Innholdsfortegnelse for April 20, 2019 i Billboard Magazine

BILLY RAY CYRUS CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL. After the country-chart veteran joined for a remix of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” released April 5, the song logs a second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 (dated April 20), surging by 207% to a record 143 million U.S. streams in the week ending April 11, according to Nielsen Music. The sum (combining the original and the remix) blasts past the record previously held by Drake’s “In My Feelings”: 116.2 million (July 28, 2018). “Road” also roars to 124,000 sold (up 454%), marking the biggest weekly total since Drake’s “God’s Plan” debuted with 127,000 (Feb. 3, 2018). “Road” additionally jumps by 142% to 28.8 million radio audience impressions. Since the week’s streaming and sales were driven by the…

Likely, yes. Over the weekend, BTS and Blackpink each hit multiple career milestones. On Friday, April 12, BTS became the first Asian act to surpass 5 billion streams worldwide on Spotify. The following day, it not only became the first K-pop act to perform on Saturday Night Live, but it also broke YouTube’s record for the most-viewed music video: “Boy With Luv” (featuring Halsey) racked up 74.6 million views in its first day on the platform. The record was previously held by Blackpink, who that same day became the first K-pop girl group to play Coachella. Of the 4 million total tweets about Coachella weekend one (up 1 million from last year’s tally), the foursome raked in the most mentions — more than Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Ariana…

MEGAN THEE STALLION Honoring Pimp C as well as her late rapper mother, the Houston maverick seizes her moment following “Big Ole Freak” No. 9 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart • THE CLIMB Born Megan Pete, the Houston rapper’s influences include The Notorious B.I.G., H-town icon Pimp C and her own mother, Holly Thomas, who rapped as Holly-Wood (Thomas died in March). In 2016, Megan Thee Stallion, 24, went viral after a cypher of her freestyling over Drake’s “4pm in Calabasas” hit social media. “I know [my success] looks quick to everybody else,” says the artist, who will graduate from Texas Southern University in the fall, “but I’ve been secretly rapping since I was 7 years old.” Her ferocious bars led 300 Entertainment co-founder/CEO Kevin Liles and senior vp…

OZUNA WANTED TO TAKE HIS YACHT out today. But the sunny Puerto Rican skies clouded over, and the 26-year-old urbano star was needed for sound check at San Juan’s Coliseo de Puerto Rico. Tonight, he’ll perform at the country’s biggest arena as part of a show hosted by local comedian/radio personality Molusco. And while he won’t get to hit the water today, Ozuna couldn’t be more hyped: He’s a ball of energy from the moment he arrives. Jumping out of his truck, he introduces himself to me — and within seconds launches into how excited he is to finish his third studio album. “This is the first time I get to record at home,” he tells me of Nibiru, which will arrive in the third quarter. “I’ve gotten used…

IT TOOK FIVE LAW FIRMS more than two years to negotiate a merger between the world’s largest concert promoters and just one afternoon inside a boardroom at the Montage Beverly Hills in California to close the deal. “We had to tell the lawyers to stop talking,” says Jay Marciano, chairman/CEO at AEG Presents, which bought a 50% stake in Frontier Touring earlier in April. “There’s a time where you’re down to a half-dozen points, and you’ve got to get the principals in a room and say yes or no on whatever’s left.” The joint venture, announced April 1, opens up a new lane for AEG to expand into both Australia and Asia’s Pacific Rim region, while creating new opportunities for Australian artists to grow their audiences in North America.…

Spirit Soars Khalid notches his first No. 1 on the Billboard 200 as his third release, Free Spirit, opens atop the tally. The set starts with 202,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending April 11, according to Nielsen Music — the fourth-largest week of 2019 for an album and the biggest for a solo male artist. The only bigger weeks logged so far in 2019 are the starting frames of Ariana Grande’s Thank U, Next (360,000), Billie Eilish’s When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (313,000) and Backstreet Boys’ DNA (234,000). Of Free Spirit’s opening-week sum, 111,000 were streaming-equivalent album units (translating to 146.9 million on-demand audio streams for the album’s tracks), 85,000 were album sales (boosted by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with…

AIRPLAY DATA COMPILED BY RADIO SONGS: The week’s most popular songs, ranked by radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music. Stations are electronically monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. DIGITAL SONG SALES: The week’s top-downloaded songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen Music. POP/RHYTHMIC/ADULT: The week’s most popular current songs at mainstream top 40, rhythmic, adult contemporary and adult top 40 formats, respectively, ranked by radio airplay detections, as measured by Nielsen Music. Songs are defined as current if they are relatively recently-released titles, or songs receiving widespread airplay and/or sales activity for the first time. Stations are electronically monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. See Charts Legend on billboard.com/biz for complete rules and explanations. All charts © 2019,…

