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Sunday, May 29, 2016

Cassadee Pope Reflects on 'Think of You' Success, Talks New EP 'Summer' & More

Cassadee Pope Reflects on 'Think of You' Success, Talks New EP 'Summer' & More

  

Cassadee Pope 

Cassadee Pope has enjoyed hit records and a chart-topping album, but admits that there’s nothing like getting the news of your first number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, as she did recently with “Think of You,” her duet with Chris Young.

 Pope recalls being at Austin's iHeartCountry Festival when she was when she was notified of her accomplishment. “I was there to sing with Chris. I remember he wouldn’t let me celebrate until it was official," she says. "The whole week before, everyone was congratulating me, and he said ‘Nope. I’m superstitious. Anything can happen. Everybody needs to calm down and wait.' Once it was official, we took a shot, celebrated, and it was awesome.”
 
Is Pope -- who has charted in the past with singles such as “Wasting All These Tears” and “I Wish I Could Break Your Heart” a chart watcher?

“I think I am a little bit,” she confesses. “I wouldn’t say I’m as religious about it as Chris is. He’s kind of a freak when it comes to looking at the points and seeing where things will go. I watch it day by day. I do watch it that closely, but I think it’s a little more exciting to wait and see how it all pans out.”

Fresh off of the success of the Young duet, Pope is releasing a new four-song EP entitled Summer on June 3. The title cut is also the first single. What does the season mean to her?

“I think it’s just having fun with the people you love, and not sweating the small stuff. I remember that on summers growing up, I was either in Florida with friends and hanging out with my main crush, or feeling the rush of being able to do whatever you wanted to do," she says. "It’s just the best feeling in the world. I think it’s just the feeling of freedom and being able to enjoy yourself with no timeline.”

When filming the music video for “Summer,” Pope says she got to remain in her native Sunshine State, though she did get to travel a bit.

“I went to Clearwater Beach, Florida, which was absolutely beautiful. I never got to venture that far on the west coast of the state. It was an all-day shoot, well into the night. We tried to make it look like it was a look at a relationship over a two-month period of time, which is really hard to do in one day. It was very fast-paced, going from location to location. It’s a bold video, a different side of me that people have never seen before. I pushed the boundaries a little bit,” she says candidly.

What will fans hear in the new material? Pope feels that she took her music to another level. “I think there’s a certain level of confidence that they will hear in these songs. On the last album, I was fresh off of The Voice, and it was kind of a whirlwind. I didn’t have a second to take a breath and think about the message of what I wanted to say in my songs. This time out, I had a lot of time to do that, and to try to figure what I wanted to say to people to empower them, and let them know they’re not alone. I think that every song on this EP tells my story in different ways,” the singer says.
 
The highlight of Summer is the tender “Kisses at Airports.” The song is the only cut of the four on the EP that she didn’t write. However, once she heard the song, it was a no-brainer.

“I cried when I first heard it. It was a very moving experience," she recalls. "I felt really close to it, because I spend most of my life in airports, and say a lot of goodbyes there. I felt this very deep connection with it. I also feel very strongly about tipping my hat to the men and women who serve our country, so when that second verse comes in, it stopped me in our tracks. I knew I had to have it.”

Pope says she’s ready to get the new music out, and thinks her fans are ready, as well. “I feel like they have been ready, and I’ve been performing ‘Summer’ and ‘Alien’ at every show for about a year now. So, I’ve given my hardcore fans a little glimpse of what this EP is going to sound like. For everybody else, I think it will be a fresh re-introduction back into the country world. I took some time to figure it all out, and to get all my ducks in a row, to figure out what I wanted to say to my fans, and ‘Think of You’ really allowed me to use this momentum to release this body of work that is so dear to me.”

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Miles Davis' 90th Birthday Celebrated With New Website & 'Beautiful' Album

Miles Davis' 90th Birthday Celebrated With New Website & 'Beautiful' Album  

 

Miles Davis photographed in 1959.
 
On the occasion of what would have been jazz icon Miles Davis’ 90th birthday Thursday (May 26), fans are being invited to explore “The Universe of Miles Davis.”

Legacy Recordings -- in partnership with Polygraph.cool -- has collated data from more than 2,000 Wikipedia pages mentioning the artist. The result is an immersive, interactive website that visualizes Davis’ widespread cultural impact and influence -- not just in music, but also in film, fashion, politics, fine art, popular culture and social media. Users can interact with the platform by scrolling down, hovering over images and utilizing the search bar within the infographic.

 Further commemorating Davis’ milestone birthday and legacy is a new album featuring reimagined interpretations of his music. Available Friday, Everything’s Beautiful was produced by Grammy Award-winning musician Robert Glasper. The set’s diverse guest lineup includes Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Ledisi, KING, Bilal, Australia’s Hiatus Kaiyote, rapper/singer Phonte, British soul singer Laura Mvula and former Davis band member, jazz guitarist John Scofield. Glasper also co-produced Miles Ahead – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack for the film directed by and starring Don Cheadle.


Tuesday, May 24, 2016

'I'm a Warrior Against Drugs': Smokey Robinson Saluted by MusiCares MAP Fund

'I'm a Warrior Against Drugs': Smokey Robinson Saluted by MusiCares MAP Fund

  

Honoree Smokey Robinson accepts the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award 
onstage at the 12th Annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert 
Honoring Smokey Robinson at The Novo by Microsoft on May 19, 2016 
in Los Angeles.

Babyface, Backstreet Boys, Andra Day, Tamar Braxton, Kem, Cee Lo Green & El DeBarge also sing praises of the legend. 
 
