Innholdsfortegnelse for Aug-08-15 i Billboard Magazine

KEVIN MORROW, FORMER BOOKER “On opening night, the doors were an hour late. [Co-owner/actor] Dan Aykroyd was out front, dressed in a police outfit, directing traffic, waiting for Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg and all these guys to show up. I had to sit in the dressing room with [headliner] John Fogerty and try to tread water. John knew we were running behind and said, ‘What do you want to talk about?’ So we talked baseball for an hour.” ANJALI RAVAL, LONGTIME PUBLICIST “One time this young manager came in, he was a friend of our booker’s, and he [proposed], ‘Hey, I’ve got these two really young acts. We’ll do two nights in a row and flip-flop them.’ I remember walking through the venue during soundcheck and stopping in my…

Prior to Bobbi Kristina Brown’s death on July 26, Michael Jackson’s nephew Austin Brown wrote an essay for Billboard on the girl he came to know as the adoring daughter of a famous mother. I met Bobbi Kristina at the 2009 American Music Awards, only a few months after losing our beloved Michael. My family was still grieving. I saw a woman approaching us with a young lady clamped to her arm. It was Whitney Houston and her daughter Bobbi Kristina. During the conversation, Bobbi Kristina didn’t let go of her mom’s arm for one second. Whitney was truly the light in her eyes and her safety zone. With Whitney’s death, we lost another icon, but it saddened me that many people seemed to forget she was a mother whose…

Nancy Pelosi Rocks! House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi loves her live music. On July 23, Bono gave the California congresswoman, 75, a shout-out from the stage of U2’s show at Madison Square Garden in New York, marking the latest of her many concert outings during the last year. Pelosi, a longtime Deadhead, attended The Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well gig on July 1 in Santa Clara, Calif., and was photographed backstage with drummer Mickey Hart. During Grammy weekend, the Democrat attended both the Bob Dylan MusiCares tribute concert and Clive Davis’ pre-awards extravaganza; in November, she was videotaped rocking out to Metallica; and in April 2014 Pelosi shook a maraca onstage with Lady Antebellum at shows in Washington, D.C. Stones’ Therapist Saves The Day It has been a year…

“What’s on the surface always looks like one big party, but inside there is a little boy looking for help and guidance.” —CHRIS BROWN The troubled star, getting introspective in a post on Instagram. “I think the Black Eyed Peas borrowed my idea a lil’...” —ERYKAH BADU The soul singer, tweeting that the video for the group’s new single “Yesterday,” which imposes the members’ faces on classic album covers, copied her 2008 clip for “Honey.” “This is one of the strongest things that have happened in our existence as human beings.” —KANYE WEST The outspoken rapper, to Caitlyn Jenner, supporting her transition from male to female during the debut episode of E!’s I Am Cait. “42, 43, 46?” —KATY PERRY The pop superstar, posting a pic on Instagram with Presidents…

no one, no one, no one saw this coming at all,” says Questlove, reflecting on just how radical Hamilton is for a Broadway musical. With virtually every line rapped by a majority-black cast, rap battles at key climaxes and deft lyrical and stylistic references to stump the most hardcore hip-hop fans, it’s an instant theatrical landmark on par with Hair, which launched the rock musical at New York’s Public Theater — Hamilton’s original home — in 1967. The play so impressed Questlove and Black Thought of The Roots that they will executiveproduce the cast recording that Atlantic Records plans to release this fall. Craig Kallman, CEO/co-chairman of Atlantic, credits the playwright-star Lin-Manuel Miranda as “a guy who studied Victor Hugo, Shakespeare, Jerry Bock and Andrew Lloyd Webber with as equal…

Mac DeMarco, 25, may be indie rock’s resident court jester — a quick Google search turns up footage of him onstage, naked, with a drumstick in his butt — but his music is far from a joke. The irreverent Canadian, known for bedroom productions like 2014’s Salad Days (his breakthrough LP that reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200), follows with Another One, an exceptional mini-album he recorded at his beach home in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens (it’s due Aug. 7 on Captured Tracks). DeMarco explains how a so-called goofball manages to write songs so heartfelt that fans literally knock on his front door. How do you reconcile your comedic persona with your often poignant songs? I’m being me. I’m just not the solemn indie-rocker with the cool…

