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Day in Pop Report for 04/20/2016


Today's Top Stories


Rihanna Breaks Beatles Chart Record

(Radio.com) Rihanna has broken a record set by the Beatles after she earned her ninth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week with her current single "Work," capturing the record from the Fab Four for the second-most number of weeks on top of the chart.

The pop star now has a total of 60 weeks at No. 1, including her songs and guest appearances. Rihanna remains behind Mariah Carey, who has 79 weeks of career number ones; the Beatles sit behind Rihanna with 59 weeks.

Rihanna isn't the only artist making history this week on the charts. Justin Bieber broke his own longevity record with "Love Yourself." The song has spent 22 weeks in Billboard Hot 100 Top 10. This bests his previous record for "Sorry," which spent 21 consecutive weeks in the Top 10 earlier this year. Read more here.

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OneRepublic Announce New Album Via Handwritten Letter

OneRepublic surprised fans by posting a photo on their website Tuesday of a handwritten letter from frontman Ryan Tedder that indirectly announced their new album.

Tedder did not provide a title or release date for the follow-up to their 2013 album "Native". He began the letter by thanking fans for their continued support while waiting for new music.

He then broke the good news to fans: "Making an album is NEVER easy. Attempting to make the greatest album of your life is even less easy. That's what we have been doing, and while beauty is in the eye of the beholder and musical excellence is subjective, we think we have accomplished what we set out to do.

"We cannot wait for you to hear it. We cannot wait to play/perform it for you in person." He then continued, "The writing process started in late August of 2014, while on tour in Austin, TX... It then picked up in Dublin, and continued thru Paris, London, Italy, Estonia, Turkey, Russia, South America, and dozens of other countries.

"Necessity is the mother of invention. It was necessary for us to write/record this album on the road... and all the truly inspiring places of the world invented the sound we chased. Stay with us, more to come." See the full letter here.

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DJ Khaled Announces, Then Un-Announces Tour With Beyonce

It appears that DJ Khaled may have posted too soon. The producer and DJ shared news via social media that he would be touring with Beyonce, only to delete the post soon after, according to Radio.com.

Khaled posted, and then deleted, the following on Instagram: "Today I proudly announce a major milestone in my career. Today's announcement is a major accomplishment in my life. In other words it's a major achievement alert!!!! I am proud to announce that I, DJ Khaled will be on tour with the icon, Beyonce!!!!!"

"I want to thank the incomparable icon Beyonce for this tremendous opportunity of a lifetime," he continued. "Your music is the soundtrack to so many people's lives across the globe. Your legacy is a blueprint for the young generation to follow and strive to be. You are the true definition of a superstar. Thank you so much for inviting me on your stage. I promise you this! I'm gonna rip it down so legendary!!!!!!"

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Blake Shelton Reveals 'If I'm Honest' Album Art and Tracklisting

(Radio.com) Country star Blake Shelton revealed the tracklisting and the cover art for his forthcoming album, "If I'm Honest," which is set to hit stores (and digital retailers) on May 20th.

The cover art features a black and white close up of Shelton's face showing off his stark expression, while the album's title is written across the photo. It's a straightforward design that reflects not only the album's title, but also some of its more personal subject matter.

Shelton spoke about the artwork on The Voice Monday evening (April 18th). 'It's called If I'm Honest, which is written across my face," he said. 'It comes out May 20. I'm excited about it. I think it's the best I can do. I literally think it's the best I can do. It's all I got" (via Taste of Country).

Girlfriend Gwen Stefani also tweeted out a picture of the album's back cover, which shows Shelton standing on the shoreline with his back to the camera. The pic revealed her role on the album: Stefani is featured on the ninth track, "Go Ahead and Break My Heart." As if the pair couldn't get any cuter after updating their Twitter avatars with photos of one another from childhood, now they're making music together. Read more, see the cover art and check out the full tracklist here.

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G-Eazy Releases 'Drifting' Video Featuring Chris Brown and Tory Lanez

Oakland rapper G-Eazy has released a new music video for his most recent single "Drifting" which is a track that features guest appearances from Chris Brown and Tory Lanez.

"Drifting" comes off of G-Eazy's second album "When It's Dark Out" and follows his current No. 1 Top 40 radio single "Me, Myself, and I" featuring Bebe Rexha. Watch the new video here.

G-Eazy is in the midst of touring in support of "When It's Dark Out" with his current North American leg continuing this weekend at Coachella and wrapping up on April 30th in West Palm Beach.

After a few days rest, G-Eazy will hit the road with ILoveMakonnen for a tour across Europe that will begin on May 7th in Norway and conclude on May 27th in London.

The rapper will return to North American in June to kick off The Endless Summer Tour with Logic, which is set to launch on June 28th in Dallas, TX and Gexa Energy Pavilion and run until July 26th where they will end the tour with a show at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. See all of the upcoming dates here.

