Sabrina Claudio’s “Frozen” Among Songs Featured on Barack Obama’s Official Summer Playlist

Sabrina Claudio has received the (former) presidential seal of approval…

In keeping with past tradition, Barack Obama is sharing some of his favorite summer jams, with the 24-year-old Puerto Rican & Cuban American singer/songwriter making the list.

Sabrina Claudio

Claudio’s single “Frozen,” featured on her album About Time, is among four singles featuring Latinx artists to make the former U.S. president’s summer playlist.

Leave the Door Open,” the chart-topping single from Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak‘s new duo Silk Sonic; “Águas de Março” by Elis Regina and Antônio Carlos Jobim; and Rochy RD, Myke Towers and Nicki Nicole’s “Ella No Es Tuya (Remix)” also made the list.

“With so many folks getting together with family and friends, there’s a lot to celebrate this summer,” Obama captioned his tweet. “Here’s a playlist of songs I’ve been listening to lately—it’s a mix of old and new, household names and emerging artists, and a whole lot in between.”

It’s no secret that Obama is a huge lover of music. Over the years, he has shared numerous music playlists, including his recent shower-themed list on Spotify, which features Bruce Springsteen‘s “Born in the U.S.A.

“I sing in the shower, I sing outside of the shower. I am unembarrassed about singing,” Obama said during his Renegades: Born in the USA podcast with The Boss in March. “My daughters and my wife sometimes roll their eyes.”

Last December, the former president also shared his “Favorite Music of 2020” list — featuring picks from Bad Bunny, Dua Lipa, Lil Baby and Megan Thee Stallion — as well as a playlist of music that inspired him throughout his presidency.

 

Cardi B Earns Five BET Awards Nominations

It’s five for fighting for Cardi B

The 21st BET Awards 2021 nominees list has been released, with the 28-year-old half-Dominican American rap superstar earning five nods.

Cardi B

Cardi B, a four-time BET Award winner, is nominated for Best Female Hip Hop Artist.

Her chart-topping collaboration with Megan Thee Stallion, “WAP,” is nominated for Best Collaboration and the Viewer’s Choice Award, while the music video is up for Video of the Year.

The clip for Cardi B’s chart-topping single “Up” is also nominated for Video of the Year, giving her two nods in the category.

Bruno Mars has picked up four nominations…

The 35-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer is nominated for Best Group for his R&B duo Silk Sonic, composed of Mars and Anderson .Paak.

Silk Sonic’s debut single “Leave the Door Open” is nominated for the Viewer’s Choice Award, while the song’s music clip is up for Video of the Year. The clip also earned Mars a nod for Video Director of the Year alongside Florent Dechard.

Jhene Aiko is celebrating her BET Award nom…

The 33-year-old part-Spanish American singer is up for Best Female R&B/Pop Artist.

Emcida is celebrating his BET Awards callout…

The 33-year-old Brazilian rapper, singer, songwriter and MC, whose real name is Leandro Roque de Oliveira, is nominated for Best International Act.

The awards honor Black excellence across music, television, film, and sports in 21 categories.

The BET Awards 2021 will air live on Sunday, June 27 on BET at 8:00 pm ET/ PT. The show was a virtual event last year during the pandemic.

“We are back and excited to bring culture’s biggest night, the 2021 ‘BET Awards,’ safely back to Los Angeles to celebrate this year’s incredible roster of nominees,” said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy. “We broke ground as one of the first official award shows to move forward during the global pandemic and we are ready to take our pioneer status to the next level with the return of an audience to celebrate the best and brightest creative minds in the entertainment industry.”

Voting for the BET Awards 2021 Viewer’s Choice Award begins on June 7.

Beginning today, vaccinated individuals can register here for consideration to be part of the BET Awards 2021 live show audience.

