The 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards took place Tuesday night (Oct. 8) at Drai’s Beach Club in Las Vegas. The awards show will air Oct. 15 on BET at 8 p.m. ET. Fat Joe steered the show for the third consecutive year as the host.
There was plenty of star power taking over Sin City. Soulja Boy, 2 Chainz, 41, Big Boogie, Skilla Baby, Lola Brooke, E-40, Lightskinkeisha, Odumodublvck and more had the red carpet going up on a Tuesday.
“Joe Crack is back for the three-peat, night night baby,” Fat Joe said in a statement. “It’s been a dream to host the BET Hip Hop Awards the past few years, and I’m looking forward to taking things to the next level in Las Vegas. We’re going to be in a new city and location, but the excitement and entertainment at the awards will be even bigger than ever.”
Travis Scott was honored with the 2024 I Am Hip Hop Award. He follows recent I Am Hip Hop Award winners like Marley Marl, Trina and Nelly. La Flame earned six nominations in total.
“Travis Scott is a visionary artist who continues to push the boundaries of music, culture, and live performance,” Connie Orlando, EVP, specials, music programming and music strategy said in a statement. “With his unmatched creativity and relentless passion, he has redefined what it means to be a captivating, inspiring entertainer within the hip hop genre. We look forward to celebrating him at BET Hip Hop Awards 2024.”
Megan Thee Stallion led all artists with 12 nominations to her name, including hip hop artist of the year and three separate noms in the best collaboration category. This is only the fourth time that the BET Hip Hop Awards have taken place outside Atlanta since 2006.
Tune in on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 8 p.m. ET to watch the 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards on BET, and find photos from the red carpet below.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-10-09 20:26:082024-10-09 20:26:08Best Photos From the 2024 BET Hip Hop Awards Red Carpet
Barry White’s estate is suing over allegations that a prominent sample at the heart of Future and Metro Boomin’s chart-topping “Like That” infringes the copyright to a 1973 song by the legendary singer — but they aren’t accusing the stars of any wrongdoing.
In a complaint filed last week in Manhattan federal court, White’s estate claimed that a 1986 hip-hop song called “Everlasting Bass” by the duo Rodney-O (Rodney Oliver) & Joe Cooley stole key elements from White’s 1973 song “I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby.”
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Attorneys for the White estate say they waited nearly four decades to sue over the song because it was “released prior to the internet and was not widely distributed,” leaving the estate “unaware of the song when it was first released.”
White’s heirs are certainly aware of “Everlasting” now, and it’s not hard to guess why: The song was heavily sampled in “Like That,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100 earlier this year — so prominently that Future and Metro Boomin credited Rodney-O & Joe Cooley as co-writers.
By using an infringing sample, the lawsuit claims that “Like That” also infringes White’s copyrights: “‘Like That’ copies substantial elements of ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Babe’ … including but not limited to the iconic, immediately recognizable bass line,” the estate wrote in its Thursday (Oct. 3) complaint.
But crucially, the White estate isn’t accusing Future, Metro Boomin or co-creator Kendrick Lamar of any legal wrongdoing. The lawsuit pins the blame solely on Rodney-O & Joe Cooley, saying they agreed to defend the stars against such accusations when they cleared the sample.
The duo did not immediately return a request for comment on the lawsuit’s allegations.
Released in March as the third single off Future and Metro’s collaborative album We Don’t Trust You, “Like That” reigned at No. 1 for three weeks and spent another 28 weeks on the chart. At the time of its debut, most of the focus was on the lyrics — since the track was one of the early salvos in the diss war between Kendrick and Drake.
But the underlying music featured a sample from “Everlasting Bass,” a classic early hip-hop track that’s also been sampled by Three 6 Mafia, Lil Wayne and E-40. In an April interview with Vibe, Rodney-O said he loved what Future and Metro did with his song.
“It is crazy because the song was big when it came out and for it to be even bigger now all these years later, it’s crazy,” he said. “I heard the song, I knew it was good, but when it comes out and the world hears it how you hear it and react to it the way you reacted to it, that’s confirmation.”
As for White’s song, “Gonna Love You” is one of the legendary singer’s top commercial hits, peaking at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in June 1973 and ultimately spending 18 weeks on the chart.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-10-09 20:26:062024-10-09 20:26:06Barry White’s Estate Files Copyright Case Over ‘Like That’ — But Not Against Future and Metro Boomin
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Before October Prime Day wraps up on Wednesday (Oct. 9), Amazon Prime members can save up to 30% off premium beauty products, including a bestselling skincare item beloved by Jin of BTS.
“I’m excited to work with Laneige, a brand I’ve always loved! I’m a bit nervous because this is my first time being a beauty brand ambassador, but I’m also really thrilled,” the K-Pop star revealed in an chat with Laneige USA. “I can’t wait for you all to see what we’re working on!”
“Thanks to Laneige I feel like I’m returning to my peak season,” Jin added. “My off-season is over with the help of Cream Skin.”
