Innholdsfortegnelse for February 1, 2020 i Billboard Magazine

MR. MORGAN PRESIDENT, OVO SOUND “I knew Daniel and Nineteen85 as an incredible singer-songwriter and producer duo. I met with them one day in 2015 and they unexpectedly played me a 10-song project called dvsn. My immediate response was, ‘Has 40 heard this? You need to play this for him ASAP.’ As assumed, 40 loved the project and advised the guys to put it out. Within no time, everyone was coming to us asking about dvsn and if they were signed to OVO Sound. We realized we’d be crazy if we didn’t. We then introduced the world to them with that project, Sept. 5, as their debut.” BRYAN-MICHAEL COX PRODUCER; FOUNDER, ILLUSTRATE NEW IDEAS “I have been vibing with dvsn since day one. When I heard their first…

LAS VEGAS IS A TOWN OF contradictions — a city that celebrates both long shots and sure things. Ronn Nicolli chose a perilous path between the two. The Youngstown, Ohio, native got his start in the Vegas nightlife scene in 2005 as a promotions host and in August of that year was hired as a doorman at the Wynn Las Vegas’ Tryst nightclub. By 2014, he had reached the top rungs of Wynn’s nightlife operations as senior executive director of nightlife marketing. Among his achievements: opening and marketing the red-hot XS nightclub, which grossed $88 million in its first year and topped trade publication Nightclub & Bar’s annual ranking of the 100 highest-grossing U.S. nightclubs for four years in a row, from 2012 to 2015. By the fall of…

Eminem’s 10th No. 1 In A Row Eminem notches his historic 10th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with his latest release, Music To Be Murdered By. The set debuts atop the tally with 279,000 equivalent album units earned in the United States during the week ending Jan. 23, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Eminem breaks out of a tie with Kanye West for the most No. 1 debuts in a row on the Billboard 200 as Music clocks his 10th consecutive chart-topping arrival. West most recently notched his ninth straight No. 1 debut with Jesus Is King in 2019. Both acts have missed No. 1 only once, when their debut chart entries peaked at No. 2. Eminem is now just the sixth artist with at least 10…

Myers, Shinedown, Rogers Rule Billboard’s three format-specific rock radio airplay charts all welcome new leaders, with Meg Myers (above) earning her first No. 1 on Alternative in record fashion. Her cover of Kate Bush’s 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill” rises 2-1 in its 42nd week on the list, claiming the title of longest trip to the top. It passes the 33-week journey of Fitz & The Tantrums’ “Out of My League” in 2013. Shinedown’s “Attention Attention” rises 2-1 on Mainstream Rock. It’s the group’s 15th leader, tying Three Days Grace for the most in the chart’s 39-year history. It’s also Shinedown’s fifth consecutive No. 1 (dating to 2017), a new best for the band, which linked four in a row in 2010-12. Plus, Maggie Rogers notches her second…

CREATIVE DIRECTOR For music photographer Neil Krug, growing up in Kansas helped grow his imagination. “This was pre-cellphone, mostly pre-internet,” he recalls. “I wanted to create the world I grew up watching in movies and on TV.” After an early photo essay went viral on Flickr (“the original Instagram,” he says), in 2010 he published Pulp Art Book, a fashionable hardcover featuring vintage-looking Polaroid photographs of his then-girlfriend, model Joni Harbeck. “The very first people to jump on that were bands in Los Angeles,” says Krug, who moved to the city within a year. Now 36, he’s one of the music industry’s most sought-after art directors, known for creating psychedelic, cinematic album covers for concept-forward artists like Tame Impala and Lana Del Rey while drawing on everything from expressionist…

“I HAD NO CLUE I WAS DEALING WITH someone with zero recording experience,” recalls Andrew “Pop” Wansel of working with Brianna Cash for the first time. Cash, the Philadelphia singer Wansel watched play open mics at music venue World Cafe Live, grew up performing in church choirs and her school band, and began writing her own songs as a teenager. By her early 20s, thanks to Wansel, one of Cash’s voice memos wound up as the chorus to a track from Tory Lanez’s 2016 debut album, I Told You. A few months later, in February 2017, Wansel, who has worked with Rihanna and Ariana Grande, flew Cash to Los Angeles for her first solo studio session. “We hit the ground running,” he recalls. “Every time we got back in…

* RESIDENCY CONTINUED BEYOND BOXSCORE MEASUREMENT PERIOD. METHODOLOGY RANKING IS BASED ON BILLBOARD BOXSCORE DATA COLLECTED FROM JAN. 1, 2015, THROUGH DEC. 31, 2019. GROSSES AND TICKET SALES FROM RESIDENCIES THAT BEGAN BEFORE THAT TIME PERIOD, SUCH AS CÉLINE DION’S CELINE, BRITNEY SPEARS’ BRITNEY: A PIECE OF ME, ELTON JOHN’S THE MILLION DOLLAR PIANO, DONNIE & MARIE LAS VEGAS AND ROD STEWART’S THE HITS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THESE TOTALS.…