The complete list of nominees are:

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

AFTER HOURS – THE WEEKND
BLAME IT ON BABY – DABABY
GOOD NEWS – MEGAN THEE STALLION
HEAUX TALES – JAZMINE SULLIVAN
KING’S DISEASE – NAS
UNGODLY HOUR – CHLOE X HALLE

BEST COLLABORATION

CARDI B FT. MEGAN THEE STALLION – WAP
DABABY FT. RODDY RICCH – ROCKSTAR
DJ KHALED FT. DRAKE – POPSTAR
JACK HARLOW FT. DABABY, TORY LANEZ & LIL WAYNE – WHATS POPPIN (REMIX)
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. DABABY – CRY BABY
POP SMOKE FT. LIL BABY & DABABY – FOR THE NIGHT

BEST FEMALE R&B / POP ARTIST

BEYONCÉ
H.E.R.
JAZMINE SULLIVAN
JHENÉ AIKO
SUMMER WALKER
SZA

BEST MALE R&B / POP ARTIST

6LACK
ANDERSON .PAAK
CHRIS BROWN
GIVEON
TANK
THE WEEKND

BEST NEW ARTIST

COI LERAY
FLO MILLI
GIVEON
JACK HARLOW
LATTO
POOH SHIESTY

BEST GROUP

21 SAVAGE & METRO BOOMIN
CHLOE X HALLE
CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG
CITY GIRLS
MIGOS
SILK SONIC

BEST FEMALE HIP HOP ARTIST

CARDI B
COI LERAY
DOJA CAT
MEGAN THEE STALLION
LATTO
SAWEETIE

BEST MALE HIP HOP ARTIST

DABABY
DRAKE
COLE
JACK HARLOW
LIL BABY
POP SMOKE

BOBBY JONES BEST GOSPEL/INSPIRATIONAL AWARD

BEBE WINANS – IN JESUS NAME
CECE WINANS – NEVER LOST
H.E.R. – HOLD US TOGETHER
KIRK FRANKLIN – STRONG GOD
MARVIN SAPP – THANK YOU FOR IT ALL
TAMELA MANN – TOUCH FROM YOU

BET HER AWARD

ALICIA KEYS FT. KHALID – SO DONE
BRANDY FT. CHANCE THE RAPPER – BABY MAMA
BRI STEVES – ANTI QUEEN
CHLOE X HALLE – BABY GIRL
CIARA FT. ESTER DEAN – ROOTED
SZA – GOOD DAYS

BEST INTERNATIONAL ACT

AYA NAKAMURA (FRANCE)
BURNA BOY (NIGERIA)
DIAMOND PLATNUMZ (TANZANIA)
EMICIDA (BRAZIL)
HEADIE ONE (UK)
WIZKID (NIGERIA)
YOUNG T & BUGSEY (UK)
YOUSSOUPHA (FRANCE)

VIEWER’S CHOICE AWARD

CARDI B FT. MEGAN THEE STALLION – WAP
CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG – GO CRAZY
DABABY FT. RODDY RICCH – ROCKSTAR
DJ KHALED FT. DRAKE – POPSTAR
DRAKE FT. LIL DURK – LAUGH NOW CRY LATER
LIL BABY – THE BIGGER PICTURE
MEGAN THEE STALLION FT. BEYONCÉ – SAVAGE (REMIX)
SILK SONIC – LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

CARDI B – UP
CARDI B FT. MEGAN THEE STALLION – WAP
CHLOE X HALLE – DO IT
CHRIS BROWN & YOUNG THUG – GO CRAZY
DRAKE FT. LIL DURK – LAUGH NOW CRY LATER
SILK SONIC – LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

BENNY BOOM
BRUNO MARS AND FLORENT DÉCHARD
COLE BENNETT
COLIN TILLEY
DAVE MEYERS
HYPE WILLIAMS

BEST MOVIE

COMING 2 AMERICA
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
SOUL
THE UNITED STATES VS. BILLIE HOLIDAY

BEST ACTRESS

ANDRA DAY
ANGELA BASSETT
ISSA RAE
JURNEE SMOLLETT
VIOLA DAVIS
ZENDAYA

BEST ACTOR

ALDIS HODGE
CHADWICK BOSEMAN
DAMSON IDRIS
DANIEL KALUUYA
EDDIE MURPHY
LAKEITH STANFIELD

YOUNGSTARS AWARD

ALEX R. HIBBERT
ETHAN HUTCHISON
LONNIE CHAVIS
MARSAI MARTIN
MICHAEL EPPS
STORM REID

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

A’JA WILSON
CANDACE PARKER
CLARESSA SHIELDS
NAOMI OSAKA
SERENA WILLIAMS
SKYLAR DIGGINS-SMITH

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

KYRIE IRVING
LEBRON JAMES
PATRICK MAHOMES
RUSSELL WESTBROOK
RUSSELL WILSON
STEPHEN CURRY

Bruno Mars’ Silk Sonic Single “Leave the Door Open” Returns to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

