Three years after a $100,000 personal injury settlement hit a North Miami Beach attorney’s trust account, her client had received, at most, under $10,000. Other people and entities, including a … Click to Continue »
NEW YORK — The life-threatening risks for New York’s construction workers don’t end when their shifts do. Struggles with depression and substance abuse are common in an industry plagued by … Click to Continue »
As a major storm threatened the Florida coastline Monday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a press conference from the state’s emergency management headquarters, warning residents about the storm’s danger … Click to Continue »
As Florida lawmakers expanded eligibility for school vouchers this year, they also gave parents more ways to spend the money. Theme park passes, 55-inch TVs, and stand-up paddleboards are among … Click to Continue »
Beyoncé hit all the right notes as her highly-anticipated Renaissance World Tour made its landing in Los Angeles for two unforgettable nights: on Friday, Sept. 1 and Saturday, Sept. 2.
Fans bedazzled in silver, chrome, diamonds, sparkles and rhinestones, turning the entire SoFi Stadium scene into a living, breathing fashion runway. The fashion game was next-level, and everyone was strutting their stuff even before the main event.
Stepping into SoFi Stadium was like stepping into Beyoncé’s own dazzling world – a silver wonderland with festival vibes galore. Official merch was up for grabs, and the lines snaked around like a maze, a testament to the sheer excitement in the air.
More than just a concert, this was a firsthand VIP pass into Beyoncé’s universe, where music, fashion and artistry blended seamlessly into a mesmerizing, three-hour extravaganza.
Here are the best moments from Beyoncé’s Sept. 1 and Sept. 2 shows at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium.
The rain persisted Sunday (Sept. 3) at Burning Man, leaving the event’s roughly 73,000 attendees still confined to the site.
Rain came down hard in Black Rock City, located in the remote Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada, on Sunday around noon and then again around 6 p.m., making it still unclear when attendees will be able to leave. This rain has continued to leave the event at a relative standstill, as it has turned the site’s ground into thick mud that’s nontraversable by car and bike. Authorities issued a no driving order when the rain began on Friday.
Complicating matters, more than 300 cars and RVs are currently stuck at the event’s gate after having attempted to leave. Some have been stuck in the mud on the road for a few hours, and some for roughly two days.
A volunteer at Burning Man’s official information booth said that tow trucks are not currently coming to the site, and that when the gate does open, priority will be given to those who did not attempt to leave, given the no driving order that was issued.
One death was reported at Burning Man late Saturday.
According to CNN, the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating “a death which occurred during this rain event.” Authorities did not name the person, but noted, “The family has been notified.” On Sunday, the Sheriff’s Office said that the individual was found on the playa and lifesaving procedures to revive them were not successful.
On Sunday, a White House official said President Biden has been briefed on the situation at Burning Man. Administration officials were in contact with state and local officials, the New York Times reports.
Officials are still planning to burn the event’s namesake man structure at 9 p.m. on Monday, with another large-scale art piece to be burned later in the evening and the event’s temple structure to be burned at an as-yet-determined time on Tuesday.
In the city, talk is rising of Burners concerned about getting back to their lives in the outside world. Discussions about how to tend to children, pets and plants has been overheard. “I need to leave!” one woman at the information booth stated. “I’m supposed to go on vacation in Greece this week.”
The event’s airport remains closed. The Burner Bus shuttles to Reno and San Francisco, which transported roughly 20,000 people into the event, are postponed until further notice. Once shuttle service resumes, riders will be organized by departure time, with priority given to those whose departure time has passed.
Zach Bryan lands his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as his new self-titled set bows atop the tally (dated Sept. 9). The 16-song country-rock effort, his fourth full-length studio album, launches with 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 31, according to Luminate — the largest week for any rock album in four years. It’s also the first rock effort to hit No. 1 in more than a year. The set’s opening frame is largely powered by streaming activity — and the album boasts the biggest streaming week ever for a rock album.
Beyond Bryan’s rock achievements, his self-titled set also marks the third country title to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2023, and garners the fifth-largest debut streaming week for a country album.
