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Kendrick Lamar Is No. 10 on Billboard’s Top 10 Artists of 2024 | Billboard News

To round out 2024, we’re launching our list of the top 10 artists of 2024. At No. 10, we have Kendrick Lamar. Keep watching to see how he took over the year and how he landed at No. 10!

Tetris Kelly:

We’re counting down the year’s biggest acts on Billboard’s Top Artists chart for 2024, and at No. 10? Kendrick Lamar! The West Coast native has had a huge 2024. His hit diss track “Not Like Us” broke the record for the most weeks at No. 1 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, with 25 weeks in the top spot. During the 2024 chart year, four of Lamar’s previous albums – ‘Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,’ ‘To Pimp a Butterfly,’ ‘DAMN.’ and ‘Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers’ – all spent time on the Billboard 200, with ‘Good Kid’ and ‘DAMN.’ both getting back into the top 20. And speaking of chart-topping artists, don’t forget to tune in to our Billboard Music Award Pre-Show special on December 12! And stay tuned for the main show on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on FOX and Fire TV channels, and on-demand on Paramount+.

Fidel of Grupo Marca Registrada Plays ‘Fishing for Answers’ | Billboard

Fidel Oswaldo Castro from Grupo Marca Registrada shares the moment he knew his life changed, his fears and more!

Fidel Oswaldo Castro:

Hello, how are you friends? I am your friend from the Marca Registrada Group, and on this occasion we are going to play ‘Fishing for Answers’ with Billboard. What is your biggest fear? My biggest fear, really, is losing my family. I think it’s my biggest fear, personally and musically, to run out of ideas. Second question: What is your favorite vacation destination? I think Cancun, Mexico. If you were to make a movie about your life, who would play you? What a good question, isn’t it? There are quite a few very good actors. Let me think about it. I believe Adam Sandler. Adam Sandler would represent my life. 

Producer:

It’s a comedy?

Fidel Oswaldo Castro:

Yes, it’s a comedy of my life, really. When was the first time in your career that you thought: “I made it”? The first time I thought I made it was when I filled my first stadium, my first arenas, such as the Toyota Arena in California, among others, some of which are bull rings in Mexico. And when I heard my music in all the streets, of which great artists began to notice me and my talent. That was the first time. 

Lana Del Rey Says Jack Antonoff Inspired Her to Marry ‘Honest’ Husband Jeremy Dufrene

Lana Del Rey may have a lot to thank Jack Antonoff for when it comes to music, but in a speech at the Variety Hitmakers ceremony over the weekend, the 39-year-old pop star revealed that she’s actually most grateful for the way the producer inspired her to get married to husband Jeremy Dufrene.

While presenting Antonoff with the producer of the decade award at the brunch on Saturday, Del Rey — who tied the knot with the alligator tour guide in late September — said that her longtime collaborator’s marriage to actress Margaret Qualley pushed her to wait for the perfect significant other. “Most of all, I’m grateful for him for the example that he gave me in his marriage to Margaret,” she told the crowd in Los Angeles.

“I saw the way he looked at her when he met her, and he’s a big reason why I waited so long to get married, and why I met my amazing husband,” the “Summertime Sadness” singer continued at the podium. “I really feel like there’s a singer’s curse around meeting an honest partner who has no skin in the game, no dog in the race.”

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The 11-time Grammy nominee added, “It’s super nerve-racking to have to hold onto an innocent perception of how things could go when you’re in an industry where maybe your values or your morals don’t quite match up with what’s going on — especially when people think that you probably don’t have any morals or values.”

After reportedly first meeting in 2019 when Del Rey took a swamp boat tour with Dufrene as her guide, the couple is believed to have started dating about five months prior to their Louisiana nuptials. In October, the “A&W” musician called her husband her “one and only” in Instagram comments, adding, “We’re very happy.”

Del Rey is now gearing up to release her long-awaited studio album The Right Person Will Stay, which Antonoff worked on. Slated for May 2025, the LP is expected to find the star embracing a more country sound, which she first teased at the Billboard x NMPA Songwriter Awards ahead of the 2024 Grammys.

