Innholdsfortegnelse for 2/27/2016 i Billboard Magazine

“DEATH, BE NOT PROLIFIC” might have been the collective wish of music fans beset by the recent losses of David Bowie, Glenn Frey and Maurice White, among others — but especially of Grammy Awards brass, who had to rip up much of their playbook for the 58th edition to squeeze in more tributes than ever before. Says longtime producer Ken Ehrlich: “We had a good deal of the show laid out around the end of 2015. Of 20 slots, 11 or 12 acts were booked, and we were filling the others. With the exception of B.B. King, all of these passings happened since then. It became a challenge to do the proper thing and, at the same time, not let the show turn into a series of tributes.” Beyond the…

PARTIES GIVE THE MAN HIS SPACE From Lana Del Rey to Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, there was no shortage of artists present at The Recording Academy’s ninth annual Producers & Engineers Wing Celebration on Feb. 11, where legendary producer Rick Rubin was honored. But the most elusive figure of the night was Rubin himself. He popped onto the red carpet just long enough for a photo op and only surfaced from a private room for the award, at which point he sat on a couch cordoned off by a velvet rope and security guards. ALL NIGHT LONG (ALL NIGHT) Rihanna surprised fans twice this Grammy season: first when appearing for an unbilled performance of “Say You Say Me” at the 26th annual MusiCares Person of the Year gala honoring Lionel Richie…

When was lace’s first big heyday? You would see it in royalty and the aristocracy, from the Renaissance onward. And it was embraced by both sexes? Oh, yes, absolutely. By men as much as by women. In fact, if you go back in history, men were as flamboyant in their dress as women because they weren’t constrained by being the subordinate sex. Something like lace would have been like wearing silk or fur — it was a perk of being a member of the ruling class. When did it become “feminine”? At the same time that color, silk and velvet started leaching out of menswear and were no longer associated with aristocracy — and that started to happen at the end of the 18th century. Jimi Hendrix seems to be…

Ian Connor, who help set the tone for Kanye West’s collection, also put Wiz Khalifa in #coolpants The most talked-about event of New York Fashion Week was Kanye West’s Yeezy Season 3 sold-out presentation at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 11. In the middle of it all was Ian Connor, the 23-year-old high school dropoutturned-consultant to ASAP Rocky’s art collective AWGE and a key member of West’s creative team. Before assuming his spot at the edge of the stage, the Atlanta-born, Los Angeles-based tastemaker dished on styling his pals, including Kylie Jenner. When did you become a stylist? I was on tour with Rocky, who was touring with Wiz Khalifa. Wiz liked my style and Rocky said, “You should f— with him. That’s an empty canvas.” Has West been a…

BEFORE B.B. KING’S MAY 2015 DEATH, the famed guitarist-singer-songwriter reminisced in his last interview about the artists — T-Bone Walker, Lonnie Johnson, Muddy Waters — who made lasting impressions on his life. “Add Bonnie Raitt to that list,” the 89-year-old said. “I came up in a macho world and never thought I’d ever declare the best living slide guitarist to be a woman. Well, I’m declaring. I’m also saying Bonnie is as true-blue an artist as anyone before or since. She might be singing pop or she might be singing R&B, but she’s never far from the source. She has become part of the source herself. She’s a master.” The Friday before the 2016 Grammy Awards — hours before rehearsing the tribute to King she would perform with Chris Stapleton…

‘Fast Car’ Race Two new versions of Tracy Chapman’s classic “Fast Car” are picking up speed. More than a quarter century after Chapman’s original folk-pop song reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 and helped her win three Grammy Awards in 1989, the song returns to the charts courtesy of two dance makeovers. Jonas Blue’s cover (featuring Dakota) debuts at No. 39 on Dance Club Songs after hitting the top 10 on multiple global charts, while Tobtok’s take (featuring River) is beginning to gain international chart traction. Capitol and RCA are promoting the respective singles to radio domestically. 19% THIS WEEK ALAN WALKER’S “FADED” STREAMS 2.2 MILLION 64% THIS WEEK THE STRUMBELLAS’ “SPIRITS” AUDIENCE 5.3 MILLION 20% THIS WEEK ELLIE GOULDING’S “SOMETHING IN THE WAY YOU…

