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03 Dec 2024

‘Moana 2’ Soundtrack Debuts in Top 10 on Multiple Billboard Charts

The Moana 2 soundtrack debuts in the top 10 across three Billboard album charts, as the set arrives at No. 2 on Kid Albums, No. 10 on Soundtracks and No. 10 on World Albums (all charts dated Dec. 7, reflecting activity in the U.S. in the tracking week ending Nov. 28). The blockbuster animated movie sequel opened in U.S. theaters on Nov. 27 and earned $225 million at the U.S. and Canada box office. The film, a sequel to the 2016 feature Moana, stars the voice talents of Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, reprising their roles as the title character and Maui, respectively.

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The Moana 2 soundtrack was released via streaming services and as a digital download for purchase on Nov. 22, while a physical release on CD and vinyl is scheduled for Jan. 13.

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Moana 2 is the follow-up to the 2016 film Moana, which garnered two Academy Award nominations (for best animated feature and best original song). Moana became a streaming sensation years after its original release, becoming the most-viewed streaming movie across all services in 2023, according to Nielsen. The Moana soundtrack was also a hit, reaching No. 1 on Kid Albums (for 54 nonconsecutive weeks) and Soundtracks (62 nonconsecutive weeks) and No. 2 on the overall Billboard 200.

Kid Albums ranks the week’s top-selling kid albums in the U.S. according to Luminate. Soundtracks and World Albums tally the week’s most popular soundtracks and world music albums, ranked by equivalent album units earned, again according to Luminate.

Ahead of Moana 2 on the Kid Albums chart is another soundtrack, the seasonal favorite A Charlie Brown Christmas from Vince Guaraldi Trio, which notches its 112th nonconsecutive week at No. 1.

03 Dec 2024

A Video Game Version of Demi Lovato Is Raising Money for the Environment

Demi Lovato is getting gamified for a good cause.

Starting on Tuesday (Dec. 3), the pop star will appear as an animated version of herself in the mobile video game Subway Surfers. Available as an in-app purchase, Lovato’s character will be available in the game through Jan. 5, 2025.

All of the profits from Lovato’s character will be donated to certified environmental projects, including the Hongera Project, which restores forests impacted by logging, agriculture, development and firewood collection in Kenya and New Zealand’s WAI Wanaka, which works to improve ecosystem health, reverse biodiversity loss and maintain healthy water. Watch Lovato talk about the project (and plants) below.

A representative for the initiative is unable to share projections for how much the collaboration with Lovato might raise, but says funds raised by a similar project from J Balvin and Subway Surfers in November of 2023 raised enough money to offset over 2,000 tons of carbon emissions over the campaign’s three-week run. This number, a rep for the project says, is equivalent to the carbon emissions created by a concert with 100,000 attendees.

Both the Lovato and Balvin characters are projects form Planet Play, which works with video game studios to create solutions for climate issues within the global video game industry and player community. The Lovato collab is part of Planet Play’s just-launched Make Green Tuesday Moves campaign, which is raising money for environmental projects through limited run in-app items across a suite of games.

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The company reports that Balvin’s playable character was the most successful in-app purchase in Subway Surfers‘ history. During the three weeks Balvin was in the game, players aggregated three years of collective run time with his character.

03 Dec 2024

J. Cole Admits ‘Feeling of Surpassment’ After Kendrick Released ‘Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,’ Shares More Unreleased Collabs

On the latest episode of his Inevitable podcast, J. Cole and his manager Ibrahim “Ib” Hamad played a couple more unreleased tracks by Cole and Kendrick Lamar while also recalling his immediate reaction to hearing some of Kendrick’s sophomore album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, for the first time.

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According to the North Carolina rapper, the pair recorded some of their collaborations when Drake‘s Club Paradise Tour came into town back in 2012. “He came to Fayetteville and we worked on that studio bus for two or three days,” Cole recalled. “Before, I had sent him joints, but this was the first time we actually got to lock in and work on sh—t. And that sh—t was so fun, dawg… It felt like when your cousin would come over to your house.”

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Ib played two tracks, both untitled, and one of which was produced by D.C.-based rapper and producer Oddisee, while the other features Cole somewhat borrowing Project Pat‘s unique flow in pockets.

Cole also talked about Dot playing him GKMC songs before it dropped during those same sessions and that he felt pressure after it was released. “When Kendrick’s album dropped, the journey got harder, the mountain got steeper. Because similar to when [So Far Gone] dropped, where it was like, ‘Oh sh—t, there’s another person out there that has the same ambitions as me,’ it happened like that with Kendrick.” Adding, “It was a feeling of surpassment. It was two indicators that told me. His first-week numbers were more than mine. The other thing was we had a show where we were both on the same lineup… and I went before him and he went after me.”

