billboard news

08 Dec 2023

Pop Culture Rewind: Celebrate Nicki Minaj’s Birthday by Looking Back at the Road That Led to ‘Pink Friday 2’ | Billboard News

Nicki Minaj celebrates her 41st birthday with the release of her much anticipated album Pink Friday 2, and Billboard is taking a look back at everything Nicki achieved when she broke through and released her debut album Pink Friday.

Evan Burke
Only an icon can give out gifts on their birthday. And that’s the queen of rap Nicki Minaj

Evan Burke
And from her “boom ba da boom bass” to it being Pink Friday yet again, we’re celebrating Nicki’s 41st birthday in this week’s pop culture rewind.

Evan Burke
It’s a monster moment in pop culture we’ll never forget. Nicki Minaj was killing the features early in her career, but her first album Pink Friday was full of massive hits.

Evan Burke
None bigger than “Super Bass.”

Evan Burke
A pop culture moments if we ever saw one.

Evan Burke
The album went No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned the follow up Pink Friday…Roman Reloaded, another No. 1. Is the third time also a charm for Nicki’s December 8th birthday? She’s releasing Pink Friday 2 and as teased us with track “Last Time I Saw You.” The rapper has three Hot 100 No. 1 hits “Say So” with Dojo Cat, “Trollz” with 6ix9ine and her solo hit “Super Freaky Girl.”

Evan Burke
Which chart will her loyal Barbs help her top as a birthday gift back? We can’t wait to see. We’ll have another huge moment for you next week in our Pop Culture Rewind.

07 Dec 2023

Ice Spice & Doja Cat Open Up in New Podcast Episode, Karol G Billboard Cover & More | Billboard News

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Ice Spice and Doja Cat discuss a wide variety of topics in a new episode of Instagram’s podcast ‘Close Friends Only,’ Billboard reveals their latest cover star, Colombian superstar Karol G, the Billboard Español and Latin staffs rank the best Latin pop songs of the 21st century, Playboi Carti once again tops the TikTok Billboard top 50 with “Sky,” Angela Simmons shows off her vegan Angela Cakes and Jordin Sparks shares her favorite holiday gifts from Walmart and more!

Tetris Kelly
Karol G graces the cover of Billboard. We break down the top Latin pop songs of the 21st century. Doja Cat and Ice Spice launch a podcast, we’ve seen who’s dominating our TikTok Billboard Top 50 and our TalkShopLive week continues with Jordin Sparks. Welcome back to Billboard News, I’m Tetris Kelly, and it’s Thursday, December 7th. I can’t wait to get to our latest cover start but first, let’s get into Doja Cat and Ice Spice’s new podcasts.

Ice Spice
What do you consider as flirting on IG? Hyping up in comments, liking your story

Doja Cat
leaving a comment on every single photo

Ice Spice
Oh my god, not me flirting with you. I comment on everything.

Tetris Kelly
Doja Cat and Ice Spice are giving us everything we need over on IG and we’re breaking down some of their best moments. Instagram has treated us to a special edition podcast called ‘Close Friends Only’ and it features our queens Doja Cat and Ice Spice in their first ever sit down. They talked memes, fashion, beauty trends and yes, one day we could have the chance to be on Ice Spice’s close friends.
Doja Cat
How would someone make the cut for your close friends list? What’s the checklist?

Ice Spice
The checklist would have to be we’ve met in person at least once. Okay, yeah, that’s about it.

07 Dec 2023

Angela Simmons on Angela’s Cakes & Jordin Sparks’ Top Walmart Gifts:  TalkShopLive | Billboard News

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Angela Simmons shows off Angela’s Cakes during day three of Billboard’s Live Shopping Week and Jordin Sparks shares her top gifts from Walmart for the holiday season.

Tetris Kelly:
All week long we are here helping you with your holiday shopping by partnering with TalkShopLive. Yesterday we teamed up with Jordin Sparks and Walmart to bring you gift ideas for both children and adults. We were also joined up with Angela Simmons for a peek into the world of her ‘Angela’s Cakes.’

To shop any of the items featured use the link below.

Shop Angela Cakes or Jordin Sparks’ top gifts from Walmart: https://talkshop.live/watch/7S5oXCi3Agld, https://talkshop.live/watch/FgH25lMxGbCK

07 Dec 2023

Playboi Carti Back Atop TikTok Billboard Top 50, Mariah Carey Rises to the Top 3 | Billboard News

Playboi Carti’s “Sky” returns to No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” creeping even closer to the top of the list, rising 3-2 on the ranking dated Dec. 9.

