Lists
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Just like clockwork, Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated 10th studio album has arrived.
Swifties have been eagerly awaiting its release since the pop superstar broke the news during her video of the year acceptance speech at the 2022 VMAs. “I thought it might be a fun moment to tell you that my brand-new album comes out Oct. 21,” she coyly revealed. “And I will tell you more at midnight.”
And tell us more, she did. Aptly titled Midnights, she explained that the album would tell “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life” — inviting fans all along “a journey through terrors and sweet dreams.”
In the wee hours of the night, three hours after the album’s initial release at midnight ET sharp on Oct. 21, the 13-track project became a 20-track one. The singer-songwriter surprise dropped the “3 am Edition,” which contains seven additional new songs.
To celebrate her newest full-length set, Billboard dug through Swift’s hefty catalog to find every mention of “midnight” in a song. Night in general has been a recurring theme in her music for over a decade, yet we were surprised to find that that exact word only appears in 10 out of 200+ songs (and four being from Midnights alone). So we decided to take things a step further and also count the times she sings “middle of the night” as honorable mentions — because take away a few letters and it’s the same darn thing (and before you @ us, no, we are not listing her specific mid-night mentions of 1:58 a.m., 2 a.m., 2:30 a.m., 3 a.m. and so forth).
Without further ado, from Fearless to Evermore to Midnights, here are all of Swift’s “midnight” and “middle of the night” lyrics, listed chronologically (with “middle of the night” lyrics beginning at No. 11).
When a K-pop group hits the seven-year mark, it traditionally marks a decisive and sometimes challenging moment for an act to decide whether or not its members would like to renew their contracts and move forward together. Luckily for TWICE, their upcoming seventh anniversary on Oct. 20 can be a day of pure celebration for the group and their fans as all nine members of the K-pop super group renewed their contracts with longtime label JYP Entertainment in July.
“Ahead of the expiration of their exclusive contracts this fall, all members of TWICE completed renewing their contracts,” JYP Entertainment shared with the media. “TWICE, who played a crucial role in establishing JYP’s status, and JYP, which became a reliable source of support for TWICE growing to become a representative K-pop girl group, agreed based on this trust to renew the contracts with confidence in an even better future.”
TWICE followed up the good news with a new EP titled Between 1&2 that became their first album to earn 100,000 copies in its opening week and made them the first K-pop girl group to land three Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200. While this week marks Between 1&2‘s seventh consecutive week on the Billboard 200, at No. 131, the EP marks something additionally momentous for the group as the album transitions from TWICE’s first and second chapters.
After Oct. 20, 2022, TWICE will enter a new phase as a group with an undeniable established presence in the world’s biggest markets and hue potential to keep growing. Since last October, the ninesome hit a slew of firsts including entering the Hot 100 and U.K. Singles charts, holding a stadium show in the U.S., performing a record-setting three days at the famous Toyko Dome, and snagging nominations at the MTV European Music Awards.
Before TWICE officially enters Chapter 2 and starts the anniversary celebrations, members Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu all reflected on the one TWICE single that’s most important so far.
In the long history of the Billboard Hot 100, it’s pretty rare for a specific word to appear across the title of multiple No. 1s. With the exception of “love” (because love songs have never and will never go out of style), the lack of commonalities make it impossible to say there’s a formula for crafting the title of a hit. But in digging through Billboard’s list of chart-toppers, we found another word that has surprisingly made quite the mark on the U.S. songs chart: “bad.”
The irony is obvious. While Merriam-Webster defines “bad” as “failing to reach an acceptable standard,” “morally objectionable” and “unpleasant,” musical acts across a handful of genres have defied tradition and hit No. 1 thanks to the word — and it’s happened numerous times over the decades. In 1961, Jimmy Dean’s “Big Bad John” became the first “bad” title to reach the chart’s peak. Bon Jovi did it twice in the ‘80s with “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Bad Medicine.” And, most recently, Steve Lacy earned his first-ever Hot 100 chart-topper with “Bad Habit” in October 2022.