VERSACE FIT FOR A QUEEN From the moment she set foot on the red carpet, all eyes were on Taylor Swift, who wore a two-piece colorblocked Atelier Versace ensemble. “Taylor’s gown is the perfect example of how bold color can create an incredible effect,” Donatella Versace, the Italian fashion house’s legendary creative director, tells Billboard exclusively. “For me, color is so important to capture a woman’s character and power. How boring would the world be if we all dressed in dull colors?” The floor-length silk skirt with a high slit that showed off Swift’s gams nailed Versace’s mission: to reflect the woman wearing it but “make her shine brighter than she has ever shined before.” Completing the look: a multicolored sapphire necklace, pink sapphire studs and an orange sapphire oval…

MATTY HEALY, THE FRONTMAN OF British band The 1975, stands in the kitchen of his townhouse in London’s East End, wolfing down a dish of steak and fries. The 26-year-old singer-songwriter, dressed in a gray sweater and too-short black trousers that reveal a pair of pale ankles, cleans his plate and reaches for a cigarette, smoking six in quick succession, before moving on to a spliff. It’s 11 o’clock in the morning. “I need constant stimulation,” he says. “Love, sex, this conversation, whatever. Weed is a big problem. I’m a drug addict, basically. I need it every day.” Healy bought this place in 2015 with the profits from his band’s self-titled breakout 2013 debut, which topped charts, polarized critics and helped make him a tabloid sensation repeatedly linked to Taylor…

SATURDAY Puth flies to Atlanta after playing The Voice of Holland in Amsterdam; he’s sorry to leave (“There were beautiful women all over”). He heads to his hotel and orders room service: “The lady almost dropped the tray when she saw me.” He throws an in-suite party for “a bunch of girls.” SUNDAY A day off. He gets picked up by a college buddy. “We drove around the suburbs in his Honda Element. He likes death metal; I don’t. But we vibe.” Then, as he says with a sigh, “Back to Charlie life.” MONDAY Puth hits four radio stations and plays an event at a Mexican cantina, where a server charms him. “I love how Southern waitresses talk: ‘You wanna side a whatevah with that, honey?’” That night, he hops…

“When you’re Jimi Hendrix or Harry Styles wearing lace, you’re the bad guy with an edge of a cool,” says author and Vogue contributing editor André Leon Talley. “And why not if you have the body?” On The Runway The men’s spring 2016 runways were punctuated with lace, including head-totoe looks at Moschino and rich hues at Gucci and Burberry. Celeb Fans Styles opts for Burberry in marigold while Mikaiah Lei and Wiz Khalifa (in Saint Laurent) do noir. “It’s preferred,” says Talley. “It flatters almost everybody.”…

“I’m in the Mood,” with John Lee Hooker (1989) This collaboration won a Grammy for best traditional blues recording, but that’s not why it ranks among Raitt’s favorites: “I shared musical heat with John Lee Hooker.” “Hey There,” with John Raitt (1995) One of three duets on her father’s Broadway Legend album, this show-tune cover from The Pajama Game is, in Raitt’s words, “a daddydaughter moment to cherish forever.” “I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues,” with Tony Bennett (2001) “Not sure I’ve got the right to sing with Tony Bennett,” says Raitt, a guest on Playin’ With My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues. “But I sure as hell didn’t refuse.” “A Sunday Kind of Love,” with Alicia Keys (2012) “Etta James had the voice I wish I had,” says…

NUMBERS : KANYE ’ S PABLO POPSON CHARTS Kanye West’s The Life of Pablo album invades the Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks chart as seven of its songs debut or re-enter the tally (see page 71). The set was released exclusively through Tidal’s streaming service on Feb. 14. 20M West introduced the album during his Yeezy Season 3 fashion event/listening party, held Feb. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York and live-streamed by Tidal. The company said more than 20 million people attempted to watch the stream. 431 % West tallied a 431 percent gain in mentions of his Twitter handle on the platform in the week ending Feb. 14, according to Next Big Sound — thanks partly to widely shared tweets about his fashion line, finances and more.…

WHAT DO FUTURE, THE BEATLES, THE Glee cast and Herb Alpert have in common? They are the only acts since 1963 to earn three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 in less than seven months, as Future’s latest release, Evol, arrives atop the tally. Evol, the Atlanta rapper’s fourth solo studio release, launches with 134,000 equivalent-album units earned in the week ending Feb. 11, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 100,000 were pure album sales. The album was released exclusively through Apple Music and the iTunes Store on Feb. 5, after premiering Feb. 4 on DJ Khaled’s Beats 1 show. Future previously topped the list with his Drake collaboration What a Time to Be Alive on the Oct. 10, 2015, chart and his last solo release, DS2, on…