Male Portrait/Sony Music Masterworks Australian covers vet takes on the boys with a feminine twist IN 1997, NATALIE IMBRUGLIA sprinkled fairy dust all over “Torn,” her hit Ednaswap cover. On Male, her first album since 2009, the Aussie singeractress works more remake magic on tunes originally performed by such male acts as Neil Young, Death Cab for Cutie and Tom Petty. Imbruglia brings her feathery femininity to songs like Daft Punk’s “Instant Crush,” deconstructed to put the focus on the lyrics instead of the robotic effects that tweaked Julian Casablancas’ voice, and “Let My Love Open the Door,” whose dreamy whimsy will surely melt Pete Townshend’s heart. Producer Billy Mann casts a ’70s folk-pop glow on some tracks, while taking others into country territory: The Cure’s “Friday I’m in…

JULY 15 After spending a week hiking mountains in Norway, MØ (born Karen Marie Ørsted) returns to her parents’ house in Odense, Denmark, to record in her childhood bedroom-turned-studio and rest up before some upcoming shows. Says MØ: ”I was just relaxing my legs — they were hurting!” JULY 16 Next stop: Copenhagen, her home base (though she’s currently between apartments). MØ, 26, spends the last day of her two-week vacation having a risotto picnic in the park with her boyfriend and catching vampire flick A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night. MØ’s review? Thumbs up. “Very arty, black and white,” she says. JULY 17 Chill time’s over. MØ happily reunites with her band for Switzerland’s Gurten Festival. “They’re like my family,” she says. But after two weeks offstage, she…

CHART BEAT Henley Returns After a 14-year wait, Don Henley finally returns to the Adult Contemporary chart with his new single, “Take a Picture of This,” which arrives at No. 27 and marks his 14th solo entry on the list. (As a member of The Eagles, he helped the band log 23 AC hits between 1972 and 2009.) “Picture” is from Henley’s new Cass County album (due Sept. 25) — his first studio release since 2000’s Inside Job — and marks his first visit to an airplay list since 2007, when his featured role on Kenny Rogers’ “Calling Me” reached No. 53 on Country Airplay. —K.C. 28% THIS WEEK LITTLE MIX’S “BLACK MAGIC” AUDIENCE 3.2 MILLION 9% THIS WEEK AMERICAN AUTHORS’ “GO BIG OR GO HOME” SALES 9,000…

REWINDING THE CHARTS ON AUG. 1, 1981, RICK SPRINGFIELD jumped to the top of the Billboard Hot 100, thanks to his role on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. The Australian singer-actor had appeared on the Hot 100 previously (going as high as No. 14 with his first entry, 1972’s “Speak to the Sky”), but his TV exposure brought the 31-year-old a new level of fame. Springfield’s debut single for RCA, “Jessie’s Girl,” arrived on the Hot 100 dated March 28, 1981 — the same month that he joined the cast of General Hospital as Dr. Noah Drake. On an average day that year, more than 11 million viewers watched the show, according to Nielsen, making it the top daytime serial at the time. And that sizable audience helped make…

Jordan Feldstein’s Career Artist Management (CAM) is expanding. The longtime home of Maroon 5 and Robin Thicke is adding Lana Del Rey managers Ben Mawson and Ed Millett of Tap Management to its executive team under a new strategic venture. The two companies will maintain independent staffs but share resources on strategic projects. The London-based Tap was founded in 2010 and also counts Angus & Julia Stone and Mighty Oaks on its roster. But by far its biggest success has been 30-year-old Del Rey, who has sold 2.3 million albums and 10 million song downloads for Interscope, where she is a labelmate of Maroon 5. Her fourth album is due out this fall and already generating buzz thanks to kickoff single “Honeymoon.” CAM has grown in the last year to…

NAME Ruby Amanfu BACKSTORY Born in Ghana, Amanfu grew up in Nashville, where, as a teen, she sang with the Nashville Symphony Chorus (she was the youngest-ever member at 15). Labels pursued her while she was at Berklee College of Music and then Belmont University. “I barely went to class,” she says. “I hate to admit that, but I was working.” ON THE MAP Following two self-released LPs, she teamed with singer Sam Brooker as rootsy soul-pop duo Sam & Ruby. Soon after, Jack White enlisted her for a head-turning vocal on the duet “Love Interruption” in 2012. “It was unexpected and key in shaping me,” says Amanfu. Next came gigs with Norah Jones, Hozier and a 7-inch single with Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard. UP NEXT The elegantly countrified, quietly…

