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Over the years, as Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist and producer Alissia was growing her career, she started hosting kickbacks at her New York-based studio called The Spaceship. She’d invite artists, musicians and DJs in hopes that they would connect – and maybe even collaborate.
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“Organically, I would invite people to come through, and they’d be like, ‘Oh, send me a playlist of this.’ And then they would connect and exchange numbers,” she says. “Nowadays, features happen by sending a track through text or email. We were losing a little bit of that humanness and that magic that happens when you really get to know the person and vibe.”
But last year, her gatherings outgrew The Spaceship; in June 2023, Alissia expanded the series into an exclusive party called Boogie Nights, with its first edition launching at New York’s Virgin Hotel. “There’s a photo booth, there’s little popcorn holders. There’s logos and stickers, and it’s all disco balls. There’s a Le Freak C’est Chic Martini,” she says. “I wanted to make it a cute, elevated experience.”
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Alissia and Anderson .Paak
Kathy Rosario
Inspired by Studio 54, Boogie Nights became the grooviest alternative option for creatives in the music and fashion industries, who were craving something more meaningful than the club scene but still wanted to be outside. Boogie Nights has since become one of the hottest tickets in town, with just five gatherings happening so far, including this February during Los Angeles’ Grammy week (held at the West Hollywood EDITION hotel) and most recently this September for New York Fashion Week (held at the event’s PUBLIC hotel homebase).
“At the last Boogie Nights [during NYFW], Ravyn Lenae sat in and we did a song that’s coming out that we did together,” says Alissia — adding that a goal is to feature new music that recently dropped or is just about to. And prior to that, Alissia’s frequent collaborator Anderson .Paak (who spins vinyl as DJ Pee Wee) had A-list guests like Lucky Daye and Leon Thomas dancing under the 400 disco balls that cover the ceiling of Los Angeles’ Sunset at EDITION during her pre-Grammy party earlier this year.
As for the upcoming Grammys? Alissia confirms she plans to bring Boogie Nights back to LA, previously telling Billboard: “LA is the perfect place, Grammys is the perfect time.”
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One of country music’s favorite holiday traditions airs on TV tonight with Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry. The annual musical event features some of the biggest stars in country music performing in front of a live audience at Nashville’s famed Grand Ole Opry House.
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Want to watch the Christmas special? Here’s what you need to know.
How to Watch Christmas at the Opry 2024 on TV
Little Big Town‘s Christmas at the Opry airs tonight, December 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. You can watch the 2024 Christmas at the Opry special on TV through your local NBC affiliate.
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How to Stream Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry Online
You can also watch Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry online without cable by streaming it through a live TV service, like DirecTV Stream, Fubo, or Hulu + Live TV. All three streamers carry a live feed of NBC so you can watch Christmas at the Opry live online.
Use this free trial to DirecTV Stream to livestream Christmas at the Opry online for free. Your free trial lasts for five days, so you can use it to test out all of DirecTV Stream’s offerings to find the plan that works best for you.
We also like Fubo, which offers a live NBC feed that you can use to watch the Little Big Town special online without cable. Grab this 7-day free trial to Fubo to stream the holiday show for free. Fubo’s free trial includes free DVR, so you can record the broadcast to watch back later.
Following its live broadcast on December 16, the special will be available for streaming on Peacock the next day. Peacock subscribers can log into their account to stream Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry on-demand. Not a subscriber? Sign up for Peacock here, with plans from $7.99/month.
Who Is Performing at Christmas at the Opry 2024?
In addition to Little Big Town, this year’s Christmas at the Opry event features performances from Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Sheryl Crow, Josh Groban, Kate Hudson, Kirk Franklin and Orville Peck. The holiday special features a mix of solo performances, duets and special collaborations on both festive hits and fan favorite songs.
Little Big Town’s hosting gig comes on the heels of their 25th anniversary as a group. The country four-some also released their first holiday album in October, appropriately titled, The Christmas Album.
By day, LISA‘s character in White Lotus appears in a new teaser to be a buttoned-up hotel staff member. But by night?
Exactly two months ahead of the premiere of the hit show’s third season, HBO dropped a minute-and-a-half trailer Monday (Dec. 16) featuring the BLACKPINK band member as an employee of the fictional titular hotel chain’s Thailand location. In one clip, she smiles professionally while telling guests, “Welcome to The White Lotus in Thailand, ka.”
