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22 Dec 2022

The 10 Best R&B Songs of 2022: Staff Picks

Love was an overriding theme in R&B in 2022 — and given what people have been enduring over the last several years, between the pandemic, incessant social and political issues as well as economic uncertainty, it’s not surprising. The various iterations of the emotion were rhythmically and lyrically dissected: from new love, spiritual love, toxic love and love lost to, above all, self-love.

Established and emerging stars alike embraced the oftentimes complicated subject in refreshing and illuminating ways. Songwriter Muni Long staked her claim to a solo career with “Hrs and Hrs,” her sensuous, no-time-limit take on lovemaking. On the other side of the clock — against an infectious two-step track — The Weeknd grappled with being out of time when his lover calls quits on their relationship.

Beyoncé took fans on a liberating course to self-love via the anthem “Break My Soul,” then extolled the exhilarating feeling of falling in love and enjoying life with abandon on “Cuff It.” Rihanna, also marking her long-anticipated musical return, addressed the spiritual power of enduring love on “Lift Me Up.”

Here are R&B’s most memorable songs of 2022:

22 Dec 2022

For King & Country’s ‘Joy to the World’ Jumps to No. 1 on Christian Airplay Chart

For King & Country, the duo of siblings Joel and Luke Smallbone, notches its 12th No. 1 on Billboard‘s Christian Airplay chart (dated Dec. 24), as the pair’s version of “Joy to the World” dashes from No. 7 to the summit.

In the tracking week ending Dec. 18, “Joy” drew 1.8 million audience impressions among the chart’s panel of reporters, according to Luminate.

Here’s a recap of For King & Country’s nine Christian Airplay No. 1s: “Joy to the World” (for one week, to-date); “For God Is With Us” (three weeks, July); “Relate” (three, beginning in December 2021); “Amen” (one, July 2021); “O Come O Come Emmanuel,” featuring NEEDTOBREATHE (two, starting in December 2020); “Together,” with Kirk Franklin and Tori Kelly (five, beginning in August 2020); “Burn the Ships” (five, starting in January 2020); “God Only Knows” (10, beginning in April 2019); “joy.” (four, starting in August 2018); “Priceless” (three, October 2016); “Shoulders” (two, June 2015); and “Fix My Eyes” (one, September 2014).

Meanwhile, For King & Country’s current non-seasonal single, “Love Me Like I Am” with Jordin Sparks, also resides in the Christian Airplay top 10 — at No. 9 (1.3 million) — after reaching No. 6 the past two weeks.

With 12 Christian Airplay No. 1s, For King & Country ties Jeremy Camp and Matthew West for the second-most leaders since the chart launched in 2003. MercyMe leads all acts with 17 No. 1s.

“Joy to the World” concurrently becomes For King & Country’s milestone 20th top 10 on the multi-metric Hot Christian Songs chart, where it vaults 28-9. The act is the eighth to have notched at least 20 top 10s, with Casting Crowns, MercyMe and Chris Tomlin sharing the record with 29 each.

22 Dec 2022

Amerie Fried On The Timeline Over NBA Halftime Performance

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Amerie, one of the top vocalists of the early 2000s, is still very much a beloved star due to tracks like “Why Don’t We Fall In Love” and the singer’s “1 Thing” hit. Amerie, who hasn’t released a full-length album since 2009, appeared at an NBA halftime show and Twitter is delivering commentary about the performance that doesn’t seem too favorable.

On Thursday, (Dec. 22), Amerie found her name trending on Twitter after someone shared a tweet featuring a video of her performance at last night’s (Dec. 21) game between the visiting Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings. The All I Have star did her best to power through the performance but most felt like the appearance was lacking.

Amerie released a pair of well-received EPs, 4AM Mulholland and After 4AM, back in 2018 and undertook the production, songwriting, and arrangements herself. She’s also kept busy as an author, publishing and contributing to a number of books thus far, and also runs a YouTube page devoted to books, beauty, and other topics.

On Twitter, the reaction to the performance is starting to pick up and we’ve got those reactions listed out below.

