Fans Choose ABBA’s ‘I Still Have Faith in You’ and ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

The results are in, and in a week of big music releases, ABBA’s return has topped this week’s fan-voted new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll that was published Friday (Sept. 3) on Billboard, choosing the legendary pop group’s two new singles “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down” as their favorite new music release of the past week.

“You’ve waited 40 years for a new ABBA song and now there are two!” ABBA’s social media accounts declared on Thursday (Sept. 2) upon the unveiling of the pair of songs that will be included on their new album Voyage, which is set for a Nov. 5 release.

ABBA’s new tunes brought in 33.26% of the vote, narrowly inching ahead of Lady Gaga’s Dawn of Chromatica remix album, which had 32.81% of the vote.

The ABBA tracks beat out both Kanye West and Drake’s new albums — which placed in third and fourth place, respectively — in this week’s readers poll. (Elsewhere, Kanye’s Donda just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.)

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

What's your favorite new music release this week? (Poll Closed)
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Guns N’ Roses & Dave Grohl Play ‘Paradise City’ Through Curfew Cutoff at BottleRock

In the middle of performing “Paradise City” — with surprise guest Dave Grohl — Guns N’ Roses apparently had the power pulled on them due to a 10 p.m. curfew at California’s BottleRock Napa Valley.

Guns N’ Roses, one of the headliners on Saturday’s (Sept. 4) extensive lineup at the festival, continued to power through their hit with Grohl on guitar, despite the speakers suddenly going off.

In video footage from the show, the audience can be heard providing an assist by belting out the song along with Axl Rose, before the frontman throws his mic out into the crowd.

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the festival, which takes place at the Napa Valley Expo, has a strict curfew as it’s located in a residential area.

In fact, in previous years, Grohl’s own band had festival organizers pulling the plug when Foo Fighters broke the curfew, and the same thing happened to Neil Young.

Billboard reached out to a representative for BottleRock for comment about Guns N’ Roses’ set this weekend.

The three-day music, wine, craft brew and culinary festival was set for the Napa Valley Expo on Sept. 3-5.

Watch the “Paradise City” performance in the clip below. The sound cuts off at about the 3:05 mark.

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Kanye West Lands 10th No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With ‘Donda’

Kanye West lands his 10th No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, as Donda debuts atop the list with the year’s biggest week for any album: 309,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 2, according to MRC Data. It surpasses the year’s previous best week, when Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour started with 295,000 units (on the chart dated June 5).

West is now one of only seven artists with at least 10 No. 1 albums in the 65-year history of the Billboard 200 chart. The Beatles have the most No. 1s, with 19. They are followed by Jay-Z (14), Bruce Springsteen (11), Barbra Streisand (11), Eminem (10), Elvis Presley (10) and West. (Waiting in the wings for their 10th No. 1s are the acts with nine leaders: Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Drake, Madonna, The Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift. Of those, two have albums either just released, or on the way: Drake’s Certified Lover Boy dropped on Sept. 3 and Swift’s Red [Taylor’s Version] is due on Nov. 19.)

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Sept. 11, 2021-dated chart (where Donda debuts to No. 1) will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on Wednesday, Sept 8 – one day later than usual, owed to the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. on Monday, Sept. 6. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Donda keeps up a hot streak for West on the Billboard 200, as he once again ties Eminem for the most No. 1 debuts in a row on the chart. Donda is West’s 10th straight charting album to bow atop the list. Eminem earned his 10th straight No. 1 debut with his last release, Music to Be Murdered By in 2020. (Overall, Jay-Z has the most debuts at No. 1, with 14, although they were not consecutive.)

West also ties Eminem for the most consecutive No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200, each with 10.

Both West and Eminem have only missed No. 1 once in their chart careers on the Billboard 200, each with their debut chart effort. West peaked at No. 2 with The College Dropout in 2004, and Eminem peaked at No. 2 with The Slim Shady LP in 1999.

Donda was surprise-released on an off-cycle Sunday, Aug. 29 (instead of the usual Friday for most new albums), and, thus, launches with just five days of activity in its first chart week, instead of seven. The 27-track album was released only via streamers and digital retailers, while a release date for a physical album has not been announced. Donda includes guest turns by the likes of Chris Brown, DaBaby, Jay-Z, Kid Cudi, Lil Durk, Marilyn Manson, Roddy Ricch and The Weeknd – though none are given billed artist credit.

