Undoubtedly expected to make a splash upon its premiere on the Billboard Hot 100, the gargantuan impact made by Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion‘s joint effort, ‘WAP,’ may be better categorized as a tsunami.
Opening atop the tally with numbers that rival some of music history’s biggest debuts ever, the Ayo the Producer-crafted bop – which largely samples Frank Ski‘s 1992 club anthem ‘Whores in This House’ – was penciled in record books several times over in just its first seven days.
Look inside to see 8 ways ‘WAP’ whopped history: (more…)
‘Midnight Sky,’ the first single from Miley Cyrus‘ forthcoming seventh studio album ‘She is Miley Cyrus,’ is off to a promising start.
After ample teasing, the song and its accompanying, self-directed music video were unveiled Friday (August 14). In the days since, it’s already amassed 24 million views on YouTube and millions of spins on streaming platforms.
Yet, as its commercial performance numbers roll in, it appears streaming isn’t the only avenue the Louis Bell & Andrew Watt-produced bop is winning on.
Today serves as a regal occasion. For, it’s the 62nd birthday of Pop queen Madonna.
In honor of her Madgesty, this week’s From The Vault pick is her year 2000 smash ‘Music.’
Issued as the lead single from her like-titled 8th studio album, the track was written and produced by the superstar alongside frequent collaborator Mirwais.
With 1998’s ‘Ray of Light’ serving as exactly that for the diva (after a rollercoaster number of years professionally), ‘Music’ was tasked with re-affirming the fact that Madonna was unquestionably “back.”
And it delivered in earnest.
Shaking off the early leak of its demo two months prior, the song was officially released in August 2000 and proved an immediate smash.
Having delved into more introspective waters on ‘Ray Of Light,’ ‘Music’ (the song) made clear that it was was turn-up time.
Lyrically lighter than its predecessor, it saw the diva make a bold return to the dance-floor to “boogie-woogie” and demand that listeners followed suit – which they did in their millions.
Storming the charts on a global scale, ‘Music’ hit #1 in the US, UK, Japan, Australia, Canada, Spain, Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand, and many more countries.
Beyond its its pulsating production and infectious lyrics, its seismic success was also powered by its colorful music video (which featured a cameo from Ali-G).
Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, Madonna conceptualized the clip herself and set out to show her take on the stereotypical Hip-Hop videos of the time. Ever one to ignite discussion, her expressed goal was to role reverse – with females enacting characters typically performed by males.
Pregnant at the time of shooting, she’s on record saying: “I had to think of a concept that would incorporate me being almost a voyeur rather than the central force in the video. So I figured if I played this kind of mack-daddy/pimp character, where things just came to me, happened to me and happened around me while I was watching it all happen, I could kill two birds with one stone.”
A firm fixture on the charts, radio and TV channels across the world, ‘Music’ functioned as yet another incredible chapter of success in Madonna’s incomparable narrative.
20 years on (and almost four years into her career), the diva remains a towering force and a blueprint for the modern musical landscape.
‘Space Jam’ is heading back to the screens led by NBA legend LeBron James.
With ‘Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler on-board to produce and Don Cheadle also starring, the hotly anticipated follow-up to the 1996 original hits theaters in Summer 2021.
Filming on the flick (which is officially titled ‘Space Jam: A New Legacy’) recently wrapped and audio from James’ closing speech to cast and crew has surfaced.
Taylor Swift‘s ‘Folklore’ is the music news story on everyone’s lips.
Her eighth studio album, the set – which was released July 24 (with little warning) – rocketed to the top of the Billboard 200 with the biggest sales of the year (click here to read more).
Now, as if her domination of that tally wasn’t enough, she’s replicating its success on the Hot 100 with the LP’s lead single ‘Cardigan.’
Rising stars like Doja Cat and Megan The Stallion may be able to attest to the power of TikTok as a promotional tool to help hoist songs to higher regions on the Hot 100, but so can their more seasoned counterparts like Kesha and Jason Derulo.
The latter has become a poster child of sorts for the benefits of strategic marketing using the platform as his time and monetary investments into the controversial social media venture have proven themselves fruitful multi-fold.
Having already boasted making millions from his own trendy TikTok videos, now – thanks to increasing interest of a dance challenge for his latest song ‘Savage Love’ – the 30-year-old has found himself re-entering the Hot 100 for the first time in a long time.
Kanye West made headlines this week when the world learned that his company Yeezy received between $2 million and $5 million from a Donald Trump-approved program which was supposed to help small businesses struck by the global health crisis.
Today he has announced that he wants little to do with the controversial world leader….and revealed that he isn’t a fan of Planned Parenthood.
