Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé teamed up to deliver an ultra-hyped remix of "Savage," which eventually carried its weight all the way to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. After spending just one week at the pole position, the song has slid down one spot to allow room for Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande to grab the throne.
With the release of her anticipated new album Chromatica, Lady Gaga is preparing to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 next week. Already, she's celebrating this new era in her storied career with a brand new #1 single in "Rain On Me," which marks the second time that Ariana Grande has been featured at the top of the chart this year.
One week after experiencing his highest peak on the chart, DaBaby beat his own personal record and peaked again at #3 with "ROCKSTAR," his latest collaboration with Roddy Ricch.
The following two spots are saved for two songs that have had their own dominant runs on the Hot 100: The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" and Doja Cat's "Say So."
This is the third all-female collaboration to strike the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 in recent weeks. It is also the first of the bunch to debut at #1 in the chart's history. In addition to that, this becomes Lady Gaga's fifth #1 single and Ariana Grande's fourth.
Lana Del Rey Doubles Down On Controversial Letter: "My Aim & My Message Are Clear"
Lana Del Rey is not letting up on her original stance about women in music, and continues to insist her point has nothing to do with race.
After Lana Del Rey posted a controversial message on Instagram earlier this week that led to an explosive wave of backlash, the singer has doubled down on her stance and issued yet another response to the critics. On Thursday (May 21st), Lana found herself in hot water after she shared her feelings on the criticism she’s received for her lyrical content over the years. Although it appeared that her intention was to point out how her critics have always claimed that her music, which often explores unhealthy and toxic relationships, “glamourizes abuse,” Lana called out a handful of fellow female artists who are mostly women of colour, essentially framing her argument as though she was the only victim of this unfair treatment.
She was promptly dragged through the mud before commenting on the post to clarify her stance and denounce accusations of racism.
Now, she’s issued a more formal response in a separate post, where she continues to insist she’s not being racist and merely self-advocating “for the more delicate and often dismissed, softer female personality.” She also implied that, along with the odd public response she received from one of the women mentioned, Doja Cat, she also received a private response from Ariana Grande, another one of the names dropped in the original post.
“A couple of final notes on my ‘controversial post’ that’s not controversial at all,” she begins. “Despite the feedback I’ve heard from several people that I mentioned in a complimentary way, whether it be Ariana or Doja Cat – I want to say that I remain firm in my clarity and stance in that what I was writing about was the importance of self advocacy for the more delicate and often dismissed softer female personality, and that there does have to be room for that type in what will inevitably become a new wave/3rd wave of feminism that is rapidly approaching. Watch!”
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
“Perhaps I could’ve given more context to my post by mentioning the title of the second book that would be out next March called ‘behind the iron gates- insights from an institution,'” she continues. “I’m sorry that the folks who I can only assume are super trump/pence supporters or hyper liberals or flip-flopping headline grabbing critics can’t read and want to make it a race war, when in fact the issue was with *female critics and *female alternative artists who are dissociated from their own fragility and sexuality and berate more sexually liberated artists like myself and the women I mentioned.”
“But in truth making it about race says so much more about you than it does about me,” she claims. “You want the drama, you don’t want to believe that a woman could be beautiful, strong and fragile at the same time, loving and all inclusive by making personal reparations simply of the joy of doing it it. Nothing new here in your reaction. Same as ten years ago when a million think pieces came out about me feigning emotional fragility or lying about coming from no money when that was the truth. My aim and my message are clear. That I have control of my own story. If the women I mention don’t wanna be associated with me that’s absolutely fine by me.”
Lana Del Rey Responds To Racism Accusations Following Open Letter Controversy
Lana Del Rey addresses accusations of racism after she wrote an open letter about women in the music industry.
No one expected for the Cancel Culture to come for Lana Del Rey, but after she penned a lengthy open letter, things took a turn on Thursday (May 21). In the note, Lana Del Rey writes that throughout her career, she’s been criticized for her lyrical content. She pens songs about staying in relationships that aren’t healthy or other matters that critics claim are glorifying abuse because, according to the singer, they come from a woman writing about her truth. In turn, in Lana’s recent controversial letter, she stated that because other female artists like Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, Cardi B, Kehlani, Ariana Grande, and Camila Cabello have been allowed to own their truths and top the charts by singing about whatever they want, it’s time for people to stop shaming her for doing the same thing.
