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It’s the season of giving, and GloRilla is doing her part. Big Glo returned home to her alma mater Melrose High School in Memphis on Wednesday (Dec. 17), where she surprised students and faculty members with a $25,000 check. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The CMG […]
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Lil Wayne, Marshmello, and other entertainers were revealed to have abused pandemic grants numbering into the millions, instead using the funds to splurge on hotels, trips, and other offenses. Among those named in the new report, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant funds were reportedly misused by Rae Sremmurd, Chris Brown, and more.
In a new report from Business Insider, it was revealed that Lil Wayne, Marshello, Chris Brown, and members of the Alice In Chains band all received funds from the pandemic-era Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) meant to supplant the careers of working musicians and the venues they perform in while much of the nation and world contended with the rise of the COVID-19 virus.
Lil Wayne received $8.9 million in SVOG funds, spending $1.3 million on private chartered flights and over $450,000 on clothing and other miscellaneous items. The report also showed that the New Orleans star spent over $175,000 on expenses for a music festival related to his GKUA cannabis brand, and clothes for artists on his Young Money record label. Further, $15,000 in grant funds were used on flights and hotels for women with loose connections to the rapper’s touring operation, one of which was also reported to be an adult actress.
The SVOG was touted by members of Congress as a means to keep venues afloat and help keep musicians and their staff financially whole as touring was all but shut down for many during the height of the pandemic.
The outlet came to uncover that beyond Wayne, Chris Brown used his $10 million in SVOG grant funds to pay for a birthday party that approached $80,000 in costs. He also pocketed $5.1 million of the SVOG funds personally by way of his company, CBE Touring. Brown also used $24,000 of the grant to pay for a tour bus from the United States to Tulum, Mexico in 2020 for a monthlong stay for him and his team but did not perform in the resort town.
Other names mentioned in the Business Insider report include Marshmello, who received $9.9 million in SVOG funds and reportedly pocketed it all. Rae Sremmurd’s Sreem Touring was given $7.7 million, which was paid to Swae Lee and Slim Jxmmi.
Representatives for the artists in question declined to comment on the findings of the report. As for any ramifications, the government has gotten back some of the misused funds from Chris Brown. It wasn’t stated if officials would go after the other individuals named.
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Burning Man still needs to raise $14 million amid its ongoing fundraising efforts.
An email sent out to the Burning Man community on Thursday (Dec. 19) from Burning Man Project CEO Marian Goodell provided an update on the fundraising push that the nonprofit organization launched in October seeking $20 million.
“We started 2024 with a commitment to raise $10 million philanthropically,” Goodell’s email states. “This was up 20% from the $8.2 million raised in 2023. Due to the ticket sales shortfall to Black Rock City in 2024, we found ourselves needing to make mission-aligned budget adjustments and raise the remaining deficit to the tune of approximately $10 million—this, in addition to the initial $10 million goal. And today, with reductions as well as dollars raised from supporters, we’re still about $14 million short of where we ought to be.”
The email continues that “thanks to the generosity of enthusiastic donors” the fundraising campaign is now matching donations through the end of the year.
The update comes amid a fundraising campaign launched in October by Burning Man Project — the nonprofit behind the annual gathering in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and other Burning Man-related initiatives — that notified Burners that the organization needs to raise $20 million in charitable donations by the end of 2024 due to the fact that the 2024 festival did not sell out “as planned,” per Goodell’s original announcement.
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As reported by Billboard in November, each year since 2016 before the main ticket sale begins, roughly 4,000 Burning Man tickets go on sale for much more than main sale tickets — this year selling at $1,500 and $2,500. These tickets, which are typically purchased by people who have cash to spare and don’t want to risk not getting a ticket during the main sale, usually bring in approximately $7 million — and nearly $10 million in 2023. But in November a spokesperson for BMP said that in 2024, higher-priced ticket sales totaled $3.4 million, down nearly $6 million from the prior year.
