Innholdsfortegnelse for December 30, 2017 - January 5, 2018 i Billboard Magazine

I’m doing fine now. On “Feelings Mutual,” from his No. 1 album Luv Is Rage 2, Lil Uzi Vert begins the second verse, chest puffed out, with this obvious lie. He repeats it before the track goes dead quiet for a second. That ostentatious emphasis is recognizable to anyone who has clung to “fake it ’til you make it” as their mantra during a tough time. “I’m doing fine now” is what you say when you’re anything but. Summarizing the ills of 2017 — politically, socially, culturally — is enough to crack anyone up. It’s why Uzi’s song “XO TOUR Llif3” and its refrain of “Push me to the edge/All my friends are dead” made perverse sense as a pop single this summer. But “I’m doing fine now” became my…

OFFSET 23 APPEARANCES Outside of Migos, Offset had eight hits on the Hot 100, most frequently with contributions to Without Warning, his project with 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. QUAVO 24 APPEARANCES Of Quavo’s nine Hot 100 entries apart from his Migos brethren, four made the top 10, with DJ Khaled’s “I’m the One” debuting at No. 1. TAKEOFF 15 APPEARANCES Though Takeoff’s Hot 100 presence was limited to Migos’ songs, he still had solo offerings, appearing on Calvin Harris' album with John Legend and Snoop Dogg.…

CRAWL AND REPEAT Asahd made his red carpet debut at the Grammys with his father, whose Major Key was up for best rap album. RAP GENIUS Not only did Asahd grace the cover of his father’s Grateful LP (and two of its singles), he also executive-produced the record. FESTIVAL FIRST Met by a chanting audience, Asahd (in Khaled’s arms) made his festival debut at Billboard’s Hot 100 Festival in August. BIRTHDAY BONANZA A Lion King-themed birthday bash in October was fitting for the hip-hop prince, who received a $100,000 watch.…

It’s all a blur. This year meant the world to me, because I got to release part one and part two of my album All Your Fault. So many of my favorite memories of 2017 revolve around these songs, from watching the “I Got You” video grow starting in the first week of January to performing “Meant to Be” in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in my hometown of New York. “Meant to Be” is a cool pivoting moment for me, because now I get to [be] more of a raw, real Bebe. It’s going back to my roots; it’s exciting. I grew up in Staten Island with two immigrant parents, and I expected so much from my career. You think a hit song or fame will bring you something,…

Her sixth album was titled Younger Now, yet Miley Cyrus re-emerged with a noticeably grown-up, tinsel-wigfree look in 2017. Known for doing her own makeup, Cyrus found a strikingly laid-back way to let her inner “happy hippie” shine through. The singer added down-toearth vintage touches to her subtly patterned wrap dress when she visited New York’s WHTZ (Z100) on May 16. Cyrus went ethereal in a ruffled tulle Alessandra Rich coatdress at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on May 21. With white RE/DONE cutoff shorts and a bohemian blouse, the “Malibu” singer looked ultra-beachy on The Voice on May 23. For a Tom Petty tribute on The Tonight Show on Oct. 5, Cyrus opted for an elegant blush strapless gown with minimal accessories. Live from New York, Cyrus…

[This year] was life-changing. I gained all the popularity I needed from the first album, [2016’s Nine Track Mind], but the music wasn’t representing me 100 percent. I have a weird obsession with wanting people to know things about me. This new music mirrors my life more than the previous records — these new songs are a more transparent look into my lifestyle. I had never had my heart broken until a year ago. I knew what it was like to lose my best friend before having a girl fuck me over. At 25, I felt feelings I was supposed to feel at 14. It was such a dramatic change in my life, I thought, “Why not have a dramatic sonic change [too]?” The most amazing thing is the amount…

CARDI B SHOULD BE on top of the world. If her Instagram account, TV appearances and recent magazine profiles are to be believed, she should literally be on top of a pile of money on top of a table on top of a neon bearskin rug. It has been just over a month since her surprise hit, “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” gave up its three-week reign atop the Billboard Hot 100, and in that time she has turned 25; played the Barclays Center arena (twice) alongside rap’s biggest stars; taken home five BET awards, including best new hip-hop artist and Hustler of the Year; killed a verse alongside Nicki Minaj on Migos’ “MotorSport” (which cracked the top 10 on the Hot 100); and gotten engaged to Migos’ Offset, who gave…