J. Cole first opened the vault on episode four of his “audio series” podcast and played “Shock the World” and “Temptation”, both featuring Lamar.

You can listen to Inevitable here.

03 Dec 2024

Electric Forest 2025: Justice, Disclosure, Sara Landry & Tiësto Lead Lineup

Electric Forest has announced an hefty lineup for its 2025 event, with French titans Justice, a DJ set from brother duo Disclosure, hard techno boss Sara Landry, psych rock outfit Khruangbin, Aussie favorite Fisher, dance legend Tiësto, U.K. phenom Barry Can’t Swim, bass mainstay Of The Trees, dubstep producer Liquid Stranger, festival regulars Louis the Child, Brazilian star Mochakk and many more.

The undercard, meanwhile, features a stacked list of names including Confidence Man, Blond:ish, Cloonee, Gordo, Hamdi and many more. See the complete lineup below.

Per tradition, the festival will two shows by jam band icons the String Cheese Incident, who play the festival every year.

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The festival happens this June 19-22 in Rothbury, Michigan on a 400-acre patch of land located 10 miles east of Lake Michigan. Since launching in 2011, the festival has become beloved for combining all flavors of electronic music with jam and jam-adjacent bands.

“Whether it’s the electronic scenes or jam scenes, one of the core elements is community,” Electric Forest co-founder Jeremy Stein told Billboard in 2019. “It doesn’t really matter if it’s the old school rave vibe or the old school hippie culture — those are communities. You hear the world ‘family’ a lot in those scenes. People who are thinking that way are already predisposed to being open and really caring about their surroundings. They really care about the music and the other folks at the show. That commonality is [in the jam and electronic worlds] is very close. It’s almost identical.”

Electric Forest tickets will go on sale this Friday, Dec. 6.

Electric Forest 2025 lineup

Electric Forest 2025 lineup

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03 Dec 2024

Fans Are Devastated Over Reports That Sabrina Carpenter & Barry Keoghan Broke Up

Sabrina Carpenter and Barry Keoghan have broken up after a year of dating, according to People.

“They are both young and career-focused, so they’ve decided to take a break,” a source told the publication on Tuesday (Dec. 3)

The pair first sparked dating rumors in late 2023, a few months before making their public debut at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty in March. 32-year-old Keoghan also starred opposite 25-year-old Carpenter in the music video for her Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Please Please Please,” which is featured on her album Short n’ Sweet.

After Carpenter dropped the album on Aug. 23, fans were quick to speculate that the Work It star wrote some of the project’s songs about the Irish actor — particularly the NSFW “Bed Chem.” “I was in a sheer dress the day that we met/ We were both in a rush, we talked for a sec,” she sings on the track. “Who’s the cute boy with the white jacket and the thick accent? … Who’s the cute guy with the wide, blue eyes?”

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Just last month, Keoghan appeared on an episode of Spotify’s The Louis Theroux Podcast, where he was asked directly, “Are you in a relationship with Sabrina Carpenter?” 

“Oh, I knew you’d do this,” Keoghan said with a laugh, before adding, “Listen, all I’m going to say is I’m incredibly blessed. Such a strong, independent lady who’s massively talented and yeah. Pretty special.”

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Following the news of their split, fans took to social media to express shock over the duo parting ways. See some fan reactions below.

03 Dec 2024

All 12 Songs From Kendrick Lamar’s ‘GNX’ Debut on Hot 100, Including Entire Top Five

Kendrick Lamar is back with another massive week on Billboard’s charts, thanks to his new surprise album, GNX.

Released without advance notice Nov. 22 on pgLand/Interscope/ICLG, GNX blasts in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (dated Dec. 7) with 319,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in its opening week, according to Luminate. It becomes his fifth leader, following Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers (2022), DAMN. (2017), untitled unmastered. (2016) and To Pimp a Butterfly (2015).

Concurrently, all 12 GNX tracks enter the Billboard Hot 100, all in the top 30 with seven in in the top 10 – including the entire top five. He joins Taylor Swift, Drake and The Beatles as the only acts to dominate the entire top five in the same week.