Tetris Kelly:
Playboy Carti returns to the top while Mariah Carey inches her way closer to No. 1.

Playboy Carti’s “Sky” soars back to No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for the chart posting Dec. 7. And while that may be thanks to the “first of the month” lyrics, December is time for Christmas. The Queen of Christmas climbed one step closer to the top with “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” jumps from 18 up to No. 9. Not bad for a 78-year-old holiday legend.

Every Thursday, Billboard will bring you the verified list of the hottest songs on TikTok by monitoring music discovery and engagement on the platform in the United States. To find the TikTok Billboard Top 50 each week, users can simply go to any sound detail page and tap the top right button to access the charts page.

06 Dec 2023

Victoria Monét on The Jaguar Tour, Her First Solo Hot 100 Entry, Love for Ciara & More | Tour Stop With Billboard News

Singer, songwriter and dancer Victoria Monét gives Billboard a full behind-the-scenes look at her The Jaguar Tour, being a mother on the road, getting her first solo Billboard Hot 100 placement, love for Ciara and more!

Victoria Monét:
Are you hearing that?

Cameraman:
Yeah, let’s hold for one second.

Victoria Monét:
I can’t get no quiet around here because we’re on tour.

What’s up? It’s Victoria Monét, and this is my tour stop in New York City. And this is where I’m at the stage right down there in a little bit, so see you there!

It’s my very first tour, headlining ever. I’m doing a combination of songs from Jaguar I and Jaguar II. So you get, like, kind of two of my projects in one tour. It’s just really awesome. I’m excited to be doing this.

If I had to pick my favorite songs to perform from ‘Jaguar I and II, I think I would bookend it. My show starts with “Moment,” which is from Jaguar I, and it’s always exciting to see the crowd for the very first time. Everyone’s just, like, super in tune, all the phones are out, so that’s always really exciting. And then the finale is really fun. I do a song from Jaguar II called “On My Mama.” There’s a lot of energy surrounding it — it’s on the radio right now, so it feels very current.

The dance from the music video is somewhat viral, so I can see people doing it in the audience, so that always makes it more, like, an interactive part of the show, which feels really fun to do.

To see “On My Mama” become my first solo Hot 100 entry is really insane. I’ve been writing for so long and I’ve seen glimpses of it for my pen, but not for me as an artist, so it’s really, like, a whole new light for me. I’m super excited. I’m really grateful. I know how much it takes to get an accolade now. So I’m just thankful for everyone who is behind the scenes pushing it, every person at radio, everybody who’s streaming it and sharing with their friends and just making it go and do what it’s doing. I just have a really good understanding of what it takes to be anywhere near Hot 100. So I’m very, very thankful.

And now we are headed to talk to the GRAMMY U students!

Watch the full video above!

06 Dec 2023

BLACKPINK Renew Contract With YG, Taylor Swift Gets Candid About Travis Kelce & More | Billboard News

BLACKPINK renewed their contract with YG following rumors that Jennie, Jisoo and Lisa were planning to leave the agency. Taylor Swift was named Time’s Person of the Year and got candid about her new relationship with Travis Kelce, what fans can expect from ‘Reputation (Taylor’s Version)’ and her infamous phone call with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. Cardi B’s cryptic post on Instagram Stories sparked breakup rumors with husband Offset. Morgan Wallen is on the cover of Billboard’s No. 1s issue. Victoria Monét opened up about touring as a mom, performing songs from ‘JAGUAR’ and ‘JAGUAR II,’ her biggest inspirations and more on the latest episode of Tour Stop. We showed off the best gifts from Netflix shows and movies on talkshoplive during Billboard Live Shopping Week and more!

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Shop the best gifts from Netflix shows and movies from Billboard Live Shopping Week with talkshoplive here: https://talkshop.live/watch/M9Eo-mg_TlCt

Tetris Kelly:
Cardi B and Offset have us wondering what’s up. BLACKPINK is returning to your area. We’ve joined Victoria Monet on tour. Taylor Swift is Time’s Person of the Year. And our Billboard Live Shopping Week continues.

I’m Tetris Kelly. It’s Wednesday, December 6th. We’ve got so much to get into in today’s Billboard News.

First, we’ve got to talk about our latest cover star. Morgan Wallen is the cover star for our No. 1s issue. In his first major interview in over two years, the country star touches on everything from dominating our charts in 2023, being a leader in the resurgence of country music’s popularity and mainstream, to the lessons he’s learned since his 2021 scandal and actions following. Morgan also comments on being snubbed at peer-voted awards shows like the CMAs and Grammys.

