Innholdsfortegnelse for Jun-13-15 i Billboard Magazine

BUST OUT THE SUNSCREEN AND FLIP FLOPS: Billboard’s annual Songs of the Summer chart returns, cumulatively measuring the season’s biggest Billboard Hot 100 hits from the June 13 list through Labor Day. Wiz Khalifa’s “See You Again” (featuring Charlie Puth) starts off at No. 1 on Songs of the Summer (see Billboard.com) by returning to the top of the Hot 100, dethroning Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” featuring Kendrick Lamar (see page 3). Several other hits are in the running to make big splashes in the next few months, including David Guetta’s “Hey Mama,” which is No. 8, and OMI’s “Cheerleader,” which jumps 27-16, powered in large part by its 23-8 vault on Digital Songs, up 49 percent to 88,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music. The Jamaican pop-reggae act’s breakout…

JUST BEFORE 11 P.M. ON MAY 26, 68-year-old Dennis Sheehan, a veteran tour manager who had crisscrossed the globe with such acts as Led Zeppelin and Iggy Pop, gazed upon a familiar io-footwide space. The backstage "quick change" area had just been vacated by the four members of U2 —Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.— as they climbed up the short stairway to perform a three-song encore at The Forum in Los Angeles. It was the first of a five-night stand and, according to onlookers, the burly Irishman who has worked with the band for 33 years was grinning from ear to ear. Less than 12 hours later, Sheehan was found dead in his hotel room at the Sunset Marquis (cause as yet unknown), rocking the foundation…

Broadway musical Finding Never land may have gotten snubbed by the Tony Awards, but executive producer Harvey Weinstein, 63, and co-writer Gary Barlow, 44, have set their sights on a different kind of acclaim: winning over pop fans. On June 9, Republic Records will release a concept album featuring such top artists as Ellie Goulding and Nick Jonas performing songs from the musical. The show is the first original Broadway musical to get the pop-star treatment in more than 15 years (Elton John reached No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999 with the LeAnn Rimes duet “Written in the Stars,” from his Tim Rice-co-penned musical Aida), and Weinstein hopes it’s not the last. “The only thing that semi impresses my kids is that I know a couple of…

1946-2015 Dennis Sheehan, U2's longtime tour manager, died May 27 at the age of 68. Frontman Bonoremembered Sheehan's life and legacy during an onstage tribute at The Forum in Los Angeles the following evening. What a privilege to share the stage with these brothers of mine. U2 is a brotherhood. We look after each other, and it takes a lotto put on a show like tonight. And last night we lost a member of our family. Dennis Sheehan was his name. He was U2's tour manager for 33 years. He loved, as we all do, the city of Los Angeles, and he called the Sunset Marquis his home away from home. He came to this city as a young man in the'70s, working for Led Zeppelin. So in many ways…

NO GUITARS WERE BROKEN DURING THE 11TH ANNUAL MUSICARES MAP FUND benefit honoring The Who's Pete Townshend, yet the event—produced by The Grammy Foundation's charity arm to help musicians find treatment for addiction — packed quite a power punch with performances by rock icons Billy Idol, Joan Jett and Who lead vocalist Roger Daltrey. "Pete is the greatest rhythm guitarist of all time," proclaimed Bruce Springsteen, who presented Townshend with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award. Townshend reflected on his recovery, "I didn't drink any water, I didn't drink any tea, I didn't drink Coca-Cola. I don't think I ate. I just lived on cognac," he said. "The secret for me to be able to do this tour with The Who has been the 30 years that I've been clean."…

Nate Ruess of Fun looks tired, and understandably so. The 33-year-old's first solo album, Grand Romantic, is due June 16; an extensive press tour is underway; and he suffered a recent bout of pinkeye. It's a late morning in May, and the Arizona-raised, Manhattan-based singer is slumped on a couch at Atlantic Records' Burbank offices, ready to discuss the album's big themes: his struggles with depression and past relationships. (He's currently dating designer Charlotte Ronson,37.) While he's not religious, Ruess sometimes ponders the nature of existence and death. He grips a maroon pillow between his legs and says, "I've never gotten further than thin king,' What would it be like to die?,' which probably everybody has though tat some point in life." First, your Fun bandmate Jack Antonoff released a…

Actress Hailee Steinfeld, 18, already has a No. 1 movie [Pitch Perfect2) and an Oscar nod (for 2010's True Grit) under her belt. What's she setting her sights on now? Pop stardom. In May, days after appearing in Taylor Swift's star-spangled "Bad Blood" video, she announced she had signed a contract with Republic Records. How did your deal with Republic come about? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking for a segue into my musical ambitions. But the way this came about was so organic. I went to an event with my mom and she ended up sitting next to [Republic executive vp] Charlie Walk. I've been recording for three months. I just finished my single, an edgy pop record called "Love Myself," coming this summer. It's crazy…

ON THE GOLF COURSE, SCARFACE of the Geto Boys is Brad Jordan, like on his birth certificate. He may have taken his stage name from the bloodsoaked 1983 movie Scarface that starred Al Pacino as a maniacal drug lord, but there's no hint of gangsta swagger when he sets foot on the links. "I play golf every day if I can, but it's not fun and games for me," says the hip-hop pioneer on an overcast afternoon in May at Hermann Park, a public golf course in his hometown of Houston. Jordan won't play with people who are drinking beer or clowing around. "I'mserious about golf," he says. Jordan, 44, who has dropped 100 pounds through dieting and exercise during the last two years, says his passion for the sport…