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Kendrick Lamar GNX Songs on the Hot 100 (dated Dec. 7):
No. 1, “Squabble Up”
No. 2, “TV Off,” feat. Lefty Gunplay
No. 3, “Luther” with SZA
No. 4, “Wacced Out Murals”
No. 5, “Hey Now,” feat. Dody6
No. 8, “Reincarnated”
No. 9, “Man at the Garden”
No. 11, “Dodger Blue,” feat. Wallie the Sensei, Siete7x & Roddy Ricch
No. 13, “Peekaboo,” feat. AzChike
No. 14, “Heart Pt. 6”
No. 24, “GNX,” feat. Hitta J3, YoungThreat & Peysoh
No. 27, “Gloria,” with SZA

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“Squabble Up” earns Lamar his fifth Hot 100 No. 1, after “Not Like Us” and “Like That,” with Future and Metro Boomin (both earlier in 2024), “Humble.” (2017) and as featured on Swift’s “Bad Blood” (2015). He also ups his career counts to 87 total Hot 100 entries, 57 top 40 hits, 22 top 10s and 14 top five titles.

Thanks to their featured appearances on the album, Lefty Gunplay, Dody6, Wallie the Sensei, Siete7x, AzChike, Hitta J3, YoungThreat and Peysoh all score their first career Hot 100 placements.

Meanwhile, Roddy Ricch returns to the Hot 100 for the first time in two years thanks to his featured turn on “Dodger Blue.” The rapper has notched two No. 1s: “The Box” and as featured on DaBaby’s “Rockstar,” both in 2020.

03 Dec 2024

News Anchor Leon Harris Stepping Away After On-Air Incident

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Leon Harris x NBC4

Source: NBC4 / Youtube

Veteran Washington, D.C., news anchor Leon Harris is stepping away from the desk to work on “health issues” after a recent on-air issue during a segment.

On Monday (Dec. 2), NBC4 News in Washington, D.C., issued a statement through its website and on the air announcing that anchor Leon Harris is “stepping away” from the desk to focus on “health issues” after appearing to be unwell during a segment on their Thanksgiving broadcast. “We here at NBC4 — and you at home — care deeply about Leon and wish him well. We thank you for your concern,” they wrote. They did not disclose what health issues Harris was dealing with in response to further press requests.

The 63-year-old was on air delivering the news about local vandalism. Still, viewers noticed that the veteran newscaster struggled to pronounce some words and street names and exhibited slurred speech. Harris was pulled from the desk after the segment ended, and meteorologist Ryan Miller addressed viewer concerns that he suffered a stroke or some other medical issue during his segment covering the weather. “We’ve heard a lot from some of you through phone and email during this newscast,” Miller said. “We want to assure you that our colleague, Leon Harris, is fine. The News4 team appreciates your concern.”

Harris has been a fixture at NBC4 since joining the station in 2017 after working at the local ABC network, WJLA. The journalist has won an Emmy Award for his work, having started his career at CNN in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris has dealt with health issues in the past, having taken a leave of absence to recover from a foot injury in September that he suffered at his home. In 2013, Harris also dealt with necrotizing pancreatitis that placed him in the intensive care unit. He also has dealt with alcohol abuse, having been arrested for DUI in 2013 and in 2022. “I made a terrible mistake,” he said in 2022 in an interview with the Washington Post. “After drinking, I decided to get into my car and drive. This is the worst decision I could possibly have made.”

03 Dec 2024

Hypebeast Alert: SUPREME Announces Collaboration With Dickies

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SUPREME X DICKIES COLLAB

Source: SUPREME / Supreme

It seems SUPREME is looking to close out 2024 strong. They have announced a collaboration with Dickies, and it has all the workwear vibes you never knew you needed.

SUPREME X DICKIES COLLAB

Source: SUPREME / Supreme

On Tuesday (Dec. 3), the New York-based label announced a forthcoming drop with Dickies. Curated for the fall 2024 season, this collection merges the aesthetic from both brands together seamlessly. While the spirit of this drop aligns with Dickies’ pursuit of outfitting those who are committed to making their mark, all the pieces can easily be styled for streetwear purposes. Included in the capsule are several workwear staples, including cargo pants, polos, long-sleeve jersey t-shirts and more.

As expected, this SUPREME collaboration has some standout pieces that are sure to be in high demand. Dickies’ signature outerwear item gets a very plush update via the Hooded Leather Work Jacket. This version features an all leather shell and a heavyweight insulated quilted polyester lining. We also get a flannel lined overall with a snap button closure on the pant. Additionally, this item stays true to the original with a utility loop, large bib pocket on the chest and a boot cut leg seam.

The SUPREME x Dickies collaboration will be available in the United States starting Dec. 6. and Asia starting Dec. 7.

