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In a way, 2023 was Demi Lovato‘s reset year. Across myriad projects spanning various genres and formats, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter spent the year flaunting both their versatility and their distinct star quality — two attributes that make their brand new Roku special, A Very Demi Holiday Special, an effortless winner.
They kicked off the year with “Still Alive,” an original song for the box office-topping Scream VI that earned them a best song nomination at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards. The single soon gave way to the promotional campaign for Revamped, a reclamatory endeavor that found Lovato re-recording their biggest pop hits in the rock-focused style of their recent music. Included on the album were rock-ified versions of Billboard Hot 100 hits such as “Sorry Not Sorry” (No. 6), “Heart Attack” (No. 10) and “Cool for the Summer” (No. 11), all of which were included in Lovato’s MTV VMAs performance, which Billboard ranked as the fourth best of the night.
At that ceremony, Lovato enjoyed a best pop nomination for “Swine,” a blistering protest song they released two days before the anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade. The track peaked at No. 12 on Alternative Digital Song Sales.
By September, Revamped — which also featured collaborations with Slash, The Maine, Nina Strauss and The Used’s Brett McCracken — became their ninth career entry on the Billboard 200 (No. 60), reaching the top 10 of Top Album Sales (No. 4), Top Rock Albums (No. 10) and Top Alternative Albums (No. 8) in the process. Nonetheless, the new projects didn’t stop there.
Outside of their own music, Lovato also found time to appear Le Sserafim’s K-pop-meets-Jersey-club “Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard’s Wife” remix and Luísa Sonza‘s Portuguese-language “Penhasco2,” both of which made the Billboard charts. They also released a cover of “Let Me Down Easy” from the Emmy-nominated Daisy Jones & the Six miniseries. Of course, the multi-hyphenate maintained their presence in the film and television arenas, appearing as Anonymouse on the kick-off show for the tenth season of The Masked Singer and guest-starring as herself in the third season of the FX comedy Dave.
Ready to wind down for the holidays and bask in her delightful new holiday special, Demi Lovato catches up with Billboard for a light-hearted conversation about family traditions, her upcoming Child Star documentary, a potential Christmas rock album and plans for new music next year.
Why was this the year for you to hop into your holiday bag and put on A Very Demi Holiday?
That’s a good question and I don’t really have an answer for it! [Laughs.] It just was an opportunity that presented itself and I had to take it because I love the holidays!
What’s your absolute favorite thing about the holidays?
I love getting to spend time with my family. I think that’s my favorite part of the holidays.
What are some family traditions that you guys hold near and dear to your hearts?
Sometimes we wear onesies on Christmas morning. Other times, we have s’mores on Christmas Eve, but those aren’t traditions we do every year. We do do this tradition where we come down the stairs and look at presents, and we’ve been doing that since I was a kid — just having my mom say, “Okay, it’s time for the presents!” and then all three sisters come down at the same time. It’s cute.
I remember you recounting those moments in the special. When it comes to getting into the Christmas spirit, what’s your personal favorite Christmas song and which performance in the special would be your top pick?
I’d say that “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is probably my favorite Christmas song. My favorite song in the special would probably [also] be “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” because I got to do it with JoJo and we had a really great time performing together.
You guys have worked together previously. What was it like reuniting for a Christmas cover?
Oh, it was so great! She’s so sweet and funny and being able to work with her again was such a joy. She’s so talented. She’s such a powerhouse vocally and she’s incredible.
It’s always a treat to hear two vocalists like yourselves joining forces on a track. In terms of the music in the special, how did you guys decide which of your original non-holiday songs to include, and what was the aim of those arrangements?
You know, it wouldn’t really fit if I did a rock concert for a holiday special, although it depends on who you who you ask! [Laughs.] I wanted to have a different approach to it, so my band was different than my normal band and they were incredible. We had a really great time. I wanted it to feel more in line with the Christmas spirit, so that’s what I did!
Do you have plans for this to be a recurring special, or is this one-off thing for you?
I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see! Wait until next year.
Between making ugly sweaters and learning the Nutcracker ballet, what was your favorite thing to really sink your teeth into and show out in front of the cameras?
I think making the meat cakes for my dog was one for the books. Paris and I had a really great time, and I would do anything for my dogs. So, getting to dress them up and see who liked the cake more was really cute.
Did you look to any past Christmas specials and concerts for inspiration for your own?
No, I didn’t. I just. I just kind of winged it! [Laughs].
What draws you to the holiday season? Why do you think that it’s such an inspiring time of the year for so many artists?
The holidays inspire so many people because there’s a lot of downtime, so there’s a lot of opportunity to be able to listen to what inspires you during downtime that you wouldn’t have normally throughout the rest of the year.
