The next generation is paving the way onto the Billboard charts and major brand campaigns.
Billie Eilish, 19, earns her second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Happier Than Ever, while The Kid LAROI, 17, earns his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit with “Stay,” featuring Justin Bieber.
Meanwhile, Beyoncé took her three children — all under 10 — out to the rodeo in the new kids promo for her latest Ivy Park x Adidas collection, which will be available on Aug. 19. Who run the world? The teens and kids!
Take a look at Billboard’s weekly roundup and the “awards” it gave to this week’s headlines.
Happiest Music News: Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever tops Billboard 200
Eilish’s sophomore album, Happier Than Ever, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 238,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 5, according to MRC Data. Her new LP launches the fifth-largest week of 2021, while the remainder of the albums chart is younger than ever. Fellow teens The Kid LAROI and Olivia Rodrigo take over the No. 2 and 3 spots, respectively, with F— Love and Sour. Learn more about the other albums on this week’s Billboard 200 here.
Sweetest Music News: Beyoncé poses with kids in Ivy Park Rodeo promo, P!nk & Willow compete in family Olympic games
Giddyap! Queen B corralled the kids — including her and husband Jay-Z’s very own twins, Rumi and Sir, as well as their eldest daughter, Blue Ivy — for a new Ivy Park Rodeo kids promo on Wednesday (Aug. 11). While Beyoncé flashed her Ivy Park branded belt buckle, P!nk flashed her new gold (a medal, not record) while competing against daughter Willow in a family-friendly edition of the Olympics that recently came to a close. “#mamawongold #betterluckinfouryearswillls,” she captioned the sporty shot. See Bey’s new Ivy Park promo here, and P!nk’s Olympic-themed photos here.
Savviest Music News: Music venues, companies & festivals lead COVID vaccination effort
Music venues are driving mass vaccination efforts as the COVID-19 Delta variant runs rampant. Live Nation announced last week it would let artists choose to require vaccination or negative COVID tests for any of their U.S. shows while making it mandatory for any staff at those events or in company offices. On Tuesday (Aug. 10), both Bonnaroo and Summerfest announced the music festivals will require attendees to show proof of full vaccination or a negative test. AEG Presents, the concert promotion arm of AEG, said on Thursday (Aug. 12) that it will require proof of vaccination for entry into its owned and operated clubs, theaters, and festivals. Colorado’s Z2 Entertainment CEO Cheryl Liguori told Billboard these efforts are “to keep our staff and our patrons and our artists healthy and to keep live music thriving.” Learn more here, here, and here.
Most Record-Breaking Music News: The Kid LAROI wins big for Australia with “Stay” topping Billboard Hot 100, female collabs make VMA history
The Kid LAROI is here to “Stay” at the top of the Billboard charts, as his latest hit with Bieber reaches No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The streaming sensation not only earns his first Hot 100 leader, but becomes the first Australian-born solo male to top the Hot 100 since Rick Springfield with “Jessie’s Girl” just over 40 years ago.
Plus, his “Stay” collaborator, Bieber, and Megan Thee Stallion lead the list of nominees at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, with seven for him and six for her. Meg and Cardi’s “WAP” and Doja Cat and SZA’s “Kiss Me More” are both nominated for video of the year, which is the first time in the show’s history that two all-female collaborations are vying for the coveted award.
Learn more about the other songs on the Billboard Hot 100 here and see the full list of VMA nominees here and the other female collabs that received video of the year nods here.
Most Surprising Music News: Britney Spears’ father agrees to step down from conservatorship
In a watershed move Thursday (Aug. 12) during Britney Spears’ conservatorship that has controlled her life and career for 13 years, her father, Jamie Spears, agreed to step away from his role as conservator. The singer’s new legal team, led by power attorney Mathew Rosengart, had earlier filed a petition to remove Jamie and replace him with a CPA. Rosengart described Jamie’s move as “a major victory for Britney Spears and another step toward justice.” Learn more here.
Most Impressive Music News: Bad Bunny tops 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards finalists
Bad Bunny leads the list of finalists at the 2021 Billboard Latin Music Awards, which were announced on Thursday (Aug. 12). The Puerto Rican rapper earned 22 nods in 13 categories, including artist of the year, songwriter of the year, top Latin album of the year and more, with three of his albums (El Último Tour del Mundo, YHLQMDLG and Las Que No Iban a Salir) all up for awards. Maluma follows his lead with 11 nods. The Billboard Latin Music Awards will broadcast live on Telemundo on Sept. 23. See the full list of finalists here.
