Latest news with #21Club
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
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Country Singer Conner Smith Was the Driver in Fatal Nashville Crosswalk Car Accident
Country singer Conner Smith was driving the truck that struck and killed a 77-year-old pedestrian in Nashville on Sunday (June 8), Billboard has confirmed. A release from the Metro Nashville Police Department on Monday (June 9) stated that a 24-year-old man named Conner Smith was behind the wheel during Sunday's accident. The pedestrian was identified as 77-year-old Dorothy Dobbins. More from Billboard Hot 100 First-Timers: Conner Smith Debuts With Country Hit 'Creek Will Rise' Kylie Minogue Joins Prestigious '21 Club' at London's O2 Arena Kevin Parker Previews New Tame Impala Music During Barcelona DJ Set According to the release, a preliminary investigation showed that a Chevrolet Silverado truck driven by Smith was traveling north on 3rd Ave. N. while Dobbins was crossing the road. The release indicated that Dobbins was inside a marked crosswalk when she was struck around 7:30 p.m. that evening. Dobbins was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she died due to injuries sustained in the accident. According to the police department's release, the primary factor in the crash seemed to be Smith failing to yield the right of way to the pedestrian. The release noted that Smith showed no signs of impairment and that there are currently no charges, though the investigation is ongoing. Smith's attorney Worrick G. Robinson told Billboard in a statement: 'On June 8th, Mr. Smith was involved in a car accident that tragically claimed a life. His heart goes out to Ms. Dobbins' family during this incredibly difficult time. Mr. Smith continues to cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation.' Sources close to Smith tell Billboard that the incident was a tragic accident and that Smith was not under the influence, nor distracted by his phone at the time of the incident. Sources at the scene note that Smith was released quickly, as there was no sign of impairment. Nashville native Smith first broke through in 2021, when his song 'I Hate Alabama' went viral. He issued the EP Didn't Go Too Far in 2022 and followed with the singles 'Learn From It' and 'Take It Slow.' He earned his all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart debut last year with 'Creek Will Rise,' which entered the chart at No. 89 and rose to No. 12 on the Country Airplay chart. This year, he teamed with Dylan Marlowe to release the collaboration 'Country In the Clouds.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
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Cardi B Stresses ‘Music Is a Collaboration' While Accepting 2025 ASCAP Voice of the Culture Award
Just one day before the 2025 BET Awards are set to take over Los Angeles' Peacock Theater on Monday night (June 9), a slew of the most prolific songwriters and producers across R&B and hip-hop convened at the Beverly Hills Four Seasons for the 2025 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards on Sunday (June 8). Decked out in a floor-length, figure-hugging brown dress, Cardi B graciously accepted the Voice of the Culture Award as her fellow songwriters and artists looked on. More from Billboard Kylie Minogue Joins Prestigious '21 Club' at London's O2 Arena Kevin Parker Previews New Tame Impala Music During Barcelona DJ Set 'Maybe Happy Ending,' 'Sunset Blvd.' Win Key 2025 Tony Awards: Full Winners List 'My voice has always been a reflection of what I live and what I'm living, which I feel is a true reflection of the people, the culture, my friends, my family, and the environment that I grew up in,' the Grammy-winning rapper said while accepting her 'big girl' award from ASCAP executive vice president & head of creative membership, Nicole George-Middleton. 'I like to put that in my music — my joys, my pains, my drama, everything.' With Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers like 'Bodak Yellow,' 'I Like It,' 'WAP' and 'Up,' to her name, Cardi B has helped keep female rap at the top of the Billboard charts ever since she first broke through in 2017. Her resounding commercial success and cultural impact make her a natural successor to Usher, who received the same award last year. The Voice of the Culture Award is presented to ASCAP members who have had a major influence on music and culture, recognizing their success as creators and changemakers. Additional past recipients of the award include Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, D-Nice and T.I. 'I hate the idea that if you don't write every line on your own, it makes what you have to say not real. Music is a collaboration, it has always been. The biggest hits [and] the greatest records come from teamwork,' Cardi continued. 