This budget deficit is creating uncertainty about ticket prices for the 2025 Burning Man event in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. “If we don’t set ourselves up right, we’re going to have to raise ticket prices,” Goodell told Billboard in November, “[especially because] we don’t have the sponsorships that the other festivals do. And I’d like to lower ticket prices.”
Goodell’s latest update emphasizes that Burning Man organizers are “determined to keep Burning Man financially accessible by offering reasonably priced ticket options for Black Rock City 2025,” and also notes that representatives of Burning Man Project are “making ourselves more accessible. By offering town halls, office hours and more clearly providing contact points for you within the nonprofit, we are making ourselves available to participants as a resource.”
Nikki Glaser paid a pretty penny to follow Taylor Swift on 22 Eras Tour shows these past two years — but she has no regrets.
In an interview with People published Thursday (Dec. 19), the comedian revealed that she spent “close to $100,000” on nearly two-dozen Eras concerts since the trek kicked off in March 2023, “including travel expenses, hotels, and me also flying and putting up everyone that I would invite to go with me, plus tickets, plus merch.”
“All well worth it,” Glaser continued. “I would’ve paid even more.”
Though the amount she spent might be eye-popping to a lot of people, the Trainwreck star has long been open about her diehard love for the “Anti-Hero” singer. By October 2023, she’d already spent $25,000 on Eras tickets, telling Kelly Clarkson at the time that she’d originally planned on using the money to freeze her eggs, but decided to use it on Swift’s trek instead.
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In July, Glaser’s show count had gone up to 17. “I know, I know! I’m addicted,” she said on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, revealing that she would consistently fly all over the world to catch various Eras stops while on breaks from her own Alive and Unwell comedy tour. In August, she was supposed to see Swift perform in Vienna, but the performances were canceled due to a terrorism plot.
It’s a so-called addiction that Glaser now has no choice but to kick, with Swift wrapping up her blockbuster run after two years and 149 shows with a final performance in Vancouver, B.C., Dec. 8. The 14-time Grammy winner finished with a historic $2 billion+ in grosses.
While speaking to People, Glaser said that she can justify the fraction she contributed to Swift’s haul because she doesn’t have kids on whom to spend the $100,000. “It’s something that I consciously decided not to do, and it was something that I struggled with,” the stand-up said of becoming a mom. “It wasn’t the easiest decision.”
“There was a part of me that was like, ‘I would like kids,’ but it just doesn’t fit in my life,” she continued. “In order for me to make myself feel better about the decision, I did look up how much it cost to raise a kid. And so once I saw that number, I thought, ‘It’s no problem for me to spend this on Taylor Swift.’”
Thursday (Dec. 19) would have marked Earth, Wind & Fire founder Maurice White’s 83rd birthday. To honor his big brother, EWF co-founder Verdine White has released a new single titled “Superman.” The release — available on all music platforms through DistroKid — also marks the first time that the group’s renowned bassist is singing solo.
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“Would you believe this is my first time,” a laughing White tells Billboard. “I was nervous, but it turned out beautifully. Now that the pressure is off, I think I’ll do more.”
“Superman” was brought to White’s attention by Motown Records lyricist Janie Bradford (Barrett Strong’s “Money [That’s What I Want]”) a little over a year ago. Completed by Bradford and White in collaboration with Carnell Harrell, the loving tribute was produced by Shelly Clark White, co-founder of the late ‘60s R&B/soul girl group Honey Cone (“Want Ads”) and Verdine’s wife. Featured along with Clark on backing vocals are fellow current Honey Cone members Kathy Merrick and Wendy Smith-Bruné.
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Verdine White and Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire
Verdine White Archives
With its vibrant fusion of R&B, soul and pop, “Superman” is immediately reminiscent of EWF’s legendary zeitgeist. And its heartfelt lyrics evoke all that Maurice means to baby brother Verdine. As the latter expresses in a pleasing tenor on the song’s chorus, “More than any other/ He would always understand/ He called me his little brother / I called him Superman.” (Check out the song and its video on YouTube, which also features photos and clips of Maurice.)
