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Since the business of Christmas music is growing so fast – it occupies five of the top 10 places on the Billboard Hot 100 this week – we are re-presenting some of our stories from Christmas past. This piece, about how Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” came to be considered a holiday song, originally ran in 2019. The story of the song is recounted in the recent documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song.
Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” with its ambiguous, imagistic lyrics about sex and spirituality, was once described by Jeff Buckley, perhaps the song’s most famous interpreter, as “the hallelujah of the orgasm.” So how did an a cappella version by Pentatonix get to No. 21 on the Billboard Holiday 100 in 2018 — after peaking on that chart at No. 2 in 2016?
It’s just the latest twist in the ongoing story of what may be the world’s least likely standard, which originally appeared on Cohen’s 1984 album, Various Positions. The song only became iconic two decades ago, after John Cale’s version was used on the Shrek soundtrack and Buckley’s version appeared in a video VH1 made in tribute to Sept. 11 rescue workers. Around that time, it also began to be used in religious services, its Old Testament imagery and chanted one-word chorus offering a solemnity that seemed to fit weddings, funerals and various occasions in between.
Written by Cohen — a Jewish Buddhist — the song was first associated with Christmas in 2010, when Britain’s Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle included it on her 2010 holiday album, The Gift, which hit No. 1 on both the Billboard 200 and on the Official U.K. Albums Chart. In 2015, violinist-singer Lindsey Stirling released a version that reached No. 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 21 on the Holiday 100 the following year; that same year, German superstar Helene Fischer included the song on her hit album Weihnachten.
Since 2016, however, the most popular version of “Hallelujah” on streaming services by far has been Pentatonix’s, which has been streamed 346 million times in the United States, according to Nielsen Music. “When people hear it,” the group’s Scott Hoying told Billboard in 2018 about the song’s staying power, “they feel something.”
Alan Light is the author of The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah.”
This article originally appeared in the Dec. 21 issue of Billboard.
Since the business of holiday music is growing so fast – it occupies five of the top 10 places on the Billboard Hot 100 this week – we are re-presenting some of our stories from Christmas seasons past. This piece, about a Hannukah compilation, originally ran in 2019.
Two years ago, Verve Forecast approached Grammy-winning music supervisor Randall Poster (Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Irishman) with a proposition: curate and produce a Hanukkah album. “I had just finished doing the soundtrack to the movie SuperFly with Future, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a great follow-up: Hanukkah,’ ” recalls Poster, who grew up celebrating the holiday. He started reaching out to friends and collaborators, “convincing them that I wasn’t kidding.”
But it wasn’t until longtime pal Jack Black sent in two recordings — one of which was actually a Passover song — that Poster felt he had the foundation for an album. “Jack gave us the substance, so everything [else] would feel like it was part of a whole.” The additional song ended up inspiring the title of Hanukkah+ (out now, and on vinyl Dec. 13), which boasts a mix of covers and original music from the likes of HAIM and The Flaming Lips.
Randall Poster
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW
The market for Christmas music is massive. What was the strategy behind putting out a Hanukkah album?
It’s not an easy thing. It doesn’t have the built-in Christmas music collectors, so we talked about trying to have a longer view — there’s an evergreen quality to it. But also, making it available at nontraditional retailers, like all of the synagogue gift shops, and seeing if we can make contact with the built-in audiences that the various artists on the record have [helped].
How did you ensure it wouldn’t come off as parody?
Probably the most famous Hanukkah song at this point is Adam Sandler’s “The Hanukkah Song.” That’s why I was searching for a spiritual component, which allowed me to approach artists who weren’t Jewish, who had no real sense of the holiday or the history. I tried to find balance, because I wanted to have some of that silly, joyful element.
Was it tough to get artists onboard?
It’s not an easy one where you can say, “Hey, let’s do ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside,’ ” and set the stage for somebody to just come in and sing. My hope is if this goes well, maybe next year we do another five songs and just add to it. One person that I really wanted to get — he said he would but just got caught up in the sweep of his new record — was Ezra Koenig.
Hanukkah+
Courtesy Photo
Why such fondness for Hanukkah?
It was always the fun Jewish holiday, really. And as far as the musical repertoire [went], “The Hanukkah Song” was pretty much the favorite, or “Dreidel Dreidel.” I had a sense of it being a musical holiday, though there aren’t that many to choose from.
What will success for the album look like to you?
To tell you the truth, I feel like it already is a success. For me as a Jew, it was important to focus on more of the spiritual component, and I think we’ve captured that. I’m waiting for my rabbi to hear it.
This article originally appeared in the Dec. 21 issue of Billboard.
Stephen Sanchez is infatuated with love — but he’s not interested in approaching it from a 21st century lens. “I think it’s a lost art to tell somebody that you’d pull the moon down for them,” he tells Billboard. Growing up listening to ’50s and ’60s records on vinyl in Northern California, he has always been drawn to an old-school charm within his own music. The inspiration ultimately led to his breakthrough hit, “Until I Found You,” which became his first Billboard Hot 100 hit and has remained on the chart for months.
Penned in May 2021, just six months after moving to Nashville, Sanchez felt there was something special about the heartfelt song straight away — and another six months after its release that September, it debuted on the all-genre songs chart at No. 100. Since, it has spent 23 weeks on the list, reaching a No. 38 high this October, and continues to climb elsewhere, hitting a new No. 3 peak on Billboard‘s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart dated Dec. 17.
Despite being more than a year old at this point, the timeless-sounding pop hit has experienced one resurgence after the next, be it through an Em Beihold version of the track that arrived this April, on TikTok or radio airplay. But even as the song still reaches new listeners, the 20-year-old isn’t slowing his output: in August, he released EP Easy On My Eyes; in November, “Missing You,” with Ashe, arrived; and in 2023, he’ll kick off the year with a new single, followed by his first headline tour and then a debut record that’ll come in the summer.
Below, Sanchez reflects on “Until I Found You,” teases an impending sonic shift in his music, discusses why he wants to “flirt with the audience” during his live shows and more.
