Everyone makes the news

 

This week starts off with an interesting mix of news on a host of artists:

• Jay-Z became the first living hip hop artist to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There is no real need to explain the significance of such a moment: at a time when hip hop literally dominates the charts (see below), it is only fitting that one of its mightiest stars gets recognition from the music community at large in such a spectacular manner: Barack Obama himself inducted him after all. Meanwhile, LL Cool J received the award for Musical Excellence, thus tipping the scales way in New York’s favor…
• Paul McCartney was another stand out star of the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. While inducting the Foo Fighters, the legendary Beatle made an interesting comparison between himself and Dave Grohl, whose post-Nirvana career quite obviously made him a star all over again. From the Beatles to the Foo Fighters: such is the way rock music history goes, it seems…
• Taylor Swift created her own historic moment in that very same ceremony, when she covered inductee Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, a song that first reached the top of the Billboard charts as performed by The Shirelles all the way back in 1960, i.e. about 3 decades before Miss Swift was even born. Again, music history has a funny way of moving (back)…
• Adele, meanwhile, decided to stay put right on top of the US singles charts (as well as the Billboard Global 200), with “Easy On Me” catching the big prize for a second consecutive week. This is not a big surprise: as we noted before, the singer’s worldwide appeal is quite unparalleled today, and we have been waiting 6 years for this, so there you go… Also, this may continue for a bit, as Miss Adkins has a habit of holding the fort…
• Elton John is back in the Billboard 200 top 10 for the 21st time (!) in his storied career with new album The Lockdown Sessions. This collaborative effort features both old and new tracks, including the Dua Lipa duet “Cold Heart”, whose PNAU Remix became Mr John’s first #1 UK single in over a decade. Out with the new, in with the old?
• Drake, to cap it all off, is back on top! That’s right: hip hop’s current de facto king takes back his crown, with Certified Lover Boy reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 again for the fifth (non-consecutive) time. In the couple of months since the album was released, many hot new talents have come to challenge that leadership — and then gone. It will be interesting to see how things evolve towards the end of the year, but one thing is for sure: from Jay-Z to Drake, you can see contemporary music history being written as we speak…