But in another clip, LISA looks like an entirely different person. Dressed in a traditional-looking headpiece at what appears to be an after-hours bonfire celebration, the star makes smoldering eye contact with someone offscreen while giving a sly smile.
With Leslie Bibb, Dom Hetrakul, Jason Isaacs, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey and more actors also starring in the next chapter of White Lotus, the rest of the teaser shows the new season’s characters exploring the city streets and nature of sunny Thailand before quickly succumbing to the temptations of nightlife. “Everyone runs from pain towards pleasure,” says a voice-over. “But they get there only to find more pain.”
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HBO first announced the Thai rapper’s casting in the show’s third season in February. In August, LISA opened up about securing her first onscreen gig in an interview with Elle, telling the publication, “I’m super excited and nervous, because it’s my first acting project.”
Calling White Lotus director “a genius,” the performer added that she “cried” when she learned she’d been tapped for the season. “I was happy for a second, and then I was like, ‘Oh, wait, wait, how am I going to deliver this?’” she said. “It’s pretty new to me, but I think it’s similar to shooting music videos. I’m excited for my fans to see it. I feel like people are going to fall in love with Thailand even more.”
Fans got their very first look at LISA’s acting in February, when she briefly appeared in a teaser welcoming hotel guests to the resort.
The new teaser comes about a month after LISA announced that her debut solo album, Alter Ego, is slated to arrive Feb. 28. The project is preceded by “Rockstar” — which reached No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 — “New Woman” with Rosalía and “Moonlit Floor (Kiss Me).”
The third season of White Lotus arrives on HBO and streams on Max Feb. 16. See LISA in the new teaser above.
Sure, the sun will come out tomorrow, but for right now, viral comedian Randy Rainbow isn’t looking forward to a new day dawning on Donald Trump‘s presidency. In his latest parody video, Rainbow sits down for another faux interview with the president-elect, this time mocking Trump for his widely criticized cabinet picks, specifically calling out […]
Weekend Update had SNL‘s Jane Wickline singing a comedic song as Sabrina Carpenter Saturday night (Dec. 14) — one that named pop stars like Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, both of whom the internet has no problem gossiping about when it comes to sexuality. Carpenter apparently hasn’t been a big part of that particular rumor mill. In the sketch, Wickline portrays the “Taste” singer as feeling left out.
“A lot of people on the internet like to start these juicy rumors about whether pop stars are gay, and this is a new song that I, Sabrina Carpenter, wrote called ‘When Will Even One Person Do That About Me?’” the SNL cast member explained ahead of performing a parody based on what Carpenter might think of it all.
Of course, the song sounded nothing like an actual Carpenter hit. “I can’t look or sound like her. She’s completely perfect,” Wickline said, but added, “For the purposes of this song, I am her.”
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“Taylor Swift sings about a crush on her best friend/ And you all cry ‘lesbian’ because she didn’t phrase it ‘my boy best friend,’” she sang in front of a keyboard.
“In a music video, I make out with Jenna Ortega/ No one doubts me at all when I say this is a metaphor for one of my ex-boyfriends/ And that is all it was, but no one ever wondered,” Wickline’s Carpenter said. In the next verse she pointed out that making out with her female co-star in “Taste” merely resulted in online chatter like “I heard this song is about Shawn Mendes.”
“Help me/ Just tell me where I’m doing wrong/ Why am I the only straight pop star/ Taken at their word?/ It’s lonely/ I do gay stuff and you don’t get mad/ I just want the same treatment/ I want to have mystique/ Why don’t you think I’m either bi or pretending that I might be/ I’m not bi or pretending, but why does no one think I’m lying/ I just want you to think I might have secrets,” she sang.
Wickline went on to remind everyone that Carpenter also locked lips with a female alien during the MTV Video Music Awards stage in September, while performing a medley of her hits.
“I also made out with a girl alien at the VMAs/ Nothing!” she lamented in her song.
Carpenter hasn’t commented on the bit.
Watch the “Weekend Update” that pokes fun at Carpenter in the clip below. Elsewhere during the Chris Rock-hosted episode, musical guest Gracie Abrams played “That’s So True” and “I Love You, I’m Sorry.”