Where did the inspiration for “Until I Found You” come from?
I was in a serious relationship at the time. There was a lot of back-and-forth toward the beginning because I was super fearful of it, and I pushed her away because of that. We had established a very solid friendship before then, and it isolated us from even having that. I moved to Nashville months later, we reconnected and I took her out on a date. The song is just reflecting that time: When I was without her friendship and loving, it was so hard. I just remember how shallow that time felt in my life. [When] I wrote the song, we were very much in love, and it made that moment of our lives more beautiful.
[With regard to its sonic inspiration], I grew up on ’50s music. My grandpa has this amazing property in San Jose, California, and there are two barns on either side and the house sat right in the middle. It’s on top of this hill, and you can oversee all of San Jose. In the mornings, they would make me breakfast, and then they would tell me to go out in the barn and pick through vinyl. My grandpa is 85 years old at this point, so the only records he has are records from the ‘50s and ‘60s. I would pick through vinyl and just get inspired. Even now, I still do that every time I go up there.
Was there a specific moment that you knew you had a hit on your hands?
I don’t think I ever thought that a song of mine would do this well and throw me in the position to be in the shoes of my heroes. However, on the other side of that, I think the moment when I felt like I had something that was really special … I was making very poor financial decisions when I realized it. I went to Carter Vintage [Guitars] in Nashville, and I bought this old Rickenbacker and old amp, and I wrote the song on that — I [already] had the first part, and then I finished the rest of it on that. That’s what gave it that ‘50s and ‘60s sound. I was playing around with other ‘50s covers — like Paul Anka and The Penguins — and then that song popped out. It felt like it was pulling from my roots in a very huge way.
How much tinkering was there between your initial vision and the finished product?
I think the main thing I couldn’t get over [was] how much reverb was being used. There are small, petty things that I always get caught up on within every song we’ve ever released, and I feel like that’ll be true to me for the rest of my life. It took a day or two to record the whole song and get it done, and then Georgia, whom the song is about, came in and sang on the song. It made it even more special — it’s a very amazing immortalized moment in life right there.
You’ve mentioned the song’s old-school charm. Was creating that more of a concerted effort or a happy coincidence given what you were listening to at the time?
I think it was just a happy coincidence. I really just love that music so much. As far as artistry goes, I think I’ve always fallen into the category where I feel extraordinarily safe picking up a guitar and hiding behind that and adept lyricism and all that stuff. That music makes life fun. It makes love fun. It makes it really emotional. I think it’s a lost art to tell somebody that you’d pull the moon down for them. For that to fall out in such a natural way, that feels very special, and this year, I’m chasing that — but also not trying to force it at all.
It definitely takes a specific tact to write a song that adequately captures all of the emotions that get wrapped into love.
Yeah, I think artists need to flirt with their lyrics more. Your audience at a show is essentially someone that you’re trying to win over. They’re the muse, and you’re flirting with them for an hour, trying to convince them to go out on a date with you. And the same way with a song, right? We should be flirting with our lyricism. We should be slow-dancing with it. We should be taking it out to dinner — metaphorically, of course. But just enticing it into this deep romance within ourselves, that way we’re not losing sight of true artistry. I think that it’s easy to jump on TikTok and sing a song for 30 seconds. But where’s the flirting? That’s a one-night stand. Where’s the meat of it?
Is there a standout experience from the song’s success that really resonates with you?
We played [Late Night with] Seth Meyers and my manager was there. My best friends were there with me. We showed up that day, and I almost threw up because I was so nervous. We got out there, and he was saying my name and we sang the song. And then we jumped on a plane and flew right back to Nashville and made it in time [to watch the performance on TV]. All of my friends were in my little 500 square foot apartment, and they were all crammed in my living room. We were all just cheering and screaming at, like, 12 a.m. It was so beautiful.
What about the song lends itself to being such a long-lasting hit?
Gosh, I just feel like it just won’t stop. (Laughs.) Every time there’ll be a time where it simmers down, I’m like, “Cool. That was a great run. Let’s release some more great music.” And then it’ll just pick right back up, and I get texts like, “It’s going off again!” I’m like, “Why? Why is it going off again?” The only comparison that I can give is that I have this old car, and sometimes it’ll start right up, and it’ll be amazing. And then sometimes, I’ll park it back in the garage, and the next day, it won’t start at all. I’m like, “Okay, cool. Maybe tomorrow!” It’s the same with this: it’s very exciting. It’s a beautiful thing, and I’m really glad that it was this song, honestly. If it could’ve been any of [my songs], I love that it’s this one because it is very much my roots. I just love that it’s under Mercury Records, which was an old-school label, and they released old-school music, and this is an old-school song. That’s just so cool.
How has the process of creating and releasing music been impacted by having a label behind you?
It has just given me this immense state of peace. I think that Mercury is an amazing label because it’s run by people that I have real relationships with and that truly believe in me. It’s also an extension to a label [Republic Records] that believes in me. They put their entire being into artists’ projects and it just opens up this space that feels very safe and welcoming to an artist. As far as Mercury and Republic goes, they care about maintaining the integrity of their artists’ music. I truly believe I wouldn’t be able to do that with anyone else.
As you were putting together your debut EP, Easy On My Eyes, were there any core messages or concepts about you as an artist that you wanted to get across to listeners?
Sonically, I wanted it to feel very close. It felt very tender and sensitive within the singing and how we mixed it, but [there’s] also a little bit of lightheartedness in the sense that, when love feels very joyful, you feel that. I did want to feel that differentiating, rollercoaster vibe of sonics and thematics going on, but the whole thing is about love, of course — its beauty, its downfall and its kind of weird in-betweens. That’s a consistent human experience. Whatever your perception is of the circumstance you’re living in, whether it be love or lust, I want this record to feel accessible.
You recently announced your first headline tour, which will kick off in early 2023. What can we expect for that?