After being presented with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award at the 12th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert Thursday evening, Smokey Robinson talked about being “so blessed to live a life I absolutely love.”

The singer-songwriter also remembered the “darkest part of his life” as he referenced his deep-rooted commitment to the MAP Fund, which provides addiction recovery treatment to members of the music community regardless of their financial situation.

“I’m not talking from outside of this,” Robinson declared. “I was an addict for two and a half years.” He then recalled meeting singer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds several years ago during a chance encounter at a dry cleaner. “I was so high that day,” said Robinson, “that I don’t remember what I said to Kenny. I never got a chance to apologize to him, so I’m doing that tonight. Those two and a half years were the darkest part of my life. Now I’m a warrior against drugs.”

It wasn’t the first time the audience inside the Novo by Microsoft in downtown Los Angeles had cheered that evening. Prior to being presented with his award by actress Angela Bassett, Robinson had been serenaded with his own songs by a diverse slate of performers. The Backstreet Boys kicked off the concert with a cappella versions of “Cruisin’” and “You Really Got a Hold on Me.” Additional performers included Babyface, Kem, Cee Lo Green, El DeBarge, Tamar Braxton and Andra Day.

 Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds performs onstage at the 12th Annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert Honoring Smokey Robinson at The Novo by Microsoft on May 19, 2016 in Los Angeles.

Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds performs onstage at the 12th Annual MusiCares
MAP Fund Benefit Concert Honoring Smokey Robinson at The Novo by
Microsoft on May 19, 2016 in Los Angeles.

Kenny 'Babyface' Edmonds performs onstage at the 12th Annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert Honoring Smokey Robinson at The Novo by Microsoft on May 19, 2016 in Los Angeles.

Keeping things moving as the host was comedian Cedric the Entertainer. Noting that Robinson started his career in high school, the comedian told the crowd that the singing legend “today would be the equivalent of Young Thug.”

Calling Robinson “the soul of Motown,” the label’s founder Berry Gordy reflected on Robinson’s determination and perseverance at the start of his storied career. “I saw a writer willing to absorb all of my criticism. And to my dismay he became a better songwriter than me -- at times. We made a vow to never let anything in life come between us and in more than 50 years, nothing has.”

Capping the evening: a mini-concert by Robinson himself. He led the audience in a sing-along of “Being With You,” “Just to See Her,” “My Girl” and “Tracks of My Tears.” Among those spotted dancing and singing along was Magic Johnson. Attendees also included entertainment attorney John Branca, Recording Academy and MusiCares president/CEO Neil Portnow and MusiCares chair Bill Silva.

Thursday, May 19, 2016

John Berry, Original Beastie Boys Member, Dies at 52

John Berry, Original Beastie Boys Member, Dies at 52

  

Adam Yauch (MCA), Mike Diamond (Mike D) and Adam Horovitz 
(Ad-Rock) of the Beastie Boys in the 1980s.
 
Original member of the Beastie Boys, John Berry, died on Thursday (May 19) at the age of 52.

Berry passed away at 7:30 a.m. at a hospice in Danvers, Massachusetts, Rolling Stone reports. The outlet confirmed the death with Berry's father John Berry III, who said his son had suffered from frontal frontal lobe dementia that had recently worsened.

Berry began playing guitar in the band when it formed in 1981 with Michael Diamond (Mike D), Adam Yauch (MCA) and Kate Schellenbach in the New York Hardcore scene. He is credited for coming up with the name Beastie Boys and hosting the group's first practices and performances in front of an audience at his apartment.

In a speech written by Adam Yauch and read by Adam Horowitz (Ad-Rock) at the Beastie Boys' 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Yauch thanked Berry and his loft on 100 Street and Broadway "where John's dad would come busting in during our first performances screaming, 'Will you turn that fucking shit off already?!'"

Berry was the first to leave the Beastie Boys after playing on the band's first seven-inch EP Polly Wog Stew in late 1982, followed soon by Schellenbach. Horowitz came in to replace both members, creating the lineup that's well known today.

Rolling Stone reports Berry was a member of a number of other bands, such as Even Worse, Big Fat Love, Highway Stars and Bourbon Deluxe.

Monday, May 16, 2016

76ers 1st NBA Team To Land Jersey Sponsorship With StubHub

76ers 1st NBA Team To Land Jersey Sponsorship With StubHub
 
PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers have become the first team in the NBA to put a sponsorship logo on player uniforms, striking a deal with StubHub for a spot on one of the hottest pieces of real estate available in sports.

StubHub, a website that connects ticket buyers and sellers, will have its logo appear on the front left of the jersey in 2017-18 for the start of a three-year trial period. The patches will appear opposite Nike’s logo, and measure about 2½-by-2½ inches.

StubHub’s jersey patch will be included on all jerseys sold at Sixers’ home games.

For full story go to:   http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Sunday, May 15, 2016

Bruce Sudano Talks Donna Summer, Touring With the Zombies & Broadway

Bruce Sudano Talks Donna Summer, Touring With the Zombies & Broadway

  

When Bruce Sudano and wife Donna Summer's youngest daughter Amanda graduated from college, Summer recommended he do one thing: "She said, 'You’ve put you on the side for a number of years,'" he remembered. "'It's time for you to be you now.'"

Since Summer's untimely passing on May 17, 2012, Sudano -- who managed his late wife’s career and co-wrote such Summer hits as "Bad Girls" -- has continued to record new music and tour in the U.S. and Europe.

He made his South by Southwest debut earlier this year and is now back on the road with a solo gig at Live At Drew's in Ringwood, New Jersey, on Friday (May 13) and another on May 19 at New York's Rockwood Music Hall. Sudano's also teaming up with legendary British rockers the Zombies for five dates beginning May 14 at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland, and concluding May 27 at City Winery in Nashville.
 