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Adele Hits Given Lullaby Treatment On New Album

(Radio.com) Adele is the latest hit maker to have her songs transformed into tot friendly lullabies. Beginning April 29, mothers will sing along as their babies fall sleep to their favorite tracks by the English songstress, courtesy Rockabye Baby!

Titled Lullaby Renditions of Adele, the new compilation includes Chart-toppers like 'Hello," 'Someone Like You," and 'Rolling in the Deep" are included in this new 12 track disc.

There are no lyrics, just peacefully played instruments including xylophones, wind chimes and bells. Listen to Rolling in the Deep, although be warned, you may fall asleep at your desk, and check out the full tracklisting here.

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Blake Shelton's Tabloid Lawsuit Moving Forward After Judge's Ruling

(Radio.com) Blake Shelton won the latest round in his defamation lawsuit against Bauer Publishing and In Touch magazine, after a judge denied the magazine's attempt to have the case dismissed on Tuesday (April 19th).

The country music star filed the lawsuit against the magazine for a September cover story that alleged his drinking led to his divorce from Miranda Lambert and that he was headed to rehab.

Judge Christina A. Snyder denied the magazine's motion to strike the singer's suit under California's anti-SLAPP statute (which defends expressions of free speech from meritless lawsuits), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

"A reasonable person viewing the In Touch headlines and sub-headlines -- which were located 30 pages away from the Article -- might well have concluded that Shelton had, in fact, entered 'REHAB' after 'his friends begged him to stop joking about drinking and get help,'" Snyder wrote. Read more here.

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Young Thug 'I Came From Nothing 4' Mixtape Coming

(Radio.com) Young Thug announced a new mixtape called I Came From Nothing 4. He revealed the mixtape via Snapchating from a recording studio on Monday night (April 18th). Over the short video message, he wrote, "Good songs tonight #ICFN4 OTW."

Titled I Came From Nothing 4, the mixtape will be the latest in an older series fans thought Thugger had moved on from. The Atlanta rapper's first three installments of the mixtape series were released over 2011 and 2012.

No word yet on a release date for I Came From Nothing 4.It's been a busy year so far for the rapper. He's already released Slime Season 3 and the mixtape, I'm Up. Read more here.

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Paul Simon Says That He And Art Garfunkel No Longer Talk

(Radio.com) In a Rolling Stone interview discussing about his new album and tour, Paul Simon mentioned that he no longer talks to his former duo-mate, Art Garfunkel.

Simon's upcoming tour wraps up at Forrest Hills tennis stadium in Queens, New York. "It's the first big concert venue we ever played. It was also where the final Simon and Garfunkel [show] took place before the reunions that came many years later."

But what are the odds of the two getting back together? "Out of the question," he said. "We don't even talk." Of course, the duo have reunited after falling out in the past: since the duo split up in 1970, they performed a famous one-off concert at New York's Central Park in 1980 among other one-off shows. They also did a full tour in 1993 and again in 2003-2004.

They did a brief string of dates in 2009 that was supposed to lead to another full tour, but that tour was cancelled due to Garfunkel having issues with his vocal chords. Read more here.

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Beyonce's 'Lemonade' To Be Documentary-Style Special Says Source

(Radio.com) New details are emerging about Beyonce's mysterious HBO project, titled Lemonade. The one-hour special is set to air on Saturday, April 23rd, but not much is known about it beyond what two ambiguous teaser trailers have shown.

Now, a source close to the project reveals Lemonade shares much in common stylistically with Beyonce's 2014 HBO special Life is But a Dream. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an HBO executive said Lemonade will be a documentary-style special (via USA Today).

Life is But a Dream combined original filmed and archival footage with segments from Beyonce's live performances. She served as the project's co-director and executive producer. If Lemonade follows that formatting, it could be the lead-up to her new album and Formation World Tour, which kicks off in Miami on April 27th. Since the singer has grown increasingly political with her songs and music videos, Lemonade could explore social justice to a greater degree than her previous special did. Read more here.

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Elton John Leads Charity 'Giving List'

(Radio.com) The Sunday Times Giving List annually recognizes British celebrities who donate money to charitable causes. This year, Elton John topped the chart with an estimated $38 million in donations, primarily to his own AIDS foundation.

Five entries in the top ten were music acts spanning decades and generations of influence.Ringo Starr ranked high on the giving list with an estimated $8.5 million in charitable work, mostly through an auction of Beatles memorabilia.

Coldplay collectively gave $2.7 million, according to the Times. The five members of One Direction tied Queen Guitarist Brian May and Roger Taylor of Duran Duran by donating $1.58 million to important causes. Read more here.