Jamie McCarthy / Staff / Getty Images
Immediately, people began to comment that Lana Del Rey was shading all of the women she listed in her letter, and because they’re all women of color, the singer was labeled as a racist. While it seemed as if she was looking to speak about allowing women to express themselves however they like, Cancel Culture went wild and blasted Lana Del Rey throughout all social media platforms for being shady.
The Shade Room shared a screenshot of a comment Lana reportedly left on Instagram about the controversy. “Bro. This is sad to make it about a WOC issue when I’m talking about my favorite singers. I could’ve literally said anyone but I picked my favorite f*cking people,” she wrote. “And this is the problem with society today, not everything is about whatever you want it to be. It’s exactly the point of my post – there are certain women that culture doesn’t want to have a voice it may not have to do with race I don’t know what it has to do with. I don’t’ care anymore but don’t ever ever ever ever bro- call me racist because that is bullsh*t.” Check it out below.
Lana Del Rey Creates War By Calling Out Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Cardi B, & More
Lana Del Rey is under fire for a new message where she shades Nicki Minaj, Beyoncé, Doja Cat, Ariana Grande, and more
Lana Del Rey’s publicist has to be shaking in her boots right now. The talented recording artist announced her new album and, in doing so, she dragged a whole bunch of other female stars that have hustled for years to make it.
Fans are calling for Lana Del Rey to delete her latest message, which has been deemed unnecessarily shady. The underlying theme of the post is about her own music and how, for years, she has been criticized for her lyrical content. People have shaded Lana for “glamorizing abuse” and she doesn’t think that the industry has been fair to her. She wrote the following:
“Question for the culture: Now that Doja Cat, Ariana, Camila, Cardi B, Kehlani and Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé have had number ones with songs about being sexy, wearing no clothes, fucking, cheating etc – Can I please go back to singing about being embodied, feeling beautiful by being in love even if the relationship is not perfect, or dancing for money – or whatever I want – without being crucified or saying that I’m glamorizing abuse?”
Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Defending her own music, Lana Del Rey has been criticized heavily for the post. Fans are accusing her of putting down other women in a bid to get her point across and, all morning, she has been trending on Twitter as people share their opinions.
She’s definitely going to need to address this further. We’ll keep you posted.
In the meantime, new Lana Del Rey album out on September 5…
Juicy J Smears Billboard Following Tekashi 6ix9ine & Ariana Grande Mess
Juicy J jokes about his next investment now that he knows Billboard hits can be purchased following the Tekashi 6ix9ine x Ariana Grande fiasco.
Tekashi 6ix9ine warned his followers midway through the week that he believed Billboard would attempt to screw him out of a #1 debut for “GOOBA” and, lo and behold, it looks like that happened after the colorful rapper nabbed the #3 spot behind Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. After launching a so-called investigation into the matter, 6ix9ine called out Billboard for allegedly allowing Grande and Bieber to purchase 60,000 copies of their single at the last minute using six credit cards.
While there is definitely something fishy about that, both of the pop stars have refuted those claims.
Apparently, this latest move has people empathizing with the rainbow snitch though, whether they acknowledge it or not.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Hip-hop icon Juicy J chimed in on the matter on Twitter, deleting his message shortly afterward. He spit some bars, claiming that Billboard hits can now be purchased if you politic correctly.
“You can buy P—y you can buy weed You can buy streams you can buy billboard what else can we buy,” asked the Three 6 Mafia legend. “I wanna invest,” he joked.
He doesn’t necessarily voice that he’s siding with Tekashi 6ix9ine on this matter since, you know, that would probably be incredibly damaging to his brand. However, this is enough validation for 6ix9ine’s point to make sense to us all.
Do you think Ariana and Justin bought their #1 spot from 6ix9ine?
Billboard Issues Response To 6ix9ine Accusations Of Manipulating Charts
Billboard doesn't take Tekashi 6ix9ine's accusations lightly, so they responded with a lengthy article about how they come up with their chart numbers.
He's commanding the attention of the world and it doesn't look as if Tekashi 6ix9ine is letting up anytime soon. The colorful rapper has been a tornado ever since he released his single "GOOBA" and now he's returned, accusing Billboard of manipulating the charts in order to keep him from having the No. 1 song on the Hot 100. Tekashi 6ix9ine blasted both Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber for inching ahead of him with their song "Stuck With U," saying that Ariana's team used multiple credit cards to get her song's numbers over the line.
View this post on Instagram@billboard YOU’RE A LIE AND CORRUPT. YOU GOT CAUGHT CHEATING AND THE WORLD WILL KNOW.
