The Spice Girls took on the world (and won) with their pop masterclass “Wannabe,” which this year celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Like all classics, “Wannabe” never ages. The proof was on show during Monday night’s season opening episode of Dancing With The Stars, when the girl power anthem soundtracked a routine by none other than Melanie C, known to millions as Sporty Spice.
The pop veteran and her partner Gleb Savchenko performed a cha cha to the song that took her career to the atmosphere.
“Wannabe” went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, its parent album Spice hit the top of the Billboard 200 chart. Will Mel C keep the streak going and win DWTS season 30?
The Voice is back on our screens, Ariana Grande is on board. And together, the coaches are dynamite.
Grande made her debut as a Voice coach on Monday night (Sept. 20), and to celebrate, she teamed up with her friendly rival Kelly Clarkson for a knockout duet on “Respect” by Otis Redding (and made famous by Aretha Franklin).
Wearing a cowboy hat, Grande lit it up for a performance with Clarkson that had the place jumping.
Earlier, fellow coaches Blake Shelton and John Legend kicked things off with a full-throated cover of Same & Dave’s 1966 classic, “Hold On, I’m Coming.”
As if the contestants weren’t nervous enough, the foursome made for a tough act to follow.
Taylor Swift’s surprise release of “Wildest Dream” could stage a dream run on the U.K. chart, where it’s on track for a Top 40 debut.
Without warning, TayTay dropped the “Taylor’s Version” of the 1989 single “Wildest Dreams” last Friday (Sept. 17).
In the U.K., at least, Swifties tuned in. “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version)” blasts to No. 22 on the latest Official Singles Chart Update. That’s well up on the No. 40 peak for the original version, which got its official release as a single in late August 2015.
If it keeps its momentum, the track will become Swift’s 37th U.K. Top 40 single.
The new cut of “Dreams” was a curveball, especially when considering the next “Taylor’s Version” album is a reimagining of 2012’s Red collection, due out in November.
“Wildest Dreams” has been popping up on TikTok lately because Swifties have been using it to soundtrack their clips using the service’s new “slow zoom” filter. The viral treatment apparently inspired the pop icon to bring forward her fresh version.
The 2021 Billboard Latin Music Week is headlined by prolific artists such as Daddy Yankee, Karol G, and Nicky Jam, but it’s also a space where many up-and-coming artists will take the spotlight.
Uniting the top Latin hitmakers, influencers, and executives, and featuring live performances and conversations with superstars, this year’s weeklong event includes the New Artist Showcase featuring a promising new wave of Latin acts Fabiio, Joonti, Dvila, and Ache, all signed to boutique record label AP Global Music.
Presented by AP Global Music and powered by Elite Media & Marketing (EMM), registrants and attendees will be able to enjoy the event during Latin Music Week, taking place at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at Liv Nightclub in Miami Beach, Fla.
Below, learn more about the four New Artist Showcase performers:
ACHE
Hailing from Cali, Colombia, Ache decided to pursue a career in music when he was in university. Inspired by the versatility of such artists as Maluma and Bad Bunny, Ache describes his sound as “fresh, commercial, and with a good vibe,” he tells Billboard via email. “In my music, you will always find happiness and lyrics with context and a grand passion,” he adds.
DVILA
Ready to transmit his energy during his first-ever time at Latin Music Week, Puerto Rican artist DVILA promises to become the new addition to your playlist because “my music is composed of fresh melodies that are enjoyable to the ear, danceable, and young,” he says. DVILA’s biggest inspirations are his family, religious singers he grew up listening to, and old-school reggaeton from the early 2000s.
FABIIO
Born and raised between San Juan and Carolina, Fabiio describes his style as a “skater, trapper, and fashion.” Inspired by artists such as Lil Wayne, Travis Scott, Justin Bieber, and himself, the Puerto Rican newcomer describes his music as “genuine and the new antidepressant.” People should “listen to my music so that they can feel joy and positive energy in their lives,” he tells Billboard.
JOONTI
A former La Voz Kids contestant, Joonti is a 19-year-old artist from Caguas, Puerto Rico. The artists that inspired him to make music were Billie Eilish and Justin Bieber, which is why he describes his sound as “unique and versatile.” “Each song has a concept,” he elaborates. “I don’t box myself into any musical genre, I make music for all kinds of audiences.” Check out a preview of Joonti’s next single below.
Under the slogan “The Beat of Latin Music,” and making its mark as the longest-running and biggest Latin music industry gathering in the world, this year’s event will continue through the end of the week as Billboard launches its En Vivo concert series in partnership with Samsung, Amazon Music, and Bacardí.
Latin Music Week coincides with the 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards broadcasting live via Telemundo on Sept. 23.
Lil Nas X is on the road to a U.K. albums chart title.
The U.S. rap sensation’s debut Montero (Columbia) leads the midweek U.K. chart, and is the most downloaded and streamed album in the first half of the cycle, the OCC reports.
It’s far from a done deal.
