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As the year winds to a close, it’s a great time to look back on all the incredible music fans were gifted with this year, and the realm of K-pop is no exception.
From BTS‘ “Butter”-y domination to long-awaited solo singles from Blackpink‘s Rosé (“On the Ground,” “Gone”) and Lisa (“Lalisa,” “Money”), some of the genre’s biggest stars continued to reach new career highs throughout 2021. Meanwhile, idols like TOMORROW X TOGETHER, TWICE and Seventeen celebrated well-earned breakthrough moments on the Billboard charts.
So now, Billboard wants to know: Which K-pop hit was your favorite release of 2021? Did you prefer a boy band like NCT Dream (“Hot Sauce”) or CIX (“Cinema”)? What about a solo star like IU (“Lilac”), Red Velvet‘s Wendy (“Like Water”) or Girls Generation alum Taeyeon (“Weekend”)? Or maybe you prefer relative newcomers like aespa (“Next Level”), STAYC (“ASAP”) or EPEX (“Lock Down”).
Whatever your cup of tea when it comes to the wide world of K-pop, let your voice be heard and vote in Billboard‘s official end-of-year poll below!
A federal judge has recommended that the operators of two Russian stream-ripping websites pay more than $80 million in damages for circumventing YouTube’s anti-piracy measures and infringing copyrights of audio recordings.
In a case brought by more than a dozen record labels, including UMG Recordings, Warner Records and Sony Music Entertainment, U.S. Magistrate Judge Theresa Buchanan said the sites operated by Tofig Kurbanov, a Russian national, should be shut down permanently via injunctions and that statutory damages of $50,000 be awarded for each of the 1,618 copyrighted works the sites infringed.
Kurbanov operates www.FLVTO.biz and www.2conv.com, which the Fourth Circuit has previously recognized as “two of the most popular stream-ripping websites in the world and…among the most popular of any kind on the Internet,” Buchanan wrote in her 26-page report and recommendation.
Judge Buchanan awarded a total of $82,922,500 in combined violations. The award includes $80.9 million for infringements of the Copyright Act and $2,022,500 in DMCA violations, or $1,250 per act of circumvention, according to the court’s ruling filed on Dec. 16. The award also includes labels’ attorneys’ fees and costs.
The judge said that the 1,618 claimed violations “are likely on the low end of Defendant’s indeterminable number of violations.” Kurbanov argued the statutory damages should be the lowest amount — $200 per violation — or none at all.
The piracy operation, which drew more than 300 million global users who used the sites from October 2017 to September 2018, encouraged copyright infringement and then profited by selling advertising on its websites. The Russian sites allow users to convert URLs into free downloadable and distributable MP3s through stream ripping. The websites incorporate youtube-dl software — third-party software engineered to bypass YouTube’s media protection mechanisms, including “rolling cipher.”
Several national governments including the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Italy, Spain and Russia have previously ordered internet providers to block access to the websites. The Kurbanov complaint, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., in 2018 under the Copyright Act of 1976, had previously established U.S. courts’ jurisdiction over foreign piracy websites that infringe on works inside the U.S.
“This litigation sets out vital first principles that should chart a path for further enforcement against foreign stream-rippers and other forms of online piracy that undermine the legitimate market for music,” said RIAA chief legal officer Ken Doroshow. “This ruling is a major step forward to protect artists, songwriters, record labels, and consumers from one of the most pernicious forms of online piracy.”
U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton will now review Judge Buchanan’s recommendation for a final determination and order.
It looks like Harry Styles won’t be headed to Florida for the Capital One Beach Bash after all. On Monday (Dec. 20), Capital One announced that the free concert, which was meant to kick off the pre-game fun at the Orange Bowl in South Beach, has been canceled due to the current spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Due to increasing logistical and production challenges related to the pandemic and after consultation with the artists and their production teams, we have jointly made the difficult decision to cancel the Capital One Beach Bash originally scheduled for December 30, 2021 on South Beach at Lummus Park,” reads a statement from Capital One. “While we are disappointed to not host the concert, we are excited for a great Playoff Semifinal game at the Capital One Orange Bowl.”
The pop star was set to headline the concert alongside a performance by Khalid, and ticketholders would have been required to provide proof of vaccination or negative COVID test results from within 72 hours.
The Capital One Beach Bash is just the latest event canceled or put on hold due to the ongoing COVID surge thanks to the new Omicron variant. On Sunday, organizers axed the Miami stop of the 2021 iHeartRadio Jingle Ball tour altogether, while the U.K. has reintroduced a face-mask requirement in nightclubs and concert venues out of concern for the public’s health and safety.