In the meantime, daughters Amanda and Brooklyn, as well as granddaughter Vienna, are also carrying on the Summer-Sudano creative tradition. Brooklyn is an actress whose credits include television’s My Wife and Kids and CSI and will appear in NBC’s forthcoming series Taken. Amanda and husband Abner Ramirez comprise the folk, blues and pop duo Johnnyswim. And granddaughter Vienna has been selected as a singer-songwriter for ReverbNation’s artist incubator program Connect.

Deep-rooted music fans will recall that Sudano co-founded the late '60s pop-rock band Alive N Kickin’, which scored a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Tighter, Tighter.” As a member of the late ‘70s band Brooklyn Dreams -- during which time he met Summer -- Sudano enjoyed a top 5 hit with “Heaven Knows,” a duet featuring Summer and Sudano’s bandmate Joe Esposito. Since then, songs he’s penned became hits for Dolly Parton (“Starting Over Again”) and Michael and Jermaine Jackson (“Tell Me I’m Not Dreamin’”)

.

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Cirque du Soleil’s ‘OVO’ Cracks Open At Liacouras Center

Cirque du Soleil’s ‘OVO’ Cracks Open At Liacouras Center

 (credit: John McDevitt) 

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Cirque du Soleil has 18 productions going on worldwide. One called ‘OVO,’ which, in Portuguese, translates to egg, cracks open at the Liacouras Center Wednesday night.
Fifty performing artists from 17 counties are in the cast of ‘OVO,’ performing daring acrobatic feats and moving to a nine-piece cockroach band playing Brazilian music.
The story is about a community of insects who gets visited by a stranger.
“It’s a fly, and he carries a big fly on his back,” says Marjon Van Grunsven, the artistic director for ‘OVO.’

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Monday, May 9, 2016

Drake Scores First Hot 100 No. 1 as Lead Artist With 'One Dance'

Drake Scores First Hot 100 No. 1 as Lead Artist With 'One Dance'

  

Drake photographed in 2016.

Drake reigns with his smash from his album 'Views,' the new No. 1 title on the Billboard 200. Plus, Fifth Harmony hits the top five & new Hot 100 top 10s for the Chainsmokers & Daya and Calvin Harris & Rihanna. 

Drake celebrates his first No. 1 as a lead artist on the Billboard Hot 100 (dated May 21), as "One Dance," featuring WizKid and Kyla, climbs 2-1. The track is from his new album, Views, which, as previously reported, debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with his best sales week and a record-setting weekly streaming total.

As Drake enjoys the view from the top of the Hot 100, let's run down the chart's top 10 and more, as we do every Monday when the chart is refreshed. Highlights of the airplay, sales and streaming-based Hot 100 post on Billboard.com each Monday, with all charts updated each Tuesday.

"Dance," released on Young Money/Cash Money/Republic Records, becomes Drake's first Hot 100 No. 1 in a lead role, following two toppers as a featured artist, both on tracks with Rihanna as the lead: "What's My Name?" (one week, 2010) and "Work," which spent its last of nine weeks at No. 1 three weeks ago (on the April 30-dated chart). As a lead, Drake had previously peaked as high as No. 2 twice: with his debut hit "Best I Ever Had" in 2009 and "Hotline Bling" last year.
 
Drake's first coronation as a lead artist had clearly been a goal of the star's: as "Bling" was scaling the Hot 100 last year, Drake posted on Instagram: "If I get my first number one [as a lead] … it will be the biggest moment of my career."

"Dance" is the 1,054th No. 1 in the Hot 100's history, which dates to Aug. 4, 1958. It also becomes Drake's 16th No. 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it likewise lifts 2-1.

"Dance" soars to the Hot 100's summit powered by its 10-1 rebound on the Digital Songs chart, up by 32 percent to 160,000 downloads sold in the week ending May 5, according to Nielsen Music (after having led the April 30 sales list), and its 2-1 ascent on Streaming Songs, gaining by 41 percent to 37.4 million U.S. streams and becoming Drake's second leader on the list (following "Work"). The track additionally jumps 12-8 on Radio Songs (87 million in airplay audience, up 25 percent) to become his 15th top 10 on the tally; dating to Drake's first week on Radio Songs (May 23, 2009), he ties Rihanna for the most top 10s in that span.

(Quick quiz: Can you name the last Hot 100 No. 1s prior to Drake's that include the words "one" and "dance" in their titles? Answer at the end of this story.)

"Dance" dethrones Desiigner's "Panda" (1-2) on the Hot 100 after two weeks at No. 1. Still, the track increases by 1 percent to 37 million streams, although it slips 1-2 after three weeks atop Streaming Songs. It bounds 13-6 on Digital Songs (102,000, up less than 1 percent) and 19-16 on Radio Songs (57 million, up 13 percent). The rapper's debut hit spends a fifth week at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart.

Lukas Graham's "7 Years" holds at No. 3 on the Hot 100 after reaching No. 2 and remains the most-heard song on U.S. radio, spending a second week at No. 1 on Radio Songs (141 million, up 4 percent).

Mike Posner's "I Took a Pill in Ibiza" hits a new Hot 100 high, pushing 5-4. It also rises 3-2 on Radio Songs (124 million, up 6 percent). As previously reported, the track, Posner's highest-charting on the Hot 100, becomes the singer/songwriter's first No. 1 on the Pop Songs airplay chart.
 
