Pop

The Inaugural ‘Billboard’ Afrobeats Chart Is Dominated By Justin Bieber And Ed Sheeran

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Justin Bieber Ed Sheeran Ed Sheeran Jumpers For Goalposts Premiere 2015
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Last week, Billboard announced they were partnering with Afro Nation on the new US Afrobeats Songs chart, which “ranks the 50 most popular Afrobeats songs in the country based on a weighted formula incorporating official streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of leading audio and video music services, plus download sales from top music retailers.” The inaugural edition of the chart launched today and dominating the top spots are some big names not traditionally/primarily associated with Afrobeats music.

Three of the top five spots on the April 2-dated chart are occupied by songs featuring Ed Sheeran or Justin Bieber: CKay’s “Love Nwantiti (Ah Ah Ah)” is No. 1, Fireboy DML and Sheeran’s “Peru” is No. 2, Wizkid’s Bieber- and Tems-featuring “Peru” is No. 3, Omah Lay’s Bieber-featuring “Attention” is No. 4, and Tems’ “Free Mind” is No. 5.

Looking at the full top 50, Tems is the clear leader overall with eight entries, followed by Wizkid’s six, Burna Boy’s five, Rema’s four, and Davido’s three.

When the chart was announced last week, Afro Nation founder, co-head of UTA London, and Event Horizon founder Obi Asika said, “The last decade has seen Afrobeats explode into a worldwide phenomenon, influencing culture and fashion across the globe and I am humbled to have made a contribution to growing the genre alongside many talented, passionate people. There is still so much more potential within the scene and the community that has grown around it and I believe it is vital that with Billboard we now have a US chart that reflects this growth and provides a platform for emerging artists from every continent to showcase their talent to new audiences.”

Silvio Pietroluongo, Billboard‘s SVP of Charts and Development, added, “Billboard is excited to collaborate with Afro Nation on the launch of the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart. As with much of the world, Afrobeats has grown tremendously as a genre in America and we are proud to showcase the top songs and artists with this new weekly ranking.”

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Doja Cat Insists She’s Still Retiring Despite Her Apology For Saying She’s Leaving Music

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At the moment, Doja Cat’s future seems unclear. Late last week, in response to fans from Paraguay complaining Doja wasn’t posting about the country enough when she was there, and she responded, “i f*ckin quit i can’t wait to f*cking disappear and i don’t need you to believe in me anymore. Everything is dead to me, music is dead, and i’m a f*cking fool for ever thinking i was made for this this is a f*cking nightmare.”

A few days later, Doja offered an apology for what she said, which presumably left at least some fans thinking that everything was alright and Doja no longer plans to leave music. Now, though, it looks like that may not be the case after all.

MIX 105.1 shared a post about Doja’s apology yesterday and tweeted, “Ok so maybe @DojaCat isn’t retiring.” Doja went ahead and refuted that speculation, replying, “yes the f*ck i am.”

Meanwhile, she recently shared a message about the death of Taylor Hawkins, tweeting, “I just found out through my team that a legend has passed today so I just want to send love and healing to the family and friends of Taylor Hawkins and the Foo Fighters. Rest in peace to a man with a beautiful young heart and wicked talent.”

Justin Bieber, Halsey, And Machine Gun Kelly Will Headline The 2022 Summerfest In Milwaukee

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Justin Bieber 2021 Shaquille O'Neal Foundation
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Summerfest will make its return this summer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The first iteration of the festival since COVID, Summerfest’s 2022 line-up boasts over 100 headliners.

Summerfest spans three weekends in June and July, with festivities taking place over the course of nine non-consecutive days. Among the headliners during the June 23-25 run are Gabby Barrett, Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, and Wu-Tang Clan. Willow, GAYLE, 2 Chainz, Machine Gun Kelly, and Halsey will headline the weekend of June 30-July 2. During the final weekend, July 7-9. Charli XCX, Cordae, Portugal The Man, and Jojo will headline.