“BLOW YOUR MIND (MWAH),” “BE THE ONE,” “NEW RULES” Dance Club Songs (one week each) In 2017, British singer-songwriter Dua Lipa made the leap from European sensation to global pop star. “Be the One” was a hit throughout her home continent in 2016, but it wasn’t until this year that Lipa, 22, caught on with American audiences. “Be the One,” “Blow Your Mind (Mwah)” and “New Rules” all topped Billboard’s Dance Club Songs airplay chart, with the lattermost track ultimately crossing over to the top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100 — where it is still climbing. “She’s got the balance between something that’s commercial, but which also maintains credibility, edge and personality,” says Ben Dawson, Lipa’s manager. KIRDIS POSTELLE, senior vp marketing, Warner Bros. Records I remember hearing “Blow…

WONDERFUL WONDERFUL Billboard 200, Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums (one week each) “THE MAN” Triple A (one week) The stakes have never been higher for The Killers: After a five-year hiatus, the Las Vegas quartet, which sold millions of albums during the 2000s, needed to re-establish itself as a vital force in modern rock. In June, the band did exactly that, strutting back with “The Man,” a plucky disco single partially inspired by Kool & The Gang, who are credited as songwriters. During the course of 13 weeks, “The Man” climbed to No. 1 on the Triple A (adult alternative songs) chart, giving The Killers their first airplay chart-topper in over a decade. New album Wonderful Wonderful followed suit, debuting atop the Billboard 200 — a feat The Killers had…

NOV. 30 | LOS ANGELES Billboard’s Women in Music event, held in L.A. for the first time this year at the Ray Dolby Ballroom, honored 2017’s most powerful female artists and executives in the industry who have used their voices to inspire, motivate and lead through their achievements and individual platforms. The event was livestreamed on Twitter, providing fans everywhere an inside look at one of Billboard’s biggest events. Selena Gomez was named Woman of the Year alongside an exceptional list of honorees that included Mary J. Blige, Kelly Clarkson, Camila Cabello, Kehlani and Grace VanderWaal. The 2017 Executive of the Year was Atlantic Records chairman/COO Julie Greenwald. Thank you to all of our 2017 sponsors: American Airlines, American Express, FIJI Water, Iron Mountain Entertainment Services and Nielsen Music. 1.…

REWINDING THE CHARTS “I’M GOING TO MAKE A CHRISTMAS album for my dad.” In 2014, Jimmy Iovine told Billboard that the idea to make the benefit holiday compilation album A Very Special Christmas came to him on the day of the funeral for his father, Vincent “Jimmy” Iovine, in January 1985. A Brooklyn longshoreman, the elder Iovine “loved Christmas,” his son recalled, adding, “His passing was bigger than I could have imagined.” When Bruce Springsteen called to offer his condolences, Iovine, then 31, who had engineered Born to Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town and produced Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers’ Damn the Torpedoes, among other classic albums, told the rocker, “The only thing I know how to do in life, Bruce, is make music.” Shortly thereafter, Iovine…

THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING CHRISTMAS GIFT,” Mariah Carey told Billboard after her 1994 holiday classic, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” hit the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time. The carol climbs 11-9 on the Dec. 30 Hot 100, with streaming heavily driving its surge. It gains by 4 percent to 25.2 million U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 14, according to Nielsen Music, and ranks at No. 7 on the Streaming Songs chart. (Upon its original release, “Christmas” peaked at No. 12 on the Radio Songs tally during the 1994-95 holiday season, but because it was not a commercially available single then, it was ineligible to appear on the Hot 100 at the time. The song has re-entered the Hot 100…

2017 is going to be a year that I really remember. I did a lot of things for the first time. As an artist, it was my reset button for my musical career. Everything in the past happened for a reason, and I learned a lot from it, but this year was the year to re-establish my artistry and create a new foundation for it. It all started with [my co-starring role in] Power Rangers. I learned so much from filming the movie that it reinspired me on an artistic level, and it’s really what made me go into Spanish music. I figured, “What the hell? I’m trying something completely new in the acting world, my first feature film.” So it gave me the balls to try something new in…