We have to mention that “bad” has also evolved to encompass another meaning over the years. Confusingly, in many 21st-century cases, it’s slang for something more positive (like “good,” “sexy” or “badass”) — including its use in Migos’ 2017 No. 1 “Bad and Boujee,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert.
Whether an act is using the word’s dictionary definition or its slang meaning, check out all 15 No. 1s containing “bad” in their titles, listed from newest to oldest with their “baddest” lyrics below.
When Stray Kids hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with their Oddinary EP in March, it was a wake-up call to the music industry that the K-pop boy band had arrived on the scene with songs that stayed true to their underdog and outsider mentality. With the October release of Maxident, Stray Kids are back with more eyes on them than ever but refusing to re-create what brought them their breakout success.
Instead, Maxident lets the band venture into new territory — particularly love and relationships — but does so in their own way. The eight tracks on Maxident aren’t gushy, catchy love songs, but quirky and unorthodox explorations into all things connection. Just like the comforting theme of Oddinary in making the odd the ordinary, Maxident is relatable and clever in the way it approaches the subject, incorporating more extensive and universal themes in the tracks related to relationships one has with other people and with one’s self.
But more eyes on Stray Kids also gives them a prime opportunity to introduce the inner-workings of their group with songs performed by the band’s different sub-groups. 3RACHA (the hip-hop and production-focused trio made up of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han) create a self-titled drill track, while Lee Know, Hyunjin and Felix (the performance-based trio, nicknamed “Danceracha”) come together for “Taste,” as Seungmin and I.N (the singer-focused duo nicknamed “Vocalracha”) have “Can’t Stop.”
Get to know a new side of Stray Kids and read on for our ranking of Stray Kids’ Maxident tracks and why listeners will “STAY” with each song far beyond release week.
TikTok’s growing role in popular culture has caused countless songs to be resurrected over the past few years – including some recognizable rock from over a decade ago. While many of the app’s Gen Z users have been exposed to 2000s mainstays like Paramore and Arctic Monkeys thanks to recent releases, several tracks that were released years ago, and were classics to millennials, have found a new life on TikTok.
Some of these songs have soundtracked iconic television and film scenes, and now find themselves being discovered by a new audience; they’ve also inspired listeners already familiar with their charms to reminisce on simpler times, get up and dance. While some of these artists have taken breaks to embark on solo careers or focus on their mental health, their music lives on and encourages fans, new and old, to keep engaging.
Here are 10 rock songs from the mid-00’s that TikTok has revived.
After more than 20 years in the spotlight, queer indie pop duo Tegan and Sara Quin are taking a moment to reflect on their humble origins.
High School, the new Amazon Freevee television adaptation of the sisters’ 2019 memoir of the same name (out Friday), follows the lives of teenage Tegan and Sara (played by TikTok stars Railey and Seazynn Gilliland) as they come to grips with their sexualities, learn to live with one another, start their careers and survive the “universally sh–ty” experience of being teenagers, as Tegan told Billboard.
Not only is the show a fascinating look into life as a misunderstood teen in the ’90s; it’s a testament to the pair’s staying power as a musical duo. Their decade-spanning career has seen the Quin sisters take on whatever mantle best suited them in the moment, constantly adapting to the kind of art they were interested in making.
Look no further than the pair’s upcoming tenth studio album Crybaby, due out on Friday, Oct. 21 via Mom + Pop Records. The project blends elements of punk, pop and folk music to create yet another new sonic landscape that feels uniquely suited for Tegan and Sara
With their new show, a new record and years of experience under their belt, it would be only natural that the twins start thinking about their legacy as pioneering performers. Billboard is here to help in that exercise — below, Billboard staff members take a look back at the 15 songs (in no particular order) that best exemplify the breadth of work Tegan and Sara have given their fans since 1999.