Music

Nas is once again the ruler of the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart as his latest release, King’s Disease II, debuts at number one. This is his tenth album to top the chart, and his first in nine years to hit number one.

King’s Disease II, featuring Eminem, YG, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Charlie Wilson and Ms. Lauryn Hill, sold 56,000 units in its first week.

The Illmatic rapper hit the streets this week promoting his new music, and posted an Instagram video showing him randomly giving out free CDs and sharing fist bumps with his fans.

“This new album got me out here acting like a bootlegger in 2004,” Nas commented.

Nas is the 12th artist to have at least ten number-one albums on the chart. The Temptations lead with 17, followed by Jay-Z with 14, Future and R. Kelly with 12, and Drake has 11. Nas is tied with Aretha Franklin, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Mary J. Blige, Stevie Wonder and The Isley Brothers, all of whom claim 10 chart-topping albums.

Nas’ new music is the follow-up to King’s Disease, which won a Grammy for Best Rap Album earlier this year, his first win after 13 nominations.

 

 

 

 

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Barbra Streisand has made history once again, this time with her Release Me 2 album, which debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 chart dated August 21.

The debut makes Barbra the only woman to chart a new album in the top 20, or top 40, of the Billboard albums chart in every decade from the 1960s through the 2020s.

The 79-year-old music legend made her Billboard 200 chart debut 58 years ago, when The Barbra Streisand Album bowed at No. 17 in 1963.  It later peaked at No. 9.

The only other act to have sent an album into the top 20 or top 40 in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, ’10s and ’20s is Bob Dylan, who accomplished that thanks to his Rough and Rowdy Ways collection, which peaked at No. 2 in 2020.

Streisand also extends her record for the most top-40-charting albums among women in the history of the Billboard 200 chart, which began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in 1956.  Release Me 2 brings her total of top-40-charting albums to 54, ahead of Aretha Franklin, who has 26.  Frank Sinatra tops all acts, with 58.

Release Me 2 features a collection of 10 previously unreleased Streisand recordings.  The first volume, Release Me, came out in 2012.

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In a new cover story with VMAN, Lil Nas X reveals how his father’s musical aspirations inspired him to pursue a music career of his own.
                                               
“My dad is a gospel singer,” the 22-year-old tells the mag. “He still sings gospel but not as much. I guess [he] inspired me to say, ‘Wow, if my dad can go out there now, at almost 50 years old, and make music, what’s stopping me?’ It was definitely a part of what pushed me. I actually ended up using one of his engineers for some of my earlier music.”

With his upcoming album Montero — titled for Lil Nas’ birth name — the singer is putting himself out there more than ever before.

“The album is me inviting people into the world of me…into the world of Montero,” he says. “[This] project gave me the opportunity to bravely show different parts of myself. Parts that I may not have shown so openly previously.”

Lil Nas says he hopes people will listen to the album and learn something about themselves through learning more about him.

“I want the takeaway to be that it’s okay to be yourself, and I mean every aspect of your true self,” he says.

Lil Nas has yet to announce a release date for Montero, which features the songs “Montero (Call Me by Your Name), “Sun Goes Down” and “Industry Baby.”

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The Academy of Country Music Awards is forgoing broadcast television in 2022 in favor of an Amazon Prime livestream.

It’s the latest development in a dramatic series of twists and turns for the country music awards show, which most recently aired on its longtime broadcast network home of CBS in April. But following that event, the Academy parted ways with the network after failing to agree on deal-renewal terms.

Now, it’s set to become the first-ever mainstream awards show to livestream exclusively. 

“We are thrilled that the Academy of Country Music Awards are first to take this giant step toward the future of awards shows with Amazon Prime Video,” Damon Whiteside, the Academy’s CEO, says in a statement. 

The exact date and location of next year’s ACM Awards will be announced at a later time. As always, the 2022 ACMs promise to bring together country music’s top artists for a packed show full of collaborations, world-television-premiere performances and other unforgettable moments.

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Pop Evil has announced rescheduled dates for concerts the band postponed after frontman Leigh Kakaty tested positive for COVID-19.

The affected shows ran from August 17 to August 25. The new dates are scattered through late August, September and October.

Previously purchased tickets will be valid at the rescheduled shows. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit PopEvil.com.

Pop Evil announced news of Kakaty’s positive test earlier this week. In a statement, they noted that all band and crew members were vaccinated ahead of the tour.

Kakaty and company plan to return to the road August 27 in Virginia Beach. They’ve been touring in support of the new Pop Evil album, Versatile, which dropped in May.

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WILLOW has announced a headlining U.S. tour in support of her new, pop-punk-influenced album, Lately I Feel Everything.

The trek is set to launch September 14 in Santa Ana, California, and will conclude October 19 in Atlanta. The full list of dates is listed on WILLOW’s Instagram.

WILLOW released Lately I Feel Everything in July. It features Blink-182‘s Travis Barker, who plays on the single “Transparent Soul,” and a collaboration with Avril Lavigne.

As previously reported, WILLOW will be opening for the first leg of Billie Eilish‘s U.S. tour, kicking off in February 2022.

 

 

 

 

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Before he was blinded by the lights, The Weeknd was apparently blinded by the “Flies.”

The R&B star — known for hits including “Blinding Lights” and “I Can’t Feel My Face” — has revealed that his early work was influenced by Deftones.

“Deftones huge inspo during Trilogy era,” The Weeknd writes in a tweet. Trilogy refers to his 2012 compilation, which collects his first three mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. You can definitely hear the Deftones influence on some of the heavier tracks, such as House of Balloons opener “High for This.”

Deftones, by the way, has seemingly made a habit of attracting fans from different genres. Along with The Weeknd, singer — and fellow Canadian — Michael Bublé is a longtime Deftones devotee.

DEFTONES HUGE INSPO DURING TRILGOY ERA #MementoMori

— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) August 18, 2021

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After Lizzo opened up in a tearful video earlier this week about the racist and sexist abuse she received following the release of her new song, “Rumors,” two social media platforms have taken a stand against the bullying.

In a statement to Billboard, a representative from Facebook confirmed that the social media site, as well as Instagram, which Facebook owns, are in the process of removing hateful comments directed at Lizzo.  Facebook said the comments and direct messages flooding Lizzo’s socials violate the two platforms’ terms of service, which prohibit hate speech. The spokesman also said Instagram and Facebook will ban accounts that repeatedly post comments that violate their terms of service.

The news comes shortly after the “Juice” singer spoke to fans via a 13-minute Instagram Live over the weekend about the racist and sexist attacks that made her “hurt so hard.”  Lizzo said she is “overwhelmed” and has “been in shock since the song came out” because of the abuse hurled at her.

“Sometimes, I feel like the world just don’t love me back,” the Grammy winner said at the time when explaining that she strives to make positive music that uplifts people, regardless of their race. “People saying s*** about me that doesn’t even make sense. It’s fat-phobic, it’s racist and it’s hurtful.”

Lizzo’s impassioned video inspired fans to demand social media websites do more to protect their users from bullying.  

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