Having strangers that I don’t know come out and pay money for these shows … to play in front of them is going to be so exhilarating. I’m excited to dance. I used to go to concerts when I was younger, and the consistent thing I would imagine was feeling the music from the audience, but imagining that I was moving to it on stage. To get to do that for real now is so exciting. I want to make it so that there’s a dance with the audience that’s happening, in the same way that I was saying earlier with the songwriting. Bring them into a feeling. That’s the goal: have fun and flirt with the audience as much as I can.
Is there anything else we should be on the lookout for?
Man, we got a brand new bag coming. It’s going to be really great. We’re releasing a debut record, and it’s going to come out in the summer, and I don’t want to spoil much about it. But we have a new single coming out in January. I don’t want to spoil that, either, but it’s going to be an entire sound change. The whole thing has taken a flip. We’re not doing singer-songwriter, acoustic stuff anymore. We’re hanging up the guitar and swapping it out for a mic.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Dec. 10, 2022, issue of Billboard.
The 65th annual Grammy Awards will include the first-time category of songwriter of the year, with five nominees who are behind some of 2022’s biggest hits across genres. Below, each one in the running discusses the importance of spotlighting songwriters and their contributions, why this addition is long overdue and the bigger-picture impact the award will hopefully have on the industry moving forward.
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Amy AllenNominated writing credits: Lizzo, Harry Styles, King Princess, Alexander 23, Charli XCX, Sabrina Carpenter
Amy Allen
Caity Krone
How did you feel when you heard about the new songwriter of the year category?
Songwriting is my dream job, and I’m so grateful to do it every single day, but I think you could ask any songwriter and I feel like we’ve all been waiting for this to happen, and we are just so excited that it’s finally a reality. It’s a massive win for us.
What was your reaction to being nominated?
I didn’t watch the livestream because I was too nervous. I was on a run and my manager called me mid-run and I thought it was a prank, I was like, “Stop, it’s not funny.” And I stopped for a minute and saw a bunch of text messages coming in from my family and friends. It was a very surreal feeling, for sure.
How does it feel to not only be nominated, but be nominated in a historic category?
I just feel so grateful to be representing songwriters for the first time, and I feel so grateful for every songwriter that has made this a possibility. I’m excited for songwriters in the future that this now exists. There’s definitely more of a weight to it than having a song chart [or play on] the radio or something. It’s more monumental.
How do you think this first year of the category will positively impact the industry?
When I was in high school, I didn’t even know this profession existed, really. So now, every time something gets added, like Spotify adding songwriter credits, it’s busting the door wide open for songwriters to come to the forefront and take this seriously and have faith that, “People are doing this, I can do this,” which I think is the greatest thing possible.
How might this nomination affect your career?
It’s just a lot of validation [that I’m] doing the right thing with my life. I think a lot of songwriters can relate to the fact that every day is an emotional roller coaster as a songwriter. It’s the greatest joy to be able to do what you love and what you’re passionate about, but that also comes with having pretty intense conversations every day with new people and carving out a piece of yourself and giving it away. It can be such a thankless career, in a lot of ways, so I’m really excited for the boost of confidence that it’s giving.
Nija CharlesNominated writing credits: Beyoncé, Summer Walker, City Girls, Lil Durk, Anitta & Missy Elliott, Meek Mill, Megan Thee Stallion & Dua Lipa, Kehlani
Nija Charles
Edwig Henson
What did you feel when you heard about the new songwriter of the year category?
Relief. I felt like it was a huge win for every single one of us because every year we only have a slim chance to win a trophy. So when I heard about the songwriter of the year category, it actually made me want to work harder because I’m like, “OK, now we have a real shot of being recognized for our work.”
How did you react to being nominated?
Oh my gosh. I was on the sprinter on tour watching via Instagram Live and my heart was pounding. I mean, pounding. I haven’t felt that way in such a long time. It was Smokey Robinson and I’m like, “He’s about to announce songwriter of the year. Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.” And then he mispronounced my name but I knew as soon as I heard it, I let out this big scream because my heart couldn’t take it. It was like I won a raffle or something. Or Bingo. It was like that moment when you’re just so surprised, like, “Oh my God, it’s me!”
How does it feel to not only be nominated, but be nominated in a historic category?
It makes it feel heavier. I even cried with my mom because we talked about history being made. It took a while to hit me, because it didn’t feel real. I’m one out of five of the first people ever to be songwriter of the year nominated. This is crazy.
How do you hope this affects the songwriting community going forward?
Everyone watches the Grammys, so when you see someone win a certain category, even if it’s someone you know, you look them up. So for songwriters, it gives us recognition and also lets the world know that songwriters are a thing … and to know that we’re all equal in the collaboration process.
What are your plans for the Grammys?
I plan to bring both of my grandmas — grannys and the Grammys. With this being such a big category, I realize I got to handle it like all the producers do for producer of the year, so I really want to go all out and celebrate. I want both my grandmothers to see what I’ve worked so hard for. I can’t wait.
Tobias Jesso Jr.Nominated writing credits: Harry Styles, Adele, FKA twigs, Orville Peck, King Princess, Diplo & TSHA, Omar Apollo
Tobias Jesso Jr.
Justin Chung
How did you learn you were nominated for songwriter of the year?
I just started getting a flood of texts. Julia Michaels was the first person to text me and tell me that I’d been nominated, and I just could not believe it. It was so outside of what I was expecting. It was amazing to be like, “Woah, this is a really tight group of people who have done a lot of songwriting therapy together, and everyone is rooting for each other.” I know I would be if it wasn’t my name on the list.
How might this nomination affect your career and help people discover your own work?
My biggest joy is getting the artist what they want, my joy was never being the artist, so I don’t know that I’m ever hoping anyone dives into the stuff that I’ve done. But if it leads people to the artists who I love that I’ve worked with that would be awesome. I get uneasy with the idea that people are even looking me up. My whole thing is trying to just be there for the artists and blend into the background and hopefully be of some use to them.