“Maurice is the icon,” says White of his brother, who passed away from Parkinson’s disease in 2016. “A great leader, great big brother, great mentor. And he did a magnificent job in putting together Earth, Wind & Fire. We miss him dearly.”
Still going strong 55 years after it 1969 inception, EWF — whose bastion of hits includes “Shining Star,” “That’s the Way of the World,” “September” and “Can’t Hide Love” — hit the road this year for a string of solo shows in addition to joint shows with Lionel Richie and Chicago. And the group is already set to play the Hollywood Bowl next year on July 2, 3 and 4. Also in the works: an EWF documentary directed by Questlove.
Asked how Maurice would react to “Superman,” White says, “I think he’d chuckle and say, ‘Man, I didn’t know you could sing like that.’”
Thirty-five years after Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1989, a cover of the song from Deadpool & Wolverine rules the TikTok Billboard Top 50 dated Dec. 21.
The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity from Dec. 9 to 15. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
The I’ll Take You There Choir version of “Like a Prayer,” heard in the 2024 Marvel/Disney superhero film originally released in July, lifts 2-1 to rule the chart in its second week.
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The choir-led rendition of the song has earned TikTok prominence thanks most recently to a trend in which creators tell a long text-based story (often one that’s embarrassing for the user), accompanied by a photo of Pepe from The Muppets.
This version of “Like a Prayer” earned 1.5 million official U.S. streams in the week ending Dec. 12, a gain of 37%, according to Luminate. Madonna’s original, meanwhile, has received auxiliary attention of its own: 1.6 million streams, up 12%.
“Like a Prayer” leads a change at the top of the TikTok Billboard Top 50, as M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes” and Malcolm Todd’s “Chest Pain (I Love)” follow at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, both songs’ first time in the top five.
“Paper Planes,” a No. 4 hit on the Hot 100 for M.I.A. in 2008, vaults 21-2 in its second week on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 thanks to a dance trend. Its corresponding streaming gains are enough to push the song onto the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart at No. 16 via 3.7 million streams, a gain of 29%.
“Chest Pain (I Love),” meanwhile, continues to rise after the song was released on streaming services on Dec. 4, following weeks of it being teased on TikTok. Todd’s repeated “I love” refrain is highlighted in most of the clips, which often center around creators and the people or things they love. The tune earned 3.1 million streams in its first full week of release and bowed at No. 20 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Two other songs pop into the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s top 10 for the first time, led by Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari,” which leaps 13-6. “White Ferrari” reaches the top 10 in its ninth week on the tally and marks Ocean’s first song in the region since the ranking began in September 2023. The song rises from the “lamp looks weird” trend, where users question if a moment they think they’re experiencing or want to experience is actually happening or if it’s some sort of simulation or dream.
The other, Jeddy Knox’s “Wander On,” jumps 14-10 in its second week. Released Nov. 21, the country song has been used in a variety of sports-related videos as well as other general viral content.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.
There’s been no shortage of excellent K-pop albums this year, and now that 2024 is winding down, Billboard wants to know which record has defined your year the most. Three K-pop artists earned career milestones on the Billboard 200 with projects this year: TWICE earned their first chart-topper in March with the girl group’s personalized […]
Chris Martin is known for being a super-chill dude. The Coldplay singer seems perpetually at ease, consistently radiating a positive energy and a “let’s hug it out” vibe that has helped fill stadiums around the world (usually for three or more nights) for the past two years on his band’s record-setting Music of the Spheres tour.
And in a new Rolling Stone cover story, Martin seems, for the most part, completely unbothered, leaning into radical acceptance of what his band’s music means and how the world hears their operating thesis: peace and love are the answer.
“When I’m saying these things about world peace, I’m also talking about my own inside,” he told the magazine. “It’s a daily thing not to hate yourself. Forget about outside critics — it’s the inside ones, too. That’s really our mission right now: We are consciously trying to fly the flag for love being an approach to all things. There aren’t that many [groups] that get to champion that philosophy to that many people. So we do it. And I need to hear that too, so that I don’t give up and just become bitter and twisted and hidden away, and hate everybody. I don’t want to do that, but it’s so tempting.”