“It feels great to announce our highly anticipated lineup and have the festival back in its regular summer timeframe for 2022,” said Don Smiley, the president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival, in a statement. “From Justin Bieber, Halsey, Backstreet Boys, and a special Summerfest co-headlining show with Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, and Wu-Tang Clan, to John Fogerty, Steve Aoki, Halestorm, and others, it would be difficult to find a more diverse lineup anywhere. Make plans to join us for Summerfest this June, one of the most affordable music festivals in the world, and home to over 1,000 artists performing live over the nine-day run.”

Fans can currently purchase “Level Up” tickets, allowing them access to the Level Up Deck located in the Miller Lite Oasis, overlooking the stage. General on-sale for the festival begins Friday, April 8.

Check out the full line-up below.

Summerfest 2022 Line Up
Courtesy of Summerfest

Some of the artists mentioned are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Latto Shared The Best Part About Meeting Mariah Carey For The ‘Big Energy’ Remix: ‘She Was So Genuine’

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It’s Latto’s world, we’re just living in it. What could make a hyperbolic statement like that more true than working with a legend like Mariah Carey? Ever since she released “Big Energy,” Latto has had a kind of energy behind her that far outpaces her popularity with the hip-hop crowd — this is a bonafide R&B/pop hit. So it only makes sense that after a few weeks of teasing the “Big Energy” remix feature, it’d turn out to be none other than Mimi herself.

Since Latto’s fans are just as thrilled about her working with an icon as she is, a mini Q&A about the process erupted on Twitter last night when the song was released at midnight. Sure, plenty of people were still focused on Will Smith’s altercation with Chris Rock at the Oscars, but Latto had fans had their priorities right: Asking the Atlanta rapper what the best part of working with Mimi herself was.

The best part? Latto’s all caps response: “HEARING HER HIT THAT HIGH NOTE IN PERSON!!!!”

As far as how the session went down, and what it was like meeting Mariah, Latto said she eventually got over her nerves because Mariah was “so genuine.” “I was sooooo nervous I was like what I say y’all lol but the conversation just floweddd she was so genuine and I definitely was overthinking,” the rapper wrote on Twitter. “We was sipping on her liquor Black Irish & just kicking it fr.”

Every Song Off Cardi B’s ‘Invasion Of Privacy’ Has Gone Platinum, Setting An Impressive Record

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Cardi B is popular. She’s popular with the hip-hop heads because she’s got real bars peppered all over her debut album, Invasion Of Privacy. She’s popular with pop fans, because she knows how to turn out a hook like almost nobody else. She’s popular with moms, because she’s a mom, and she’s popular with young women because of the way she speaks her mind and never backs down from the haters. In other words, pretty much everyone on the planet has found a reason to love this woman, that’s just how charismatic she is. So it’s not really actually that surprising that she’s once again set the kind of record that no one else has achieved yet.

Every single song off Cardi’s debut album, Invasion Of Privacy, has now gone platinum. So for anyone who wanted to claim back in the day that “Bodak Yellow” was just a one-hit wonder, well, it’s quite the opposite; in fact, every single song this woman has put out is a hit. When the news broke, Cardi tweeted about it, and let listeners know that she is still working on her long-awaited follow-up project. “AMAZING ….can’t wait for my second album. Thanks for all the love & support,” she wrote.

We can’t wait for that second album, either! Hopefully we get an update soon.

Who Will Win And Who Should Win At The 2022 Grammys

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Grammys 2022 Predictions
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The 2022 Grammys are finally right around the corner after being postponed due to Omicron concerns and moved from LA to Las Vegas. As the self-proclaimed “biggest night in music,” the 2022 Grammys are expected to be a joyous gathering after last year’s ceremony was eclipsed by controversy and COVID. While this year still has a bit of controversy (Kanye West was reportedly banned from performing), The Recording Academy has increased the number of nominations to strive for more diversity. Now, all four major categories (Album Of The Year, Best New Artist, Song Of The Year, and Record Of The Year) changed from eight nominations to ten, allowing a few more artists to get recognized for their musical achievements. The expanded categories mean there is even more great music to choose from, so Uproxx has you covered with our predictions for who will win and who should win at the 2022 Grammys.