Current Billboard magazine cover act Fifth Harmony scores its first top five hit on the Hot 100, as "Work From Home," featuring Ty Dolla $ign, jumps 7-5 (besting its previous No. 6 peak). It's also the highest "work"-related song on the chart, as it leaps over Rihanna's "Work," featuring Drake, which holds at No. 6.

Impressively, "Work From Home" becomes the first top five Hot 100 hit by a girl group since Dixie Chicks' country hit "Not Ready to Make Nice" (No. 4) in 2007; the latter act offered its approval upon learning the stat, tweeting a hearty, "Congrats ladies!" "Work From Home" is the first Hot 100 top five by a pop girl group since The Pussycat Dolls' "Buttons," featuring Snoop Dogg (No. 3), in 2006 (research by Billboard's Keith Caulfield).

The Chainsmokers earn their second Hot 100 top 10, soaring 14-7 with "Don't Let Me Down," featuring Daya, who notches her first top 10. The song, which tops the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart for a third week, concurrently reaches the Digital Songs top 10 (76,000, up 7 percent). The electronic DJ duo of Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall peaked at No. 6 with its prior Hot 100 entry, "Roses," featuring Rozes. Pop singer Daya climbed to No. 23 with her debut hit, "Hide Away," in March.
 
Zayn's former No. 1-debuting "Pillowtalk" rebounds 9-8 on the Hot 100, while Calvin Harris blasts onto the Hot 100 at No. 9 with "This Is What You Came For," featuring Rihanna. The single starts at No. 3 on Digital Songs (123,000), No. 42 on Radio Songs (29 million in its first full week of tracking, following its April 29 arrival) and No. 46 on Streaming Songs (7.8 million).

Harris achieves his highest Hot 100 debut, besting that of his prior charted collab with Rihanna: "We Found Love" (billed as Rihanna featuring Harris) began at No. 16 in 2010, and went on to spend 10 weeks at No. 1. Rihanna ties for her third-highest debut and, even more notably: Rihanna scores her 28th Hot 100 top 10, tying Stevie Wonder for the fourth-most all-time. Madonna leads with 38, followed by the Beatles (34) and Michael Jackson (29). Rihanna breaks out of a tie with Mariah Carey, Elton John and Janet Jackson, each with 27.

Capping the Hot 100's top 10, Justin Bieber's former two-week No. 1 "Love Yourself" returns to the region (15-10).

Just beyond the Hot 100's top 10, Rihanna's "Needed Me," from her album Anti, charges to a new high (22-13) and star country duo Florida Georgia Line debuts at No. 20 with "H.O.L.Y.," led by its No. 2 entrance on Digital Songs (125,000). The love song (its title taken from its "high on loving you" lyric) also rockets 39-1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart, where it's the pair's fifth No. 1.

(Quiz answer! The last Hot 100 No. 1s prior to Drake's that include the words "one" and "dance" in their titles? Maroon 5's "One More Night" led for nine weeks in 2012. Before that, Lady Gaga landed her first No. 1, in her first chart visit, with "Just Dance," featuring Colby O'Donis, for three weeks in 2009.)

Find out more news in the weekly "Hot 100 Chart Moves" column to post later this week. And, visit Billboard.com tomorrow (May 10), when all rankings, including the Hot 100 in its entirety, will refresh, as they do each Tuesday.


Sunday, May 8, 2016

Critic's Choice: Every Justin Timberlake Single Ranked

Critic's Choice: Every Justin Timberlake Single Ranked

  

Justin Timberlake performs at Hammerstein Ballroom on 
July 10, 2014 in New York City.
 
Where does the brand-new "Can't Stop the Feeling" fit in? 
 
Justin Timberlake doesn't make bad songs… but, of course, some are better than others. To celebrate the release of "Can't Stop the Feeling" -- Timberlake's first new material since 2013's The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 -- we're ranking every one of his singles.

So where does "Can't Stop the Feeling" land among classic JT hits? Check out our list below to find out. (Note: We're only counting Timberlake's U.S. singles that hit Billboard's Pop Songs chart.)

18. "Take Back the Night"
This carefree cut had the unfortunate distinction of sharing a title with a campus sexual assault awareness group, and the controversy ended up overshadowing the song itself. Timberlake did his best to make the best of the situation, telling Radar in 2013: "It is my hope that this coincidence will bring more awareness to this cause."
 
17. "Love Never Felt So Good" (Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake)
How could the combo of MJ and JT be anything but pop gold? Unfortunately, this song -- the first single from Jackson's second posthumous album, Xscape -- failed to capture the energy of ether megastar.

16. "TKO"
This one loses us almost immediately with Timbaland's opening line: "She kills me with that coo-coochie-coochie-coo." OK. And the metaphor for getting "knocked out" by love seems overplayed. It has a cool beat, but we were not knocked out by this one.
 
15. "Summer Love"
This FutureSex/LoveSounds single is perfect for "ridin' in the drop-top with the top down," but it's also ultimately forgettable.

14. "What Goes Around … Comes Around"
The subject matter felt a little "been there, done that" after "Cry Me a River," and with a whopping 7:28 running time, it was a very long single. But there are a lot of great pieces to this too-big puzzle.
 
13. "Suit & Tie" (feat. Jay Z)
After a nearly seven-year gap between JT albums, this song was a blessing from above back in 2013. But with some distance from its release, we can say it might not have been the perfect single we thought it was then.
 
12. "Can't Stop the Feeling"
Timberlake happily splashes back on the scene with an upbeat song-of-summer worthy track about wanting to just keep dancing...a message we can all get behind. 

11. "Mirrors"
In this reflective midtempo track, Timberlake appears to sing directly to his wife, Jessica Biel. For someone who is so private about his non-music life, it was a nice glimpse into their marital world.