Bruno Mars is back on top…

Leave the Door Open,” from the 35-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer and Anderson .Paak’s duo Silk Sonic, rebounds from No. 2 to No. 1 for its second week atop the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, LacosteThe Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data. For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

“Leave the Door Open,” released on Aftermath/Atlantic Records, first reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 dated April 17 (five weeks ago). It returns to the top as it drew 17.8 million U.S. streams (down 4%) and sold 14,200 (up 38%, helped by its placement in the iTunes Store‘s 69¢ Pop Hits sale) in the week ending May 13, according to MRC Data. It also attracted 87 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 8%) in the week ending May 16.

The track adds a fifth week atop the Radio Songs chart, pushes 3-2 on Digital Song Sales and keeps at No. 10 on Streaming Songs.

Notably, the four-week absence from No. 1 on the Hot 100 for “Leave the Door Open” is the longest for a song since Post Malone‘s “Circles” waited four frames between its second and third weeks on top on the charts dated December 7, 2019, and January 11, 2020. The two tracks’ breaks between weeks at No. 1 mark the longest since Taylor Swift‘s “Shake It Off” reigned for two weeks and then spent eight frames at No. 2 (behind Meghan Trainor‘s “All About That Bass“) before returning for two more weeks on top in September-November 2014.

The track concurrently leads Hot R&B Songs for an eighth week and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for a fourth frame; the latter two charts use the same methodology as the Hot 100.

Bruno Mars Earns Eighth No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 with Silk Sonic Single “Leave the Door Open”

Bruno Mars is Leave-ing his mark yet again…

Leave the Door Open” by Silk Sonic, the duo of the 35-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer and Anderson .Paak, rises from No. 3 to No. 1 for its first week at the summit of the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, Lacoste

It’s Mars’ eighth Hot 100 No. 1, while Anderson. Paak earns his first.

The Hot 100 blends all-genre U.S. streaming (official audio and official video), radio airplay and sales data.

“Leave the Door Open” drew 21.5 million U.S. streams (up 13%) and sold 28,600 copies, downloads and CDs combined (up 138%), in the week ending April 8, according to MRC Data. It also attracted 59.1 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 9%) in the week ending April 11.

Combining digital and physical sales, the song was the most-sold of the tracking week, aided by two CD versions that shipped to purchasers in that span (one for $2.50 and a live version for the standard $1.29 single price), as it wins the Hot 100’s top Sales Gainer award.

Bruno Mars’ Hot 100 No. 1s:
“Nothin’ on You” (B.o.B feat. Mars), two weeks, beginning May 1, 2010
“Just the Way You Are,” four weeks, Oct. 2, 2010
“Grenade,” four weeks, Jan. 8, 2011
“Locked Out of Heaven,” six weeks, Dec. 22, 2012
“When I Was Your Man,” one week, April 20, 2013
“Uptown Funk!” (Mark Ronson feat. Mars), 14 weeks, Jan. 17, 2015
“That’s What I Like,” one week, May 13, 2017
“Leave the Door Open” (Silk Sonic [Mars & Anderson. Paak]), one week to-date, April 17, 2021

With eight Hot 100 No. 1s dating to his first, as featured on B.o.B‘s “Nothin’ on You” on the chart dated May 1, 2010, Mars ties Drake, Katy Perry and Rihanna for the most in that span. Mars becomes one of 18 artists in the Hot 100’s entire history with at least eight leaders.

 

Meanwhile, “Leave the Door Open” reaches No. 1 in its fifth week on the Hot 100, completing Mars’ quickest coronation. He wrapped a prior-best eight-week ascent to the summit with “Uptown Funk!” in 2015.