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Want skin like Jin? Laneige’s Cream Skin is currently on sale for $25 (reg. $36) at Amazon. The two-in-one skincare essential utilizes ceramides, peptides and amino acids to gently hydrate and smooth skin.
Amazon shoppers can attest to the hydrating and smoothing properties. Cream Skin gave one user a “gorgeous natural glow,” according to an Amazon review. Another called it a “holy grail” skincare product while another shopper review confirms that it leaves the skin “light and fresh.”
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-10-09 20:07:172024-10-09 20:07:17BTS-Approved Prime Day Picks: Jin’s Favorite Skincare Essential Is on Sale for $25 at Amazon
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Today is the final day you can take advantage of fall Prime Day deals — including on iPads, which you can get now for up to 40% off. While you could splurge on a new laptop, a sleek tablet offers similar functions in a portable design and for less money.
With a wide range of features at your fingertips, you can use your new tablet to surf the internet and stream your favorite shows and movies through Prime Video, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock and more. If you love to read, then you’ll have access to digital book libraries, as well as Audible if you prefer audio books.
Avoid paying full price on one of the devices and take advantage of the limited-time October Prime Day deals on tech gadgets. With the holidays quickly approaching, Prime Day is offering you an additional opportunity to snag early gifts — and for a fraction of the cost. While holidays come and go, sales, discounts and promos on some of the best tablets on the market won’t last forever.
Keep reading to learn more.
What Are the Best Prime Day iPad Deals?
To help you score one of Apple’s popular iPads, ShopBillboard put together the best fall Prime Day deals on iPads that you can shop below.
Amazon is slashing $130 off the 9th generation iPad dropping the price to under $200. Not only will you be able to kick back and enjoy the slim and lightweight feel of the iPad, but an ultra-wide front camera to capture even more detail in a single photo as well as access to millions of apps for play, entertainment and creation within the App Store.
Keep things under $500 with the 10th generation iPad that’s a step above gen 9 and comes with a liquid retina display and 64 GBS of storage. You can also use more than one app at once for multitasking as well as take advantage of the fingerprint ID for added security.
Score $100 off the Apple iPad Air during the final hours of Amazon’s fall Prime Day. The upgraded version comes with a battery that can last you up to an entire day while the 13-inch screen gives your more space to stream or create. This edition even includes Apple’s version of AI that’ll help simplify writing or expressing yourself.
What Are the Best Tablet Deals?
Rather than hunt for the best tablet deals on your own, we put together a list of tablets with some of the biggest discounts below.
Get all your streaming and web-surfing needs met through the Amazon Fire HD 10 Tablet, currently being discounted for more than half off. The multipurpose design makes it easy to use for work purposes, as it can download Microsoft Office and Zoom. Or keep it for personal use and scroll through social media and listen to your favorite songs and playlists using Amazon Music Unlimited, Spotify and more.
Samsung has dropped 40% off their Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, which means you can get one of the most recent releases for just $200. Included is a wireless smart pen for quick writing as well as Dolby Atmos surround sound for a more immersive experience. The cover includes built-in angles to stand the tablet up for easy view while you stream.
One of Android’s latest tablets gets a 45% discount, marking the model down to a wallet-friendly $110. Some of the tablet’s most notable features include 128 GB of storage to hold your photos and gaming apps. It also comes with a Bluetooth keyboard, protective case, wireless mouse, stylus and charger allowing you to take your work on the go.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ is being dropped 31% off and more than 7,000 Amazon shoppers have purchased the device in the past month. Besides showing off a crystal clear display, the tablet comes with a slim and lightweight design that’s easy to store in your bag and take with you on the go.
Score Google’s tablet for 25% off right now and has Bluetooth capabilities so you can surf the web and listen to music hands-free. The design comes with AI capabilities that’ll let you search for anything just by drawing a circle around an image, text or video. There are three shades to choose from — Hazel, Rose and Porcelain that’ll add some display-worthy style to your countertops.
What Time of Year Is Best to Buy a Tablet?
Major sales such as Black Friday and Prime Day usually feature some of the best tablet deals as brands are looking to make room for new launches. This includes discounts on top-rated luxury brands like Google, Samsung, Amazon and Android.
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-10-09 20:03:392024-10-09 20:03:39Final Fall Prime Day Deals Include Up to 53% Off Tablets & iPads: Shop Sales Starting At $85
It’s a harsh fact of life for songwriters that the bulk of their creative output is consigned to a shelf, never to be heard outside a small group of friends and co-workers.
By contrast, nearly every story a reporter turns in typically gets printed. And the vast majority of broadcasters’ voiceovers make it onto the airwaves.
But where the reporters and air personalities are tasked with turning in new content on a daily basis, a great song gets played repeatedly for weeks, months or years. So songwriters keep churning out new material on a regular basis, only to send it into a landscape where a fraction of the industry’s output ever gets significant attention. Under those conditions, ERNEST’s new single, “Would If I Could,” is an outright miracle, a song composed in the 1990s that spent most of the last 30 years collecting figurative dust on a digital shelf.
