Innholdsfortegnelse for September 23-29, 2017 i Billboard Magazine

C oncord Music executives visibly wince when asked if their company suffers from a perception problem. “I don’t think people quite grasp who we are totally,” says CEO Scott Pascucci. Adds COO Glen Barros: “People still look at us as a jazz company.” It’s hard to blame anyone for being confused. The Beverly Hills-based Concord, founded in 1972, possesses one of the richest jazz catalogs around, thanks to both its roots and a 2004 purchase of Fantasy Records. However, due to its significant growth during the last four years, few realize that Concord is now worth nearly $1 billion and also home to current rock and alternative hitmakers like St. Vincent, The Pretty Reckless, Seether and Prophets of Rage, whose debut full-length album is out Sept. 15. The secret to…

THE PULSE OF MUSIC RIGHT NOW Marilyn Manson is in physical pain. This isn’t the admission of vulnerability that one would expect from the self-proclaimed “Antichrist Superstar,” who once boasted about shoving sewing needles underneath his fingernails for personal amusement. But last night, the hard-rock subversive and close friend Johnny Depp got matching back tattoos of the original cover to Charles Baudelaire’s poetry collection The Flowers of Evil — a skeleton whose arm bones melt into the branches of a tree. Despite his legendary absinthe and narcotics consumption, Manson apparently remains governed by the same nervous system as the rest of us. “All the scars — musical, physical, mental, emotional — they’re what define you,” says Manson. At 48, he has weathered the deaths of both parents, a divorce from…

A LADY GAGA OUTFIT CAN MEAN A LOT of things: an artistic statement, a conversation starter, a fashion faux pas. But it’s also a shield, a way to deflect attention from the person wearing it. For Lady Gaga, who has made headlines by wearing a meat dress, cross-dressing as alter ego Jo Calderone and “incubating” in an egg for an alleged three days, it was a way to control the conversation. With her fifth album, 2016’s Joanne, that conversation changed. “There’s this assumption that she’s so in control of everything because of the way she presents,” says Chris Moukarbel, director of the documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two, which captures the making of Joanne and premieres Sept. 22 on Netflix. “For someone like her to let go of some of that,…

Early Days HENDERSON Kendrick and me have a similar vision. I’m from Watts, he’s from Compton — that’s the city next door. We both had both parents in our careers at all times. Those life experiences were instrumental for me. FREE I was the first one to focus all our energy toward the internet. I worked with technology for the school district; I went from producer to DJ to that. Enter Kendrick HENDERSON He probably won’t admit it, but Top didn’t get Kendrick early on. That’s why I think my relationship to Kendrick was so interesting: I got what he was doing. FREE The first meeting [with Top] was Kendrick saying, “I’m ill,” and Top saying, “All right, prove it.” Kendrick got into the booth and rapped for…

37 PORTUGAL. THE MAN Woodstock Portugal. The Man’s Woodstock returns to the top 40 for the first time since its debut week (July 8, No. 32) as its hit single “Feel It Still” continues to grow in popularity. The set climbs 9 percent in equivalent album units earned in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Nielsen Music, rising to 12,000 (up 1,000). Meanwhile, the track — which has topped both the Triple A and Alternative airplay tallies — hikes 20-18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 16-13 on Mainstream Top 40. —K.C. 6 IMAGI N E DRAGONS Evolve Thanks to a $6.99 sale tag in the iTunes Store, Evolve jets 12-6 with 31,000 units (up 20 percent) and 13,000 in album sales (up 71 percent). It also bolts 21-2…

K-pop holds the top two spots on the Social 50 chart for the first time in its nearly seven-year existence as BTS and EXO (below) reign at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Though it is BTS’ 39th week at No. 1 (and ninth in a row), EXO’s 10-2 rise marks the group’s highest chart peak yet, gathering a 145 percent gain in reactions across all social media in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Next Big Sound. During the tracking frame, the ninemember group rereleased its July album The War on Sept. 5 as The War: The Power of Music, with the music video for “Power” premiering the same day. Meanwhile, Zayn jumps 32-4 — the former One Direction member’s best chart peak in 2017 — following the release…

