline Edwards and the Wisdom Indian Dancers. When Willie Nelson launched Farm Aid in 1985, amid an economic crisis that was forcing family farms into bankruptcy, the organization recognized that the nation’s agriculture system was suffering from the consolidation of economic power and rise of corporate control. Forty years on, the same corporate forces affect almost every aspect of American life, from health care to housing to its news media.  Farmers, growing the nation’s food, saw the storm clouds first. “We were kids when we started this thing,” said Mellencamp at the press conference. “We were young kids and we had ideals. We were so naive that we thought we would do one show and they’d pay attention to us.” “Willie and I went to Washington, in front of the Senate subcommittee on farming. Willie talked and I talked and some f—ing senator stood up and goes, ‘Where’s your guys’ guitars?’ I looked at Willie and I said, ‘Let’s get the hell outta here.’” The tone in Washington, D.C., has hardly improved over Farm Aid’s 40 years. It weighed on Margo Price’s mind before her performance. “It’s so important for us to come together, right now, in America,” she said. “We’re being divided. We’re being distracted. Our voices are being silenced. And apathy isn’t it. They want us to be overwhelmed. They want us to be fighting with each other so we don’t realize that it’s the people in power that are making all of these things terrible. We have to use our voice while we still have it. Shared struggle builds solidarity and hope is an act of resistance. Keep fighting.” “Shared struggle” is the perfect way to describe Farm Aid’s forty years of activism to support family farmers. With fans traveling from cities or farms, red states or blue states, Farm Aid on Saturday night in Minneapolis may well have been the most politically diverse — yet unified — place in America. Here are best things we saw and heard at Farm Aid 40: Showing Up Early Farm Aid activists know to show up early for each year’s festival — several days early. This year, on Thursday (Sept. 18), a night of music was curated for invited guests by Rissi Palmer, recipient of the Lift Every Voice Award from the Academy of Country Music.  On Friday (Sept. 19), the annual farmer forum was billed as “Seeding Democracy From Our Fields to Our Future” and included a a keynote address from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. And Friday evening saw the presentation of the annual Spirit of Farm Aid awards to organization supporters. “You Are Not Alone” Stepping outside the Farm Aid Eve celebration Friday night to talk, David Senter, founder and president of the American Agriculture Movement and a Farm Aid historian, was asked: after 40 years, does Farm Aid matter? “It matters because those family farmers that are still out there struggling need to know that they’re not alone,” he replied.  He noted that Farm Aid brings together scores of activist organizations from across the nation. “It’s like rolling out a neutral stage where when you find issues you agree on, where everybody can speak in a unified voice.” In a divided nation, “that’s important right now, isn’t it?” In April, Senter and Nelson co-wrote “A Letter to Young Farmers,” published on the Farm Aid website. “We are determined to prevent the corporate takeover of all food production, making sure there is opportunity for independent farmers and ranchers on the land,” they wrote. “The farmer’s role is essential and well worth fighting for. We want you to know you are not alone. We stand with you and are here to support you because you are the future of family farm agriculture.” The Rising Stars For Farm Aid’s opening sets, organizers have long had unerring skill at presenting artists whom fans might have only heard in smaller venues. Saturday was no exception, with country singer/songwriter Madeline Edwards showcasing her compelling new album Fruit; Eric Burton of Black Pumas offering a soulful, solo set; and Waxahatchee, the ensemble created by frontwoman Katie Crutchfield, playing songs from its most recent release, Tigers

Harry Styles ran the Berlin Marathon in under three hours on Sunday (Sept. 21). Organizers confirmed to news agency dpa that Styles took part. Local newspaper Der Tagesspiegel was the first to report his participation. The 31-year-old former member of boy band One Direction was among some 55,000 runners taking part in the race on what is widely regarded as the fastest marathon track in the world. Styles — reportedly using the pseudonym Sted Sarandos and wearing a headband and sunglasses — completed the route in two hours, 59 minutes, 13 seconds. A sub-3 hour marathon is a coveted mark for many marathon runners. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Der Tagesspiegel reported that Styles was already spotted running in Berlin in preparation for Sunday’s race. Styles was in a photo at the finish with Richard Whitehead, a two-time gold medal winner over 200 meters at the Paralympic Games. Whitehead, who is on a quest to run 20 marathons this year, posted the photo on Instagram. Last month he was spotted training in London, jogging through Hyde Park. The star previously completed the Tokyo Marathon, finishing 6,010th overall. According to online records, his net time came in around three hours and 24 minutes, with an average pace of about 7:47 per mile — meaning he bested his marathon run time in Berlin. Styles’ debut album, Harry Styles, topped the Billboard 200 in the U.S., and album charts in Britain and several other countries. His second album, Fine Line, appeared in 2019, became his second solo No. 1 album, and included the Grammy-winning “Watermelon Sugar.” Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up Source link