“There’s a thousand songs coming in today,” ERNEST speculates. “You can imagine, between now and 1993, how many songs are just sitting there.”
Only one of those songs, though, was penned by Dean Dillon (“Tennessee Whiskey,” “Ocean Front Property”) and artist-writer Skip Ewing (“You Had Me From Hello,” “Love, Me”). They were two of country’s most significant writers during the ’90s, but they only collaborated once. Ewing brought in the hook, they worked through it in short order — and never tackled another song.
“I had that little idea, ‘I would if I could,’ and when I knew I was going to write with him, I thought, ‘Well, that could be right in his wheelhouse,’” Ewing remembers. “We didn’t spend very much time together, and I’ve never talked to him since. It’s the only song we’ve ever written.”
The title, “I Would If I Could,” is a phrase that stands on its own, but it’s also part of a larger meme, “I would if I could, but I can’t, so I shan’t,” that has been in circulation for decades. It appears, in fact, in the dialogue of Jim Parsons’ nerdy Big Bang Theory character, Sheldon Cooper.
Funny enough, neither Ewing nor Dillon had ever heard it. But when they chipped away at the chorus, they ended up chasing a more colloquial version of the same sentiment: “I would if I could, but I can’t, so I won’t.” And then they tagged it with an extension: “But I want to.”
The chorus became an intricate word puzzle. “Want,” “like” and “love” are weaved into the text — along with “I’d love to say, ‘Yes’ ” and “I’m tellin’ you, ‘No.’ ” That maze is attached to a spiraling melody that sounds, as ERNEST notes, a bit like the George Strait hit “The Chair,” written by Dillon.
The first verse — cast in a lower range with a different, but compatible, phrasing — established the story of a former partner asking for a second chance. The singer is respectfully skeptical, though tempted, and the melancholy tone and winding melody add heartbreaking tension to the encounter. “He’s trying to say no,” Ewing observes. “If he was sure, the ‘I want to’ wouldn’t be there, so I still don’t know which one wins.”
Strait, who famously recorded dozens of Dillon’s compositions, got the first crack at “I Would If I Could.” “Every Monday of the week George recorded, I’d go to his office at 10 a.m. in the morning over at [manager] Erv [Woolsey’s] place,” Dillon says. “The stuff he’d like, he’d keep, and then when he cut the session, if I got something, it was all good. And most of the times I did.”
Strait apparently liked “I Would If I Could,” because it got considered during a session. Producer Joey Moi (Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line) notes that when they worked on ERNEST’s recording, fiddler Larry Franklin recognized the song from that earlier Strait date. Strait had toyed with it during that session, but had other songs that were just as good and passed on “I Would If I Could.” Dillon was unaware that Strait had come that close to cutting it. “That’s one more thing I can b–ch to him about,” Dillon deadpans.
The song languished in the Sony/ATV vault for years until July 2023 when Ewing’s demo was issued on numerous platforms. Lainey Wilson cut a version with a fair amount of minor chords for Apple Music’s Lost & Found series, appearing in November 2023. And Dillon’s daughter, Jessie Jo Dillon (“Messed Up As Me,” “Am I Okay?”), brought it to ERNEST’s attention. He loved it.
“All of it,” he clarifies. “The way it felt; I thought the lyric was awesome. Skip’s performance on the demo is very inspiring as well. I mean, Dean Dillon guitar chords and melodies are just as much of a signature as a Banksy painting.”
ERNEST cut his own version of “I Would If I Could,” mixing a few old-school session players — including Franklin and guitarist Brent Mason — with other musicians who have joined the A-list ranks in more recent years. They developed a starkly spacious arrangement, with Bryan Sutton’s acoustic guitar leading the opening verse. Jerry Roe doesn’t start his drum part until the second line of the chorus, and much of the band — including Franklin, Mason, Sutton and steel guitarist Dan Dugmore — operated in unison on many of the key instrumental turnarounds, mimicking a signature Strait element.
“It has to sound like an old classic George Strait song,” Moi says. “We all heard it and barely had to talk about it in the room. It was so obvious how it had to be cut. Every musician walked away and knew the assignment.”
The sparseness of the track let the nuances of ERNEST’s vocals shine. He enunciates the consonants crisply, his breaths are detectable, and those touches enhance the fragility in his performance. “It had to be intimate, but it also had to hurt at the same time,” Moi says. “That’s a hard thing for certain singers to do. Some singers, they kind of have one gear and they sing one way, and they don’t emote the best. But ERN, I feel like he nailed it.”
Wilson added her voice to ERNEST’s version, and their collaboration appeared in April. But she had her own album in the works, and Big Loud released his solo version of “Would If I Could” (the first “I” is shaved off the title) to country radio via PlayMPE on Aug. 21. “Lainey is one of the busiest women in country music, rightfully so,” ERNEST says. “I can’t burden her with another thing to do, but I still want this song on country radio.”