“We’re going country!” she said at the time. “It’s happening.”

See Del Rey open up about her marriage while presenting to Antonoff at the Hitmakers brunch below.

Miley Cyrus Releases Golden Globe-Nominated ‘Beautiful That Way’ From ‘The Last Showgirl’

In honor of earning her first Golden Globes nomination since 2009, Miley Cyrus made “Beautiful That Way,” recorded for Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl starring Pamela Anderson, available for listening Monday (Dec. 9) via YouTube.

Appearing at the end of The Last Showgirl — which follows the Baywatch actress as a performer facing a reckoning as her long-running show is suddenly closed down — “Beautiful That Way” finds the pop star cutting to the heart of the film’s message. “Spin baby spin/ The night always falls/ At least you had your day,” Cyrus sings on the waltzing ballad, her raspy voice anchored by romantic upright bass and swelling strings. “Now the light shines on some other girl/ Who’s beautiful that way.”

The Hannah Montana alum wrote the track with Lykke Li and producer Andrew Wyatt. “Pamela is deeply embedded into my earliest memories with my mother,” Cyrus said of the project, according to Variety. “We both worshipped Pam and still do. I took the emotion I have towards those times with my mom and the few times we’ve gotten to spend with Pam. I thought a lot about what this film means to her not just as an actress but as the special person that she is. I celebrate evolution and she has done that in such a graceful way which is reflected in Last Showgirl.”

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“This song is devoted to the film and focused on the story Gia and Pam are telling,” added the two-time Grammy winner. “The lyrics really resonate with me personally but sonically this song is a love letter to their project.”

The release of “Beautiful That Way” comes the same day 2025 Golden Globes nominations went live, revealing that Cyrus’ soundtrack contribution is up for best original song — the musician’s first nod in the category since “I Thought I Lost You” from Disney’s Bolt. Also in the running this year are “Compress / Repress” from Challengers, “El Mal” and “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez, “Forbidden Road” from Better Man and “Kiss The Sky” form The Wild Robot.

Listen to “Beautiful That Way” below.

Laura Nyro’s Complex, Underappreciated Legacy Explored on ‘Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995’

Composer/producer Charlie Calello knew he was in the presence of something special when he began working on the landmark Eli and the Thirteenth Confession album with Laura Nyro early in 1968.

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“I first heard it in the studio; she played me the entire record…and I was dumbfounded,” Calello, who co-produced the album with Nyro, tells Billboard. “I’d never heard anything like it and still haven’t heard anything as good. There was never a record that was actually written by a composer who displayed her emotions and her feelings the way she did.”

Nyro’s musical legacy, complex and underappreciated, is being celebrated with the recent release of Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995, a limited-edition box set from Britain’s Madfish Records. It includes Nyro’s 10 studio albums, along with six live albums (two previously unreleased), the 1966 demo tape that landed her first recording contract at the age of 18 and a Live & Rarities disc including more demos, alternative versions, outtakes and live tracks. The collection also comes with a coffee-table sized book of liner notes by Vivien Goldman, a foreword by Elton John and remembrances from Calello, Jackson Browne, Clive Davis, Lou Adler, John Sebastian and others.

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The Bronx-born Nyro possessed a three-octave voice and was best known for songs such as “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Stoned Soul Picnic,” “And When I Die” and “Stoney End” — which were turned into hits when covered by the Fifth Dimension, Blood, Sweat & Tears and Barbra Streisand. In addition to music Nyro was an avid feminist and animal rights activist. She passed away April 8, 1997 from ovarian cancer at the age of 49 (her mother died of the same disease, at the same age 22 years earlier) and was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2012).

In his foreword, John calls Nyro “one of my all time idols. She wrote songs that had no kind of fixed compass point, they had different sections, codas and various tempo changes. They remain as unique and absolutely spellbinding to this day as when I first heard them in the ‘60s…. She was a giant of a songwriter who sadly didn’t have the legacy and recognition she deserved during the years she was with us.”

