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The 13 Best Things That Happened in Music This Week (July 27)

This week was all about badass women, as Tove Lo, Sophie Turner, Dua Lipa, Miranda Lambert, Zendaya, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, Taylor Swift, Beyonce and more made headlines.

In events news, Lollapalooza and the GLAAD Media Awards both went virtual, and on the awards show side, nominations were announced for the Emmys and MTV VMAs. (Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga led the VMAs nominations with nine each, including a co-nomination for video of the year for “Rain on Me.”)

Did we mention Beyonce dropped a visual album?!

Take a look at some of the week’s biggest music happenings below.


Tove Lo revealed she’s married

The Swedish singer-songwriter took to Instagram to share some surprise news with fans: she’s a married woman! “Oops! @seetwaddle,” the artist captioned the photo of herself and new husband Charlie Twaddle showing off matching wedding bands.

Though she has plenty to celebrate, Tove didn’t take this week off; rather, she continued the quarantine hustle by performing “Sadder Badder Cooler” for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #PLAYATHOME series. She also dropped a karaoke-style video for “Mateo” made of fan-submitted clips. Phew!

Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas welcomed their first child together

Congratulations are also in order for power couple Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner! “Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas are delighted to announce the birth of their baby,” the couple said in a statement to Billboard. The baby is reportedly named Willa, and was born on July 22. Aww.

Drake broke a major chart record

When is Drake not breaking records, really? This time, he’s got the most top 10 hits in the history of the Billboard Hot 100, as he tallies his 39th and 40th top 10s on the latest chart, dated Aug. 1. DJ Khaled’s “Popstar” and “Greece,” both of which feature Drake, storm onto the Hot 100 at Nos. 3 and 8, respectively. Nice one, Drizzy!

Dua Lipa announced a star-studded remix

What do Dua Lipa, Madonna and Missy Elliott all have in common? Come Aug. 14, they’ll be part of Lipa’s “Levitating” remix, which has the word “smash” written all over it, and we haven’t even heard it yet. “DREAM COME TRUE LETS GO!!!!!!” Lipa tweeted when announcing the new version of the Future Nostalgia cut. Talk about a power trio.

Plus, Lipa landed a new No. 1 this week, as “Break My Heart” rose to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Pop Songs radio airplay chart (dated Aug. 1). So she’s having a pretty good week, too.

Lollapalooza held a virtual event in place of the postponed 2020 fest

While there won’t be a physical Lollapalooza in Chicago this year, organizers have announced the lineup for Lolla2020, a virtual event that will feature both classic and newly-recorded performances. The free, four-night broadcast began airing exclusively on YouTube beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET on July 30, and will continue every night until Aug. 2. Check out the full lineup here.

Billboard caught up with Miranda Lambert about her latest chart feat

As Miranda Lambert’s “Bluebird” flies to No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart — her first solo leader since 2012 — she tells Billboard in a new interview, “I’m so thankful that after all these years, I still have a spot.” Melinda Newman chatted with Lambert about all things “Bluebird,” including how the country superstar plans to celebrate the No. 1.

Zendaya, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez and more snagged Emmy nominations

The nominations for the 2020 Emmy Awards were announced on Tuesday morning (July 28), and a few music stars landed nods. Labrinth earned two nods for composition work on Euphoria and for writing the song ‘All For Us’ for the teen drama, whose star, singer/actress Zendaya landed a nom for lead actress in a drama series.

Plus, the Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show starring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira is up for outstanding music direction, and The Neptunes’ Pharrell and Chad Hugo got nods in the original music and lyrics category for their title track “Letter to My Godfather” from The Black Godfather. See the full list of nominations here, see our analysis here, and check out nominees’ reactions here.

Taylor Swift released a new version of “Cardigan”

Swift still has many Folklore tricks up her knitted sleeve, and she surprised fans on Wednesday (July 29) by dropping a stripped-down “Cabin in the Candlelight” version of her “Cardigan” single, along with a rustic video. Head to the virtual woods and take a look here.

The 2020 MTV VMA nominations were announced

MTV revealed the nominations for the 2020 Video Music Awards on Thursday (July 30), and Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga lead with nine nominations each, including a joint video of the year nom for “Rain on Me.” Billie Eilish and The Weeknd aren’t far behind, with six each. Congrats to all!

Check out the full list of nominees here, see who made awards show nominations history this year here, learn 7 interesting facts about the noms here, and brush up on all of the video of the year contenders here.

The GLAAD Media Awards were stacked 

Demi Lovato, Chloe x Halle, Ben Platt, Charli XCX and many more showed up for the GLAAD Media Awards on Thursday (July 30), resulting in a blockbuster evening of moving speeches and performances. Check out the full winners’ list here, see Demi Lovato introduce Shea Diamond here, and watch Chloe x Halle’s performance here.

Beyonce dropped a new visual album

Beyonce dropped her new visual album Black Is King on Friday (July 31), and it’s just what we needed. You can head to the Disney+ streaming service now to watch, check out the standalone video for “Already” with Shatta Wale and Major Lazer here and see the best fan reactions here. Finally, Billboard’s Carl Lamarre has five key takeaways from the project here.

Artists didn’t hold back during Billboard Live At Home performances

American Idol star Colton Dixon and producer and activist Madame Ghandi both performed stellar sets this week, all while raising money for great causes. Dixon, whose wife Annie is expecting twin girls “any day now,” told fans that he was excited the timing worked out. “I’m actually really glad that I was able to be here with you all, because if we were at the hospital, it wouldn’t have worked out,” he said. “Be praying for us — it’s going to be awesome. Can’t wait to meet them.” Watch both sets here.

Billie Eilish, Dan + Shay, Ava Max and (many) more dropped new music

From Billie Eilish’s new song “My Future” to the Sam Smith and Burna Boy collab “My Oasis” to Beyonce’s new visual album and much more, there’s a lot to keep track of this week. As always, Billboard has saved you the work and rounded up all of the releases you need to know about this week here!