Charli XCX, who hosted SNL last month, has another acting credit in the pipeline. The Brat hitmaker joins the cast of the upcoming film The Gallerist, directed by Cathy Yan. Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega were previously announced as stars of the movie, which is in pre-production and expected to begin shooting at the end […]
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CRT FRSH, Hip-Hop Wired’s playlist where we attempt to showcase music we believe is “Certified Fresh,” is back again as the holiday season is in full swing. Now that we’re nearing the end of the year, we’re trimming down the CRT FRSH playlist and updating the concept with our latest drop which we hope you all enjoy.
Disclaimer:
The CRT FRSH playlist is a labor of love. We don’t take payments nor do we do favors. We only add joints to our playlist that fit the theme and vision we’re going for and don’t seek to waste the listener’s time. Further, we don’t stick to one lane of Hip-Hop. We believe that all aspects of the music should get some light, whether it’s young lions in the trenches or those hoping for that one shot to blow up to grizzled veterans puffing out their chests with lots more to say.
I want to explain how I approach curating the CRT FRSH playlist. Most importantly, I don’t segregate my Hip-Hop. Every form of music from the main cultural tree deserves a listen and a look. When I construct the playlist, I want to include all regions across the States and, when applicable, across the globe. I also want to entertain every fan of Hip-Hop, not just those who enjoy one segment of it. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to it. — D.L. Chandler
Can you believe it’s already the middle of December? This year breezed by and we’ll soon be sharing our top Hip-Hop albums of the year but first, let’s check out our latest playlist.
We open up this update with “Xmas Time” from GloRilla and Kehlani, a timely track for all the gift-giving that’s set to happen next week. We follow that up with “Knock It Off” from The Alchemist and Roc Marciano’s newest collaborative effort, The Skeleton Key. Lil Baby is gearing up for his upcoming WHAM: Who Hard As Me album and “Insecurities” is a song from November we missed then but are loving right now.
Boldy James, who is always dropping quality music, collaborated with Harry Fraud for their The Bricktionary album, and “Rabies” is a cinematic track with a blistering verse from Black Soprano Family boss, Benny The Butcher. Bossman DLow had a busy year with two albums, and we’re featuring “Mo Chicken” alongside French Montana from his Dlow Curry album. From there, the talented Azizi Gibson teams up with the equally dope duo The Underachievers for the haunting “Street Lament.”
A major shoutout to the rest of the artists on the playlist, including Kendrick Lamar, Freddie Gibbs, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Kota The Friend, SALIMATA, Future, Cordae, Skyzoo, Crimeapple, and more.
This will be the last playlist update for the year so we hope you rock with this for a bit until we come back fresh, no pun intended, at the top of the year.
—
Photo: Getty
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Fresh off of their Billboard Music Awards wins, Kendrick Lamar and SZA are gearing up for their highly anticipated Grand National tour. Presented by Live Nation, pgLang and Top Dawg Entertainment, the duo are setting off on a North American stadium tour beginning in April 2025. Luckily, affordable tickets are already making their way online through Ticketmaster and other resale sites to shop now.
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The Grand National tour will kick off in Minnesota on April 19 and make its way through major cities across the country including Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, the New York area, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Detroit, Chicago and even Toronto before wrapping up in Washington, D.C., on June 18. Tickets initially went on sale on Dec. 6 through Ticketmaster.com, but if the venue or seats you are looking for are not available, there are plenty of cheap ticket options through resale sites to browse through.
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To help secure tickets to their Grand National tour before they sell out, check out our guide for affordable ticket options below.
How to Get Tickets to Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour
Ready to sing “Luther” in a packed crowd at the top of your lungs? Secure your cheap tickets to Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National tour through these ticketing sites below.
StubHub
Starting at $148, you can find cheap Kendrick Lamar tickets on StubHub. The site lets you use filters to sort options by price, venue, and number of tickets needed to make sure experience much easier. Your ticket purchase will also be protected by StubHub’s FanProtect, which you can learn more about here.
Vivid Seats
Shop more great options for affordable Kendrick Lamar and SZA tickets at Vivid Seats. With tickets as low as $136, you can save big with $20 off orders of $200+ when you use the code BB2024 at checkout. Make sure to use the sites filter options and interactive map to choose the exact venue, seat location, and number of tickets. Purchases are backed by Vivid Seat’s Buyer Guarantee that promises valid and authentic tickets delivered to you by the time of the event or your money back.