Calello, who also co-produced Nyro’s 1976 album Smile, echoes John’s praise about Nyro’s fusion of pop, jazz, R&B and gospel. “The whole thing did not glue together from a pop standpoint,” he explains, “but yet when you collectively put it together, it was its own thing. It had all of those elements — it had the R&B, it had that jazz, all of it — and it also had the honesty she looked for. And also she would rein it in when things seemed to be getting out of control. It was really an amazing experience seeing her arrive at those conclusions.”

For Nyro’s son Gil Bianchini, Hear My Song is a welcome chronicle of his mother’s artistry. “I think it’s a great reminder of a real talent,” says Bianchini, a rapper who records under the moniker Gil-T. He’s also an associate producer of an upcoming documentary that’s in production with director Lisa D’Apolito (Love, Gilda), with no release date yet. “For people who sit down and really listen to the music…it’s not just a melody or a hook or whatever. I just think it’s a great collection of something that’s real and positive, but also something that’s reality-based and can really inspire. It’s a beautiful thing.”

The Hear My Song box set was produced by James Batsford, pulling together catalogs primarily from Sony Music and Concord/Craft, as well as from the Nyro Estate. It’s an outgrowth from a 2020 vinyl box set of Nyro’s Columbia Records recordings, and Batsford says that the CD package “gave us more room to be expansive and tell her story. It wasn’t a completest mentality; it’s more, ‘What are the touchstones of her career, and how can we bring it in an interesting way and include the best possible material out there?’ It’s not just, ‘What can we get our hands on?’ but ‘What’s the best we can get our hands on?’ and bring them together in one place.”

And when it comes to Nyro, Batsford adds, there’s quite a bit that can be considered best-possible.

“I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into her over the years from working on these records, and it astounds me how my favorite record changes from month to month,” he says. “She’s just such a great (artist). Your taste evolves with listening to her records. She’s just timeless.”

Producer Calello says he’s particularly happy Hear My Music includes a wealth of live material, including a pair of previously unreleased concerts from San Francisco in 1994, while Nyro was touring to promote her final album, 1993’s Walk The Dog & Light The Light. “You see the growth of her as a performer,” he says. “When I made Eli she didn’t want to tour; she was really afraid of the audience. But by the ‘80s she had gotten to the point where she loved performing and there was an energy. You could hear the growth and joy, and the performances are simply amazing.”

The 2013 release Live at Carnegie Hall: The Classic 1976 Radio Broadcast was not included, however, due to rights issues.

Batsford, meanwhile, says there’s more coming from the Nyro vaults. He’s planning a vinyl reissue of 2001’s posthumous Angel in the Dark during April on his own New Land Records. Looking ahead, Batsford promises that “there are some bits and pieces I can’t talk about yet. I’m aware of some rarities that exist that I’d love to help to bring to the public at some point. There is still stuff out there that wasn’t possible this time around but are things that will excite people down the line.”

Jay-Z Responds to Being Accused in Civil Lawsuit of Assaulting 13-Year-Old Girl Alongside Diddy | Billboard News

Jay-Z has been accused in a civil lawsuit of raping a 13-year old girl alongside Diddy in 2000, and the rapper has responded to the accusations. Keep watching for the full details on the case and Jay-Z’s response.

Tetris Kelly:

Jay-Z accused of assault? In a complaint filed in New York federal court, the unnamed Jane Doe has added Jay-Z as a defendant in the civil lawsuit allegedly along with Sean “Diddy” Combs at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty back in 2000, according to a civil lawsuit filed in federal court on Sunday. Lawyer for the plaintiff Tony Buzbee claims that after the alleged victim was driven to the afterparty and forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement, she was given a drink that made her feel “woozy” and “light headed.” When she went into a bedroom to lie down, Buzbee claims she was assaulted by the two stars while a third female celebrity looked on. The music icon has strongly denied the allegations against him. Calling the lawsuit a “blackmail attempt” aimed at securing a settlement, he called Buzbee a “fraud,” a “deplorable human” and an “ambulance chaser in a cheap suit.” Jay released a statement Sunday evening addressing the lawsuit:

“You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same, I’m not from your world. I’m a young man who made it out of the projects of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain.”