How do you think adding this category will positively affect the industry?
It’s a huge moment for songwriters. I think it’s going to continue to get bigger as people realize how much work songwriters put in and for the reasons that they do — songwriters don’t really get paid to go to work, they only get paid based on their work. And that’s based on what artists choose, so it’s a really risky business to be in and you have to really love it. It’s more of a therapy [than a business] for everyone I’ve worked with. And I think that’s the important part: people who have really poured their heart and soul into creating something that literally didn’t exist before they came around are getting recognized for the seed of the thing that gets produced and turns into an album. It’s almost like we were judging the plants based off the beauty, but it’s really the seeds that were being overlooked.
What does this first class of nominees represent?
Most of the time, I’m in a session and it’s a woman’s story [that] is driving the thing. I think what’s going to become pretty obvious to people over time, especially with this category in the mix now, is that women are running the songwriting world.
The-DreamNominated writing credits: Beyoncé, Brent Faiyaz, Pusha T
The-Dream
Ellington Hammond
Why was it so important to add the new songwriter of the year category?
I’ve been lobbying for it for a while, just based on the idea that there’s a producer of the year every year. And even though I produce as well, it’s one of those things I’ve been fighting for on the songwriter front because of how much work goes into it. Because it’s not just melody and lyrics, it’s ideas about what to say and giving people an identity. I don’t feel that a category can really cover the bases of something that cultural. It’s like we start things first and we get paid last.
What was your reaction to being nominated? Were you watching the livestream?
Oh no, I can’t take it. I’m like a baby, nobody realizes. I think it’s worse for me to win. This blackout thing has happened in the past where I’m like, “What?” It’s a psychological thing, but I’m so afraid that they’re going to say I won that my mind just goes blank. You’re trying to keep it cool and get to the stage and do your thing but you’re still blank. So I wasn’t looking at the livestream, that would give me a heart attack. And I’m definitely older than when I won my first one, so I’m trying to take it easy. I don’t want them to have to drag me to the Grammys.
How might this nomination help people discover your own work?
That’s number two. I only did an album as an artist [starting with 2007’s Love/Hate] to highlight songwriting, that was the main purpose of it. For me, I had this plan, but everybody can’t do that. So it’s really about this category highlighting the ones that you don’t see, but still understanding and respecting them when they show up. No matter who wins, take a deep dive into that person.
What do you think of this first class of nominees?
We’re just a sampling that represents something happening for the first year, but it doesn’t represent how many great years came before ours, before this one. That’s the bittersweet part. It’s a representation of years past, this year and the years going forward. There’s really a lot riding on it.
Laura VeltzNominated writing credits: Maren Morris, Demi Lovato, Ingrid Andress
Laura Veltz
Darling Juliet
Where were you when you learned about your songwriter of the year nomination?
I had just walked into a co-writing session, and I started getting so many text messages that just said, “Congratulations!” It took me a full three minutes to get the tea of what I actually got. Then I just fell to the ground. I was so shocked. [My co-writer Alysa Vanderheym] was getting like 50,000 phone calls just like I was, so our [other] co-writer was like, “You guys should just go celebrate.” So we did. We bailed on the session and celebrated and then I went home and hugged my husband. It was so special.
How do you think this category will positively affect the industry?
It’s just such a change for my community and such a change for the industry at large to have this on the ballot. It’s wild, too, because it’s such a community-driven thing. I’m watching my friends nominated in song categories. The song [of the year] nominations were really all we had for a long time. Then people like Ross Golan and so many others expanded it to having a larger body of work on an album that we suddenly are credited in that way. So seeing all these people getting these nominations and now the crown jewel of it — having its own very own category — it’s very humbling and beautiful. Then, when it comes to things on Capitol Hill and such, this might begin a new era where the recognition of the beginning of music — the writing of a song — might be a little bit more seen, [which] might lead to it being a little bit more valued.
Why is the timing of this new category so crucial?
I truly feel that the value of what a songwriter is could very well go extinct if we don’t put some actual value on what it is to write a song. Kids that are writing songs that are getting streamed millions of times, but they can’t keep their lights on at home, that’s not OK. I’m just grateful that this category is in play, and I’m really hoping it traces itself to how songwriters are paid.
Additional reporting by Jessica Nicholson.
A version of this story will appear in the Dec. 17, 2022, issue of Billboard.
This year brought an endless supply of memorable music in TV and film — both through original creations and already-existent works. Disney’s Encanto led the Billboard 200 for nine nonconsecutive weeks, fueled by its Billboard Hot 100-topping hit, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” while films including Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis also spawned top 10-charting hits. Synch placements yielded similar massive and pop culture-defining moments — with the two most notable coming from the same show. The fourth season of Netflix’s Stranger Things, broken up into two volumes, first led to the revitalization of both Kate Bush’s 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” and then Metallica’s 1986 single “Master of Puppets.” Following their appearances in the show, the former reached a No. 3 peak on the Hot 100 — a career-best for Bush — and the latter led to the group’s first No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart in its illustrious history.
Behind the placements is music supervisor Nora Felder, who in addition to her work on Stranger Things has previously worked on series including FX’s What We Do in the Shadows and Showtime’s Ray Donovan, and will contribute to the second season of Yellowjackets (also on Showtime). And though she tells Billboard “it’s literally impossible to keep up with the surge of music that comes in on a daily basis,” she’s found a knack for picking the perfect musical accompaniments to a show’s most pivotal moments, time and again.
Below, Felder reflects on why she thinks the synchs in season four struck such a resonant chord with viewers, what goes into landing a successful placement and more.
Nora Felder, winner of the Outstanding Music Supervision award for “Stranger Things,” attends the 2022 Creative Arts Emmys at Microsoft Theater on September 04, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
Amy Sussman/GI
The reaction to Stranger Things‘ season four soundtrack — specifically “Running Up That Hill” and “Master of Puppets” — was massive. Looking back, how did that feel for you?