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Much of the profile runs around a familiar topic: Coldplay not being cool. But after 28 years, 100 million albums and more than 10 million tickets sold on their tour to date , Martin, once again, said that he’s 100% okay with leaning into the Coldplay-ness of it all and not worrying what people say, or think, about his band.
“There’ve been times where we [were like], ‘Well, we should probably try and look a bit like this or talk a bit like that,’” Martin said about the constant pressure to change up from the group’s signature happy global peace warrior vibe. “And now, it’s just like, ‘No.’ Just follow whatever’s being sent. And that’s a very liberating place to be. If you want a puppet to sing a bit of a song, well, some people might not like this — my mum being one of them, for example. But my point is, that’s part of my journey to be like, ‘Well, I love you, and this is what we’re doing.”
Sure, they sing with puppets and wear themed outfits on their tours, and popped into QVC to hawk their latest album, Moon Music. But for Martin, the sometimes derisive slings and arrows are part of the “you do you, I’ll do me” game, something the preternaturally chill singer said he’s come to accept. “It would be terrible if we lived in a society where everyone had to [like the same thing]. We’re a very, very easy, safe target,” Martin said. “We’re not going to bite back. We are four white, middle-class men from England. We deserve to take some s–t for what our people have done. There’s a reason we get to play all around the world, and part of it is not necessarily very healthy.”
The Music of the Spheres tour is an overwhelming visual extravaganza, full of confetti, dancing aliens, four blasts of fireworks, kinetic dance floors, exercise bikes that power the satellite stage and enough unassailably sweet, moving moments that it can sometimes feel like Mickey Mouse’s Starlight Parade. Which, by the way, Martin is also totally fine with.
“Maybe the theatrics are all part of that. It’s a bit Disneyland-ish in terms of ‘OK, let’s exist for a couple of hours in this place where no one hates each other,’” he said. “The second-happiest place on Earth. Copyright, Coldplay.”
Martin appears open to speak about just about any topic — including his incessant teasing of son Moses, 18, and his endless love for daughter Apple, 20 — except his relationship with longtime love (and reported fiancée) actress Dakota Johnson. In the wake of tabloid rumors questioning whether their love light has faded, Martin told RS it is not his story to tell.
“It is important to say that [romantic love] is such a big factor in everything, even though it feels right to keep it precious and private; I’m not denying its power,” he said, though the writer noted that the singer mentioned Johnson in passing several times during their chats, including that they had listened to Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour album together recently. He also revealed that among his “handful” of best friends are Later, he says he has only a handful of best friends, among them Coldplay’s manager, his bandmates, his kids and Johnson.
Martin is also keenly aware of the boom-bust cycle of pop stardom and the toll it can take, noting that every year there’s a new artist that comes along, or releases an album that “puts you in your place,” leaving fellow musicians humbled and inspired. For him, that was Chappell Roan this year. “I hope she’s OK,” he said of the “Pink Pony Club” singer who has been frank about her struggles managing the suddenly intense spotlight.
“It’s hard for the younger ones, especially when they’re on their own,” he added, giving thanks that he’s had his three longtime friends/bandmates bassist Guy Berryman, guitarist Jonny Buckland and drummer Will Champion, along for the ride.
In the end, Martin summed up the tension of being both one of the most beloved and one of the most critically dunked-on bands on the planet. “It’s like you start off as a band with three fans and one guy at the bar who thinks you’re s–t. And then you get to a band with 3,000 fans and 10 guys on the internet who think you’re s–t,” he said. “And then as you become the biggest band in the world, you also become the least popular band in the world. You can never escape. You can never win, if you’re looking for just winning. The stronger the light, the darker the shadow.”
He also once again leaned into the notion that his band has only two more albums in the tank, an animated musical based on a story he and manager Phil Harvey are writing together, as well as a final, self-titled LP that will bring it back to the start. “The cover of the album I’ve known it since 1999,” he said of the image that harkens back to Coldplay’s very earliest days.