2021 saw some big breakouts and some hard-hitting releases as the US rolled out vaccines and people began to re-entering society. The artist leading the nominations is Jon Batiste, who holds an impressive 11 nominations across all categories. Following Baptiste, Justin Bieber, Doja Cat, and HER are all tied for second-most nominated, with each artist holding eight nominations.

This year is also expected to big a big one for Olivia Rodrigo, who very well could pull a Billie Eilish and sweep all four major categories, seeing as her debut album, Sour, was a smash hit. Speaking of Eilish, the singer’s Happier Than Ever earned her a number of nods, as well. She’s actually tied with Rodrigo for third-most nominations as they both received seven.

Check out our predictions below for how the biggest and most coveted categories could play out.

Best Rap Album

J. Cole — The Off-Season

Drake — Certified Lover Boy

Nas — King’s Disease II

Tyler, the Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost

Kanye West — Donda

Who will win: Kanye West — Donda

Who should win: Tyler The Creator — Call Me If You Get Lost

This year’s Best Rap Album category is filled with well-established artists. Both Kanye West’s Donda and Drake’s Certified Lover Boy dominated news cycles after being postponed and ended up getting released within days of each other. Kanye’s Donda is also nominated for Album Of The Year, and seeing as the rapper already holds 22 wins and 75 nominations throughout his career, it’s likely the Recording Academy will give him the Best Rap Album award. However, Tyler The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost is the one that deserves to take home the trophy. The album shows off Tyler’s impeccable MC skills and his alter ego, Tyler Baudelaire, feels like his most genuine thus far. The LP addresses important contemporary topics and sees Tyler showing off some new techniques, resulting in a top-level album as a whole.

Best Rap Performance

Baby Keem — “Family Ties” Feat. Kendrick Lamar

Cardi B — “Up”

J. Cole — “My Life” Feat. 21 Savage and Morray

Drake — “Way 2 Sexy” Feat. Future and Young Thug

Megan Thee Stallion — “Thot Sh*t”

Who will win: Cardi B — “Up”

Who should win: Baby Keem “Family Ties” Feat. Kendrick Lamar

The Best Rap Performance category saw a number of deserving nominations this year. Of course, Cardi B show-stopped with her 2021 track “Up,” which featured tongue-tied verses so catchy it went viral on TikTok. Megan Thee Stallion’s “Thot Sh*t” also gets an honorable mention as it became an instant hit and its video showed the rapper torturing a misogynistic, slut-shaming senator. But even with those two songs deserving of the award, we lean towards Best New Artist nominee Baby Keem, whose role in his Kendrick Lamar collaboration, “Family Ties,” proves he more than lives up to the hype. The rapper’s flow matches the energy of the song’s propulsive beat and flexes his witty penmanship and impressive breath control.

Best Alternative Music Album

Fleet Foxes — Shore

Halsey — If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power

Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee

Arlo Parks — Collapsed In Sunbeams

St. Vincent — Daddy’s Home

Who will win: St. Vincent — Daddy’s Home

Who should win: Japanese Breakfast — Jubilee

2021 was a great year for indie and alternative music lovers. Nearly all the artists in the category delivered career highlights, with Halsey joining forces with Nine Inch Nails members for her darkest release yet, and Arlo Parks crooning spine-chilling prose that deal with the realities of mental health crises, heartbreak, and unrequited queer love. St. Vincent’s Daddy’s Home is a likely winner, per The Recording Academy’s history of awarding Annie Clark in the category in 2015, which is surprising based on its lukewarm reviews. The real winner here is Japanese Breakfast, whose album Jubilee was free of dull moments and overall constituted an electrifying and heartfelt effort from the musician.