In his video, 6ix9ine also shows a chart of numbers where viewers can see that he had 51 million streams as compared to Billboards stats that showed 31 million. The rapper yells once again, accusing Billboard of doing dirty deeds behind the scenes. Billboard responded to the allegations, including noting that whatever chart 6ix9ine was referring to in his video isn't verifiable.
"The chart forecast referenced was not created nor provided by Billboard to the industry," they wrote in the article. "Those with access to sales, streaming and radio data from various sources often create their own chart models and update them at their own frequency. Billboard does not distribute any Hot 100 ranking forecast to labels, management or artists.
They also wrote that the number listed on 6ix9ine's "GOOBA" YouTube video shows global plays, while they only count U.S.-based plays. Billboard also addressed the "six credit cards" claim. "Billboard and Nielsen Music/MRC Data conducts audits on all sales reported with access to purchase-level detail, and works with data partners to recognize excessive bulk purchases and remove those units from the final sales total. All titles this week, as in every week, were put under the same scrutiny. (Billboard has reached out to Fame House/Bravado, retailer and reporter of director-to-consumer sales, for further comment about the sales data provided for 'Stuck With U.')
If you're looking for a comprehensive breakdown, you can check that out here. Meanwhile, Tekashi 6ix9ine continues to troll the company.
Justin Bieber Defends Ariana Grande Amid 6ix9ine Billboard Drama
Justin Bieber breaks down the analytics of the Billboard charts for Tekashi 6ix9ine.
It’s been a little over a week since 6ix9ine made his major return and it feels like the judge might be regretting not placing restrictions on his use of social media. He’s caused a stir already. He’s been trying to take on every single naysayer from his baby mama to the Billboard charts. As “GOOBA” debuts at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, the rapper’s challenged Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande with allegations that they manipulated the chart.
Ariana Grande fired back. “My fans bought the song. JUSTIN’S fans bought the song. OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). they are ride or die motherfuckers and i thank god every day that i have them in my life,” she said in retaliation. However, 6ix9ine combated that by claiming that he’s made it out of poverty and she’s essentially had a silver spoon handed to her. Needless to say, his rebuttal had little to do with his initial allegations and everything to do with their upbringings.
While 6ix9ine’s taken aim at Ariana Grande, it’s actually a Justin Bieber song that she features on. Both Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun didn’t attack 6ix9ine necessarily but they did give him a little lesson on how the Billboard charts work.
He says his streams don’t count. Yeus they do but he is counting his global streams and this is a domestic chart so only domestic streams count.
60,000 units came because we don’t disclose out numbers until the end of the week. That’s called strategy.
He said 30k was bought with 6 credit cards but that is a lie. The rules are clear one credit card can buy max 4 copies. Anything over that the entire amount gets thrown out. Nielsen company checks this and found all sales were legit becuase our fans are amazing and bought them. Don’t discredit out fan base with false info.
This is my song with Ariana Grande and I’m honored to work with her to help raise money for a great cause. If you gonna say her name make sure you say mine because it’s our song.
Of course, it didn’t take too long for 6ix9ine to catch wind of the comments, though he simply trolled Biebs for essentially wanting credit for his song. Check out his comment and the post below.
6ix9ine Responds To Ariana Grande Following Billboard Results
Tekashi 6ix9ine recently replied to Ariana Grande who defended her place atop the Billboard charts.
Tekashi 6ix9ine had the whole music industry upset over the last couple of days thanks to his countless rants about Billboard and how artists were supposedly manipulating their numbers so they could get better placements on the charts. 6ix9ine singled out Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber specifically as their collaborative track "Stuck With U" was starting to catch momentum at the right time.
After achieving her number one record, Grande took to Instagram where she addressed the manipulation accusations and also sent some subliminal shade at 6ix9ine, telling him and artists like him to stay humble. Recently, 6ix9ine hopped on Instagram to clap back at Grande, noting that she doesn't understand his struggle.
Per 6ix9ine:
"@arianagrande All I’m saying is I worked super hard to make it out of Brooklyn NY. I speak for the millions of kids who aren’t as fortunate as you. The millions who weren’t fortunate to be on T.V.. LIFE is REAL when you’re on welfare LIFE is REAL when you grow up with out a father. You don’t know what that is like. You say for me to be humble .... I don’t think you know what humble is.......... YOU ARE VERY TALENTED AND BEAUTIFUL GOD BLESS YOU. But you will NEVER UNDERSTAND MY PAIN ?"These feuds are already starting to get out of hand and you can't help but feel some Tekashi fatigue at this point. Regardless, the troll train keeps on rolling.Ariana Grande Has Subliminal Shade For 6ix9ine After Billboard Fiasco
Tekashi 6ix9ine felt as though Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber were trying to pull a fast one with Billboard.