I’m not sure I have fully processed it yet. When I run into friends or associates that I don’t see on a regular basis, it seems everyone is still blown away by it because, inevitably, it’s one of the first things they want to talk about.
In the first season of Stranger Things, we had used The Clash’s song, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” across several episodes. Similar to Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill,” the multiple uses of both songs became, in part, a bridge for forging bonds between our key characters, while also helping save [them] from malevolent forces in precarious life-threatening moments. After season one aired, The Clash’s song experienced a bit of a resurgence, so we definitely anticipated and hoped for a similar reaction to Kate Bush’s song. However, after “Running Up That Hill” aired and the reaction to it unfolded in real time, we were staggered and humbled by this beyond-next-level response. To think that a song which was released 36 years ago could outrun some of the top artists of today really felt like a true lightning-in-a-bottle moment that was a privilege to be a part of.
With the subsequent airing of “Master of Puppets,” we were a little more prepared and anticipated that the needle would move in a big way. Metallica’s song was hugely connected to our beloved new character, Eddie. In my mind, to love Eddie was to love “Master of Puppets” as its lyrics really spoke to the core of Eddie’s being. But to now see that the metal community has a budding new audience makes me personally very happy. Metal music has been misunderstood as “angry music” for decades. I’m thrilled that people are really listening now and frankly getting into it on a deeper level.
Do you have a favorite memory from working on this season?
Off the cuff, three moments stand out in my mind. First, watching Rob Simonsen conduct The London City Orchestra in real time — adding an overlay to the original recording of “Running Up That Hill,” which fans got to hear in completion during the monumental Max moment in episode four — was simply breathtaking.
Second, sitting in a small Netflix theater stage with my Stranger Things team working on a weekend, and watching Eddie’s monumental scene with “Master of Puppets” for the first time. The few of us who were in the intimate setting of that room felt as if we each were at the greatest rock concert in the world — and had front row seats.
Third, I’ve had many people reaching out through my socials or website sending videos of festivals and concerts around the world with young and old [people] dancing and singing, or performing “Running Up That Hill” and “Master of Puppets.” One that particularly touched me was from a teacher of a 6th grade class in Florida. She sent a video of her students swaying together and singing “Running Up That Hill” and congratulating me on my Emmy win. That profoundly touched my heart. The power of a great song is endless and can be ageless.
Why did the synch placements in this season of Stranger Things resonate so strongly?
I suspect that Stranger Things‘ loyal fan base of all ages just might feel that a piece of themselves is represented in these characters, as well as the story that unfolded this season. In recent years, I believe that for many there had been an overall sense of uncertainty and fear — as if there have been invisible dangers and monsters, if you will — looming over us. With that in mind, it makes sense that the Stranger Things songs — which evocatively amplify the plights and unique internal landscapes and circumstances of our characters — would resonate around the world just as strongly as the characters and stories themselves.
Why was 2022 such a big year for music in TV and film to make an impact on the charts and in pop culture?
I have been inclined to think that following the impact of the worldwide pandemic, many people have become more accustomed to staying home more often than not. Getting lost in and binging on visual media, and listening to music has been at its heights. It could then make sense that through one’s favorite and relatable shows or movies (particularly those that are music driven), audiences would come to rely on such outlets as a source for the discovery of music.
What determines if a song will land a memorable synch placement?
When I’m reviewing songs against picture, my selections for my filmmakers emerge solely from my feeling, intuition and understanding. I know no other way to explain it. I usually test drive quite a few options, and I select the ones that my gut tells me could bring one closer to the character and to the emotions that I think my filmmakers are trying to get across in a scene or a character’s performance. A song must enhance a scene or its character, not the other way around. The more memorable a cinematic moment is, the more likely it is that a song that was used to enhance that moment will become iconically memorable as well.
What can synch placements in TV and film can add to a character’s arc or a scene that dialogue — or visual media — may not be able to otherwise?
Adding a music element behind a character or story can help elevate a message in a way that words can’t. Adding a musicality and lyrics to tip an emotion sparks one’s senses in a very unique way. That’s the power of music. That’s not to say that music, whether it be score or a needle drop, is needed for every scene or story. Some scenes are impactful on their own and adding a musical element would be distracting.
What kind of lasting impact will the success of synch placements in season four be?
We generally strive to look at where we came from in order to form a better understanding of where we are going. Through the power of the Stranger Things story, fans latched on to “Running Up That Hill” [and] “Master of Puppets” and others and allowed these songs — decades after their release — to become a source of validation and strength today. I hope the lasting impact of this historical moment in music will be that people will remain open to all genres of music, no matter if the a song came out last week or centuries ago.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Dec. 10, 2022, issue of Billboard.
The pop-punk princess hit the road this year with Machine Gun Kelly, followed by a headlining trek and festival gigs. Below, she reflects on the experience and the current state of the genre.
There is so much that has happened this past year in the pop-punk scene, and I’m stoked to be making music. Being able to get back onstage has also been a lot of fun because I’ve been able to travel all over the world just this year through Canada, the United States, South America and Japan. The energy of a pop-punk show is really special, and it’s something that I found was missing in the last few years, and thankfully, it’s back.
I think a lot of the resurgence of pop-punk in general started when Machine Gun Kelly and Travis Barker teamed up for [MGK’s 2020 album] Tickets to My Downfall, and that album was so successful. It introduced and reintroduced emo and pop-punk music to the world again. Now we’re seeing the return of pop-punk everywhere in terms of sound and fashion, and it’s all the things it was but just in a different generation now, and I love it. Most importantly, there has been a return of live guitars and drums that pushed pop-punk into the forefront of mainstream music.
It was awesome being a part of the When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas and being able to connect with some of my friends that I’ve known my whole life, like All Time Low and Travis Clark from We the Kings. It was also incredible to see the pop-punk genre reconnected with its original audience and also reaching a newer, younger demographic. Afterward, Hayley Williams from Paramore wrote me a really kind letter, saying some really nice things and thanking me for paving the way for young women like her. That was so cool to read. And for anyone looking to join the pop-punk world in the future, I’d say to you, “Welcome to the scene. It’s a wild ride.”
