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Even the self-proclaimed Queen of Christmaas has a subpar holiday season every once in a while. But in 2023, Mariah Carey is determined for that not to be the case.
“Years? What are years? I’m unfamiliar with them,” the 54-year-old vocalist joked in her Monday (Dec. 4) digital cover story with People, adding that she prefers to live “Christmastime to Christmastime.”
“I’ve been looking forward to this Christmas for, like, the whole year,” she continued. “Since last year —because last year wasn’t the greatest. I’m thankful for them all, but it wasn’t my most fun version of Christmas ever.”
To make up for last year’s apparent dud, Carey has embarked on a 14-city “Merry Christmas One and All” tour, ending Dec. 17 with a finale show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The five-time Grammy winner is famous for dominating the Christmas music market from year to year, mostly thanks to her evergreen hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You”; the 1994 hit ranks at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated Dec. 2 and has spent a collective 12 weeks at No. 1 over the years.
“I’ve been working day and night on this one,” Carey told the publication of her tour. “I’ll be doing songs I’ve never done before, some duets. I’ve got to keep some surprises.”
Her 12-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe, whom she shares with Nick Cannon, are coming on the road with her as featured performers. “Roc,” as Carey calls him, raps during “Here Comes Santa Claus,” while “Roe” duets with her mom on “Jesus Born on This Day.”
In between details about her favorite X-mas decorations, the “Obsessed” singer also opened up to the publication about not shying away from the “diva label. “I still define the word ‘diva’ the way it is in the dictionary,” she said. “It’s a successful singer, usually a soprano, typically in the opera field.”
“So many people that I know that are called ‘divas’ all the time, don’t take offense to it,” she added. “If someone’s like, ‘The diva, so-and-so.’ Who cares? Why is it a big deal? Just take it and be on your merry way.”
Justine Skye is getting ready for the holidays and all she wants for Christmas is a little R&R.
“To be honest, I love the time off to get to relax and clear my mind to get ready for the new year,” she tells Billboard, adding that “my traditions revolve around enjoying moments of rest and connection with loved ones.”
It’s been a busy year for Skye, who released a new album, Darkside, in January, and wrapped the final season of Grown-ish in August (Skye appears in the show’s last two seasons playing Junior’s love interest, Annika). For the singer and actress, the holidays are all about decompressing from work and focusing instead on family and friends for a “time of relaxation and togetherness.”
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“During the holidays, I intentionally take a break from work to immerse myself in the joy of the season,” she says. “I love spending quality time with family, where we come together to cook delicious meals and watch classic holiday movies, a tradition that brings both nostalgia and new memories.”
Of course, the holidays are also about gift-giving, and Skye has teamed up with Tommy Hilfiger this year to unveil some of her favorite pieces to wear — and give.
“My earliest memories of wearing Tommy is being in middle school remembering how much I wanted to give off that tomboy, edgy-yet-chic vibe that Aaliyah would give,” she explains, of why she wanted to work with the Tommy team.
Skye’s go-to gifting picks from Tommy Hilfiger: a candle, a blanket, a nice traveling/duffle bag and a cozy sweater.
As for new music, Skye recently released “Whip It Up,” a beat-driven, staccato-style R&B track that’s expected to appear on an upcoming album. Skye reveals that she’s “currently working on a new project,” though no name or release date has been announced just yet. Still, the singer teases a “more upbeat [and] dance kind of vibes,” adding that she’s “excited to keep rolling out this new sound.”
“I want to encourage and be a part of the shift in music that gets people back on the dance floor,” she says. “Everyday I learn something new about life and myself and it all helps me grow and expand creatively.”
For now though, Skye is just focused on heading home for the holidays: “It’s all about spending time with friends and family and creating a new memory to close off the year.”
Skye’s latest single, “Whip It Up” is now streaming. You can also shop the singer’s holiday gifting picks from Tommy Hilfiger below:
Cesar Buitrago
Tommy Hilfiger Tartan Half-Zip
$83.30
$119.00
30% off
“I love the roomy and comfy fit of this Tommy sweater I wore,” Skye says, of the pull-over she sported to a Tommy Hilfiger dinner in November. Preppy and festive, this half-zip knit sweater features a traditional tartan pattern and a modern, relaxed fit.
Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger Prep Duffle Bag
$137.40
$229.00
40% off
Made from a durable and water-repellant material, this unisex duffle has plenty of room for a weekend getaway, or to take you from work to the gym as part of your daily commute. The bag comes with an adjustable and removable shoulder strap.
Tommy Hilfiger Salty Fig Candle
$31.20
$52.00
40% off
Festive and inviting, this Tommy candle features notes of warm fig, fresh sandalwood and sea salt. Made from a soy wax blend, this candle has a burn time of up to 40 hours.
Tommy Hilfiger Stripe Throw Blanket
$40.80
$102.00
60% off
Measuring 50 x 70 inches, this luxurious cotton throw is great as a blanket in bed or as something to curl up in for a movie night at home. Super warm, soft and stylish, it makes a welcome holiday gift for all ages.
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‘Tis the season for a retro reunion! Loni Anderson, Morgan Fairchild, Linda Gray, Donna Mills and Nicollette Sheridan star in Ladies of the ‘80s: A Divas Christmas premiering Saturday (Dec. 2) on Lieftime.
The Lifetime Original Movie follows a group of fictitious soap opera legends as they reunite for the final Christmas episode of a beloved daytime soap. But things go off the rails when “old rivalries resurface that threaten to tear the whole production apart.”
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Ultimately, the ladies put their diva differences aside for the good of the show — and to play matchmaker between old college friends.
Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas is executive produced by Larry A. Thompson and directed by Christie Will Wolf. James Berg and Stan Zimmerman penned the script; Robert G. Endara II and Ed Polgardy are producers.
Read on for more details on how to watch the Lifetime movie on Sling TV.
Holiday Binge: How to Watch Lifetime & More on Sling TV
The holidays are a great time to binge Christmas movies and more — no cable needed! Watch Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas and other must-see holiday entertainment on Sling TV.
Right now, Sling TV is offering 50% off for your first month. That means you can join Sling for as low as $20 (reg. $40). Stream your favorite entertainment with Sling Blue or Sling Orange starting at $20 for a limited time. Or, get Sling Orange + Blue for just $27.50 (reg. $55) for the first month.
Click below to join.
Lifetime’s Ladies of the ’80s premieres at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Saturday. The film kicks off a month of new Christmas movies, which includes Mistletoe Match (Dec. 3), A Cowboy Christmas Romance (Dec. 9), and Yes Chef! Christmas (Dec. 10).
Sign up for Sling Blue or Sling Orange to watch your favorite live channels, cozy holiday movies, holiday classics and new holiday favorites for half off for the first month. Sling offers a variety of channels including Lifetime, AMC, Bravo, USA, E!, Hallmark, TLC and more.
Some of the Lifetime movies available on Sling TV include A Fiance for Christmas, A Welcome Home Christmas, Dear Christmas, Steppin’ Into the Holidays, The Flight Before Christmas and The Holiday Dating Guide.
Love Hallmark? With Sling, you can enjoy a number of Hallmark programs including Color My World with Love, The Vows We Keep, Unexpected Grace, Nikki & Nora: Sister Sleuths, When Calls the Heart, A Happy & Friends Yule Log, A Holiday in Harlem, A Rose for Christmas, Christmas in Rome, Debbie Macomber’s Mr. Miracle, Finding Father Christmas, Hallmark Drama’s Christmas Cookie Matchup, Lucky Christmas, The Holiday Stocking, Flipping for Christmas, and Welcome to Valentine.
From now until Christmas Day, visit AMC on-demand to watch movies and more on Sling TV. The lineup includes A Boy Named Christmas, The First Christmas Snow, The Holiday, The Heart of Christmas, Jack Frost, A Christmas Story 2, Annie, The American President, Love Actually, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail.
Watch the trailer for Ladies of the ’80s: A Divas Christmas below.
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The Christmas countdown has begun, the first chocolate in your advent calendar is up for grabs, and a surprise early present arrives today (Dec. 1) in the form of a holiday recording by Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane.
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The Fifth Harmony bandmates gift wrap “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” following on the heels of Brooke’s recently-released four-track holiday EP Under The Tree, which includes the title track, an original song.
