Latest news with #Sombr
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Friend of Mine' Co-Producer Jon Bellion: Rihanna's New Single Resulted From ‘A Bunch of People Having a Blast'
At first blush, Rihanna's 'Friend of Mine' does not sound like a single from a kids movie. Unlike the superstar's previous soundtrack work for films like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Home, which tended to veer toward sweeping pop balladry, 'Friend of Mine' is a thumping club track, with Rihanna's voice positioned as an elliptical refrain over a house beat. Jon Bellion, who co-wrote and co-produced the track last year, was initially surprised to hear that the song would be featured in the upcoming Smurfs film, in which Rihanna is voicing Smurfette. Then he considered the sonic profile of 'Friend of Mine,' and understood its mass appeal. 'From a product standpoint, I don't think you get such major chords and such a positive [message] over a dance record that doesn't sound like a kids movie too often,' he tells Billboard. 'So when do you nail the feel-good, family-friendly, high-taste, deep '90s nostalgia, that can also be played into the kids movie? Shoot it out into the world!' More from Billboard Nessa Barrett Announces 2025 Australian Arena Tour Sombr Announces 2025 Australia and New Zealand Headline Tour Eddie Vedder Covers Springsteen's 'My City of Ruins' After Trump Clash That's exactly what Rihanna did on Friday (May 16) with 'Friend of Mine,' which precedes the Smurfs soundtrack (out June 13 through Roc Nation Distribution) and her star turn in the Smurfs film (in theaters July 18). Three years after her last music release, Rihanna has offered 'Friend of Mine' as a long-awaited check-in with fans, and an unexpected song of the summer bid. The song came together during one of Bellion's writing camps at his vacation home in the Hamptons last summer, with the studio veteran producing the song with Pete Nappi and Fallen, and all three receiving co-writing credits along with Elijah Noll, Elkan, Tenroc and Rihanna. That group of writers and producers are part of Beautiful Mind Projects, Bellion's management, publishing and label company, and Bellion — who's helped artists like Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Maroon 5 score pivotal hits in recent years — says that the energy heard on 'Friend of Mine' is a reflection of his collective's collaborative spirit. 'It was a bunch of people having a blast, doing a music camp together, jamming on some DJ s–t and playing chords and just having fun,' he says. 'And I think that that's probably why it ended up sounding so new. It just felt like a natural thing, with a bunch of guys who like being around each other and want to make great s–t.' 'Working with [Jon] is always exciting because you know you're going to walk away with a real song,' the producer Fallen, who's also worked with artists like Doja Cat and Summer Walker, tells Billboard in a statement. 'He sees things through. He's the kind of person who will spend an entire week on a single track if that's what it takes. We spent about three days on 'Friend of Mine,' just refining and dialing it in. Coming from the hip-hop world, I'm used to making five songs in a single session, so this level of detail was new for me. But it's been the most valuable lesson I've learned working with him.' One of Bellion's earliest hits as a co-writer was 'The Monster,' the 2013 smash from Eminem and Rihanna that topped the Hot 100 chart for four weeks. In the decade-plus since that breakthrough, he's stayed in touch with Rihanna's team, and says that he's contributed 'a couple songs' to her camp over the years that have yet to be released. Considering that Rihanna's output has been scant since her 2016 album ANTI, Bellion was uncertain that 'Friend of Mine' would see the light of day, but the spontaneity of the track's creation stood out in his mind when it came together last year. 'The song is raw — like, she didn't really mix it further than the two track that we sent out,' he says. 'We [sent] it out, and I had it on my phone for a few days, and I just remember, every morning I'd wake up listening to it. I'd listen to it in the shower, like, 'This is kind of jamming!'' Bellion couldn't recall another Rihanna single that sounded quite like 'Friend of Mine' — and he says that, at some point after the song was finished, the realization hit him that unexplored territory was exactly what she had been searching for. 'She's not looking for 'We Found Love 2.0,' or 'Work 2.0,'' he says. 'The arrangement and the feel feels all very new — very cutting-edge, in front of what the next wave will be, because she usually tries to do that every time she puts something out.' 'Friend of Mine' arrives shortly before Bellion's third studio album, Father Figure, is released on June 6; the project marks his first solo full-length in seven years, and features guest turns from Luke Combs, Pharrell Williams and Jon Batiste. While Father Figure includes deeply personal reflections on fatherhood and its challenges, Bellion is glad that 'Friend of Mine' has arrived a few weeks beforehand, to give him a chance to pull off something he has yet to accomplish professionally. 'My whole career, I've wanted [a song] that plays at all the events — all the baby showers and sweet sixteens and wedding and Bar Mitzvahs,' Bellion says with a laugh. 'I don't think I've ever really had one of those, so it feels great, and hopefully it does well.' 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
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Alex Warren named US male artist with longest-running UK number one single