Cardi B is no stranger to speaking her mind, but her latest truths have us wondering what’s going on. Rap’s biggest couple may be in trouble again. Fans are speculating that Cardi B and Offset are splitting up. Cardi B sparked rumors that her and Offset may be headed for a breakup. Earlier this week, the rapper posted to her Instagram Stories two cryptic messages, reading, “You know when you just outgrow relationships,” followed by, “I’m tired of protecting people’s feelings… I GOTTA PUT MYSELF FIRST!”

Watch the full video above!

06 Dec 2023

Billboard & TalkShopLive Feature Exclusive Walmart Toys From Your Favorite Netflix Shows & Movies | Billboard News

All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.

Billboard and TalkShopLive partnered up to feature exclusive Walmart toys from your favorite Netflix shows and movies such as Stranger Things, Rebel Moon and Love Is Blind to help with your holiday shopping this year.

Tetris Kelly:
Continuing our weeklong partnership with TalkShopLive, we’ve teamed up with Walmart and Netflix to bring you gifts from all your favorite Netflix shows and movies like Squid Game, Stranger Things, Love Is Blind and their new film dropping Dec. 22, Rebel Moon. Check out some of these great items.

JoeJoe Corral:
So this dart blaster is the Adventure Force Stranger Things Demogorgon tracker dart blaster with Nerf darts. All right, so this guy right here again, this one’s loaded and I’ll let you … I’ll let you do this one. So basically, you’re gonna pull this, load it so it locks, and then, yeah, there you go.

Walaa Elsiddig:
Oh look, this is the first one where you can do multiple rounds at once. I’m assuming.

JoeJoe Corral:
Yeah. This is the one you really want on your side. She’s shooting our producer off camera.

Walaa Elsiddig:
You know, this is actually, this I imagined if I was gonna battle, I want all three of these, like, in rotation. So depending on what and who I’m attacking, I know which one to go for.

JoeJoe Corral:
Exactly.

Walaa Elsiddig:
These are so fun. And the grip, this was easy.

JoeJoe Corral:
It’s, like, it’s kind of crazy how effective it is. It just shot across the entire room.

Walaa Elsiddig:
Three times.

Tetris Kelly:
I have to get that Stranger Things dart blaster. To shop any of the items featured, use the link below.

Shop the best gifts from Netflix shows and movies from Billboard Live Shopping Week with TalkShopLive here.

05 Dec 2023

Juan Luis Guerra Talks ‘Radio Güira’ EP, ‘Capitán Avispa’ Film, Writing Music for His Wife & More | Billboard News

Latin music legend Juan Luis Guerra spoke with Billboard Español deputy editor Sigal Ratner-Arias about his latest EP ‘Radio Güira,’ his upcoming animated film ‘Capitán Avispa,’ writing music for his wife, finding inspiration, the key to his long career and more!

Juan Luis Guerra:
It was part of what ‘Radio Güira’ is. To bring joy and a message of peace, of love.

Hi, I’m Juan Luis Guerra, and you’re watching Billboard News.

Sigal Ratner-Arias:
Don Juan Luis Guerra, welcome to Billboard News. What an honor to have you here. Thanks for coming.

Juan Luis Guerra:
Thank you for the invitation.

Sigal Ratner-Arias:
“Radio Güira,” 6 songs merengue, son, bachata and more.

Juan Luis Guerra:
Yes.

Sigal Ratner-Arias:
Tell me a little to start. How did the – I know the radio concept and everything, but how did the name ‘Radio Güira’ come about? Why ‘Radio Güira’?

Juan Luis Guerra:
I was looking for a name that would attract attention and within them, Güira emerged. The güira is my favorite folk instrument and we thought ‘Radio Güira’ was going to attract a lot of attention. And we wanted to make a new concept with practically new music that we would not have done before. That’s where the name came from. Also, I used to have in the Dominican Republic a radio called ‘Radio Viva’ that had kind of the same concept this ‘Radio Güira’ has.

Sigal Ratner-Arias:
How did the EP idea arise? The idea of doing it as if presenting each song on a radio.

Watch the full video above!

05 Dec 2023

Juan Luis Guerra Reveals Details of His Animated Movie ‘Capitán Avispa,’ With Voice Cast Including Juanes and Luis Fonsi: Exclusive

In mid-November, Juan Luis Guerra shared on his social media a sneak peek of a new project that has him very excited: An animated movie called Capitán Avispa. The film, scheduled to hit theaters in the United States and Latin America sometime in 2024, according to Guerra, will feature old and new songs by the Dominican music master.