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Photo: Getty

22 Dec 2022

Lana Del Rey Gets Last, Biggest Word With Billboard in Ex’s Hometown Promoting Upcoming Album

Lana Del Rey is beloved by millions all around the world. But the new micro-targeted billboard promoting her upcoming Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. album appears to pointedly have an audience of one.

According to screenshots from LDR’s private @honeymoon Instagram, the singer posted an ad for Tunnel in Oklahoma, explaining, “There’s only one and it’s in Tulsa,” adding in comments, “It’s personal.” Fans are speculating that the one-off promotion is aimed at her ex-boyfriend, a Tulsa cop she reportedly broke up with in 2020 who used to appear on the popular Live PD series. Fans also noticed that Del Rey made her album announcement and dropped the title track on Dec. 7, her ex’s birthday.

The singer-songwriter surprised fans earlier this month with the announcement of her upcoming ninth album, which shares its name with the title of her new song that was also unveiled. The collection, with featured artists including Jon Batiste, Jack Antonoff’s Bleachers, Father John Misty, Judah Smith, Tommy Genesis and SYML, will arrive on March 10.

Antonoff, who previously worked with Del Rey on 2021’s Chemtrails Over the Country Club, is also listed on the cover as a producer, as are Mike Hermosa, Drew Erickson and Zach Dawes, who worked on Blue Bannisters, also released in 2021. The title track finds the singer firmly in her element, her voice billowing out like smoke over somber piano and dark strings. “When’s it gonna be my turn?” she sings on the single. “Open me up, tell me you like it/ Love me until I love myself / There’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard.”

See a screenshot of the billboard below.

22 Dec 2022

Inside Kane Brown’s Historic NBA-Driven Arena Concert Tour

Earlier this month, breakthrough country superstar Kane Brown became the first touring artist to play all 29 National Basketball Association (NBA) arenas during a single tour, fulfilling a lifelong dream around his passion for pro hoops.

“Kane’s a huge basketball fan,” says his manager Martha Earls with Neon Coast. “He’s athletic, loves sports and first got the idea back in 2019 when he was invited to headline a 20th-anniversary show for what was then the Staples Center in LA (and now is known as Crypto.com Arena).”

The January 2020 show — postponed from October 18, 2019, due to the tragic death of Kane’s longtime friend and drummer Kenny Dixon days earlier — and a Lakers game attended the night before by Kane, Earls and promoter Rich Schaefer with AEG Global Touring became the genesis for Brown’s first arena tour.

Originally scheduled to be announced in March 2020, publicity for Brown’s tour was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a plan to “be ready the minute we can get back on the road,” Schaefer recalls. “That opening came in April of 2021 and we ended up being one of the first sales in the year following COVID-19.”

Schaefer said he wanted Brown to get back on the road after releasing his EP Mixtape, Vol 1 in Aug. 2020 on RCA Records Nashville, which hit No. 2 on Billboard‘s Country Albums chart and No. 15 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Mixtape, Vol. 1 included the crossover track “Be Like That” featuring Swae Lee and Khalid, as well as “Cool Again” featuring Nelly and “Last Time I Say Sorry” featuring John Legend.

“Sales for the tour were massive and the tour kicked off six months later,” Schaefer said of the Blessed & Free Tour, which officially launched on Oct. 1, 2021, at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento and hit 28 of 29 NBA arenas and college facilities in Nampa, Idaho and College Station, Pennsylvania. The tour also made three stops at hockey arenas in Pittsburgh, Seattle and Las Vegas, wrapping its first leg at Sin City’s T-Mobile Arena on Feb. 4.

The final show took place 10 months later on Dec. 4 at the final NBA arena on the tour, ScotiaBank Arena in Toronto — marking the 29th of 29 NBA arena concerts. “We couldn’t get into Canada during the initial run of the tour because of the restrictions and the lockdown in the country,” Schaefer says.