SeatGeek
At SeatGeek, cheap Kendrick Lamar tickets start as low as $118, and if this is your first-time purchasing through the site, you’re eligible for $10 off orders of $250+ when you use the code BILLBOARD10 at checkout. SeatGeek also gives the option to see ratings for each deal labeled on a scale of 1-10, so you won’t have to worry about dealing with any questionable deals. Tickets given a one are considered the worst deal while options labeled a 10 are the best.
Gametime
Looking for cheap last-minute Kendrick Lamar tickets? Gametime offers last-minute verified tickets for a more budget-friendly cost. You can find tickets as low as $121, and if you use code SAVE20 at checkout, score $20 off purchases of $150+.
Ticketnetwork
Ticketnetwork is another great site to secure affordable Kendrick Lamar and SZA tickets. With tickets as low as $150, use the interactive map to guide you through each section of the venue to see how many tickers are left. You can also snag $150 off purchases of $500+ when you use the code BILLBOARD150 at checkout or you can save $300 off orders of $1,000+ when you use the promo code BILLBOARD300.
To help plan your concert outing, take a look at all of the Grand National Tour dates below.
April 19 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ U.S. Bank StadiumApril 23 – Houston, Texas @ NRG StadiumApril 26 – Arlington, Texas @ AT&T StadiumApril 29 – Atlanta @ Mercedes Benz StadiumMay 3 – Charlotte, N.C. @ Bank of America StadiumMay 5 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Lincoln Financial FieldMay 8 – East Rutherford, N.J. @ MetLife StadiumMay 9 – East Rutherford, N.J. @ MetLife StadiumMay 12 – Foxborough, Mass. @ Gillette StadiumMay 17 – Seattle @ Lumen FieldMay 21 – Los Angeles @ SoFi StadiumMay 23 – Los Angeles @ SoFi StadiumMay 27 – Glendale, Ariz. @ State Farm StadiumMay 29 – San Francisco, Calif. @ Oracle ParkMay 31 – Las Vegas @ Allegiant StadiumJune 4 – St. Louis, Mo. @ The Dome at America’s CenterJune 6 – Chicago @ Soldier FieldJune 10 – Detroit @ Ford FieldJune 12 – Toronto, Ontario, Canada @ Rogers CentreJune 16 – Hershey, Pa. @ Hersheypark StadiumJune 18 – Washington, D.C. @ Northwest Stadium
The longtime collaborators and TDE duo have been making waves recently as the two partnered up on Lamar’s surprise album, GNX. SZA is featured on two songs off the record: “Luther,” which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the album-closing “Gloria.” GNX also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
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UFC is heading to “The Big Guava.” Two premiere welterweight fighters are set to go head-to-head in the octagon as the main event for UFC Fight Night. American Colby “Chaos” Covington (17-4-0) faces off against fellow American fighter Joaquin “New Mansa” Buckley (20-6-0) on Saturday, Dec. 14.
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UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley takes place at Amalie Arena, Tampa in Florida, with a start time of 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The main card is expected to begin at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Want to watch UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley online? The MMA event is livestreaming on ESPN+ for subscribers only.
If you’re not a subscriber, a monthly subscription to ESPN+ goes for $11.99 per month. However, you can go with an ESPN+ annual subscription for $119.99 per year. This saves you 15% compared to the month-to-month subscription price for 12 months.
Check out the complete UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley fight card below:
Main Card, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT, ESPN+/ESPN2
Petr Yan vs. Deiveson Figueiredo (Bantamweight), Main Event
Cub Swanson vs. Billy Quarantillo (Featherweight)
Manel Kape vs. Bruno Gustavo da Silva (Flyweight)
Vitor Petrino vs. Dustin Jacoby (Light Heavyweight)
Adrian Yañez vs. Daniel Marcos (Bantamweight)
Navajo Stirling vs. Tuco Tokkos (Light Heavyweight)
Prelims Card, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT, ESPN+/ESPN2
Michael Johnson vs. Ottman Azaitar (Lightweight)
Joel Álvarez vs. Drakkar Klose (Lightweight)
Sean Woodson vs. Fernando Padilla (Featherweight)
Miles Johns vs. Felipe Lima (Featherweight)
Miranda Maverick vs. Jamey-Lyn Horth (Women’s Flyweight)
Davey Grant vs. Ramon Taveras (Bantamweight)
Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Piera Rodriguez (Women’s Strawweight)
Subscribers to ESPN+ can livestream the early prelim and prelim portions of UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley for free. In fact, the prelims and main cards air on cable network ESPN2, so it’s streamable on DirecTV Stream and Fubo, as well as Hulu + Live TV.