I'VE CADDIED ON THE OLD COURSE IN ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND, FOR nine years. When not crawling through machete-sharp gorse bushes for lost balls or dodging shanked 4-irons from Japanese tourist-golfers, I've been picking up pointers along the way. (I've also eaten a lot of haggis, which I advise against doing.) Here are my top five "Quick Fix" tips for executives who want to improve their game when they're not counting streaming royaltie 1 How To Hit The Green Hit more club than you think into greens. Most courses are designed to penalize short approach shots. Most of my golfers who miss the green miss it short. Make sure you have enough club to get to the center of the green. 2 Forget The Flop Shot It's too low percentage. Let…

JAMIE XX IS 26 YEARS OLD, which means he was barely out of diapers during the heyday of ’90s U.K. rave culture, which provides the heart, soul and inspiration for his jaw-dropping solo debut, In Colour. The xx member (real name: Jamie Smith) reportedly combed through videos from the era on YouTube, experiencing it in a way that generations before him could not: all at once, chopped up, voyeuristically and set to the best music. This, conveniently, describes the rush of hearing In Colour, an ambitious collage of dance music’s most artistically exciting decade, assembled with maximum TLC by a visionary who inherited its legacy. Pockmarked by bits of dialogue from the era’s radio shows and documentaries, the record leaves no doubt as to its source material, and Jamie xx…

Chi-town rapper balances grit and gloss on major-label debut SINCE THE STEELY CHICAGO RAP subgenre known as drill exploded in 2012, Lil Durk, 22, has arguably become the scene’s most consistent voice. He earned cult status with his Auto-Tuned, half-sung flows, but the melodies never distracted from the fact that he can seriously spit. Few of his peers turned drill’s early buzz into sustained relevance; with his major-label debut, Remember My Name, Durk aims to avoid a similar fate. The album lacks the obvious potential hits to guarantee that, although the moody, Jeremih-featuring single “Like Me” is easy to get lost in. The album does, however, strike a graceful balance between gritty roots and big-budget sheen, recruiting underrated drill producers (DJ L, C-Sick) whose slick beats are highlights — check…

MIRANDA LAMBERT “ROOTS AND WINGS” SONY MUSIC NASHVILLE Country’s Miranda Lambert fi nally releases “Roots and Wings” after supplying a snippet for a car ad. While it’s pleasant, the song overstays its welcome. “Roots” draws from the wisdom she received from her parents over dreamy slide guitars before a too-long instrumental ride-out weighs it down. —S.J.H. LITTLE MIX “BLACK MAGIC” SYCO/COLUMBIA The U.K. girl group abandons the rhythmic flair of “Move” and “Salute” for ’80s pop-rock with “Black Magic,” the foursome’s latest stateside crossover attempt. The beat pretty openly nods to “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” but the melodies are tight, and they sing “take a sip of my secret potion” with enough charm to make you raise a glass. —J.L. THE WEEKND “THE HILLS” REPUBLIC/XO His recent singles…

LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW OF HIS HIP-ROOFED, 7,000-square-foot Beverly Hills home, Pat Boone says his street is a little quieter these days. For three years, he explains, Ozzy Osbourne was his neighbor — and Meat Loaf nearly moved in. “It looked like it was going to be Pat Boone, Ozzy Osbourne and Meat Loaf in three consecutive houses at the corner of Beverly and Sunset,” says the 81-year-old singer. “I was already looking ahead to the block parties that might happen.” Truth is, Boone doesn’t have much time for neighborhood get-togethers. With multiple ventures underway, he’s using the big, round table in his recreation room as a desk, and he has turned that family space into a working office. “To my wife’s displeasure,” he adds. This spring marked the 60th…

CAPTURING A MUSICAL THEATER performance for a studio album is rife with challenges: the time and budget pressures of working with a full orchestra; the demands on a cast to deliver that definitive performance, fit for history. In his 1970 documentary Original Cast Album: Company, about the recording of that disc, director D.A. Pennebaker depicted a late-night, cigarette-smoke-filled pressure cooker with a young composer, Stephen Sondheim, brooding in a black turtleneck. But that’s not how it goes at a recording session with producer Tommy Krasker, cofounder of PS Classics, the independent label that specializes in cast albums and vocalists. “I am not someone who thrives on drama,” says the 56-year-old matter-of-factly. “When I did my first album for Sondheim [in 2000], Steve came up to me and told me how…

TOP 40 FIT FOR ‘ KING’ Years & Years make their debut as a lead act on a Billboard airplay chart as “King” (Interscope) enters Mainstream Top 40 at No. 40. The official clip for the British electronica trio’s breakout hit has drawn 40 million global YouTube views, while Nick Jonas covered the song acoustically in the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge in April. Years & Years’ debut studio album, Communion, is due July 10. BLAKE’S BIG BREAK Elijah Blake debuts his danceable soul tune “I Just Wanna...” (Def Jam), featuring DeJ Loaf, on Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop (No. 40). While it’s his first chart appearance as an artist, Blake has penned charted tracks for Trey Songz and Justin Bieber, among others. Under the name Sean “Redd Stylez” Fenton, he also co-wrote…