Ally and Dinah made the collaboration announcement by way of their socials earlier in the week.
“I’m beyond thrilled to be back together with my former Fifth Harmony mate Dinah,” Ally enthuses in a statement. “There are no words to explain how it feels to be reunited with our collaboration. We hope to bring lots of happiness to our fans and the world with our reunion.”
Christmas is, of course, a time for family. And this Xmas cut represents the first time any of the former 5H bandmates have collaborated since the pop group went on hiatus in 2018.
Formed on The X Factor in 2012 with the lineup of Brooke, Jane, Normani, Lauren Jauregui, and Camila Cabello, the group went on to land four top 10 titles on the Billboard 200 chart, and earned a top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Work From Home” featuring Ty Dolla $ign, peaking at No. 4 in 2016.
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” comes years after Fifth Harmony disbanded, at the time reduced to a four-piece when Cabello left.
Jane presents the new song as a special gift to long-suffering Harmonizers.
“There’s a special type of joyous spirit that Christmas brings us all,” she comments. “This holiday season, I’m grateful for this healing union that has brought my good ole sister Ally Brooke and I together through music”.
“May this song encourage you to embrace love, forgiveness, and bring comfort to all,” concludes Dinah. “I pray that this song may connect souls to our dear Savior as His love is the reason for all seasons.”
“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is now bundled into Brooke’s Under the Tree collection and can be streamed below.
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Elvis Presley was honored Wednesday night (Nov. 29) with NBC’s inaugural Christmas at Graceland special, executive produced by the late legend’s granddaughter, Daisy Jones & The Six star Riley Keough. The live televised concert marked the first of its kind to ever be filmed from inside the Elvis’ famous Memphis estate, and featured performances from […]
After a festive performance last week at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Cher-mas continued Wednesday night (Nov. 29) with a double-header at the Christmas in Rockefeller Center tree-lighting special. Cher started with a repeat performance, hitting the Radio City Music Hall rooftop for “DJ Play a Christmas Song,” the lead single from her 2023 holiday […]
Demi Lovato is bringing together some of their celebrities friends for a night of festive fun in their upcoming Roku special titled A Very Demi Holiday Special, and the latest trailer shared on Wednesday (Nov. 29) gives a peek into jolly ol’ time. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The […]
Santa tell me, has it really been nine years? Ariana Grande is celebrating the anniversary of her nearly decade-old Christmas single “Santa Tell Me” by sharing a sweet throwback video featuring clips from the song’s festive video shoot in 2014. In the digital time capsule, Grande models a Christmas sweater, reindeer ears and her signature […]
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As Taylor Swift would say, “‘Tis the damn season,” and for some of us, the holiday season officially begins once the iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is lit.
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Rockefeller Center will be hosting its 91st annual lighting ceremony is on Wednesday (Nov. 29) at 8 p.m. ET. Whether you’ve snagged travel deals to see it in person or plan to watch it from the comfort of your couch, the 2023 Christmas tree lighting ceremony is bound to get you in the holiday spirit with the help of a slew of guests and musical performances.
This year, popstar and talk show host Kelly Clarkson will be hosting the tree lighting ceremony with appearances from Today‘s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker and Craig Melvin. You can also expect musical performances from Clarkson as well as Chloe Bailey, Adam Blackstone, Cher, David Foster, Liz Gillies, Darlene Love, Seth MacFarlane, Barry Manilow, Katharine McPhee, Keke Palmer, Carly Pearce, Manuel Turizo, Radio City Rockettes and more.
If you want to join in on the festive fun (from the comfort of your own home, not the Big Apple), we’ve compiled everything you need to know to watch the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony online and on TV for free.
Check below for the streaming options available.
How to Watch the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony 2023 on NBC & Peacock
The ceremony will air on Wednesday (Nov. 29) at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. If you have cable, you can watch the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony on TV through your local NBC affiliate — just check your cable provider’s channel guide to find your local NBC channel. Don’t have cable? You may be able to watch the tree lighting ceremony for free with an HD antenna like this one here from Amazon.
Cable cutters can also use NBC’s official streaming platform, Peacock, which will be live streaming the ceremony. Already have Peacock? You can watch the ceremony for no additional cost by logging into your account and going to live TV.