“You’re the Best Thing About Me,” the new single from U2 (above), debuts on multiple charts following its Sept. 6 release, including at No. 11 — the band’s highest rank yet — on Hot Rock Songs (which launched in 2009). Five days of airplay also boost the song to debuts on Triple A and Alternative, at Nos. 18 and 36, respectively. The group logs its record-extending 42nd entry on the latter list and 27th on the former, where it trails only Dave Matthews (30 entries between his solo and Dave Matthews Band songs). The track also launches at No. 6 on Rock Digital Song Sales with 8,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music. The Killers land their first airplay chart No. 1 in over a decade as “The Man” rises…

German DJ-producer Robin Schulz scores his first No. 1 on Dance Club Songs with “OK,” featuring singer-songwriter James Blunt (3-1). Remixed by Black Saint, Ofenbach and Stadiumx, among others, “OK” is Schulz’s third entry on the chart and Blunt’s first. Schulz, whose profile rose thanks to his trop-house remix of Mr. Probz’ “Waves,” a No. 5 Mainstream Top 40 hit in 2014, previously hit Dance Club Songs with “Prayer in C” (with Lillywood) in 2015 and “Sugar” (featuring Francesco Yates) in 2016. On Top Dance/Electronic Albums, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark debut at No. 7 with The Punishment of Luxury, OMD’s third top 10. The set bows with 4,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music, and, with nearly all units from traditional album sales, it launches at No. 1…

KICKING OFF NEW YORK FASHION WEEK, VFILES and its founder Julie Anne Quay presented Runway 9, the brand’s ninth seasonal fashion week runway show, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The presentation took place in a brightly lit space with in-the-round seating. The setup allowed for ample front-row views as models wearing looks from this season’s three chosen emerging designers — 21-yearold JunJie Yang, 23-year-old Christian Stone and 26-year-old Louis Pileggi — walked to a rap- and hip-hop-heavy set from DJ/artist/fashion designer Gianni Lee. Making the ultimate entrée was Migos’ Offset, who drove a yellow Lamborghini into the space (it was part of the show) and later leaned against the car smoking a joint. The event’s guest list also included Slick Rick, Tinashe, Ty Dolla $ign, Lion Babe, Joey Bada$$, Young…

Vampire Weekend, “A-Punk” (2008) Rostam Batmanglij met his bandmates while attending Columbia University in 2006, and a spring break trip to Los Angeles led him to famed venue Largo, where impresario Jon Brion (Kanye West, Fiona Apple) plays regularly. “Suddenly I was sitting next to him at this bar,” he says. “I wanted to ask him about the flute sound in the Fiona Apple cover of ‘Across the Universe.’ He told me it was the chamberlain. When we started working on ‘A-Punk,’ I put all my organs on the chamberlain flute. In some ways, they defined the song.” Discovery, “Swing Tree” (2009) One of Batmanglij’s first side projects was Discovery, a joint endeavor with Ra Ra Riot’s Wes Miles. Though they released only one eponymous album, “Swing Tree” stands…

One morning in June 2014, producer-writer Gregg Wattenberg heard from the WWE that wrestler Dean Ambrose needed a theme song for a match that night. Hours later, a metal anthem — “Retaliation” — blasted through an arena PA system. Wattenberg, who co-produced Train’s “Hey Soul Sister” and is working with Jason Mraz, previously licensed songs from his Wind-Up label’s catalog to the WWE; as of 2012, his Arcade Songs (a label venture with RED/Sony) writes much of the league’s music as well as the theme for E!’s WWE reality series, Total Divas, which returns this fall. “We’re a well-oiled machine,” says Wattenberg, who follows a formula for bone-crushing tracks. STEP 1: FIND THE FIT Wattenberg, who has crafted music for A.J. Styles, Bobby Rude and others, needs to understand…

Dua Lipa (above) leads the Emerging Artists chart as the pop singer-songwriter climbs 2-1 powered by her single “New Rules,” which reaches a new peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 62. “Rules” rises in all metrics, earning 11 million U.S. streams (a 17 percent increase), 6.5 million radio audience impressions (up 27 percent) and 9,000 downloads sold (up 17 percent) in the tracking week, according to Nielsen Music. Gabbie Hanna makes her Billboard chart debut at No. 22 on Emerging Artists on the strength of her first single, “Out Loud,” which concurrently opens on the Digital Song Sales chart at No. 30 with 16,000 downloads sold. Hanna developed an audience on Vine (before its discontinuation in October 2016) and later on YouTube, where she boasts 5 million followers.…