NO. 9 Boosie BadAzz The Lacs (above), the country-rap duo of Brian “Roger” King and Clay “Uncle Snap” Sharpe, debut at No. 84 on the Billboard Artist 100, thanks to its traditional driver: album sales. The twosome ties its best rank on the Top Country Albums chart, where Outlaw in Me shoots in at No. 3. The set bows with 14,000 sold in the week ending May 31, according to Nielsen Music. The pair first started at No. 3 with Keep It Redneck (Sept. 7, 2013), which also opened with 14,000. (It was actually a slightly larger amount than its new album, before that figure is rounded off.) The blithe duo formed in 2002. (The act’s name is short for “loud-ass crackers.”) Outlaw in Me is its third album for…

The jazz-pop band Snarky Puppy barks atop Heatseekers Albums with its first No. 1 as Sylva debuts in the penthouse. The album, a collaboration with the Dutch Metropole Orkest orchestra, sold 4,000 copies in the week ending May 31, according to Nielsen Music. The set also arrives at No. 1 on Contemporary Jazz Albums. Snarky Puppy previously notched three top 10s on Traditional Jazz Albums. British rock band The Vaccines score its fourth entry on Heatseekers as its third studio set, English Graffiti, bows at No. 4 with 2,000 sold. The group has remained under the radar stateside, where it has yet to chart on any of Billboard’s singles or airplay charts. In the band’s homeland, the two-time BRIT Award-nominated act is better known: The group’s new album debuted at…

Rookie country/Southern rock quartet A Thousand Horses (above) becomes the first group (of at least three members) to send a debut entry to No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart this decade as “Smoke” rises 2-1. The band is the first group to crown Country Airplay on its first try since Zac Brown Band arrived with the two-week No. 1 “Chicken Fried,” which took over atop the chart on Dec. 6, 2008. Prior to A Thousand Horses, Maddie & Tae was the last act (either duo, group or solo) to send its introductory single to No. 1 when its “Girl in a Country Song” led the list on Dec. 20, 2014. A Thousand Horses, which is opening for Darius Rucker on his Southern Style Tour (with Brett Eldredge and Brothers…

American regional Mexican singer-songwriter Larry Hernandez takes the No. 2 spot on Top Latin Albums as Vete Acostumbrando arrives with 3,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen Music. The sales entrance is his best since 2010, when Larrymania debuted at No. 2 (5,000). Hernandez produced the new album, which includes a range of styles within the genre, from banda to corridos. He is filming the fourth season of his reality show Larrymania, set to premiere June 7 on NBC Universo. Mana lands its 30th Hot Latin Songs hit with “La Prision,” which enters at No. 41. It’s the second charted song from the group’s latest album, Cama Incendiada (released April 21), following “Mi Verdad” (featuring Shakira), which debuted at No. 1 on the Feb. 28 chart and ranks at No. 16…

The Rolling Stones the Boxscore chart with grosses reported from the first two venues on its Zip Code trek through North America. Atop the list is the tour’s opening performance in San Diego, with $8.4 million in boxoffice revenue from 40,944 attendees. The May 24 concert was held at Major League Baseball stadium Petco Park, the first of 12 stadiums on the summer tour schedule. The following weekend, the iconic rockers drew a sellout crowd to Ohio State University’s football venue with attendance of 59,038. Earning the No. 2 ranking, the May 30 performance in Columbus grossed $7.9 million. The ongoing tour will feature a variety of support acts. First on the list was Gary Clark Jr., who opened the San Diego show, followed by Kid Rock, who kicked off…

AlunaGeorge released “You Know You Like It” as a single in 2011, but it’s picking up steam thanks to DJ Snake’s remix. Are you surprised by the song’s second wind? ALUNA FRANCIS We did feel that song had a wider appeal. I wanted as many people to hear it as possible. As an underground indie band who didn’t have that kind of traction, when DJ Snakewanted to throw it a little bit further out there, we were ecstatic. The song was also featured on your 2013 debut, Body Music, but you’re already working on your second album. Is it going to have a different sound? We’re keeping it as an extension. We’re interested in developing this idea we’ve always had, of taking a strange sound or difficult drum beat and…

Top nominee Carrie Underwood will sing for the first time since becoming a mom in February, and EDM superstar Zedd will take the stage with Lady Antebellum: Those are just two of the highlights planned for the CMT Awards, beamed live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Dune 10, according to John Hamlin, the network's senior vp music events and talent. Hamlin, a former 60 Minutes producer who has been with CMT since 2007, tells Billboard what else is in store on country music's "loudest night. " How do you position the CMT Awards to stand out from other country awards shows? The personality of the CMT Awards that has developed over the last several years is one of irreverence. The demo of our show is about 10 years younger than…