In Jan. 2022, the Blessed & Free Tour was the most well-attended concert tour of the month, averaging 11,000 fans per show. “When we did announce the tour in April, I got some calls from people thinking we were maybe being a little bit bullish,” Earls recalls, “but we just felt there was such a desire from the fan base and an excitement from fans for live music coming back that we knew we were ready.”

Helping boost sales was the chart success of Chris Young’s track “Famous Friends” featuring Brown, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Country Airplay in July, two months after the Blessed & Free Tour went on sale.

“At almost every show, we had NBA players come out on stage for ‘Famous Friends,’ often with the mascots from each team,” Schaefer said. In Milwaukee, player Khris Middleton appeared on stage for the song months after leading the Bucks to their first NBA Finals victory.

During the downtime between the February date in Vegas and the Canada show, Brown performed the first concert ever held at Finley Stadium in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, on May 7.

“It was a heavy lift and we all learned a lot together including the stadium staff,” Schaefer recalls. “We don’t really say no to a lot of things. If it’s Kane’s dream to do it, we’re gonna help make that happen. That’s what we do for a living here.”

A month later, Brown reached another milestone, headlining a stadium show at Fenway Park in Boston on June 23. The venue became available to Brown thanks to a quick sellout at the city’s TD Garden arena five months earlier on the Blessed & Free Tour.

“That was the great thing about this tour — each success lead to a new opportunity and a chance for Kane to hit a bunch of venues he has always wanted to play,” Earls said. “We learned more than we ever thought possible and watched Kane continue to grow and strengthen his relationship with fans who have grown with him. We are all so proud of what he has achieved.”

22 Dec 2022

Dave Grohl’s Daughter Violet Stuns With Janis Ian’s ‘At Seventeen’ on 4th Night of 2022 ‘Hanukkah Sessions’

On the fourth night of Hanukkah Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin gave us a classic coming-of-age song. Mid-way through this year’s “Hanukkah Sessions,” the Foo Fighters leader and producer invited Grohl’s 16-year-old daughter, Violet, to the stage for a moving cover of Janis Ian’s 1975 hit “At Seventeen.”

“I learned the truth at 17/ That love was meant for beauty queens/ And high school girls with clear-skinned smiles/ Who married young and then retired,” Violet sang in a voice too young to be as world-weary as the character in Ian’s song. Strumming an acoustic guitar as dad Dave gently brushed the drums behind her and producer Kurstin provided light-touch, jazzy piano backing, the preternaturally poised teen brought a hush over the room as she painted a world of teen angst that swings from hope to angsty despair and back again.

And, in a touching moment, proud dad Dave gave his daughter a huge smile and two fists up for her elegant efforts at song’s end.

“Born Janis Eddy Fink, a 23-year-old Janis Ian wrote one of the all time classic coming of age anthems ‘At Seventeen’ — here it is as interpreted by Violet Grohl,” read the video’s description. It’s just the latest impressive showing by Violet, who also joined her dad and a parade of all-stars paying tribute to late Foo’s drummer Taylor Hawkins at a pair of memorial concerts in London and L.A. earlier this year, where she effortlessly pulled off moving covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and Jeff Buckley’s “Last Goodbye.”

So far this season, Kurstin and Grohl have teamed with the former’s The Bird and the Bee bandmate Inara George for 10cc’s “The Things We Do For Love,” P!nk on “Get the Party Started” and director Judd Apatow for Blood, Sweat & Tears’ “Spinning Wheel.” This is Grohl and Kurstin’s third year posting eight nights of covers of songs made famous by Jewish musicians. In a twist, this year’s efforts were all recorded live at Los Angeles’ intimate Largo on Dec. 5 with a cast of all-star guests taking the stage at the 250-capacity club.

Grohl and Kurstin released the first “Sessions” in Dec. 2020 in the midst of the first winter of the COVID-19 pandemic, dropping one new cover for each night of the holiday. In the midst of a concerning rise in antisemitic incidents and hate speech in the U.S., proceeds from the Largo night went to the Anti-Defamation League.

Watch “At Seventeen” below.