Its official impact date is Oct. 7. Two previous hits, “Flower Shops” and “Cowboys,” teamed him with Wallen; surprisingly, “Would If I Could” — after sitting ignored for three decades — is ERNEST’s first solo release to radio.
“I’m super thankful for the features I’ve had at radio,” he says, “but I’m excited to go do the work it’s going to take to run this song as far as it can go.”
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-10-09 20:03:382024-10-09 20:03:38Strait From the Vault: ERNEST ‘Could’ Have a Hit With an Abandoned Gem
The 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week is returning to Miami from Oct. 14 to 18 at the Fillmore Miami Beach with more than 70 artists confirmed.
This year, the week-long event celebrates its 35th anniversary as the one, steady foundation of Latin music in this country, becoming the single most important — and biggest — gathering of Latin artists and industry executives in the world.
The industry event will feature Superstar Q&A’s with artists such as Alejandro Sanz, Gloria Estefan, J Balvin, Pepe Aguilar, and Young Miko, as well as intimate and educational discussions including Thalía and Maria Becerra on mental health; Eslabon Armado and Yahritza y Su Esencia on family in the biz; and Feid’s touring success from clubs to stadiums.
Other artists confirmed to speak at Latin Music Week: Peso Pluma, Chiquis, Yandel, Belinda, Junior H, Fuerza Regida’s JOP, Pipe Bueno, NMIXX and many more.
The conference will also include various artist showcases throughout the week that pass holders will be able to enjoy. To purchase your ticket, visit here.
Among the most notable are “Billboard En Vivo” featuring Grupo Frontera and Majo Aguilar and “Next Gen Reggaeton Curated by J Balvin,” both events taking place at the Wynwood Marketplace on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, respectively. Additionally, the week will wrap with the “35th Anniversary Concert,” featuring performances by Young Miko, Tito Double P, Elvis Crespo, Ana Mena, Belinda, Elvis Crespo and FloyyMenor.
Latin Music Week coincides with the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards set to air Sunday, Oct. 20, on Telemundo. See the full schedule of Latin Music Week-related showcases below:
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-10-09 19:58:192024-10-09 19:58:19All the Artist Showcases at 2024 Billboard Latin Music Week
Ye (formerly known as Kanye West) was relatively new on the scene when he declared that “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” while standing next to a stunned Mike Myers during NBC’s A Concert for Hurricane Relief telethon in 2005.
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Now, the moment is being relitigated almost 20 years later. Debuting this Sunday (Oct. 13), the next episode of CNN’s docuseries TV on the Edge will feature a discussion around the phrase that catapulted one of pop culture’s most polarizing figures into mainstream consciousness. Featured in the clip, exclusively given to Complex, journalists Dexter Thomas, Jen Chaney and political pundit Van Jones look back at Kanye being “right,” while also trying to comprehend the things he’s said and done in recent years.
Chaney brought up Ye’s battle with mental health and how “baffling” it was when he started wearing the infamous red MAGA hat. Both Thomas and Jones expressed frustration, but for different reasons — Thomas felt that it was both sad and necessary for Ye to speak up on that moment, while Van Jones said the Chicago rapper has “hurt and disappointed a lot of people.”
What’s gotten lost is the fact that Ye said more than just that phrase. As he stood next to a visibly nervous Myers, he started his statement with, “I hate the way they portray us in the media.” Continuing, he added that those depictions presented a stark, racial contrast; “If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. If you see a white family, it says they’re looking for food.”
He then rambled about feeling like a “hypocrite” because he went shopping instead of donating and tried to avoid the news. He then ended his statement by saying, “They’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us,” in regards to the military and the police in New Orleans during Katrina’s aftermath.
In the book Decision Points, published after his presidency, George W. Bush referred to Ye calling him racist “one of the most disgusting moments of my presidency.”
https://i0.wp.com/neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/station.nez_png.png?fit=943%2C511&ssl=1511943Yvetohttps://neztelinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/nez_png.pngYveto2024-10-09 19:58:182024-10-09 19:58:18Ye’s ‘George Bush Doesn’t Care About Black People’ Moment to Be Featured in CNN Docuseries
Welcome to Billboard Pro’s Trending Up newsletter, where we take a closer look at the songs, artists, curiosities and trends that have caught the music industry’s attention. Some have come out of nowhere, others have taken months to catch on, and all of them could become ubiquitous in the blink of a TikTok clip.
This week: Netflix has a new hit series on its hands and many alt-pop artists are benefiting from it, an ’00s indie rock classic proves timeless once again, it’s Girl in Red season again and much more.