Don’t have a subscription? Peacock is currently slashing its monthly and annual plans to $1.99/month (reg. $5.99/month) or $19.99 for the year (reg. $59.99/year) for 12 months. To redeem the offers use the promo code BIGDEAL for the monthly plan or YEARLONG for the annual plan. The offer ends at midnight Monday (Nov. 27), so don’t wait too long! Click here or the button below to sign up for Peacock.
Besides the 2023 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, a Peacock subscription will give you access to the entire Peacock library including exclusive and original TV series, movies, sports and more such as Bupkis, Mrs. Davis, Poker Face, Bel-Air, Poker Face, Yellowstone and Based on a True Story. You’ll also be able to watch NBC and Bravo programs like the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Saturday Night Live, Parks & Recreation, The Office, Vanderpump Rules and more.
Additional Ways to Watch Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony 2023 for Free
Looking for more money-saving options? Live TV streamers are offering free trials and promos that can save you even more without having to pay hundreds of dollars on cable each month.
FuboTV offers a seven day free trial, which means you can watch the tree lighting ceremony and more for free. You can also take advantage of $20 off each plan for the first two months. Plans start as low as $55/month and include over 100 channels, DVR storage and more. Once your free trial and promo are over, you’ll pay the regular subscription price based on the plan you choose. Click here or below to launch your free trial.
Hulu + Live TV comes with a 30-day free trial and gives you the most content options as you’ll not only have access to the NBC channel as well as many more live TV channels, but also the entire Hulu library. You can also bundle it with Disney+ and ESPN+ for even more programs to watch. Once your free trial is over, you’ll be charged the normal subscription fee of $77/month. Click here or below to launch your free trial.
SlingTV is also offering 50% off its plans for the first month and a free Amazon Fire TV Sick Lite when you sign up. The Blue plan includes NBC and its affiliated channels for $20 for the first two months (reg. $40) and will give you access to DVR storage, the ability to stream on up to three devices at once and more. You can expand your channel offerings by combining the Blue and Orange plans for even more content for only $27.50 (reg. $55). Click here or the button below to sign up.
Even as the self-proclaimed Prince of Christmas, Matt Rogers is still baffled by how much a single holiday has consumed his year.
“I went to a pool party on the Fourth of July this year, and people kept asking me, ‘What are you working on?’” Rogers tells Billboard over a Zoom call from a London hotel. “And I had to say, ‘Actually, a Christmas album.’ So it turns out, when you do a Christmas album, you actually better love Christmas because it becomes your whole year.”
But the comedian’s hard work certainly paid off with the release of Have You Heard of Christmas?, Rogers’ debut album of satirical holiday tracks (released on Nov. 6 via Capitol Records) designed to both celebrate the monolithic holiday and skewer its cultural oversaturation. Spanning every genre of holiday song he could over the course of 12 songs, Rogers expertly puts Christmas under the microscope, playing out every last seasonal scenario with wit, charm and plenty of holiday cheer.
The album’s origins date back to 2017, when Rogers began a one-man show in New York City, making fun of the very concept of the celebrity Christmas album. As he honed his act over the next few years, Rogers eventually got the show greenlit as a special for Showtime, debuting in Dec. 2022 — a record deal with Capitol followed shortly thereafter.
It’s become clear that audiences everywhere are also buying into Rogers’ Christmas vision — one week after its release, Have You Heard of Christmas? made Rogers a Billboard-charting artist, as the LP debuted at No. 4 on the Comedy Albums chart. Meanwhile, the comedian still can’t get over that audiences are singing his songs along with him during his live shows. “I now get to be in that club of people that have had that experience, which is really cool,” he says with a smile.
Below, Rogers chats with Billboard about the album’s origin as a joke, the “bald capitalism” of the holiday season, his favorite celebrity Christmas album and why he thinks pop music ought to be funnier.
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It’s been a long road for you to release Have You Heard of Christmas? — what does it mean for you to actually have this album out that you’ve been talking about for years?