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 10, 2022, issue of Billboard.
In January, the success story of Encanto and its hit single “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” kicked off a banner year for music from movies: Five songs written for films reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022 — the most since 2018, when four original songs from movies reached the upper echelon.
Encanto was a true phenomenon, becoming the first soundtrack with a corresponding song (“Bruno”) to simultaneously top the Billboard 200 and Hot 100 for at least four weeks in 29 years since The Bodyguard and Whitney Houston’s version of “I Will Always Love You.” “Bruno” spent five weeks at No. 1, the most for any song from a Disney movie in the chart’s history. The animated film’s “Surface Pressure,” sung by Jessica Darrow, reached No. 8.
“Part of the reason you’re seeing music in film generally do better is because it’s used in a more integral way to the story,” says Disney Music Group president Ken Bunt. “If the song is used in a more meaningful way, it tends to do better. And I think that’s something that got lost for a while.”
Other 2022 feats include Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which debuted at No. 2 on the Hot 100, giving the superstar her first top 10 since 2017; OneRepublic’s “I Ain’t Worried” from Top Gun: Maverick, which hit No. 6, the band’s first top 10 since 2014; and Doja Cat’s “Vegas” from Elvis, which reached No. 10.
“When you can put a great song in a movie and then have radio make it a hit song, it not only makes the movie more popular, it elevates the artist singing the song,” says Jim Ryan, vp of programming for the Audacy radio chain.
In the case of “Bruno,” Ryan is first to admit he was skeptical. “I said, ‘This can’t be a radio song,’ ” he recalls. “But we had really good success with it. I think that came from young parents that are certainly in the demographic that we try to reach with our radio stations. Parents watch movies with their kids. I thought it was going to be a spike song for a couple of weeks, but we got a lot of mileage out of it.”
Not only did “Bruno” take off without a star name attached as the performer, it also persisted following a delayed start. After the song debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 50, Bunt credits the film hitting Disney+ last December, a month after its theatrical release, for the music’s sudden and sustained climb. “That’s when things really started to explode,” he says. “More people had access to it because not everybody was comfortable going into a theater.”
By the time Top Gun: Maverick opened in May, theaters were more crowded as COVID-19 numbers declined. And the soundtrack, released by Interscope, had the added benefit of star power. Lady Gaga co-wrote and performed the end-title power ballad “Hold My Hand,” and OneRepublic’s whistle-hook pop track “I Ain’t Worried” (which interpolates “Young Folks” by Peter, Bjorn and John) got a pivotal placement during a beach touch-football scene.
“Hold My Hand” reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Songs chart. As for OneRepublic, Interscope was already promoting the band’s “West Coast” to radio when — given Top Gun: Maverick’s box-office success — it yanked that song for “I Ain’t Worried” to capitalize on the momentum.
And according to Interscope vice chairman Steve Berman, the film also had the benefit of building on the 1986 original blockbuster, whose “Take My Breath Away” by Berlin took home the Oscar for best original song. It’s why, he says, the label’s initial conversations with Paramount’s president of motion picture music Randy Spendlove centered on, “How do you be respectful to the importance of a film like Top Gun and how do you carry it forward? Because music was so instrumental in the original film.” (It’s also why, he says, Lady Gaga worked so closely with star Tom Cruise, composer Hans Zimmer and director Joseph Kosinski.)
“Theaters were clawing back, and Top Gun was this explosion that happened of people seeing a film together. That film was such a global force,” Berman continues. “When you combine that with social media platforms, the power of the culture of the film and the scene in which [“I Ain’t Worried”] was played, it felt like it was unstoppable.”
Placement in a pivotal scene and use of a familiar hook similarly helped propel Doja Cat’s “Vegas,” which includes a sample of rock classic “Hound Dog” sung by the song’s original performer, Big Mama Thornton. Helmed by Doja Cat’s longtime producer, Yeti Beats, “Vegas” was “an opportunity to hear Doja rap again, which she hadn’t done as much of the last couple of tracks,” says Karen Lamberton, executive vp of soundtracks and film/TV licensing for RCA, which released the soundtrack. “Fans were hungry for that.”
In addition to “Vegas” hitting the top 10 on six Billboard charts, six other songs from the movie appeared on various charts, including “The King and I” by Eminem featuring Cee Lo Green, which reached No. 12 on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales.
Integral to the songs’ success was director Baz Luhrmann’s involvement in “absolutely every note of every track,” Lamberton says, which leads to an emotional connection that the listeners can sense. “There’s a joy and appreciation for bringing all kinds of art together in one place,” she continues. “When artists are inspired by other artists, you end up with great results.”
A version of this story originally appeared in the Dec. 10, 2022 issue of Billboard.
Over the past several years, songwriter-producer Rogét Chahayed has played an integral role in crafting memorable hits for some of music’s biggest names. Despite studying classical music, his work spans genres including pop, rap and R&B — and often blends all of them together, as has been the case with songs including Travis Scott and Drake’s “Sicko Mode,” Doja Cat and SZA’s “Kiss Me More” and DRAM and Lil Yachty’s “Broccoli.”
His ability to create sticky melodies has also led to working with Halsey, Calvin Harris and BTS, among countless others, and in 2021 he earned his first nomination for the Grammys’ producer of the year, non-classical. But in 2022, some of Chahayed’s greatest success came instead from sampling decades-old and recent hits alike, leading to another banner year for the Los Angeles native. He worked extensively with Jack Harlow, executive producing the rapper’s Come Home the Kids Miss You album, which yielded the Fergie-sampling “First Class” that spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Fergie’s “Glamorous” also reached the top of the chart in 2007). Soon after, he teamed back up with Doja Cat to co-produce “Vegas,” paying homage on the Elvis soundtrack to Presley’s “Hound Dog.”