Who ruled the 2017 summer season in music? Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito,” featuring Justin Bieber, to be sure. The track — which racked up a record-tying 16 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — finished the season as the No. 1 Song of the Summer (as compiled on the Songs of the Summer tally). The tune was crowned champ at the end of the season, which spanned the charts dated June 7-Sept. 16. In non-”Despacito” news, Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. is the top album of the summer, having earned 792,000 equivalent album units during the season (spanning the tracking period of May 26-Aug. 31), according to Nielsen Music. The former No. 1 Billboard 200 set spent four nonconsecutive weeks atop the tally. In terms of the…

Logic (above) earns his first top 10 on Streaming Songs as a lead artist with “1-800-273-8255” (featuring Alessia Cara and Khalid), which shoots 12-5 with 30.6 million U.S. streams in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Nielsen Music. “1-800” is the first top 10 on the chart for both featured artists in any billed capacity, besting the No. 11 peaks of “Here” (Cara) and “Location” (Khalid). The track’s streams jump 53 percent due in part to footage of Logic’s MTV Video Music Awards performance of the track uploaded to his YouTube channel. The rise comes amid National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 10-16); the song’s title is the number to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Gucci Mane is another first-time entrant into the Streaming Songs top 10 as a lead…

Farruko (above), Bad Bunny and Rvssian’s “Krippy Kush” leaps 9-5 on Hot Latin Songs in its fifth week. The song hikes 45 percent in airplay (to 200,000 audience impressions in the week ending Sept. 10, according to Nielsen Music), 15 percent in streams (rising to 6 million in the frame ending Sept. 7) and 8 percent in digital song sales (up to 2,000 downloads sold). “Kush” is the fifth top five hit on Hot Latin Songs for Farruko, and the first for Bad Bunny and Rvssian. Elsewhere, Natti Natasha and Ozuna’s “Criminal” vaults 39-23 on Hot Latin Songs in its second week, earning the chart’s Greatest Gainer honor for streaming (rising 74 percent to 2.5 million streams). Ozuna also notches 11 concurrent titles on the tally for the second consecutive…

Lady Gaga headlined U.S. stadiums for the first time this summer with four Major League Baseball venues included on the opening North American leg of her Joanne World Tour. The trek’s first stadium show, reported during a previous week, occurred Aug. 13 at San Francisco’s AT&T Park (the Giants’ home), but the three remaining stadium dates land among the top concert engagements on this issue’s Boxscore chart. Citi Field, the home venue of the New York Mets, produced the top box-office results with the pop star’s two-night stint Aug. 28-29. Sales from the concerts totaled $9.5 million from almost 70,000 tickets sold. It is her highest stadium gross ever stateside, but ranks third among all of her stadium dates worldwide. During 2012’s Born This Way Tour, she grossed over $18.3…

1. BE UNIQUE “Having a great voice is No. 1 — I am solely about great singers and great voices — but also voices with character to them, that have originality to them and that can transcend. That’s very rare.” 2. COMPETE WITH YOURSELF “I don’t care who you are: If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody will. I like to tell my contestants, ‘Be the best you you can be. You can’t be anybody else, and don’t worry about anybody else. Be you.’ 3. BE EAGER TO LEARN “That’s the beauty of The Voice to me: to have a coach that has been in the industry and to work with them one-on-one, to learn from their knowledge. I always remind myself, ‘I didn’t get that [on…

1. LVRN Launched in 2012 by Sean F. McNichol, 28; Justice Baiden, 25; Carlon Ramong, 25; Junia Abaidoo, 25; and Tunde Balogun, 29, the Atlantabased creative agency (whose name is short for Love Renaissance) partnered with Interscope earlier this year to launch LVRN Records, adding another branch to a company that has found success in management, production and creative direction for signees including Raury, D.R.A.M. and 6LACK. 2. Orlando Wharton Atlantic’s Orlando Wharton, 37, is the A&R rep to three of hip-hop’s most promising new stars: A-Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, PnB Rock and Kodak Black, all of whom have been named to XXL’s Freshman class. Wharton also reportedly shepherded controversial rapper XXXTentacion’s deal with indie distributor EMPIRE, leading to his surprise debut album, 17, which bowed at No. 2 on…