ON JUNE 20, 2002, SUPERFLY co-founders Jonathan Mayers and Richard Goodstone, along with partners Rick Farman and Kerry Black, were decidedly smalltime players on the national live-music scene. Four days and 80 bands later, the sold-out inaugural Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Manchester, Tenn. (produced in partnership with Ashley Capps’ AC Entertainment and backed by Red Light Management founder Coran Capshaw) brought them into the big leagues, shepherding the event that, along with Coachella, jump-started the festival scene that has become a cornerstone of the North American music business. With an estimated annual gross in the $25 million range and attendance at more than 80,000 (the vast majority of whom stays on-site for the entire four-day run), Bonnaroo is arguably the most immersive major U.S. music festival and a…

Sandbox Entertainment president/CEO Jason Owen and Bravado director of A & R Nashville Sam Easley welcomed the birth of their first child, Leo Easley Owen. Tanya Greig Perara joined Universal Pictures as senior vp business affairs, film music. Sony/ATV Music Publishing upped Janice Brock and David Ventura to the newly created positions of joint heads of A & R, U.K. The Goldbergs star Hayley Orrantia signed with William Morris Endeavor Nashville for music representation. 300 CEO Lyor Cohen and art adviser Xin Li confirmed their engagement. Julie Harris, an Academy Award-winning costume designer who outfitted The Beatles, died at a London hospital. She was 94. Joe Brauner joined The Agency Group as vice president and head of its U.S. performing arts center division. Ariana Grande signed a worldwide publishing agreement…

KACEY MUSGRAVES IS PERCHED ON A coffee shop stool in Nashville, scrolling through images on her phone for .. photographic evidence of her brief— and unsuccessful—pageant career. "This was me," says the 26-year-old, arriving at a shot of her sole run at the Little Miss Tater Tot title in her native Golden, Texas. She's pointing to a mischievous-,looking 3-year-old, dappled in freckles and clutching a doll to her side. "Clearly I didn't win," says Musgraves. She seems almost pleased that she's not cut out for flashing Vaseline-smeared beauty queen smiles. After all, that sentiment is a theme on the country star's sophomore album, Pageant Material (out June 23 on Mercury Nashville). "I'm not exactly Miss Congenial," Musgraves sings wryly on the title track. As playful as the song is, it's…

The U.S. Women's National Team, which is ranked No. 2 in the world, heads to Canada to compete in the FIFA Women's World Cup on Dune 6. How does the squad get ready for a big match? With great music, of course. Four stars share their go-to pregame soundtrack. Player LAUREN HOLIDAY Position Midfielder Age 27 "I'm the designated DD in the locker room, so I find anything the girls can sing along to that sets the energy for the game. Usually we start with Coldplay's 'A Sky Full of Stars' or Ed Sheeran's 'Thinking Out Loud' and then progress to a higher tempo with Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space' and Bruno Mars' 'Uptown Funk! '" Player MORGAN BRIAN Position Midfielder Age 22 "[Midfielder] Megan Klingenberg and I have a ritual…

After signing with Neon Gold Records (the label that first backed Charli XCX and Tove Lo) and releasing her debut bilingual EP Saint Claude in April, France's Heloise Letissier is exporting her bold, Katharine Hepburn-inspired style to the United States. Better known by her stage name, Christine &The Queens, Letissier has a voice that is "exactly the sort I like: gravelly and [with] texture, "Mark Ronson has said, while Madonna loves how "she doesn't seem to care" when it comes to presentation. And with a sartorial approach rooted in chic menswear silhouettes, the 26-year-old has already landed on the cover of French Elle and in the front row of Paris Fashion Week. In fact, she met another of her fans, Lorde, at the Chloeshow last March. "It doesn't quite feel…

AUGUSTA NATIOAN AL GOLF CLUB, AUGUSTA, GA. If the 64-year-old Lewis (handicap: 8.3) could enjoy one last round, he says he'd take another crack at a course he's played before: the home of the Masters Golf Tournament. "I played Augusta on the Monday after the [2015] Masters," he says of his most recent game. "I birdied hole No. 12, Golden Bell. All the holes there are named after trees." WHERE TO STAY The charming Partridge Inn, located in the historic district of Summerville (2110 Walton Way). WHERE TO EAT The farm-totable Frog Hollow Tavern (1282 Broad St.) is Augusta's best finedining establishment and one of the hardest reservations to snag during Masters week. ROYAL COUNTY DOWN GOLF CLUB, NORTHERN IRELAND "It's one of [pro golfer] Rory Mcllroy's home courses," says…

DESCRIBE YOUR MOST MEMORABLE GOLF SHOT OR EXPERIENCE. RICHARD “GUS” GUSLER A few years ago I played with Brett Favre and [golf instructor] Peter Kostis in the Hootie & The Blowfish Monday After the Masters Charity Golf Tournament. The tournament was taped and replayed on ESPN. We were on a par-3 hole, which was a TV hole, so they put a microphone on Brett. None of us hit the green so we were chipping from off the front of the greens. In my backswing Brett cut the loudest fart I have ever heard. I started laughing but finished the swing. It landed on the green and started rolling to the hole. Brett is shouting out, “It may have helped!” It went into the hole for birdie 2. ESPN kept it…

Some of the tracks on In Colour go back to 2011. How many unfinished songs do you have sitting around? Lots. My laptop is nearly full. I find it really hard to finish anything; I just enjoy making the first 30 seconds. But eventually it all gets used, if it’s good enough. You grew up listening to Four Tet, and he co-produced “Seesaw.” What was that like? He’s very honest in a way that is sometimes hard to deal with, but good if you’re trying to fix a record. There was some music we made and I was into it, but he said it sounded like trip-hop from the ’90s. I made it like that because that’s what he used to make, and that was the first music I loved.…