21 Dec 2022

Rihanna’s ‘Lift’ Rises to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart

Rihanna conquers a new radio format with her long-awaited comeback single, “Lift Me Up.” The track, from the soundtrack to the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, crowns the Adult R&B Airplay list dated Dec. 24. It’s her first No. 1 — and top 10 — on the chart and her ninth charting song on the list to date.

“Lift” jumps from No. 3 after a 24% surge in plays that made it the most-played song on U.S. monitored adult R&B stations in the week ending Dec. 18, according to Luminate. Thanks to the double-digit improvement, the new champ captures the weekly Greatest Gainer honor for the biggest increase in plays among the chart’s 30 titles.

“Lift” seizes the throne from Jazmine Sullivan’s “Hurt Me So Good,” displacing the latter after two weeks in charge. “Hurt” is pushed 1-2, despite a 5% gain in plays at the format.

With “Lift,” Rihanna registers her first Adult R&B Airplay No. 1 upon her ninth appearance on the list. Before the new champ, her previous career peak was a No. 13 result from her and Bryson Tiller’s featured slots on DJ Khaled’s “Wild Thoughts” in 2018. As a lead act, her prior best was her maiden entry, “Take a Bow,” which reached No. 21 in 2008.

Elsewhere, “Lift” continues its run across several other formats. It repeats at No. 5 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, where it registered 17.1 million in weekly audience impressions, an 18% upswing from the prior week. With that boost, the single captures that chart’s Greatest Gainer honor, too. On Rhythmic Airplay, it holds at its No. 6 peak thus far, though it gained 3% in weekly plays in the latest tracking week. The single moves 9-8 on the Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart to return to its peak, first reached two weeks ago, and added 5% more plays. And though it slides 14-17 on Adult Pop Airplay, “Lift” registered a 4% bump in weekly plays at that format.

21 Dec 2022

‘The Best Man: The Final Chapters’: How to Stream the Limited Series for Free

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“Just like old times, only better.” Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Regina Hall, Sanaa Lathan, Melissa De Sousa, Terrence Howard and Harold Perrineau reunite in The Best Man: The Final Chapters.

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The limited series, based on the film franchise written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, will premiere on Peacock on Thursday (Dec. 22).

Fans of The Best Man will get a chance to catch up with the lives of Harper (Diggs), Robyn (Lathan), Jordan (Long), Lance (Chestnut), Quentin (Howard), Shelby (De Sousa), Candace (Hall) and “Murch” (Perrineau) in the spinoff series developed, written and executive produced by Lee and Dayna Lynn North.

Although one familiar face will be missing from the show (Monica Calhoun’s character died from cancer in the 2013 sequel), the series will introduce new characters played by Yvonna Pearson, Sinorice Moss, Aaron Serotsky, Nicole Ari Parker, Terrence Terrell, Michael Genet, Tobias Truvillion, Eric Scott Ways, Ron Canada and Brandon Victor Dixon.

Lee, Charles Stone III, Robert Townsend and Stacey Muhammad directed episodes of The Best Man: The Final Chapters.

How to Watch The Best Man: The Final Chapters for Free

All eight episodes of The Best Man: The Final Chapters will drop on Peacock on Thursday. The show will stream at no extra cost to subscribers.

Not subscribed? Peacock starts at $4.99/month for the ad-supported plan and $9.99/month to stream without commercials. Peacock also provides free episodes and eligible Xfinity, Cox and Spectrum customers can get a free subscription to the platform.

Peacock

$4.99/month

From binge-worthy TV shows to must-watch movies, daily news, kid-friendly content, Spanish-language series, Sunday Night Football, WWE and live sporting events, Peacock has a little something for everyone.

Stream Peacock Originals such as A Friend of the Family, Irreverent, Vampire Academy, Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin, The Resort, LoveIsland USA, Bel-Air, Dr. Death, Saved by the Bell, Rutherford Falls and Days of Our Lives, plus old and new seasons of Bravo’s The Real Housewives franchise, previous seasons of Yellowstone, and current NBC and Telemundo shows the day after the air.

