Category: Music

BOYNEXTDOOR scores its first-ever No. 1 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, debuting atop the chart released Aug. 27 with “Count to Love.” 

The track is off the K-pop boy band’s second Japan single “BOYLIFE.” The CD version dropped Aug. 20 following its digital release two days earlier. The song topped physical sales with 431,795 copies sold, significantly surpassing the first-week sales of the band’s previous single “AND,” while also coming in at No. 5 for radio airplay, No. 37 for video views, No. 32 for downloads, and No. 52 for streaming.

Mrs. GREEN APPLE’s “Summer Shadow” holds at No. 2, where it bowed last week. This is the three-man band’s fifth new song of a five-month consecutive release streak for the second year running, and is being featured in Kirin Beverage’s Gogo no Kocha commercials. Streaming and downloads for the track are down, but radio airplay gained by approximately 2.3 times the week before. The prolific hitmakers have two other songs charting in the top 10: “KUSUSHIKI” at No. 9 and “Lilac” at No. 10.

HANA’s “Blue Jeans” also stays at No. 3. The song has held the top spot for streaming ever since its debut for six week straight, and while it slipped to No. 2 for video last week, it returns to No. 1 on the current chart. CD sales have also gained approx. 1.8 times week-over-week, from 1,400 copies to 2,533 copies. Sales have continued to climb following the first fan meeting for the seven-member girl group on Aug. 19 and 20. 

There were three other debuts in the top 10 this week, with KID PHENOMENON’s “Sparkle Summer”at No. 4, SWEET STEADY’s “YAKIMOCHI” at No. 5, and Lienel’s “Chozetsu SUMMER de baka ni nare” at No. 7. 

Elsewhere on the Japan Hot 100, HUNTR/X’s “Golden,” the global hit being featured in the Netflix film K-pop Demon Hunters, breaks into the top 30 at last, landing at No. 25. This track, currently dominating the Billboard charts including the Hot 100 and Global 200, also gained in streaming (up to 114% from the week before) and downloads (108%) in Japan as well. Since its July 30 debut on the Japan Hot 100, it has steadily climbed 71-50-41-31-25.

The Billboard Japan Hot 100 combines physical and digital sales, audio streams, radio airplay, video views and karaoke data.

See the full Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, tallying the week from Aug. 18 to 24, here. For more on Japanese music and charts, visit Billboard Japan’s English X account.

The internet has had a lot to say about Betty Who‘s recent appearance on the Made It Out podcast — and now, King Princess is offering her two cents on the situation.

In a TikTok posted Tuesday (Aug. 26), Mikaela Straus shared her thoughts on the recent controversy, in which Who talked about being a queer woman while dating a straight man, and how it felt “like a crime to be straight” in the queer community.

“You are not a victim because you started dating a man and queer people are disappointed in you because you used the queer community to market your music,” Straus said in her video. “They feel betrayed, that’s fair, you have to live with that. Who cares? To get up on a podcast and claim this victimhood when you are in a position of privilege — dating a man in a heteronormative society — is ridiculous, and it is not going to resonate with people.”

Straus did not specifically call out Who by name, but clarified in a comment under the video that her statements were “about the many divas who felt the need to do this THIS YEAR,” seemingly also referring to similar controversies that erupted around JoJo Siwa and Fletcher.

“Date a man, it’s not a big deal. But why are you on a podcast talking about it? It’s not an interesting narrative,” Straus continued in her video. “We live in a country where our rights are being stripped from us every day, and you think it’s important to get on a podcast and talk about how hard it is to be in a heteronormative relationship? Diva!”

During her appearance on the Made It Out podcast, Betty Who also made comments about lesbian pop star Reneé Rapp, saying that she would “hold space” for the singer to one day fall in love with a man while trying to make a larger point about the fluidity of sexuality. “Reneé Rapp is like, ‘You’ll never catch me dating a man.’ It’s like, ‘Go off, queen! I love that for you,’” Who said. “But I also hold space for her in 10 years if she goes, ‘Oops, I met the love of my life and it’s this man, I didn’t mean to.’ It’s like, that’s OK!”