“Talk Dirty” was more than a comeback hit for the pop veteran: It was a much-needed gamechanger. After years of producing slick, inoff ensive dance singles like “Whatcha Say” and “The Other Side,” he tossed out the brash pop-rap collab with 2 Chainz and took on an R-rated rhythmic guise — and it worked. Since then, Derulo, 25, has spun his new dimension into a hot streak, turning follow-ups “Marry Me,” “Wiggle” and “Trumpets” into top 40 hits. Fittingly, his fourth album, Everything Is 4, arrives with more anticipation — and A-list guest stars — than before. A singles master admirably attempting to establish himself as an albums artist, Derulo does a little bit of everything on Everything, sometimes stretching himself too thin but fi nding a few more no-brainer…

WHEN ARENA EXECUTIVES NEED TO SELL tickets to a concert, the traditional mainstay methods of newspaper ads and radio spots are a memory, replaced by publicity-grabbing events, social media stunts and branding campaigns for the venues themselves. Ahead of the Event and Arena Marketing Conference (EAMC) taking place in Los Angeles June 10-13, representatives for arenas with capacities of 12,000 to 20,000-plus (according to Billboard Boxscore data) weighed in on what works today: renaming city streets with song titles, staging an all-star birthday party and even rolling out waffle trucks for fans on a Saturday morning. CHANGE OF ADDRESS BOK CENTER, TULSA, OKLA. (18,041 CAPACITY) Ahead of seven homecoming concerts in January by Oklahoma native Garth Brooks, the BOK Center teamed up with city officials to rechristen nearby avenues in…

Pat Boone: Duets, which arrives June 9, features a collection of performances from Boone’s archives, including such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Nat “King” Cole, Andy Williams, Roy Rogers and Connie Francis. The recordings originally were made during production of the TV series The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, a half-hour variety show that aired on ABC between October 1957 and June 1960. Duets adds to Boone’s lengthy discography and, like his 2014 gospel music collection Legacy, will be released on his own record company, The Gold Label. company, The Gold Label. “I’m extremely proud of this because I’m the only one who has access to this music, and it will never be heard unless people get this album,” says Boone, who more recently has duetted in live performances with daughter Debby…

FUN HOME Revivals are part of the lifeblood of the theater, but nothing is as exciting as a lightning-rod new work. Fun Home, about a young girl’s coming of age, has received 12 Tony Award nominations including one for best musical. PS Classics originally recorded the show off-Broadway. But after it moved to the Great White Way in early 2015, “there was some new material, and originally our impulse was just to record the new material and let it go at that,” says label co-founder Tommy Krasker. “But [on Broadway], it had a new energy to it, and we knew we had to capture that. Suddenly the whole recording plan expanded, to the point where we ended up recording over half the tracks anew.” ON THE TOWN Nominated in four…

red-hot start, thanks to the band’s new music video for “This Summer’s Gonna Hurt...” The recently released track’s clip, which premiered May 30 on YouTube, drew immediate attention for its opening scene, which shows frontman Adam Levine naked from behind. (The Voice star emerges from a shower, puts on a towel, then drops it to put on his clothes.) It’s no surprise to see the song tally a 156 percent gain in streams for the week ending May 31 (2.3 million U.S. streams in total), according to Nielsen Music. The peppy track, produced by Shellback (Ariana Grande, Kesha), rises 31-30 on the Billboard Hot 100 (where it is the band’s 16th top 40 hit) and climbs 26-19 on Radio Songs with 50 million in audience, up 30 percent. “This Summer’s…

Rapper ASAP Rocky (above) claims his second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as At.Long.Last.ASAP bows atop the tally. The set, which arrived May 26, moved 146,000 equivalent album units in the week ending May 31, according to Nielsen Music. Traditional album sales accounted for 117,000 units of At.Long.Last.ASAP’s first week, while the rest of its total comprised track equivalent albums and streaming equivalent albums. At.Long.Last.ASAP’s release arrived a week earlier than expected, as the set (issued on ASAP Worldwide/Polo Grounds/RCA Records) was slated to bow June 2. The album follows ASAP Rocky’s first studio effort, 2013’s Long. Live. ASAP, which debuted with 139,000 copies atop the tally dated Feb. 2, 2013. At.Long.Last.ASAP is the sixth rap album to lead the Billboard 200 in 2015, following the Furious 7 soundtrack,…

Lil Mama (below) returns to the charts for the first time since 2008 as her new single “Sausage” debuts at No. 16 on Billboard + Twitter Top Tracks. The throwback cut (which samples Slick Rick’s 1988 track “Mona Lisa”) arrived with immediate appeal: Its music video, which premiered on the website WorldStarHipHop on May 28, has tallied more than 2.7 million worldwide views on YouTube. Besides ending Lil Mama’s six-year chart absence, “Sausage” fuels interest in the rapper in general. Her Wikipedia page views spike to 19,000 for the week ending May 31, according to Next Big Sound, a whopping gain of more than 1,080 percent. Meanwhile, the foursome of Diplo, CL, Riff Raff and OG Maco combine forces on “Doctor Pepper,” which bubbles to a No. 11 bow. The…

