Innholdsfortegnelse for Mar-21-15 i Billboard Magazine

MARK RONSON’S BRUNO MARS-FEATURING smash “Uptown Funk!” hits hallowed ground on the Billboard Hot 100: The retro-R&B collaboration tops the chart for a 10th week, joining an exclusive club of historic hits. “Uptown Funk!” is just the 29th Hot 100 No. 1 to rule for at least 10 weeks. If 29 seems like a high number, remember: that’s out of 1,041 leaders dating to the chart’s 1958 debut. In other words, only 3 percent of all Hot 100 No. 1s, now including “Funk!,” have logged such reigns. The record? Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day” led for 16 frames in 1995 and 1996. “Funk!” once again blocks Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” which has been stuck at No. 2 behind Ronson and Mars for eight weeks. But…

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST’S 2014 EDITION marked a turning point for the Austin conference — and indeed, for large-scale music confabs as a whole. Safety concerns (a March 13 car accident caused four fatalities and more than 20 injuries) coupled with criticism of its shamelessly corporate stages (iTunes, Doritos and Subway were just three of the many sponsored showcases) could have foretold a mass exodus — and, based on the departure of several major sponsors, there almost was. But on the eve of the 29th annual conference, which runs March 13-22, it’s looking like big business as usual — albeit with a slightly quieter tone. For starters, SXSW is scaling back. In January, the Austin Center for Events announced a 25 percent reduction in permits for the 2015 festival, estimated by…

Vanessa Freebairn-Smith is arguably as integral to the sound of Empire as executive music producer Timbaland. The first-chair cellist is the primary soloist on the 15 or so orchestral cues that composer Fil Eisler writes for each episode, some as long as five minutes and others as short as a five-note motif. And while each episode of Fox’s hit hip-hop soap opera unveils three or four new R&B or rap songs, the show has found its other musical side in an orchestra that is at times as large as 50 pieces, a rarity in series TV. When Eisler was hired, executive producer Lee Daniels gave him instructions to push the score toward the 1980s drama Dynasty. They also discussed mobster movies like The Godfather. “Lee said, ‘I want the score…

We are at our best when we cheer each other on and build each other up. Happy International Women’s Day,” wrote Taylor Swift (second from left) in an Instagram post that included friends (from left) Ellie Goulding, Selena Gomez, Alana Haim and Este Haim. Paris Fashion Week PARIS, MARCH 4 -11 KIM KARDASHIAN AND JARED LETO SHOCKED WITH PLATINUM locks, but it was Solange Knowles who owned the scene at the fall/winter 2015 ready-to-wear shows this season. From Carven to Vivienne Westwood, an Estee Lauder dinner party and the ad campaign she launched with ElevenParis — the Saint Records maven was indisputably the most about-town musician in Paris. “I’m moving here!” she told U.S. Ambassador to France Jane Hartley backstage at Andrew Gn. Like Knowles, Kanye West hit the fashion…

Best Bar For Clandestine Networking The Cloak Room If the bars at the W Austin or Four Seasons are too highfalutin for you, make like generations of Austin legislators and head toward the capitol for this hard-to-find basement bar. No-nonsense bartender Beverly Pruitt — who doesn’t believe in frozen drinks or craft cocktails — is something of a rock star herself, so gruffl y quotable that she has earned a Twitter parody account (@bevscloakroom). (1300 Colorado St., baraustintx.com) Best Ride Without Surge Pricing B-Cycle Boasting more than 40 stations downtown, B-Cycle, the city’s official bike-share, is partnering with SXSW and renaming itself SXcycles for the week. Sure, you’ll be riding around with tacky ads on your basket, but the $8 activation fee gets you unlimited rides of 30 minutes or…