Country and rock albums are defined as those that are eligible for, or have charted on, Billboard’s Top Country Albums and Top Rock Albums charts, respectively. Bryan is among a handful of recent acts that have placed a genre-blending album on both the Top Country Albums and Top Rock Albums charts. Others include Jelly Roll, HARDY, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, and Koe Wetzel.
Bryan’s first No. 1 comes after sustained momentum on the Billboard 200 in the last year-plus from his previous studio effort, American Heartbreak. It debuted and peaked at No. 5 in June 2022 and spawned the top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Something in the Orange.” Heartbreak has yet to depart the weekly top 40 of the Billboard 200 in its 67 consecutive weeks on the list (it climbs 16-14 on the new tally).
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, compiled by Luminate. 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. 9, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Sept. 6 — one day later than usual due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 4, in the U.S. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Zach Bryan’s 200,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Aug. 31, SEA units comprise 181,000 (equaling 233.09 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 16 songs — the largest streaming week ever for a rock set, and the fifth-largest streaming debut week for a country album), album sales comprise 17,000 (it was only available to purchase as a digital download, as its CD and vinyl LP are due out on Oct. 13) and TEA units comprise 2,000.
As noted above, Zach Bryan is the first rock album to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in more than a year. The last to do so was Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Unlimited Love, which spent one week at No. 1 — its debut frame — on the list dated April 16, 2022. Zach Bryan also logs the largest week, by equivalent album units earned, for a rock album in four years, since Tool’s Fear Inoculum launched at No. 1 on the Sept. 19, 2019, chart with 270,000 units.
A little over a year ago, Bryan earned his first Billboard 200 chart entry with his third studio album — and major label debut — American Heartbreak, debuting and peaking at No. 5 on the June 4, 2022-dated list. The album has generated 2.6 billion on-demand official streams for its songs in the U.S. and has been a consistent streaming star since its debut. The set has been among the week’s top 20 most-streamed albums, by on-demand streams, in all but three weeks since its debut.
The Heartbreak single “Something in the Orange” hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart, reached the top three on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart, and hit No. 10 on the all-genre, multi-metric Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Following Heartbreak, Bryan placed five more titles on the list, including his new self-titled effort.
Four former No. 1s trail Bryan on the new Billboard 200. Travis Scott’s Utopia falls to No. 2 (91,000 equivalent album units earned; down 44%) after spending its first four chart weeks at No. 1. Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time dips 2-3 (83,000; down 8%), Taylor Swift’s Midnights rises 5-4 (49,000; down 8%) and SZA’s SOS vaults 11-5 (48,000; up 15% after increased sales and streams generated by its current single “Snooze,” including the release of its official music video and new remixes).
The Barbie soundtrack falls 4-6 (48,000 equivalent album units earned; down 14%) and Peso Pluma’s Génesis climbs 9-7 (43,000; down 3%). Swift has two more former leaders in the top 10, as Lover in a non-mover at No. 8 (43,000; down 8%) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) dips 7-9 (41,000; down 14%). Rounding out the top 10 is Wallen’s chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album, holding steady at No. 10 with 40,000 units (down 5%).
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.
Steve Harwell, who performed as the lead singer of Smash Mouth until announcing his retirement from the group in 2021, is in hospice care, a representative for the band tells Billboard.
Harwell, 56, is resting at home and being cared for by his fiancé and hospice care, Smash Mouth’s manager confirmed on Sunday (Sept. 3).
“Although Steve is here with us still, sadly it will only be for a short time,” he says, adding, “We would hope that people would respect Steve and his family’s privacy during this difficult time.”
TMZ first wrote of Harwell’s current health status earlier on Sunday, reporting that he’s reached the final stage of liver failure.
Harwell was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle that can makes it hard for the heart to deliver blood to the body, several years ago. Following his initial diagnosis, he suffered from “nonstop serious medical setbacks including heart failure as well as acute Wernicke Encephalopathy,” a condition that greatly impacted his motor functions, including speech and impaired memory, a statement said in 2021.
Harwell shared the news that he was retiring from the “All Star” group due to his ongoing health issues in October 2021.