Meanwhile, Styles recently put a bow on his just-wrapped Love on Tour in support of his 2020 sophomore solo album Fine Line, which closed out Nov. 28 with a show in Long Island, New York.
— Capital One (@CapitalOne) December 20, 2021
Lil Durk is officially engaged to his longtime girlfriend India Royale.
On Saturday, during his performance for radio station WGCI’s Big Jam Concert at the United Center in the pair’s Chicago hometown, the hitmaker (nee Durk Derrick Banks) caught the audience by surprise when he unexpectedly proposed to Royale onstage.
Durk was on bended knee when he asked Royale, “Do you wanna be my wife?” The enthusiastic crowd burst into applause in celebration of the special moment before Royale said yes. The rap star shared a video of his proposal on Instagram.
The two reportedly started dating in 2017. They became parents to daughter Willow Banks soon after in November 2018.
The heartwarming marriage proposal culminates an incredible year for Lil Durk, who appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 chart eight times in 2021. His collaborative hit album The Voice of the Heroes with Lil Baby also earned a spot on Billboard‘s annual 20 Best Hip-Hop Albums list. Also exciting for Lil Durk: His jam “Hellcats & Trackhawks” scored his first-ever solo appearance on the Hot 100.
His sixth studio album, The Voice, peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in January.
Lil Durk appears on Ye’s album Donda, which could win the Grammy award for album of the year at next month’s broadcast.
See the proposal below:
Mariah Carey is back at No. 1 again, with her holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” spending a sixth week atop the Billboard Hot 100. And just because No. 1 is a familiar spot for the Queen of Christmas doesn’t mean she isn’t celebrating the song’s latest return to the top.
“Yaaaas! I can’t even know what to say,” Carey says in a celebratory voice note she tweeted out Monday (Dec. 20). “The kids [10-year-old twins Monroe and Moroccan] just woke me up with confetti … and [boyfriend Bryan] Tanaka brought in two mimosas – one for him, one for me. We’re celebrating. This type of news, it’s never like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so bored of this news.’ To have another Billboard Hot 100 [No. 1] with a song that means so much to me, I can’t even, I can’t — I literally don’t know what to say.”
Carey sets the scene of her house in the voice note, saying she has her Apple TV+ special from last year (Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special) on one screen and her 2021 special (Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues) on another. “It’s just, like, very, very, very festive in here, confetti all over the floor,” she says. “Cheers, you guys. I love you so much. I cannot thank you enough. And this is for the nostalgia.”
“All I Want for Christmas Is You” was first released on Carey’s album Merry Christmas in 1994, but it didn’t hit No. 1 until December 2019 — sticking around for three weeks — and then returned in December 2020 for two more frames. In addition to the Hot 100, “All I Want” is the biggest song in the world, as it tops both the Billboard Global 200 and the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts dated Dec. 25.
Carey also shared three crying emojis in reaction to the No. 1 news as well as a card from her 10-year-old daughter Monroe. See all the festive celebration below:
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) December 20, 2021
“Can’t even know what to say” but in a voice note! The most amazing news to wake up to!!! 🎄🥳❄️💖 I love you!!!! 🦋🦋🦋🦋🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑🐑 #AllIWantForChristmasIsYou pic.twitter.com/6vcQBRxPL5
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) December 20, 2021
My baby girl ❤️ pic.twitter.com/ArdO7jk7b0
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) December 20, 2021
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FKA Twigs and The Weeknd‘s new track has topped this week’s fan-voted new music poll.
Music fans voted in a poll that was published Friday (Dec. 17) on Billboard, choosing “Tears in the Club” as their favorite new music release of the past week.
“Tears in the Club,” the first team-up between the two artists, brought in just over half of the vote at 52.43%. FKA Twigs and The Weeknd dropped the song on Thursday, with the atmospheric chorus “Tears in the club/ ‘Cuz your love’s got me f—ed up.”
While it’s unclear whether “Tears in the Club” will appear on an upcoming album from either FKA Twigs or The Weeknd, this year they’ve both hinted that new albums are in the works.
The Weeknd’s “Poison” collab with Aaliyah, released ahead of the late R&B singer’s posthumous album, and Roddy Ricch‘s Live Life Fast album were among the new music releases trailing behind “Tears in the Club” on the poll.
See the final results of this week’s favorite new music release poll below.
