Arjun Pulijal is the new president of Capitol Music Group (CMG).

A nine-year CMG veteran, Pulijal will oversee all areas of CMG’s artist development, including creative, marketing and operations, and work closely with chair/CEO Michelle Jubelirer in leading the business into the future.

Pulijal’s promotion is reward for guiding the marketing department for CMG’s flagship label, Capitol Records, as senior vp of marketing, during which time he worked closely on a long list of successful projects from Paul McCartney’s McCartney III; to Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power; ABBA’s comeback album Voyage; Masego’s Studying Abroad; Norah Jones’s live set ‘Til We Meet Again and Queen Naija’s Misunderstood.

At Capitol Records, Pulijal contributed in other ways, scoring A&R credits on McCartney III-Imagined, the Beatles great’s first-ever official remix album featuring the likes of Beck, Phoebe Bridgers, Blood Orange, Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, St. Vincent and more.

“Arjun is renowned throughout our company, the industry and the creative community for prioritizing artistry in all aspects of presenting music to the world,” comments Jubelirer, to whom he reports. The incoming president is “more than artist friendly; he is artist-first, and his approach has resulted in some of our company’s most acclaimed and commercially successful releases during Pulijal’s nine-years here. He is a proven leader, and will be integral to working with me and our senior management team as we achieve our goals and plan our company’s future.”

Based out of the iconic Capitol Tower in Los Angeles, Pulijal joined Capitol in 2013 as a director of marketing, rising to vp in 2017. Before that, he enjoyed a seven-year stint at Epic Records in New York, first in A&R and then branching out into publicity and digital, before stepping up to marketing director in 2009.

In 2017, Pulijal was identified as one of the music industry’s top young power players in Billboard‘s 40 Under 40.

“The Capitol Tower has always stood as a musical beacon and a haven for artistry,” he comments in a statement announcing his appointment. “I share Michelle’s desire to uphold that tradition and her commitment to support new and developing artists as they aspire to become the superstars of tomorrow.”

Pulijal’s rise up the ranks closely follows a promotion for Jubelirer. Just last month, Jubelirer became the first woman to head the company in its 80-year history, when she ascended to her current post.

CMG, a division of Universal Music Group, is comprised of Capitol Records, Virgin Records, Motown Records, Blue Note Records, Astralwerks, Harvest Records and Capitol Christian Music Group. The company also operates Capitol Studios and the independent distribution and label services arm, Caroline.

The Weeknd dropped the dimly lit video for the Dawn FM track “Gasoline” on Tuesday morning (Jan. 11), providing a further glimpse of the evolving storyline for his 1980s-inspired electro pop album. The intense clip, helmed by photographer/director Matilda Finn — who also shot the Dawn album cover — finds Abel navigating his way through a sweaty, packed nightclub filled with demonic faced revelers.

The nearly five-minute visual opens with the singer driving at night on a fog-shrouded highway and crashing into a street sign as a blinking hearing aid appears to be painfully distracting him from his driving duties. As the car radio flashes the album’s title and an aged-up Abel stumbles out of the vehicle onto a street covered in ants, the action flashes to the club.

Packed with a bevy of twins from the TikTok and modeling world including Olivia and Jessica Sysack, Erin and Desiree Green and Audra and Alyssa Stilwell, the elderly version of the singer looks around confused as the track’s English-accented first verse unfolds. “It’s 5 AM my time again/ I’ve soakin’ up the moon, can’t sleep/ It’s 5 AM my time again/ I’m calling and you know it’s me/ I’m pushin’ myself further/ I’m just tryin’ to feel my heartbeat beat/ I wrap my hands around your neck,” he sings as a wet, disembodied hand reaches up through the floor to grab his ankle.

In keeping with what appears to be another album cycle with a twisty narrative backstory, old Abel finds himself face-to-face with current Weeknd, who bursts into tears as the bizarre scene around him grows to include a woman with a snake emerging from between her legs who slices open his chest with her sharp nails.

Toggling between weeping and laughing, the Weeknd tries to dance his cares away before spotting the wrinkled, gray-haired version of himself across the floor. When his AARP doppelgänger’s face transforms into a melting, horror movie rictus, the singer attacks the figure and knocks him to the ground, sending the clubgoers into a cackling frenzy as Abel repeatedly kicks himself while he’s down.

Check out the “Gasoline” video below.

Adele maintains her rule on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated Jan. 15), leading for a 19th total week as the top musical act in the U.S.

The superstar singer-songwriter’s album 30 ranks at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 57,000 equivalent album units, according to MRC Data, after spending six weeks on top. Meanwhile, its lead single, “Easy on Me,” returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for an eighth total week on top and follow-up single “Oh My God” jumps 40-24.

