State Champ Radio halloween
After Ariana Grande and Elizabeth Gillies dressed up as the lead duo from Showgirls for Halloween last week, the original Nomi Malone has weighed in. Elizabeth Berkley — who famously shed her good-girl Saved by the Bell image by starring in the 1995 erotic thriller as Nomi — praised Grande’s “attention to detail” in re-creating […]
Nicki Minaj is the OG “Female Weezy,” but Ciara took a stab at it for Halloween this year — and she got Lil Wayne‘s stamp of approval. Ciara dressed like Minaj’s alter ego, which she first introduced on Birdman‘s 2011 track “Y.U. Mad” and its accompanying music video, by wearing white-blond dreads with pink tips, […]
The Halsey household celebrated both Halloween and Harryween this year. In an adorable clip shared to their Instagram Story Tuesday (Oct. 31), the singer revealed that her two-year-old son Ender dressed up this year as Harry Styles circa 2019. In the Instagram video, Ender — whose face is cut off by the frame — sports […]
There is no subtle way to say this: Lil Nas X managed to outdo himself, and just about everyone else with his Halloween costume this year. The “Industry Baby” rapper loves to push our buttons with outrageous stage outfits and sets, but on Tuesday (Oct. 31) Montero took things to a whole new level with […]
The Nosferatu, a vampire so iconic in the annals of horror, it ranks right up there in the rogues’ gallery alongside Frankenstein’s Monster, Michael Myers, and Jason, has just had an update — thanks to Bad Bunny.
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Just in time for Halloween, the Puerto Rican superstar gets his creep on for “Baticano,” lifted from Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana, his third and latest No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Directed by Stillz, the music video has all the angles, shadows and hallmarks of the 1922 version of Nosferatu, a benchmark in German Expressionism filmmaking. Steve Buscemi plays the father figure/mad scientist, who tells the pointy-eared creature, “they’re not ready for you in this world. But you are beautiful. Remember that. You are too perfect for this world.”
Bad Bunny is following in some mighty footsteps. Max Schreck’s performance in that early film was so compelling, Willem Dafoe reprised the role for 2000’s Shadow of the Vampire, which posited that, just maybe, Schreck was an actual garlic-hating, sunshine-avoiding vampire. Werner Herzog helmed the 1979 remake of Nosferatu the Vampyre, with Klaus Kinski, in the lead role, creepier than a box of spiders. Robert Eggers directs an update on the blood-sucking count, due out in 2024.
All 21 songs from Bunny’s new album (which translates to “Nobody Knows What Is Going to Happen Tomorrow”) went on to enter the Billboard Hot 100, including “Baticano,” which bowed at No. 78 last month. It’s his fifth solo studio album, following last year’s blockbuster Un Verano Sin Ti. His 2022 album spent 13 weeks atop the Billboard 200 albums chart and topped the year-end Billboard 200 as well — the first Spanish-language album to do so.
Following its release, Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana was confirmed by Spotify as the platform’s most-streamed album in a single day in 2023 so far.
Watch the music video for “Baticano” below.
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Just like the zombies, vampires and ghouls that inspired him, Bobby “Boris” Pickett rises from the dead every October to haunt the radio, streaming services, TV commercials and the hundreds of products named after his 1962 smash “Monster Mash.”
“Every single year my entire life, I get to hear my grandfather’s voice for a month,” says Pickett’s grandson, Jordan Huus, 34. “And he’s not crooning or loudly singing. I get to hear his speaking voice.”
Although more recent spooky hits challenge “Monster Mash” for dominance every October, Pickett’s weird Boris Karloff imitation remains an immortal Halloween anthem. During the past four Halloweens combined, the track received more than streamed 15.4 million on demand streams; during the same period, Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller” scored 16.7 million, Ray Parker Jr.‘s “Ghostbusters” 12.8 million and Andrew Gold‘s “Spooky, Scary Skeletons” 8.85 million, according to Luminate.
Billboard estimates “Monster Mash,” which was released in 1962, has generated nearly $350,000 in average annual revenue globally over the last three years from the master recording, not including whatever synch revenue it enjoys from commercial and film/TV use, nor licensing revenue from the various compilation albums the song has appeared on; and about $500,000 in annual global publishing revenue, including cover versions and synchronization. In all, combined revenue for the song could easily hit $1 million each year, Billboard estimates.