It’s pretty surreal, because it’s not just that thing where you work for a month or even a year on your album; I’ve had a lot of this for about six years. I started this in 2017 as a joke when I was doing it as a one man show in the West Village. The whole bit was, “Come see my show to hear a holiday album that is definitely, for sure, for real, absolutely, 100% coming out, no doubt about it. This is not a joke.” And of course it was a joke! Now, years later, these songs that I wrote half a decade ago are finally out, and people are actually singing them back to me, which is wild.
Let’s go back to the inception of that joke — what was it about the idea of a fake Christmas album that tickled you?
I think it was an interview I watched with Mariah Carey, where I feel like this interviewer kind of said the quiet part out loud: “Wow, so you get to make lots of money every year!” And I was like, “You just boldly called out the capitalism of it all. That is so funny.” I started to really think about Christmas as this last vestige of the monoculture, where if you have a Christmas album, you know it’s going to sell every year. It’s kind of a hack; if you create really good Christmas content, you then become part of that culture. I just thought it was so funny to say, “Let me sneak into the cultural consciousness by creating a fake Christmas album,” because I always think bald capitalism is so funny.
I love Christmas, and we all love Christmas because we are kind of forced to love Christmas. But it’s also something to drag for that reason; it is this thing that forces itself down our throat every year. Like, every pop girlie can’t love Christmas, but the record labels sure do, because it makes them lots of money. So it’s just funny to me that, in every young pop star’s life, there comes a time when you have to do two things: Go to Vegas, and do a Christmas album. I’m just starting a little early, that’s all.
Among the expansive list of celebrity Christmas albums, do you have a favorite?
I’m quite partial to Kelly Clarkson’s Wrapped in Red. Don’t get me wrong, When Christmas Comes Around… is also really good, but that first album is just fantastic. “Underneath the Tree,” I think, is the candidate to be the “All I Want For Christmas Is You” of our generation. Now, as a recording artist, I’m keeping my eye on the streams of it all, and the “Underneath the Tree” streams are very similar to Mariah’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” in that they seem to increase every year. It’s becoming this thing where you have these handful of songs that just sound like Christmas in the background.
I actually made one of those songs on my album, called “I Don’t Need It to Be Christmas at All.” There’s not a single joke in it, I thought it would be funny to have this whole album of hard comedy songs, and then go, “Hey, by the way, here’s an actual earnest effort on my part.” Lo and behold, it’s the one that’s doing the best now. Even in my attempt to satirize this whole thing, I ended up having an impact with the one genuine song.
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Was it at all strange to go from making fun of the concept of recording a Christmas album to actually recording and releasing one of your own?
To be honest with you, everything I’ve ever gotten to do successfully is because I was making fun of doing that exact thing. Like, if I wanted to become a singer, I made fun of good singing, and all of a sudden people were like, “You’re a singer.” I just kind of faked my way into it. Now, I don’t want to say that this is a fake Christmas album, because it’s fully realized by great producers and great writers and an amazing label at Capitol Records. But I could not have dreamed that it would get here, because a certain point came where I was just used to making fun of myself and being like, “There’s no way.” When it became real, I was like, “Oh, I guess I have to find a different way to frame this.”
Another thing I’ve started thinking about now that I’ve gotten to this place is this idea of, “Who says that pop music can’t have funny lyrics?” I think that we have this idea of pop songs that are about love, or heartbreak, or partying. Who says that they can’t be about all sorts of different things?
I’m so glad that you brought that up, because I’ve noticed that pop music has been getting progressively funnier over the last couple years, especially with artists like Olivia Rodrigo, Reneé Rapp and Chappell Roan bringing a lot of humor to their songs.
Yes, completely! The thing about all those girls —well, I don’t think we’ve seen this from Chappell yet, but certainly with Olivia and Reneé — is that they’re actresses. What they want to do is to embody their song, and they’re very good at that. I would be very surprised if Chappell couldn’t deliver on screen.
I come at this as a comedian and an actor myself. So what I think is so great about the record and one of the things I’m proudest of is that I can have a song like “Everything You Want,” which is like me doing this lovelorn, sad girl pop record, and then it goes right into “RUM PUM PUM,” which is my trappy, filthy club song. I really wanted the opportunity to play different characters, and I am in a unique position to bring my skills to this as a character performer. So yeah, I’m really happy that idea is coming back in pop music.