Sign up for a five-day free trial from DirecTV Stream and watch UFC Fight Night for free.
In addition, you can get the Disney Trio — which comes with ESPN+, Hulu and Disney+ — starting at just $16.99 per month for both services in one package.
What Is Covington vs. Buckley’s Walkout Music for UFC Fight Night?
While the Ultimate Fighting Championship has yet to announce each fighter’s walkout music for the main event of UFC Fight Night, the fighters usually go out to the octagon to the same songs during their matches. Colby Covington typically walks out to former-WWE pro wrestler Kurt Angle’s theme song, while Joaquin Buckley prefers to walk out to “See Me Now” by Jeleel. So these songs will likely make an appearance during the MMA event.
UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Buckley is streaming on ESPN+ on Saturday, Dec. 14, starting at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The main card begins around at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on ESPN+.
Want more? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.
We’re just a couple weeks away from the end of year, meaning you have very little time left to listen to new music from your favorite queer artists in 2024! Billboard Pride is proud to present the latest edition of Queer Jams of the Week, our roundup of some of the best new music releases from LGBTQ artists.
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From Julien Baker and Torres’ excellent new duet to Shygirl & Yseult’s pounding new track, check out just a few of our favorite releases from this week below:
Julien Baker & Torres, “Sugar in the Tank”
After taking her collaborative powers to the next level as one-third of the beloved rock group Boygenius, solo star Julien Baker is back for another team up, this time with fellow alternative darling Torres’ for a proper country duet. “Sugar in the Tank” sees this match made in heaven crooning over banjos and guitars about all the various situations in which they love their significant others, ranging from the simple (like “sleeping on my dead left arm”) to the melodramatic (“swimming upstream in a flash flood wondering when I’m gonna drown”). The pair’s voices fit together like puzzle pieces, making “Sugar in the Tank” a must-listen for any country music fan out there.
Shygirl feat. Yseult, “F*Me”
If you’re looking for one more weekend out at the club before the holiday season arrives, then breakout electronic star Shygirl is here to help. Her new team up with French R&B singer Yseult “F*Me” is exactly the kind of electrohouse banger that you’ll need to dance your cares away this weekend. Shygirl amps up her already stunning production skills (with an assist from none other than Mura Masa), while Yseult delivers a sultry verse entirely en frances. As Shy insists that you can “have me when you like,” we’d suggest having a listen to this song right now.
Olly Alexander, “Archangel”
Olly Alexander has had a big 2024, performing in Eurovision and announcing the upcoming release of his debut studio album under his own name. So on “Archangel,” the singer is taking a moment to reflect. The moody, synth-driven new track follows Alexander as he remembers a life-affirming night with a lover who reminded him that he can “say whatever you want whenever you want.” The sound here is a nice switch-up, with Alexander pulling back the turbopop of his past few releases for something more intimate — “Archangel” immediately stands out as another excellent addition in the singer’s discography.
Tokischa feat. Nathy Peluso, “De Maravisha”
Sparks are flying on this stunning new collaboration between dembow star Tokischa and singer-songwriter extraordinaire Nathy Peluso. “De Maravisha” — a rough translation to “wonderfully well” — sees two icons gassing themselves up over a sweltering reggaeton beat, while both of them flex their incredible rap skills. There’s a lot of excellent bars to pick from here, but a personal fave arrives at the end of the song’s second verse as Tokischa details a steamy encounter in a bathroom with phenomenal flow.
Blond:Ish & Night Tales, “Shout It Out”
In these cold winter months, we all find ourselves yearning for the return of summertime — and now, rising DJ Blond:Ish is here to help with “Shout It Out.” The track sees the Canadian producer crafting a bubbling-under groove, with a sweltering rhythm section and a few horn blasts to create that late-night summer dance party feeling, while her special guests Night Tales offer chilled-out vocals over the top of the track. Even if you’re just in need of some good vibes this weekend, look no further than “Shout It Out.”
Check out all of our picks below on Billboard’s Queer Jams of the Week playlist: