Billboard
Page: 100
David Foster and Katharine McPhee stopped by Billboard and shared what songs they currently have on their Christmas playlist.
David Foster:Hi, I’m David Foster.
Katharine McPhee:I’m Katharine McPhee Foster.
David Foster:And this is our Christmas playlist. Well, mine and hers.
Katharine McPhee:Yes, separate but together.
David Foster:No. 1 for me is “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé.
Katharine McPhee:Wow!
David Foster:Did you want to take that one?
Katharine McPhee:No, we can take each other’s. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”
David Foster:No. 2 is “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole.
Katharine McPhee:Wow! Great choice, Dave.
David Foster:Thank you.
Katharine McPhee:Really good. OK, I’m going to be …
David Foster:It’s David.
Katharine McPhee:When I, you know, am trying to be funny, I call you Dave. OK, so my second one — because I’m going to be a good wife — is no, your frickin’ song.
David Foster:Oh, “Grown-Up Christmas List.”
Katharine McPhee:Thank you! “Grown-Up Christmas List.”
David Foster:No. 3: “Jingle Bell Rock” by Katharine McPhee.
Katharine McPhee:Oh, it’s a very good version, actually.
My next one is actually another — oh no, it’s gonna be Mariah Carey’s … No, no, not “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” The … what was the one I was singing?
David Foster:The gospel one?
Katharine McPhee:“Jesus, oh what a wonderful child. What a wonderful child, Jesus. Oh, Jesus.”
David Foster:Enough.
Katharine McPhee:It’s so good. And that’s our Christmas playlist.Watch the full video above!
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.
The Florida A&M Rattlers face the Howard University Bison in the eighth annual Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The game will broadcast live on ABC on Saturday (Dec. 16).
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
What is the Cricket Celebration Bowl? A postseason bowl for football teams from historically Black colleges. Conference champions from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) face off in the Cricket Celebration Bowl, which launched in 2015.
According to its website, the Cricket Celebration Bowl aims to “provide the schools, alumni, fans, and sponsors with a first-class bowl experience while continuing to celebrate the heritage, legacy, pageantry and tradition of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.”
Howard University and Florida A&M both qualified for the Cricket Celebration Bowl for the first time. North Carolina A&T has won the bowl seven times, including the inaugural year as well as 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022.
Read on for ways to stream live and where to score last-minute tickets for cheap.
How to Watch the 2023 Cricket Celebration Bowl
For a sixth year in a row, the Cricket Celebration Bowl will broadcast live on ABC. The game kicks off at noon ET on Saturday.
College football fans can stream the Cricket Celebration Bowl live on Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV and Sling TV (a digital antenna is another budget-friendly watch local channels).
DirecTV and Fubo offer free trials for up to a week and upwards of 75 channels for less than $75 per month. The best streaming option? If you’re a sports fan, DirecTV Stream and Fubo offer the most robust streaming packages for the price.
With DirecTV Stream, subscribers get access to at least 75 channels for as low as $69.99/month after a free trial for five days. If you’re interested in a cheaper plan, subscribe to Sling TV or Fubo for a discounted rate of just $20 for the first month. And for international streamers, ExpressVPN allows you watch your favorite platforms from outside the U.S.
Wan to watch the Cricket Celebration Bowl live? Tickets are available for as low as $23-29 at Ticketmaster, Vivid Seats and Stubhub.
Since its Broadway premiere in 1981, Stephen Sondheim‘s Merrily We Roll Along has been struggling to, well, get back to Broadway. The musical about 20 years of friendship between composer Franklin Shepard, lyricist Charley Kringas and writer Mary Flynn — which unfolds onstage in reverse chronological order, starting when that friendship has dissolved and all […]
Billboard has more than 200 different weekly charts, encompassing numerous genres and formats.
While established artists often compete for a spot on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart and Billboard 200 albums ranking, which track the most popular songs and albums of the week, respectively, up-and-coming talents typically start off on genre-specific lists.
Here’s a look at five artists who appear on surveys for the first time on the Dec. 16-dated charts:
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The Bites
[embedded content]
The Los Angeles-based rock group scores its first Billboard chart entry with its single “Knockin on the Door.” The track, released in April on Earache Records, debuts at No. 40 on Mainstream Rock Airplay (up 8% in plays, according to Luminate).
The song, which takes influence from 1970s and ‘80s rock ‘n’ roll groups (Van Halen, Guns N Roses, Def Leppard), appears on the act’s debut studio album Squeeze, released Dec. 1. The group comprises Jordan Tyler (vocals), Dustin Coon (guitar), Jono Richer (guitar), Zack Currier (bass) and Mark Hylander (drums/production).
