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Lele Pons, Majo Aguilar and Lupita Infante share their favorite makeup trends, what they love to listen to while getting ready and more!
Lele Pons:It’s Shakira’s step, the one like this, that has to be the single one.
Lupita Infante:With those toloches, some corridos tumbados.
Majo Aguilar:“Lose Yourself” by Eminem. I listen to that song quite a bit, actually.
Lele Pons:What I listen to when I’m glamming is a lot of Taylor Swift — a lot. I like all the songs, all the albums, all of them. All from Taylor Swift, Gracie, Shakira, obviously. Also Kelly Clarkson, I love. I love the songs from way back.
Majo Aguilar:Suddenly, you may be listening to something more relaxed, in case you wants to be calm, which can be Parcels, for example. If I suddenly want more empowerment, I could listen to “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. I listen to that song quite a bit, actually.
Lupita Infante:That new era of Mexican music with those toloches, a few corridos tumbados because I feel that a lot of interesting things are happening.
Lele Pons:I don’t know if it’s a beauty trend, but I really like it. Red lips on all women. I mean, a little bit on the eyes, almost nothing, the skin is very natural, but I love red lips — how cool is that.
Majo Aguilar:I think it’s a bit obvious, my current beauty trend. Normally, I’m a little more laid back with my looks, but I’m bringing a vibe of Mexican Golden Age cinema, which caught my attention, like those great movie divas María Félix, Flor Silvestre.
Keep watching for more!
Kenia Os, Elena Rose and Mon Laferte share their beauty icon inspirations, what they listen to when they get ready and more at Latin Music Week 2024. Mon Laferte I can take off my shoes. Elena Rose Thank you God for giving me another day where I can do what I love. Kenia Os Sometimes […]
Lady A’s Hillary Scott and her 11-year-old daughter Eisele Kaye talk about writing their Christmas song “Hard to Wait for Christmas,” their favorite family Christmas traditions, most memorable Christmas gifts Hillary got as a kid, favorite Christmas cookies and more!
Eisele Kaye
Can we sing a little bit of “Hard to Wait for Christmas” together for Billboard?
Hillary Scott
Do you want to do it?
Eisele Kaye
Sure.
Hillary Scott
Do we want dad to help?
Eisele Kaye
Yeah, what’s your favorite part of writing “Hard to Wait for Christmas” together?
Hillary Scott
I think my favorite part of writing the song with you was just getting to talk about all of the things that are “Hard to Wait for Christmas” for, and then also getting to talk about the real meaning of Christmas — Jesus, the birth of Jesus.
Eisele Kaye
How is recording with me different from recording with your bandmates?
Hillary Scott
Well, it was really fun because I got to experience it with you for the first time. So it felt new again, which is really exciting. And I got to just stand by and be a proud mom, watching you be so comfortable and sing so beautifully in that environment. So it was definitely different, because, I mean, I’m proud of [Lady A bandmates] Charles [Kelley] and Dave [Haywood] but, like, really proud of you, because you’re my girl.
Eisele Kaye
What was your favorite moment of making this song with me?
Hillary Scott
My favorite moment of making this song with you, I think it was the studio. Do you remember what happened?
Eisele Kaye
Oh yes.
Hillary Scott
At the very beginning,
Eisele Kaye
Yes, the lights went out.
Hillary Scott
The power went out.
Eisele Kaye
The power went out
Hillary Scott
to the entire studio. And then what happened again, when we went to do the photo shoot?
Eisele Kaye
The lights went out.
Hillary Scott
The power went out. Those were two things that happened that we just thought, you know what? I think we’re gonna take this as a good-luck charm, that if the power goes out, we’re on to something good.
Watch the full interview above!
Wham!’s “Last Christmas” has become a holiday standard over its 40 years in release — not just because of the extraordinary success of the original 1984 recording by the pop duo (George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley), but also because of its numerous covers by the likes of Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift, among others.
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What’s it been like for Ridgeley to see the song have so many new interpretations by such artists through the years?
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“It’s testament to the brilliance of the song,” he tells the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen to his interview below), “to its appeal as a Christmas record, its appeal as a pop song, its attraction to the younger generation and those that recognize what a really good Christmas song it is.”
“Someone told me there’s over 400 ‘Last Christmas’ covers,” Ridgeley says. “I can’t verify that, but I wouldn’t be too surprised. It’s extremely flattering and I think George (who wrote, produced, and solely performed “Last Christmas”) would have been really really pleased that so many people recognize — so many of his peers, so many of contemporary musicians of this era and in between — recognize it as a definitive kind of Christmas record.”