'They come from sharing experiences, energy, pain and joy. It's not about ego, it's about impact. I write, I co-write, I rewrite. I speak to what's true to me. My pen, my mind and my feelings are in every verse and in every hook. I respect every writer who brings their magic to the table. This award is not just for me, it's for the culture.' Cardi, who also picked up an ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Award for her 2024 Hot 100 top 10 hit 'Enough (Miami),' made history in 2020 as the first woman to receive the esteemed ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Songwriter of the Year Award two years in a row. She has earned eight ASCAP Pop Music Awards and 23 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards. At Monday night's BET Awards, Cardi will be vying for her third consecutive win for best female hip-hop artist, which would mark her first victory in that category this decade. Last week, the rapper dominated headlines after making her relationship with New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs Instagram-official. Kendrick Lamar's cultural juggernaut 'Not Like Us' was named ASCAP R&B/Hip-Hop and Rap Song of the Year. Co-written by Mustard, the searing Drake diss spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100, swept all five of its Grammy nominations, and became the first-ever rap song to spend 52 consecutive weeks on Billboard's marquee singles chart. Lamar leads this year's BET Awards with 10 nominations, including album of the year (GNX), video of the year ('Not Like Us') and best male hip-hop artist. Swiss songwriter OZ earned this year's ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Songwriter of the Year honor, commemorating his contributions to hits like Drake and J. Cole's 'First Person Shooter,' Jack Harlow's 'Lovin On Me' and Travis Scott's 'I Know?' Cece Winans' 'That's My King,' co-written by Taylor Agan and Kellie Besch, earned the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Gospel Song of the Year title, and Sony Music Publishing was named ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Publisher of the Year. Some of Sony's biggest 2024 hits included Hot 100 chart-toppers like Beyoncé's 'Texas Hold 'Em' and Shaboozey's 'A Bar Song (Tipsy),' as well as year-defining tracks like Tommy Richman's 'Million Dollar Baby,' SZA's 'Saturn,' Sexyy Red's 'Get It Sexyy,' Muni Long's 'Made for Me,' Chris Brown's 'Residuals' and 'Sensational,' Lil Baby and Central Cee's 'Band4Band,' Cardi B's 'Enough' and GloRilla's 'Yeah Glo!' Additional 2025 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Award-winning songwriters include 21 Savage ('Prove It,' 'Redrum,' 'Surround Sound'), Offset ('Worth It'), Lil Uzi Vert ('Everybody'), Tee Grizzley ('IDGAF'), Playboi Carti ('Carnival,' 'FE!N,' 'Timeless'), Tasha Cobbs Leonard ('In the Room'), and Tye Tribbett ('Only One Night Tho'). The ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards recognize the songwriters and publishers of the most-performed songs of the past year based on Luminate data for terrestrial and satellite radio and streaming services, as specified by the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards rules. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
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Mariah Carey's ‘Type Dangerous' Tops This Week's Favorite New Music Poll
Mariah Carey's 'Type Dangerous' tops this week's new music poll. In a poll published Friday (June 6) on Billboard, music fans chose the superstar singer's latest single as their favorite new release of the week. More from Billboard Friday Music Guide: New Music From Sabrina Carpenter, Lil Wayne, Addison Rae, Turnstile & More Kylie Minogue Joins Prestigious '21 Club' at London's O2 Arena Kevin Parker Previews New Tame Impala Music During Barcelona DJ Set The confident, percussion-heavy track pulled in nearly 70% of the vote, outpacing new music from Sabrina Carpenter ('Manchild'), Ed Sheeran ('Sapphire'), KATSEYE featuring Ice Spice ('Gnarly' remix), Addison Rae (Addison) and Lil Wayne (Tha Carter VI). 'Type Dangerous' marks Mimi's first proper single in years, and it arrives with all the signature flair Lambs have come to expect. 'Looking for the dangerous type,' Carey croons. 'I like them dangerous/ That's my type/ I said I love them dangerous.' The five-time Grammy winner last released an album in 2018 with Caution, which reached at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. In the days leading up to the new single's release, Carey teased fans on social media with a glamorous clip of herself in a luxury car, soundtracked by a mystery song. The video also showed a license plate reading 'MC16' — a possible hint at her 16th studio album. Since Caution, Carey has kept busy with annual 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' celebrations, as well as anniversary reissues of her most iconic work. Most recently, she marked the 20th anniversary of The Emancipation of Mimi with an expanded two-disc set featuring remixes, bonus tracks and a cappella versions. Coming in second in the poll was Carpenter's 'Manchild,' which earned 19% of the vote. The track is her first new release since the deluxe edition of Short n' Sweet dropped in February. Check out the full poll results below and head to Billboard's Friday Music Guide for more must-hear releases. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
