The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has announced that the 31-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer’s inescapable hit collaboration with Mark Ronson, “Uptown Funk,” has achieved diamond certification.
The award makes Mars and Ronson only the 10th act to reach 10 million sales for a single or album since the RIAA’s gold and platinum program expanded in 1999 to include a diamond award.
The certification comes less than two years since “Uptown Funk” was released in November 2014 and is the 13th diamond song in RIAA history.
The RIAA’s certification program was launched with the gold record in 1958. Presently, the RIAA awards a gold honor for 500,000 units sold, a platinum honor for 1 million units sold and a diamond award for more than 10 million units sold, with 100 streams counting as one certifiable unit.
“Uptown Funk” has sold over 12,422,016 in downloads and 938,694,569 audio streams in the U.S., according to a press release. The video has streamed over 1.9 billion times.
It was also the best-selling song of 2015 and won the record of the year award at the 2016 Grammy Awards. It has been certified multi-platinum in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Mexico and the United Kingdom as well as being awarded Diamond certification in Canada and France.
Bruno Mars is ready to share a little music Magic…
The 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican actor has announced plans to release the new single “24K Magic” on October 7.
“Excited to announce 24K Magic, out this Friday!!” he said on Instagram. “You can call it my first single, but I call it the invitation to the party.”
“24K Magic” will be the first track from his forthcoming third studio album, the follow-up to 2012’sUnorthodox Jukebox, which yielded the hits “Locked Out of Heaven,” “When I Was Your Man” and “Treasure.”
Since that album’s release, Mars has collaborated on Mark Ronson‘s 2014 hit “Uptown Funk,” written “All I Ask” with Adele, performed at two Super Bowlsand debuted the ballad “Rest of My Life” on the season-two finale of The CW‘s Jane the Virgin.
Skrillex has mentioned that he’s an upcoming collaborator on new material.
No album release date or title has been revealed.
But Mars reassured his fans on Twitter, “You think I’ve been playin this whole time? You don’t think I’m masterminding the return?”
Selena Gomez is lending her hands to help the victims of the Orlando Shooting.
The 23-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress is among 24 artists featured on a new recording to raise money for the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre.
The all-star release, entitled “Hands” — a charity single from Interscope Records with support from GLAAD — was conceived by hit songwriter Justin Tranter, co-writer of Justin Bieber’s “Sorry” and hits for Gomez, DNCE, Fall Out Boy and Gwen Stefani.
The June 12 shooting at the gay nightclub in Orlando, which killed 49 people and injured 53, is the most deadly mass shooting in American history and the deadliest act of violence against the LGBT community.
Funds from the song will aid families with medical care, counseling and will also be used for education.
“Like the rest of the world I woke up to the news that morning and was horrified and sad and scared,” says Tranter, who has raised money and awareness for LGBT causes since coming out at age 14.
“Hands” is available on iTunes.
Proceeds will be distributed by Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida and GLAAD.
The idea for the all-star project came together one day after the shooting.
L.A.-based Tranter and songwriting partner Julia Michaels had been on the road with Gomez writing songs aboard her tour bus in Miami the weekend of June 11 when news of the bloodshed prompted Tranter to switch course. That afternoon he signed on as a volunteer at The Center Orlando, the region’s chief LGBT community center.
“I called them and said, ‘If I fly up is there something for me to help with?'” he tells Billboard. “They say, ‘We need as many hands as we can possibly get.'”
“Hands” took hold the next day when Tranter met GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis who had arrived at the center from New York.
Beyond their immediate efforts — distributing food and water and GLAAD’s work with media — both were looking to make contributions that would have ongoing benefits. They point out that the massacre was also a profound attack on people of color, as that Saturday evening had been a popular “Latin Night” at Pulse. Most of the victims were of Latin heritage and Ellis says she does not want that point forgotten.
“When you hear the song it talks about hate being the driver here,” she says, “and that’s important because we have to be able to identify what’s driving these cruel acts in order to stop them. Artists using their platforms to accelerate acceptance is very powerful.”
Aligning with Interscope for the release, Tranter, GLAAD and Interscope president of A&R Aaron Bay-Schuck put the word out that a fundraiser was in the works. Within days artists from all spheres of the business had lined up — also among them Halsey, Ty Herndon, Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons, Adam Lambert, The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, MNEK, Alex Newell, Mary Lambert, Prince Royce, Jussie Smollett, Nate Ruess and RuPaul — all recording separately from their homes, local studios, touring locations or wherever they happened to be at that moment.
