Billboard Magazine Jan 28 - Feb. 3, 2017

ED SHEERAN EARNS HIS first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 as a performer as “Shape of You” vaults in atop the chart dated Jan. 28. The pop singer-songwriter also becomes the first artist to debut in the top 10 with two songs simultaneously — the second track, “Castle on the Hill,” enters at No. 6. “Shape” — just the 27th single to launch at the Hot 100 summit — also starts at No. 1 on Digital Song Sales with 240,000 first-week downloads sold in the week ending Jan. 12, according to Nielsen Music. It enters at No. 4 on Streaming Songs with 20 million U.S. streams and ranks at No. 18 on Radio Songs with 57 million in airplay audience following its first full week of tracking. “Castle” opens at…

THE WORDS “ADELE” AND “underdog” might not seem to go together in any known universe. Her album 25 has earned 10.4 million equivalent album units in the United States, according to Nielsen Music, of which 9.2 million were in traditional album sales. The set finished both 2016 and 2015 as the year’s best-selling album — the first time one album has topped two years since Adele’s previous album, 21, did it in 2012 and 2011. When it comes to 21st-century sales benchmarks, she is her own only serious competitor. Add to that 21 garnered six Grammys, including album, song and record of the year. And yet 25 is considered something of a long shot for album of the year at the 2017 Grammys, taking place Feb. 12 in Los Angeles.…

In the five years since Alex Da Kid launched KidInAKorner in partnership with Interscope Records, the British-born, Grammy-nominated producer (real name: Alexander Grant) has landed nine songs in the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and five top 10s — among them “Love the Way You Lie” by Eminem (featuring Rihanna) and Imagine Dragons’ “Radioactive,” reaching Nos. 1 and 3, respectively. Universal Music Group has re-upped its pact with the label, whose prior contract with Interscope Records concluded in 2016. The UMG deal expands the 35-yearold’s domain to include all UMG labels (Interscope, Def Jam Records, Capitol Music Group, Republic Records and Island among them) with which KidInAKorner can potentially collaborate. KidInAKorner acts include X Ambassadors and Imagine Dragons (both of whom are also signed to Interscope) as well…

KEVIN WEAVER HAS A FIRSTclass problem. The veteran film and TV music executive is competing against himself for a Grammy at the Feb. 12 ceremony, scoring nominations for best compilation soundtrack in the visual media category for his work as a producer on both Suicide Squad (Collector’s Edition) and Vinyl: The Essentials Season 1. Suicide Squad, which earned recognition in five Grammy categories and spawned such hits as Twenty One Pilots’ “Heathens” and “Purple Lamborghini” by Skrillex and Rick Ross, is just the latest success for Weaver, who supervises the creation and placement of all Atlantic-affiliated music for film, TV and video games, and oversees all soundtrack projects for the label. He also operates a music publishing co- venture with Atlantic Records and Warner/Chappell Music. The New York native moved…

Holy Ship! PORT CANAVERAL, GREAT STIRRUP CAY, BAHAMAS, JAN. 6-1 0 BILLBOARD SET SAIL ON THE EIGHTH ANNUAL seafaring music festival Holy Ship!, presented by HARD Events, Cloud 9 Adventures and The Bowery Presents. The raucous four-night bash featured DJ Snake, Duke Dumont, A-Trak and more.…

WHAT DO A DOCUMENtary spotlighting the failures of the criminal justice system, a biopic on one of hip-hop’s forgotten trailblazers and a feature named for the Japanese word for “bullshit” have in common? All three projects are part of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival (running Jan. 19-29), and all, when the credits roll, will feature some of the music world’s biggest names. Music plays a huge part in the annual Park City, Utah, festival, now in its 39th year, both as fuel for its star- studded parties and inspiration for its trendsetting independent cinema. In recent years especially, some of the festival’s most talkedabout films have been by, about or featured pop artists. Take 20 Feet From Stardom, the 2013 documentary about unsung backup vocalists that won an Academy Award…