At the halfway stage, just 400 combined sales separate Montero from the No. 2-placed album, Bob Dylan’sSpringtime in New York – Bootleg 16 (Sony Music CG), the market leader on physical sales. Springtime is on pace to be the legendary singer and songwriter’s 41st U.K. Top 10 album.
Meanwhile, Drake’s former leader Certified Lover Boy (OVO/Republic Records) is at No. 3, while prog-rock titans Genesis bow at No. 4 with the career-retrospective The Last Domino (UMC/Virgin), which could give the British band their first Top 10 album in seven years.
According to the OCC, just 2,500 combined sales separate Montero and the fifth-placed album Green With Envy (Atlantic), the debut from British rapper Tion Wayne.
Also chasing top tier debuts are titles from Spiritbox (Eternal Blue at No. 8 via Rise Records), Lindsey Buckingham (self-titled at No .10 via Rhino) and M1llionz (Provisional Licence at No. 11 via Tenpercent Millionz), while K-pop boyband NCT 127 could stick their first U.K. Top 40 appearance with Sticker (Virgin Music). It’s at No. 19 on the chart blast.
The Official U.K. Singles and Albums Charts are published late Friday, local time.
With Universal Music Group going public on Tuesday (Sept. 20) on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange, American investors might wonder how to own a piece of the world’s biggest music company. The good news is it’s possible. The bad news is it’s not as straightforward as clicking a button on the E*Trade app, and it’s darn near impossible for average American investors on the listing’s opening day.
It used to be that investors who wanted a piece of UMG’s business would buy shares of its parent company, Vivendi, a conglomerate that houses UMG and other media and communications companies. That UMG was part of a conglomerate explains why Vivendi is spinning off the company: UMG’s value as a standalone entity, able to be valued individually, not as a part of Vivendi, will best serve Vivendi shareholders.
But U.S. investors won’t have easy access to UMG shares because they’re trading on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange, not a U.S. exchange such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. So, besides Tuesday’s listing starting at 3 a.m. EST, U.S.-based investors will have other complications getting in on the action. Some brokerage accounts that cater to international trading, such as Interactive Brokers and Charles Schwab, provide access to exchanges in dozens of countries. However, these accounts are good for frequent, serious investors, not casual investors who might be burdened by tax issues, fees and currency fluctuations.
Alternatively, a U.S. individual can eventually buy shares of a mutual fund that owns shares of UMG, or an exchange traded fund that includes UMG. The benefit is an ETF trades on a U.S. exchange even though it may contain foreign companies. Likewise, a mutual fund has ownership of dozens or hundreds of companies: global funds include companies from around the world, international funds have only ex-U.S. companies. For an investor interested in UMG, though, both options have the obvious problem of offering ownership so diluted that UMG’s returns would be a small part of a fund’s returns and neither a mutual funds nor an ETF provides indirect ownership on the first day of trading.
In some cases, a foreign company trades in the U.S. through what’s called an American Depository Receipt, a security that represents the security of another company. An ADR’s depository bank takes custody of the shares, allowing the ADRs to be traded in U.S. financial markets. UMG does not and may never sponsor an ADR, though, because Vivendi has never done so.
Otherwise, a U.S. investor can always buy the equities of similar companies available on U.S. exchanges. WMG has a smaller market capitalization and but runs nearly an identical business to UMG: record labels and music publishers with deep catalogs, plus merchandise for retail and artists’ tours and websites. Spotify is primarily a tech company but is a complement to UMG because it drives much of record labels’ and publishers’ growth right now. And Sony Group Corporation, owner of Sony Music Entertainment, trades on the NYSE through any number or brokerage accounts — even app-based investing tools such as Robinhood and Stash.
Last year, UMG led all labels in U.S. market share, marking its 21st year in a row at the top, according to MRC Data. The company held a 38.5% market share in the U.S. — up 40 basis points from 2019’s 38.1%. Recording acts on UMG’s labels topped the Billboard 200 for 36 weeks in the year, among them Taylor Swift, Lil Baby, The Weeknd and Post Malone. Globally, UMG brought in $8.7 billion in revenue — up 3.8% from the year prior.
Britney Spears showed off her best dance moves to Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy” again, but don’t get it twisted like her body: It’s a new routine.
The 39-year-old pop superstar first posted a dance video soundtracked to Eilish’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit in June 2019, where she also re-created her “I’m a Slave 4 U” choreography from the 2001 MTV VMAs with a stuffed snake. She premiered the sequel two years later in July 2021. And now, the “Oops!…I Did It Again” singer is giving us part three of her choreography just two months after her latest installment.
“This was shot in July !!!! Remember Bad Guy ???? Well this is part 3 …. no … not same dance !!! Different moves !!!” she captioned the clip.
Spears, who recently celebrated her engagement to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari and then deactivated her Instagram account, returned to the social media platform a week later on Monday (Sept. 20). She couldn’t contain her excitement and shared some photos she took during a Palm Springs getaway. “Some shots from my weekend getaway to celebrate my engagement with my … holy sh– … FIANCÉ … I still can’t believe it !!!! I couldn’t stay away from the gram too long so I’m back already,” Spears captioned her serious selfies.