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA “LIVIN’ THING” (VOLKSWAGEN) Over 40 years after its initial release, Jeff Lynne’s ebullient pop-rock tune became one of the fall’s most-heard tracks after Volkswagen tapped it for a series of commercials. The synch helped the song debut at No. 23 on the Rock Digital Song Sales chart dated Sept. 23. “You’re really starting to see the power of synchs,” says Sony/ ATV president/global chief marketing officer Brian Monaco. “[It puts] the song in people’s laps, and they run to streaming services to play it.” IMAGINE DRAGONS Imagine Dragons’ anthemic “Believer” soundtracked Nintendo’s Super Bowl spot in February, while follow-up “Thunder” topped the Hot Rock Songs chart on the strength of its use in campaigns for Microsoft and Jeep. “Their lyrics are generally positive and uplifting, and those…

1 Nicki Minaj may hold the record for most entries on the Billboard Hot 100 by a female artist, but she has yet to top the chart. When rumored rival Cardi B hit No. 1 with “Bodak Yellow (Money Moves),” Minaj congratulated the rising star on Twitter, and the pair later teamed up on Migos’ “Motorsport.” 2 Though “Bodak Yellow” booted Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” from its No. 1 spot on the Hot 100, Swift gifted Cardi B with flowers as a congrats. In return, the rapper thanked Swift for the arrangement on Instagram: “I freaking love your music.” 3 In 2016, Swift gave Kesha $250,000 during the height of her legal battle with Dr. Luke. The two still keep in touch, and in October, Kesha…

This year [I grew] lyrically, I grew my fan base; I came up with the name “Team Dolla.” I just came back from Nairobi, Kenya, where I had 5,000 of my own fans singing every single fucking song from [October album] Beach House 3 and all my hits. I performed for two hours and was only supposed to do one; they just let me go. It was love on another level. I finally got to do Lollapalooza — that was dope as fuck. It rained, but I appreciated the opportunity and the energy. I also did Governors Ball with Chance [the Rapper]. He brought me out and I did “Blessings” with him but with no Auto-Tune, just me singing and doing gospel runs — people didn’t even know I could…

Promoter John Meglen can’t reveal exactly how much The Rolling Stones spent on security for their 15-show No Filter European tour in 2017, but it’s “more money than any of us have ever spent before,” he says. It’s no surprise that amid tragic events at Ariana Grande’s show in Manchester, England, in May and the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas in October, security costs for promoters are rising fast, with record spending on security staffing and police, as well as new anti-terror tools like facial-recognition software and vapor-wake dogs trained to detect explosives on the move. “It’s something we all have to take very seriously on every single show,” says Meglen, noting that despite the increased spending, he still finds himself “praying to God that nothing happens.” The…

HOPELESS FOUNTAIN KINGDOMBillboard 200, Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums, Digital Albums (one week each) “BAD AT LOVE” Dance Club Songs (one week) Halsey may have become a household name last year thanks to “Closer,” her ubiquitous No. 1 single with The Chainsmokers, but by the time that song broke, she was already selling out New York’s Madison Square Garden on the back of her visceral 2015 debut, Badlands, a Billboard 200 No. 2. So in setting up her sophomore effort, hopeless fountain kingdom, the 23-year-old multihyphenate focused on strengthening her ferocious connection to fans — mostly through an immersive album backstory and interactive promotion, including fake Twitter accounts and scavenger hunts — and on widening her artistic net. Working with her Norwegian ex, Badlands producer Lido, along with Benny Blanco,…

20 Portugal. The Man’s “Feel It Still” became the first track to top the Alternative airplay chart for 20 weeks, surpassing Muse’s “Madness” (19 weeks, 2012-13). 34 Total weeks for Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” atop Hot Country Songs, the most in the chart’s history. The song sped past Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” (24 weeks, 2012-13). 3 One Direction became the first group to spin off three soloists each with No. 1s on the Pop Songs airplay chart when Liam Payne’s “Strip That Down” (featuring Quavo) reigned in October, dethroning Niall Horan’s “Slow Hands.” The pair followed former 1D bandmate Zayn Malik, who led in 2016 with “Pillowtalk.” 74 Nicki Minaj earned her 74th Billboard Hot 100 entry (and her 75th and 76th) on the April 1 Hot…