T he last year was bittersweet in many ways,” says Bill Zysblat. “I lost my friend of 45 years and partner of almost as long, Joe Rascoff. As we still say, ‘The R in RZO.’ ” Rascoff died April 6 at age 71. RZO, originally the Rascoff/Zysblat Organization, is certainly the industry’s best-known business management firm, thanks to a superstar roster that includes The Rolling Stones, U2, Sting, the estate of John Lennon, Luis Miguel, Shania Twain and David Byrne. “For over 30 years, RZO has only represented artists,” says Zysblat. The father of three grown children, who lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife, Dr. Laura Sirulnik, a psychiatrist, Zysblat, 62, offers his views on RZO, touring costs and the challenges of business management —…

LCD Soundsystem achieves its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 as American Dream arrives atop the list. The set earned 85,000 equivalent album units in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 81,000 were traditional album sales — LCD’s best sales week yet. (The arrival benefits from a concert ticket/album bundle sale redemption promotion in association with the act’s upcoming U.S. tour.) LCD Soundsystem, led by James Murphy, last released a studio set in 2010, when This Is Happening debuted and peaked at No. 10 on the list (its then-highest-ranking album). American Dream is the act’s third charting title — LCD’s second studio set, Sound of Silver, reached No. 46 in 2007. LCD Soundsystem is the third consecutive act to notch its first…

Steely Dan’s 1985 greatesthits compilation A Decade of Steely Dan debuts on the Billboard 200 as fans remember the duo’s late Walter Becker, who died Sept. 3. The hits package arrives at No. 122 with 6,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Nielsen Music (up 449 percent). In total for the week, Steely Dan’s album sales grew 634 percent to 11,000 copies sold. Its best-selling title was Decade, with a little over 2,000 sold, followed by its highestcharting album on the Billboard 200, Aja, with 2,000 sold. Aja peaked at No. 3 in 1977 and is one of five top 10-charting sets for the band. The album garnered Steely Dan its first Grammy Award nomination for album of the year. In terms of digital…

Carly Pearce (above) earns her first Country Airplay top 10 as her debut hit, “Every Little Thing,” climbs 12-9 (24 million in audience, up 10 percent, according to Nielsen Music). Notably, Pearce is the fourth solo female (in a lead role) to hit the top 10 during the first 38 chart weeks of 2017. She joins Lauren Alaina — the only solo woman with a No. 1 this year, “Road Less Traveled” (April 22) — Carrie Underwood (“Dirty Laundry,” No. 2, Jan. 21) and Kelsea Ballerini (“Yeah Boy,” No. 3, May 13) as women account for just 8 percent of all top 10s in 2017. That’s a slight drop from the first 38 weeks of 2016, when seven such songs (or 13 percent of all top 10s) reached the region.…

Gucci Mane (above) scores his first top 10 as a lead artist on Hot Rap Songs in seven years as “I Get the Bag” (featuring Migos) jumps 13-9. He last visited the tier as a lead when “Lemonade” climbed to No. 8 in 2010 (though he has collected three top 10s as a featured artist since then). “Bag” soars with a 30 percent weekly gain in U.S. streams to 21.4 million in the week ending Sept. 7, according to Nielsen Music, sparking a 15-8 leap on R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs. Radio audience nearly doubles (up 93 percent) to 47 million for the week ending Sept. 10 and triggers the song’s No. 39 debut on R&B/Hip- Hop Airplay. Meanwhile, viral sensation Danielle Bregoli, best known for inspiring the “cash me ousside” meme…

Inspirational singersongwriter John Mark McMillan (above) notches his first Top Christian Albums No. 1 as Mercury & Lightning flies in atop the survey, earning 4,000 equivalent album units in its opening week (ending Sept. 7), according to Nielsen Music. The 14- song set is the seventh Top Christian Albums appearance and fifth top 10 for the North Carolinaborn artist. His prior four top 10s: The Medicine, which debuted and peaked at No. 8 in 2010; Economy (No. 6, 2011); Borderland (No. 3, 2014); and the EP You Are the Avalanche, with wife Sarah McMillan (No. 3, 2015). On Top Gospel Albums, two titles arrive in the top 10, led by praise and worship leader Todd Galbreth’s debut set, Decrease, which starts at No. 4 (1,000 units). Lead single “Lord You…