Innholdsfortegnelse for Aug-29-15 i Billboard Magazine

AFTER MAKING THEIR MARK AS SONGWRITERS, brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas are scaling the Billboard Hot 100 as artists. “Locked Away,” their new single as R. City, bounds 35-25. The reggae-pop track, featuring Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, surges to the Digital Songs top 10 (18-10; 66,000 downloads sold in the week ending Aug. 13, up 30 percent, according to Nielsen Music) and becomes the Hot 100’s top Airplay Gainer (49 million in audience, up 33 percent). “Locked Away” is a love song inspired by real-life troubles. “The story is based on our parents,” the St. Thomas natives tell Billboard. “Our dad was locked up for five years and our mom held things down while he was gone — and still to this day. We’re happy that people are able to…

FOR ITS FIRST MAJOR tour sponsorship in the U.S. Latin music market, Toyota is placing its bets on up-andcoming Colombian star J Balvin, who was named best new artist at the Billboard Latin Music Awards in April. The automaker is the official partner of the singer’s first headlining North American tour, which launches Sept. 23 in Miami with rising Mexican-American singer Becky G as guest artist on all 18 dates. The campaign will include branded content and vehicle integrations at venues, and ties into a larger strategy for the automaker that also includes sponsorship of La Banda, the TV competition seeking the next Latino boy band (which premieres Sept. 13 on Univision), and its “Musica y Destinos con Toyota” platform, which launched in 2013 and partners the brand with up-and-coming…

FROM THE DESK OF EXECUTIVE VP/HEAD OF URBAN A&R REPUBLICRECORDS SEATED IN HER THIRD-FLOOR office at Universal Music Group’s headquarters in Santa Monica, Wendy Goldstein is experiencing a welcome bout of deja vu. Last August, Ariana Grande’s MTV Video Music Awards performance helped launch the singer’s sophomore album, My Everything, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 dated Sept. 13, 2014 and hasn’t left the top 100 since. Now, labelmate The Weeknd is poised for a similar bump when the VMAs return Aug. 30 — the same weekend the rising alternative R&B singer will release his much-anticipated third album, Beauty Behind the Madness. It has been a hot two years for Republic and Goldstein. In addition to working with Grande and The Weeknd, the Brooklyn native has contributed…

Luke Bryan’s Birthday Boy Luke Bryan took advantage of his recent sojourn to New York to promote the release of the Samsung Galaxy S6 Galaxy Note 5. On Aug. 13, Bryan gave an acoustic performance at the Samsung Gallery in Soho, and showed off a new guitar backstage that he bought in the city. A source tells Overheard that Bryan, who had his family in tow, celebrated his son Tate’s fifth birthday on Aug. 11 with a trip to the Statue of Liberty Bill Leibowitz’s ‘Miracle’ Novel Within the music industry, Bill Leibowitz is an entertainment attorney who represents such metal bands as Iron Maiden, Atreyu and Of Mice and Men, among other clients. But in January, he self-published his first novel, the medical conspiracy thriller Miracle Man, which, he…

“As much as that woman has accomplished, they had to put her on all fours.” —AZEALIA BANKS The rapper, criticizing Madame Tussauds’ recently unveiled Nicki Minaj wax figure, on Twitter. “#shesnotthatintoyou #shesnotintoyouatall” —RIHANNA The pop star, captioning a still from a recent TMZ video with NBA player Matt Barnes in which he implied that he’s dating her, on Instagram. “It’s not the first weird tattoo I’ve got and it won’t be the last.” —ED SHEERAN The artist, defending his massive new chest tattoo of a lion from critics, including Keane’s Tom Chaplin, on Twitter. “If you tell a kid, ‘You’ve got to pick music or Instagram,’ they’re not picking music.” —JIMMY IOVINE The Interscope co-founder and Apple Music executive, arguing that music’s cultural importance has waned, to Wired. “I write…

The Look KYOSUKE KUNIMOTO AT MAISON LANCE Bespoke suit, price upon request; and vintage shirt; maisonlance.com AUDEMARS PIGUET Royal Oak watch, price upon request; audemarspiguet.com Ronson photographed by Nicole Nodland on July 14 in London. WHILE THE GRAMMYwinning artist- producer, 39, may have first hit the fashion scene in a ’90s Tommy Jeans campaign, he has stayed sartorially ahead by maintaining a grip on style’s most essential tenet: fusing the old with the new. For the “Uptown Funk!” video, which has been viewed more than 900 million times on YouTube (the song spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 100), Bruno Mars and Ronson mug around a New York streetscape in vintage blazers. “It’s not that different from how I dress most of the time,” says Ronson. “It’s…