“We had a great year last year with ‘Monster Mash,’” says Rell Lafargue, president/CEO of Reservoir, which owns Pickett’s publishing share and scored a “nice, healthy six-figure synch” for a 2021 General Mills cereal commercial relaunching Franken Berry, Boo Berry and Count Chocula. “We probably have 15 to 20 licensing requests on the line as we speak. Every year, people gear up for Christmas and other holidays, but the ‘Monster Mash’ is always there.”
Since its release on the late producer Gary Paxton‘s independent label, Garpax, “Monster Mash” has navigated a complicated path through the music business. Its two songwriters are Pickett and a friend, Leonard Capizzi, who sang doo-wop together on the beach in Los Angeles before cooking up the novelty song. After Paxton failed to sell the single to a bigger label, he gave it to radio DJs, who turned it into a hit; afterward, London Records agreed to distribute, and Stuart Hersh, Pickett’s longtime manager, says the company retained ownership of the master — now controlled through major label Universal Music Group’s Decca U.K. subsidiary.
As for publishing, Capizzi, who died in 1988, retained his share, and, as Pickett said in a 1995 interview, “his widow and child are getting all of his royalties.” Paxton, the “Monster Mash” producer, took over Pickett’s publishing and made a deal with publisher Acoustic Music, which changed hands to several other companies before Reservoir acquired it in 2014. Huus doesn’t know all the specifics, but his mother, Pickett’s daughter Nancy Huus, received publishing royalties until her death in February 2023, leaving her widower to control the family share.
“My mother left those to my father, who will in turn leave those as a split to my sister and I,” Huus says.
After its original 1962 release, various indie labels reissued “Monster Mash,” including Parrot Records 11 years later, when the song returned to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 10. By the ’90s, according to Hersh, Pickett had participated in a K-Tel compilation remake that included backup Tennessee vocalists who pronounced the chorus “monster may-ash.” Pickett called this version “Monster Mish.”
Says Hersh: “Mish-mosh aside, I said to Bobby, ‘Why don’t I produce a new version for us that’ll be our master, and I’ll try to cut it as close to the first one as possible?’” Hersh brought in 1950s drums and created the track-opening creaky door with an actual creaky door, as opposed to the original effect, a nail slowly pulled out of a surface.
Convincing Pickett to use his higher-pitched voice from the 1962 version, Hersh re-released the track, Taylor Swift-style, and landed synch deals such as the 2005 John Cusack movie Must Love Dogs and a line of musical Hallmark greeting cards for Halloween. “I said to Bobby, ‘We’ve got to make this thing sound perfect and give it to independent films, and give people a chance, and it’ll be your master,’” Hersh recalls. After Pickett died in 2007, Nancy Huus gave the rights to the re-recorded 1993 master to Hersh, who still manages Pickett’s career, attending seasonal conventions and linking to streams and downloads of the reissue on themonstermash.com. “Our [version of the track] is the one with the black-and-white photo of Bobby over the gravestone,” Hersh says.
Hersh has no idea, however, who owns the name “Monster Mash” as it pertains to product titles. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office lists 60 active and abandoned applications carrying that name, including General Mills (for its Monster Mash cereal), Friendly Ice Cream (Monster Mash sundaes) and a Hong Kong company called Longshore Ltd. (for board games). “It was never trademarked back then, and I really don’t know who did it this time,” Hersh says. “I would think it’s been used so many times, at this point, it’s just like a regular phrase.”
Jordan Huus was 8 when his late mother, who was adopted, met Pickett, her biological father, for the first time. Since then, Huus recalls a family fascination with Halloween that lives on in his own household. “Oh, man, if you have like an hour or two, I could point out each decoration,” Huus says, describing his mother’s hand-crafted Halloween wreaths, plus posters and records honoring Bobby “Boris” Pickett. “Of course, we have to bring out the ‘Monster Mash’ stuff.”
Ed Christman contributed to this story.
Jason Aldean and Brittany Aldean took the political route for their Halloween costumes this year, taking to Instagram on Tuesday (Oct. 31) to share a skit in which they acted as Donald Trump and Joe Biden during a presidential debate. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In […]
Christina Aguilera gave fans all the nostalgic feels this Halloween when she dressed up as Cher in Burlesque, the 2010 film they starred in together. “Tess & Ali 4EVER,” she captioned a video on Tuesday (Oct. 31), referencing the duo’s onscreen character names, before lip-syncing along to a scene in which Cher’s Tess tells Xtina’s […]
Two things are for sure this Halloween: every other kid (or kidult) in your neighborhood is going to be rocking some sort of Barbie-inspired costume… and the rest of them will probably wear some variation of a look from Taylor Swift‘s Eras Tour.