Keep watching for more.

Roc Marciano & The Alchemist Drop ‘Chopstick,’ Announce New Album ‘The Skeleton Key’

Roc Marciano and The Alchemist have decided to do it again.

The duo have announced their latest endeavor The Skeleton Key as they look to follow up their critically acclaimed collab album The Elephant Man’s Bones from 2022. And with that announcement, they dropped the project’s lead single in “Chopstick” along with its video.

Directed and edited by fellow rapper Evidence, Marci and ALC zoom through the streets of Los Angeles and post up in front of the Central Library in Downton L.A. like a couple of detectives trying to solve a murder mystery. The beat, produced by The Alchemist, sounds like it could’ve been the score to a ’50s noir film as Roc plays the reliable narrator of his own exploits.

“Me & Alchemist, we the gatekeepers, Key Makers, your sh– don’t shake unless we sanction it,” says Roc via press release. Speaking of keys, their new album The Skeleton Key is available now on the Long Island rapper and producer’s website rocmarci.com and will hit streaming services at midnight Friday.

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Both rappers/producers released solo projects already this year. Roc dropped Marciology in March and ALC recently came out with The Genuine Articulate in September.

Below is the tracklist with all songs produced by The Alchemist.

“Mystery God”
“Street Magic”
“Chopstick”
“Knock It Off”
“Acid”
“Rauf”
“Chateau Josue”
“Skirt Steak”
“Cryotherapy”
“Make Sure”

The early download includes two bonus tracks “Hard Drugz” and “Bleu Mouson” which are only available through the exclusive edition. The exclusive digital download offer will expire on Dec. 12, according to the press release.

BBMAs Performer Shaboozey Talks Travel in Interview Presented by Marriott Bonvoy | Billboard

Billboard Music Awards performer ‪Shaboozey spoke about all things travel during an interview at W Hollywood. Don’t miss out on the Billboard Music Awards presented by ‪Marriott Bonvoy this Thursday, and stay tuned for more updates on this year’s show!

Shaboozey: 

Whenever I go to a new city on tour, I like to stop at the vintage stores. Go shopping. That’s my favorite thing to do, honestly: shopping and eating. Love to find the best food in the area, just trying to see what the city has to offer, you know? Look for dive bars, things like that. Play pool with my friends. Love a new city. That’s like my second home, but I love Nashville. I’ve made a lot of music videos and a lot of songs about Nashville. Just different people I meet, different places I go, different music I hear walking down Broadway or going east and getting a hot chicken sandwich. Nothing beats that. Yeah, it’s really cool. So much, so much culture there, so many friends. I love something that feels like somewhere I could actually live, you know? Living in a separate living room situation, in a bedroom situation. I love a view. Yeah, you can’t beat a view in a hotel room. I love a large room. I’m a large – I’m a big guy, you know, I need a lot of room to just stretch my legs out, you know, like that. See, that works. My dream location to visit: I want to check out Wyoming. I haven’t been to Wyoming yet. I would love to visit Wyoming, Jackson Hole, and I love open spaces. I mean, cities are fun, you know, I love seeing buildings, architecture, but nothing beats being in the open field and it’s quiet, and seeing mountains and watching wildlife. Places with good weather is always a plus.

Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour Wraps as First Tour to Pass $2 Billion in Sales

On Sunday night (Dec. 8), Taylor Swift played the last of 149 shows on The Eras Tour. As reported earlier Monday, the record-setting trek grossed more than $2 billion and sold over 10 million tickets: $2,077,618,725 and 10,168,008, respectively, to be exact.

The news was first reported by The New York Times.

Without qualification, The Eras Tour is the highest-grossing tour of all time, by artists of any genre, and from any era in music history. If compared to data officially reported to Billboard Boxscore, it is the biggest tour ever by an unthinkable distance of more than $900 million, blasting past Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres World Tour (2022-ongoing) – the only other tour to gross more than $1 billion – by a margin of almost two-to-one.