Hussle ‘Racks’ Up First Top 10 The late Nipsey Hussle (above) scores his first top 10 on Hot Rap Songs as “Racks in the Middle” (featuring Roddy Rich and Hit-Boy) leaps 15-9. Streaming provides the catalyst, as the track pushes 14-7 on Rap Streaming Songs with a 44 percent surge to 23.7 million U.S. clicks in the week ending April 11, according to Nielsen Music. The single has likely earned extra attention as the final single released during Hussle’s lifetime, six weeks before he was fatally shot in Los Angeles on March 31. The gains help the track close in on the top 10 of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (up 17-11) and secure the rapper’s first top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 (44-26). Elsewhere, as Khalid crowns the…

Jonas Brothers Jump To No. 1 Jonas Brothers (above) boast their first leader on Dance/Mix Show Airplay with “Sucker” (6-1). The song, which debuted as the trio’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (March 16), is fueled by remixes from Sebastián Pérez and The Cube Guys, among others. Also on Dance/Mix Show Airplay, three tracks hit the top 10. Ava Max earns her first such hit with “Sweet but Psycho” (20-6), as do D-Sol (aka Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon) and featured singer Katt Rockell with “Feel Alive” (12-8). Martin Garrix scores his eighth with “No Sleep,” featuring Bonn, who notches his second (15-10). Sabrina Carpenter collects her third Dance Club Songs No. 1 with “Sue Me.” Remixed by Dave Audé, 6AM and KC Lights, among others,…

LATIN MAY STILL BE SMALL, BUT it is Apple Music’s fastest-growing genre by number of streams. For 2018, the genre accounted for 69% more total streams on the service than in 2017 in the United States, outpacing the overall growth in streams of Apple Music (up 57%), Latin music on-demand (up 37%) and the U.S. music industry as a whole (up 43%), according to Nielsen Music. The trend is continuing this year. In the first quarter, Latin music grew by a greater number of streams over the same period of 2018 — 44% — than any other genre. This success came on the heels of Apple Music’s appointment of Jennifer D’Cunha to the newly created post of head of U.S. Latin business in October 2017. The intent was to…

INSIDE THIS RECORDING STUDIO in Burbank, Calif., an extra-wide TV screen sits above the mixing board. The left half is playing reruns of Malcolm in the Middle; the right half is divided into four equal quadrants, each showing a live security feed of one of the studio’s entrances. YG—who has been recording here ever since he was shot three times in the summer of 2015 while recording at a complex in nearby Studio City — has been holed up for the past several weeks, putting the finishing touches on 4 Real, his fourth full-length album for Def Jam, which comes out May 3. On this afternoon in late March, no one has yet leaked the news that a record from the veteran Compton rapper, 29, is on its way.…

For a singer-songwriter with over a dozen radio hits and more than 18 million albums sold in the United States (according to Nielsen Music), Rob Thomas is surprisingly OK with the fact that his brand of driving alt-rock is not currently in vogue. “Everything we’ve ever done, Matchbox Twenty or my solo stuff, always has existed a little bit to the left of whatever was happening,” says the 47-year-old. “When Matchbox had [2003 hit] ‘Unwell,’ everything else on the charts was like Nelly and Ludacris. This is just what I do, and it has never been hip, cool or cutting edge.” Aptly, Thomas opens his fourth solo full-length, Chip Tooth Smile (out April 26 on Atlantic Records) with “One Less Day (Dying Young),” a single about appreciating life as…

FOR YEARS, REGIONAL MEXICAN MUSIC was the backbone of the U.S. Latin industry. But with the advent of streaming, the genre has lost ground on the Billboard charts: While 12 regional Mexican albums hit No. 1 on Top Latin Albums in 2016, none have since the chart started to incorporate streaming data in 2017. Three veterans of the genre — Sergio Lizárraga, CEO of Lizos Music (which represents Banda MS); marketing and public relations expert Sara Eva Pérez; and radio promoter Jessica Vazquez, who will all appear at the “Renovarse o Morir (Renew or Die)” regional Mexican panel on April 23, reflect on why, and how, the genre needs to evolve. How can regional Mexican regain ground? LIZÁRRAGA We have few truly high-quality acts. We need better production. I…

Brooks & Dunn ‘Reboot’ At No. 1 Brooks & Dunn (above) soar in at No. 1 on Top Country Albums with Reboot, which bows with 31,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Nielsen Music. The all-star collaboration finds Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn covering 12 of their hits with artists including Luke Combs, Kacey Musgraves and Thomas Rhett. “The success of this record is a tribute to the power of collaboration, which allowed this record to sing,” says Dunn. Adds Brooks: “I don’t remember ever having more fun in the studio. Everybody says that, but I really think the proof is in the grooves.” Reboot is Brooks & Dunn’s seventh No. 1 on Top Country Albums and first since their 2009 best-of #1s … And Then Some. On the…

Santos Scores Fifth No. 1 Romeo Santos (above) claims his fifth consecutive No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart as Utopía, his fourth studio set, opens at the summit. The collaboration-filled release — which includes Santos reuniting with Aventura for their first new song together in a decade — launches with 24,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending April 11, according to Nielsen Music. With 24,000 units, the album scores the biggest debut week for a Latin LP released in 2019, and the largest since Bad Bunny’s X100PRE bowed with 30,000 on the Jan. 5 chart (reflecting the tracking week ending Dec. 27, 2018; the album arrived Dec. 24). Out of Utopía’s opening sum, 9,000 were album sales, while the bulk of the set’s first-week sum…