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Kylie Minogue Joins Prestigious ‘21 Club' at London's O2 Arena
Kylie Minogue is the latest musician – and the first female performer – to join the prestigious '21 Club' at London's O2 Arena. As per Rolling Stone Australia, the honor is bestowed upon performers who have performed 21 or more sold-out shows at the English venue. For Minogue, the admission to the club follows on from her four recent performances at the venue as part of her global Tension Tour – bringing her final tally to 24. More from Billboard 7 Fabulous Moments From Kylie Minogue's Madison Square Garden Show Kevin Parker Previews New Tame Impala Music During Barcelona DJ Set 'Maybe Happy Ending,' 'Sunset Blvd.' Win Key 2025 Tony Awards: Full Winners List The club was first launched in 2007 to mark Prince's record-breaking run of 21 sold-out shows at the venue, and since then only seven other performers have been inducted, including Michael Bublé, Take That, One Direction, Drake, Young Voices, Micky Flanagan and Michael McIntyre. Michael Jackson's 50-date This Is It residency would have seen him become the second artist inducted into the club, though these shows were cancelled following his premature death in June 2009. Minogue first performed at the venue in July 2008, just over a year on from its initial opening, and will receive a bespoke 'key to the venue' as part of her induction. 'The 'O2 21 Club.' London …. you know how much I love you already but THISSSS was special,' Minogue wrote of the honor on social media. 'To be the first female headliner to make the club and join PRINCE!!! Wowwwwwww. THANK YOU.' 'It's a huge achievement to join the exclusive 21 Club at The O2, and we couldn't be happier that Kylie is the first female to do so,' added Emma Bownes, Senior Vice President of Venue Programming at AEG Europe. 'She is a phenomenon, a true music icon, and we're beyond grateful she's brought so many of her incredible tours here. We hope there are plenty more to come.' Minogue's impressive feat follows on from another legacy-related milestone in February, where she was honored with a star at the Melbourne Park sporting complex in her hometown of Melbourne, Australia. Coinciding with the third of three consecutive performances at the city's 14,820-capacity Rod Laver Arena, it also coincided with Minogue's first performance at the venue back in Feb. 1990 when it was then known as the National Tennis Centre. Since her debut at Rod Laver Arena 35 years ago, Minogue has gone on to play 30 shows at Melbourne Park, amassing sales of more than 350,000 tickets in the process. Her three recent dates brought that total to 33 performances with an additional 36,000 ticket sales, making her one of the most successful artists to ever perform at the Melbourne destination. Minogue's Tension tour continues throughout Europe across June and July, before wrapping in South America the following month. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
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‘Something Very Simple, But Intense': How Gesaffelstein & His Team Made One of the Best Electronic Shows On the Road
When Lady Gaga asked Gesaffelstein to appear during her Coachella 2025 weekend one headlining show, the French producer's answer was obvious: 'oui.' 'Of course we had to say yes,' says Alexandra Pilz-Hayot, the founder and director of Savoir Faire, the French company that's long managed the electronic producer. 'He really wanted to be there with her for the launch of the tour.' More from Billboard Kylie Minogue Joins Prestigious '21 Club' at London's O2 Arena Kevin Parker Previews New Tame Impala Music During Barcelona DJ Set 'Maybe Happy Ending,' 'Sunset Blvd.' Win Key 2025 Tony Awards: Full Winners List His team worked with Gaga's to figure out logistics like where the artist born Mike Lévy would stand onstage and what equipment he'd use. Beyond that, 'we didn't really ask that many questions,' says Pilz-Hayot. Gesffelstein and his team arrived at Coachella, surprised to see that only one name was on the list of guest artists for Gaga's Mayhem Ball: Gesaffelstein. 'We literally asked [Gaga], 'But are there other guests?'' says Pilz-Hayot. 'No, no, you're the only one,' she told them. 'We were like, 'Oh my god.'' Hours later, Gesaffelstein was onstage alongside Gaga and her fleet of dancers, performing for the tens of thousands of people on the field and the millions more watching around the world via livestream. 