“Gala,” the new single from XG, tops this week’s fan-voted music poll. Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Sept. 19) on Billboard, choosing the septet’s fresh track as their favorite new release. “Gala” made its grand entrance during a week that also saw new releases streaming in from Cardi B, RAYE, Miley Cyrus, Lola Young and more, with the fashion-focused tune bringing in 65% of the vote. “Gala” is the pre-release single from JURIN, CHISA, HINATA, HARVEY, JURIA, MAYA and COCONA’s long-awaited debut studio album, which arrives on Jan. 23, 2026. The group first teased the album release date in early September. Explore See latest videos, charts and news “This song was mainly inspired by the iconic Met Gala,” XG’s MAYA recently told The Hollywood Reporter, adding, “We tried so many new things, choreography wise, music wise and fashion wise, so we’re really excited to showcase that. I feel like this song is really XG.” HARVEY explained to THR, “I think it’s fair to say that we’ve grown a lot since we first debuted, but personally I think we became a lot more fearless when it comes to challenging ourselves to new things. Especially with ‘Gala,’ I think we can see that come into play fully. We’ve challenged ourselves to try many different dances and a new sense of fashion that we haven’t done before to become bolder. In that sense, I think we’ve seen ourselves come a long way.” “We tried voguing, break dancing and some acrobatics this time,” COCONA added in the group’s chat. “It was very, very hard to learn, but a great experience for us, and we wanted to make ‘Gala’ feel more like a show.” Among the new releases trailing behind “Gala” on this week’s poll are Cardi B’s Am I the Drama?, with 4% of the vote, followed by RAYE’s “Where Is My Husband?” and Miley Cyrus’ “Secrets.” See the final results of this week’s poll below. Source link

Dua Lipa is continuing her streak of teaming up with iconic artists on her Radical Optimism World Tour. On Saturday night (Sept. 20), the 30-year-old British-Albanian pop star delivered the third show of her four-night run at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where she surprised fans by bringing out legendary musician Nile Rodgers for an electrifying performance of Chic’s 1978 disco classic “Le Freak.” Watch it here. Lipa has become known for performing a locally inspired cover at stops on her Radical Optimism Tour, which launched its U.S. leg at Chicago’s United Center earlier this month. During her previous MSG shows earlier in the week, the “Dance the Night” singer paid tribute to the city with covers of New York staples, including Alicia Keys’ “No One” and Blondie’s “One Way or Another.” “Here in New York, I’m actually spoiled with the choice,” Lipa told the crowd before her Blondie cover. Check out Billboard’s recap of the five best moments from her second night at MSG here. At the tour’s U.S. kickoff in Chicago on Sept. 5, Lipa brought out hometown legend Chaka Khan to perform a powerful rendition of the 1983 hit “Ain’t Nobody.” The tradition of regional covers began earlier in the year during her stops in Australia and New Zealand, where she performed songs by artists such as AC/DC, Lorde and Kylie Minogue. She also welcomed special guests including Troye Sivan, Tame Impala and Crowded House’s Neil Finn. While the trend continued less frequently during the European leg, she performed Enrique Iglesias’ “Hero” in Madrid. In London, she brought out Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay for “Virtual Insanity” at Wembley Stadium, followed the next night by a guest appearance from Charli XCX for her Brat hit “360.” Other notable tributes included The Zutons’ “Valerie” (made popular by Amy Winehouse) with the group’s frontman Dave McCabe in Liverpool, The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” in the Fab Four’s hometown, and a heartfelt performance of “Nothing Compares 2 U” in Dublin in honor of late Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor. Lipa is set to wrap up her four-night MSG stint on Sunday (Sept. 21) before continuing the North American leg with stops in Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle, followed by a run of dates through South America and Mexico. After a brief break in August following two months of shows across Europe, Lipa resumed touring in North America with back-to-back shows in Toronto on Sept. 1–2. The Radical Optimism World Tour is in support of Lipa’s third studio album, Radical Optimism, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2024. The album produced several hits, including lead single “Houdini,” which spent 17 weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Source link