10. "Until the End of Time"
This song is a total tribute to Prince ballads, complete with Linn drums. And then Justin went and added Prince favorite Beyonce (his very own Apollonia) to the track to take it to the next Purple level.
 
9. "Rock Your Body"
The third Justified single is where the MJ comparisons began, since it would have fit in perfectly on Michael Jackson's debut album, Off the Wall. (We're not complaining.)

8. "Not a Bad Thing"
It's not a bad thing that this song sounds a lot like a throwback *NSYNC ballad -- like "I Drive Myself Crazy" or "God Must Have Spent a Little More Time on You" with much, much better lyrics.
 
7. "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows"
This FutureSex/LoveSounds single starts as a dance track before slowing down into a contemplative number, twisting the identical lyrics into something far more ominous -- kind of like what a drug does to you at the start of a party versus the end.
 
6. "Drink You Away"
The Tennessee native's first foray into country got a huge spotlight at the 2015 CMA Awards, where his performance of the sudsy song with a then-under-the-radar Chris Stapleton put both "Drink You Away" and the bearded country crooner on the map.
 
5. "SexyBack"
Remember when this song first came out? Justin's fuzzy vocals were hardly recognizable and the driving beat was brand-new to radio. That was just JT and Timbaland setting new trends -- and a new catchphrase.
 
4. "Cry Me a River"
The song's tabloidy subject matter could have overshadowed the music, but this Timbaland production masterpiece definitely stood on its own.

3. "My Love" (feat. T.I.)
This is JT's falsetto at its very best, delivering the loverboy lyrics that made fans from his boy-band days swoon. But then he added in a verse from T.I., and suddenly it was OK for dudes to dance along too.

2. "Senorita"
The Justified intro track was made for performing live -- with its many spoken-word breakdowns and the male-female call-and-response section -- but somehow Justin and Pharrell were also able to bottle that energy into a perfect five-minute radio package.
 
1. "Like I Love You" (feat. Clipse)
This is quite possibly the best post-boy-band debut single of all time. He booked the hottest producers (The Neptunes) and a bubbling-under hip-hop duo (Clipse) to show that the bubblegum had officially popped. There couldn't have been a better introduction to Justin Timberlake, the solo star.




Friday, May 6, 2016

Publishers Quarterly: Warner/Chappell Has Its Best Quarter In 10 Years

Publishers Quarterly: Warner/Chappell Has Its Best Quarter In 10 Years

  

Tyler Joseph Twenty One Pilots performs at Brixton Academy on 
Feb. 24, 2016 in London, England.

Twenty One Pilots bring the publisher a big bump, but Sony/ATV is still No. 1. 
 
In the first quarter of 2016, for the 15th consecutive time, Sony/ATV was the top U.S. publisher -- it even improved its market share to 26.1 percent. But No. 2 Warner/Chappell Music turned in its best performance -- 22.6 percent -- in the 10 years Billboard has been tracking market share for the top 100 radio songs, up more than five points from its 17 percent in Q1.

Warner/Chappell also was the No. 1 country publisher, displacing Sony/ATV from the top spot in that category for the first time since the latter was named administrator for EMI Music Publishing in 2012.
Sony/ATV had a stake in 52 tracks, including a share in the quarter's No. 1 airplay song, Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself" (alongside Universal Music Publishing Group). Warner/Chappell had a share in 47 songs and is the sole top 10 publisher for the No. 2 song, Twenty One Pilots' "Stressed Out."

UMPG, holding at No. 3, also posted a gain to 16 percent (with 36 songs) from the 14.8 percent it had in the prior quarter. Elsewhere, Kobalt held steady at No. 4 despite its share dropping to 8.8 percent from the previous quarter's 10.6 percent; its top song was Bieber's "Sorry."

Thursday, May 5, 2016

Billboard Cover: Fifth Harmony on Surviving Pop-Star Fame and 'Finally Having a Damn Voice'

Billboard Cover: Fifth Harmony on Surviving Pop-Star Fame and 'Finally Having a Damn Voice'

  

Fifth Harmony photographed March 30 at Quixote Studios in Los Angeles. 
Styling by Zoe Costello. Fashion editor: Shannon Adducci. Hansen wears 
a Melissa Odabash bodysuit. Hernandez wears a Norma Kamali bodysuit. 
Cabello wears a Fleur du Mal bodysuit. Kordei wears a Lisa Marie 
Fernandez maillot. Jauregui wears a Kamalikulture x Norma Kamali bodysuit.
 
Girl groups were supposed to have been kaput when 'The X Factor' threw together five young women sharing little more than hard-knock childhoods and inexhaustible zest. 

At 10:30 a.m. on a Tuesday in late March, the face of sisterhood is not made up with bold hues, framed by perfect tendrils of teased hair or complemented by faux furs and glittery fabric. Here in the living ­room-like cafe of a boutique hotel on a quiet street in West Hollywood, the women of Fifth Harmony gather in various states of self-styled and still-sleepy. Despite living out of suitcases for much of the past two years, when they're with each other, they seem at home. And as confident as their photo shoots would have you believe.

Dinah Jane Hansen, who is 18 and wears a baseball cap that reads "HOT SAUCE" and a crewneck sporting 2Pac's face, sums up the group's current mood by quoting her hero, UFC champ Ronda Rousey: 

"I'm not a do-nothing bitch!" It's a message the others are eager to get behind as they enter what may prove to be the most hard-fought phase of their collective career. "We finally have a damn voice," says Hansen. "We feel like actual artists. We were little babies in the ­beginning. Now we're becoming big girls."
 