Best Pop Solo Performance

Justin Bieber — “Anyone”

Brandi Carlile — “Right on Time”

Billie Eilish — “Happier Than Ever”

Ariana Grande — “Positions”

Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Who should win: Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

This year’s Best Pop Solo Performance category includes more ballads than upbeat pop bangers. Even still, Billie Eilish did put on a wonderful display of her talents in “Happier Than Ever” and Ariana Grande busted out her far-reaching vocals for “Positions.” However, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” is the most likely winner in the category. The track was both her debut single and the song that put her on the map, leading to several weeks at No. 1. While the rest of her catalog is filled with more dance-ready tunes, the emotions in “Drivers License” are tangible and most definitely Grammy-worthy.

Best Pop Vocal Album

Justin Bieber — Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)

Doja Cat — Planet Her (Deluxe)

Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever

Ariana Grande — Positions

Olivia Rodrigo — Sour

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo — Sour

Who should win: Doja Cat — Planet Her (Deluxe)

We all know that Olivia Rodrigo’s has some impressive pipes, but Doja Cat’s Planet Her deserves the award due to its versatility. The album features some radio-ready, melodic bops like “Kiss Me More,” but it also includes several songs that show Doja trying out inventive tactics. Her voice is breathy and robust on “Woman” while she distorts her voice into airy and swaggering bursts on “Get Into It (Yuh).” The combination of styles on this Planet Her makes for an enticing and impressive effort, and one that should win Best Pop Vocal Album.

Best Progressive R&B Album

Eric Bellinger — New Light

Cory Henry — Something To Say

Hiatus Kaiyote — Mood Valiant

Lucky Daye — Table For Two

Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder and Kamasi Washington — Dinner Party: Dessert

Masego — Studying Abroad: Extended Stay

Who will win: Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder and Kamasi Washington — Dinner Party: Dessert

Who should win: Lucky Daye — Table For Two

Today’s modern R&B genre is stacked with prolific and groundbreaking artists, as exemplified by this year’s Best Progressive R&B Album category. Acclaimed artists Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder and Kamasi Washington came together for the jazzy joint album Dinner Party: Dessert, which tapped a massive team of collaborators and is likely to take home the winning trophy. But Lucky Daye’s album Table For Two also shines bright. The New Orleans native showed off his multi-faceted artistry on the album, seamlessly flipping from soulful ballads to sultry and rhythmic tracks. Either would be great wins, to be quite honest.

Record Of The Year

ABBA — “I Still Have Faith In You”

Jon Batiste — “Freedom”

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga — “I Get A Kick Out Of You”

Justin Bieber — “Peaches” Feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon

Brandi Carlile — “Right On Time”

Doja Cat — “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA

Billie Eilish — “Happier Than Ever”

Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”

Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Silk Sonic — “Leave The Door Open”

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Who should win: Doja Cat — “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA

Record Of The Year is awarded to artists whose finished song made a huge cultural impact — and this year’s list includes a number of deserving names. Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” is the likely winner, seeing as the song dominated pop culture for months on end. But Doja Cat’s “Kiss Me More” featuring SZA is more than worthy of the award. The track is one of the most straightforward pop songs that both Doja Cat and SZA have ever made, and it definitely worked to their benefit. Not only is it playful, snappy, and captivating, but it offers a space for the two singers’ impressive vocals to shine through.

Best New Artist

Arooj Aftab

Jimmie Allen

Baby Keem

Finneas

Glass Animals

Japanese Breakfast

The Kid Laroi

Arlo Parks

Olivia Rodrigo

Saweetie

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo

Who should win: Olivia Rodrigo

One of the great aspects of the Best New Artist category is that it’s a career highlight just to be nominated. This year has some incredible honorable mentions, like Japanese Breakfast, whose third studio album Jubilee was a masterpiece, or Arlo Parks, whose debut LP Collapsed In Sunbeams was pure poetry. But this year, the award will likely go to the deserving artist Olivia Rodrigo. With her debut album Sour, Rodrigo managed to go from Disney Channel actor to one of today’s biggest names in music over the course of just a few months. The album put her name on the map and earned her the title of certified pop star.