KATY PERRY WITNESS Perry chained disco balls to objects in Chicago, London and Los Angeles that played “Chained to the Rhythm” through headphones. ARCADE FIRE EVERYTHING NOW The band had a good laugh with fake album reviews parodying music sites, merch trolling Kendall and Kylie Jenner, and pricey fidget spinners. TAYLOR SWIFT REPUTATION Swift’s album cover was plastered on UPS delivery trucks as part of a branding partnership that included a video of the artist packaging the LPs herself.…

“I am the greatest rapper alive/So damn great, motherfucker, I’ve died/ What you’re hearing now is a paranormal vibe.”—Kendrick Lamar, “The Heart Pt. 4” “Absolutely. Because he has something to say. His metaphors are out of this world. He’s like a Shakespeare. He’s timeless.”—Taraji P. Henson “I haven’t stopped listening to [DAMN.] since he sent it to me... His wordplay in his lyrics is unbelievable.”—LeBron James, at an NBA post-game press conference “Yes.”—DRAM “He’s a game-changer... He sent me the rap and said, ‘Can you get this down?’ I was like, ‘Are you fucking crazy? Do you know how you rap?’”—Don Cheadle, on starring in the “DNA.” video “If we’re talking about right now, it’s Kendrick, easy. Not even close.”—Vince Staples, in an interview with KPWR (Power 106) Los Angeles…

Morris joined her 2018 tourmate for Flicker’s sole collaboration, “Seeing Blind.” Though the Memories... Do Not Open track “Last Day Alive” is not yet a single, FGL’s Brian Kelley said, “[It] turned out just like we wanted it to.” Rexha recruited FGL to sprinkle some twang onto “Meant to Be,” which topped Hot Country Songs. Backstreet Boys helped the country duo earn its 11th Country Airplay No. 1 with “God, Your Mama, and Me.” “Let Me Go” made its live debut at the American Music Awards — the first time the Swedish DJ ever met FGL. Parton’s 1980 No. 1 “Old Flames” came full circle on Rainbow, where Kesha duetted with her on the tune that Kesha’s mother originally co-wrote. Kelly’s feature on “Take Back Home Girl” helped Lane break…

EVERYBODY Billboard 200, Top Rap Albums, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (one week each) “1-800-273-8255” R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales (three weeks) “I used to think that having a No. 1 album was the most important thing,” says rapper Logic, whose The Incredible True Story hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200 in 2015. “Then I realized I was trying to attain [that] for a happiness that was not deep-rooted. When you stop giving a shit what people think, it sets you free.” It was that freedom that actually secured him his No. 1, Everybody. On the album, Logic, 27, confronts bigotry, his biracial background and mental health, and it was his powerfully uplifting take on the lattermost topic — “1-800- 273-8255,” named for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and featuring Alessia Cara…

“BODY LIKE A BACK ROAD” Hot Country Songs and Country Streaming Songs (34 weeks each), Country Digital Song Sales (31 weeks); year-end Top Country Artist and Hot Country Song Sam Hunt knew he needed something special. It was early 2017, nearly three years since his debut, Montevallo, and while the Top Country Albums No. 1 LP had sold over 1 million copies and spawned four Country Airplay No. 1s, Hunt was planning for a summer headlining tour without having released anything new. So the Georgia-raised 32-year-old pulled out a lighthearted jam he had penned with songwriters Zach Crowell, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne. “Body Like a Back Road” dropped in February, became a crossover smash and, by the tour’s end, much more than just a setlist addition: It broke the…

• “Despacito” — then credited to Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee — debuted on the Feb. 4 Hot Latin Songs chart, and quickly reached No. 1. The track had already led for 11 weeks before Justin Bieber’s remix arrived. • On the Billboard Hot 100, the song had been performing modestly, hovering in the 40s and 50s for two months. But Bieber’s redux sent the track straight to the top 10: It vaulted from No. 48 to No. 9 on the May 6 list and shot to No. 1 three weeks later. • “Despacito” ultimately ruled the Hot 100 for 16 weeks, tying the record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the chart’s 59-year history. It matched Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day,” which crowned…