Elsewhere on the Artist 100, two stars from Disney’s Encanto make moves. Actress and singer Stephanie Beatriz debuts at No. 45, thanks to her work on multiple songs on the Encanto soundtrack, which crowns the Billboard 200 with 72,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. (up 76%). The set reigns following the film’s Dec. 24 release on the Disney+ streaming service, after it premiered in U.S. theaters Nov. 24. It’s just the sixth animated film soundtrack (and the fifth accompanying a Disney film) to top the Billboard 200 since the chart began publishing weekly in March 1956.

Four songs from the set on which Beatriz is credited chart on the latest Hot 100, led by “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” also by Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero and the Encanto cast. The song blasts from No. 50 to No. 5, becoming just the fifth song from an animated Disney film to have reached the top five, and the first since Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go,” from Frozen, in 2014.

Here are the other songs on the Hot 100, all debuts, by Beatriz, the voice of Encanto‘s main character, Mirabel Madrigal: “The Family Madrigal,” with Olga Merediz and the Encanto Cast (No. 62); “What Else Can I Do?,” with Diane Guerrero (No. 67); and her own “Waiting on a Miracle” (No. 82).

Plus, Jessica Darrow bounds 96-37 on the Artist 100, as her Encanto track “Surface Pressure” surges 54-14 on the Hot 100. (She voices the film’s Luisa Madrigal, Mirabel’s second-oldest sister.)

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

Eminem has so many major records it’s getting hard to remember which ones he hasn’t set yet. But on Monday (Jan. 10) Marshall found another new milestone to mark when he announced that his YouTube subscriber number had crossed the 50 million mark; at press time the number had already grown to 50.4 million.

“Now how the f–k did this metamorphosis happen? From standin’ on corners and porches just rappin’”,” Slim Shady tweeted alongside a 46-second supercut of some of his most beloved music videos, including snippets of “My Name Is,” “The Real Slim Shady,” “Stan” and many more. The couplet from his 2002 Eminem Show single “Sing For the Moment” was an appropriate nod to Marshall Mathers’ rise from unknown Detroit battle rapper to one of the most successful MCs of all-time.

It’s no surprise that his YT subscriber numbers are so gaudy, since Em has a handful of videos with more than a billion views, including the clips for “Without Me,” as well as “Rap God,” “Love the Way You Lie” and “Not Afraid.” With more than 50 milli, Eminem passed Taylor Swift to take the No. 7 spot on the most-subscribed YouTube artist list, coming in just behind Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, Marshmello and BTS; Justin Bieber (67 million) and Blackpink (71.3 million) top the tally.

With Super Bowl LVI just a month away (Feb. 13), Marshall is gearing up to take the stage for what promises to be one of the most epic SB halftime shows ever alongside  Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige and Kendrick Lamar.

The free Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show mobile app launched last month, offering complementary experiences during the show and exclusive content drops in the run-up to the most-watched 12 minutes in music. The app offers early alerts on Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show sweepstakes for coveted items like sidelines passes, flights, hotels and footballs signed by all five artists, and other giveaways.

Check out Eminem’s celebratory post below.

“Now how the fuck did this metamorphosis happen? From standin’ on corners and porches just rappin'” 📺 50 million subscribers and counting @youtube @youtubemusic pic.twitter.com/TfaCico3E0

— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) January 10, 2022

Eddie Vedder revealed the track list for his upcoming solo album, Earthling, on Monday (Jan. 10). The 13-song collection due out on Feb. 11 on Seattle Surf/Republic Records marks the Pearl Jam singer/guitarist’s first collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Andrew Watt, whose recent projects include Ozzy Osbourne’s 2020 Ordinary Man album, as well as production work for Ed Sheeran, Young Thug, Elton John and Justin Bieber.

The collection will feature the previously released songs “Long Way” and “The Haves,” with the album available for pre-order on Friday (Jan. 14), when the next single, “Brother the Cloud,” is slated to drop. The full Earthling track list also includes the songs “Invincible,” “Power of Right,” “Fallout Today,” “The Dark,” “Good and Evil,” “Rose of Jericho,” “Try,” “Picture,” “Mrs. Mills” and “On My Way.”

Vedder will have time to promote the album since PJ have rebooked their COVID-delayed 2020 tour dates in support of their Gigaton album, with a European swing slated to launch on June 18 at the Pinkpop Festival on a run that will have them playing festivals and arenas through a July 25 show at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Before then, he is slated to hit the road for a string of solo shows, which kick off on Feb. 3-4 with a two-night stand at the Beacon Theatre in New York, followed by gigs in Newark, Chicago, San Diego, Los Angeles and Seattle.

The all-star band, The Earthlings, slated to accompany Vedder on his solo tour includes longtime friend and frequent collaborator The Frames’ singer Glen Hansard, as well as Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, former RHCP guitarist (and current PJ touring member) Josh Klinghoffer, Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney and producer Watt.

Check out the tracklist promo video below.