'GESAFFELSTEIN, OH MY GOD IT'S GESAFFELSTEIN,' at least one person in the crowd screamed when the producer appeared onstage in his signature all-black everything — trousers, jacket, gloves, shimmering mask formed in the shape of his face and hair — at the start of the show's third act. The slender producer towered behind musical equipment held up by shimmery black pillars, as he and Gaga performed their sexy, funky, playful pop romp 'Killah,' a collaborative track from Gaga's March album, Mayhem. The moment was a figurative exclamation point on an unrelenting year. The last 12 months have contained Gesaffelstein collaborations with Gaga and Charli xcx (Brat's 'B2b' and 'I Might Say Something Stupid'), the release of his own third studio album, Gamma, and the launch of the tour behind this album, a run that began in April of 2024 on Coachella's Outdoor Stage and has hit global festivals and standalone arenas like Los Angeles' Kia Forum. The tour has indulged the dark, minimalist, deliciously intense and undeniably tantalizing world the producer — long a revered figure of the electronic underground — has erected with both his tough as nails industrial-leaning electronic music and corresponding aesthetic, with this tour easily being one of the best electronic shows on the road in 2024 and 2025. The tour's production design was conceived by Lévy, Marie de Testa and Pierre Claude. De Testa joined the team in 2023, while Claude has worked with the artist for the last 12 years, since the tour for his 2013 debut, Aleph. In his role as production and lighting designer, Claude is in charge of designing the show's set and lighting schematic while coming up with the ideas it takes to make it all hit hard while also avoiding de facto electronic live show elements like fire, confetti and soaring LED screens. 'Mike is very involved with his own tour for sure, from the design and the story,' Claude says. 'For this, he wanted something massive — a big set piece, very theatrical, no technology or automation or anything futuristic, just a theatrical set. And black, of course — everything is black with Mike.' 'You have one person on stage who's doing everything with machines,' adds Pilz-Hayot. 'So it's trying to make it almost like a ceremony. That's always been the brief all his life. Of course, we wanted something bigger, that had the spirit of something that would be monumental.' (Adding to the mystery of it all, no one has interviewed Lévy since circa 2014, a streak that would not be unbroken for this story. Pilz-Hayot explains that 'he's always been very protective of himself; what he wants to share with the audience is never the 'behind the scenes.'') Together, the team conjured a design that puts Gesaffelstein on a raised podium, bookended by his equipment and structures fabricated in the shape of long black crystals, a sort of phantasmagorical flourish in an otherwise tidily designed structure meant to evoke the theater. The setup includes between six to eight towering pillars (depending on the size of the stage) with Gesaffelstein and his podium placed atop a set of stairs. Altogether, it gives the feeling that he's playing from within a sort of Blade Runner-style Pantheon — and not even necessarily performing from within the set, but being part of it. 'That's why he's wearing a mask,' says Claude. 'It's not like a DJ or performer on stage. Mike wanted to be part of the design.' The set was built in Burbank, Calif., given the city's proximity to Indio, where Coachella happens. This routine was the same as for Gesaffelstein's lauded tour behind 2019's Hyperion, which also began at the festival. 'We started at Coachella every time on the Outdoor Stage,' Claude says, 'which is very stressful for us, because we have no rehearsals before.' Did everything at Coachella 2024 go according to plan, despite having no official run through? Claude considers it: 'Yes, actually. Yes.' It helps that this current show is easier to pull off than the one for Hyperion, given that it's a static piece that involves less technology and moving parts.'We just wanted to work out the lighting with music, so we don't need technology besides lights and music,' Claude continues. 'The plan was to do something very simple, but intense.' If you've stood in front of the stage on this tour, it's hard to deny the show's ferociousness, which ramps up over the course of the hour-plus show as Gesaffelstein manhandles his synthesizer. Throughout, he's bathed in washes of mostly white light and surrounded by lasers as the music builds to a place of pure pummeling. His only interaction with the crowd is when he briefly turns to face forward, extends an arm and wags his middle and index fingers to make a sort of 'come with me' gesture. Adding to the intrigue is that it's impossible to read his face, given the aforementioned mask. This costume piece, which Pilz-Hayot says was partially inspired by the themes of beauty and sin in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, became part of the Gesaffelstein canon on the Hyperion tour. This time, however, the eyes of the mask glow unsettlingly, an effect that adds the surreal feel and helps the show achieve its intended sci-fi mood — even if it does also obscure the artist's objectively perfect face. 'When he told me he wanted to wear a mask for the Hyperion tour I was like, 'What the f–k?'' recalls Claude. 