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Black Veil Brides Singer Andy Biersack Marries Juliet Simms

(Radio.com) Black Veil Brides' Andy Biersack is officially off the market. The singer married longtime girlfriend Juliet Simms over the weekend in an intimate ceremony.

Both Biersack and Simms posted the exciting news on Instagram Monday (April 18), with photos from their big day. "Yesterday evening we had a beautiful intimate ceremony with our friends and family and I married my best friend in the world," Biersack wrote on Instgram, adding a photo of him holding and kissing his bride.

"I am the happiest man alive! Thank you to everyone who came to support us, it was such a magical night filled with love and laughs." He continued to thank his friends and family who attended the wedding, adding that he is "incredibly excited to start this new chapter in my life with my soul mate." See the photo here.

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Adele Receives No Igor Novello Nominations

(Radio.com) The prestigious Igor Novello Awards, which honor British and Irish songwriting and composing, selected some A-list nominees for the 2016 awards.

While Adele was conspicuously left off the shortlists in every category, Ed Sheeran and Jess Glynne are being recognized for their best-written hits of the year.

Sheeran's "Bloodstream" was selected among the best songs, "musically and lyrically," of the year. Glynne's "Hold My Hand" will compete against entries by Years & Years and James Bay for Most Performed Work.

In the Best Contemporary Song category, Snakeships' "All My Friends" featuring Tinashe and Chance the Rapper is another radio favorite. Read more here.

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The Game Compares Kesha's Contract To Slavery

(Radio.com) The Game had some strong words about Kesha's battle with Sony Music Group and Dr. Luke's label Kemosabe Records. He equated what they're doing to the singer with slavery.

TMZ caught up with the rapper on April 18th. When asked about his thoughts on Kesha's situation, The Game said, "Let her off the label, man. Let her do her thing, man. I don't understand music and the slave mentality. If the artist is not happy, man, you should let the artist do her thing."

When reminded that she's under contract with the label, The Game swiftly responded, "F- that contract." He added, "You know what a contract is? A piece of paper that I signed when I was dumb and illiterate to the music business, and then you figure it out, you get smart, you get aware, and you realize you signed some bulls-." Read more here.

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Brendon Urie Explains His Halsey Coachella Collaboration

(Radio.com) There were lots of high profile surprise guest stars at Coachella this past weekend: Angus Young of AC/DC with Guns N Roses, Rihanna with Calvin Harris, Kesha with Zedd, and everyone with Ice Cube.

Another big moment was when Panic! At the Disco main man Brendon Urie joined Halsey on stage; you could practically hear the shrieks on Twitter. Just two days later, Urie spoke to Radio.com about the guest appearance, which marked the first time he was ever at Coachella, either as a performer or as a fan.

"We had tweeted at each other before," he says of his friendship with Halsey. "Because I was a fan of hers, and I covered one of her songs while I was live streaming; she heard about it and told me that she was a Panic fan. We had this mutual love and respect. So she asked me to perform, and of course I said 'Yes.' I was like, 'I'm gonna be out on tour, but I would totally fly in for this!'"

He said he left the song selection up to her; she wanted to sing "I Write Sins Not Tragedies": "She suggested that I come in during her song 'New Americana,' and she said, 'I really want to do "Sins,"' and I said, 'Yes! I would love to do "Sins" with you!'"

"And she explained her backstory, and why she wanted that song: that was the first song she had heard that got her into the band, she came to see us live, like, eleven times. It was the coolest thing, and I had such a blast." Read more here.

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Singled Out: Fullee Love (Jurassic 5)'s Surfboard Cali

Fullee Love is the solo project of Jurassic 5 MC Zaakir Muhammed aka Soup and today he tells us about the song "Surfboard Cali" from his new EP, "Still In Fullee Love". Here is the story:

"Surfboard Cali" is the start of my solo career. Period! Of course, during my years of making music, I've done things that's only involved me, but it always came with an attachment. This particular joint made it possible for me to literally say, "All by myself." It was my 2pac "f*#% tha world" moment. Coming from a collective, people (fans or not) always feel they know what's best for u. If it's not "ooo ur the savior," it's definitely "ur a waste of perfectly good flesh." Either way, you ain't winning.

"Surfboard Cali" was the first song I recorded for the "Still In Fullee Love" EP. Even my producer had his own idea of what he thought I'd want. He played me all "backpackerish" beats (I made that word up) when we first got together. I was like, "Come, playa, let me hear everything," and the minute I heard that beat I was like, "That's it!" I immediately started thinking of how could I make this different, but at the same time, be me.

I needed to throw caution to the wind and do what felt good, and once I got into it, the words just started to come easier. The hook was already in place, which made things smooth as well. All I needed to do at that point was what the "Come on now Anna Mae" prophet Ike Turner commanded "Put sum stank on it." And that was the birth of "Surfboard Cali"!

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen for yourself and learn more about the EP right here!

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