IN JULY IT WAS DONUTGATE, IN WHICH THE 22-YEAR-OLD chart-topper ARIANA GRANDE was caught on a security camera at Wolfee Donuts in Lake Elsinore, Calif., covertly licking a few pastries while loudly disparaging obese people and America to her new boyfriend, backup dancer RICKY ALVAREZ. Naturally the video went viral, spawning a gazillion posts and tweets, appearance cancellations and apologies (one non-apology, one groveling apology), and no doubt outperforming news of global wars and climate disasters in the daily clickbait race. This is the kind of uproar that — like Donald Trump’s stunt presidential campaign — makes one wonder if we’ve lost all sense of perspective. What might once have been a not exactly commendable but trivial incident of young, romance-besotted obnoxiousness becomes, in the hyper-efficient 2015 ecosystem of scandal…

BE CHOOSY WITH CLIENTS “If they are remorseful, accept responsibility or are trying to properly rehabilitate themselves — those are the kinds of people I want to work with.” TAKE YOUR TIME “One school of thought is to have someone talk right away. I generally do not like to rush. You want to understand what cards you have to play first. In some cases, you may never need to play them.” ADJUST YOUR MORAL COMPASS “If your client’s audience is kids, their moms are going to have a big impact — whereas millennials have a different threshold for what they see as bad behavior and how to deal with it.” CUT OUT THE MIDDLE MAN “Social media makes my job easier if someone has a high profile, because they have…

DYLAN GOES ELECTRIC! By Elijah Wald HarperCollins Historian tackles the night that shocked the music industry BOB DYLAN SCANDALIZING the 1965 Newport Folk Festival by performing plugged in with a rock band is one of the most picked-over musical moments in history. But historian Elijah Wald brings the moment to life with a deep, crystal-clear illumination of exactly what made it so earthshaking in his new book, Dylan Goes Electric! He deftly traces the paths of folk paterfamilias Pete Seeger (who, contrary to myth, did not take an axe to Dylan’s power cord) and the festival itself. He also dissects Dylan’s musical development (“His big shift was not from social consciousness to introspection, but from singing old songs to writing new ones,” Wald writes) and the rising rock culture…

I “SPEND HALF OF MY TIME ON THE road in hotel rooms — The Patch in Austin was a good break from that,” says singersongwriter Zella Day. “It was quiet, with all of the ‘at home’ luxuries one could possibly need.” For up-and-comers like Day who are used to sleeping in cheap motels or tour vans or flopping on fans’ sofas, the Patch houses, opened in Austin and Brooklyn by candy brand Sour Patch Kids, offer a comfortable, spacious — and free — alternative. “Life on the road is hard for musicians, so why don’t we start by giving them a place to stay?” Sour Patch Kids marketing director Farrah Bezner says of the brand’s decision to establish the homes (the first opened in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood in September…

“A guitar my mom gave me when I was 13. My first guitar. Later, when I was in high school, I was making money by buying and selling instruments to my friends. I played guitar early. But that experience of buying and selling instruments actually gave me a rush more than playing.” —Nir Seroussi “Plaques and awards — those are my favorite collections. My office is full of gold and platinum plaques, and BMI, ASCAP and SESAC awards.” —Angel Del Villar “I collect backstage-pass laminates from shows. I have a trillion. It’s like a reminder of all the work you do. When I get really old, I’ll unpack them all and say, ‘Aw, I remember this one.’ ” —Fernando Giaccardi “My MTV Video Music Awards. I won my first VMA…

MTV has endured a tough few years: Primetime ratings in the 12-to-34 demo are down 40 percent since 2010, and the channel lacks a breakout hit. On July 22, adding insult to injury, MTV president of programming Susanne Daniels, 50, left the company to join Google’s YouTube, where she will develop original programming. For MTV, the symbolism couldn’t be any worse: Not only are its viewers moving to the Internet, but the company’s development executives seem to be following them. In the short term, at least, MTV has no plans to replace Daniels directly. The network promoted Mina Lefevre, Daniels’ top deputy on scripted programming, to executive vp and head of scripted programming. Programming will be overseen by Lefevre and Lauren Dolgen, head of reality programming and executive vp…

When Vans Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman sat down with Billboard in Nashville on July 1, dangerous storms had forced two evacuations, and controversy had erupted due to an unbilled performance by Front Porch Step (aka Jake McElfresh), despite a petition to remove him from the tour over sexual harassment allegations (see story, page 46). The latter put Lyman, 52, on the defensive, but given Warped’s 20-year success as the longest-lived touring festival and live sponsorship deal in music, he remains philosophical. “It gets me back in fighting shape,” he says of the challenges. “You can get a little too comfortable.” How did the Vans deal originally come about? At one point, it could have been the Calvin Klein Warped Tour. We were going to meet with them, but because…