‘Nobody Wants This,’ But Lots of People Want the Soundtrack
The new Netflix series Nobody Wants This is one of the breakout hits of this late-2024 TV season, with good reviews and word-of-mouth buzz spreading the Kristen Bell and Adam Brody co-starring series – about the romantic relationship between a podcaster and a rabbi, and the reactions of their respective families and communities – all over social media and pop culture. That of course extends to the series’ soundtrack, which is stacked with synchs from some of the most popular and acclaimed alt-pop artists of the past decade-plus, as well as some exciting new up-and-comers.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary so far has been Francis and the Lights’ “See Her Out (That’s Just Life),” which plays in multiple key scenes in the season, including during the first kiss between Bell’s and Brody’s characters. The song racked up 432,000 official on-demand streams in the U.S. last week (ending Oct. 3) following the show’s Sept. 26 debut, up from just 13,000 streams the prior frame – an eye-popping gain of 3,157%, according to Luminate. Multiple songs from star sister trio HAIM are also featured, with the group’s “Now I’m in It” jumping 120% to 177,000 streams over the same period, while “You & I” from veteran Swedish pop singer-songwriter LÉON is also up 245% to 196,000.
The series has also had a big impact on the catalog of newer singer-songwriter Anna Graves, who has a couple songs featured in the series. Her “Fly” is up 304% to 63,000 streams over this period, while her “When the Love Is Gone” spikes 615% to 41,000 streams. – ANDREW UNTERBERGER
Wait, They Don’t TikTok Like I TikTok: Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Maps’ Gets a Viral Trend
Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps”: early-00’s classic, timeless alt-rock love song, iconic music video, the anthem that unwittingly launched Karen O and co. towards indie stardom. And now, more than 20 years after the 2003 single’s release, “Maps” is getting the viral treatment on TikTok thanks to the “Maps Dance,” in which a remixed version of the song soundtracks users shaking their hips and hitting them with their hands, then pausing (or moving in slow motion) when Karen O declares, “Wait!,” as in, “Wait! They don’t love you like I love you!”
The TikTok trend has helped “Maps” nearly double in U.S. on-demand weekly streams over a two-week period: the YYYs track earned 1.49 million streams during the week ending on Oct. 3, according to Luminate, up from 766,000 streams for the week ending Sept. 19. “Maps” crept onto the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 87 in 2004; depending on how this trend grows, maybe the Yeah Yeah Yeahs can hip-shake back onto the chart two decades later. – JASON LIPSHUTZ
‘Joker’ Sequel & Harlequin LP Lift Lady Gaga’s Jazz Catalog
Although Joker: Folie à Deux has suffered from dismal reviews and a disastrous box office performance, there is a silver lining for the film’s leading lady. Lady Gaga, who portrays Harley Quinn in the new film, injects the Joker sequel with her love for jazz standards, which spilled over into both Harlequin, her new Billboard chart-topping companion album featuring both covers and original cuts, and even to a couple her older jazz collections.
According to Luminate, combined official on-demand U.S. streams for Cheek to Cheek and Love for Sale – Gaga’s two Grammy-winning duets albums with the late Tony Bennett – have risen 30% since the release of Harlequin (Sept. 27). During the period of Sept. 20-26, the two LPs earned about 380,000 combined official on-demand U.S. streams. That figure ballooned to over 490,000 combined streams in the week following Harlequin’s release (Sept. 27-Oct. 3). It’s unlikely – but not completely out of the question – that Harlequin will launch a Hot 100 hit, but its arrival has spurred some gains for Gaga’s non-pop catalog. A win is a win!
Latto Squeezes Another Streaming Hit Out of ‘Sugar Honey Iced Tea’
Latto’s Billboard chart-topping Sugar Honey Iced Tea already boasts streaming hits like “Big Mama” and “Brokey,” and it looks like “Georgia Peach,” the record’s intro, could join those ranks.
Bolstered by a rise in socialmediaadoration for the song – alongside the album and Latto in general – official on-demand U.S. streams for “Georgia Peach” have risen over 83% from Sept. 27-20 to Oct. 4-7, according to Luminate. During the period of Sept. 27-30, the Southern hip-hop banger collected over 588,000 streams, which rose to over 1.07 million streams during the period of Oct. 4-7. On TikTok, the official “Georgia Peach” sound boasts nearly 30,000 clips, while an unofficial upload soundtracks a further 13,000 videos.
Although “Georgia Peach” does have an official music video, it’s rise in popularity isn’t tied to that clip, a dance trend or anything else. Should its streams continue to rise, “Georgia Peach” could become the fourth Hot 100 entry from Sugar Honey Iced Tea. — KD
Q&A: Sarah Patellos, Head of Spotify Music Studios, on What’s Trending Up in Her World
How did the Spotify Anniversaries series idea form?
This concept was born as a result of a few creative inspirations from our team. We wanted to find a way to celebrate iconic catalog music, especially as we’ve seen listeners engage positively in that space over the past few years. Our Los Angeles Spotify Studio is an incredible space that has always birthed creativity, so the idea of bringing artists into the space to revisit their classics as a series felt like it had a lot of potential. It would give existing fans something new to experience, while engaging new fans in discovering the music for the first time.
From that initial internal excitement, we started to build out what the series would be. On that would exist through music and video. Knowing that every project’s lifespan is unique, our thought was to allow for a flexible anniversary window that made sense for each album and artists’ milestones. That gave us a wide canvas to find the right projects to bring back to life.
How did you decide on the artists and projects that made sense for the series, and what goes into each one?