Watch the trailer for The Best Man: The Final Chapters below.

21 Dec 2022

SZA’s ‘Kill Bill’ Fills No. 1 Spot on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart

One week after SZA’s first anniversary at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, the singer-songwriter returns to the summit for her second career chart-topper thanks to “Kill Bill.” The track debuts at No. 1 on the list dated Dec. 24 and is one of seven SZA titles in the top 10, all from her new album, SOS.

“Kill Bill” traces its chart-topping start largely to 36.9 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 15, according to Luminate, for a No. 1 opening on the R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs chart. The track also sold 1,000 downloads in the same period and pulled 22,000 in radio audience impressions. The low radio audience is due to the song not being an actively promoted single to radio stations — “Shirt” is the current track at R&B/hip-hop stations, while “Nobody Gets Me” is targeted toward the pop and rhythmic sectors.

Before “Kill Bill,” SZA reigned on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart with “I Hate U,” which likewise earned its chart-topping rule by debuting in the top slot. The single arrived in the penthouse on the chart dated Dec. 18, 2021, and led for one week. As both “I Hate U” and “Kill Bill” appear on SOS, the album is the first to yield two Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs leaders since The Weeknd’s After Hours sparked No. 1s in “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights.”

SOS also arrives with chart-topping accolades. The set storms in at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top R&B Albums charts with 318,000 equivalent album units. Of that sum, 310,000 units derive from streaming — equal to 404.6 million official on-demand U.S. streams for the album’s songs, a new one-week record for any R&B album. On the former two charts, SOS grants SZA her first No. 1, while she picks up her second on the lattermost, after Ctrl reigned in 2017 upon its original release and again, earlier this year, following its deluxe edition’s premiere on the set’s fifth anniversary.

“Kill Bill” leads a parade of SZA cuts onto Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, with seven tracks in the top 10 and 20 on the chart overall. Here’s a rundown of all her placements this week:

No. 1, “Kill Bill”
No. 2, “Nobody Gets Me”
No. 3, “Blind”
No. 6, “Low”
No. 7, “Shirt”
No. 8, “Love Language”
No. 9, “Seek & Destroy”
No. 11, “Snooze”
No. 12, “Used,” featuring Don Toliver
No. 13, “SOS”
No. 16, “Special”
No. 17, “Ghost in the Machine,” featuring Phoebe Bridgers
No. 19, “Gone Girl”
No. 20, “Notice Me”
No. 23, “Smoking on My Ex Pack”
No. 24, “Open Arms,” featuring Travis Scott
No. 27, “Conceited”
No. 29, “Far”
No. 30, “Too Late”
No. 35, “Forgiveless,” featuring Ol’ Dirty Bastard

Plus, in addition to “I Hate U,” another prior SOS single, “Good Days,” reached No. 3 in 2021.

The SZA takeover also extends to the Hot R&B Songs chart, where the hitmaker posts eight tracks in the top 10 and 18 songs on the 25-position list. “Bill” leads the pack and becomes her third No. 1 on the list, after “The Weekend” and “I Hate U” each ruled for one week in, respectively, 2018 and 2021.

21 Dec 2022

Lizzo Shows Off Her New ‘Wolf Cut’ on TikTok

Lizzo, fresh off of her appearance as musical guest on SNL last weekend, has a fresh new look.

She took to TikTok on Tuesday (Dec. 20) to show off her new hairstyle, a wolf cut featuring shaggy, wavy layers and bangs.

“are we loving the wolf cut ???” she asked her followers on the post, which had reached 3.9 million views at press time.

In the video, Lizzo mouths a Blair Waldorf line from the original Gossip Girl series: “Some people are simply better than others.”

Her cute new hairstyle can also be seen in a second clip, in which the singer applied lipstick and showed off her outfit, a T-shirt dress with cut-outs. “I’m posting a lot today so beware,” she wrote.

“Obsessed w how cute I was yesterday,” she added in an Instagram glimpse at herself in the mirror.

See Lizzo’s new hairstyle below and on her TikTok.