His hit song Ordinary has also reached new heights to be named the longest-running number one single of the 2020s, beating Ed Sheeran's Bad Habits in 2021, according to the Official Charts Company. The singer-songwriter scored his 12th week at the top of the leaderboard making him the US male solo artist with the most consecutive weeks at number one. He beats the late American country singer Slim Whitman who achieved 11 consecutive weeks in 1955 with Rose Marie. According to the Official Charts Company, Californian Warren's hit song Ordinary has had 107 million streams with a total of 920,000 chart sales since it first entered the charts in February. Martin Talbot of the Official Charts Company said: 'There's nothing 'ordinary' about Alex Warren's impact on 2025, with his smash hit single setting new records with ease. 'Usurping Ed Sheeran is one thing, but taking a chart record away from Slim Whitman after 70 years is simply astonishing.' Following Warren in the UK singles charts is US singer Ravyn Lenae who jumped ahead of Chappell Roan's Pink Pony Club and is now at number two with her song Love Me Not. At number four is Sombr's Undressed followed by south-east London singer-songwriter Skye Newman whose second single Family Matters has granted her a place in the top five for the first time. Meanwhile, in the album charts, Ed Sheeran's +–=÷× (Tour Collection) remains at number one for a second non-consecutive week. Ahead of her headlining slot at Barcelona's Primavera Festival, Espresso singer, Sabrina Carpenter, who released a new single, Manchild, on Friday, remains in the top five album charts for the 41st week with Short N' Sweet. Carpenter, is joined in the top five by Miley Cyrus with her ninth studio album, Something Beautiful, which reached number three on the charts.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miley Cyrus Unveils ‘Something Beautiful' Tracklist Featuring Naomi Campbell & Brittany Howard
Miley Cyrus has unveiled the titles that make up Something Beautiful, with the pop star revealing her upcoming album's tracklist Monday (May 19). In a cinematic video shared on her social media accounts, the names of the 13 songs on the album flash in white text in between shots of Cyrus modeling a number of chic looks in various performance spaces, backlit by spotlights and sometimes shrouded in fog. In addition to previously released singles 'Prelude,' 'Something Beautiful,' 'End of the World' and 'More to Lose,' the album will feature tracks titled 'Interlude 1,' 'Easy Lover,' 'Interlude 2,' 'Golden Burning Sun,' 'Pretend You're God,' 'Reborn' and 'Give Me Love.' More from Billboard Miley Cyrus Addresses Family Feud Rumors: 'Family Is My Priority Above All Else' Nessa Barrett Announces 2025 Australian Arena Tour Sombr Announces 2025 Australia and New Zealand Headline Tour Plus, Something Beautiful will feature two collaborations: 'Walk of Fame' featuring Brittany Howard and 'Every Girl You've Ever Loved' with model Naomi Campbell, who appears next to Cyrus for a split second in the tracklist reveal video. 'All 13 songs have a special place in my heart,' the 'Wrecking Ball' singer wrote in her caption. 'Something Beautiful. May 30th.' In addition to the music, Something Beautiful will double as a visual album that Cyrus has previously compared to Pink Floyd's The Wall. On Thursday (May 15), the Hannah Montana alum announced that, following its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 6, the Something Beautiful film will play in theaters for one night only. The new album follows 2023's Endless Summer Vacation, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200. It also spawned smash hit 'Flowers,' which spent eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and won record of the year at the 2024 Grammys. See Cyrus' tracklist unveiling below. 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
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sombr ‘Didn't Want to Just Do Ballads Forever' — So He Pushed the Tempo and Scored Two Hot 100 Hits
Shane Boose says that, if a piece of music can be described as 'alternative' or 'indie,' he's probably going to enjoy it. 'My favorite band of all time is Radiohead,' Boose, who records as Sombr, tells Billboard. 'And I'm a big fan of Jeff Buckley, Phoebe Bridgers, The 1975. I listen to a ton of alternative music — it's my genre.' Those influences help explain why Sombr's two fast-rising hit singles, 'Back to Friends' and 'Undressed,' have not only exploded on streaming services as crossover pop hits, but have also minted the 19-year-old singer-songwriter at rock and alternative platforms that have been starving for fresh new talent. On this week's Hot 100, 'Back to Friends' leaps up 14 spots to a new peak of No. 56, while 'Undressed' jumps 12 spots to No. 84; meanwhile, 'Back to Friends' hits the top 10 of the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart for the first time, bumping up to No. 9 with 'Undressed' close behind at No. 13. More from Billboard Ye Disses Kendrick Lamar & Tyler, the Creator Again: 'The Two Most Overrated So-Called Artist' Benson Boone Drops 'Mystical Magical' New Song After Its Live Debut at Coachella Chappell Roan's 'Casual' Reigns on Top Movie Songs After 'Novocaine' Appearance Sombr has been on the road over the past few weeks opening for Daniel Seavey in the U.S. — watching each day as his streaming totals grow (through Apr. 17, 'Back to Friends' had earned 40.7 million official on-demand streams, while 'Undressed' had earned 19.5 million streams, according to Luminate) and his crowd sizes swell. 