Whitney Wren
[embedded content]
The singer-songwriter arrives on Billboard’s charts with “Whiskey Over Wine.” The song, released Dec. 1 on Josh Bright Productions, debuts at No. 11 on Country Digital Song Sales with 2,000 downloads sold in its opening week. It also sparks her debut at No. 29 on the Emerging Artists chart.
While “Whiskey Over Wine” is Wren’s first solo release, the Florida native has already forged a successful career outside of music. She’s an online content creator and co-hosts the C&Whit Podcast with Christen Whitman. She’s particularly active on TikTok, where she boasts over 2 million followers.
TML Vibez
[embedded content]
The Nigerian artist reaches Billboard’s charts for the first time with “Goated,” featuring Seyi Vibez. The track debuts at No. 33 on the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart. It’s from TML Vibez’s five-track EP Timileyin, released Dec. 1 via Vibez Inc/Dapper Music & Ent.
TML Vibez is a newcomer to not just Billboard’s charts but music as a whole. Outside of the new EP, he’s released one additional song, “Grateful Sinner,” in March.
Nasboi
[embedded content]
The singer, from Nigeria, earns his first Billboard chart appearance with “Umbrella,” featuring Wande Coal. The song, released, Nov. 24 on ETRSL/Explo Music, debuts at No. 37 on Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs.
TikTok has been a central factor in the song’s growing profile, as the track has soundtracked over 300,000 clips on the platform to date. On Instagram Reels, the song has been used in over 80,000 clips.
Beyond “Umbrella,” Nasboi has released one other song: “Lover Boy,” in February.
Rosaly Rubio
[embedded content]
The singer-songwriter, from the Dominican Republic, achieves her first Billboard chart hit, thanks to “Culpa Mia,” with Chimbala, The collaboration, released Nov. 8 via Vulcano Music Entertainment, debuts at No. 3 on Latin Digital Song Sales. Rosaly Rubio has released over two dozen songs, all since 2019.
As for Chimbala, the fellow Dominican artist lands his third entry on Latin Digital Song Sales, after 2021’s “Loco,” with Justin Quiles and Zion & Lennox, and 2022’s “!Wow BB!,” with Natti Natasha and El Alfa.
Singer-songwriter and actress Brandy shares her three favorite holiday traditions. Brandy:That was good? But that’s tradition? My favorite holiday traditions are spending quality time with my family. We get together and we celebrate memories and dance and play spades and just do a lot for Christmas together as a family. Quality time is key. Christmas […]
Billy Porter explains the stories behind these photos with Billboard. Billy Porter:Hey, everybody! Billy Porter here, and this is Behind the Photos. Here’s one of me in London. I don’t know what that building is. It’s like a big muckety-muck government building, I think on the bridge, and we took over the bridge for some […]
Sarz, Asake and Gunna break down the new music video for their new song “Happiness’” exclusively for Billboard.
Jamar Hawkins:Hey guys, this is a Billboard exclusive sneak peek.
Sarz:Welcome, Billboard. This is Sarz, and you’re on my set for “Happiness” featuring Asake and Gunna.
Edgar Esteves:Hey, what’s up! It’s Edgar Esteves. I’m the director today for Sarz, Asake and Gunna “Happiness.” Today, Billboard, we’re taking you behind the scenes of the music video.
Zev York:The director today is Edgar Esteves, the GOAT!
Edgar Esteves:So right here, we got Zev, the creative director. This music video concept is really just about, like, when you know life waters your seed and blossoms you into the flower that you are, bringing your own happiness to fruition — and through costume, wardrobe, through good energy, we can achieve that.
Taylor Webster:Hi, Billboard. Thank you so much for coming. I’m the publicist on set. The video is about everyone coming together, all genders, bright colors, and really just, like, illustrating what happiness is.
Edgar Esteves:Guys, this is Zayd. I shot a video with him about a few months ago and now we’re back.
Zayd Ezzeldine:We’re back.
Alexa Perkins:Hi, Billboard, what’s up? It’s Alexa from Empire. Today we are on site for Asake, Sarz and Gunna’s music video “Happiness” dropping Dec. 8. The video shoot is in the middle of beautiful Calabasas, Calif.
Edgar Esteves:The song just reminds me of just, like, nature, Earth, smiles, sun flares and that’s why we came to the hills in Calabasas, Calif., to shoot everything, where we have these beautiful, you know brown and green hills that in post (post-production) we’re going to turn all green.Watch the full video above!