Harwell’s comment about retiring from Smash Mouth read: “Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of being a rock star performing in front of sold-out arenas and have been so fortunate to live out that dream. To my bandmates, it’s been an honor performing with you all these years and I can’t think of anyone else I would have rather gone on this wild journey with.”
The band’s first single was 1997’s “Walkin’ on the Sun,” and they landed a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the earworm “All Star,” which peaked at No. 4 on the chart in 1999. Astro Lounge, Smash Mouth’s sophomore album that included “All Star,” reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart that year. “All Star” was nominated for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals at the Grammy Awards in 2000, an award that ultimately went to Santana for “Maria Maria.”
Smash Mouth’s most recent album is 2012’s Magic, though they released an acoustic version of debut set Fush Yu Mang in 2018, following the 20th anniversary of the original recording’s release.
Smash Mouth continues to tour with vocalist Zach Goode, who joined the band in 2022.
This weekend, as millions have been reading about the death of beloved singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett, many were surprised to read that his famous signature song, “Margaritaville,” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Most just assumed that a song that well-known and loved must have been a No. 1.
First off, there’s no shame in a No. 8 hit. And “Margaritaville” spent five weeks in the top 10, longer than the average No. 8 hit at the time. It spent a week at No. 10, followed by two weeks at No. 9, and then two weeks at No. 8.
“Margaritaville” was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016 and the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in April 2023. (For what it’s worth, none of the other songs that were in the top 10 the weeks “Margaritaville” was at its peak have yet received either of those prestigious accolades.)
Buffett wasn’t the only legendary star in the top 10 the week ending July 30, 1977, when “Margaritaville” was in its second week at No. 8. The top 10 also included a pair of pop/adult contemporary superstars (Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow), as well as a pair of fixtures on the rock scene, Peter Frampton and Rita Coolidge.
The top 10 also included two teenagers (Shaun Cassidy, then 18, and Andy Gibb, then 19). Cassidy survived the hurricane that teen stardom often entails. Gibb did not.
The top 10 also included a true one-hit-wonder, whose first Hot 100 hit as an artist was also his last (Peter McCann).
Here’s a look back at the top 10 the week ending July 30, 1977.
The .8 inches of rain that fell on Burning Man Friday afternoon (Sept. 1) and early Saturday morning (Sept. 2) have left the event at a relative standstill.
Burning Man officials have closed the event’s gates, making it impossible to enter and exit. All vehicles, other than emergency transport services, have been told to not move. The event’s airport is also currently closed.
Rain turns the ground of Burning Man, an arid desert playa, into thick, sticky mud, making it difficult for vehicles to move without getting stuck. The forecast in Nevada’s Black Rock City, which is what the temporary city of Burning Man is called, calls for a 60% chance of rain between Saturday afternoon and Sunday at 5 p.m.
An information official at the information tent on-site says that the ground typically needs 12-24 hours after the last rain to become drivable. The source says that their best guess for when the roads may reopen is Monday or Tuesday, depending on the weather over the next 24 hours or so.
The current population of Black Rock City is roughly 73,000, based on details shared in the city’s information booth. Burners have been advised to conserve food and water in the event that those inside the city will not be able to leave for several days. The ice tent is currently limiting people to buying one bag only.
Approximately 20,000 people arrived to Black Rock City via the Burner Bus, which transports people from cities including San Francisco and Reno. The information authority notes that these busses will return on a first-come, first-served schedule when roads reopen.
Diplo was at Burning Man, but managed to leave — apparently with Chris Rock — and then hitched a ride from a fan. “just walked 5 miles in the mud out of burning man with chris rock and a fan picked us up,” he tweeted Saturday afternoon.
While the man traditionally burns at the event on Saturday night, an information official says that this burn is unlikely to happen today, given the wetness and the fact that emergency vehicles and fire trucks cannot currently drive out to the man structure.
Inside the city, spirits are relatively high. Music is playing from many camps, with dance parties taking place under tents and in the mud itself. Many of the people out walking around the city are barefoot, with others covering their shoes in plastic bags or wearing just socks.
Information is being disseminated to Burners via the city’s pair of radio stations. Burners have also been advised that there will likely be a citywide cheer when the gates reopen.
Billboard will keep reporting from Black Rock City as is possible.