THE ARRIVAL OF HER SON RADEK 11 MONTHS ago has made style infinitely more fun for Santi “Santigold” White, 38, who has collaborated with everyone from Jay Z to Karen O. Though the songwriter-producer (who cites Alexander Wang and Opening Ceremony as favorite designers) first became a fashion plate after her 2008 debut album, Santogold, she now lives to shop for tot togs. “It’s my favorite,” she says, holding up a pint-size parka by Mini Rodini that features a playful mice and cheese print. “There’s so much good stuff , you go crazy! I have to say, ‘OK, he’s got enough.’ ” Her biggest weakness? Miniature cotton shirts with quirky patterns that are “fun, functional and something I’d wear myself.” Motherhood has done little, though, to alter White’s own wardrobe.…

When he was a kid, Flowers’ brother scaled one of Newton’s exterior walls and snuck a peek at his helicopter. “We talked about it for weeks at school,” recalls Flowers (left). Newton, who has performed in Vegas since 1959, and Flowers were photographed Feb. 24 standing on Newton’s Fokker F-28 airplane at Casa de Shenandoah. For an exclusive interview and behind-thescenes video of Newton happily recalling his most amorous female fans, go to Billboard.com or Billboard.com/ipad. BRANDON FLOWERS Wayne and I met when The Killers asked him to appear in our video for “Battle Born” [in 2012]. We wanted to get in all the quintessential Las Vegas. We had a white tiger and Andre Agassi. Wayne was pretending to direct the band in the control room. The couches in the…

When pioneering French DJ David Guetta first performed on the Vegas Strip in 2009, the crowds didn’t get it. “It felt like they’d seen the world’s best magician the day before, and now they were seeing the fancy, fun DJ,” says Guetta, 47. “There was no scene.” Flash forward six years, and the scene has exploded. DJ-centric venues have opened all over the city, each bigger and more lavish than the last, culminating most recently in the 2013 opening of Hakkasan at the MGM Grand, an 80,000-square-foot nightclub and restaurant that cost a rumored $200 million. By 2014, seven of the country’s 10 highest-grossing properties were in Vegas, according to Nightclub and Bar magazine. The publication estimates that XS, the ultra-luxe nightclub owned by The Wynn (and where Guetta has…

ENGLISH FOURSOME RIXTON was toiling in relative obscurity on YouTube when impresario Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber’s manager) caught wind of the group’s jokey cover videos and signed the act in 2012. Shortly after, he connected Rixton with super-producer Benny Blanco (Katy Perry, Rihanna) to helm its breakout hit, “Me and My Broken Heart,” mining the same harmless reggaepop terrain that vaulted Magic’s “Rude” to the top of the charts. The group’s debut album, Let the Road, seeks to duplicate the success of “Heart” by banking on a similar sound, but the brandname connections do little to distinguish Rixton. Executive-produced by Blanco and featuring contributions from Ed Sheeran, the LP has roots in funk, R&B and soul as well as reggae but codes as pop due to its vocals and texture;…

HITS To paraphrase Bill Hader’s Saturday Night Live character Stefon, this performance of GZA’s recent cover of “The Mexican,” an Ennio Morriconeinspired 1972 song by Babe Ruth, had everything: the Wu-Tang rapper’s rhymes, newcomer Kara Lane’s fiery vocals, The Roots, break dancers and Tom Morello’s guitar virtuosity. JOYWAVE, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! (MARCH 2) This geeky Rochester, N.Y., quintet dressed like a wedding band in a “Weird Al” Yankovic video: pink pants, white shirts and matching necklaces. Lead singer Daniel Armbruster’s mustache and oversize glasses recalled Napoleon Dynamite’s brother Kip, but he sounded like a powered-up Bono-Rivers Cuomo hybrid, taking the electro-rock band’s already kinetic performance of “Somebody New” up several notches. BRANDI CARLILE, CONAN (MARCH 3) Carlile’s take on “Wherever Is Your Heart” was as straightforward as they come: Flanked…

