• Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down" Gets a Tiësto Remix

    After hearing the Flume remix recently, Dutch powerhouse DJ Tiësto has unveiled his remix for Sam Smith's hit single "Lay Me Down." Known in recent years for his uptempo progressive house tracks, the "Wasted" DJ and his production team takes a more mellow approach with this remix, ditching the festival-driven sound for something befitting Sam Smith's voice and aesthetic.
  • 'Furious 7' Tops Billboard 200 Thanks to Wiz Khalifa; Taylor Swift Sets Mark and All Time Low Hits All Time High

    If you've watched Fast Five, you know that Vin Diesel's character Dominic Toretto knows that it's all about how you finish, not how you begin (although he allows Paul Walker's Brian to win the four-man street race in Brazil). The Furious 7 soundtrack is living that philosophy as it reached the no. 1 place on the Billboard 200 four weeks after its release. Part of last week's 111,000 equivalent album sales is thanks to the film's continued success at the box office, but an even bigger part of it is the popularity of "See You Again," the single from Wiz Khalifa that's tearing up the download charts. All Time Low and Taylor Swift place well as well.
  • Sam Smith's 'Stay With Me' Under Attack from Another '80s Songwriter...Plaintiff Wants Grammy

    Sam Smith's hit "Stay With Me" is under a new bit of legal pressure as another songwriter has come forward claiming that Smith and his songwriting team stole inspiration. Mark Halper (not the famous Hollywood photographer) claims that during his song "Don't Throw Our Love Away" from 1986, he opens with the phrase "stay with me," which he refers to as a "significant phrase."
  • Wale, Ludacris and Kendrick Lamar Keep Hip-Hop in Top Three Spots of Billboard Albums Chart

    Wale, Ludacris and Kendrick Lamar helped ensure that hip-hop took the top three spots on the Album Sales Chart for the second week in a row. Wale, who was also no. 1 on the Billboard 200, sold 90,500 copies of his new record The Album About Nothing. Ludacris got a boost from the strict album sales format of this chart (he placed no. 3 due to stream numbers helping the Furious 7 soundtrack on the 200) and placed no. 2 with Ludaversal, selling 59,000 copies of his new album. Kendrick Lamar was at no. 1 for two weeks with To Pimp A Butterfly but he'll settle for no. 3 this week after selling another 52,500 copies.
  • T in The Park 2015 Under Fire as Organizers Seek to Meet Needs of Nesting Ospreys

    Scotland's T In The Park Festival has a new home for 2015 but the old Spring residents aren't excited for them to be there: Organizers have an unusual issue in dealing with the protected ospreys that enjoy nesting in the area of Strathallan Castle. Promoters have ensured fans that the festival will go forward, and the birds will be able to nest accordingly.
  • Flume Remixes Sam Smith's "Lay Me Down"

    Highly touted Australia-based producer DJ Flume has unveiled his remix for Sam Smith's hit single "Lay Me Down" from his Grammy Award-winning album 'In the Lonely Hour.' Flume flips the heartfelt piano ballad on its head with a distinctly Australian electronic instrumental. He kicks it off with his stuttering pitched synth stabs before introducing haunting chords over an alternating bass line with Sam Smith's voice crooning until the glitchy and high-pitched drop.
  • Kendrick Lamar, 'Empire,' Action Bronson and Earl Sweatshirt Help Hip-Hop Dominate Album Sales Chart

    The past few weeks have been amazing for hip-hop, as the Empire soundtrack and Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly have led both the Billboard 200 to three straight weeks of rap at no. 1. Although it's only been a two-week streak on the Album Sales chart (Empire was outsold by Madonna's Rebel Heart during its first week), this week is still newsworthy as the Top 3 spots on the chart are all held by hip-hop albums.
  • Kendrick Lamar First Performer with Two Weeks Atop Billboard 200 Since Taylor Swift; First R&B/Hip-Hop Artist Since Beyonce

    Kendrick Lamar and To Pimp A Butterfly pulled off something that few performers outside of Taylor Swift have managed to wrangle in the last few months: holding the no. 1 position on the Billboard 200 for more than one week. The album spent a second week at the top spot on the chart-the only performer aside from Swift (who spent a total of 11 weeks at no. 1 with 1989) to have done so since November, having sold 123,000 equivalent units during its second full week of sales. The accomplishment is even more relevant for the R&B/Hip-Hop genres, where Butterfly becomes the first album since 2013's Beyoncé to spend multiple weeks at no. 1.
  • Rihanna Talks Sam Smith Collab: He's a 'Beautiful Songwriter'

    Rihanna is one of the biggest names in pop music, and she recently revealed that she wants to work with another big name: Sam Smith. The "Umbrella" artist sang Smith's praises to 'The Sun,' via NME, getting fans and pop enthusiasts excited in the process. But any collaboration in the future will have to wait until Rihanna drops her highly anticipated eighth album. "He is so talented. It would be amazing to work with him," she said of the "Stay with Me" singer. "No matter how busy we are, when two artists want to work together they make it happen. He is such a beautiful songwriter, but more important than that, he is an absolutely beautiful person, and that comes across in his songs."
  • Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp A Butterfly' Dominates Billboard 200—'Empire,' Modest Mouse and 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Contend for No. 2

    Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly has become his first release to top the Billboard 200 despite dropping a tad earlier than expected. The album went on to sell 363,000 equivalent copies, including single downloads and streams-breaking Spotify records in the process- on its way to the top. That was also the second largest debut of the year—behind Drake—giving hip-hop the two biggest albums of the year so far.
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