This one was a huge week for K-pop, as the supergroup SuperM slayed their first-ever U.S. television performance, BTS and TWICE unloaded their first English singles, and ITZY dropped their third mini-album.
Plus, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion WAP-ped to the top of the Hot 100, tons of artists showed up for the Democratic National Convention, Mariah Carey kept fans fed all week, and much more.
Take a look at some of the week’s biggest music happenings below.
“WAP” blasted in at No. 1 on the Hot 100
Cardi B’s “WAP,” featuring Megan Thee Stallion, debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart at No. 1. As Billboard’s Gary Trust reports, “The collab launches as Cardi B’s fourth leader on the list and Megan Thee Stallion’s second. Released Aug. 7, the song drew 93 million U.S. streams in the week ending Aug. 13, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, the most for any track ever in its first week of release.”
Learn more here, see the best fan reactions to the feat here, and check out the full rundown for this week’s Hot 100 chart here. Congrats, ladies!
In honor of the 19th Amendment’s 100th anniversary, Billboard highlighted women who have set important music milestones
From Mariah Carey and Ariana Grande to Madonna and Whitney Houston, Billboard‘s Paul Grein took a look at the women who have smashed and set records in the music world. It’s all in honor of a historic milestone: 100 years ago this month – on Aug. 18, 1920 — the 19th Amendment was ratified into law. The amendment, at long last, gave women the right to vote. Check it out here.
Cardi B interviewed Joe Biden
The “WAP” star might just have a career in journalism ahead of her if music doesn’t work out! Over Zoom, Cardi interviewed presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for the latest issue of Elle magazine. Discussing everything from coronavirus to paying for college and Pres. Trump’s “dangerous” prejudice, you need to check it out ASAP here.
Taylor Swift unleashed a Folklore bonus track
Swift’s “The Lakes” is featured on the deluxe edition of Folklore, but didn’t hit streaming services until Tuesday (Aug. 18). Take a deep breath and dive into the lyric video for the beautiful track here.
Plus, Swift shared a bunch of Easter eggs about the “Cardigan” music video in a new clip for the Vevo Footnotes series here, and dropped another album goodie in the form of Folklore: The Escapism Chapter, which is a cluster of songs from the album in thematic order.
Stars showed up for the 2020 Democratic National Convention
Billie Eilish, Leon Bridges, The Chicks, Common, John Legend, Billy Porter, Jennifer Hudson, Maggie Rogers, Prince Royce and many more gathered virtually to perform and celebrate the nomination of presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Joe Biden and his VP pick, Sen. Kamala Harris.
Reese Witherspoon will executive produce a country music competition for Apple TV+
My Kind of Country is the first competition series to land at Apple TV+. “Well, it’s not looking like I’ll ever fulfill my childhood dreams of becoming Dolly Parton … but this might just be the next best thing!” the actress and producer wrote in an Instagram post announcing the show. “I am beyond excited to share that Hello Sunshine will be partnering with Apple to bring y’all its very first competition series.” Learn more about the new show here.
Mariah Carey announced an album of deep cuts
Carey will drop The Rarities on Oct. 2! 15-track album will feature the previously-unreleased “Save The Day” with Lauryn Hill, and a bonus set will contain 17 recordings cut live at the Tokyo Dome in the 1990s, including “Emotions,” “Open Arms,” “Forever,” and “Fantasy.” The album’s lead single “Save The Day” is also out now. Learn more here.
Plus, Carey performed her first Hot 100 No. 1 “Vision of Love” on Good Morning America, and spoke about The Rarities as well as her upcoming memoir during an interview.
A few ACM awards were handed out early
Keith Urban delivered some great news to Tenille Townes and Riley Green on Thursday (Aug. 20), as he revealed via surprise Zoom calls that Townes and Green had been named the new female and new male artist of the year, respectively, for the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards. (The show, hosted by Urban, will take place on Sept. 16.) Congrats to the two rising stars! Get the details here.
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Dua Lipa revealed the track list for her remix album
Gwen Stefani, Blackpink, Mark Ronson and tons more will appear on Dua Lipa and The Blessed Madonna’s Club Future Nostalgia, a complete remix package of Lipa’s 2020 album Future Nostalgia. See the full track list here and get ready to get down!
SuperM slayed their Good Morning America performance
SuperM made their U.S. morning TV debut with a performance of “100” on GMA Thursday (Aug. 20), and it’s safe to say they totally nailed it. The K-pop septet — made up of members from EXO, Shinee, NCT 127 and WayV — also sat for a brief interview. In case you missed the action, watch the highlights here!
Artists didn’t hold back during Billboard Live At Home performances
This week, indie pop group Lovelytheband, English singer-songwriter Declan McKenna and country crooner Danielle Bradbery partnered with Billboard for a new round of Live At-Home sessions, providing fans with quarantine entertainment while benefiting some worthy causes. Watch all three performances here.
BTS dropped their highly-anticipated English single
BTS returned with “Dynamite,” their very first English-language track, on Friday (Aug. 21). The catchy track is accompanied by an explosive music video, in which the guys show off their stellar moves. Watch it immediately here.
New Music Friday was stacked
Apart from BTS, this New Music Friday featured fresh cuts from TWICE, ITZY, Pharrell Williams and Jay-Z, and Mariah Carey and Lauryn Hill. There were also can’t-miss releases from Maluma, The Killers and Troye Sivan this week — if it all seems overwhelming, get the TL;DR on everything you need to know about the best new music here!