Michael Barclay probes a seminal period in Canadian music, Arcade Fire (pictured) scores a rave review, and Allison Russell rediscovers Montreal. Also in the headlines are The Weekend, Michael Bublé, Allegories, Canadian Opera Company, Tory Lanez, The Dirty Nil, Victoria Anthony, Andrew Smith, N.B. Youth Orchestra, Roblox, Soundful, the cassette revival, T Bone Burnett, Cynthia Plaster Caster, Bonnie Raitt, Logic, The Who, DaBaby, Re Styles, and The B-52's.
By Kerry Doole
“Hearts on Fire” is a love letter to a time when acts like Arcade Fire, Joel Plaskett, Caribou, Metric, Kardinal Offishall and more were gaining the world’s attention. – David McPherson, Toronto Star
Effort has never been a problem with Win Butler, the American-made mastermind of the Montreal rock giants. He’s a toiler, a galvanizer, an all-giver, a tryer, a rock-opera maker. Arcade Fire albums are forged by deep passions and steeped in compelling messages and dire societal concerns. Butler doesn’t know ditties – he writes sermons and calls to arms. With his band, he’s on the comeback trail. On May 6, Arcade Fire releases WE, their first album in five years. – Brad Wheeler, Globe and Mail
Allison Russell says she hopes the process of writing a memoir about her abusive upbringing in Montreal will help reclaim a piece of herself she lost along the way. The Nashville-based folk singer-songwriter is in the midst of scouring old journals and photographs to jog her memory of a time she’d rather forget. – David Friend, CP
“The Idol” is being reworked with changes to its cast and crew, Variety has learned. According to sources, production was already completed on multiple episodes of the six-episode series, which will now be redone due to a change in creative direction. – Selome Hailu Variety
The singer describes his Sunday spent going to church, munching dim sum and screaming at the NFL on TV. – Rachel Corcoran, The Observer
Followup album ‘Endless’ was 14 years in the making. – Graham Rockingham, Hamilton Spectator
Musicians in certain Mississauga neighbourhoods are the most active in all of Canada when it comes to creating new songs. – Steve Pecar, InSauga
The Verdi opera, which the Canadian Opera Company opened on April 23, had a disastrous 1853 premiere in Venice. – William Littler, Toronto Star
Megan Thee Stallion talked about the 2020 incident in which Tory Lanez allegedly shot her on “CBS Mornings” Monday. The incident, in which Megan has claimed publicly that Lanez shot her in the feet after an argument following a party in July of 2020, has never been fully explained; the court case is ongoing. Megan has slowly revealed details on social media and in interviews; Lanez has vaguely denied it in statements and in several songs. – Jem Aswad, Variety
It looks like a promising 2022 for The Dirty Nil. The Hamilton rock band performed at the sold out Bridgeworks over the Easter weekend and shook the building. On May 15, they will be hitting the Juno Awards red carpet in Toronto, with a promise to make a splash there, too. – Beatriz Baleeiro, The Hamilton Spectator
One of the most anticipated Vancouver rock concerts of 2022--the Foo Fighters show set for October 6 at Rogers Arena--was canceled in the wake of drummer Taylor Hawkins's tragic death last month. But there are still a whole lot of other primo gigs coming up this year to keep live-music fans happy. – Steve Newton Georgia Straight
Plus, Toronto’s Daniel Caesar teams up with jazz group BADBADNOTGOOD and Kurt Vile covers Bruce Springsteen. –Toronto Star
Depending on where you stand—eight wheels optional—Victoria Anthony has just done Vancouver a huge favour, or she’s ruined things for everyone who loves Roller Boogie starring Linda Blair, and owns not just one but two pairs of Moxi Lolly Roller Skates (one clementine orange, and one pineapple yellow) The West Coast teenager’s new video for “Kinda Into You” is set in a roller rink. – Mike Usinger, Georgia Straight
“I like celebrating the small venues. They are the bottom rung on the entertainment ladder.” – Briony Smith, Toronto Star
Infiniti commercial depicts parent drowning out sound of daughter's youth orchestra from inside SUV. – Aidan Cox, CBC News
International
Jonathan Vlassopulos, the Global Head of Music at gaming platform Roblox is leaving his role at the company at the end of April. Vlassopulos says that he will stay on as an advisor at the platform after he leaves however, in order “to help Roblox continue to execute on their music strategy”. The exec posted that his current role at the gaming and metaverse platform his “dream job”, adding, however, that “the time has come to embark on my next adventure”. – Murray Stassen, MBW
AI-powered music-creation platform Soundful, which says that it “enables anyone to create incredible music quickly,” has raised $3.8 million from investors including Disney, Microsoft, and Universal Music Group. – Dylan Smith, DM News
Guiding an act's career now involves so many disciplines that some managers say it's time their relationships with artists reflect those additional duties. – Elias Leight, Billboard
Though the overall numbers are quite low compared with their 1989 peak, sales of music cassettes in the United States have seen double-digit increases in recent years. In 1983, cassettes overtook vinyl as the most popular music format, according to the RIAA. Handier and more portable than vinyl, tapes could be played while driving or, with a Sony Walkman, walking, and people could record music on them too. By the end of the decade, global annual sales hit 83M. – Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail
A devastating report has found the number of A-level students has halved in the past decade and some schools have less than £1 a year per pupil to spend on music provision. UK Music chief executive Jamie Njoku-Goodwin said. – Daily Express