Goulding Keeps Going Powered by two hit singles, Ellie Goulding (above) continues her rise up the Billboard Artist 100, again lifting to a new peak (10-7). Nearly half of her overall activity is from digital song sales, as “Love Me Like You Do,” from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, holds at No. 4 on Digital Songs (155,000 downloads sold, down 8 percent, according to Nielsen Music) and Calvin Harris’ “Outside,” on which she’s featured, lifts 41-37 (35,000; up 10 percent). Radio airplay marks the next greatest slice of Goulding’s Artist 100 points (24 percent) as “Love” jumps 12-7 on Radio Songs (77 million all-format audience impressions, up 22 percent) and “Outside” climbs 22-17 (49 million, up 6 percent). The tracks also concurrently reach the top 10 on Mainstream Top…

I IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS, FEW things are as sacrosanct as credit and compensation. Inevitably, many aggrieved songwriters will hear news of the nearly $7.4 million verdict against Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for lifting from Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” to create “Blurred Lines” and consider it to be a sign that filing a copyright lawsuit makes sense. In the days since the jury read the verdict — which Howard King, Thicke and Williams’ attorney, says he will appeal — opinions of the outcome range from “ridiculously problematic” to cheers of “no more plagiarism.” The attitudes are perhaps reflective of larger ones — confirmation that the expansive scope of copyright is eating the young, comeuppance for artist exploitation, a sign that the law trails modernity. Yet for…

Music booker Jonathan Cohen’s Feb. 20 exit from NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon has sparked a round of musical chairs at the top daytime and late-night talk shows. Julie Gurovitsch, former music talent coordinator at Today, will step into the music-booking role at The Tonight Show starting March 30, which means a search for her replacement at Today is on. Free agent Cohen would appear to be a logical fit for the inaugural music booker slot at CBS’Late Show With Stephen Colbert when it debuts in September, but a representative for Colbert says no hires have been made (and Cohen declined to comment). Sheryl Zelikson, current music booker for Late Show With David Letterman, however, is expected to be involved in some capacity with Colbert after Letterman goes…

Bow Wow has graduated from cable to network, joining CBS’ latest CSI spinoff: Cyber, alongside Oscar winner Patricia Arquette. The 28-year-old rapper born Shad Moss also has new music on the way. Does your character Brody “Baby Face” Nelson embody any personal traits? Swagger and colorfulness. Nelson actually did a little rap in the first episode when he cracked a code, saying it in rhyme. What do you think the show accomplishes for racial diversity? There are plenty of young African-Americans intelligent enough to work at the FBI. Hopefully, I can help start a new wave of young black actors who don’t want to stereotype themselves. Is new music in the pipeline, and will Cash Money release it? I’m focusing on music while on hiatus from Cyber and have been…

AREGGIE WATTS SET — PART MUSIC, part comedy, part performance art — can be a confounding experience. His hair and beard create a dandelionpuff halo effect around his head. He randomly jumps between voices and vernaculars, from a British accent to American street-corner slang to unintelligible garbles. Using a guitar pedal and a four-track looper, he creates tunes with beatboxed drums and guttural humming, then croons over them. Sometimes he taps quizzically at the microphone, as if he were an oversize Pomeranian pawing at an iPad. “This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” was one typical comment on a YouTube video of Watts’ 2012 TED Talk. “Does anybody know wtf this dude is talking about?” was another response to a performance video. “I love those kinds…

“He beat me up... That is really why I am f—ing crazy — because that man has driven me crazy. —AZEALIA BANKS The rapper, on an abusive former boyfriend, in an interview with ES magazine. “I’m a recovered ego addict.” —JOHN MAYER The singer-songwriter-guitarist, to MSNBC. “I’m going to say something controversial: Eventually 3-D printing will print people. That’s scary.” —WILL.I.AM The rapper-producer, to Dezeen magazine. “Kanye is the black Madonna. We’re comrades in the envelope-pushing genre.” —MADONNA The singer, on her Rebel Heart collaborator, in an interview with New York’s Daily News. “I feel kind of short and homeless standing next to you.” —MOBY The musician to RuPaul, appearing as a guest on the Logo TV reality show RuPaul’s Drag Race. “I will be canceling my performance for them…