“Last Christmas” has become a fixture on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the holiday season and recently reached a new peak of No. 3. Ridgeley says it has been “extremely satisfying” to see the tune climb the Hot 100, and adds that Michael (who died in 2017) “would have been utterly delighted… and it would have meant a great deal to him.”
In Ridgeley’s chat with the Pop Shop, he also discusses the continued popularity of Wham!’s overall catalog of music and how it’s “surprised” him a “wee bit” that their music has grown in popularity over the decades with new fans. He says it’s all owed to the “enduring vibrancy and youthful nature of Wham!’s music and Wham! that (the catalog) continues to draw in new cohorts.”
Also in the Pop Shop interview, Ridgeley talks about the new documentary Wham!: Last Christmas Unwrapped, the possibility of a boxed set with unreleased Wham! material, and if the public will ever hear Michael’s original demo recording of “Last Christmas.”
The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)
‘A Complete Unknown’ stars Timothée Chalamet and Elle Fanning sat down with Billboard News to give their thoughts on Billboard’s Hottest Female Rappers of 2024 list, their favorite Aries singers and diving into the world of Bob Dylan.
Timothée Chalamet:2024… Cat Johnson:Top female rappers of 2024. Elle Fanning:Wait, so can you read the list again? You said… Cat Johnson:No. 1 is GloRilla, No. 2 is Megan Thee Stallion, No. 3 is Nicki Minaj, No. 4 is Sexyy Red, No. 5 is Latto. Top three? Together! Timothée Chalamet: I’m just gonna agree with it, because I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna stoke any… Elle Fanning : I know! We don’t want to rank anyone, right? Timothée Chalamet: I feel like as a LaGuardia grad, as a Barb, even if I get roasted saying that, you know, maybe I have to slot Nicki, you know, but I’m not gonna disagree with that, because that’s, oh, I don’t need to wade into those waters. Cat Johnson: Yup! Tetris Kelly:We find out Timothée Chalamet is a Barb. Elle Fanning ranks her favorite Aries singers. We’re looking at you, Mariah! And they discuss their new movie, the Bob Dylan biopic ‘A Complete Unknown.’ Cat Johnson:You had to learn 13 songs. Timothée Chalamet:Yeah. Cat Johnson:But you ended up learning 40?Timothée Chalamet:I learned a lot. I don’t know if it was that many, but it was a lot. There’s also a lot that we shot that’s not in the movie.Watch the full video above!
Mariah Carey, Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson, oh my! The queens of Christmas are taking over the Hot 100 top 10, during the Christmas week. Merry Christmas. The gift of music is here. This is the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the week dated Dec. 28. Kelly Clarkson is at a new No. 10 […]
As Stray Kids’ new album HOP debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Dec. 28), they become the first act to debut at No. 1 with their first six charting albums. The Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March of 1956. Stray Kids previously debuted atop the chart […]
Stray Kids score their sixth No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart as HOP debuts atop the list dated Dec. 28. It’s the sixth leader for the group, making the pop ensemble the first act to debut at No. 1 with its first six chart entries in the nearly 69-year history of the chart. The Billboard 200 began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956.
Stray Kids previously opened atop the chart with ODDINARY and MAXIDENT (both in 2022), ROCK-STAR and 5-STAR (both in 2023) and ATE (earlier in 2024).
Further, with a sixth No. 1, Stray Kids tie BTS, Linkin Park and Dave Matthews Band for the most No. 1s among groups on the Billboard 200 in this century (since 2000).
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HOP arrives with 187,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 19, according to Luminate, largely driven by traditional album sales.
Also in the top 10 of the latest Billboard 200, Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas jingles back to the top 10 for a seventh consecutive holiday season, as the 1994 release climbs 14-10. The set, which contains the Billboard Hot 100-topping “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” peaked at No. 3 in 1994.
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. 28, 2024-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Tuesday, Dec. 24. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Of HOP’s 187,000 first-week equivalent album units, album sales comprise 176,000 (it debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart), SEA units comprise 10,000 (equaling 14.83 million on-demand official streams of the sets songs) and TEA units comprise 1,000.
HOP’s album sales were bolstered by its availability across seven different CD variants, all containing collectible items such as photocards, posters, stickers and trading cards (including some randomized items), with variants exclusive to Barnes & Noble, Target, Walmart and the act’s official webstore. Of the album’s 176,000 album sales, CD sales comprise 171,000, while digital download albums comprise 5,000.