Dinah Jane Hansen wears a ThePerfext coat, Onia dress, Georg Jensen necklace and Freda Salvador shoes.

That's a handy narrative as Fifth Harmony prepares to release its second album, 7/27, on May 27 through Epic and Syco. But it happens to be true. The lead single, "Work From Home," is the first girl group song to break into the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in eight years. (The last one: "When I Grow Up" by The Pussycat Dolls, which hit No. 9 in July 2008.) It's a pop-R&B confection that siphons off the same tropically tinted EDM pool that made Justin Bieber a grown-person concern, and it's the group's steamiest song too, with MC Ty Dolla Sign promising to "put in overtime on your body." The album's other guests include Missy Elliott -- on would-be "Uptown Funk!" sequel "Not That Kinda Girl" -- and rap crooner Fetty Wap, over the bubbly reggae-trap of "All in My Head."
 
"I did the song because my 11-year-old daughter always plays them," says Ty Dolla Sign, 31, over the phone from Europe. "But the other night on tour out here, we had all these girls in the hotel room. Usually we put on Future or something more turnt, but they all just wanted to hear Fifth Harmony. That's the first time that ever happened."

Fifth Harmony's very existence is an anomaly in 2016. Boy bands have it ­relatively easy -- a seemingly endless supply of grade-school and tweenage girls feasting at the smorgasbord of fantasy boyfriends branded according to personality: the bad boy, the saint, the jokester, the enigma. 5H's most recent forebears were all founded in the 1990s: Destiny's Child, TLC, Spice Girls and The Pussycat Dolls. And the group's British peers Little Mix have yet to land an ­international hit.
 
5H advanced to the finals of The X Factor in 2012.Ray Mickshaw/FOX
Meanwhile, 5H's 2015 debut album, Reflection, bowed at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and its biggest song, "Worth It," only just fell out of the Hot 100, after a No. 12 peak, in November 2015. The group's other ­accomplishments include having Barbies made in their own non-blonde images, ­performing at the White House (twice) after name-checking Michelle Obama in 2014 female ­empowerment anthem "Bo$$," t­eaming with Taylor Swift for a live version of "Worth It" on Swift's 1989 Tour, a Sesame Street cameo and kicking off April's WrestleMania 32 with a solemn rendition of "America the Beautiful."

 The new album's title, 7/27, is a nod to the date, in 2012, that these five went from being complete strangers to a pop ­powerhouse. Like One Direction before them, each teen came to The X Factor seeking solo stardom, washed out of the preshow boot camp and wound up in an arranged group. If you think it's a bit soon for that kind of nostalgia, Fifth Harmony sure doesn't. When I express my skepticism, I get a chorus of dissent: five voices fervently cooing "Noooo" and "Yeeeears."

Camila Cabello, 19, answers for the group with the utmost sincerity: "That's a really long time in a young person's life." SpongeBob SquarePants peeks from the gap between her Nike sneakers and black leggings -- socks at perfect odds with her big pearl earrings. "This is our rebirth," says Lauren Jauregui, 19, in loosely laced black leather combat boots and a paisley ­summer dress. "Also, 727 is a jet," she adds with mock cockiness, "and we're about to take flight, know what I mean?" She gets a bunch of "Ayyyys!" in return. They're always laughing at each other's jokes, ­building each other up.

"By design, it shouldn't work," says Epic Records chairman/CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid, 59. As an X Factor judge, he and show creator Simon Cowell assembled 5H by ­scattering photo cards of ­contestants on a table and eyeballing different arrangements. "They found out in front of a live audience they were going to be an actual band, and now they're challenged to be creative, be competitive and keep a sense of humor? I'm surprised they haven't cracked up! They should be nuts by now. I would be."

Normani Kordei's upbringing sounds all the themes common to the girls' backstories: precocious talent, faith, ­struggle and empowerment. Raised in New Orleans, she was singing and ­dancing by age 4. Then Hurricane Katrina hit. Her family fled to Houston, where she would compete in pageants, picturing herself as Beyoncé to overcome her shyness. She was a Miss Texas Outstanding Teen ­finalist when she learned of X Factor's Austin tryouts. "I was frightened," says Kordei, who is 19 and sporting a wide-necked black tee over jean shorts. "I would've rather not auditioned than risk failing, but my mom encouraged me to do it to better myself. I took that leap, I prayed, and everything worked out."

 ​Cabello's mom brought her to Miami from Cuba when she was 6 with a few ­hundred bucks and the clothes on their backs. Jauregui is from Miami, too, and says she "was taught to be an independent woman" at the all-girls Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. Hansen grew up in Santa Ana, Calif., with 23 relatives in a four-bedroom house. Ally Brooke Hernandez, 22, was home-schooled in San Antonio, so she could look after her mother, who has severe scoliosis. She's wearing the silver purity ring her mom gave her when she turned 18, shortly before she auditioned -- or, as she puts it, "When I was ripped out of the house and thrown into X Factor."

As Cowell, 56, recalls, "It was incredible how quickly they jelled, had each other's backs and understood their roles. It was the same with One Direction. I've seen idiot managers [in other situations] try to control everything. With a group like that, you respect their talent and let them lead you." No momagers here: Maverick's Larry Rudolph (Britney Spears) and Dan Dymtrow manage the group.

 Hernandez is usually the group's rock, but she chokes up immediately when it's her turn. She keeps the details vague, but cites "awful mental health situations" and "pain on a lot of levels." Jauregui, the most outspoken of the women, connects it all to "this industry": "They sell you this ­present of rainbows and butterflies, and as a 16-year-old that's what I bought. It's why I did X Factor and why I ended up in a group. But then you're working so hard, so young. [Meanwhile] my friends are in college, ­telling me about their days and what they're studying. You're having to put on a smile on a red carpet. It's like, 'Who am I? Am I for myself or for this?' " (The women aren't currently engaged in any academic pursuits, although eventually they would like to ­further their educations.)