'He's like, one of the most beautiful artists in the world, and he wants to hide his face? I was a bit disappointed, because he looks so cool onstage smoking cigarettes or for an hour [while he played]. But when he came for the first show with the mask on, it was like, 'What the f–k — It looks so good!'' 'It's not an artist anymore,' says Pilz-Hayot. 'It's a character.' On both aesthetic and functional levels, the mask also adds to the intensity. While it's thin in design and equipped with a fan, Claude reports that 'it's difficult for him to hear.' He uses an in-ear monitor 'like an F1 driver,' but the situation is exacerbated by the fact that 'he can't see a lot. He can see like, the first row.' But 'for him, it doesn't matter,' Claude continues. 'His music is intense, so he doesn't want to have a good time on stage. He just doing his job.' In terms of lighting, the one moment of color comes during the slinky, G-funk inspired 2013 classic 'Hellifornia' during which the stage is bathed in deep red light. 'We really wanted to have a dirty strip club mood,' Claude says of this color choice. Given the emphasis on simplicity, Claude worked to 'hide all the technical stuff.' Lights, lasers, cables and even musical equipment are hidden behind columns and under the steps, which are in fact just props and unable to support any weight, making them easier to transport. With no technical elements visible, Claude says the show is almost the 'total opposite' of the current lights and lasers bonanza that Gesaffelstein's friends Justice are currently touring with. The producer and his 10-person touring team have brought the show to dance-focused festivals around the world. U.S. stops included San Francisco's Portola, San Diego's CRSSD, Miami's Ultra Music Festival and last month's EDC Las Vegas. Given that some of these dance fests have stage that are fantastically shaped liked butterflies and flowers, Claude says it's often 'very difficult' for him to adapt the minimalist show to the whimsical surroundings. (To wit, it was a striking juxtaposition when Gesaffelstein played EDC's lotus flower-shaped NeonGarden stage as a fireworks finale lit up the sky behind him.) 'There is not a place that really suits him,' says Pilz-Hayot. 'He's obviously very different from what happens in the EDM scene globally, musically or in live production.' Still, the dance festival world has warmly welcomed him, and Pilz-Hayot says the team received many show offers after the 2024 Coachella debut. (This type of organic marketing is helpful, given that he doesn't speak publicly or even have an Instagram account.) His sound also makes it possible for him to exist at major multi-genre festivals at Coachella, Paris' We Love Green (where he plays this Saturday, June 7) and San Francisco's Outside Lands, where he plays in August, while making him a fit for other genre-focused events, like Germany's Rock am Ring and Rock im Park metal festivals — where Gesaffelstein played in 2014, taking the stage after Iron Maiden. 'We were the last act,' says Claude. 'The metal fans walked towards the exit and Mike was playing there, and they all stopped and really enjoyed [the performance],' with Gesaffelstein's heavy canon sharing obvious DNA with the hard, loud and head-banging metal realm. This ability to exist across worlds while also doing something uniquely his own has arguably been the draw for pop stars like Gaga, Charli and The Weeknd, the latter of whom collaborated with Gesaffelstein on 2019's 'Lost In the Fire.' 'He's so outside of trends and really wants to follow his path and his artistic proposal,' says Pilz-Hayot. 'In a way, he's been doing this same approach and very particular sound since day one, so the way he produces is so specific that people just want Gesaffelstein's stamp on their music.' But those bewitched by the darkness of his sound should not discount the pop sensibility that also lies within. 'He has a very strong sense of melody and pop,' continues Pilz-Hayot. 'You hear it on the Charli song and the Gaga song, especially on the track 'Killah.' It's the meeting of two artists who really understand each other musically. It's been the easiest collaboration.' But you will not hear the track or any of his other pop collabs (which include an official remix of Gaga's electro smash 'Abracadabra') in his current setlist, which instead pulls from his own catalog, and builds to a place that feels like blissfully getting punched in the face with a battering ram of drums. He's got festival dates on the calendar through mid-August, then, Pilz-Hayot says, 'I guess all he wants is to be back in the studio and making new music. You never know what happens next… but clearly a new album would be the next target.' When this new album is ready to tour and further build out the dark kingdom of electronic music's so-called dark prince, fans will be ready, and the team will be too. 'I'll be touring with him forever,' says Claude. 'He's a good friend, and I f–king love his music.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