Check out King Princess’ take on Betty Who’s comments below:

As fan speculation continues to run rife online, Noel Gallagher has shared whether Oasis will switch up the setlist on the band’s Live ‘25 Tour.

Since kicking off their triumphant reunion tour in Cardiff, Wales, last month (July 4), the Gallagher brothers have performed the same 23-song set at each show – including a five-night hometown residency at Manchester’s Heaton Park plus stadium gigs in London, Edinburgh and Dublin.

The tour rolled on into Toronto’s Rogers Stadium over the weekend (Aug. 4), heralding the start of a North American leg that includes dates in Chicago, East Rutherford and Pasadena over the next fortnight. As “Lyla” soundtracked a promotional video ahead of the band’s first Canadian gig in nearly 17 years, fans had hoped for some changes to the setlist for the forthcoming run.

The current Live ’25 setlist, which was performed in its entirety in Toronto, leans heavily on material from the legendary Britpop band‘s first two records: 1994’s Definitely Maybe and (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, released the following year. Notable absences from their post-2000 output include the aforementioned “Lyla” and “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” – the latter being one of their biggest streaming-era hits.

British comedy writer Matt Morgan shared his thoughts on the setlist during a recent episode of his podcast, adding that he’d discussed this with his close friend Noel Gallagher (via NME). The pair have previously appeared on BBC Radio 2 together, as well as numerous episodes of Morgan’s podcast. “It’s mad that they’re doing the same set,” he began.

“I thought they would vary it slightly. I said to Noel, ‘Don’t you just want to mix it up?’ He said, ‘No, I like it like that.’ He knows where he is. They bang it out.”

Morgan then explained that he had talked to the songwriter and guitarist after one of Oasis’ recent shows at Wembley Stadium. “[Noel] looks so happy. He is. I didn’t see him on the Friday because he just goes quickly but on Saturday, because he didn’t have a gig the next day, he was hanging out for a bit. He was well happy with it all.”

He continued: “At various points I spoke to him in the last year about it, and he sort of moved his opinion of what [the set was] gonna be and what it is. I think it’s done so well and felt so good. He seems very happy with it. And he looks happy on stage, actually. He’s not plodding through it.”

Later in the year, the Oasis Live ‘25 tour will head to South America, Australia, South Korea and Japan, culminating Nov. 23 at Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil. 

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are the most famous couple in the modern world, so naturally, they announced news of their engagement on Instagram.

In a post that sent shockwaves through the platform Tuesday (Aug. 26), the pop superstar and Kansas City Chiefs tight end revealed their upcoming nuptials by sharing photos of the proposal. Getting down on one knee in a lush garden of flowers, Kelce popped the question to his now-fiancée with a massive diamond ring in hand, officially starting a new chapter in their romance after about two years of dating.

“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the couple wrote in the joint caption.

But how many people hearted the post immediately after it went live? According to figures shared by Meta with Billboard, Tayvis’ engagement announcement racked up a whopping 14 million “likes” in just over an hour — plus 452 thousand reposts. The 14-time Grammy winner’s name has also remained in the top trending topics on Threads ever since the reveal.

Among those who “liked” the post were some of Swift’s famous friends — including Lorde, Ice Spice, Gracie Abrams, Jack Antonoff and Sabrina Carpenter — not to mention the countless Swifties who have been listening to the Eras Tour headliner’s songs about someday wanting to get married for about two decades now. Though the comments on Swift and Kelce’s post are turned off, fans took to other social media platforms to share messages of congratulations for the happy couple.

Even the president put his negative feelings toward Swift aside when he heard the news. “Well, I wish them a lot of luck,” Donald Trump said at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “I think he’s a great player, I think he’s a great guy, and she’s a terrific person, so I wish them a lot of luck.”

See Swift and Kelce’s engagement announcement below.