It's when she gets to her high point that Jauregui loses it. "I rekindled a ­friendship I hadn't had in a long time and I was reminded" -- she begins to sob -- "of all the parts of me that had left. I was like, 'Wow, I love to paint and to write, and to be outside' ... sorry," she murmurs.

"I love touring, but the schedule ­traumatized me," says Hansen bitterly. "I was like, 'What kind of job are we doing?' I watched my great-grandmother be buried on FaceTime. We're all so family-oriented, and we've all lost people on the road."

In the past four months, Kordei has ­experienced three deaths. The last one is very fresh -- eight days ago, her dancer friend Jehlan Vaughn, 20, was shot dead in his Houston home. We actually delay our second meeting so she can fly back for a funeral. "I'm in the process of getting to my high point," she says through glassy eyes, as Hernandez wraps an arm around her.

"What's special is we've got four other girls willing to go through it," says Hansen. When Jauregui's grandmother died -- on the same day Reflection was released -- they insisted she skip promo and fly to Florida straightaway.

"You guys are the best," says Jauregui blearily. "You literally saved my life."

Two weeks later in Beverly Hills, the girls are giddy. They're flitting around a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, ­composing low-fat masterpieces. Cabello walks by squeezing a gummy cube. "I did not know that this is the essence of mochi," she says to no one in particular. Jauregui throws in an F-bomb to make her flavor sound edgier: "F--ing 'birthday cake.' " She's also toting a worn copy of Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince under her arm. Our hang quickly becomes a salon on current issues.
 
Cabello is thrilled about Cuba opening up: "I went back four years ago to visit my grandma. I was obsessed with Justin Bieber and no one there had any idea who that was. Information is so controlled. My mom and I cried watching [President] Obama's [Havana] speech."

She and the others also are excited about the presidential election and being able to vote for the first time -- even if they're not of one mind on the candidates.

"Hillary!" Kordei stage-whispers while throwing up a fist, adding that Clinton is "educated, qualified and has so much experience. I don't think she could do any wrong, honestly."

Jauregui twists her face up. "She's a ­politician," she says dismissively. "But I do think she's very skilled. Bernie [Sanders] has incredible policies that are ­idealistic, ­obviously, but seeing as Congress will oppose him anyway, we could actually get a lot done progressively."

Are they surprised by Donald Trump's success?

"Incredibly, yes," says Jauregui. "It's such a shame so many Americans are ­rallying behind ignorance. It speaks volumes to the state of education in our country and the mentality of the Republican Party." Hansen isn't so sure. "It could go both ways," she says ­hesitantly. "If Trump becomes ­president, he wouldn't be afraid to step on toes. And he'll be feared by the world." Jauregui looks ­horrified, Kordei baffled. Cabello shrugs and cheerily says, "Politics! Moving on!"

They are united on the subject of gender, though, broaching chart wins for female musicians, the Emma Watson-backed HeForShe campaign and sexual assault statistics. They also have an earful for Kanye West and his recent "I made that bitch famous" lyric about Swift.

"I spoke to [Swift] and she did not know he was going to say that," says Cabello. "Taking credit for her success and then ­saying 'you owe me sex for that'? Disgusting."

The women are less chatty when it comes to romance. "We try to keep that little piece to ourselves because we share so much," says Hansen. "So ... we're all single." When Kordei adds, "I really am single," the room explodes in laughter. It's tough for them to carve out much they can call their own. They had apartments in Los Angeles for a month while making 7/27, but otherwise they live out of hotels, even in Los Angeles, where they spend most of their non-touring time. Their possessions and their pets are back in their hometowns with family.

Whether you catch the members of 5H on a good day or a bad one, they're clearly straining to prove to the world, and to themselves, that they have some say in their own damn lives. But for now, writing music remains just a hobby. "We all have our own sessions," says Hansen. When Jauregui adds, "That's something we love to do..." Kordei finishes the thought: "...in our spare time."

​Cabello puts it more bluntly: "Nobody wrote on this album." She has taken the ­biggest step toward independence, ­recording a duet with Shawn Mendes ("I Know What You Did Last Summer," which peaked at No. 20 on the Hot 100) and, in a recent Q&A at Twitter HQ, saying, "I have this thing called a MIDI keyboard," when asked to describe her most prized ­possession. (Like Zayn Malik, she also is an avowed introvert, spending her downtime at the Billboard photo shoot sitting in corners or powwowing with her mom.)

Whatever might be on the horizon in terms of solo careers, these five are deeply loyal and caring when it comes to one another. Ask Reid what's most surprising about Fifth Harmony and he'll say, "The sisterhood. The closeness." Ask Cowell and he'll tell you something else: "That they were patient." How much longer will that last? 

The women of 5H acknowledge that the answer isn't "forever."

"It has been an incredible journey, and it'll continue as long as it can," says Jauregui. "But this will be that chapter that got us wherever we needed to go. We're ­learning the business, meeting people we need to know, getting knowledgeable about our craft. This is basically us being in college for our majors."

And as their careers together prove, a lot can happen in four years.

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Police Commissioner ‘Concerned’ About Tactics At Overbrook Fatal Shooting Scene

Police Commissioner ‘Concerned’ About Tactics At Overbrook Fatal Shooting Scene
 
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Police Commissioner Richard Ross says he’s “concerned,” about tactics used by officers in an incident that ended with the fatal shooting of a driver in Overbrook early Wednesday morning.