Google Trends searches show that interest in Taylor Swift Halloween costumes went from near-zero in March — right around the launch of the first U.S. Eras Tour swing — to needle-in-the-red peak popularity beginning Sept. 20 before dropping down and then peaking again on Oct. 15 and Oct. 20, with interest remaining strong at press time. For comparison, Swift Halloween costume searches went from near-zero on Oct. 13, 2022 to a similar high-point on Oct. 25 of that year; the chart showed a similar trajectory in 2021.
A specific search for Eras Tour Halloween costumes shows a more up-and-down history, with interest spiking in late August and then shooting up again in mid-October before a steep decline as we slide into All Hallows’ Eve, with California and Texas representing the states with the highest searches.
Those Taylor-ing their looks might team-up with their partner for a couple’s costume nodding to the singer’s reported romance with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
Searches for KelSwift couple costumes first began to trend up on Sept. 25, one day after Swift attended her first Chiefs game, then reached a 100-level search rating in the days after Taylor and a group of fellow A-listers attended the Oct. 1 KC win over the New York Jets. Searches peaked again on Oct. 15, days after KC’s 19-8 home win over the Denver Broncos. Utah and Nebraska lead the charge of spots with the most-searched couple costumes, followed by Arkansas, Kanas, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Illinois, Oklahoma, Alabama and Louisiana.
In addition, TikTok is filled with very cute videos of kids (and grown-ups) shipping the reported couple in homemade costumes chronicling their PDA and date nights.
Because there are no official Taylor (or Traylor) costumes on the market, Swifties have filled the gap with their home brews. That included Today show co-host Savannah Guthrie, who anchored the show on Tuesday (Oct. 31) dressed in a long blonde wig and sparkly blue and pink leotard, joined by her adorable nine-year-old daughter in a gold skirt and cowboy boots as they performed Swift’s “Cruel Summer.”
Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos went as far as calling Tuesday’s episode of Live with Kelly and Mark “Live’s Halloween The Eras Show.” The episode had the couple dressing up as Sonny & Cher, as well as putting on their Traylor drag and opening the show with Ripa promising to run through a series of Eras looks.
If you’re still scrambling for your look and trust Prime to get you what you need, Amazon has dozens of listings for Taylor Eras-inspired costumes, from a pink 1989 two-piece sweatsuit to a gold and blue cheerleader costume, a bejeweled rhinestone bodysuit, sequined bomber jackets, an “Anti-Hero” bodysuit, a variety of glittery oversized suit jackets and Fearless jumpsuit sets.
The National Retail Federation said the historic amount of spending Americans will do this year on costumes, candy and decorations is expected to reach a record $12.2 billion. Swift costumes, however, are not on the top 10 list, which for children is topped by Spider-Man, princess, ghost, superhero and witch. The adult list is similar, with witch, vampire and Barbie taking the top spots, followed by Batman, cat and zombie.
Taylor may not have made the NRF list, but even the august New York Times predicted last week that while Barbie outfits are sure to be everywhere, Swift-Kelce costumes are poised to steal the plastic couple’s thunder in what the paper deemed an “October surprise”; it’s worth noting that SAG-AFTRA discouraged its striking members from dressing up as characters from major movie studio productions in solidarity with the ongoing actors’ strike.
The Times spoke to a number of small, Etsy-style retailers, who said that requests for the hottest pop-pigskin costumes were “surging” in the lead-up to Tuesday. “I’m up until 3 or 4 in the morning every night, customizing bodysuits,” said Etsy creator Angela George, who sold more than 300 pieces inspired by Swift in October alone.
With traditional Halloween retailers such as Halloween Express and Spirit Halloween offering no official (or even generic knock-off) Swift-related merch, Amazon — which declined to comment for this story — lists dozens of Swift-adjacent items when search terms include the singer’s name and Halloween. Among the products that come up are a number of looks parroting Swift’s stage costumes from the Eras Tour, including a flowing blue cape with hood, a shoulder-length wig with blonde bangs, “Tay Tay Cheerleader” outfits, top hats, heart-shaped sunglasses, sequined black shorts and a number of shiny dresses with flapper-like fringe.