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Rob Thomas has let go of his control issues. “I got all my ego boost out on the first two solo records,” says the Matchbox 20 frontman, 43. Indeed, after those albums — Something to Be (2005) and Cradlesong (2009), which reached Nos. 1 and 3, respectively, on the Billboard 200 — he recruited outside songwriters like Ryan Tedder and Ricky “Wallpaper” Reed for the first time on third LP The Great Unknown (due Aug. 21), his most eclectic set yet. The Great Unknown starts with two dance songs. How would you describe your dancing? I’m a horrible dancer. I’m more of a flailer. That’s why a lot of the music is four-on-the-floor. That way, the beat is on every beat. You don’t have to think too hard. I’m a…

JOANNA NEWSOM “SAPOKANIKAN” DRAG CITY Since her 2004 debut, indie singer-harpist Joanna Newsom has skirted traditional songwriting structures for tracks that meander but still compel. Her quirkiness is toned down on “Sapokanikan,” a strong step toward chamberpop. It’s still weird, but far more enveloping. —STEVEN J. HOROWITZ LANA DEL REY “HIGH BY THE BEACH” INTERSCOPE The themes of “High by the Beach” — drugs and fractured romance — are nothing new for Del Rey, but her latest possesses perhaps her most radio-friendly hook yet. Its loopy 808 bounce, which pivots away from the song’s dreamy synthesizers, an escape worth taking. —JASON LIPSHUTZ TORY LANEZ “SAY IT” MAD LOVE/INTERSCOPE New takes on 1990s R&B often come across as shabby sequels, but crooner Tory Lanez seamlessly marries past with…

NUMBERS : HAILEE’S HOT DEBUT Oscar-nominated actresssinger Hailee Steinfeld takes a bow across multiple charts with her first single, “Love Myself,” previewing her upcoming debut album for Republic, possibly due by the end of the year. 14 Love Myself” sold 14,000 downloads in the week ending Aug. 13, according to Nielsen Music, aiding its No. 96 debut on the Billboard Hot 100. The track starts at No. 33 on Pop Digital Songs. 27 The single also debuts on the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart at No. 27 — the highest for a female artist’s debut single (in a lead role and unaccompanied by another act) since Natalie Imbruglia bowed at No. 26 with “Torn” in 1998. 841 The 18-year-old scored 841,000 U.S. streams for “Love Myself,” which should earn a…

ON AUG. 26, 2000, JANET Jackson claimed her ninth No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Doesn’t Really Matter” and became the first artist to summit the chart in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, with a brand of street pop that was sexually confident and socially aware. (Madonna would match the feat just three weeks later when “Music” knocked Jackson from the top spot.) “Doesn’t Really Matter” was featured on the sound track to Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, in which Jackson co-starred with Eddie Murphy. Then 34, the youngest of the musically talented Jackson children had wrapped the ’90s with 18 top 10 Hot 100 hits, second only to Mariah Carey’s 19. Following the success of “Doesn’t Really Matter,” Jackson scored another No. 1 single in 2001…

Nothing illustrates Kobalt’s power better than an experiment set up by Joel Martin. He is the manager of Eminem’s former production team, FBT Productions, the company behind the Universal lawsuit. In 2002 eminem had just released “Lose Yourself ”, from his movie 8 Mile, that would go on to win an Oscar. The song’s writers included Eminem, Jeff Bass and Luis Resto. Martin split collection among three outfits: Eminem stayed with his publisher, Famous Music; Bass was represented by Universal; and Resto by Kobalt. With three accounts collecting on the same song in every territory, Martin sat back and watched. “We saw in real time what was going on,” he says. “When we collected money in Greece, say, we expected to see the same shares show up at the same…

On Aug. 18, U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hallerstein dismissed 2012 lawsuit filed by indie publisher Mayimba Music against two Sony/ATV Latin music publishing divisions. The suit alleged Shakira’s a 2010 hit Loca,” which reached No. 32 the Billboard Hot 100, and the that inspired it, Dominican singer El Cata’s “Loca Con Su Tiguere,” were illegal copies of song (that bore the same title Cata’s) written by Ramon Arias” Vasquez and allegedly recorded onto a cassette tape in 1998. In August 2014, that tape had prompted Hallerstein to rule in favor of Mayimba, but as this timeline shows, new evidence led the judge to reverse his decision. JUNE 2014 Vasquez testifies that he wrote “Loca Con Su Tiguere,” which was recorded on a cassette in 1998 by Dominican group Joan…