Spotify Anniversaries celebrates the staying power of iconic albums. We’ve worked with artists from different genres, but the throughline is the timelessness of the projects we’re celebrating. From Isaiah Rashad’s EP Cilvia Demo to Weezer’s The Blue Album to Christina Aguilera’s debut album Christina Aguilera – we are honored to have the opportunity to help celebrate these anniversaries.
For each episode, we invite the artists to perform 4-6 songs from the project, ideally both the hits and the tracks that embody this milestone for the project. We partner closely with the artist to create an environment in our Spotify Studio that feels aesthetically right for the project and their vision, but keep it really focused on the live performance and the quality of the studio recording.
What have been some highlights thus far?
Our first episode with Isaiah Rashad felt incredibly special – he is such a captivating performer and really set the stage for the vision of this series. For Christina Aguilera, her special guests Ron Fair, Heather Holley, mgk and Sabrina Carpenter brought a unique element to the making of the project, while also reimagining and bringing new life to it.
Weezer was also a highlight. The band chose the direction to perform facing each other, which led to a really natural conversation and allowed the meaning of the project amongst the band to shine beautifully. Not only were the songs being revisited, but watching the band connect face-to-face created a unique experience, and that’s one of the reasons why that episode in particular has been so impactful. It’s a great example how artists can take the series and steer it into their own creative space.
How has Spotify Anniversaries impacted engagement with those projects on the Spotify platform?
The beauty of this project is that is led by music, but supported by video on socials and YouTube. Each Spotify Anniversaries episode has a live EP that lives exclusively on platform. We’ve seen incredible responses to each EP release – the Christina/Sabrina collab was even seen on New Music Friday and Teen Beats. The more this program grows, the more ways we are testing the use of other products to make this even more layered. – JL
Season’s Gainings: Leaves Turning, Pumpkin Spice Lattes Arriving & Girl in Red Rising
If Earth, Wind & Fire’s moment has already passed and you’re not hearing Ray Parker Jr. and Bobby “Boris” Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers everyone just yet, that must mean it’s Girl in Red season. As happens annually around this time of year, the Norwegian singer-songwriter born Marie Ulven Ringheim is rising on streaming with her indie-pop modern classic “We Fell in Love in October” – with the song racking up 3.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams over the first four days of the month, a 73% gain from the 2.1 million combined streams of the prior four-day period. The song even hit a new all-time peak of No. 38 on the Spotify Daily Top Songs USA chart, suggesting that folks are falling even more in love with Girl in Red this October. – AU
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It may only be October, but the first Monday in May is already on the mind.
Vogueannounced on Wednesday (Oct. 9) that the theme for the 2025 Met Gala is “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” which draws inspiration from Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity. Per the publication, the corresponding exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will feature “garments, paintings, photographs, and more—all exploring the indelible style of Black men in the context of dandyism, from the 18th-century through present day.”
“The exhibit will explore the indelible style of Black men in the context of dandyism, from the 18th century through present day,” the outlet explained in a post to Instagram. The dress code for the event will be revealed in the coming months.
Dandyism — a menswear style and code of conduct defined by its tailored outfits, refinement, sartorial elegance and gentlemanly manners — has been prevalent in the Black community for centuries. Black dandyism is known for integrating European menswear with an African aesthetic, marking social and cultural resistance as it fought devastating stereotypes against Black men throughout the 1800s and 1900s.
As a result, for the first time in history, this year’s co-chairs are all Black men. Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams will join Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as the co-chairs the 2025 Met Gala, alongside honorary chair LeBron James.
The 2025 Met Gala will take place on May 5, 2025, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez served as co-chairs of the 2024 event, as did Zendaya and Chris Hemsworth. The theme was Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion and the whimsical “Garden of Time” dress code was inspired by a 1962 J.G. Ballard short story of the same name.
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When Jaclyn Kinnon was seven, she lived more like a roadie than a second grader. Because her mother, Shelley Kinnon, headed the backstage catering for Southern California’s Irvine Meadows (now FivePoint Amphitheatre) from 1988 to 2010, she spent many evenings and weekends helping her mom pamper rock stars. One particular chore later became a rock ‘n’ roll fable.
“I remember my mom tossing me bags of M&Ms and having me pick out all the brown ones for Van Halen,” says Jaclyn. “But I didn’t throw them out — I kept them for myself.”
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When it comes to hospitality riders — a list of requests in an artist’s contract fulfilled by promoters or venues — the most famous is Van Halen’s demand for no brown M&Ms in their dressing room. But whether technical, practical or outrageous, the rider is an industry staple. It is also an endless source of fascination, finding its way into pop culture, such as the This Is Spinal Tap character Nigel Tufnel, played by Christopher Guest, who complains that the bread provided backstage is a catastrophe because it’s too small for the deli meat. For those of us who live far from the galaxy of stardom, this is an inconceivable world of entitlement and excess. But for those who work in the live music industry, this is their reality.