Gracie Abrams is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist. The singer-songwriter scores her first career entry on the Dec. 16-dated chart thanks to her appearance on Noah Kahan’s “Everywhere, Everything,” released Dec. 1.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The song, which debuts at No. 79, is a remix of Kahan’s original 2022 track from his breakthrough album Stick Season (released via Mercury/Republic Records). All versions of the song combined for 6.2 million official streams and 1,000 downloads sold in the United States in the Dec. 1-7 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The track also jumps from No. 21 to No. 6 on Hot Alternative Songs and 41-9 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, becoming Abrams’ first top 10 on each chart.
[embedded content]
Abrams has grown her presence on Billboard’s charts over the past three years. She made her first Billboard appearance on Oct. 17, 2020, when “Friend” debuted at No. 37 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart, eventually peaking at No. 16.
In April 2022, her EP This Is What It Feels Like reached No. 14 on Heatseekers Albums and No. 94 on Top Album Sales, marking her first appearance on Billboard’s album charts.
Abrams’ debut full-length LP Good Riddance, released in February on Interscope Records, debuted and peaked at No. 52 on the Billboard 200 and hit No. 1 on Heatseekers Albums, No. 3 on Vinyl Albums and No. 4 on Alternative Albums. The set’s single “I Know It Won’t Work” reached No. 28 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and climbed to No. 32 on Pop Airplay.
In September, her 2020 seven-track set Minor charted for the first time, reaching No. 73 on Top Current Album Sales. Its breakout song “I Miss You I’m Sorry” is the most streamed song of Abrams’ catalog, raking in 92 million U.S. streams to date.
The Los Angeles native, 24, served as an opening act on Taylor’s Swift’s Eras Tour in April-August. She’s slated to return to the tour next year, from October through December. In 2022, she opened for Olivia Rodrigo on the Sour Tour.
Abrams is nominated for best new artist at the upcoming 66th Grammy Awards — her first nomination — alongside Kahan, Fred Again.., Ice Spice, Jelly Roll, Coco Jones, Victoria Monet and The War and Treaty.
The new charity holiday album A Philly Special Christmas Special scores big across Billboard’s charts (dated Dec. 16), as the star-studded set debuts in the top 10 on Top Album Sales, Independent Albums, Top Current Album Sales, Top Holiday Albums and Vinyl Albums.
The 11-track project, led by Philadelphia Eagles players Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, features 10 covers and one new original song. Special guests on the project include Patti LaBelle, Travis Kelce (Jason’s Kansas City Chiefs star brother and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend), Amos Lee, Howie Roseman (Eagles’ executive vice president/general manager) and Waxahatchee. All profits from the album will be donated to Philadelphia-area charities, including Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
A Philly Special Christmas Special sold 28,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 7, according to Luminate, and was available as either a digital download album or a $75 red-colored vinyl LP. It launches at No. 3 on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales and No. 3 on Vinyl Albums (nearly 17,500 sold on vinyl). The set also bows at No. 4 on Independent Albums and No. 8 on Top Holiday Albums, as well as at No. 25 on the Billboard 200
A Philly Special Christmas Special is the sequel to 2022’s seven-track A Philly Special Christmas. A new $125 double-vinyl-only release that combined both albums also makes a notable debut, as A Philly Special Christmas Special (The Deluxe Album 2022 & 2023) sold nearly 20,000 copies and bows at No. 6 on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales, and No. 2 on Vinyl Albums. It also starts at No. 8 on Independent Albums, No. 17 on Top Holiday Albums and No. 55 on the Billboard 200.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new Dec. 16, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Top Current Album Sales and Vinyl Albums ranks the week’s top selling current albums (excluding older titled, referred to as catalog) and vinyl albums, respectively. Independent Albums and Top Holiday Albums rank the week’s most popular independently released albums and holiday albums, respectively, by equivalent album units.
As the Philly Special team debuts at Nos. 3 and 6 on Top Album Sales, ATEEZ notches its second chart-topper as THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL bows atop the tally. It sold 146,000 copies in the tracking week – the Korean pop ensemble’s biggest sales week. As is typical for major K-pop releases, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL was issued in multiple collectible physical configurations, 33 in total. All have the same 12-song tracklist but have alternative packaging and contain different branded paper merchandise (some randomized, including photocards). Of the 33 editions, 26 are CDs and seven are vinyl. Among the variants are retail exclusives sold through the likes of Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart.
Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) falls to No. 2 on Top Album Sales (54,000; down 38%), while Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR descends 2-4 (21,000; down 43%) and Swift’s chart-topping Folklore falls 3-5 (21,000; down 41%).
Swift’s former No. 1s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Midnights move 5-7 and 4-8, respectively, selling about 19,000 each (down 33% and 39%, respectively). Cher’s Christmas returns to the top 10, bounding 12-9 with 19,000 sold (up 5%), and Dolly Parton’s former leader Rockstar falls 6-10 with 18,000 (down 26%).