THE TOP 10 PUBLISHERS THE NO. 1 SONGWRITER With 56 top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 since 1997, Martin Karl Sandberg (aka Max Martin) is arguably the leading hitmaker of the past 20 years, and 2015 is no exception. He’s the top songwriter for both the first and second quarters, with shares in six of Q2’s top 100 radio songs: Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do” (No. 5); Taylor Swift’s “Style” (No. 8), “Bad Blood” (No. 18), Blank Space” (No. 22) and “Shake It Off” (No. 72); and Katy Perry’s “Dark Horse” (No. 95). And his hot streak doesn’t look to be ending any time soon: Martin recently scored his 21st Hot 100 No. 1 with The Weeknd’s “Can’t Feel My Face” — putting him closer…

I AM SO HUNG OVER,” CONFESSES Ashley Frangipane, brushing back a wisp of her signature blue hair. It’s a hot August afternoon in Los Angeles, where the electro-pop provocateur best-known as Halsey lives. She’s just a few days back from a two-month arena outing opening for Imagine Dragons, and had every reason to party. She’s newly single. And her pals from 5 Seconds of Summer were in town the night before. She went to bed at 7:30 a.m., woke up two hours later and has been in meetings all day. “I think I’m still drunk.” Halsey, 20, musters a forkful of salad at Urth Caffe, a celeb fave and bastion of California organica. It’s the last bite she’ll get down during the next hour or so, but not because of…

Rocking from her teen years in The Runaways through a solo career that crashed the metal world’s boys’ club, Lita Ford, 56, has an insider’s take on Meryl Streep’s performance as a guitarslinging belter in new movie Ricki and The Flash. “This film is very close to home,” says Ford. “I live it.” Currently on a North American tour, Ford offers up her critiques of the Oscar winner’s covers on the soundtrack: “Meryl has accomplished no easy task here.” Jenny Lewis and Johnathan Rice’s “Cold One” “This is one of her best performances on the soundtrack. She sells the song with her attitude. You can’t help but believe her when you hear her sing.” Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ “American Girl” “Meryl had no problem with this song. It was…

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It has been six years — a pop eternity — since Jordin Sparks released her last studio album, Battlefield. Since then, the 2007 American Idol winner has made her Broadway debut in In the Heights, starred in the movie remake of Sparkle and had a much-publicized romance — and breakup — with Jason Derulo. Now dating rapper Sage the Gemini, the 25-year-old is back to music with her third LP, Right Here Right Now (Aug. 21, 19/Louder Than Life/RAL). MY BIGGEST COMEBACK FEAR “The landscape has changed so much that it was just like, ‘Is this going to work? Will people still care?’ I think it was natural to have those doubts after six years without a solo record. Everything is so different now. I had to learn the ropes…

Ruben Blades is something of a multi-multihyphenate: He’s a seven-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and an actor, who also has a law degree from Harvard, served as minister of culture in his native Panama and even ran to be its president. Just when the 67-year-old was on the verge of retiring, he was presented with a new gig: playing a zombie-fighting barber in Fear the Walking Dead, the AMC Walking Dead spinoff that premieres Aug. 23. “This show will be seen by millions,” he says. “People who don’t know me will say, ‘Hey, this guy also sings.’” That’s a good thing, since he just self-released a new album, Son de Panama. On landing the part “I collect comics, including The Walking Dead. They offered me the role; I didn’t have to audition.…

As a teen, actor-comedian Denis Leary learned about rock’n’roll drama firsthand. “A bunch of Boston friends became rockers, so I was always backstage or hanging out at their rehearsals,” he recalls. “Their arguments were always hilarious to me.” Those experiences inspired Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll, his FX show that debuted July 16, which follows the up-and-down exploits of an aging frontman (played by Leary) reuniting with his former band. The 57-year-old appraises real-life musical reunions, from the euphoric to the cringe-worthy. Best Reunion: The Who “I went to see the [recent] Quadrophenia tour, and they projected [late members] Keith Moon and John Entwistle from an old live performance onto two screens — they played bass and drums while Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend sang. For everybody that wants to see these guys again,…

AALIYAH MEETS RIHANNA 1 Massage EGYPTIAN MAGIC moisturizer into the skin and onto eyelids and lips. “This is what’s going to give you the glow,” says Salvatierra, who used the product on Rihanna for her “Bitch Better Have My Money” video. $39; egyptian magic.com 2 Before the moisturizer sets, work liquid foundation (like COVERGIRL Queen Collection in Rich Sand) into skin, avoiding eyelids. $8; covergirl.com 3 Brush CLE DE PEAU BEAUTE concealer underneath eyes to cover dark circles. Using small strokes, brush concealer along and just below the brow bone. “It looks like I used shadow, but I’ve just played with the lid’s naturally darker color. Any more product than this, even mascara, and the look starts to get gothy.” $70, saksfifthavenue.com 4 Fill the lips with TARTE Skinny SmolderEyes…

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