THE MARTIN SCORSESE-DIRECTED pilot for Vinyl begins with American Century Records chief Richie Finestra (Bobby Cannavale) about to sell out to Big Business in the form of PolyGram Records — until he’s literally struck by the light. The two-hour movie, which premiered Feb. 14, climaxes when the Mercer Arts Center in downtown Manhattan collapses around Finestra during a revelatory performance by The New York Dolls. Emerging Lazarus-like from beneath the venue’s chandelier, the reawakened record man (spoiler alert!) goes on to kill the deal, choosing the transformative power of rock’n’roll over a big payday. The past always has been romanticized in the music industry, but, at a moment when chart hits are often determined by algorithms and metadata, Vinyl, which was conceived by Mick Jagger, celebrates a particularly fertile, unbridled…

1D’s Valentine’s Day Daddy One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson and girlfriend Danielle Campbell spent Valentine’s Day at a Primary Wave party at the London Hotel in West Hollywood. Asked about his son, Freddie, whom ex Briana Jungwirth gave birth to on Jan. 2, Tomlinson told Overheard he “is great!” but that a newborn is a lot of work. Rihanna And Adele Go Rogue Divas had a bad day at the Grammys. Rihanna canceled her performance because of bronchitis, just hours after a rehearsal in which she “absolutely killed” new song “Kiss It Better,” says a source. Adele, meanwhile, sang off-key due to a mic mishap. Columbia execs at Staples Center were visibly upset, as was the singer herself, who skipped the Sony afterparty at the Bel Air Hotel. Colbert Opens For…

BURBERRY straw Italian lace shirt, $895; peacock blue slim-cut Italian lace tie, $295; dark regency slim-fit wool-mohair tailored jacket, $1,595; us.burberry.com. FRED LEIGHTON rose gold and black diamond cuff links, price upon request; 212-288-1872.…

MARCH 9, 2015 Kygo releases his first music video, for debut single “Firestone,” featuring Conrad Sewell. MARCH 29 Closes out the live stage at the Ultra Music Festival. APRIL 15 Makes his Coachella debut closing out the Gobi Stage. Brings out special guests, including Sewell and James Hersey, and hands out USB drives encoded with his new single “Coming Over.” AUG. 17 After announcing his partnership with Apple Music in June, Kygo becomes a face of the streaming service with a TV spot showcasing his piano skills. OCT. 17 A few days after posting a picture of himself in the studio with John Legend, Kygo brings out the singer at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre to perform his remix of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.” DEC. 9 Announces his globe-trotting Cloud Nine…

CHEF’SPECIAL IS COOKING Dutch quintet Chef’Special makes American inroads with “In Your Arms” (Fueled by Ramen/RRP), which enters the Alternative chart at No. 40. The folk-influenced track (written in honor of lead singer Joshua Nolet’s late father) is getting its strongest support from KTCL Denver, which played it 31 times in the week ending Feb. 14 and has spun it nearly 500 times to date, according to Nielsen Music. COUNTRY RADIO’S NEW RAGER With assistance from Broken Bow labelmate Jason Aldean, 21-yearold Jordan Rager’s Country Airplay chart debut, “Southern Boy,” surges 56-46. The breezy song features the pair rooting on the titular subject with lyrics full of country staples (“Keep stealing those kisses from your Southern belle ... Keep rolling with your buddies, raise a little hell”). “Boy” previews Rager’s…

REWINDING THE CHARTS MADONNA’S LONGEST RUN AT NO. 1 ON the Billboard Hot 100 didn’t take place until more than 11 years after her first chart hit. On Feb. 25, 1995, her romantic R&B-flavored ballad “Take a Bow” began a seven-week reign atop the ranking. Co-written with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, the track vaulted to No. 1 in the wake of the pair’s performance of the song at the American Music Awards. “Take a Bow,” which was the second single from then-36-year-old Madge’s 1994 Bedtime Stories album, showcased a kinder, gentler Queen of Pop following a few years of boundary-smashing, she-did-what? exhibitionism that no contemporary pop star of her stature has topped. In 1992, she released the album Erotica and its controversial Sex picture book tie-in, followed by the lurid 1993…