“I want people to feel like they’re a part of the show, like, ‘Wow, we feel like we know her. We know all these songs,’ ” says Spears, photographed Feb. 13 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Styling by Carol McColgin. Spears wears a Victoria Beckham dress and Saint Laurent heels. BRITNEY SPEARS WAS BARELY 21 WHEN the idea of a Las Vegas residency first crossed her mind. It was 2003, shortly after wrapping Dream Within a Dream, her first full-blown U.S. arena run, when she and a friend stayed at Celine Dion’s palatial estate off the Strip to see how the French-Canadian star lived away from the touring circuit. “I remember how beautiful it was — really cool, low-key — and her dressing room was great,”…

During the past seven years, the legendary bandleader, 67, has become a Las Vegas staple, most recently with multiple strings of dates at Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues (next up: May 22-31). He has been able to capitalize on the city’s skyrocketing appetite for entertainment — tickets at the 1,800-capacity venue include $375 table seats and $750 VIP packages — while still leaving time to finish recording Santana IV, which he will do in April. Santana has a few words of advice for entertainers (and others) heading into the desert. 1. AVOID GAMBLING “I don’t have any desire for that sensation, temptation or stimulation. I don’t believe in luck, chance or fortune; I believe in grace. I’d rather invest my emotions into something that is a sure shot, which is…

THE FIRST TIME ELVIS PRESLEY PLAYED Las Vegas, the critics hated him. Appearing in the Venus Room at the New Frontier Hotel in the spring of 1956, the 21-year-old hillbilly crooner with the dreamy eyes and well-lubricated hips was billed as “America’s only atomic-powered singer.” Two years earlier, he had been driving a truck in Memphis for $45 a week. Now he had a contract with RCA Victor Recordings and a movie deal with Paramount Studios. At the time, Vegas was known for its mobbed-up glamour — bent-nose guys in fedoras, ladies in white gloves. It was the era of The Rat Pack. The furniture was mid-century modern, the patrons were well dressed, the food and drink were expensive, and the nightclubs were ruled by hep cats like Frank Sinatra…

Strangers to Ourselves has been in the works for almost five years. What took so long? I had all sorts of f—ing schemes — I canned a lot of ideas. I was going to make a record that was really boring, like a rock’n’roll version of [1938 Thornton Wilder play] Our Town where songs just plodded along with mundane daily stories. I got like five songs into that and said, “All right, enough.” Then I just wanted to play a hard f—ing rock record with no overdubs. You initially set out to produce the LP yourself, but you eventually recruited Andrew Weiss, Tucker Martine and others for help. Why? I fired myself. Then we kept having people come in to work on the record, but everyone had other shit scheduled…

TOMORROW’S HITS HELLO ‘GOODBY E ’ Who is Who Is Fancy? The act’s identity is intentionally shrouded in mystery, but debut hit “Goodbye,” a joint Big Machine/Scooter Braun Projects/Republic Records release, rises 37-31 in its second week on Mainstream Top 40. Braun unveiled the catchy pop track at the Heart Media Music Summit in Burbank, Calif., in January, while Meghan Trainor and Kacey Musgraves have tweeted endorsements of the tune. MILLER TIME Tor Miller’s piano-painted picture of New York, “Midnight” (Glassnote), rises 26-25 on Triple A. The 20-year-old Brooklyn singersongwriter dropped out of New York University’s Clive Davis School of Music to release debut EP Headlights in early February. In January, a month before Zane Lowe left BBC Radio, the DJ honored “Midnight” in his “Hottest Record in the World…

