Between her fashionably late appearance at the Met Gala on Sept. 13 and Friday’s Amazon Prime premiere of her Savage x Fenty Show Vol. 3, Rihanna has been all over the headlines lately — but not because of new music.

The last album from the Bajan pop star was 2016’s Anti, which topped the Billboard 200 and spawned the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Work,” as well as the top 10 hits “Needed Me” and “Love on the Brain.” Over the past five years, however, much of her publicity (and income) has come from her skyrocketing Fenty Beauty brand and Savage x Fenty lingerie line, with Forbes reporting in August that RiRi is officially a billionaire thanks to her mogul status.

On the latest episode of the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, we discuss what might be next for Rihanna’s music career, and why she might not really need to release an album at this point. Of course, we all want the album — just peep Rihanna’s Instagram comments — but does she owe us any music? Listen to the conversation below:

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news about Lil Nas X making a high debut on the Billboard 200 albums chart with Montero and logging three concurrent top 10 hits on the Hot 100, how Taylor Swift’s latest re-recording of an older hit debuts straight into the top 40 on the Hot 100, and how Drake holds on tight to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 with Certified Lover Boy. Plus, we discuss the guilty verdict returned Monday on all nine counts in R. Kelly’s federal sex trafficking and racketeering trial.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard’s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard’s deputy editor, digital, Katie Atkinson and senior director of Billboard charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)

It looks like new music from Jay-Z and Kid Cudi is on the way. In an all-new trailer for the upcoming, Jay-Z-produced western film The Harder They Fall, a collaborative track by Hov and Cudi can be heard, in which Kid Cudi sings, “My guns go bang.”

Directed by Jeymes Samuel, The Harder They Fall is loosely based on the notorious cowboy Nat Love and the Rufus Buck Gang. Regina King, Idris Elba, LaKeith Stanfield and Deon Cole are among the star-studded cast. Elba plays Buck, “a ruthless crime boss who just got sprung from prison,” who is now the target of his longtime enemy, Love, played by Jonathan Majors, per the Netflix synopsis. The film marks Samuel’s directorial debut.

The Harder They Fall is set to make its world premiere at the 65th BFI London Film Festival on Oct. 6. It will premiere on Netflix on Nov. 3.

Watch the official trailer for The Harder They Fall below:

Amid a top 10 dominated by pop and hip-hop tracks from the likes of Drake and Lil Nas X, Walker Hayes’ “Fancy Like” carved out a No. 5 finish on the Billboard Hot 100 this week for the second week in a row.

It previously peaked at No. 9 after catching fire on TikTok and being featured in an Applebee’s ad (the latter inspired by the song’s chorus, which references the restaurant chain). Speaking of TikTok, “Fancy Like” (which has also logged 11 weeks at No. 1 on Hot Country Songs) reached the top five on the tally following the debut of a remix featuring Kesha, who by the way scored her breakthrough hit with a song called…”Tik Tok.”

A finish in the upper reaches of the Hot 100 is a rare crossover feat for a country artist that’s been accomplished by only a handful of others, including, most recently, Luke Combs (“Forever After All,” No. 2) and Gabby Barrett (“I Hope” feat. Charlie Puth, No. 3). Walker’s only previous Hot 100-charting single was “You Broke Up With Me,” which peaked at No. 62 on the tally in Feb. 2018.

Explore the team of musicians, producers and more behind the track with recording credits provided by Jaxsta below.

Artists:
Main Artist – Walker Hayes

Songwriters:
Composer Lyricist – Cameron Bartolini
Composer Lyricist – Josh Jenkins
Composer Lyricist – Shane Stevens
Composer Lyricist – Walker Hayes

Producers:
Producer – Joe Thibodeau
Producer – Shane McAnally
Producer – Walker Hayes

Engineers: 
Mastering Engineer – Joe LaPorta
Mixing Engineer – Joe Thibodeau
Recording Engineer – Joe Thibodeau
Recording Engineer – Mike Stankiewicz
Recording Engineer – Walker Hayes

Performers:
Acoustic Guitar – Walker Hayes
Drums – Joe Thibodeau
Electric Guitar – Adam Stark

Labels: 
Distributor – Sony Music Entertainment
Label – Monument Records

Explore the full “Fancy Like” credits on Jaxsta here.