Touring may seem like an endless bacchanalia, but it is nonetheless challenging. There are long hours spent on the road and on airplanes, late nights, early mornings, meet-and-greets, energy-zapping performances, sleeping (or not sleeping) in foreign beds, pre-parties, after parties, and unbridled access to all manner of intoxicants. Since ticket sales make up a large portion of an artist’s revenue, ranging from Taylor Swift‘s billion-dollar Eras Tour to throw-everything-in-the-van-and-go indie bands, the industry has developed a set of best practices for how musicians are treated while on the road, and creature comforts, especially for A-list artists, make a big impact on tour. Swift’s humble 2008 tour rider included simple indulgences such as one quart of 2% chocolate milk, one stick of butter, one small jar of dill pickles, and three boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese. Her Eras Tour version would presumably go further.
Particular types of food and meal preparations are rider staples that offer a respite from drive-thrus, greasy spoons and gas station nachos. While some artists travel with a personal chef, others may expect the venue to provide a fine dining experience.
“For Van Halen and Sammy Hagar back in the ’90s,” says Shelley Kinnon, “they had to have a big, lavish, sit-down dinner in their dressing room. We supplied the dinner, and it was one of the most expensive riders I can remember. In fact, I even hired a chef from the Ritz Carlton to come in.”
Kinnon has seen it all. Her eponymous catering business has decades of experience at venues such as the aforementioned FivePoint Amphitheatre, L.A. Sports Arena and Orange County’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts. She roasted a whole pig for an Ozzfest end-of-tour party. She whipped up a juicy roasted pork loin from a special recipe provided by members of Rush. She supplied many bottles of Cristal. While some of her food requests were easy to fulfill, like Jimmy Buffett‘s three grapefruits, others were more daunting, like finding chicken feet for the Jamaica-based Reggae Sunsplash tour of the early ’90s. Now, most rare food items are more readily available, but 30 years ago when, for example, various British bands would require HP Sauce — a tomato and tamarind condiment as popular as ketchup in the U.K. — she was at a loss.
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And then there were drugs — something that was oft requested but always unwritten. Since it was the ’80s, an era that was covered in white dust, it came as no surprise. (And no, Kinnon never provided it.) She also witnessed other high-maintenance requests of which rider lore is made.
“For Michael Jackson at his ’89 L.A. Sports Arena show, they were measuring the table cloths because they had to be a certain length,” she says.”Somebody had to taste all his food before he ate it. We even had to set up a separate dressing room for Bubbles, his [chimpanzee], who was wearing a frickin’ suit.”
As the music industry evolved, so have riders. While artists are still making headlines with their demands — lest we forget Beyoncé‘s alleged 2013 request for over $900 worth of titanium straws, which she needed, according to E! News, for drinking alkaline water — at least some lean toward a more cause-driven purpose.
“Florence and the Machine was a solidly expensive rider — a few thousand dollars,” says Tadia Taylor, who has worked in artist relations, tour and artist management, and event production. “Florence is focused on sustainability so it was important to her that there’s no paper plates, no paper cups, no plastic cutlery. I had to buy stuff like china, glassware and real silverware, but it didn’t bother me because it was coming from a good place. Even though it was expensive, it wasn’t frivolous.
“I actually kept all that stuff and reused it for other events,” she adds.
The rider comes from humble beginnings. In the early ’60s, they were utilitarian, consisting of performance essentials like payment preferences, sound equipment and lighting, which these days is categorized as a technical rider to differentiate it from the hospitality version. Chuck Berry, who traveled with his guitar in hand, asked to be paid in cash upfront or he would not play. (This was used against him when the IRS charged him with tax evasion in 1979.)
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Alex Hodges, 82, CEO of Nederlander Concerts, who has represented artists such as The Allman Brothers and Stevie Ray Vaughan, says his first experience with the rider was in Macon, Ga. in the early ’60s when he worked with the now-defunct Walden Artists & Promotions. While still in college, he started managing local bands around 1961 and eventually landed his first big star: Otis Redding.
“Regional bands would tell us stories of the bare dressing room or the lack of equipment or water on the floor,” says Hodges. “The first rider I ever did was probably no more than a page or two. For Otis, it became more essential and technical, just the minimum requirements. And around 1970, when The Allman Brothers came out with their first album, it became a little bit more interesting.”
That is due in large part to John Hartmann, 84, a Canadian-American author, educator and music industry legend who has worked with artists such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and the Eagles, and who helped reshape the rider into what it is today — which can now be upwards of 15 pages. And it all began with Perrier.
“We invented the rider,” Hartmann claimed in Michael Walker’s book Laurel Canyon: The Inside Story of Rock-and-Roll’s Legendary Neighborhood. “I remember the big thing I wanted was Perrier. I drank Perrier. So I got everybody around me into it, and we ended up putting Perrier on the riders and no one knew what it was and people were sending to France to get it. Those kinds of things crept in as the managers and the artists gained power.”