Tekashi 6ix9ine has been taking swipes at pretty well everyone as of late and the entire hip-hop world is watching with a rightfully judgmental eye. At this point, it feels as though no one is off-limits for 6ix9ine, even the popstars. For instance, 6ix9ine recently released a brand new single called “GOOBA” and his main goal was to get the song to number one on the Billboard charts. Throughout the last week, Tekashi has been keeping fans up to date on his progress and at one point, he took some shots at Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber as he claimed that they were manipulating the charts.
In fact, 6ix9ine was back to his old tricks today, as he had even more harsh words for Billboard. None of his tactics worked, as eventually, the song landed at number 3 and Grand and Bieber took the top spot with “Stuck With U.” Following her big win, Grande took to Instagram with what could only be described as subliminal shots for 6ix9ine.
Per Grande:
“I would like to address a few things which i don’t usually do (i don’t give my energy to drama or strange accusations normally but this has gone a little too far)…my fans bought the song. JUSTIN’S fans bought the song. OUR fans bought this song (never more than four copies each, AS THE RULES STATE). they are ride or die motherfuckers and i thank god every day that i have them in my life. not just when they fight for us to win (even when i ask them not to as i did this week) but because they’re some of the greatest people i know. sales count for more than streams. u can not discredit this as hard as u try. to anybody that is displeased with their placement on the chart this week or who is spending their time racking their brain thinking of as many ways as they can to discredit hardworking women (and only the women for some reason…..), i ask u to take a moment to humble yourself.”
Considering Tekashi was the only one talking about his numbers this week, it’s pretty clear that Grande was talking about him. Not to mention, 6ix9ine had also mentioned the likes of Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj, which just furthers Grande’s claims that the person in question only had something to say about women.
At this point, it really feels like Tekashi has upset the entire music industry, and not just hip-hop.
6ix9ine Accuses Billboard Of "Manipulating The Charts"
Tekashi 6ix9ine called out Billboard for seemingly manipulating the charts in favour of Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber going No. 1 instead of him.
Tekashi 6ix9ine was in disbelief after Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber's "Stuck With U" jumped ahead of his song, "Gooba," in a forecast of next week's Hot 100 chart, so he decided to send a public message to Billboard. “Imma make this real quick, ‘cause I’ll be real disappointed if Billboard gets paid for No. 1s [and] somehow manipulate the charts," he declared in an Instagram video. “I want the whole world to see this, because what I’m about to show you is a forecast of what every label in the world gets: Atlantic, Interscope, Republic, Columbia, Sony, Universal Music, every label gets this."
View this post on Instagram@billboard explain this to the millions of artist who never got #1 because you guys play favorites.
He proceeds to show said forecast that his label received on Thursday (May 15th), which shows Doja Cat and Nicki Minaj remaining at No. 1 with “Say So (Remix),” while “GOOBA” sits at No. 2. Below them are The Weeknd’s "Blinding Lights" (No. 3), Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé’s “Savage (Remix)” (No. 4), and Ari and Justin at No. 5. However, he indicates that “Stuck With U” submitted 60,000 units "out of nowhere” at the “last second” on Thursday night, which he claims is “completely illegal.” Now, a new forecast reads that “Stuck With U” has reached No. 1, “GOOBA” remains at No. 2, and “Say So (Remix)” is now at No. 3.
MICHAEL CAMPANELLA/Redferns/Getty Images
“They went from being fifth place to first place out of nowhere,” he says about Ari and Justin. The kicker for him, though, is that Billboard was promoting a signed CD bundle for Ari and Justin, which he believes helped to "manipulate the charts" and get "Stuck With U" to No. 1.
He points out that, considering “GOOBA” has garnered "200 million streams," which he claims is "double the streams" than any other song on the charts right now, he should be dominating by “a landslide." He also claims that Doja Cat’s label sent an audit to Billboard because they, too, are suspicious about the sudden chart position of her song after it dropped to No. 3.
“Literally, you’re manipulating the charts now," he concludes. "How can an artist that works hard get No. 1?" Prior to this rant, 6ix9ine previously sent out a similar warning to Billboard not to mess with the numbers. "The world is watching very closely," he wrote on a since-deleted Instagram post. "I will hate to believe that people pay for their spins on the radio and making manipulating bundles to manipulate the chart."
Recent Posts
