Fans Choose Benny Blanco’s ‘Bad Decisions’ Feat. BTS & Snoop Dogg as This Week’s Favorite New Music

Benny Blanco‘s latest song “Bad Decisions,” featuring BTS and Snoop Dogg, has topped this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (Aug. 5) on Billboard, choosing the epic collaboration between the super producer, K-pop stars and rap giant as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“Bad Decisions,” the lead single from Blanco’s as-yet-untitled upcoming album, beat out new music by Calvin Harris (Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2), WILLOW (“hover like a GODDESS”), Lauv (All 4 Nothing), DJ Khaled featuring Drake and Lil Baby (“Staying Alive”), and others.

“Bad Decisions” finds BTS’ Jin, V, Jung Kook and Jimin showing off their vocal talents and seeing what trouble they can get up to, as Snoop Dogg provides an assist in his signature laid back flow.

Placing second on the past week’s tally with almost 20% of the vote was Harris’ new album, Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 2, the follow-up to 2017’s Vol. 1. Much like the first installment, Vol. 2 pulls out all the stops and delivers a star-studded lineup, including “Potion” with Dua Lipa and Young Thug, followed by “Stay With Me” featuring Justin Timberlake, Halsey and Pharrell.

Harris’ latest project also sees unique pairings in Charlie Puth and rising dancehall star Shenseea on “Obsessed,” along with Busta Rhymes attacking the beat solo on “Ready or Not.”

See the final results of this week’s new music release poll below.

 

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Jewel Says ‘Everybody Is Safe’ After Tour Bus Catches on Fire

Jewel and her tour crew are safe after a bus fire, the singer-songwriter said in an update to fans.

“We had a full bus fire,” Jewel, who’s been on the road playing shows with Train and Blues Traveler, revealed on her official TikTok account. “Nobody was hurt. It happened on an off day in the parking lot of a hotel. The fire department came. Everybody is safe.”

“We saved the vintage guitar and guitar amp,” she added. “All’s well that ends well, but how ’bout this bulls—?”

Text on the video clip noted that “the front desk saw the fire and called our bus driver and the fire dept.”

Jewel’s tour with Train stops at Red Rocks in Denver, Colorado, on Saturday night (Aug. 6).

Her latest album, Freewheelin’ Woman, was released in April as the follow-up to 2015’s Picking Up the Pieces, which peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200.

See her video about the bus fire on TikTok, where she’s been documenting tour life.

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Big Sean & Jhene Aiko Take a Trip Down Memory Lane in Rapper’s Hometown of Detroit

Big Sean is showing Jhené Aiko a piece of his past.

The rapper and singer, who are expecting their first child together, took a trip down memory lane in Sean’s hometown of Detroit following their appearance at the city’s Mo Pop Festival in late July.

“I got a chance to show Jhené n our family my roots (my old house, grandma’s house, high school etc in Detroit) and connect the past with the future in a sense,” the “I Don’t F**k With You” rapper captioned a photo gallery on Instagram. “Can’t wait for our lil one to get here n see this.”

In one sweet photo, Sean is seen placing his hand on Aiko’s pregnant belly as they pose in front of an older brick house. He also shared several snapshots and a brief video of him touring his old high school, Cass Technical, alongside his significant other.

“Such a blessing, felt like I connected the ancestors with the future,” the rapper wrote alongside another picture of the couple on his Instagram Story.

The pregnancy marks Sean’s first child, while this will be Aiko’s second. She shares her 13-year-old daughter, Namiko Love Browner, with singer O’Ryan, older brother of former B2K member Omarion.

The hip-hop power couple is also working on the follow-up to their 2016 collaborative album, Twenty88.

“With the first ‘Twenty88,’ we were playing characters — and that was really fun because we both like to act, and love watching movies,” Aiko recently told Billboard. “Expect more theatrics on the next one. I’m working on a few other projects too that I’m really excited to share.”

See Big Sean’s post on Instagram here.

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Lizzo, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott & More React to Shout-Outs on Beyonce & Madonna’s ‘Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)’

Queen Bey and the Queen of Pop teamed up for a new remix of  “Break My Soul” that features shout-outs to a long list of influential Black women. Beyoncé and Madonna‘s “The Queens Remix” of the song dropped on Friday (Aug. 5), and it didn’t take long for many of the artists name-dropped throughout the song to share their thoughts.

By Saturday (Aug. 6), fellow “Queens” Lizzo, Jill Scott, Santigold, Tierra Whack, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott and Kelly Rowland had all shared reactions to hearing their names on the latest version of Beyoncé’s Billboard Hot 100 top 10 track.

“B—- BEYONCÉ SAID MY NAME BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE,” Lizzo tweeted. In another tweet — in which she wrote, “I ALWAYS BELIEVED IN ME NOW BEYONCÉ BELIEVE IN ME TOO” — she added a video reaction. “I remember when I was telling my friend’s mom what my major in college was going to be, and I told her I was going to major in music performance and she laughed in my face,” Lizzo recalled. “She said, ‘Music performance? Like Beyoncé?’ and laughed in my face. Only have one thing to say: BYE.”