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Even before The Eras Tour was announced, Swift was one of the most successful touring acts of her generation. Dating back to her first reported solo headline show at Sovereign Performing Arts Center in Reading, Pa. (April 6, 2007), she has grossed $3 billion across her career, when adding The Eras Tour’s sum to officially reported data for her prior tours to Billboard Boxscore.

Previously, her biggest tour – according to Billboard Boxscore – came when Swift brought in $345.7 million and sold 2.9 million tickets on 2018’s Reputation Stadium Tour, marking a 38% leap from the earnings on 2015’s The 1989 World Tour. The Eras Tour multiplies her prior best more than six times over.

The Eras Tour kicked off in Glendale, Ariz. on March 17, 2023. If the tour hadn’t already made a seismic impact just via its announcement, the actual performances sent Swift from superstardom to the stratosphere. The friendship bracelets, the surprise songs and all of Swift’s eras took over, sparking major economic booms in every city she visited and hysteria among Swifties around the world.

By August 9, 2023, Swift had released her re-recording of Speak Now (July 7), announced the re-recording for 1989 and wrapped the tour’s first U.S. leg. Quickly after, she played her first shows ever in Mexico with four nights at the capital’s Estadio GNP Seguros (then known as Foro Sol), followed by nine shows in South America.

In February 2024, Swift took her talents to Asia and Australia, but not before she won her record-setting fourth Grammy for album of the year for Midnights and announced her next new studio album during an acceptance speech. That one – The Tortured Poets Department, released April 19 – arrived while on break from tour, and once again, set a new career-peak with a debut week of 2.61 million equivalent album units earned in the U.S., according to Luminate, and the entire top 14 on the Hot 100. On the current, Dec. 14-dated edition of the Billboard 200, the set returns for a 16th week at No. 1 on the back of a physical release of the album’s deluxe Anthology version, sold exclusively at Target.

In May, Swift took on Europe, with 48 shows across the continent. While Tortured Poets spent most of the summer atop the Billboard 200, The Eras Tour continued its blistering pace, including eight nights at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Finally, Swift returned to North America for three shows each in Miami, New Orleans, and Indianapolis, plus six in Toronto and one last weekend in Vancouver.

From Vision Boards to Recording Studios: How Amirah Manifested Her Way from Virginia Beach to 10 Summers Latest Signee

Amirah’s story unfolds like a carefully plotted script, peppered with the unexpected moments that distinguish dreams from reality. This 18-year-old emerging artist isn’t just a fresh face in music; she’s a testament to the power of vision, resilience, and a faith grounded in the support of family. From recording her first EP while still in high school to signing with 10 Summers and Interscope, Amirah’s rise reflects an artist who’s balancing authenticity with industry ambitions—and doing it on her own terms.

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Amirah’s journey has been propelled forward by her dedication and the encouragement of platforms like Honda Stage, which shares her mission of uncovering stories that embody resilience, passion, and authenticity. Honda Stage champions emerging artists and brings audiences closer to the often-hidden journeys that fuel the music industry. Much like Amirah, the platform celebrates individuals who are redefining music through unique perspectives, unwavering commitment, and unfiltered creativity.

Raised in Virginia Beach, Amirah grew up in a family that knew how to cultivate dreams. “I was always about music—I needed it,” she says, remembering the countless times she would talk to her mother about wanting to be a singer. Her grandparents championed her budding passion, capturing every recital and piano performance, and her mother taught her about the power of faith and self-belief. “My mom would always say, ‘Speak it into existence,’” Amirah shares, her voice carrying a quiet confidence that hints at a wisdom beyond her years. And speak she did—writing down her dreams, rehearsing the vision in her head, and setting her sights on making them real.