Hot Shot Debut on Top Rock Albums as Out of the Wasteland starts at No. 3 with 15,000 sold, according to Nielsen Music. The pop-rock band’s seventh studio album is its first independent release, on Ironworks Records/Kobalt Label Services, and bows atop Independent Albums (see Billboard.com). The new set starts at No. 26 on the Billboard 200, marking Lifehouse’s highest rank since 2010’s Smoke & Mirrors, which was the band’s highest debut on the list (No. 6) and tied for its highest peak. (The group’s first album, No Name Face, rose to No. 6 in 2001.) The Los Angeles band’s most recent release, 2012’s Almeria, opened and peaked at No. 12 on Top Rock Albums and No. 55 on the Billboard 200 with 17,000 sold. Lifehouse broke through with “Hanging…

The Hillsong Church celebrates its best sales week as Hillsong United’s Empires debuts at No. 1 on Top Christian Albums with 47,000 copies sold in the week ending May 31, according to Nielsen Music. With the arrival, the Hillsong brand collects its 12th leader on Top Christian Albums. Its first charttopper came in 2007 with Hillsong United’s All of the Above. Empires’ sales start bests Hillsong’s previous high-water mark, earned when Hillsong United’s Zion sold 34,000 copies in its first chart week (March 16, 2013). Empires also is the largest sales frame for any album by a Christian group in more than a year. NeedToBreathe’s Rivers in the Wasteland notched a bigger week when it entered with 49,000 at No. 1 on May 3, 2014. Hillsong also rules the 50-position…

“RIHANNA FELT LIKE A MASSIVE STAR the first time I met her in Jay Z’s office,” recalls Def Jam CEO Steve Bartels. “You could feel her burning drive to succeed when you looked in her eyes.” Bartels signed the Barbadian beauty the same day, and his hunch proved right. Rihanna’s debut single, the dancehall-infused “Pon De Replay,” marked her Billboard chart debut, entering the Hot 100 at No. 97 on June 11, 2005. She was just 17. Seven weeks later, the track peaked at No. 2, setting off a remarkable run of success. She scored her first No. 1, “SOS,” in May 2006 and, with her most recent chart-topper, as a featured vocalist on Eminem’s “The Monster” in 2013, tied Michael Jackson for the third-most Hot 100 No. 1s of…

After rocketing 53-1 on the June 6 Billboard Hot 100 following the premiere of its star-packed video (which opened the Billboard Music Awards on May 17), Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” dips to No. 2. But the track holds on atop the Digital Songs chart (241,000 downloads sold, down 37 percent, according to Nielsen Music). It also ties an airplay record, zooming 13-9 in its second week on Mainstream Top 40, equaling the fastest flight to the chart’s top 10. On Radio Songs, “Blood” bounds 15-11 (78 million in audience, up 37 percent). After crowning Hot Country Songs for 11 weeks (Feb. 21-May 2), Hunt’s love song continues crossing over to adult and pop radio, debuting on both Adult Contemporary (No. 28) and Mainstream Top 40 (No. 37). Is this social…

ONSTAGE IN TIJUANA, MEXICO, ON May 30, on the last night of the Latin American leg of his Sex and Love Tour, Enrique Iglesias raised his hand for a choreographed moment. Reaching up to grab a drone flying above the crowd at Plaza de Toros de Playas, where it was used for overhead crowd shots — a growing practice at concerts — the 40-yearold Latin star sliced his right hand on a blade, resulting in a serious injury that required a skin graft and reconstructive surgery for a fractured middle finger. While the tour will resume in July, it remains to be seen whether his finger will recover full sensitivity. Iglesias' injury brings to light a significant safety issue that has largely gone unnoticed in the music world: What if…

"I really wasn't looking to expand anywhere, but when I first saw this space I got chills." So says New York music venue impresario Michael Swier, 60, of his new Los Angeles outpost the Teragram Ballroom, which officially opened downtown on May 31. The principal partner in Manhattan mainstays Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge, Swier has invested "close to $3 million" and nearly three years transforming a former silent movie theater built in 1913 and an adjacent diner intoa9,000-square-foot modern rock emporium with a 600-person capacity and nary a bad sight line. Swier, along with Joe Baxley (Broadway Bar, Centrofly), his architect/designer brother Brian Swier and Michael Winsch, has stamped the unvarnished space with what Brian calls "the Bowery rock'n'roll aesthetic —an eclectic brew of vernacular and modern, elegant and…

JUST LIKE THERE'S A WINE FOR EVERY TASTE, THE THIRD annual BottleRock Festival had a band for every music fan during its three packed days in California's Napa Valley, starting with Friday's headliner, Imagine Dragons. "Tonight is like the beginning of our U.S. tour," frontman Dan Reynolds told Billboard backstage before the band debuted its new effects-driven stage show — including a cover of Alphaville's "Forever Young" — in wine country. Saturday was capped by Robert Plant, who brought along just the right amount of Led Zeppelin nostalgia, while the festival's final day ended with the one-two punch of Snoop Dogg and No Doubt on the main stage. "Just so you know, this never gets old," Gwen Stef ani — who has been playing with the group for almost three…