You got to work with a number of artists on this project, including Katie Gavin from MUNA, VINCINT, Bowen Yang and Leland, who both appears on and executive produced the album. What was it like to work with these very talented, and also very queer artists on a Christmas project?
I am just so proud that they all are queer artists, and I’m also really proud that they’re all queer artists who have had a major impact. You know, VINCINT’s songs were inescapable during Pride, and MUNA is just becoming more and more important to not just queer culture, but our generation. I genuinely do believe that Katie Gavin is one of the voices that we will still be listening to in 30 years — I believe she’s a Stevie Nicks-level singer.
Leland is such a great artist in his own right and such an amazing producer; the vibe that he creates creatively is so open and very collaborative. He’s also a real go-getter, because we wrote the song “Everything You Want” as a solo song for me, and he realized we were writing a MUNA song. He said, “We’re gonna call them right now,” and we just asked, and Katie said yes. Also, Leland is Troye Sivan’s [songwriting partner], and Troye was around the whole time I was recording. He would be listening to first cuts, and with “RUM PUM PUM,” he’s the one who called it “diabolical” and then asked if he could help vocal produce it. This was the week that “Rush” was coming out. He was about to have this nasty little pop boy moment, and here he was helping me with mine.
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You’ve mentioned all of the different flavors of holiday song we get on this album — why was that an important step in making this a successful satire on the pop Christmas album format?
I came up through my 20’s doing sketch comedy, and the similarity between writing a good comedy sketch and writing a good pop song is way more synergistic than people think. Let’s take “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson as an example. In verse one, we get the premise; “I’m not with you anymore.” The game is now about this idea of “I don’t care, I’m better off without you.” In the second verse, we explore the reality; “Here’s the things in the relationship that happened, which were actually pathetic.” The bridge is this big f–king kiss off is where she comes to the conclusion that, “We will never ever, ever get back together,” to quote another artist. And then there is this little taste at the end with her vocal that maybe she isn’t super over it. All of this essentially is three beats of a sketch: introducing a comedic idea, exploring that idea, and then seeing the idea out to its fullest potential.
I feel like the best way to really heighten a specific comedic idea in song is to just match it to a genre that can help you do that. So, if I’m writing a sketch about being in the club, meeting someone and wanting to bring them home on Christmas, obviously that should be a club song. If I’m feeling a genre first, I think about what funny idea would fit.
It also helps that you are a naturally gifted singer — was singing something you always knew you were very good at?
I think I’ve started to be comfortable calling myself a singer since I started doing the show five years ago. What I didn’t know was how good of a recording artist I was going to be, because I really think those are two different things. To me, what sets recording artists apart is having that special tone and that ability to landscape your vocals. Like, Selena Gomez is a fantastic recording artist. I don’t know that she could go up there and sing the house down like Audra McDonald, and I also don’t know if Audra would consider herself a great recording artist, right? They’re both very, very good at what they do.
When they gave me this record deal, I knew I could sing, but I didn’t know if I was a recording artist. Luckily, Leland was very encouraging about me using this like part of my voice that recalls the origins of when I started listening to music — this very JC Chasez, R&B-pop tone. What really helped, it turns out, was podcasting for all these years. That has weirdly prepared me to use a mic in this way in the studio.
Was there anything you learned in this process that further differentiated being a singer from a being a recording artist?
Listen, as a gay guy who has had a podcast for years talking about pop culture, I’ve had certain opinions about who’s “a great singer” and who’s not. Now, I have so much more respect for anyone who creates a hit and has a distinct sound where, when you hear it, you’re like, “Oh, that is unquestionably Ariana Grande, or Rihanna, or Kesha, or Selena Gomez.”
Finding out what my sound is has ben one of the most fun parts of this. It’s something that I’m really interested in exploring going forward, because I do have a sound that I think if I were to pinpoint what sounds the most like me on this album, it probably is “Everything You Want.” I think that it’s where I’m the most myself. But being able to explore all these genres is exciting, where every single day I was recording was like going to Disney World.
Have you thought about what a follow-up to this album would look like?
I don’t want to give anything away. But what I’ll say is, if I can do another album, I will go in the exact opposite direction of this. I think I would present something that was … let’s call it “seasonally opposite.” Leland and I may have even already written down some stuff. So, who knows?