THE PULSE OF MUSIC RIGHT NOW ON JULY 17, THE CROWD AT DALLAS’ Gexa Energy Pavilion witnessed the full throes of “Omeeka.” The portmanteau describes the love of Meek Mill and Nicki Minaj (her real first name is Onika), and the couple wasn’t shy about celebrating it onstage that night: She licked his face; there was a makeout session; four duets were performed, including current hit “All Eyes on You.” As photos of their unbridled PDA ricocheted across the Web, tabloids reported that he had given her a $75,000 ring with yellow heart-shaped diamonds. By the time Minaj’s Pinkprint Tour, featuring Meek as opener, reached Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on July 26, though, the cross-country honeymoon for hip-hop’s most public lovebirds had been eclipsed by a brewing war of words. “Everyone,…

The Gear, The Looks, The Trends…

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA POTUS has long been a supporter of the production. Six years ago, Miranda performed the show’s opening number, “Alexander Hamilton,” for the president and first lady during the first White House Poetry Jam. SARA BAREILLES The singer — who has the new musicals Uncharted: The Songs of Sara Bareilles and Waitress — tells Billboard: “Hamilton is a masterpiece. It made me want to write better and try harder.” “WEIRD AL” YANKOVIC A friend of Miranda’s, he points out to Billboard that Hamilton’s mostly black cast “turns the tables on the practice of using white actors to portray ethnic characters.” MADONNA Madge supposedly texted during the second act. Without naming names, Miranda tweeted, “Tonight was the first time I asked management NOT to allow a celebrity backstage #noselfieforyou.”…

Living Legend Def Jam/Maybach Music Group Rick Ross affiliate shows both sides of his personality on wild debut SOME CRITICS VIEW RAPPER GUNPLAY as a caricature: braids in a ball, pills in a pile, guns on the floor. And sure, the Miami native has called himself the “human L.A. riot,” but he also has articulated a street survivor’s remorse in compelling ways. On Living Legend, his solid, long-delayed debut, the 36-year-old escapes reality as much as he faces it. He describes himself as the “crack in the bag” and “the flame on the blunt” on the boot-stomping “Tell ’Em (Daddy),” a mission statement for the manic, outlandish side of his personality. But on the introspective “Dark Dayz,” he runs down his real-life legal woes in staggering detail, his grudges…

DISCLOSURE FEATURING SAM SMITH “OMEN” CAPITOL In 2012, London unknowns Disclosure and Smith released “Latch,” one of the best songs of the decade and an intro to the most impressive male pop voice in years. Reunion “Omen” can’t quite match that outof-nowhere excitement, but it’s both subtle and sticky, erupting into another ecstatic hook. Can these guys do album together please? —ALEX GALE SEINABO SEY “PRETEND” VIRGIN There’s an urgency to alt-R&B singer Sey’s “Pretend,” and it brings out a new power in the Swede’s alto vocals, which were much tamer on this year’s excellent Madeleine EP. A hefty punch for a normally subdued artist, “Pretend” makes Sey’s eventual breakout look even more inevitable. —STEVEN J. HOROWITZ J BALVIN “GINZA” UNIVERSAL MUSIC LATINO Although Colombia’s man of the…

NUMBERS : ED SHEERAN STILL ON THERISE The hits keep coming for him, as he earns his fourth top 20 title on the Billboard Hot 100 from his X album as “Photograph” steps 21-20. It follows “Sing” (No. 13), “Don’t” (No. 9) and “Thinking Out Loud” (No. 2). 14 % The song collected 68.5 million in radio audience in the week ending July 26 (up 14 percent), according to Nielsen Music. It’s on track to become Sheeran’s fourth top 10 on the Radio Songs chart from X. 9.5 M X has generated 9.5 million in overall download sales from its songs, with 4.3 million for “Thinking Out Loud.” Overall, Sheeran’s total song output (including earlier releases) has moved 16.9 million downloads. 39 The X album spends its 39th nonconsecutive week…

Billboard Artist 100 NO. 15 Silento Silento rises 16-15 on the Artist 100 as his hit “Watch Me” returns to its No. 3 peak on the Billboard Hot 100. The Atlanta native’s breakout track has fueled a viral dance craze, evidenced by video views contributing nearly half of the song’s Hot 100 chart points. Jackson’s Traditional Success Country veteran Alan Jackson (above) debuts on the Billboard Artist 100 at No. 20 thanks to the arrival of his latest studio album, Angels and Alcohol. The set enters at No. 2 on Top Country Albums with 45,000 units, according to Nielsen Music, while lead single “Jim and Jack and Hank” rises 47-41 on Hot Country Songs and the title track debuts at No. 49. Album sales make up 97 percent of…