Previously, Stray Kids were tied with late rapper DMX as the only acts to see their first five chart entries debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. DMX did it in 1998-2003 with It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot (1998), Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood (1999), …And Then There Was X (2000), The Great Depression (2001) and Grand Champ (2003).
As HOP is mostly in the Korean language, it is the 27th mostly non-English-language album to hit No. 1, and the fourth of 2024. Three other mostly-Korean-language sets topped the chart earlier this year, all by also debuting at No. 1: On the Nov. 30-dated list, ATEEZ landed its second leader with Golden Hour: Part.2; on the Aug. 3 chart, Stray Kids’ ATE arrived; and on the March 9 chart, TWICE notched its first leader in With YOU-th. Of the 27 mostly non-English-language albums to reach No. 1, 18 are mostly Korean, five mostly (or all) Spanish, one mostly Italian, one entirely French and two mostly a blend of Spanish, Italian and French. Of the 27 mostly non-English-language albums to reach No. 1, 23 have topped the chart since 2018 (the year that K-pop superstars BTS scored their first of six No. 1s, the chart’s first Korean-language leaders).
The rest of the Billboard 200’s top five comprises former No. 1s: Kendrick Lamar’s GNX is a non-mover at No. 2 (100,000 equivalent album units earned; down 20%), Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department falls 1-3 (85,000; down 65%), Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet steps 5-4 (69,000; down 9%) and Michael Bublé’s Christmas climbs 7-5 (68,000; up 10%).
The most recently released holiday album in the top 10 is Bing Crosby’s Ultimate Christmas compilation, which ascends two spots to a new peak at No. 6 (65,000 equivalent album units; up 15%). The Wicked film soundtrack falls 6-7 (nearly 65,000; down 13%), Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft rises 9-8 (62,000; up 11%) and Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess climbs 11-9 (56,000; up 12%).
Closing out the top 10 is Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas, rising 14-10 with 56,000 equivalent album units earned (up 22% with a 10,000 unit gain — the largest unit increase on the chart). The set returns to the top 10 for a seventh consecutive holiday season. It peaked at No. 3 during its initial chart run in 1994, shortly following its release that year.
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.
SZA releases her highly anticipated ‘SOS Deluxe: LANA’ with the help from Ben Stiller who stars in the music video for ‘Drive.’ The album features SZA in an alien costume as well as another collab with Kendrick Lamar called “30 For 30.” Tetris Kelly The wait is over, as SZA’s much anticipated ‘SOS Deluxe: LANA’ […]
Jennifer Hudson shares to Billboard Pop Shop hosts Katie Atkinson and Keith Caulfield about why she wanted to make her Christmas album ‘The Gift of Love,’ how she chose the songs both classics and new originals she co-wrote, interviewing Michelle Obama on her talk show and more!
Jennifer Hudson
I don’t know what could top ever top her as a guest is hands out my favorite by far.
Tetris Kelly
Jennifer Hudson dropped by Billboard’s Pop Shop podcast with Keith Caulfield and Katie Atkinson to discuss her new holiday album, The Gift of Love,’ and her recent interview with Michelle Obama. We talk about the song selections for the album, the inspiration and why now was the time to do it?
Jennifer Hudson
Well, because I’ve always wanted to do a holiday album, and I couldn’t think of a better time than now. The question to me, I think, is, why not now, you know? And I finally was able to narrow it down to my favorite Christmas songs…
Keith Caulfield
Your favorite things?
Jennifer Hudson
Yes my favorite things there you go, yeah, and pick, you know, the songs that was most personal to me for this holiday album.
Keith Caulfield
You know, this album has familiar favorites, like, we just, I just sort of hinted at “My Favorite Things,” but also some new material that you co-wrote. What was the process like for you to determine the songs that you wanted on the album? Like, how did you decide what would ultimately be on the album?
Jennifer Hudson
Originals or classics?
Keith Caulfield
Well, let’s start with the classics.
Jennifer Hudson
Well, okay, so that’s what I’m saying. Like, it was difficult to say, I love all holiday music first of all. So it’s like, how do I narrow it down to know what to put on the holiday album? But I picked what was most personal to me, like “The Christmas Song.” For instance, my grandmother used to love that song, so I recall hearing that as a little girl throughout each and every holiday of her playing that song.
Watch the full video above!