Month: September 2021

The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber’s smash hit single tay” has hit No. 1 for the sixth week on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. “Stay” now ties for the third-longest command for a song by two or more co-billed solo male leads over the chart’s 63-year history.

Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s “Industry Baby” moved up to No. 2 best on the Hot 100, up from No. 6. The song is from Lil Nas X’s new album Montero, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.  Drake’s “Way 2 Sexy” slips from #2 to #3 on the Hot 100, while Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” dropped one spot to #4, and Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” placed at No. 5

Rounding out the top 10 were Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 U” at #6; Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA, placing at #7; Drake’s “Knife Talk,” featuring 21 Savage and Project Pat, falling to No. 8.; and Lil Nas X placing at #9 and #10 with “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “That’s What I Want,” respectively.

Editorial credit: Joe Seer / Shutterstock.com

Following a war of words with Corey Taylor from Slipknot, Machine Gun Kelly was booed throughout his set on Saturday set at the Louder Than Life Festival in Kentucky.  MGK had launched into a tirade at Chicago’s Riot Fest last weekend against Slipknot — who were playing at the same time on a neighboring stage — calling the group “old weird dudes with masks.” It was later revealed that there was animosity between the two over a nixed collaboration between MGK and Slipknot’s Corey Taylor.

However, when MGK took the stage at the festival Louisville, Kentucky festival this past Saturday, the rocker was met with a negative reaction from the crowd.  According to reports and video from the show, every song that Kelly performed was met with boos and middle fingers from the crowd. At one point, Kelly got into verbally with a festival-goer, even threatening him with a Star Wars light saber that was onstage for some reason:“I see you dude, I see you mad as f*ck in your weird f*cking outfit. I’m here for the same sh*t you’re here for, so it’s all good. Clearly, I’m not going nowhere, so just enjoy. You keep f*ckin’ with me, homie? Trained Jedi, b*tch!” When MGK and fans came face-to-face in the photo pit, things got physical — MGK threw a punch at someone before security quickly removed him to deescalate the scene.

Kelly is next scheduled to perform on Sunday at Dover, Delaware’s Firefly Festival.

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BTS and Coldplay unveiled their new collaboration “My Universe.” Produced by Max Martin, the two band’s collaborated on the songwriting as well, which features lyrics in both English and Korean.

BTS’ last two singles — “Permission to Dance” and “Butter” — became their third and fourth back-to-back No. 1 hits. “My Universe” will serve as the second single off Coldplay’s upcoming ninth album Music of the Spheres, following “Higher Power.”

Take a listen to “My Universe” – here.

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Drake’s Certified Lover Boy remains at No. 1 on Billboard 200 for third straight week, with Billboard reporting that the album garnered 171,000 equivalent album units in the past week. Only two other albums have occupied the top position for at least three weeks this year; Billie Eilish’s ‘Happier Than Ever’ was at No. 1 for three straight weeks, and Morgan Wallen’s ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’ for 10 straight weeks.

Lil Nas X’s album ‘Montero’ debuted at No. 2 on the chart with 126,000 equivalent album units. NCT 127’s ‘Sticker: The 3rd Album’ was No. 3 on the Billboard 200, marking the second top 10 and highest-charting release for the act, while Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” slips from No. 4 to No. 5 with 51,000 units. Doja Cat’s ‘Planet Her’ stays at at No. 6 with 47,000 units, Wallen’s ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’ rose one spot to No. 7 with 39,000, The Kid LAROI’s ‘F*ck Love’ falls to No. 8 with 38,000 units and rounding out the top 10 are Eilish’s former No. 1 ‘Happier Than Ever,’ and Kacey Musgraves’ ‘Star-Crossed.’

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Elton John and Charlie Puth have released a new song, “After All,” off Elton’s upcoming album of collaborations, ‘The Lockdown Sessions,’ due out October 22nd. ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ also features collaborations with Dua Lipa, Eddie Vedder, Miley Cyrus, Lil Nas X, Gorillaz, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Nicks, Young Thug, and Nicki Minaj.

John says in a statement: “With ‘After All’ Charlie and I were in the studio, just the two of us. He’s got a little home set up with his keyboards, synths, and Pro Tools. I played electric piano and actually wrote the song all the way through and then Charlie wrote the lyrics pretty quickly. He’s incredibly quick, Charlie. We just had an amazing chemistry in the studio.”

Puth added, “As a songwriter, I have admired and looked up to Elton John my entire life. It is truly incredible how the melodies and chords seem to come to him instantly whenever he sits down at the piano. I got to witness that firsthand when we wrote this song together. He is world-class and the true definition of a musical genius. Being a part of his musical journey is a dream come true.”

Take a listen to “After All” – here.   John and Puth are both set to perform at the upcoming Global Citizen Live event in Paris, which will air on September 25th. They’ll also go live together on TikTok on September 26th at 2 p.m. ET/7 p.m. in the U.K to discuss “After All” and The Lockdown Sessions.

The Weeknd, along with collaborators Nicolas Jaar and Frank Dukes, are being sued by Suniel Fox and Henry Strange, who make up the group Epikker. The lawsuit accuses the Weeknd, Jaar and Dukes of plagiarizing their 2015 song “Vibeking” for his 2018 single, “Call Out My Name.”

The suit alleges, “Both works are in a minor key. Both works are in a 6/8 meter that is less common in popular music. Both works are played at a similar tempo. And both works use features of electronica, ambience, pop, hip-hop, rock, and R&B to achieve a particular atmospheric and melancholic sound.”  Fox and Strange allege they were in correspondence with the Weeknd’s DJ and engineer PNDA, who told them that he wasn’t going to credit them on the song. The two artists seek all profits that “Call Out My Name” has amassed, along with legal fees, and want the Weeknd blocked from performing the song until the case is settled. Universal Music Group and other entities that back the Weeknd were also named in the suit.

“Call Out My Name” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and amassed over 700 million YouTube views and 836 million Spotify streams. Fox and Strange’s “Vibeking” is currently unavailable on any streaming services.

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