“I’m in tears,” Jill Scott said in a tweet. “Ya’ll know I’m in tears. You KNOW!!”

“Thanks to @beyonce Queen Bey for shouting me out amongst these greats, and even more for takin’ it back!” Santigold wrote on Twitter. “Letting the people KNOW about all these Black women, powerful powerful spirits, many of whom never received the acknowledgment they deserved!”

“MY GOOD SIS @beyonce GON ALWAYS SHOW LOVE!” said Tierra Whack in a post on Instagram.

“Big love to my sis @beyonce. “Let’s go Queens,” wrote Alicia Keys in an Instagram Story, while Missy Elliott shared an Instagram Story about the shout-out and said, “Ayyyyyye I’m duck walking & vogueing” — and Kelly Rowland reacted to the song in her own Instagram Story: “So HARD!!!!!”

“Rosetta Tharpe, Santigold, Bessie Smith, Nina Simone/ Betty Davis, Solange Knowles, Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl,” Beyoncé says, in the spoken-word style of the Madonna classic “Vogue,” on the new remix. “Lauryn Hill, Roberta Flack Toni, Janet, Tierra Whack/ Missy, Diana, Grace Jones, Aretha, Anita, Grace Jones/ Helen Folasade Adu, Jilly from Philly, I love you, boo.” Later, she adds, “Michelle, Chlöe, Halle, Aaliyah/ Alicia, Whitney, Riri, Nicki.”

Listen to Beyoncé and Madonna’s “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix)” below. It’s the pair’s first proper collaboration, after Bey appeared in Madge’s “Bitch I’m Madonna” music video in 2015.

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Dua Lipa Named Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo

Dua Lipa has been awarded the title of Honorary Ambassador of Kosovo.

The 26-year-old pop superstar, who grew up in Kosovo, took to social media on Saturday (Aug. 6) to announce that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani had presented her with the prestigious title.

“It’s an honour and a privilege to be able to represent my country all over the world and to continue my work and efforts globally to see that we leave our mark and make a difference,” Lipa captioned a photo gallery on Instagram. “The youth of Kosovo deserves the right to visa liberalization, freedom to travel and to dream big. Thank you.”

The carousel includes several snapshots, including the “Levitating” singer receiving a special medallion from Osmani, along with images of official certificates and a typed letter inviting the artist to the president’s office to receive the honor.

Osmani also shared numerous behind-the-scenes pictures from the ceremony on her personal Instagram account.

“Today, I gave the title of Honorary Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo to Dua Lipa, because she continues to honor our country in every step and every appearance,” the president wrote in Albanian alongside the gallery. “I thanked her, on behalf of all the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, for everything she has done and is making our voice heard everywhere in the world.”

Osmani’s note also recognized Lipa’s father, Dukagjin Lipa, who along with his daughter, founded the annual Sunny Hill Festival in Kosovo’s capital of Pristina. This year’s four-day music event launched on Aug. 4 and features performances by Lipa, J Balvin, Diplo and many others.

See Lipa’s post from the ceremony on Instagram here.

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Judith Durham, Lead Singer of The Seekers and Australia’s Folk Music Icon, Dies at 79

Judith Durham, Australia’s folk music icon who achieved global fame as the lead singer of The Seekers, has died. She was 79.

Durham died in Alfred Hospital in Melbourne on Friday night (Aug. 5) after suffering complications from a long-standing lung disease, Universal Music Australia and Musicoast said in a statement on Saturday.

She made her first recording at 19 and rose to fame after joining The Seekers in 1963. The group of four became the first Australian band to achieve major chart and sales success in the U.K. and the United States, eventually selling 50 million records.

International hits included “The Carnival is Over,” “I’ll Never Find Another You,” “A World of Our Own” and “Georgy Girl.”

Durham embarked on a solo career in 1968 but recorded with The Seekers again in the 1990s.

“This is a sad day for Judith’s family, her fellow Seekers, the staff of Musicoast, the music industry and fans worldwide, and all of us who have been part of Judith’s life for so long,” said The Seekers’ management team member Graham Simpson.

Her bandmates in The Seekers — Keith Potger, Bruce Woodley and Athol Guy — said their lives had been changed forever by losing “our treasured lifelong friend and shining star.”

“Her struggle was intense and heroic, never complaining of her destiny and fully accepting its conclusion. Her magnificent musical legacy Keith, Bruce and I are so blessed to share,” they said.

Tributes flowed for the beloved singer, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese describing Durham as “a national treasure and an Australian icon.”

“Judith Durham gave voice to a new strand of our identity and helped blaze a trail for a new generation of Aussie artists,” Albanese wrote on Twitter. “Her kindness will be missed by many, the anthems she gave to our nation will never be forgotten.”

In her home state Victoria, Premier Dan Andrews said Durham had conquered the music world both in Australia and overseas.

“With her unique voice and stage presence leading The Seekers, the band became one of Australia’s biggest chart toppers,” he said.

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