BY 1997, RADIO REBEL HOWARD STERN, then 43, was already the self-proclaimed “King of All Media.” Paramount Pictures’ release of Private Parts, a biopic in which he starred, made the boast closer to the truth and pushed Stern from pop culture’s fringe to its mainstream. Based on Stern’s best-selling 1993 memoir , Private Parts finished atop the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, March 7-9, 1997, earning $14.6 million (and $41.2 million to date, according to Box Office Mojo). Its dominance quickly extended to the Billboard 200, as the movie’s soundtrack debuted at No. 1 on the chart dated March 15, 1997. It sold 178,000 copies in week one and 562,000 to date, according to Nielsen Music. The album includes AC/DC, Cheap Trick and Van Halen, along with Stern’s…

Apple’s forthcoming streaming service may not be ready for primetime, but conversations about pricing for what is looking like a June launch seem to have landed on the industry standard: $9.99 per month. According to sources, Apple will forgo the “freemium” model entirely for a paid-only subscription — an approach that Beats Music cofounder Jimmy Iovine, a still title-less executive at Apple since the May 2014 acquisition of Beats Electronics, has consistently favored. Two industry insiders tell Billboard that in the wake of negotiations with the majors, Apple has backed down from its effort to lower monthly pricing to $7.99, as such a price point would require the company to absorb the loss if it sets a price lower than the standard $9.99. Industry sentiment about free music is years…

IF ONE THING REFLECTS exponential growth of the Cornerstone agency and its sibling company, magazine The Fader, it’s their presence at South by Southwest. The first Fader Fort, in 2002, was a party in a room at Austin’s Hilton Hotel, with free beer provided by Levi’s. Since then, it has grown into a two-plus-acre custombuilt outdoor venue with state-of-the-art lighting and sound, multiple activations, bountiful swag and all-day performances by artists that include Kanye West, The Black Keys, Amy Winehouse, Sam Smith and FKA Twigs. Key sponsors for 2015 include Converse (for the fourth year) and Mazda (for the second), along with Jack Daniel’s, Vitaminwater and more, with Dell providing a live stream. The Fader Fort is the most vivid example of the companies’ prescient positioning as a bridge between…

Thirty-five years after The Blues Brothers hit screens, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s widow Judy are looking to develop the kind of artists that would have made the dancing duo proud. Blues Brothers Records, distributed through Capitol Music Group’s Blue Note label, will serve as “a refuge for blues musicians,” says Eric Gardner, who will run the label’s administrative side. Aykroyd, 62, a lifelong devotee of the genre who has hosted a syndicated blues radio show for 22 years, and Blue Note president Don Was will handle A&R duties; Judy Belushi will be creative director. The label plans to book revue-style shows at Live Nation’s House of Blues venues. (Aykroyd was a founder of the restaurant/live music chain). A launch date hasn’t been set. —P.G.…

Mahone & Becky G: On The Record Austin Mahone looks to be mixing work and play during the recording sessions for his forthcoming album. According to a source, the YouTube star and his long-rumored girlfriend, Becky G, both 18, were spotted working on vocals together at a Los Angeles studio in late February. Billing for the secret collaboration has yet to be determined. Two weeks later, Mahone was spotted in Miami where, in between meetings with management and label executives, he ran into Justin Bieber, in town celebrating his 21st birthday — a noteworthy encounter, given Mahone’s “Baby Bieber” media tag. Haerts Singer’s Heartbreak Haerts lead singer Nini Fabi knows how to soothe a broken heart because she experienced one at an early age. Fabi, 30, tells Overheard that back…

“Flicka Da Wrist” Houston rapper Chedda Da Connect released this track last summer, but Vine users have only just latched onto its selfexplanatory titular move, seemingly made for showing off a blingy watch or necklace. 12.7 million Number of times a vine matching the song with a wrist-twisting dance scene from the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet (above) has been looped. “Little Einsteins Remix” A year after YouTube user 886Beatz uploaded a homemade trap remix of the Disney TV series’ cheery theme, it went viral in February, inspiring vines of ironic mismatches (Soulja Boy, Beyoncé) and lots of dancing pajama-clad kids. 14 million Number of times a vine pairing the remix with the video for Chief Keef’s “I Don’t Like” has been looped. “Watch Me” Vine and YouTube dancers (including…