There is a segment in the special where you’re consoling this young lady whose grandmother had recently passed away and it was such a beautiful, sentimental scene. What was it like getting to involve fans in this project in such a special way?
Getting to involve my fans was really fun. It was great to be able to sing with them too, you know? We sang “Joy to the World,” and they seemed really enthusiastic. Getting to surprise my fans was really fun and gave me nerves. I had butterflies to tell each person, but it was fun!
At the very end of the special there’s this animated thing that comes across the screen and you do a voiceover where you’re talking about aliens and you’re like, “Bye, b—ches, I’m going to Mars!” Did you freestyle that?
Well, the holiday special was trying to show what it would look like if an alien came to Earth and saw what Christmas was like. It would be showing them how absurd Christmas is. How a jolly old man comes down the chimney to give gifts, and there’s a tree that we decorate, you know? So, that was kind of a through-line through the special and I don’t remember how that last line came about! Maybe I freestyled that, I’m not sure. [Laughs.]
So, for the fans that didn’t get to sing with you in the special, what can they expect from you musically come 2024?
Hopefully, I’ll have an album by then. I would love to put out new music. I’m kind of just always releasing new music, it feels like, because I’m always trying to top myself or do something that feels fulfilling in the moment. So, hopefully, I’ll have new music out or new music to release next year. But I’m also not putting any pressure on it.
Do you have any plans to officially release any of these holiday covers for fans to stream?
I don’t have any plans to do that, but maybe next year I’ll come out with a Christmas album or something!
Okay if we get a Christmas album, can we get some rock Christmas songs on there?
Yeah, that would be cool!
Outside of music next year, you’re also continuing to make some moves in the film world. You’re currently prepping your Child Star documentary, what are some updates you can give fans on that project?
I’m getting some really great people to participate in the film. I’m really excited about it and — nothing that I can share with you right now! — but it’s turning out great. I’m having some deep and meaningful conversations with people that obviously were child stars previously. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.
Okay, now it’s time for some “this or that,” holiday edition. Peppermint or Gingerbread?
Peppermint.
Eggnog or apple cider?
Eggnog!
This is the tricky one: “All I Want for Christmas Is You” or “Last Christmas?”
“All I Want for Christmas Is You!” [Laughs.]
What is on your Christmas playlist? What’s playing around your house as you countdown to the 25th?
This isn’t Christmassy at all, but I’ve become a really big fan of Lola Young. I’ve been listening to her album a lot.
When you look back on the year, what’s your favorite overall moment? What’s one moment that you’ll always remember from the making of A Very Demi Holiday?
I think my favorite moment this year — I mean professionally — I would say the VMAs performance was really fun for me. Yeah. also filming the “Swine” music video was really fun, getting to release the Revamped album was awesome. I think, personally, anytime I’ve been able to spend with my best friends, my boyfriend and my loved ones.
When it comes to the holidays, country artists are all about making music to fit any Christmas mood–whether you’re joyful, thankful, reverent, lonely or not all that into the holiday season. Just like the plethora of holiday activities that folks engage in each year — attending Christmas gatherings, caroling, baking Christmas cookies, attending a tree […]
‘Tis the season to listen to Christmas songs on repeat. Like many other artists across genres, Latin acts have been releasing bilingual (Spanish and English) holiday songs — whether original or covers — to get in the spirit navideño. There are of course the go-to classics like José Feliciano‘s “Feliz Navidad,” which celebrated its 50th anniversary […]
On Monday (Dec. 4), Brenda Lee made history when her classic holiday chestnut, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time — 65 years after the song’s release.
Lee, whose indomitable spirit and powerful voice, even as a child, earned her the nickname “Little Miss Dynamite,” recorded “Rockin’” when she was just 13. Now, at age 78, she’s watching as the song, promoted by major label UMG Nashville, has reached the pinnacle of Billboard’s all-genre chart. In the process, the song has become only the third holiday song to reach No. 1 ever on the Hot 100.
“I like that God has given me that favor that I can stand aside and look and know that it wasn’t just me; that it’s a conglomerate of a lot of people that made the song what it is,” Lee tells Billboard, seated in the downtown offices of label UMG Nashville, just after UMG Nashville chair/CEO Cindy Mabe revealed the news of the song’s new peak.
“I’m happy for everybody here that’s worked so hard to make this happen because in today’s world, everything moves so fast and furious. But I’m telling you this: My label has come to bat,” Lee said.
Produced by Owen Bradley, “Rockin’” was initially released in 1958, though the song’s initial chart impact was modest. Lee earned her first two No. 1 Hot 100 hits in 1960, with “I’m Sorry” and “I Want to Be Wanted.” Bolstered by those successes, “Rockin’” reached an original peak of No. 14 in December 1960. Between December 2019 and last year, the song would spend nine weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100, behind only Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Lee recorded “Rockin’” in the heart of Nashville’s Music Row, at Bradley’s Quonset Hut, her mature-beyond-her-years voice paired with the song’s rockabilly holiday feel, creating what would become her signature song.
