Lil Nas X’ Montero’ Battles With Nathan Evans’ ‘Wellerman’ For U.K. Chart Crown

Lil Nas X will need to see off the challenge of a sea shanty to secure a second straight week atop the U.K. singles chart.

The U.S. rapper’s “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is out front in the early stages of the chart week, though not by much.

“Montero” leads the First Look chart, which gauges the popularity of singles based on sales and streams after the first 48 hours, with Nathan Evans’ “Wellerman” just 500 chart sales behind in second place.

Riton x Nightcrawlers’ “Friday” featuring Mufasa & Hypeman is another 700 chart sales behind at No. 3, according to the OCC, and is still very much in the race.

Joel Corry, Raye and David Guetta could snag a spot in this week’s Top 5, as “BED” lifts 7-5 (up 19-13), while new releases from Ava Max (“My Head & My Heart”) and the Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak project Silk Sonic (“Leave The Door Open” up 23-17) make their moves for a Top 20 spot.

The Official U.K. Singles Chart is published Friday evening, local time.

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At 2021 SAG Awards, Actors of Color Swept All Four Film Acting Awards (Yes, That’s a First)

For the first time in the 27-year history of the SAG Awards, actors of color swept all four film acting awards. The awards were presented on Sunday (April 4). The late Chadwick Boseman won outstanding performance by a male actor in a leading role for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Viola Davis won the equivalent award for a female actor for playing blues great Rainey in the same film.

A third Black actor, Daniel Kaluuya, took the award for for outstanding performance by a male actor in a supporting role for Judas and the Black Messiah. And Young Yuh-jung, who was born in South Korea, took the equivalent award for a female supporting actor for her work in Minari.

Last year, all four SAG winners for film acting – Joaquin Phoenix, Renée Zellweger, Brad Pitt and Laura Dern — went on to win Academy Awards.

Boseman, who died of colon cancer in August, is the first posthumous winner in the lead actor category at the SAG Awards. Moreover, he’s just the fourth actor to win a posthumous SAG Award in any individual performance category. He follows Heath Ledger (male actor in a supporting role for The Dark Knight, 2008); Jerry Orbach (male actor in a drama series for Law & Order, 2004); and Raúl Juliá (male actor in a miniseries or television movie for The Burning Season, 1994).

When the 93rd annual Academy Awards are presented on April 25, Boseman is likely to become the third actor to win a posthumous Oscar. The first two were Peter Finch (best actor for Network, 1976) and Ledger (best supporting actor for The Dark Knight). No woman has ever won a posthumous acting Oscar.

Davis’ win marks the third year in a row that an actor has won a SAG Award in a lead category for playing a famous singer. Rami Malek won two years ago for playing Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody. Zellweger won last year for playing Judy Garland in Judy. Malek and Zellweger both went on to win Oscars. Davis may well join them, though she is thought to be in a close race with Frances McDormand for Nomadland and Carey Mulligan for Promising Young Woman.

The SAG Award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture went to The Trial of the Chicago 7. The 10 actors who share the award, including Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Keaton, are all men. It’s the first time the winning acting ensemble in this category has included no female actors.

Last year’s winner of the cast award, Parasite, went on to win the Oscar for best picture. But the two awards don’t always go hand-in-hand. Of the 25 previous films to win the SAG Award for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture since the category’s inception in 1995 (the awards show’s second year), 12 went on to win the Oscar for best picture, 12 were nominated for best picture but did not win, and one wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar for best picture. (That was Mike Nichols’ 1996 farce The Birdcage.)

Gillian Anderson and Catherine O’Hara each won two SAG Awards on the night. Anderson won for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for playing Margaret Thatcher in The Crown. In addition, she shared in the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series. In addition to winning for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series for playing Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek, O’Hara shared in the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a comedy series.

Jason Bateman won outstanding performance by a male actor in a drama series for the second time in three years for his work on Ozark.