Halsey’s Manic Sales Halsey’s Manic debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 239,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Jan. 23, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. It’s her biggest week in terms of units earned and the largest one for a woman since Taylor Swift’s Lover blew in at No. 1 with 867,000 units on the Sept. 7, 2019, chart. Manic’s 239,000-unit start is the biggest week for a No. 2 album since the second week of Beyoncé’s Lemonade (321,000 units), on the May 14, 2016, chart. Of Manic’s 239,000-unit launch, album sales comprise 180,000. That figure was largely driven by a concert ticket/album sales redemption offer, as well as many merchandise/album bundles. Manic follows Halsey’s Hopeless Fountain Kingdom (No. 1 in 2017) and Badlands…

AIRPLAY & SALES 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…

‘No Guidance’ Breaks Record “No Guidance” (featuring Drake) by Chris Brown (above) collects an unprecedented 24th week at No. 1 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay. The record-setter clings to the summit with a 3% gain to 28.7 million in audience in the week ending Jan. 26, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. “Guidance” seizes the chart’s record from Miguel’s “Adorn,” which clocked 23 weeks in command in 2012-13. “Guidance” traces its longevity to its success at both the mainstream oriented and adult-leaning R&B formats. The single topped Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop airplay for 10 weeks from August to October and ranks at No. 9 on the Feb. 1 chart — its 31st straight week in the top 10. Meanwhile, the duo reigns supreme on the Adult R&B airplay tally, picking up a third frame…

‘Just’ Another Top 10 For Franklin Kirk Franklin (above) notches his 12th Gospel Airplay top 10 as “Just for Me” climbs 11-10. The song follows “Love Theory,” which became his sixth No. 1 in April 2019 and led for 15 weeks. Franklin moves to within one of James Fortune & FIYA’s record 13 top 10s since the chart launched in 2005. Meanwhile, for King & Country rules Christian Airplay for a third week with “Burn the Ships” (12.3 million impressions, up 3%, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data). Of the duo’s six leaders on the list, its latest is its fourth to reign for at least three weeks. The act won its third and fourth Grammy Awards on Jan. 26, including for best contemporary Christian music album for Burn the…

Calibash Crashes Chart The annual Latin festival Calibash lands at No. 3 with a $3.5 million gross. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, the fest sold 29,936 tickets on Jan. 11 and 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Calibash launched as an L.A.-only, one-day event. In 2017, it expanded to a second day at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena. This is the second year the festival was held as a two-day event in both locations. The grosses for 2020’s Las Vegas dates (Jan. 25-26) will have an impact on a future chart. With Boxscore reports dating back to 2001, Calibash has grossed over $24 million and sold 259,000 tickets between both locations. Such stars as Bad Bunny (above) and Rosalía headlined Calibash. Spanish Broadcasting System promoted the…

IN 2017, DVSN FOUND ITSELF playing in front of thousands of enraptured German fans. The R&B duo consisting of singer Daniel Daley and producer Nineteen85 had joined Drake on his The Boy Meets World Tour; the act, which had recently signed to his OVO Sound label, figured the 15,000-capacity venues would be mostly tuning out its opening sets. Instead, large crowds at each of three stops in Germany belted back every word. “They’re singing, lighters up, fully tuned in to what Daniel is doing onstage,” recalls Nineteen85. “That’s when I realized, ‘Oh, this is way bigger than us.’” Drake and Nineteen85 go back: The producer born Paul Jefferies, who was mentored by OVO Sound co-founder Noah “40” Shebib, produced “Too Much” on Drake’s 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same.…

EVEN AFTER EARNING ITS FIRST Billboard 200 No. 1 album with Iridescence in September 2018, Brockhampton was eager to create a follow-up project that was “more accessible,” recalls producer Jabari Manwa. The hip-hop collective had played to growing audiences at that point, but a Hot 100 crossover hit still eluded the act. At the start of 2019, fellow producer Romil Hemnani says the group started more than 30 songs before suspending its efforts in search of inspiration — which came from Shia LaBeouf in April. Frontman Kevin Abstract invited the actor over to the group’s creative home in Los Angeles to discuss promotional ideas for his forthcoming solo full-length, ARIZONA BABY. “It was a really motivating conversation — he dropped a lot of gems,” says rapper Dom McLennon. “Right…