“Coming from a guy who never really uses samples, it was a very interesting approach for me musically to be like, ‘Oh it’s not all about you. Let’s just make some this sound good and amplify that,” says Chahayed.
Below, the Grammy-nominated hit-maker tells Billboard about the creation of “First Class,” the moment he knew it was going to take off and why samples and interpolations have defined the charts for so much of 2022.
How did the idea to sample Fergie’s “Glamorous” come about?
Around April 2021, Jack presented us a list of songs and was like, “I want to find ways to chop these up and put them in [Come Home the Kids Miss You],” because they’re a big reflection of the stuff he grew up listening to. One day, Angel Lopez, who was also an executive producer on the album, pulled up Fergie’s “Glamorous” because Jack had sent it to him and chopped up the main hook where she spells it out. We basically just had the sample and some drums to start, and Jack came up with that hook. We added everything else after, which is sort rare — most of the time, people have the entire beat done and then write a hook. We dissected it piece by piece and took our time to find the right groove for it.
Do you remember the first time that you heard the original? What was your instant reaction to the idea of sampling it?
I remember being a senior in high school or a freshman in college, and at the time, I was studying classical music, so I wasn’t really in my “I love hip-hop” or “I love pop” phase yet. But I remember hearing the song at that time and then when they pulled it up again, it was a crazy flashback. That was a really cool thing to be able to bring something familiar back and not only get people who grew up listening to the song but also put the new generation onto the stuff that we listened to when we were younger.
You’ve said previously that you wanted to make “First Class” feel like it was “going somewhere.” What was the process translating that idea into a finished product?
When the sample was being chopped, it was pitched down, so it gives it this older kind of texture. Jack had such a specific mindset about structure — every single sound and drum and snare that you hear on the entire album, he approved. In the beginning, it was a struggle to find what we wanted. I tried a bunch of different synths and then, with the help of [co-producers] Jasper Harris and Charlie Handsome, we inspired each other. Jack loves organic instruments. You hear a lot of piano, strings and real bass lines on the album because we really wanted to bring the idea of having riffs in a song again. That’s just identifiable music. We didn’t want to make another album with a bunch of trap beats. We shot for something different.
When we started finding the groove of the song, we had the idea of making it feel like a rap song, but the structure is very pop: You have your verse, your pre-chorus where you put those beautiful strings in and give this little classical touch, and then it goes into the hook. So when the second verse happened, Jack was like, “I want to do something different here. I want it to switch up.” We made a new section where we took the kick out. It’s cool because it leaves the listener waiting for that hook to come back. It pulls you in.
Were there any other notable challenges throughout the process?
The sample clearance was actually smooth. Jack has such a good reputation, and between his team and everybody’s connections, it was pretty easy to get that part of it cleared. The worry was there for every song that had a little sample in it, even if it was an interpolation [or] a melody, but luckily, everyone involved in the original — Fergie, [co-producer] Polow da Don, [co-writer] will.i.am — was so cool and grateful to be a part of it. I think the biggest concern was in the beginning, before we found what the song was going to be. Every day something different was being added and things were changing. I was like, “I don’t know, this song just feels so smooth, almost laid-back in a way. Are people really going to party to this?” I had my doubts. Over time, the more we kept listening to the finished product and getting other people’s opinions on it, I was starting to see the big picture. And then, when Jack filmed the little snippet that he put on Instagram that went viral — so viral that people were ripping the audio off the post and making TikToks with it — that’s when all my worries went down the drain. We were so proud of what we did and that we were able to take that smooth groove to the top of the charts.
You’ve mentioned how hands-on Jack is in the studio. Tell me what it was like working with him.
I told him, “The way that you operate in the room reminds me of when I used to work for Dr. Dre.” He thinks and operates like a producer. I’ve worked with a lot of artists who are very passive; Jack is concerned about the outro or the intro and we’ll sit there and contemplate for months, like, “Is this right? I don’t think this is right. Okay, let’s switch it.” There are songs that we liked for 2-3 months, and then 6 months later, he’s like, “I can’t believe we had that in there.” It was an unbelievable thing to experience such a talented young artist like him. He was very accepting of everybody’s process and combining it with his own view.
You also co-produced Doja Cat’s “Vegas” from the Elvis soundtrack. How much can the process of making a sample work vary from song to song?
The situation has to be good. You gotta do justice to the [original] song. You don’t want it to be some kind of meaningless, whatever attempt at making a hit. It’s like having a weapon: You have to use it with the right intentions and only in the right circumstances. You don’t just want to go out there and show and tell everybody about it. With “Vegas,” we were luckily set up in that situation by Baz Luhrmann, who directed the Elvis movie. He had gotten in touch with Yeti [Beats], who is one of my close friends and production partners working with Doja, and he hit me up the day I found out that I got the producer of the year nomination last year.
Baz is such a cool dude. He was like, “I don’t want it to be an Elvis song. I want it to sound like a Doja Cat song.” Yeti had the sample chopped up and he put a beat to it. I put in the staccato piano and little cool twangy guitar things and little bells and stuff that make her feel like this is her world still, but we’re living in that universe of Elvis. When you’re in the situation of sampling a song, you’ve got to honor the content in the sample, somehow. Jack plays along so well with “First Class” and dances around the spelling of “glamorous,” and that’s what makes it so cool — he’s not trying to steal the show. And with Doja, it was playing with the [lyric] “You ain’t nothing but a hound dog,” but switching it up to her thing. Coming from a guy who never really uses samples, it was a very interesting approach for me musically to be like, “Oh it’s not all about you. Let’s just make some this sound good and amplify that.”
Why do you think that samples and interpolations have had such an impact on popular music and the charts this year?
It’s an interesting time because it’s nothing that hasn’t been done before. We hear samples all the time, we hear interpolations, we hear melodies from the past come back to life in a new form. But I think something about this past year … so many songs are being brought back. I think it’s fun and refreshing to tap into that. We were locked away for a year, and I feel like during that time, music and life was kind of this stale, uncertain moment. Once everybody was back outside, it was very energetic. Everybody wants to be reminded of the good times, because when you hear a song that you grew up loving, you’re instantly taken to another place.