Oh, but also he’d love to release a compendium of all the songs that never made it onto a Coldplay album called Alphabetica, which will go through the alphabet thanks to outtakes and orphans that never made the cut. “We don’t have any spare songs with Q,” he lamented. “That’s the one I’m stuck with.”
Lady Gaga fans are going to learn a lot more about the pop star’s life once her seventh studio album drops in February.
In a new interview with the Los Angeles Times published Thursday (Dec. 19), Gaga spilled details about the highly anticipated LP, a life-spanning project that she says is “full of [her] love of music” and contains “so many different genres, so many different styles, so many different dreams.”
“It leaps around genre in a way that’s almost corrupt,” the 13-time Grammy winner told the publication. “And it ends with love. That’s the answer to all the chaos in my life is that I find peace with love. Every song that I wrote, I just kept getting kind of swept away in these different dreams I was having about the past — almost like a recollection of all these bad decisions that I made in my life.”
She added, “But it ends in this very happy place.”
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The A Star Is Born actress first revealed in a September interview with Vogue that her long-awaited seventh album would arrive at the beginning of next year, just a couple months before she headlines Coachella 2025. She also shared at the time that her fiancé, tech businessman Michael Polansky, was the person who convinced her it was time to return to pop music following 2020’s Chromatica.
Gaga has since dropped LG7’s lead single, November’s “Disease,” a dark dance-pop track that reached No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three months prior, she and Bruno Mars teamed up for cinematic duet “Die With a Smile,” which the “Rain on Me” singer confirmed to the Times is definitely on her new album’s tracklist.
“It’s a huge part of my album,” she told the publication of the ballad, which spent eight weeks atop the Billboard Global 200. “It was like this missing piece.”
“It was the lyrics — this idea of a song that was about what we would do if the world was ending,” Gaga added of making “Die With a Smile” with the Silk Sonic star. “I just remember feeling like it was a song that people needed to hear. I write music all the time, and sometimes you feel like you’re making something that some people will like. But there’s other times that you work on something and you just know it’s gonna deeply speak to all different kinds of people. I knew it right away.”
Alicia Keys is set to receive the 2025 Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the fourth annual Recording Academy Honors Presented by the Black Music Collective, to be held at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles on Thursday, Jan. 30. The award was established in 2023 to recognize artists whose influence extends far beyond music. It also takes into account entrepreneurial achievements, philanthropic efforts and global impact.
Dre received the inaugural award on the Grammy telecast in 2023. Jay-Z received on the telecast earlier this year, where he memorably called out Grammy voters for not yet honoring his wife, Beyoncé, in the album of the year category.
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Keys is a current Grammy nominee for best musical theater album for Hell’s Kitchen. The musical, based on Keys’ early career story and featuring her songs, opened at the Shubert Theatre in New York on April 20 and is still playing. It received 13 Tony nominations and won two – best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical (Maleah Joi Moon) and best performance by an actor in a featured role in a musical (Kecia Lewis).
“From her timeless music to her unwavering dedication to uplifting others, Alicia has made an indelible impact on the world,” Harvey Mason jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, said in a statement. “Alicia embodies everything the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award represents – her artistry knows no bounds, her advocacy inspires meaningful change, and her influence has profoundly shaped culture. We are honored to celebrate her extraordinary legacy and the transformative contributions she continues to make in music and beyond.”
Keys is a 16-time Grammy-winner. She won five Grammys in 2002, including best new artist and song of the year for “Fallin’.” She was just 21, which made her the youngest song of the year winner to that point.
Keys has amassed four No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and five No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200.
Returning for the fourth consecutive year to produce the Recording Academy Honors event is MVD Inc, with Adam Blackstone also returning as music supervisor for the evening. Blackstone won a Primetime Emmy in 2022 as the music director of The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent. He has received five Grammy nods, including one this year for working with Keys on the Hell’s Kitchen cast album.