“We assigned everybody what we thought would be the best part for their voice,” Tranter says, “and we asked them all to sing an additional part, just in case. But everybody got it done in time so we ended up with extra vocals.”
In Los Angeles “Interscope let us use their studio,” he notes. “Mary J. Blige recorded in New Orleans. Britney Spears in Thousand Oaks, I think. Pink in Santa Barbara. MNEK recorded at home in London. Selena recorded in her studio bus. Dan Reynolds recorded in his home. Adam Lambert was in Luxembourg. Ty Herndon the country star was in Spain. Kacey Musgraves, Nashville. Everyone just got it done.”
Another goal of the record, according to GLAAD, is to fund educational programs.
“This was an American guy who was born in Queens,” Ellis says of the gunman, Omar Mateen, 29, who was killed by police after a three hour stand-off. “He learned that hate here in America. This happened on American soil, against a particular community.”
While politicians and lobbyists have focused in recent weeks on Islamic terror and familiar narratives about gun ownership, Ellis, Tranter and others in the LGBT community want people to remember that this was a hate crime.
“I’m not educated enough to speak on the political details,” Tranter says. I’m a songwriter, not a politician. It could have been a million things but clearly, 100 percent, this was an attack on the LGBT community and people of color.”
“Hands” grew out of an unfinished piece that Tranter, Michaels and co-writer and producer BloodPop (formerly known as Blood Diamonds) had been working on and then shelved.
“The song didn’t ever finish itself and it didn’t ever feel right,” Tranter says of their initial efforts. “Now we know why.”
Mark Ronson also co-produced, while vocal engineer Benjamin Rice finessed the disparate tracks: “He helped us find the structure and make sense of it all.”
Warner/Chappell publishing executive Katie Vinten brought in numerous artists, among them P!nk, whom Tranter calls “a lifesaver,” adding, “Her vocal on the chorus is like from heaven directly.”
Spears opens the song with the plaintive line, “Can hold a gun or a hold a heart.” RuPaul is heard quietly toward the end, saying “take my hand baby.”
The songwriters had no specific plan as they entered the studio — only that they didn’t want the piece “to ever sound dated.”
“We didn’t want to have any trendy electronic elements,” Tranter notes. “We wanted it to sound classic, timeless and human. We want this anthem of positivity to be played for years to come.”
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has unveiled two of its top charts, which cover the global recording industry, with the 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer making the final cut.
The IFPI will release its complete annual Global Music Report on Tuesday. Covering the entirety of 2015, the IFPI’s Digital Singles and Global Albums charts boast plenty of familiar faces atop the rankings.
Mars lands at No. 2 on the Digital Singles chart with “Uptown Funk,” his chart-topping collaboration with Mark Ronson.
Mars and Ronson picked up the award for Best Male Video for “Uptown Funk” at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Here’s a look at the top digital songs and global albums rankings:
Digital Singles
Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth, “See You Again”
Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”
Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”
Maroon 5, “Sugar”
Major Lazer feat. MØ and DJ Snake, “Lean On”
Ellie Goulding, “Love Me Like You Do”
Adele, “Hello”
Taylor Swift, “Blank Space”
OMI, “Cheerleader”
Jason Derulo, “Want To Want Me”
Global Albums
Adele, 25
Ed Sheeran, x
Taylor Swift, 1989
Justin Bieber, Purpose
Sam Smith, In The Lonely Hour
One Direction, Made In the A.M.
Various Artists, Fifty Shades of Grey Official Soundtrack
Move over Jennifer Lopez… Selena Gomez is the new Triple Threat…
The 23-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress picked up the award for Biggest Triple Threat at this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards, which were handed out Sunday night.
Gomez, heralded as a singer, actor and dancer, beat out Lady Gaga, Hailee Steinfeld, Jason Derulo, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake, Nick Jonas, Troye Sivan, Usher and Zendaya for the prize.
Bruno Mars continues to Funk things up. The 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer won the award for Best Collaboration for his smash hit single “Uptown Funk“ with Mark Ronson.
Meanwhile, Ally Brooke Hernadez, Camila Cabello and Lauren Jauregui and their fellow Fifth Harmony members, as well as 22-year-old half-Mexican American singer Jasmine V, picked up the award for Best Cover Song for Mars and Ronson’s “Uptown Funk.” They share the award with Jacob Whitesides and Mahogany Lox.
Other winners include Pitbull for Latin Artist of the Year, and Nicky Jam and Enrique Iglesias’ smash hit single “El Perdón“ for Latin Song of the Year.