Do you think the trend will continue into 2023?
I think it’s going to continue on for even longer. I’m an avid listener of everything that comes out just to hear, “What are people thinking, what are they doing?” I feel like I’ve been hearing a [sample] every week. I think it’s going to keep going. And I think it’s going to be another great option [for creating] something that’s going to hit right away. Tap back into your past. Tap back into the things that you love — with your own twist.
A version of this story originally appeared in the Dec. 10, 2022, issue of Billboard.
2022 was a breakout year for the producer, as she landed her first major credits — and made history. Now, the “Beat Barbie” is the first and only woman this century to debut at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs as a producer with Nicki Minaj’s “Super Freaky Girl.” The Olympia, Wash., native reveals how she created the hit with one of hiphop’s biggest stars.
How did the beat for “Super Freaky Girl” come together?
I was [working] with two of my favorite collaborators, and we were just having fun. When we landed on [Rick James’ “Super Freak”], we were like, “OK, this is a big sample.” We spent several hours fine-tuning the beat and it ended up in the hands of LunchMoney Lewis. It gets played for Nicki Minaj and within like 24 hours, she writes the whole song. I get a phone call of her rapping the whole song, like the original recording, and I was like, “Holy f–k, is that Nicki’s voice?” It all happened so fast. She’s such a phenomenal writer that she just saw the vision and took it all the way for us.
Why was “Super Freak” a prime song to sample?
It’s just so iconic, and I felt like the way that it had been produced in the past really lent itself to being reinvented. I felt like we could really get a big multigenerational audience. We just had a gut feeling that it would be a smash.
What’s your favorite memory of hearing “Super Freaky Girl” since its release?
Honestly, it probably was the night that it came out on Aug. 12. All of us work so hard, and it’s such a grind in the creative industry where it looks really glamorous. It was such a unifying night to see. Everyone was so excited and understood the gravity that it meant for us to have achieved that level of cut.
How did you celebrate it going No. 1?
When I found out the morning of, I think I went into a state of shock because it just felt so big. People are reaching out that I never had access to. As far as celebrating, I have a vacation scheduled at the end of the year. Since I found out, you wouldn’t believe how insane my schedule has been. I have just been in the studio 24/7.
Why do you think “Super Freaky Girl” was able to top the Hot 100?
I think it was a magic combination of the sample and Nicki’s writing over the sample. There was just an X factor in how she went with it. I do think we did a great job in production, but I think there was also the timing of that moment in her career that just all lined up. It was like the stars aligned.
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 10, 2022, issue of Billboard.
In an increasingly diffuse, streaming-dominated pop landscape, it’s harder than ever to cut through with a smash single that captures everyone’s attention. But one method proved a fairly effective shortcut to success in 2022: lifting an instantly recognizable chorus, hook or beat — and sometimes all three — from a proven older hit. “Familiarity always is a bonus,” WBBM-FM Chicago music director/assistant program director Erik Bradley told Billboard in August of the glut of second-hand hits. Here are five songs that went big with their samples and interpolations this year and were rewarded with big results.
Harlow scored his first-ever solo No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 — and the year’s biggest first-week streaming total, until Taylor Swift’s “Anti-Hero” passed it a half-year later — with his extensively TikTok-teased “First Class.” The celebratory jam’s title comes from its sampled hook, a repurposing of Fergie’s pop-rap smash “Glamorous,” also a Hot 100 chart-topper back in 2007. The former Black Eyed Pea gave Harlow’s update her seal of approval in August at the MTV Video Music Awards, making a surprise appearance during his performance to belt out her original chorus.
Though Rick Astley’s signature song originally topped the Hot 100 back in 1988 — eight years before viral MC Yung Gravy was even born — the song still packs a sentimental punch for listeners of Gravy’s generation due to its mid-’00s “memeification.” The rising rapper took advantage of that with “Betty (Get Money),” whose beat is built around the sweeping synth strings of Astley’s ’80s classic and whose hook swipes its infectious chorus melody. Despite being a virtual soundalike, though, it wasn’t a direct sample: “We basically remade the whole song [with] a different singer and instruments,” Yung Gravy told Billboard in August, “because it makes it easier [to clear] legally.”
DJ Khaled made no secret of the disco-era inspiration for his star-studded “Staying Alive” single; not only does Drake sing a modified version of the refrain from the Bee Gees’ 1977 classic, but Khaled appears in a Saturday Night Fever-ready white jacket on the single cover. That’s where the similarities between the versions mostly end, though, as Khaled’s version eschews the Bee Gees’ dancefloor strut for a darker, grittier trap beat. Regardless, the interpolation helped the revived “Alive” nearly match the original’s Hot 100-topping success, debuting and peaking at No. 5 on the chart.
It’s a formula that has worked before for Nicki Minaj, with her No. 2-peaking 2014 Hot 100 smash “Anaconda”: Take the widely recognizable hook from a still-beloved pop classic praising a particularly eye-popping female (in that case, Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back”) and reframe it to own the narrative. This time, it worked even better: “Super Freaky Girl” prominently sampled the beat and post-chorus of Rick James’ 1981 funk standard “Super Freak” and soared past that song’s No. 16 chart peak to become Minaj’s first Hot 100 No. 1 as an unaccompanied lead artist.
The timing of this smash must have confused the two veteran hitmakers as much as anyone: After being recorded (and spun by Guetta during live sets) in the mid-2010s, Guetta and Rexha’s EDM banger, borrowing the synth and chorus melody to Eiffel 65’s turn-of-the-century surprise hit, had gone unreleased for a half-decade. But after the collaboration was teased on TikTok to fan-tantalizing effect, it was finally released in August, later becoming both artists’ first top 40 hit of the 2020s, climbing into the top 10 on the Hot 100.
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 10, 2022, issue of Billboard.