Leona Lewis Shakes OffSyco The Library at The Redbury in Hollywood served as an intimate setting for Leona Lewis to preview several 1 tracks from her first I album for Def Jam, I Am, L and to drop a few more mclues about her2014 departure from her last label of seven years, Simon Cowell'sSyco Music. The 30-year-old "Bleeding Love" singer said she "felt stifled" there, particularly aftershe was asked to record an album of cover songs. I Am, which consists of original material, is about "me finding my own power again," she told the crowd. The lyrics to the title track reportedly allude to Lewis's exit from Syco. "lam somebody without you/l am free without you/l am stronger without you," she sings. Among those in attendance: songwriter-producer Toby Gad (co-writer…

"I'm officially obsessed, She might want to get a restraining order." —DAVEGROHL The Foo Fighters frontman on Taylor Swift during the band's performance at BBC Radio l's Big Weekend in Norwich, England. "I'm not gay but even if I was that's not an insult." —JUSTIN BIEBER The singer on Instagram, posting a video of himself kissing his bodyguard on the cheek. "I have a friend who's never had an orgasm in her life. That hurts my heart.” — NICKI MINAJ The rapper telling Cosmopolitan that women should demand more from their sex partners. "It is pretty horrible. But ultimately, I'm in an amazing relationship. So it doesn't matter." — FKA TWIGS The alt-R&B star on racist online remarks made about her by fans of her boyfriend, actor Robert Pattinson, in…

"It's hard to criticize someone who's hugely successful," says Daniel Ek. The Spotify CEO is sitting inside a diner-style booth, in one of the many thoughtfully placed nooks at the company's 100,000-square-foot Manhattan office, the day after a May 20 press event during which he announced the service's new music recommendation and video-streaming features. He's not referring to himself. Although, as the 32-yearold co-founder of the world's dominant music streaming service, he's profoundly successful — and as such, a prime target for musicians, major labels and maybe most pressingly, the richest company in the world, Apple. Ek's talking about Taylor Swift, who in fall 2014 yanked her music off Spotify, calling the company a "grand experiment" that doesn't fairly compensate creators of music. "I was a little surprised" by the…

Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y. Sherwood Country Club, Thousand Oaks, Calif. Riviera Country Club, Pacific Palisades, Calif. Gaylord Springs Golf Links, Nashville Vanderbilt Legends Club, Franklin, Tenn. One of the most exclusive clubs on the East Coast — if not the nation — "Shinny" draws flocks of celebrities to play on this old-money course. A beautiful private ferry — complete with TVs and a bar — goes from Battery Park straight to the Scottish-links style course. ErrolFlynn's 1938 film Robin Hood (Sherwood Forest, anyone?) inspired the course, which sits at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains. Riviera — or "The Riv" — knows the way to a music executive's heart: Management allows cellphones on the course. This public, 18-hole Opryland Resort course…

TWO YEARS AFTER BEYONCÉ’S self-titled coup, the term “surprise album” has become a misnomer. Drake, Kendrick Lamar and Earl Sweatshirt all dropped records with little to no warning this year, so it wasn’t a shock when ASAP Rocky’s At.Long.Last.ASAP, the solo follow-up to the rapper’s 2013 Billboard 200- topping debut, arrived a week before its scheduled June 2 release date. But musically, A.L.L.A. is a surprise. Rocky, 26, and his Harlem-based ASAP Mob crew have made an unlikely mix of vintage rap sounds from New York, Houston and the Midwest their signature, but this album is more expansive, with a palette that dips into blues, old Wu-Tang, G-funk, early-’70s R&B, psychedelic folk and more. It’s a confident, but confounding experiment for a formatless, niche-happy, streaming- playlist world. The album has…

Diplo’s reggae act finds its footing — in the world of pop LONG A QUIRKY, INCONSISTENT SIDE project of dance’s busiest all-over-the place producer, Diplo’s reggae-inspired Major Lazer outfit comes into sharper focus on its third album. Known for his muscular beats, the Mad Decent boss recently told Billboard he’s been working on his songwriting, and it shows. From lighters-up ballad “Powerful,” which features a big hook by Ellie Goulding and Rastafari singer Tarrus Riley, to soca/house mash “All My Love” with Ariana Grande and Trinidad’s Machel Montano, Peace Is the Mission soars on the strength of sticky melodies sung by a unique combo of pop divas and West Indian vocalists. “Lean On” gives Major Lazer’s reggae, trap and moombahton blend a pop gloss. Already a festival favorite, it looks…

The future of R&B is looking bright thanks to a new wave of underage stars with oversize talent NAME Kehlani AGE 20 FROM Oakland, Calif. WHO The female Frank Ocean, with more tattoos than you can count (including one of Lauryn Hill’s face) THE BUZZ In April, Kehlani — who first found fame as a 16-year-old finalist on America’s Got Talent — announced a deal with Atlantic and released You Should Be Here. She called it a mere mixtape, but it’s the first great R&B album of 2015, featuring the singer’s uncensored takes on love and lust. “It’s the way you love, the way you f—,” she sings on the floating “The Way” featuring Chance the Rapper, just one example of the lines she’s willing to cross. NAME Alessia Cara…