03 Dec 2024

The NOCTA x Air Force 1 To Drop In Two New Colorways

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NOCTA x Air Force 1

Source: @ovodrop / Instagram

After suing UMG for their support of Kendrick Lamar’s smash hit, “Not Like Us,” Drake has become the least liked rapper in the Hip-Hop game today. But that isn’t keeping Nike from continuing their relationship with the Canadian crooner and they are about to drop a new Air Force 1 co-signed by the “Family Matters” rapper.

According to Hypebeast, two new colorways of the “Certified Lover Boy” Air Force 1 is on the way and truth be told they kinda go hard. Originally released as an all-white Air Force 1 with “Certified Lover Boy” etched on the sole, the NOCTA x AF1 will be returning in Pale Purple / Cobalt Tint and CITRON TINT colorways along with translucent soles to match, but instead of sporting “Certified Lover Boy” on the sole, these will have a different message that reads “Love You Forever.”

We’re not gonna lie, we might have to copp.

How sneakerheads will receive these drops should be interesting as Drizzy’s popularity in the rap game has dropped since taking the “L” in his battle with Kendrick Lamar and ultimately taking Universal Music Group to court over said loss. While we’re sure hardcore Drizzy fans will have no problem copping these when they drop, others may be hesitant to do so for the aforementioned reasons.

Still, they’re pretty dope.

Per Hypebeast:

Constructed with premium soft purple leather for the upper, the shoe’s iconic “Love You Forever” mantra is still a standard on the semi-translucent midsoel and outsole. The premium leather gives the shoe a luxe feel, giving the timeless silhouette another iteration. Look out for the pair arriving later this month.

We’re not with the legal action that Drake done took, but we might have to copp regardless. Just sayin.’

Check out pics of the upcoming kicks and let us know if you’ll be checking for them when they release later this month in the comments section below.

03 Dec 2024

Rock & Country Cornerstones Van Zant Hit Christian Albums Top 5 With Faith-Based ‘Always Look Up’

Rock and country veterans Van Zant — the duo of brothers Donnie and Johnny Van Zant — make their initial appearance on Billboard’s Top Christian Albums chart as the pair’s first spiritually themed LP, Always Look Up, enters the Dec. 7-dated tally at No. 4.

Released Nov. 22, the collection earned 5,000 equivalent album units, almost all from album sales, in the U.S. Nov. 22-28, according to Luminate.

The 12-song set is a mix of classic rock and country that has defined the siblings’ careers, along with Southern gospel.

Donnie Van Zant, 72, co-founded 38 Special in 1974 and was a member until he retired in 2013. The longtime successful touring act logged nine entries on the Billboard 200, including the top 10 Special Forces in 1982. The band banked nine top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hits, led by the top 10s “Caught Up in You” (No. 10, 1982) and “Second Chance” (No. 6, 1989).

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Johnny Van Zant, 64, still tours with Lynyrd Skynyrd, which he has helmed since the loss of older brother Ronnie Van Zant, who, along with five others, was killed in a plane crash in October 1977. Lynyrd Skynyrd was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. The band boasts three Billboard 200 top 10s and the No. 8-peaking 1974 Hot 100 classic “Sweet Home Alabama.” The group followed with fellow signature hit “Free Bird” (No. 19, 1975).

The duo Van Zant has made two appearances on Top Country Albums: Get Right With the Man entered at its No. 2 peak in 2005 and My Kind of Country hit No. 10 in 2007. The twosome’s third entry, Red White & Blue (Live), arrived at its No. 39 high in 2016. On Hot Country Songs, the pair’s “Help Somebody” hit No. 8 in 2005.

Of Van Zant’s rookie Christian LP, Donnie Van Zant stated, “This has been on our bucket list for some time. We’re big believers in Jesus Christ, and with Always Look Up, we’re sharing that faith through our music.”

Adams Unlocks Third No. 1 With ‘Doors’

Yolanda Adams earns her third Gospel Airplay leader with “Church Doors.” The song increased by 4% in plays during the latest tracking week.

The single was authored by Donald Lawrence and Sir the Baptist and is from Adams’ album Sunny Days, which opened at its No. 9 best on Top Gospel Albums in September, awarding Adams her 17th top 10.

Adams’ new Gospel Airplay chart-topper is her second in a row, following “In Him There Is No Sorrow,” her collaboration with Donald Lawrence & Co. and Twinkie Clark that ruled for a week in April. She first led with “Be Blessed” for three weeks in 2005.