In the week ending Dec. 7, there were 2.708 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 9.7% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 2.342 million (down 13%) and digital albums comprised 366,000 (up 18.9%).
There were 1.010 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 7 (up 8.4% week-over-week) and 1.320 million vinyl albums sold (down 24.5%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 33.863 million (up 3.2% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 44.508 million (up 16.7%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 96.182 million (up 6.2% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 78.891 million (up 10.4%) and digital album sales total 17.290 million (down 9.3%).
ATEEZ’s THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Dec. 16), marking the first chart-topper for the Korean pop group. The set earned 152,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 7, according to Luminate, nearly entirely from traditional album sales. Its album sales were bolstered by its availability across more than 30 collectible editions.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL is the fourth top 10-charting effort from the act, all posted consecutively. The group previously charted as high as No. 2 with its last entry, THE WORLD EP.2: OUTLAW, in July.
While ATEEZ has logged six charting efforts on the Billboard 200 in total (four top 10s, plus two more that charted outside the region), the act has yet to notch a charting song on any U.S. Billboard airplay or streaming chart, the Billboard Hot 100, or the Billboard Global 200 or Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts. (The latter two rank songs based on streaming and sales activity culled from more than 200 territories around the world, as compiled by Luminate. The Global 200 is inclusive of worldwide data and the Global Excl. U.S. chart comprises data from territories excluding the United States.)
Also in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200, Nat King Cole’s The Christmas Song returns to the region for a sixth consecutive holiday season, as the set rises 16-10.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. The new Dec. 16, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL’s 152,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending Dec. 7, album sales comprise 146,000 (with 99% of that sum driven by physical album sales and 1% via digital album downloads), SEA units comprise 5,500 (equaling 7.59 million on-demand official streams of the set’s 12 tracks) and TEA units comprise 500 units.
As is typical for major K-pop releases, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL was issued in multiple collectible physical configurations, 33 in total. All have the same 12-song tracklist, but have alternative packaging and contain different branded paper merchandise (some randomized, including photocards). Of the 33 editions, 26 are CDs and seven are vinyl. Among the variants are retail-exclusives sold through the likes of Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart.
Each variant of the physical album in the U.S. was sold with a minimum of two random photocards, but could contain up to five depending on where the customer bought the album. K-pop photocards are similar to sports trading cards, in that each card typically has a photo of a member of the group. Each random photocard is from a set of eight total cards (one for each member). In total, there were a dozen sets of eight photocards, with assorted sets assigned to the retail-exclusive versions of the album.
As THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL album is mostly in the Korean language, it is the 23rd mostly non-English language album to hit No. 1, and the seventh of 2023 (and of those seven, the fifth in mostly Korean). The other six are: Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR, Bad Bunny’s Spanish-language Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, NewJeans’ 2nd EP ‘Get Up,’ Stray Kids’ 5-STAR, Karol G’s Spanish Mañana Será Bonito and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation.
THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL is the only debut in the top 10 of the new Billboard 200. The rest of the top seven comprises former No. 1s, with Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) falling 1-2 (101,000 equivalent album units; down 28%), Drake’s For All the Dogs dipping 2-3 (76,000; down 10%), Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time stationary at No. 4 (65,000; up 3%), Michael Bublé’s Christmas jingling 9-5 (60,000; up 28%), Swift’s Midnights dropping 3-6 (55,000; down 15%) and SZA’s SOS steady at No. 7 (51,000; up 7%).
Noah Kahan’s Stick Season rises 13-8 for its highest rank since its deluxe reissue pushed it 100-3 (its peak) on the June 24-dated chart. The album earned 48,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week – up 26%. The set’s gain follows Kahan’s performances on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on Dec. 2.
Taylor Swift’s former No. 1 Folklore descends 5-9 with 46,000 equivalent album units earned (down 22%).
Rounding out the top 10 is Nat King Cole’s holiday album The Christmas Song, climbing 16-10. It visits the top 10 for a sixth consecutive holiday season (having reached a high of No. 5 in January). It earned 44,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week – up 21%. The album boasts Cole’s classic title track, along with Billboard Holiday 100-charting favorites including “Deck the Halls,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Joy to the World” and “Caroling, Caroling.”
Luminate, the independent data provider to the Billboard charts, completes a thorough review of all data submissions used in compiling the weekly chart rankings. Luminate reviews and authenticates data. In partnership with Billboard, data deemed suspicious or unverifiable is removed, using established criteria, before final chart calculations are made and published.