The awards were presented in a briskly paced, one-hour show that aired on TNT and TBS. The cast of Ted Lasso opened the show with an awards-themed sketch. AJR’s “Bang!,” a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, was used to soundtrack a montage early in the show.

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Skegss Ride to No. 1 In Australia With ‘Rehearsal’

Surf-rock trio Skegss secure their first No. 1 on Australia’s albums chart as Rehearsal (Concord/Universal) opens at No 1.

Hailing from Byron Bay, Skegss enjoyed a No. 2 peak with their debut from 2018, My Own Mess, which was nominated for best rock album at the ARIA Awards.
Rehearsal goes one better, as it starts at the summit of the ARIA Albums Chart, the sixth homegrown album to lead the survey in 2021.

Rehearsal is the best-selling vinyl album of the week, placing it at No. 1 on the ARIA Vinyl Albums Chart.

Skegss’ “good time energy is exactly what we need right now and doubly good that a Byron Bay group tops the chart this week,” says ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd, referencing the last-minute cancelation of Bluesfest last week due to COVID-19 concerns.

All that good time energy is enough to bump Justin Bieber’s Justice 1-2, while Evanescence bag their fifth ARIA Top Ten entry with The Bitter Truth, new at No. 3. Amy Lee and Co. have ruled the ARIA Chart on two occasions, with Fallen (February 2004) and The Open Door (October 2006).

Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia continues to find chart steam, holding at No. 4; while U.S. rapper NF is flying high with Clouds (The Mixtape), new at No. 5. It’s NF’s second Top Five effort following The Search, which peaked at No. 3 in August 2019.

Faith No More frontman Mike Patton makes another chart appearance in the Land Down Under, this time with his “supergroup” Tomahawk, whose latest LP Tonic Immobility bows at No. 18. It’s the followup to Oddfellows, which just snuck inside the Top 40 following its release in February 2013, peaking at No. 37.

Ten years after Tame Impala announced their arrival to the world stage, Kevin Parker’s psychedelic-rock outfit returns to the ARIA Chart with InnerSpeaker, their debut album. InnerSpeaker reenters the survey at No. 19 off the back of its 10th anniversary reissue. The album debuted at No. 4 following its release in May 2010.

Over on the ARIA Singles Chart, Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves” continues its hot streak as it enters a sixth week at the summit. The last British group to reign over he Singles Chart was Clean Bandit, who also logged six straight weeks in box seat with “Rockabye” in a stretch from December 2016 to January 2017.

Also, Sydney rapper Masked Wolf leaps to a career high as his viral hit “Astronaut In The Ocean” lifts 7-5.

Finally, Lil Nas X has this week’s highest debut with the controversial release “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” new at No. 16. It’s the second single released from the American rapper’s forthcoming debut album, Montero, due out later in 2021.

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Lil Nas X Rules U.K. Singles Chart With ‘Montero’

Lil Nas X is a fully grown-up chart star in the U.K., where “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” (Lil Nas X) debuts at No. 1

“Montero” is the U.S. rapper’s second leader on the Official Singles Chart, following 2019’s “Old Town Road,” and it’s the second single to debut at No. 1 this year after Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License”.

The buzz behind “Montero’s” controversial music video helped it snag 2.5 million views on YouTube, part of a market-leading 6.8 million streams over the week.

Meanwhile, last week’s best-seller, Nathan Evans’ “Wellerman” (Polydor), dips 2-1, while ATB, Topic & A7S’s “Your Love (9pm)” (Positiva) completes a 10-week climb into the Top 10, up 12-8.

Also reaching the Top 10 for the first time is Tom Grennan “Little Bit Of Love” (Insanity), lifting 13-10. Not far behind is Grennan’s collaboration with Ella Henderson, “Let’s Go Home Together,” up 19-13.

Over on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, the silverware this week belongs to Ben Howard, whose Collections From The Whiteout (Island) opens at No. 1.

It’s the British singer and songwriter’s second No. 1 album, following 2014’s I Forget Where We Were. His other studio collections Every Kingdom (2011) and Noonday Dream (2018) both peaked at No. 4.