The Event and Arena Management Conference has named nine venues as finalists for the inaugural EAMC Awards. The winners will be announced June 11, on the second day of the four-day confab in Los Angeles. The finalists for marketing campaign of the year are TD Garden in Boston; Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.; CN Centre in Prince George, British Columbia; Lakeland Center in Lakeland, Fla.; and Spokane Arena in Spokane, Wash. The finalists for publicity campaign of the year are Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City; Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.; Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.; and the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, which is in the running for two separate campaigns. A winner for top group sales campaign of the year also will be chosen based on online…

How televised talent shows in the 1950s helped launch — and overexpose — Boone Long before Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson had won American Idol or Blake Shelton and Adam Levine had spun their chairs around on The Voice, Pat Boone used two TV talent competitions in the 1950s to launch his career. “I had been on The Ted Mack Amateur Hour, which was the American Idol of its day,” recalls Boone of the show that aired on NBC for most of its 10-year run in the ’40s and ’50s. “It was a huge show on Saturday night, and all kinds of performers would compete. The viewers would pick the winners for the next week’s show in cards and letters. If you won one week, you would come back for…

Singer-songwriter Andy Grammer rides high with his fidelity anthem “Honey, I’m Good.” The track is on the verge of reaching the Billboard Hot 100’s top 10 (rising 12-11 this issue). “It’s surreal,” he says of the song’s success. 1.2 With 1.2 million downloads sold through May 31, according to Nielsen Music, “Honey” will soon overtake his breakthrough hit, 2011’s “Keep Your Head Up” (1.3 million), as his top-selling song. “Honey” shifted another 116,000 in the most recent tracking week. 63.9 “Honey” rises 16-14 on Radio Songs with 63.9 million in audience (up 17 percent) and climbs 18-14 on Mainstream Top 40 with a 19 percent rise in detections at the format. “Keep Your Head Up” peaked at No. 21. 34 The track also jets onto Streaming Songs at No. 32…

Radio’s In Her Corner Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” marks a pair of airplay chart milestones, hitting the top 10 on Adult Top 40 (11-10) and debuting on Mainstream Top 40 at No. 38. Radio Disney leads all reporters on the latter list with 465 plays through May 31, according to Nielsen Music. “From the first time I heard ‘Fight Song,’ I felt it could connect broadly,” says Radio Disney GM/vp programming Phil Guerini. On April 25, Platten performed the song at the Radio Disney Music Awards, which he calls a “defining moment for her.” Citing the song’s inspirational lyrics, he adds, “She’s no longer a ‘small boat on the ocean.’ ”…

Your sophomore album, Radius, which debuts at No. 80 on the Billboard 200, is much more introspective than your socially conscious 2011 debut. What made you get personal? The last album had an element of love and romance in it, but I touched on it more in this album. Love is a very weird and incredible emotion, all in the same dose. It can be the most devastating experience, and it can be the greatest high of your life. In order to fully impact human beings with your words and thoughts and ideals, you have to give them something that they’ve already chewed on Why did you name the album Radius? It’s the radius of me. Radius is the distance from the center of a circle to its exterior, and…

“Where Are U Now,” the EDM banger by Skrillex (above, right) and Diplo (above, left), goes top 10 on Streaming Songs after a 22 percent gain in overall activity for the week ending May 31 sends the song 18-10 with 7.2 million U.S. streams (according to Nielsen Music). Notably, the Justin Bieber-featured track is one of two songs in the top 10 without an official music video, though its official audioclip was uploaded to YouTube. (The other track in the top 10 without an official clip is Silento’s “Watch Me.”) “Where Are U Now” also continues to make inroads on the airwaves as it climbs 49-38 on Radio Songs (32 million in audience, up 26 percent). Notably, it’s the seventh top 40 Radio Songs hit for Bieber, and first since…

The Weeknd (above) crashes onto Hot R&B Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs with “The Hills,” landing his highest debut yet on both tallies. The spooky-sounding single starts at Nos. 3 and 7, respectively, powered almost entirely by sales and streams. “The Hills,” along with its ominous music video, arrived May 27 and is presumably the lead track from The Weeknd’s forthcoming studio album, due later this year. The song earned 5.2 million domestic streams and sold 109,000 downloads in the week ending May 31, according to Nielsen Music. Elsewhere on Hot R&B Songs, rapper ASAP Rocky nets his first hit as a lead artist with the No. 8 bow of “LSD.” It’s the only track on new album At.Long.Last. ASAP — which debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200,…

Alesso (above) strikes at No. 1 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums with the chart-topping bow of his debut album, Forever. The set sold 9,000 copies in the week ending May 31, according to Nielsen Music. On Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, the Swedish DJ-producer already has charted four tracks from the album, and on the June 13 chart adds two more: “Scars,” featuring Ryan Tedder (No. 40), and “Sweet Escape,” featuring Sirena (No. 44). The set was led by the smash single “Heroes (We Could Be)” (featuring Tove Lo), which hit No. 2 in January (and No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100) after leading both Dance Club Songs and Dance/Mix Show Airplay. Also on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Calvin Harris nets his seventh top 10 hit with “Pray to God,” featuring Haim (rising…