LEGEND Bullets indicate titles with greatest weekly gains. Album Charts Recording Industry Assn. of America (RIAA) certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 500,000 albums (Gold). RIAA certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 1 million units (Platinum). Numeral noted with Platinum symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. RIAA certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 10 million units (Diamond). Numeral noted with Diamond symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. Latin albums certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 30,000 units (Oro). Latin albums certification for physical shipments & digital downloads of 60,000 units (Platino). Numeral noted with Platino symbol indicates album’s multiplatinum level. Digital Songs Charts RIAA certification for 500,000 paid downloads and ondemand streams where 100 streams equal 1 download (Gold). RIAA certification for 1…

For most contemporary artists, the road to Coachella’s main stage typically begins as an opening act, runs through small clubs and then theaters, and ends with a commanding view of pink-hued mountains and tens of thousands of fans. Colombian trap and pop star J Balvin, who headlined Coachella with a visually mind-blowing set on April 14 — a historic first for a Spanish language artist — traveled the same route as fellow headliners Childish Gambino and Tame Impala. He just did it a lot faster. And he’s not the only one. Balvin and pop-reggaetón breakouts like Bad Bunny and Ozuna have gone from selling out 1,000-capacity clubs to 20,000-seat arenas in under three years, a breakneck pace for any artist — let alone one who sings and raps in…

BLUEFACE A 22-year-old from Mid-City with a Benjamin Franklin face tattoo and a label deal with Cash Money West, he broke through in 2019 with “Thotiana,” which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, thanks in part to a remix featuring YG. KALAN.FRFR A former college football star who grew up in Compton and Carson, he has made a name for himself by marrying the experimental vocal approaches that have defined Atlanta rap this decade to the funk and bass native to Los Angeles. The 24-year-old’s independent mixtape from last summer, TwoFr, suggests he may make inroads at radio. RUCCI The Inglewood native, 24, has raw neighborhood-star quality that leads to raucous and overpacked live shows; his independently released 2018 album, El Perro, mixes threats and paranoia with…

Maddie Tae FAVORITE SONG TO PERFORM “‘Die From a Broken Heart.’ Hearing our fans sing it puts me back in the place of writing that song and how emotional that was.” “‘New Dogs Old Tricks.’ It’s uptempo, and it’s like ‘Girl in a Country Song,’ saying no to stereotypes and not letting a guy catcall.” POST-SHOW WIND-DOWN “I put on my grandma slippers — I have a purple pair, a Christmas pair, ones with little pink piggies on them. And Tae and I always have a cocktail together.” “It’s comical how fast I can get out of my clothes. I’m in slippers in under five minutes. Then I pour myself a glass of wine.” BIGGEST GUILTY PLEASURE “Cardi B. I love the ‘no filter’ thing so much. She…

‘Boy’ Boosts Halsey’s Return A high-profile guest spot on the lead single from No. 1 Social 50 act BTS’ new album lands Halsey (below) a re-entry at No. 9, her first time in the top 10 since Aug. 25, 2018. Her return is in large part due to an April 11 tweet in which she addressed BTS fans and referenced the collaboration “Boy With Luv”: “ARMY thank you for embracing this collab + remember your boys love you + always want to make you happy.” The tweet helped drive 1.2 million mentions of Halsey on Twitter in the week ending April 11, a boost of 4,565%, according to Next Big Sound, and she gained 110,000 followers. Meanwhile, country veteran Billy Ray Cyrus doesn’t just have a hand in the…

Three Days Grace Extends Record Three Days Grace (above) ups its record for the most No. 1s in the Mainstream Rock airplay chart’s 38-year history as “Right Left Wrong” rises 2-1. With 15 leaders now to its credit, the band pushes further ahead of runners-up Shinedown and Van Halen (13 each). “Wrong” is 3DG’s third consecutive No. 1, marking the group’s fourth set of at least three chart-toppers in a row. Speaking of Shinedown, “Monsters,” the third single from its sixth album, Attention Attention, rises 11-10 to become the Brent Smith-led act’s 25th top 10 on Mainstream Rock. Shinedown ties Foo Fighters for the third-most top 10s in the chart’s archives, after Tom Petty (solo and with The Heartbreakers, 28) and Van Halen (26). The Lumineers land their best…

Franklin’s ‘Essential’ Rules At Last In its 167th chart week, The Essential Kirk Franklin by Kirk Franklin (above) reaches No. 1 on Top Gospel Albums, rising 6-1 with 1,000 equivalent album units (up 53%), according to Nielsen Music. He adds his 12th No. 1 and first since Losing My Religion, which began a 15-week reign in December 2015. Concurrently, Franklin leads Hot Gospel Songs for an 11th week with “Love Theory” (his seventh No. 1 on the list). Why did Essential take over seven years to lead Top Gospel Albums after making its Feb. 11, 2012, debut? It’s partially due to the chart’s February 2017 change from measuring traditional sales to consumption based on sales and streaming data. The set spent its first 75 weeks on the ranking in…