As a bonus, many Swifties still have their Eras Tour costumes/outfits in their closets, so some might not have to look very far for inspiration, with the Times noting that throwing on a red Chiefs-style jersey and a fake mustache is pretty light lifting for couples who insist on dressing up together for parties. Another Etsy creator told the Times that she started selling a red “Taylor’s Boyfriend” jersey in September and it quickly became her best seller.
Swift is the leading finalist with nods in 20 categories at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards. You can watch the BBMAs here, and via Billboard and the BBMA’s social media channels on Nov. 19.
Back in April 1988, when DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince released “A Nightmare on My Street,” the song was an immediate hit. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 was set for release a few months later, and the song – which made obvious allusions to Freddy Krueger from beginning to end – eventually climbed to No. 15 on the Hot 100.
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“Now I have a story that I’d like to tell/ About this guy you all know him, he had me scared as hell!” rapped the Fresh Prince, who later became better known by his real name, Will Smith. “He comes to me at night after I crawl into bed/ He’s burnt up like a weenie and his name is Fred!”
Just one problem: New Line Cinema, the owners of the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, had already commissioned their own officially licensed Freddy Krueger rap track (“Are You Ready for Freddy”) by the Fat Boys – and, more importantly, they had specifically rejected DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s version.
Like a formulaic horror movie, you know what happens next. In July 1988, New Line took Smith, Jazzy Jeff (Jeff Townes) and Jive Records to federal court, arguing that “My Street” infringed their copyrights and trademarks to the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise. New Line also demanded an immediate injunction to stop MTV from airing the song’s soon-to-be released music video, which featured a look-alike Krueger and many other references to the movies.
What’s the origin story of this legal monster? According to legal filings from the case, New Line started thinking about commissioning a licensed hip hop theme song for “Elm Street 4″ nearly a year before the movie was released. Eventually, they settled on The Fat Boys, a pioneering rap trio who had released their breakout Crushin’ earlier that year. In March 1988, the group released “Are You Ready for Freddy” on their third studio album, Coming Back Hard Again.
But behind the scenes, an executive at Jive had been doing his best to convince New Line to use a theme song by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince instead of the Fat Boys. According to legal filings, Smith and Townes recorded “My Street” in late 1987, and then Jive sent a copy of the track to the movie studio for consideration. Negotiations dragged on for months, but never culminated in a licensing deal.
In April, Jive released the song anyway, including it on DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s album “He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper.” The song told the story of the duo encountering the same haunting scenario as the movies, where Krueger kills people in real life by murdering his vicitms in their dreams
“It wasn’t a dream, man, this guy was for real,” Smith rapped. “I said, ‘Freddy, uh, pal, there’s been an awful mistake here’”
According to legal filings, as the August premiere of the movie got closer, Jive continued to get New Line to try to “change its mind” about licensing the song for the movie, including suggesting that MTV was interested in doing a music video for “My Street.” But the studio ultimately reached an official agreement with the Hot Boys to make their own licensed video for their song.
In July, New Line sent a cease-and-desist to Jive and owner Zomba Music, warning that the Fresh Prince song amounted to copyright infringement and demanding that the record be pulled from store shelves. Weeks later, New Line headed to court, accusing the Jive, Zomba, and the duo of a wide range of legal wrongdoing. Then in August, they went into overdrive after learning that Zomba had produced a music video for “My Street” and were planning to release it on MTV, demanding a preliminary injunction to block the video’s premiere.
In late August, a federal judge sided decisively with New Line. He ruled that the planned music video likely infringed the studio’s copyrights, citing the overwhelming similarities between them. And he rejected their argument that the video amounted to a legal “fair use,” saying it was instead simply an unauthorized competitor that was unfairly free-riding on New Line’s “massive promotional campaign.”
“The video exists solely as an vehicle to promote Zomba’s song,” the judge wrote, issuing the injunction banning the release of the video. “Thus, Zomba stands to profit financially by using Freddy without making the usual licensing arrangements, which in fact were made by the Fat Boys before they produced their video.”
Unlike the best horror franchises, there was no sequel to this legal fight. The case could have continued on to more litigation over the ultimate merits of the case, but after New Line won the injunction, the lawsuit quickly ended on a confidential settlement. The video was never released, and albums featured a sticker disclosing that the song was not affiliated with the movie.
But don’t forget, the killer is never quite dead: A version of “A Nightmare On My Street” is currently available on YouTube, where it now has 2.8 million views.