CELINE DION A New Day... SHOWS 717 (2003-07) HIGHLIGHTS Nearly 3 million people saw this game-changing show, a spectacle of Cirque du Soleil theatrics and dramatic rendition that led to a 210-show sequel (Celine) and a new paradigm for pop career arcs. ELTON JOHN The Red Piano SHOWS 242 (2004-09) HIGHLIGHTS Conceived with David LaChapelle, John’s five-year spectacular led to an international tour, an NBC special and a second residency, The Million Dollar Piano, which closes April 15. BETTE MIDLER The Showgirl Must Go On SHOWS 170 (2008-10) HIGHLIGHTS The Divine Miss M brought dirty jokes and her backup singers to this revue (which cost $10 million to produce) . “I survived!” cheered Midler on closing night. CHER Cher at the Colosseum SHOWS 192 (2008-11) HIGHLIGHTS Her three-year extravaganza featured…

JESSE WAITS MANAGING PARTNER, XS, TRYST AT THE WYNN HOTELS When Jesse Waits, now 39, moved to Las Vegas in 1996, he arrived with a few thousand dollars and promptly spent it on a 1965 Ford Thunderbird. Thirteen years later, he opened the $100 million mega-club XS, dedicating one weeknight to house music. “Everyone was skeptical, but it was gigantic,” he recalls. Today, XS is the highest-grossing club in the country and maintains a roster of EDM superstars, including Skrillex, David Guetta and Kaskade, many of whom Waits pals around with offduty. Plus, his prized Thunderbird now belongs to Avicii, a gift for the Swedish DJ’s 21st birthday — a purely sentimental token, considering his rumored rate of $400,000 per gig. Waits won’t discuss figures, but he will confirm the…

Awolnation’s Run ANDWICHED BETWEEN HITS ON THE ROCK radio stations it dominated from 2011 to 2013, Awolnation’s blockbuster “Sail” sounds like Nine Inch Nails covering Nickelback. It’s dark, with crashing synths, scary violins and lyrics about ADD. If you never listened to its parent LP, 2011’s Megalithic Symphony, it’s easy to imagine Awolnation as the latest active rock project out of Manitoba or Oklahoma City. But nothing could be further from the truth: The act is, in fact, the one-man band of 36-year-old Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter-producer Aaron Bruno, and Megalithic is an ebullient orchestral pop record. “Sail,” which briefly held the record as the longest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 (79 weeks) until Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive” surpassed it, sounds like nothing else on it. Bruno, then, faced a quandary…

ON HIS THIRD ALBUM, TWIN SHADOW pivots away from the past — both pop music’s and his own. But what has been sacrificed in the name of progress? In recent interviews, George Lewis Jr., the 31-year-old singer/producer/multi- instrumentalist behind Twin Shadow, has criticized his earlier work — filled with foggy layers of synths and drum machines that drew comparisons to Depeche Mode and Simple Minds — for speaking in “code,” a “specific language” that tends to exclude. Eclipse is his first full-length since shifting from the boutique-label ambience of 4AD to the fl uorescent exposure of Warner Music. And now, he says, coincidentally or not, that his music is no longer “elitist.” Yet the “specific language” an artist uses is not only a strategic defense system — it’s an aesthetic,…

T THE FORTUNES OF AMERICAN IDOL’S RECENT winners have dwindled, but one can still count on Kelly Clarkson, the show’s original champ, to rack up hit albums. The pop star, who took home the first American Idol crown in 2002 and released her first album, Thankful, the following year, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with her latest studio set, Piece by Piece. It launches with 97,000 equivalent album units in the week ending March 8, according to Nielsen Music. The album is her third visit to the penthouse, following Thankful and 2009’s All I Ever Wanted. Clarkson now ties Carrie Underwood as the American Idol contestants with the most No. 1 LPs. The pair is followed by rocker Chris Daughtry, who logged two leaders with his band…