Anticipation for Donda was fueled by three huge ticketed listening events held on July 22, Aug. 5 and Aug. 26 – and all three were live-streamed by Apple Music. The latter gave Donda and West’s catalog of music premium placement on its platform (as did Apple’s iTunes Store).

Of Donda’s 309,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 2, SEA units comprise 272,000 units (equaling 357.39 million on-demand streams of the album’s tracks – the largest streaming week of the year for an album), album sales comprise 37,000 and TEA units comprise less than 1,000 units. (Donda’s tracks are not currently available to purchase a la carte from digital retailers, but were briefly purchasable earlier during the tracking week in the iTunes Store.)

Donda surpasses 2021’s previous largest streaming week for an album, logged by J. Cole’s The Off-Season. The latter bowed on the May 29 chart with 243,000 SEA units – which equaled 325.05 million on-demand streams of the set’s 12 tracks.

Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power debuts at No. 2 on the new Billboard 200 – marking the singer-songwriter’s fourth straight, and total, album to reach the top two. If I Can’t Have Love starts with 98,000 equivalent album units, and of that sum, album sales comprise 70,500 (making it the top-selling album of the week), SEA units comprise 26,500 (equaling 34.76 million on-demand streams of the set’s 13 tracks) and TEA units comprise 1,000. Of If I Can’t Have Love’s 70,500 in total album sales, physical sales comprise 52,500 (across CD, vinyl LP and cassette configurations), while digital album sales comprise 18,000.

If I Can’t Have Love was announced on July 7 with its Friday, Aug. 27 release date in place. Pre-orders began on July 7, as well. West’s Donda, which debuts at No. 1 ahead of If I Can’t Have Love, surprise-dropped on Aug. 29, also with an active pre-order campaign from digital retail. Halsey’s previous album, Manic, also bowed at No. 2 behind another surprise-release album, Eminem’s Music to Be Murdered By. Both Manic and Music were released on Jan. 17, 2020. The former had four months of advance promotion while the latter arrived with no warning.

Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour falls 1-3 on the new Billboard 200 with 74,000 equivalent album units earned (down 44%). Doja Cat’s Planet Her is a non-mover at No. 4 with 53,000 units (down 7%), The Kid LAROI’s former chart-topper F*ck Love rises 7-5 with 44,000 units (down 9%) and Morgan Wallen’s No. 1 Dangerous: The Double Album climbs 9-6 with 40,000 units (down 4%).

Billie Eilish’s former leader Happier Than Ever dips 6-7 with nearly 40,000 equivalent album units earned (down 20%), Rod Wave’s No. 1 SoulFly falls 3-8 with 39,000 units (down 38%) and Trippie Redd’s Trip at Knight falls 2-9 in its second week with 35,000 units (down 57%).

Lil Tecca closes out the top 10 with his new album We Love You Tecca 2, as it launches at No. 10 with 30,000 equivalent album units earned. Of that sum, SEA units comprise 28,000 (equaling 40.52 million on-demand streams of the set’s tracks), album sales comprise 1,000 and TEA units comprise a negligible sum.

We Love You Tecca 2 is the third straight top 10 effort for the rapper – the entirety of his charting efforts.

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Maluma Serenades L.A. Fans During Papi Juancho Tour Stop: ‘I Give You My Heart’

“My heart has been waiting for this moment,” Maluma told a roaring crowd at The Forum on Friday (Sept. 3). It was the second show of his Papi Juancho Tour, which he kicked off on Thursday in Sacramento, Calif., after not touring for 18 months.

Waiting until every single person made their way to their seat — the lines to get into the venue moved at an exceptionally slow pace — the Colombian star kicked off his 90-minute set at 10 p.m. Giving off Matrix vibes with an all-black outfit that included a long black coat and dark sunglasses, Maluma appeared onstage with a smile from ear to ear, taking in the cheers and applause from the thousands of fans that gathered to watch Papi Juancho perform.

He kicked off the performance with his global smash hit, “Hawái.” In the middle of the set, he stopped and let the more than 15,000 people in the crowd sing an entire verse from the song as he stood there in admiration. “I f—ing missed you guys,” he said, visibly emotional.

Working the in-the-round or 360-style stage, which allowed for more interaction with fans from every corner, Maluma went on to perform other chart-topping tracks such as “Corazón,” “Borró Cassette,” “Felices Los 4″ and “Chantaje.”

Here are five takeaways from Maluma’s sold-out show at The Forum from his Papi Juancho Tour.