Police say the driver of a van, identified as 52-year-old Richard Ferretti of Andreas, Pa.,was fatally wounded by a police officer after he allegedly “proceeded to drive toward the plain-clothes officer’s direction,” after officers had tried to stop and question him.

Police say they responded to the area of 63rd and Overbrook Avenue after receiving a call that a van was circling the block, its driver acting suspiciously, around 1:00 a.m.

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Tupac Shakur's Estate Issues Statement on Afeni Shakur's Death: 'Her Spirit Will Forever Inspire'

Tupac Shakur's Estate Issues Statement on Afeni Shakur's Death: 'Her Spirit Will Forever Inspire'

  

Afeni Shakur, mother of the late Tupac Shakur, watches an African 
drum ceremony on Sept. 9, 2006 in Stone Mountain, Georgia. 

Following news that Tupac Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur Davis, died on Monday night, the late rapper's estate has issued a statement on her passing.
"Afeni embodied strength, resilience, wisdom, and love. She was a pioneer for social change and was committed to building a more peaceful world," it reads.

The Marin County Sheriff's office reported on Tuesday morning (May 3) that Shakur Davis had died at her northern California home after the Sheriff's office responded to a report of a possible cardiac arrest at her residence around 9:30 p.m. on Monday night. She was 69.

"Afeni was a deeply devoted mother, grandmother and sister," the statement continues. "Her spirit will forever inspire all of those who had the honor and privilege of knowing her."

Sunday, May 1, 2016

Longtime chef: Prince fought throat, stomach pains recently

Longtime chef: Prince fought throat, stomach pains recently
 
AP Photo
In this April 30, 2016 photo, chef Ray Roberts, who runs multiple Peoples Organic restaurants with his wife in the Twin Cities, prepares meals at his Edina, Minn., location. Roberts was the personal chef for music megastar Prince until he was found dead on April 21, 2016. “It felt like he wasn’t himself probably the last month or two,” Roberts said. “I think he was just struggling with being sick a lot.”
  

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- On stage, Prince was still captivating audiences at recent performances in Australia and California. He hosted a pop-up party at his Paisley Park studio, and there were few outward signs in his final months that anything was wrong.

But off stage, something was different. Prince began wanting meals that were easier to digest and was fighting off waves of sore throats and frequent upset stomachs, the musician's personal chef told The Associated Press.

A law enforcement official has told the AP that investigators are looking into whether Prince, who was found dead at his home on April 21, died from an overdose and whether a doctor was prescribing him drugs in the weeks beforehand. The official has been briefed on the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Ray Roberts, who cooked for Prince nearly every day for almost three years, said in an interview that wasn't the man he saw nearly every night, "not even a hint. Not at all." But Roberts did start noticing changes in Prince's diet - he was eating less and drinking less water, and looked like he was losing weight.

"It felt like he wasn't himself probably the last month or two," Roberts said. "I think he was just struggling with being sick a lot."

Prince, who didn't eat meat, normally loved foods like roasted beets and minestrone soup with a harissa chermoula, an herb sauce from North Africa. In recent months, Roberts said, as Prince would have sore throats or seem like he wasn't feeling well for "weeks at a time," he would prefer smoothies and fresh juices to soothe his throat or stomach.

Stomach and throat ailments aren't unusual in a stubbornly cold Minnesota winter, and to the public, there was little to suggest something was amiss.

Since Prince's death, fans who saw him recently have talked about his energy and his mesmerizing performances with just a microphone and a piano. Many who saw his final public appearance at Paisley Park only days before he died said he may have seemed more tired - one person who was at one of his last shows in Atlanta said his speaking voice was weak at times - but overall he was not changed.

"He seemed fine. He looked normal and he had this kind of energetic glow that he always had," said Lars Larson, a Minneapolis man who often worked at Paisley Park for Prince's parties.

Even in private, Roberts said, Prince would soldier through and work. "It was amazing. I don't think I ever saw him really looking bad ever. He was always on point," he said.

Roberts and his wife began cooking for Prince in 2013 after an informal tryout with several other chefs, and he made all his meals for the musician in the restaurant-grade kitchen at Paisley Park.

Most of the time, Roberts would make light salads and soups - he said Prince particularly liked the roasted beets as well as a pesto broccolini dish. When Prince was gearing up for more shows and wanted to be more active, Roberts would scale back the sweets.

As for meat, there was none of it.

"I don't know if it was just an unwritten rule, but there was no meat there - ever," he said. "If somebody wanted to eat meat, they would have to eat it in the parking lot. And he was very serious about this."

Roberts saw Prince nearly every day. He cooked for him every day except Sunday - and sometimes even then. Combined with the four Peoples Organic restaurants he and he wife run in the Twin Cities, Roberts said he was working about 100 hours a week, with his schedule tightly tethered to Prince's. The musician would even bring Roberts and his wife on tour around the country at times to cook for him.

Still, Roberts said it was a dream job and he relished the opportunity to listen to Prince practice and jam with other famous musicians, never knowing who he would be cooking for next. He said Prince had a "higher purpose" and that while he could be a joker or even cocky, most of the time he was a "caring, thoughtful person" who apologized if he was running late and considered his employees family.

"I wish he was still here," he said, wiping away a tear. "That's what it boils down to."

Roberts last saw Prince the evening before the musician was found dead at Paisley Park. He cooked Prince a roasted red pepper bisque with a kale and spring vegetable salad. But Prince never ate it. When he returned to the musician's studio home for his memorial service a few days later, Roberts found it in the refrigerator - just as he'd left it.