“The producer cut the air way down in the studio,” Lee recalled. “He had a big Christmas tree and everyone was there — the Anita Kerr Singers and the A-team [of revered Nashville studio musicians], as we called them. It was like a little touch of magic kind of sprinkled in, and it turned out to be magic. It really did.”
Johnny Marks, the songwriter behind other holiday classics including “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” also wrote “Rockin’,” with Lee in mind for the song.
“He was such a gentle soul,” Lee recalls of the late songwriter, who died in 1985. “He was Jewish and didn’t even believe in Christmas, and all that would come out of him was Christmas music. He told me he was laying on the beach in New York and I guess he took a nap or something and when he woke up, he saw the pine trees were kind of swaying. I said, ‘You got pine trees on the beach in New York?’ He said, ‘Yeah and I thought the pine trees are rocking and he went home and came up with ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.’
“I talked to him almost every week, and he was so funny. His first line would be, ‘Brenda, just thought I’d call. There’s not a lot of us old-timers left,’ and I’d think, how old does he think I am?” she said with a giggle. “But he was so precious and so sweet, and just a good guy.”
In 1990, “Rockin’” became a favorite holiday song for a new generation when it was featured in the Macaulay Culkin film Home Alone.
“That’s the catalyst that pushed it over that hill, as we’ll call it. It’s just been a blessing,” says Lee, who noted she watched the holiday mainstay a few nights ago.
Lee marked the 65th anniversary of “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by filming the song’s first official video, featuring cameos from Tanya Tucker and Trisha Yearwood. The festive clip features Lee lip-synching to her teenage recording of the song, alongside footage of her and Yearwood baking holiday cookies and chatting with Tucker as everyone gathered around a table to enjoy a holiday feast.
“My buds are in there,” Lee says. “We had a ball making it. We filmed it at the producer’s house, and nothing was choreographed, really. We just had fun. They were just precious to do that for me, and I think folks will love it.”
Like Lee, Tucker was herself a star by her teens, and Lee met Yearwood when she was first getting started in the industry in the 1990s.
“They both are just real,” Lee says of Tucker and Yearwood. “They’ve never lost their sense of joy, gratitude and of excitement for what they’re doing. And they help — you call ‘em and they’ll say, ‘Sure, when you want me there?’ Now, there’s probably some moments they’ve got on film that you’ll never see,” she laughs, “but we had a good time. It seemed like it just went like that. We were there for hours filming, but because we’re friends and all, it didn’t seem like a long time.”
As for her own favorite holiday hits — other than her own? “I love to hear ‘White Christmas’ and love to hear Bing Crosby sing. I also love Burl Ives’ ‘A Holly Jolly Christmas,’” Lee says.
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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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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 […]
Tyler, the Creator is bringing fashion and the holiday spirit across the globe.
The superstar’s Golf Wang brand is launching 12 holiday pop-up shops on Saturday (Dec. 2) alongside their permanent locations in Los Angeles, New York City and London. The temporary holiday stores will be in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
The stores will feature portions of the FW23 collection, which in addition to apparel also includes accessories as well as a graffiti airbrush-inspired art piece that will be seen across different items like tees, fleece, jackets and accessories. The stores will also carry pieces from the essentials collection and Tyler, The Creator’s music catalog on vinyl.
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In the U.S., the pop-ups will take place in Austin, Atlanta, Bay Area, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. Internationally, the stores will be located in Amsterdam, Berlin, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Melbourne and London. The launch date for the Seoul, South Korea, location will be announced at a later date.
The Golf Holiday Shops are also partnering with American Express to offer card members onsite benefits including early access to the shop for one hour ahead of opening hours on Dec. 2 and 3, an Amex Card Member-only entry line to the shop, access to exclusive apparel, and a complimentary gift with purchase when using an Amex Card.
For more information on the Golf Holiday Shops, see the website here.
It’s almost December, so Mariah Carey and Brenda Lee are back in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and snuggled up in the top two spots of our newly returned Holiday 100 chart. But if you look beyond “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” what songs […]
‘Tis the season to get turnt — with some help from Cardi B. The “I Like It” rapper’s alcoholic whipped cream company, Whipshots, re-launched its festive peppermint flavor for the holiday season, and Cardi stuns in the campaign photos, in which she’s seen sitting amid a winter wonderland full of trees and presents in a […]
It’s not Christmastime until… Cher hits the dance floor. The timeless diva performed “DJ Play a Christmas Song” from her brand-new Christmas album at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday (Nov. 23), and she turned the parade route into a dance club, performing on a silver stage flanked by dancers dressed like discofied toy […]