The awards show aired live on TBS, TNT and truTV from the Forum in Inglewood, California. Jason Derulo served as the night’s host.
Here’s a look at this year’s Latino winners:
Triple Threat: Selena Gomez – Singer/Actor/Dancer Best Collaboration: “Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars Best Cover Song: “Uptown Funk” – Fifth Harmony, Jasmine V, Jacob Whitesides and Mahogany Lox covering Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars Latin Artist of the Year: Pitbull Latin Song of the Year: “El Perdón” – Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias Regional Mexican Artist of the Year: Banda Los Recoditos Regional Mexican Song of the Year: “Levantando Polvadera” – Voz de Mando
Bruno Mars is celebrating a Funktastic 2015 in the United Kingdom…
The 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer’s retro blockbuster collaboration with Mark Ronson, “Uptown Funk,” was the top track in the U.K. last year.
The song spent seven weeks at No. 1 and chalked up combined sales and streams of 1.76 million to finish 2015 at the peak of the Official Charts Company’s end-of-year chart, well ahead of tracks by OMI and Hozier.
“Uptown Funk” registered 39 weeks in the Top 40 before finally departing in October. Its total combined U.K. sales since release in November 2014 now top 2.25 million, according to the OCC.
The song, lifted from Ronson’s fourth studio album Uptown Special, proved to be an unstoppable force on both sides of the Atlantic.
“Uptown Funk” spent 14 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat tied for second behind the 16-week reign of Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men’s “One Sweet Day.”
No other song has spent so long at the U.S. summit during the 2010s.
Ronson, who is based in the U.S. but was born in London, won British single of the year for “Uptown Funk” at the 2015 Brit Awards and he’s a former Brit Award winner for male artist of the year.
Check out the Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2015 list here.
Spotify has unveiled its annual Year in Music results, with the 30-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter the only Latino to make the Top Five on any list.
Mars’ record-tying collaboration with Mark Ronson, “Uptown Funk,” ranked at No. 4 on the Top Five Tracks in the U.S. list.
The track was released in November 2014 and spent fourteen consecutive weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
“Uptown Funk” also set a new record for the highest number of streams in one week in the US, with 4.8 million streams. Worldwide, the song has accumulated an estimated 15.2 million points from sales and streams.
Overall, Spotify said 75 million listeners streamed over 20 billion hours of music this year. A large driver of activity came from the new Discover Weekly playlists, which reached 1.7 billion streams since launching over the summer.
The 29-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer picked up the third Moonman of his career atthe 2015 MTV Video Music Awards.
Mars picked up the award for Best Male Video for his collaboration with Mark Ronson, “Uptown Funk.”
Mars previously picked up awards at the 2013 MTV VMAs for Best Male Video for “Locked Out of Heaven” and Best Choreography for “Treasure.”
Here’s a look at the night’s winners:
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award: Kanye West Video of the Year: “Bad Blood,” Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar Best Female Video: “Blank Space,” Taylor Swift Best Male Video: “Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars Best Pop Video: “Blank Space,” Taylor Swift Best Hip Hop Video: “Anaconda,” Nicki Minaj Best Rock Video: “Uma Thurman,” Fall Out Boy Best Direction: “Alright,” Kendrick Lamar Best Collaboration: “Bad Blood,” Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar Best Video with Social Message: “One Man Can Changed the World,” Big Sean ft. Kanye West and John Legend Best Art Direction: “So Many Pros,” Snoop Dogg Best Choreography: “I Won’t Let You Down,” OK Go Best Cinematography: “Never Catch Me,” Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar Best Editing: “7/11,” Beyoncé Best Visual Effects: “Where Are U Now” Skrillex and Diplo ft. Justin Bieber
The 29-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter earned five 2015 MTV Video Music Awards nominations for his collaboration with Mark Ronson on “Uptown Funk.”
Mars and Ronson’s video for “Uptown Funk” earned nods in the Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Pop Video and Best Collaboration categories.
Additionally, Mars is nominated alongside Cameron Duddy in the Best Direction category for the work behind the scenes on the video, which has garnered more than 865 million page views on Vevo.
Mars previously collected Moonmen in 2013 for Best Male Video for “Locked Out of Heaven” and Best Choreography for “Treasure.”
Beginning immediately, fans can vote for their favorites in a handful of categories, including Video of the year, best male video and best female video.