Silk Sonic pushes “Leave the Door Open” from No. 2 to No. 1 for its first week atop the multi-metric Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it’s Mars’ fourth leader, after “That’s What I Like” (10 weeks, 2017), “Finesse” (one week, 2018) and “Please Me” (one week, 2019), the latter two with Cardi B.

“Door” concurrently rebounds 2-1 for a third week atop the Hot R&B Songs chart, which, like Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, uses the same methodology as the Hot 100.

Bruno Mars Announces Plans to Launch Limited-Edition CD Single Release of Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open (Live)”

Bruno Mars is opening another door

The 35-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer and Anderson .Paak‘s Silk Sonic will release a limited-edition “Leave the Door Open (Live)” CD single on Friday.

Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, Lacoste

The collectible item comes in a jewel-case CD featuring a photo from their 2021 Grammy Awards performance of their single.

It also features the minute-long intro track by funk legend and “special guest host” Bootsy Collins, which will be featured on Silk Sonic’s upcoming album An Evening with Silk Sonic.

“Due to popular demand (and by demand I mean andy’s close relatives and 2 people I employ) we proudly present, #LeaveTheDoorOpen LIVE!,” Mars wrote via Instagram on Tuesday (March 30), adding on Twitter, “Swear this is even more collectible.”

Silk Sonic’s debut single is currently sitting at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week (dated April 3) after peaking at No. 2. It reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B Songs chart earlier this month.

 

The “Leave the Door Open (Live)” CD single, which can be pre-ordered here, will begin shipping Friday and is only available to order through April 5.

Bruno Mars Earns Third No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs Chart with Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open”

Bruno Mars is celebrating an a-door-ed new single…

The 35-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer has earned his third chart-topper on Billboard’s Hot R&B Songs chart.

Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, Lacoste

Mars earns the new No. 1 with “Leave the Door Open,” the debut single from Silk Sonic, a new duo comprised of Mars and Anderson .Paak.

The single races 21-1 on the list dated March 20 with their insta-classic single after the input of its first week of sales and streams.

The single, released March 5, debuted a week prior to strong initial radio play in the week ending Sunday, March 7.

Mars collects his third No. 1 on the chart following “That’s What I Like,” a 20-week chart-topper in 2017 and ”Finesse,” his 2018 collaboration with Cardi B that ruled for 12 weeks.

Bruno Mars Partners with Lacoste to Launch First-Ever Fashion Brand Ricky Regal

Bruno Mars is expanding his empire…

The 35-year-old part-Puerto Rican Grammy-winning singer/songwriter has launched his first-ever fashion brand called Ricky Regal, which is also the name of his newly adopted “designer” alter-ego.

Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, Lacoste

“When I’m on stage my name is Bruno Mars. When I’m making lavish luxurious garments, I go by Ricky Regal,” he says.

The inaugural collection was created in partnership with Lacoste, and fuses the brand’s heritage elements with Ricky Regal’s 1960-’70s glam aesthetic. The ready-to-wear pieces include tracksuits, fluid button-up shirts, retro-inspired polos, patterned shorts, and a batch of fitted T-shirts. The range is rounded out by a selection of accessories, like slides, socks, and a pair of aviator glasses.

Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, Lacoste

“I’ve been very fortunate to have been asked to do collaborations in the past, but it always came with guidelines,” Mars said in a statement. “Lacoste was the first and only brand that said ‘Bruno we want you to make this truly yours.’ The respect of such creative freedom coming from a heritage fashion house was an honor.”

The collection’s launch coincides with the release of “Leave the Door Open,” a track from Mars and Anderson .Paak. under the Silk Sonic moniker.

Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, Lacoste

The Ricky Regal collection hit select retailers on Friday, and will be available at select Lacoste locations and its online store on Monday.

Lacoste is also showcasing the range at its new concept store on Los Angeles’ Melrose Place. The two-story space will transform every six weeks to highlight one of the brand’s collaborations, the first of which will be Ricky Regal. Lacoste is also launching immersive experiences focused on the Mars collaboration in The Webster Soho, The Webster LA, and UNKNWN in Miami’s Wynwood district.

Bruno Mars, Ricky Regal, Lacoste