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See latest videos, charts and news

“In addition to the fact that I am going to write songs specifically for the character, you will hear everything from ‘Rosalía’ to ‘La Bilirrubina’,” Guerra told Billboard Español in a recent interview in New York, in which he revealed details of the movie for the first time. “He is a very beautiful character,” he added enthusiastically about Capitán Avispa (Captain Wasp in English). “He is a Latin hero, we could say, and everyone will like him.”

“Strong and brave, he never lies!” the insect declares in the teaser that Guerra published last month on his Instagram account, without identifying the voice behind the courageous and sweet character.

“The main voice of the Captain is done by my dear [Luis] Fonsi,” Guerra told Billboard Español in the interview recorded for Billboard News, adding that “Joy [Huerta, from Jesse & Joy] does the voice of Honey Bee, who is Capitán Avispa’s companion.” He also excitedly announced that they both sing a “beautiful song together — they are the most beautiful voices you can ever hear.”

Helmed by his son Jean Gabriel Guerra (who has directed many of his father’s music videos) along with animation director Jonathan Meléndez, Capitán Avispa was created by Juan Luis, who has recruited other friends and colleagues to give life to the different characters: Juanes provides the voice of Sargento Picadura, he revealed, and the Colombian rocker’s wife, actress Karen Martínez (also known as Chechi) plays Jimena. Additionally, Dominican actor José Guillermo Cortinez provides the voice of a character named Jacques Puasón, and Dominican actress Amelia Vega — Miss Universe 2003, as well as Guerra’s niece — voices Bolivia.

A four-time-Grammy and 24-time-Latin Grammy winner, Guerra has had a fruitful four-decade career, in which he’s placed dozens of songs and albums on the Billboard charts — from “Ojala Que Llueve Café,” his first entry on Hot Latin Songs, which reached No. 21 in Nov. 1989, and his iconic Bachata Rosa, which topped the Tropical Albums chart for 12 weeks in 1991; to “Mambo 23,” which reached No. 1 on the Tropical Airplay just last week (Nov. 25).

The latter song is part of his most recent production with his group 4.40, Radio Güira, a six-track EP full of humor, love and poetry, over mambo, bachata and merengue rhythms, very much in the style of Juan Luis Guerra. Each of the songs is presented as if it’s being played on the radio, with supposed calls from listeners and even a special cooking recipe.

“We wanted to put a smile on the faces of people who listened to Radio Güira,” Guerra said. “It was part of what Radio Güira is, bringing joy, bringing a message of peace, of love.”

Watch more of the interview above in the Billboard News video.

05 Dec 2023

BTS Military Update, Jung Kook & Usher Collab, Jamie Foxx Medical Condition & More | Billboard News

Jamie Foxx made his first appearance since a medical complication landed him in the hospital earlier this year. He opened up about the dire situation, saying he “saw the tunnel.” BIGHIT Music has announced that Jimin, V, Jung Kook and RM will enlist and begin their military service. Jung Kook also teased fans with a potential Usher collab after posting with the singer. Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” topped the Hot 100 for the first time and the singer opened up about the track’s success 65 years after its release. Garth Brooks kicked off Billboard Live Shopping Week. And more!

Shop Garth Brooks’ Billboard Live Shopping Week with talkshoplive here: 
https://talkshop.live/watch/pDYQEDM6YBt7

Tetris Kelly
Jamie Foxx makes his first appearance since his mysterious health scare. Jung Kook teamed up with Usher ahead of his and his bandmates’ enlistment. We talked to Brenda Lee about her historic Hot 100 win. Garth Brooks answers your most pressing questions during our Billboard Live Shopping Week. And we sit down with Latin legend Juan Luis Guerra.

Welcome to another day of Billboard News. I’m Tetris Kelly. It’s Tuesday, December 5th, and we’ve got a lot to celebrate — like the return of Jamie Foxx.

Jamie Foxx
You know, it’s crazy. I couldn’t do that six months ago, I couldn’t actually walk to-

Tetris Kelly
Jamie Foxx gets emotional in his first public appearance since experiencing a major health scare.

Jamie Foxx
It feels good to be here. I cherish every single minute now, it’s different.

Tetris Kelly
Jamie Foxx surprised everyone at the Critics Choice Celebration of Cinema and Television when he took the stage to accept the Vanguard Award.

Jamie Foxx
I wouldn’t wish what I went through on my worst enemy.

Tetris Kelly
His speech was equal parts sincere and lighthearted.

Jamie Foxx
When it is almost over, when you see the tunnel — I saw the tunnel. I didn’t see the light. It was hot in that tunnel. Am I going to the right place?

Tetris Kelly
Congrats, Jamie, and we’re glad to have you back!


Watch the full video above!