G-Eazy is patting his collaborator Demi Lovato on the back after they faced their personal demons in their “Breakdown” collab from the rapper’s latest album.

The Bay Area rapper talked to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe about his new album These Things Happen Too, which he released Friday via BPG/RVG/RCA Records. In the music video for his and Lovato’s single “Breakdown,” the two artists came face-to-face with the headlines they’ve made over the years, from Lovato’s 2018 heroin overdose to G-Eazy’s 2018 arrest on charges of assault, drug possession and resisting arrest at a Swedish club.

“It’s one thing to have a conversation in private, but to make it a single and to video it, and to radio it, and to share that on a very, very, very public level, I just applaud Demi’s bravery,” he told Lowe. “I think as a human being, she’s exceptionally talented. Even bigger than that, when you get that level of success, of stardom, of reach and ascend that high… Demi is a very powerful force of bravery, of talent, of ability, of everything that Demi stands for. I applaud Demi, and I’m appreciative that Demi did it. I’m never shy to ask people uncomfortable questions because I think that’s where the greatness comes from.”

G-Eazy and Lovato will perform “Breakdown” on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday evening (Sept. 28), according to their Instagram Story.

G-Eazy’s latest album serves as the long-awaited sequel to his 2014 album These Things Happen, which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. In making the second edition of the project, the 32-year-old MC tapped back into the themes and featured artists from the first one as well as the folder of 438 songs he had been working on specifically for this LP.

“A lot of the music I make is very reflective, vulnerable, and honest. It’s me sharing my flaws, my ugly, my hurt, and it’s real,” he continued. “But to hold onto a lot of that for that long is also an incredibly hard process. I feel like I’m giving birth. I’m no longer pregnant after sitting on this for two years.”

Watch G-Eazy’s Apple Music 1 interview below.

Sam Riddle, the popular Los Angeles “Boss Radio” deejay of the 1960s who went on to produce the Ed McMahon-hosted TV talent show Star Search, has died. He was 83.

Riddle died Monday at his home in Palm Desert after a battle with Lewy body dementia, a publicist announced.

In an era when radio disc jockeys exerted huge influence on sales and pop culture, the Texas native started out in L.A. radio on KRLA and jumped to KFWB before landing at KHJ-93, where he became one of the founding jocks behind the “Boss Radio” format.

By virtue of his influence in charting hits, he appeared as a race announcer in the Elvis Presley starrer Clambake (1967).

On television, Riddle hosted 9th Street West and Hollywood a Go Go, which showcased such acts as The Rolling Stones, James Brown and Sonny & Cher. The recent HBO documentary Tina showed him introducing Ike & Tina Turner before their first big TV appearance.

On the syndicated Star Search, which ran from 1983-95, Riddle gave career breaks to such future stars as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Dave Chappelle and Christina Aguilera.

Riddle was born on Dec. 12, 1937, in Fort Worth, Texas. After his parents, Robert and Juanita, divorced, his stepfather, Sam Hand, who owned a dairy farm and advertised in local radio, helped get Riddle his first job on the radio at age 16.

He served in the Air Force Reserves during the Vietnam War and worked as a deejay for stations in Arizona and San Diego before coming to Los Angeles.

Riddle’s producing résumé included the shows Boss City, Aloha a Go Go, Get It Together (with Mama Cass), Almost Anything Goes, The Lou Rawls Parade of Stars, Supermodel of the World, Out of the Blue, It’s Showtime at the Apollo, Livin’ Large and The Ultimate Poker Challenge.

He also oversaw the early creation and production of specials and series for Telemundo and Univision and managed acts for such labels as Sony/BMG and EMI Latin.

Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Adrienne; children Scott and Courtney; and grandchildren Miracle and Garin.

This article originally appeared in THR.com.

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