One full year after its release, Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia (Warner Records) remains a heavy hitter. It’s at No. 3, for its 33rd week in the Top 10.

U.S. alternative rock outfit Evanescence enjoy their highest chart position in 10 years as The Bitter Truth (RCA) bows at No. 4, matching the peak of their 2011 self-titled collection.

Finally, the one-track, nine-movement instrumental album Promises (Luaka Bop), recorded by Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders and the London Symphony Orchestra, begins its chart journey at No. 6.

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Here Are All the Winners From the 2021 SAG Awards

The pandemic might have kept the 2021 SAG Awards from being a typical affair, but the night was still a celebration for the best of in movies and TV.

Schitt’s Creek and The Crown were among the television winners — for best ensemble in a TV comedy and best ensemble for a TV drama, respectively. Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) won best male actor in a supporting role in a motion picture and Youn Yuh-Jung (Minari) earned best female actor in a supporting role in a motion picture,

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom earned a pair for awards —  Viola Davis for best female actor in a leading role in a motion picture and the late Chadwick Boseman for best male actor in a leading role in a motion picture.

See a full list of winners below:

Cast in a Motion Picture
Da 5 Bloods
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Minari
One Night In Miami
Trial of the Chicago 7 – WINNER

Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – WINNER
Anthony Hopkins, The Father
Gary Oldman, Mank
Steven Yeun, Minari

Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture
Amy Adams, Hillbilly Elegy
Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – WINNER
Vanessa Kirby, Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand, Nomadland
Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman

Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Chadwick Boseman, Da 5 Bloods
Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah – WINNER
Jared Leto, The Little Things
Leslie Odom, Jr., One Night in Miami

Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Maria Bakalova, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Glenn Close, Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman, The Father
Youn Yuh-Jung, Minari – WINNER
Helena Zengel, News of the World

Ensemble in a Drama Series
Better Call Saul
Bridgerton
The Crown – WINNER
Ozark
Lovecraft Country

Male Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark — WINNER
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Josh O’Connor, The Crown
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Rege-Jean Page, Bridgerton

Female Actor in a Drama Series
Gillian Anderson, The Crown — WINNER
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Emma Corrin, The Crown
Julia Garner, Ozark
Laura Linney, Ozark

Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You
Nicole Kidman, The Undoing
Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit — WINNER
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere

Male Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
Bill Camp, The Queen’s Gambit
Daveed Diggs, Hamilton
Hugh Grant, The Undoing
Ethan Hawke, The Good Lord Bird
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True – WINNER

Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Dead to Me
The Flight Attendant
The Great
Schitt’s Creek – WINNER
Ted Lasso

Male Actor in a Comedy Series
Nicholas Hoult, The Great
Dan Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso – WINNER
Ramy Youssef, Ramy

Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant
Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek – WINNER

Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series
The Boys
Cobra Kai
Lovecraft Country
The Mandalorian — WINNER
Westworld

Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture
Da 5 Bloods
Mulan
News of the World
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Wonder Woman 1987 – WINNER

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Miami police captain accused of race bias in state probe demands old job and perks back

Javier Ortiz is demanding his job back — and the perks, title and money that go with it. Ortiz, a Miami police captain and former union president long notorious for … Click to Continue »
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Chance the Rapper, Ja Rule, Missy Elliott & More Pray for DMX Amid Hospitalization

Artists are sending prayers DMX’s way after the rapper was admitted to a New York hospital following a reported drug overdose.

“DMX prayed over me once and I could feel his anointing. I’m praying for his full recovery,” Chance the Rapper wrote on Twitter Saturday (April 3).

“Prayers up for my brother DMX,” Ja Rule tweeted.

“Prayers for DMX and his family,” Missy Elliott echoed.

On Saturday, DMX’s representatives confirmed to Billboard that the rapper is currently hospitalized, and as of Saturday night, DMX is on life support, reps said.

TMZ had reported earlier that DMX experienced a heart attack triggered by the overdose, with one source saying he had “some brain activity” and another source saying that he as in a “vegetative state.”