'They 100 percent break my brain,' he says of the streaming totals. As for the crowds, 'You don't usually get to see it happening in real time, increasing every show, but being able to see that has just put it into perspective. When I've had moments in previous years, they've never been like this. And I've never gotten to visualize it while it was happening in real time.' Boose grew up on the Lower East Side and attended the prestigious LaGuardia High School, where he studied vocals while tinkering with GarageBand and Logic in his bedroom. 'I made the first few songs in a more shoegaze vein, and most of those songs aren't even out,' he says. 'And then I made the song 'Caroline' after listening to Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago album, and I'd like to think that's the first good song I ever made.' Released in mid-2022, 'Caroline' is indeed a sparse, wrenched folk song that Boose posted to TikTok before going to bed one night, and woke up the next morning to find thousands of reactions. He dropped out of high school, signed a deal with Warner Records in early 2023, then spent roughly two years trying to get lightning to strike for a second time with a string of singles, to little avail. Sombr, who still writes and produces all of his songs, says that he never got impatient while awaiting his breakthrough following his major label signing. 'I was just making music,' he says, 'and I'm a really hard worker. I like to think that, if you really put in the hours and manifest what you want, it will happen.' On the day that he made 'Back to Friends' in his bedroom, he played the finished chorus back, and felt that, with this song, it was finally going to happen for him. Released last December, 'Back to Friends' is a swirl of shakers, dramatic piano chords, fuzzed-out vocals full of post-hookup anxieties and harmonies that lob out rhetorical questions on the chorus. Along with March's 'Undressed,' a ghostly warble-along with an equally outsized chorus, Sombr has reinvented his sound over the course of two songs, moving on from the hushed singles released post-'Caroline' and toward slick, slightly swaggering alt-pop. 'I think they gave me a platform to make more upbeat music,' he says of the two tracks. 'Before 'Back to Friends,' all my music was very ballad-y — there was nothing with a beat. I was so tired of that. I feel like this is a lot more free, as far as the music I want to create. And I wanted my show to be more exciting. I didn't want to just do ballads forever.' After wrapping up his tour with Seavey last week, Sombr will next hit the road with Nessa Barrett, joining for a month-long European run that kicks off on May 26 in Dublin. Earlier this week, however, Sombr announced a fall headlining tour across North America that will start on Sept. 30 — and thanks to the surging momentum from 'Back to Friends' and 'Undressed,' pre-sale tickets apparently sold out within seconds. ('The response has been insane,' Sombr posted on Instagram. 'I hear you all. I am working on upgrades and new dates. Stay posted.') And while Sombr says that a proper debut album is 'definitely on the horizon,' he's trying to savor this singular moment. 'The last show in New York, it was the loudest it's ever been, and I got it in the pit,' he says before letting out a quick laugh. 'It's getting wild, and I love it. It's all I've ever wanted.' 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
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Sombr Announces 2025 Australia and New Zealand Headline Tour
Breakout singer-songwriter Sombr will head down under this December for his first-ever headline shows in Australia and New Zealand, Frontier Touring announced on Thursday (May 16). Dubbed The Late Nights & Young Romance Tour, the rising star will kick things off at Auckland Town Hall on Dec. 2, followed by stops at Melbourne's Festival Hall (Dec. 4), Sydney's Hordern Pavilion (Dec. 9), and The Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane (Dec. 11). All shows are licensed all-ages, with a Frontier Touring member presale kicking off Wednesday, May 21 at 3 p.m. local time, before general sale launches Thursday, May 22 at 4 p.m. local time. More from Billboard Bruce Springsteen Calls Out 'Unfit President' Trump Again, Says Elected Reps 'Utterly Failed to Protect the American People' Morgan Wallen's 'I'm the Problem' Breaks Streaming Records on Spotify, Amazon Music & Apple Music in First Day JJ of Austria Wins Eurovision 2025 With 'Wasted Love' Sombr's rapid ascent has been one of 2025's biggest breakout stories. His emotional, alt-pop ballad 'Back to Friends' debuted on the Hot 100 in April, driven by 6 million official on-demand streams and 304,000 radio audience impressions in a single week. The track has since climbed into the top 10 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart alongside the single 'Undressed.' Boose is the sole credited writer and producer on 'Back to Friends,' and the only songwriter on 'Undressed,' which he co-produced with industry veteran Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Boygenius, Daisy Jones & The Six). Sombr's introspective songwriting and genre-blurring sound have drawn comparisons to artists like The 1975, Phoebe Bridgers and even Radiohead — one of his biggest inspirations. 'My favorite band of all time is Radiohead,' he recently told Billboard. 'And I'm a big fan of Jeff Buckley, Phoebe Bridgers, The 1975. I listen to a ton of alternative music — it's my genre.' Following tour support slots with Daniel Seavey and an upcoming run with Nessa Barrett across Europe, the December headline marks Sombr's official arrival as a solo artist with global ambitions and a growing fanbase to match. 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