Producer T Bone Burnett has long promised the development of a new analog format that he promised would improve on both vinyl and CDs, as well as digital streaming and any other existing recorded music medium. Now comes news that he has been in the studio with Bob Dylan, re-recording some of the legendary singer-songwriter’s classic songs with the purpose of introducing the new ultra-high-fidelity medium.– Chris Willman, Variety
Cynthia Albritton cast the erect penises of rockers like Jimi Hendrix, the Buzzcocks’ Pete Shelley, and Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra. – Madison Bloom, Pitchfork
Last month, at the Billboard Women In Music gala in Inglewood, Calif., Bonnie Raitt dedicated a quiet, dignified performance of John Prine’s Angel From Montgomery to the women of Ukraine. Speaking truth to power is nothing new for the 72-year-old Raitt, who just released a new album, Just Like That …, her first since 2016′s Dig in Deep. – Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail
Logic is putting Def Jam Recordings on blast for the way they’re handling his music releases. The Maryland rapper took to social media on April 20 to call out the label, but made sure to point out his comments weren’t aimed at the company’s CEO. – HipHopDX News
Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were once again joined by a full-scale orchestra for two of the 24-song set's three distinct sections. See the full set list here. – Ultimate Classic Rock
The controversial rapper shot and killed Jaylin Craig in a Walmart. DaBaby swears he acted in self-defense, but never-before-seen footage raises doubts about his story. – Rolling Stone
The beloved Georgia band has a run of U.S. dates between August and November. – Allison Hussey, Pitchfork
Born Shirley Macleod in the Netherlands in 1950, she was a model who’d appeared in Playboy and Penthouse by the time she met Tubes drummer Prairie Prince in the mid ‘70s. The pair developed a relationship and Styles became the band’s costume designer before becoming part of the stage act then taking on vocal duties. She’s best known for performing the female lead in the hit Prime Time from 1979 album Remote Control. – Ultimate Classic Rock
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars
Plus, more holiday hits make joyful jaunts up the surveys.
ROSÉ and Bruno Mars’ “APT.” tops the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts for a ninth week apiece. The song debuted as the stars’ second leader on each list.
Plus, six seasonal songs light up each chart’s top 10.
The Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, which began in September 2020, rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.
Chart ranks are based on a weighted formula incorporating official-only streams on both subscription and ad-supported tiers of audio and video music services, as well as download sales, the latter of which reflect purchases from full-service digital music retailers from around the world, with sales from direct-to-consumer (D2C) sites excluded from the charts’ calculations.
“APT.” rules the Global 200 with 142 million streams and 18,000 sold (down 4% week-over-week in each metric) worldwide Dec. 13-19. The hit now claims nine of the top 10 global streaming weeks among songs released in 2024:
Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” keeps at No. 2 on the Global 200. Released in 1994, the song has spent a record 18 weeks at No. 1 dating to the chart’s start (five each over the 2023 and 2022 holidays and four in both the 2021 and 2020 holiday seasons).
Five other carols rank in the Global 200’s top 10: Wham’s “Last Christmas” (No. 3), Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (No. 5), Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (No. 6) all hold in place, followed by Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (10-9) and Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree” (11-10). The songs have hit respective Nos. 2, 2, 4, 5 and 6 highs.
Plus, Lady Gaga and Mars’ “Die With a Smile” is steady at No. 4 on the Global 200, following eight weeks at No. 1, the most for any song this year, beginning in September. It drew 125.6 million streams (up 4%) worldwide in the latest tracking frame and has tallied over 100 million streams globally in each of the last 16 weeks, the longest such streak since the chart began.
“APT.” concurrently tops Global Excl. U.S. with 124.9 million streams (down 4%) and 12,000 sold (up 1%) outside the U.S. Dec. 13-19.
“Die With a Smile” repeats at No. 2 on Global Excl. U.S.. following eight weeks at No. 1 starting in September; Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is steady at No. 3, having spent a record-tying 13 weeks at No. 1; Wham’s “Last Christmas” holds at No. 4, after reaching No. 2; and Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” is stationary at No. 5, following three weeks at No. 1 in August.
Meanwhile, four more holiday hits decorate the Global Excl. U.S. top 10: Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (8-7), Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock” (9-8) Sia’s “Snowman” (10-9) and Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” (11-10). The songs have reached highs of Nos. 3, 5, 4 and 5, respectively.
The Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts (dated Dec. 28, 2024) will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Dec. 24. For both charts, the top 100 titles are available to all readers on Billboard.com, while the complete 200-title rankings are visible on Billboard Pro, Billboard’s subscription-based service. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
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.