Twenty One Pilots land the year’s biggest week for any rock album — and the largest in six years — as the duo’s new studio effort, Breach, bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Sept. 27. Explore See latest videos, charts and news The set is the act’s second leader and launches with 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States in the week ending Sept. 18, according to Luminate. That marks Twenty One Pilots’ best week ever and the biggest week for a rock album since Tool’s Fear Inoculum launched at No. 1 with 270,000 on the Sept. 14, 2019-dated chart. (Rock albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart.) The majority of Breach’s opening week was powered by traditional album sales, numbering 169,000 sold, which lands Twenty One Pilots its biggest sales week ever, and the biggest for any rock album in six years. The last rock set to sell more copies in a single week was Fear Inoculum, which sold 248,000 in its opening stanza. Breach is Twenty One Pilots’ first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in a little more than a decade, since Blurryface bowed at No. 1 on the June 6, 2015 chart. All told, Breach is the band’s fifth top 10, following Clancy (No. 3 in 2024), Scaled and Icy (No. 3, 2021), Trench (No. 2, 2018) and Blurryface. Also in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200, Ed Sheeran scores his eighth top 10 album as Play premieres at No. 5. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Sept. 27, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Sept. 23. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram. Of Breach’s 200,000 first-week equivalent album units, album sales comprise 169,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart), SEA units comprise 31,000 (equaling 40.68 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs — the act’s best streaming week yet; it also debuts at No. 8 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise a negligible sum. Breach’s opening-week sales were bolstered by its availability across more than 15 vinyl variants, which sold a combined 72,000. That marks Twenty One Pilots’ best week ever on vinyl and the largest vinyl sales week for a rock album in the modern era (since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991). Breach was also issued on three deluxe CD editions in lavish packaging containing collectible ephemera, a standard widely available CD and digital download, along with a widely available deluxe digital download edition with the bonus track “Drag Path,” alternative cover art and a PDF booklet. Breach was preceded by its first single, “The Contract,” which hit No. 1 on the Alternative Airplay chart dated Aug. 2, marking Twenty One Pilots’ 12th leader. The band kicked off its The Clancy Tour: Breach 2025 on Sept. 18 in Cincinnati, and the trek continues with dates in the U.S. and Canada through Oct. 26 in Los Angeles. The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack falls to No. 2 on the Billboard with 112,000 equivalent album units earned (down 12%) after reaching No. 1 for the first time a week ago. Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping I’m the Problem is a non-mover at No. 3 (97,000, down 2%) and Sabrina Carpenter’s former leader Man’s Best Friend dips 2-4 (88,000, down 26%). Ed Sheeran scores his eighth top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200 as Play starts at No. 5 with 71,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, album sales comprise 51,000 (it debuts at No. 2 on the Top Album Sales chart), SEA units comprise 19,000 (equaling 24.26 million on-demand official streams of the set’s songs; it debuts at No. 23 on Top Streaming Albums) and TEA units comprise 1,000. Play’s opening sales week was aided by its availability across more than 10 vinyl variants (one signed), four standard CD variants (two signed), two deluxe CD editions (with two bonus tracks, one signed), a deluxe CD boxed set containing a T-shirt and a signed CD, a standard streaming and digital download album, and a deluxe streaming and digital download album with five bonus tracks. Play was previewed by the hit song “Azizam,” which reached the top 10 on Pop Airplay, Adult Pop Airplay and Adult Contemporary, and No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Sheeran’s 26th top 40-charted hit). Justin Bieber’s SWAG shifts 4-6 on the Billboard 200 (44,000 equivalent album units, down 45%); Alex Warren’s You’ll Be Alright, Kid falls 5-7 (36,000, down 4%); SZA’s chart-topping SOS is down 6-8 (a little more than 33,000, up less than 1%); Wallen’s former No. 1 One Thing at a Time descends 7-9 (33,000, up 1%); and sombr’s I Barely Know Her is steady at No. 10 (29,000, up less than 1%). Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published. It’s free Billboard charts month! Through Sept. 30, subscribers to Billboard’s Chart Beat newsletter, emailed each Friday, can unlock access to Billboard’s weekly and historical charts, artist chart histories and all Chart Beat stories simply by visiting the newly redesigned Billboard.com through any story link in the newsletter. Not a Chart Beat subscriber? Sign up for free here. Source link

Olivia Rodrigo is making her stance clear on the controversy surrounding Jimmy Kimmel’s recent suspension. The 22-year-old pop star took to social media on Saturday (Sept. 20) to voice her frustration over the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! by ABC. The network’s decision came after Kimmel made controversial remarks during a monologue about the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. “So upset over this blatant censorship and abuse of power,” Rodrigo wrote on her Instagram Story alongside a previous statement from SAG-AFTRA. “I stand with Jimmy Kimmel and I stand for freedom of speech.” Rodrigo’s comments align with those of SAG-AFTRA, the union representing around 160,000 actors, dancers, singers, recording artists and other media professionals. Earlier in the week, the organization publicly condemned ABC, a Disney subsidiary, for what it called an attack on free expression. “Our society depends on freedom of expression,” SAG-AFTRA posted on Instagram on Wednesday (Sept. 17). “Suppression of free speech and retaliation for speaking out on significant issues of public concern run counter to the fundamental rights we all rely on. Democracy thrives when diverse points of view are expressed.” The statement continued, “The decision to suspend airing Jimmy Kimmel Live! is the type of suppression and retaliation that endangers everyone’s freedoms. SAG-AFTRA stands with all media artists and defends their right to express their diverse points of view, and everyone’s right to hear them.” Rodrigo isn’t the only musician pushing back against the suspension. Margo Price also voiced her disapproval in a symbolic and emotional post. On Tuesday (Sept. 16), the country singer shared a video clip from her performance that same day on Jimmy Kimmel Live! singing “Don’t Let the Bastards Get You Down.” Her caption read, “If this was the last word, I’m glad it was mine.” During the performance, she sang, “Keep all them fascists underground,” while strumming her guitar. “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” ABC announced the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! one day after the episode featuring Price aired. The decision followed Kimmel’s monologue, where he addressed the assassination of Kirk, who co-founded Turning Point USA. “We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel had said on the program. The backlash was swift. Nexstar, which owns 28 NBC-affiliated local stations, announced it would pull Kimmel from its programming. Around the same time, FCC Chair Brendan Carr publicly condemned the remarks, threatening to revoke the licenses of any affiliates that aired the segment. He labeled Kimmel’s comments as “news distortion” and “the sickest conduct possible.” Source link