With Perrier, Hartmann was one of the first to request an indulgence on tour that was something other than technical equipment or a per diem, making venues and promoters scramble to either hunt down or import the bubbly beverage. His request was honored, and later, when the British duo Chad & Jeremy called him with a venue issue, these combined occurrences revealed an opportunity.
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“I sent Chad & Jeremy to San Diego to play a concert,” says Hartmann. “When they got down there, they called and said, ‘There’s no PA.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about? It’s a venue, they’ve got a PA,’ and they said, ‘This is the kind of PA a teacher uses to talk to a class. It won’t hold rock and roll.’ That’s when we started, as agents, analyzing this whole need for proper sound and really got into the technical aspects of it all for the first time.”
Eventually, riders began to help artists and managers gain more power. If a rider was fulfilled, it meant the contracts were read. If they weren’t, it meant the artist had the ability to cancel their show. Since promoters and venues needed performers in order to run their businesses, the dynamic shifted from offering the bare minimum to ingratiating artists and management. The demands to elevate the standards of sound and lighting quality quickly became the norm for most venues, allowing artists to fill their riders with other, more personalized, requests. Thus, the hospitality rider (versus the technical rider) was born — and it didn’t take long for artists and managers to catch on.
In essence, riders evolved into binding contractual terms. Hodges once demanded in Stevie Ray Vaughan’s rider — whose last name was frequently misspelled as “Vaughn” on marquees, tickets and posters — that if his last name was misspelled on any marketing materials, the promoter would have to pay the hotel bill for the entire band and crew. As a fond reminder of this, Hodges keeps a framed poster featuring Vaughan’s misprinted name in his office.
“That’s in essence what the rider’s about: To be sure the promoters are given the information they need,” Hodges says. “Some of the funny stuff you put in isn’t necessarily intended to be funny or difficult, it’s to be sure that they read the rider and take it seriously. We’d check everything to see if they spelled the artist’s name right, whether it’s a marquee, dressing room, or on a cake — anything that might let us know they weren’t paying attention.”
“The rider evolved based on the specific interests, needs or whims of the acts, especially as they got bigger,” Hartmann adds. “Those requests became rigid, and eventually no artist performed without a rider. When I went to Europe with the Eagles, America and Crosby and Nash — before Stills — we had unwritten needs. It wasn’t on the rider, but you gotta give us pot or hashish when we crossed the border into your country.”
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If there’s anyone who knows about riders based on specific interests and needs, it’s Darrius Washington, who is Steve Aoki‘s tour and production manager. Dubbed the “$30 million DJ” by Forbesin 2019, Aoki is not just known for rattling arenas with his high-energy big room house but also for lobbing cakes at eager audience members.
Known as “Cake Face,” these are not regular store-bought cakes picked up by a production assistant, but rather a particular recipe made by a local baker in each city of the tour. They are so specific that the cakes have their own rider, shared with Billboard, which offers a diagram, dimensions (12×16 inches), ingredients (plain white sponge cake, no chocolate or sprinkles), and the ratio of cake to frosting (25% white sponge cake and 75% whipped cream frosting). The rider also says, “A great test is to see how easily you can stick your finger in the top of the cake. If you have to use force, then the cake is not prepared correctly.” Even the foundation of the cake is explicit and must be made of expanded polystyrene foam board because it is soft and breaks upon impact, avoiding injuries that could be incurred by cardboard or plastic careening at one’s face.
“What most people don’t know about the cake,” Washington explains, “is that it’s all contractual. So if you fuck up our cake rider or your cakes in any way, it’s a $5,000 fee.
“We’re actually refining the rider even further because Steve has mentioned that they are on the lighter side,” Washington adds. “He’s been featured on Barstool Sports for how accurate he is with the cakes, but if you want to continue that accuracy, the cakes have to be a certain weight, a certain size, or else they don’t go as far. So all of these things have to come together to make this perfect cake for throwing.”
According to Washington, they go through about 800 cakes per summer.
Now, some venues go above and beyond the riders, not only fulfilling them in their entirety but organizing customized activations for artists and their entourage. Christy Castillo Butcher, senior vp of programming and booking for SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, believes in the broader definition of hospitality, which is welcoming people into your home.
“You wanna create a comfortable space for them, an inner sanctum to decompress before the show,” Butcher says. “Hospitality riders are key in creating some consistency from venue to venue so the performers know what to expect. From a venue side, it’s really trying to tap into some of the nuances around that. What are some of their favorite things? Is there a specialty coffee or food particular to the artist or crew? Are they fond of a certain tequila?”
From Butcher fabricating a personalized SoFi football helmet for Kenny Chesney to organizing a carne asada cookout during a press conference — complete with a local youth mariachi band — for the Mexican Norteño-banda act Grupo Firme, the rider continues to evolve via the venues and the artists themselves.
“With the rider, the power went from the criminal conspiracy known as the record business to the artist and managers,” says Hartmann with a laugh. “The rider is now an institution. The ridiculousness is unlimited and it’s up to the artist — what are they not ashamed to ask for? Well, most of the time it doesn’t matter and they’ll just ask for it anyway.”
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