The 2020 Billboard Music Awards took place on Wednesday (Oct. 14), making for the perfect mid-week mood booster. BTS, Doja Cat, Sia, Post Malone and tons of other stars performed, while artists like Lizzo used their winning speeches as an opportunity to get the message out about voting!
Plus, Jack White performed on Saturday Night Live, our 2020 Fan Army Face-Off crowned a winner, Lana Del Rey surprised fans with a new song and much more.
Take a look at all of the week’s can’t-miss music moments below.
Jack White paid tribute to Eddie Van Halen during his SNL performance
Jack White, who was the Saturday Night Live musical guest on Oct. 10, remembered the guitar legend by playing a blue Halen-designed guitar.
White noted on Instagram that “Eddie was very kind to me and saw to it that this guitar was made to my specs.” Halen, who died on Oct. 6, was also remembered at the end of the episode by host Bill Burr, who wore a Van Halen T-shirt as the cast and guests gathered on stage to close the show.
Learn more about the tributes and watch White’s SNL performance here.
Drake celebrated his son Adonis’ third birthday
Happy birthday to Drake’s “Young Stunna”! Drizzy took to social media to share a sweet photo of him grinning at his 3-year-old son Adonis, who was also surrounded by sleek silver and black balloons. Adonis’ mother Sophie Brussaux also gushed: “Happy birthday my sweetheart…I’m so proud of the little man you’re becoming, I love you more than life. The world is YOURS! We did that@champagnepapi.”
Check out the cute moment here.
21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s Savage Mode II debuted atop the Billboard 200
Savage Mode II is No. 1! Rapper 21 Savage and producer Metro Boomin’s third collaborative album blasted in with 171,000 equivalent album units earned. Plus, Blackpink’s highly-anticipated debut album entered at No. 2, and YG nabbed his fifth top 10 album as My Life 4Hunnid debuted at No. 4.
See the full Billboard 200 rundown for the week ending Oct. 8 here.
Jawsh 685, Jason Derulo and BTS’ “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” topped the Billboard Hot 100
Thanks in part to new BTS remixes released at the start of the survey’s tracking week, “Savage Love” is No. 1, up from No. 8, earning the K-pop group their second leader of 2020. As Billboard‘s Gary Trust reports, the track “drew 16 million U.S. streams (up 32%) and sold 76,000 downloads (up 814%) in the week ending Oct. 8, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data. It also tallied 70.6 million radio airplay audience impressions (down 2%) in the week ending Oct. 11.”
Learn more about the new No. 1 here.
BTS’ virtual Map of the Soul ON:E Concert garnered nearly 1 million viewers
In other BTS news, the group performed a massive virtual concert over the weekend, and nearly one million fans tuned in from around the globe. “For the Map of the Soul album series and this show, we focused on putting our thoughts, personal stories and songs of the past seven years and prepared really hard,” the boy band said in a statement about the concert. Check out the recap here.
Harry Styles announced a limited edition box set
Just in time for the holidays, the “Watermelon Sugar” star will be unveiling the Fine Line 1 Year Anniversary Limited Edition Vinyl Box Set. The release, which will arrive on Dec. 11, includes Fine Line on double black 180g vinyl, 10 exclusive 12×12″ gloss prints of Styles by Tim Walker, a 24-page Fine Line at the Forum lyric zine, and a pair of white cotton gloves. Need.
Billboard caught up with Garth Brooks
Ahead of Brooks’ receiving the coveted Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards, Billboard’s Melinda Newman spoke to the country legend about his career milestones, as well as what’s yet to come. Check out the wide-ranging interview here.
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Super Junior won Billboard’s Fan Army Face-Off
And the winner is…Korean boy band Super Junior! The group also won the 2018 edition (which was the most recent year it was held). Super Junior’s fan army E.L.F (Ever Lasting Friends) beat out TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Moments of Alwaysness, Billie Eilish’s fans, Beyonce’s BeyHive, EXO’s EXO-L, Liam Payne’s fans, and finally, Niall Horan’s loyal following. Learn more about the big win here.
Fleetwood Mac returned to the top 25 of the Billboard Hot 100
This “Dreams” thing is really getting out of the hand — in the best way. This week, sparked by that viral skateboarding TikTok video featuring the song, Fleetwood Mac’s former No. 1 single “Dreams” re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 (dated Oct. 17) at No. 21, landing on the chart for the first time since its original 1977 run. Billboard staffers answered five burning questions about the feat here.
The 2020 Billboard Music Awards were a night to remember
The 2020 BBMAs took place on Wednesday (Oct. 15), and there were plenty of can’t-miss moments. Post Malone left as the biggest winner, taking home the top artist prize to end the night and winning nine awards overall. As for the performances, BTS, Doja Cat, host Kelly Clarkson, Post Malone and tons of other stars commanded our screens all evening. Check out the full winners’ list here, a recap of the event here, and watch all of the performances in one place here.
Jennifer Lopez and Maluma graced the latest Billboard cover
Ahead of Latin Music Week 2020, Billboard‘s Leila Cobo interviewed two of the world’s biggest Latin stars: Jennifer Lopez and Maluma. “With their upcoming film Marry Me, Jennifer Lopez and Maluma are bringing Latin music to the big screen at a time when the appetite for songs in Spanish has never been higher — and Hollywood is ready to cash in,” Cobo writes. Check out the full cover story here, and see photos from the glam shoot here.
Glass Animals took the livestream show experience to the next level
The England-based band — who achieved their first top 10 album on the Billboard 200 this year with Dreamland — pulled off an experimental virtual concert titled “Live In The Internet” on Thursday (Oct. 15). The full band performance featured special guests like Denzel Curry and Arlo Parks, Saturday Night Live-levels of real-time set changes, and even the debut of a new song, which they then released everywhere at midnight local time. Over 21,000 fans tuned in from around the world, and lovingly dubbed the event #streamland.
There were tons of new music goodies
This week featured fresh cuts from Lana Del Rey, Demi Lovato, Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco. There were also can’t-miss releases from Lauv and Conan Gray, Sada Baby and Nicki Minaj and G-Eazy this week — if it all seems overwhelming, get the TL;DR on everything you need to know about the best new music here!