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It was during the lockdowns of 2020, and like many artists, Amirah was channeling her energy into creating and refining her sound, writing songs, and imagining what it would take to break into the industry. She’d been a devoted fan of Mustard’s work for years, studying his production style and envisioning what it would be like to work with him. But the idea of actually connecting with him seemed like a far-off fantasy, something her mom used to say to encourage her: “You never know; one day, Mustard might come knocking!”

By 2021, Amirah was writing down all her goals, detailing her dreams, and practicing a manifestation ritual. She recalls that she’d just written a note in her journal that year, setting an intention to be signed to a major label by the time she was 16. She was 15 when the unthinkable happened—her phone pinged with an Instagram DM notification from none other than Mustard himself. In a message that was straightforward but powerful, he expressed his admiration for her work and wanted to talk more after seeing one of her covers online.

“I just remember staring at it, thinking, ‘This has to be a joke, right?’” she laughs now. “But it was real. And the best part? He didn’t just see the potential—I felt like he already knew the vision I wanted for myself.” They connected almost instantly, with Mustard helping her navigate the next steps, leading to her signing with Ten Summers and Interscope.

That DM wasn’t just a message; it was the manifestation of everything she’d been working toward.

By 2021, she was signed with 10 Summers and Interscope, making her one of the latest young artists to be mentored by the celebrated producer. “It felt like a fever dream,” she admits, still in awe of the trajectory that took her from a Virginia high school to recording studios in L.A. “I remember asking, ‘So, does this mean I can release music now?’ I didn’t know the process, but my team walked me through every step.”

That team—especially her managers and Mustard—has become an extension of her family, helping her navigate the industry’s highs and lows while supporting her growth as an artist. The creative back-and-forth with Mustard, she says, has been an anchor for her, one that’s reinforced her dedication to the work. “Sometimes I feel like my songs are corny, but he’ll listen and say, ‘No, you have to hear this through.’” With Ten Summers, she’s found a team willing to help her experiment while keeping her grounded, ensuring her artistic vision isn’t compromised.

Amirah isn’t an artist who’s chasing the flash and glamour often associated with success; she’s a self-described “earth girl” who takes comfort in simplicity. “I don’t need flashy stuff,” she says. “Knowing where I came from keeps me grounded and helps me hold onto my artistic vision.” Her home in Virginia Beach, with its coastal, laid-back vibe, serves as a touchstone that keeps her focused on authenticity rather than trends.

For Amirah, staying true to herself and finding balance in an industry driven by image and expectations isn’t a battle—it’s a principle. “I don’t feel pressure; I feel like we’re all just here to make dope stuff,” she explains. “It’s important to maintain who I am.” That ethos is reflected in her music, where each song offers a piece of her story, her evolution, and her soul. “My upcoming project is vibes, vibes, vibes,” she says, eager to share the songs she’s been recording since she was 16. “I hope people just have fun and feel connected. I want it to be a vision that everyone can understand.”

Beyond her music, Amirah is setting long-term goals that extend into acting and animated series, hoping to show her versatility as an artist with a personality that jumps off the screen. Her short-term plans, however, are all about staying in the studio, writing, and crafting music that resonates with audiences everywhere. “I want to write music that’s played in clubs but also tells the story of who I am,” she says, already visualizing the next stage of her career.

There’s a boldness to Amirah’s vision, but it’s grounded in faith—a faith she says is both personal and unshakeable. Her approach to setbacks is to turn to God, her family, and sometimes, a cathartic cry. “When I doubt, I pray,” she reveals, a simple phrase that carries the weight of her journey thus far. She’s learned that the road to success isn’t always easy, but she’s not one to give up. Each step she’s taken has reinforced her belief that with hard work, resilience, and a team who sees her potential, anything is possible.

Today, Amirah’s poised to make a name for herself in an industry that’s often more focused on profits than passions. But with her first EP out, a loyal team at her side, and a vision for what she wants to accomplish, Amirah’s on track to defy those odds. In her own words: “I hope everyone loves it, and I hope they can feel my heart in every song.” Amirah’s journey is one to watch—not just because of her talent, but because of the unwavering authenticity she brings to every note, lyric, and performance.