NOTHING SIGNIFIES THE ROCK STAR lifestyle quite like an enormous house with nothing in it. It has been months since Kevin Parker, who records as the psych-rock project Tame Impala, bought this Spanish-style villa with a home recording studio in the Hollywood Hills, where the iconic sign looms over his driveway. But he hasn’t had much time to furnish it. Headlining Coachella, slaving over a long-awaited new album and selling out arenas around the world — including two nights at New York’s Madison Square Garden in August — kind of got in the way. Late-afternoon sunlight beams through the bare windows onto the hardwood floors, where blue masking tape outlines where furniture will go, though a single, rogue bean bag chair seems to scoff at any such ambitions. “Sorry…

Trevor Daniel Triumphs Trevor Daniel (above) rises 3-1 on Emerging Artists, reigning for the first time thanks to his breakout single, “Falling.” The track returns to the Billboard Hot 100’s top 40 (41-37) with 17.3 million U.S. streams (up 8%), 7.2 million in airplay audience (up 34%) and 3,000 downloads sold (up 7%), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. Plus, Pinegrove debuts at No. 10 on Emerging Artists as its fourth LP, Marigold, arrives at No. 10 on Alternative Albums, No. 25 on Top Rock Albums and No. 176 on the Billboard 200 with 6,000 equivalent album units, marking the New Jersey band’s first entry on the lattermost list. —XANDER ZELLNER CHART BEAT KNIGHTS RIDE IN Hot Country Knights (the brainchild of Dierks Bentley that is fronted by his mullet-sporting…

BTS Ties Bieber BTS (above) matches Justin Bieber’s record for the most weeks at No. 1 on the Social 50 chart as the Korean pop group logs a 163rd week at the summit. The act’s latest week at No. 1 was concurrent with social traction earned by its latest Billboard Hot 100 hit, “Black Swan.” The song starts at No. 57, BTS’ eighth career entry on the ranking. BTS first topped the Social 50 on the chart dated Oct. 29, 2016. Since then, only Ariana Grande and Bieber have managed to pause that runaway train — for six and three weeks, respectively. Stunningly, BTS has been No. 1 on the weekly chart consistently since July 29, 2017. BTS’ command of the chart also powered it to three consecutive Billboard…

Nightfall Shines Nightfall by Little Big Town (above) opens at No. 1 on Top Country Albums with 31,000 equivalent album units (26,000 in album sales), according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The foursome of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook earns its fourth leader; all of its chart-toppers have debuted at the pinnacle. “We’ve been blown away by the incredible response to this record,” Fairchild tells Billboard. “The connection people are having with the songs is what we could have only hoped for.” Plus, Dustin Lynch’s Tullahoma starts at No. 4 on Top Country Albums with 16,000 units (7,000 sold), marking his fourth total and consecutive top five entry. Jason Aldean banks his 31st Country Airplay top 10 as “We Back” lifts 11-10 (22.1 million in audience,…

Shakira, Anuel Team Up In Top 10 Shakira and Anuel AA’s “Me Gusta” rises 20-6 on Hot Latin Songs in its second week on the tally, mainly on the strength of streaming activity. It registered 3.9 million U.S. clicks (up 128%) in the week ending Jan. 23, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. That jump also yields a No. 10 debut on Latin Streaming Songs. Shakira ups her Hot Latin Songs career count to 30 top 10s, a tie with Daddy Yankee for the third-most on the list. Meanwhile, another track by a pair of artists scores as Karol G and Nicki Minaj’s “Tusa” is back at No. 1 on Hot Latin Songs. The tune also surges 12-4 on Latin Airplay with 7.7 million in audience (up 7%) in the…

Halsey Hits No. 1 Halsey (above) scores her third No. 1 on Dance Club Songs as “Graveyard” ascends 2-1. The track, remixed by Axwell and Arty, among others, follows “Alone” (featuring Big Sean and Stefflon Don in July 2018) and “Bad at Love” (December 2017). “Graveyard” has graced the top 10 of multiple charts, including Dance/Mix Show Airplay and Mainstream Top 40 in December and Digital Song Sales in September. On Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, Krewella cruises in at No. 21 with “Greenlights.” The act earns its highest rank since September 2013, when “We Go Down” debuted and peaked at the same spot. “Greenlights” bows with 449,000 U.S. streams and 1,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. The latter sum also sparks the track’s No. 5 start on Dance/Electronic…

“Pasquale is a disruptor who remains authentic and true to his roots. Insomniac’s longevity and their ability to reimagine the festival experience is a testament to his vision and determination.”—MICHAEL RAPINO, PRESIDENT/CEO, LIVE NATION In 2011, Insomniac moved its marquee event, Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC), from Los Angeles to Las Vegas — a gutsy decision that required Rotella to pull together millions of dollars in independent financing. The risk paid off: In 2013, Live Nation purchased a 50% stake in Insomniac; later that year Rotella earned a place on Billboard’s inaugural Power 100 list (at No. 91) and was dubbed “the Willy Wonka of EDM.” With eight consecutive list appearances to date, Rotella looks back on finally earning the industry’s respect. The rave scene was more punk than punk…