“Come on X plzzzz,” Lil Kim wrote to the MC upon hearing the reports. “We need you. Prayers all the way up for you bro.”

“I love DMX SO MUCH,” said SZA. “praying hard for the king.”

“Today is 4/3/21 – it’s only right that we celebrate the talent and genius of my brother @DMX on the 4,3,2,1 song. We Love you X get well fast,” LL Cool J wrote about the rapper, whose long-running career has seen five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 and 15 songs on the Billboard Hot 100.

See a roundup of messages and well wishes for DMX below.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article reported an update from reps that DMX was breathing on his own and not currently in need of life support. However, it was later communicated to Billboard that DMX is still on life support as of Saturday night (April 3).

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Morris ‘B.B.’ Dickerson, Founding Member of War, Dies at 71

Morris “B.B.” Dickerson, a founding member of the band War, has died at the age of 71.

B.B. Dickerson, bassist and vocalist for the funk rock band, passed away peacefully at a Long Beach, Calif., hospital on Friday (April 2) after a long, undisclosed illness, a representative confirms to Billboard.

Dickerson, who was born in 1949 in Torrance, Calif., and got his start on the bass guitar at the age of 12, helped develop War’s signature sound co-writing and playing on tunes like “The Cisco Kid,” “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” “Low Rider,” “Summer” and more.

He also sang for the band, and his lead vocal can be heard on War’s hit “The World Is a Ghetto.”

War peaked on the Billboard charts in 1973 with the album The World Is a Ghetto (which went to No. 1) and the single “The Cisco Kid” (No. 2).

Before forming War, Dickerson had performed in a group called The Creators along with his uncle Howard E. Scott. The Creators split during the Vietnam War, and while Dickerson was away in Hawaii, his uncle played with a band that became known as The Nightshift. Dickerson joined them upon his return. That group eventually morphed into the original lineup of War with Eric Burdon, with the track “Spill the Wine” launching War’s career.

Notably, Dickerson was onstage in London in 1970 when Jimi Hendrix joined War for what would end up being his last public performance before he died.

Dickerson is survived by his mother, his uncle and his children.

Donations in his name can be made to MusiCares.

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Mariah Carey’s COVID-19 Vaccine Has Her Hitting a High Note

Mariah Carey brought her fans with her to get the COVID-19 vaccine — virtually, of course.

The singer filmed herself getting her first dose of the vaccine, and her reaction to the shot turned out to be quite the musical moment.

“Vaccine side effect: G6,” she quipped in a caption for Saturday night’s (April 3) social media clip, which shows her talking to the camera as she waits, “excited and nervous a little,” for the COVID-19 vaccine to be administered. As the needle goes in, a Mariah high note comes out.

“Here we are, all the way from that first post washing my hands with Roc and Roe in New York, trying to encourage people to really be safe,” Carey noted. “You know, we’re still in this battle together.”

“Here we are, hoping for the best, encouraging you guys to do it when you can,” she added.

Experience getting the COVID-19 vaccine with Mariah in the video below.

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How to Watch the 2021 SAG Awards

The Screen Actors Guild Awards are coming up this weekend, and will look a bit different than in years past.

The pre-taped, one-hour event will air on Sunday (April 4) at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on TNT and TBS. An encore will broadcast on TNT at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT. For online viewers, both channels are available to stream live on Hulu with Live TV, AT&T TV, Sling TV and FuboTV.

The SAG Awards won’t have a host this year, nor the usual banquet and red carpet event. However, the celebration will highlight the show’s signature “I Am An Actor” stories through funny and intimate docuseries-inspired interviews, which will be woven throughout the telecast. The show will also announce winners in 13 categories.

The late Chadwick Boseman earned four nominations for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, tying Jamie Foxx (2005) and Maggie Smith (2013) for the most nods in one year.

The Crown also gained a number of nominations for its actors, as did Ozark and The Queen’s Gambit.

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