Heart to Heart

Before Maluma took center stage, a pounding heart was projected onto a white rectangular canvas that was erected in the middle of the stage as a narrator told the story of Juan Luis (Maluma’s real name) and his journey that’s been filled with emotion, passion, joy and music: “He’s always been Juan Luis and has given you his heart. Now, it’s time to give him yours.” Then it was Maluma’s turn to speak: “My heart has been waiting for this moment. Today, I give you mi corazón.”

A Melancholic Maluma

Mid-concert, Maluma — by this point he had ditched the long black coat and opted for black slacks and a fitted black sleeveless T-shirt to show off his bulky arms — reflected on tough moments during the pandemic, asking fans to enjoy their loved ones while they’re still alive. “I have everything right now. I feel so blessed. But there were many lessons learned during this difficult time,” he said. “During the pandemic, many things happened and one of those things was this song that is so special. Without a doubt, it’s my favorite song from my Papi Juancho album. I want to sing it for all of you tonight.” With just a piano in tow, he serenaded fans with “AMDV,” the ballad that peaked at No. 14 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart (dated July 10, 2020).

Jamaican Vibes

In an ode to his #7DJ (7 Days in Jamaica) EP, Maluma performed all seven tracks from the set while smoking hookah and surrounded by his troupe of dancers, who wore neon orange leotards. Following the exact order from his EP, the medley kicked off with “Tonika” and ended with “Peligrosa.”

Oldies but Goodies

Maluma may have kicked off the concert with some of his newer material — such as “Hawái,” “Parce” and “Madrid,” all off his 2020 Papi Juancho album — but fans also got to sing along to some of his slightly older anthems, such as “Felices Los 4,” “Vente Pa’Ca,” “Chantaje” and “Cuatro Babys.”

COVID-19 Mandates

Before entering The Forum, you had to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. Once inside, staff and/or security walked around the venue with a sign that read “mask must be worn.” If you weren’t wearing a mask, they would promptly ask you to put it back on. In Los Angeles County, everyone, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask in all indoor public settings, including venues.

Maluma continues with his Papi Juancho Tour Saturday night in Las Vegas.

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Jimmy Page Attends Venice Film Fest for Led Zeppelin Doc Premiere

Guitarist Jimmy Page says he turned down a lot of “pretty miserable” pitches over the years to make a documentary about Led Zeppelin. But he finally bit when he received a deeply-researched proposal focusing almost exclusively on the music and chronicling the band’s birth in 1968 and its meteoric early rise.

The result is Becoming Led Zeppelin, one of the most eagerly anticipated documentaries at the Venice Film Festival, which made its premiere Saturday (Sept. 4) with Page on the red carpet.

Producers Bernard MacMahon and Allison McGourty — avowed Zeppelin fans — obtained never-before-seen footage of some of the band’s early U.S. and British concerts as well as an astonishing audio interview that drummer John Bonham gave to an Australian journalist before he died in 1980.

The interview, concert footage and other archive material are spliced into contemporary interviews with the three surviving band members — Page, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones — to create a montage that maps the frenetic first two years of the band’s existence and its early musical influences.

MacMahon, who along with McGourty launched the PBS American Epic documentary series, said it took a year to locate the Bonham recording, after hearing a bootleg version of the interview on a vinyl record.

From the sound, he knew that it had been converted into a quarter-inch tape. He then “went to every Australian journalist that we knew from that era saying do you recognize this voice? Because the journalist doesn’t identify himself.”

“Eventually I tracked down someone who said, ‘We know who it was but he died.’”

MacMahon then drew on previous contacts he had with a sound archive in Canberra, Australia, which went through “30,000 unmarked reels” to find the one with the interview.

He went to similar lengths to get full concert recordings of the songs as performed, sometimes finding reels of uncut songs that had never before been seen. He said he went to such lengths because he wanted the film to essentially be a musical interspersed with interviews.

Page said he particularly appreciated the focus on the music — the songs are played at full-length, not just snippets. And it lets the band members tell their own story in their own words. There are no other on-camera interviews.

Page said he agreed to the producers’ pitch after he received a leather-bound storyboard mapping out the movie as they had researched it and envisaged it.

“When we first met we were probably a little nervous of each other. But the conduit was the storyboard,” Page said. “And I thought they’ve really got it, they really understand what it was about.”

He said he had received plenty of proposals over the years to tell Led Zeppelin’s story, but “they were pretty miserable. Miserable and also to the point where they would want to be concentrating on anything but the music.”

“This one, it’s everything about the music, and what made the music tick,” he said. “It’s not just a sample of it with a talking head. This is something in a totally different genre.”

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