This year, voting for the MTV artist to watch award will run through the celebration’s pre-show coverage, at which time the top two artists will be revealed and compete over a live hashtag vote. Voting is available here.
Nominees for the socially voted category, best song of summer, will be announced at a later date.
The 2015 VMAs will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on August 30 at 9:00 pm. Miley Cyrus will serve as the show’s host.
Here’s a look at the full list of nominees:
Video of the Year: Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
Best Male Video: Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
The Weeknd – “Earned It”
Nick Jonas – “Chains”
Best Female Video: Beyoncé – “7/11”
Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Sia – “Elastic Heart”
Ellie Goulding – “Love Me Like You Do”
Best Hip Hop Video: Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda”
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Big Sean ft. E-40 – “IDFWU”
Best Pop Video: Beyoncé – “7/11”
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud”
Taylor Swift – “Blank Space”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Maroon 5 – “Sugar”
Best Rock Video: Hozier – “Take Me To Church”
Fall Out Boy – “Uma Thurman”
Florence + the Machine – “Ship To Wreck”
Walk the Moon – “Shut Up and Dance”
Arctic Monkeys – “Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?”
Artist to Watch: Fetty Wap – “Trap Queen”
Vance Joy – “Riptide”
George Ezra – “Budapest”
James Bay – “Hold Back The River”
FKA Twigs – “Pendulum”
Best Collaboration: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood”
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk”
Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth – “See You Again”
Ariana Grande & The Weeknd – “Love Me Harder”
Jessie J, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj – “Bang Bang”
Video With a Social Message: Jennifer Hudson – “I Still Love You”
Colbie Caillat – “Try”
Big Sean ft. Kanye West and John Legend – “One Man Can Change the World”
Rihanna – “American Oxygen”
Wale – “The White Shoes”
PROFESSIONAL CATEGORIES
Best Art Direction: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Charles Infante)
Snoop Dogg – “So Many Pros” (Jason Fijal)
Jack White – “Would You Fight For My Love” (Jeff Peterson)
The Chemical Brothers – “Go” (Michel Gondry)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
Best Choreography: Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Chris Grant, Additional choreography: Gabriel Valenciano)
OK Go – “I Won’t Let You Down” (OK Go, air:man and Mori Harano)
Chet Faker – “Gold” (Ryan Heffington)
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Nappy Tabs)
Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Keone and Mari Madrid)
Best Cinematography: Flying Lotus ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Never Catch Me” (Larkin Sieple)
Ed Sheeran – “Thinking Out Loud” (Daniel Pearl)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Christopher Probst)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Justin Brown)
Alt-J – “Left Hand Free” (Mike Simpson)
Best Direction: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Joseph Kahn)
Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars – “Uptown Funk” (Bruno Mars and Cameron Duddy)
Kendrick Lamar – “Alright” (Colin Tilley & The Little Homies)
Hozier – “Take Me To Church” (Brendan Canty, Conal Thomson)
Childish Gambino – “Sober” (Hiro Murai)
Best Editing: Beyoncé – “7/11” (Beyoncé, Ed Burke, Jonathan Wing)
Ed Sheeran – “Don’t” (Jacquelyn London)
Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Chancler Haynes at Cosmo Street)
A$AP Rocky – “L$D” (Dexter Navy)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
Best Visual Effects: Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar – “Bad Blood” (Ingenuity Studios)
FKA Twigs – “Two Weeks” (Gloria FX, Tomash Kuzmytskyi, and Max Chyzhevskyy)
Childish Gambino – “Telegraph Ave.” (Gloria FX)
Skrillex & Diplo – “Where Are U Now” with Justin Bieber (Brewer)
Tyler, The Creator – “F****** Young/Death Camp” (Gloria FX)
Nielsen Music has released its 2015 mid-year music charts with the 29-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter’s collaboration with Mark Ronson, “Uptown Funk,” the top-selling digital single.
Mars and Ronson’s ultra-catchy track claimed the top spot, with 4.89 million downloads. However, that number pales in comparison to the amount of times the single has been streamed: Combined audio and video streams of “Uptown Funk” have nearly reached the 368 million mark.
The track was also been a favorite among radio programmers, racking up 646,000 plays in 2015 so far.
Since the beginning of 2015, audio streaming is up 74 percent compared to the same period in 2014, while video streaming has grown an eye-popping 109 percent. From December 29th to June 28th, over 135 billion songs were streamed, the Nielsen report states.
Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud” came in second place with 3.45 million downloads, and Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again” (from “Furious 7″) finished at No. 3 with 3.07 million downloads so far this year.