Song Of The Year

Ed Sheeran — “Bad Habits”

Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile — “A Beautiful Noise”

Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

HER — “Fight For You”

Billie Eilish — “Happier Than Ever”

Doja Cat — “Kiss Me More” Feat. SZA

Silk Sonic — “Leave The Door Open”

Lil Nas X — “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”

Justin Bieber — “Peaches” Feat. Daniel Caesar and Giveon

Brandi Carlile — “Right On Time”

Who will win: Olivia Rodrigo — “Drivers License”

Who should win: Silk Sonic — “Leave The Door Open”

The Song Of The Year category, which oftentimes gets confused with Record Of The Year, awards those involved in the actual writing process of a track (which sometimes doesn’t include the artist). Olivia Rodrigo’s debut single “Drivers License” became a ubiquitous feature of pop culture shortly after its release and is likely to take home the trophy. It even got its own SNL-dedicated sketch. But the real winner in 2021 was the debut single “Leave The Door Open” by Silk Sonic, the duo of Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars. Inspired by the soul greats like Bootsy Collins and James Brown, “Leave The Door Open” is sensual, dreamy, and one of the most sonically interesting tracks in this category.

Album Of The Year

Jon Batiste — We Are

Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga — Love For Sale

Justin Bieber — Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe)

Doja Cat — Planet Her (Deluxe)

Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever

HER — Back Of My Mind

Lil Nas X — Montero

Olivia Rodrigo — Sour

Taylor Swift — Evermore

Kanye West — Donda

Who will win: Billie Eilish — Happier Than Ever

Who should win: Olivia Rodrigo — Sour

The Album Of The Year category is perhaps the most coveted award at the Grammys. This year, there were ten different nominees to choose from. While music lovers and critics alike may have a clear winner in mind, the Recording Academy oftentimes chooses to throw a curveball in this category, like when Beck beat out both Beyonce and Ed Sheeran in 2015. But this year, it’s likely that the award will go to Billie Eilish. The Recording Academy is clearly fond of Eilish, seeing as she holds seven wins and 17 nominations in the two years she’s submitted her music. But the award truly deserves to go to Olivia Rodrigo, whose debut album Sour was an exceptionally strong effort from a new artist. Everything about Sour is a hit — from its genre-fluid, catchy tracks to its on-point elevated schoolgirl aesthetic. All generations of music lovers can relate to the songs on Sour, making it without a doubt the album of 2021.

The 2022 Grammys airs April 3 at 8:30 pm EST. Find out how to watch it here.

Some of the artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Latto’s ‘Big Energy’ Remix With Mariah Carey And DJ Khaled Brings Mariah’s ‘Fantasy’ Into The Mix

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Since Latto released her hit single, “Big Energy,” she’s been steadily climbing the Billboard charts, and the song helped anchor her second album, 777, which officially dropped on Friday. And along with the album release, Latto has been teasing an updated remix to “Big Energy,” and with the promo around teasing the upcoming feature, Latto almost got sucked into drama between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, but she skillfully sidestepped by letting everyone know she unequivocally supports both women.

Instead, she finally let fans know for sure on Friday that it was none other than Mariah Carey who had been tapped for the new version of the song, which just dropped and you can hear it above. The very prominent sample on this track is taken from Tom Tom Club’s 1981 single, “Genius Of Love,” and the sample was made incredibly popular by Mariah’s own hit, “Fantasy.” So it’s also not surprising that the “Big Energy” remix, which also features DJ Khaled, is the most logical interpolation of both hits. Mariah contributes lots of whistle notes to the intro of the song, while Latto raps her initial verse, and then Mariah launches into the first verse of “Fantasy.”

It’s kind of like the best of both worlds when it comes to the two hits, and probably destined for some chart success of its own.