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Megan Thee Stallion, Jelly Roll, Sabrina Carpenter & Tyla to Perform for ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ in NYC

Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest has unveiled the artists who will help usher in 2024 in New York City.

ABC and Dick Clark Productions announced on Thursday (Dec. 21) that Megan Thee Stallion, Jelly Roll, Sabrina Carpenter and Tyla are the four featured performers in the Big Apple. Time will tell which songs Meg and the “Son of a Sinner” country star will perform — though he’ll be delivering a medley of his hits — but Carpenter is confirmed to sing her Emails I Can’t Send singles “Nonsense” and “Feather,” while Tyla is set to share “Water” and “Truth or Dare” from her upcoming debut album with the crowd at Times Square.

As previously announced, “I Will Never Let You Down” singer Rita Ora will serve as Seacrest’s co-host for the iconic New York City countdown, which kicks off on ABC at 8 p.m. ET Sunday, Dec. 31. The program will mark Dick Clark Productions’ 52nd New Year’s Eve broadcast.

Aqua, Doechii, Ellie Goulding, Green Day, Janelle Monáe, Loud Luxury x Two Friends with Bebe Rexha, Ludacris, Nile Rodgers & CHIC, Paul Russell, Reneé Rapp with Coco Jones and Thirty Seconds to Mars were previously announced as performers for Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. In Las Vegas, Post Malone will celebrate by singing “Chemical” on air, and over in South Korea, NewJeans will welcome 2024 with performances of “Super Shy” and “ETA.”

Last year, the NYC lineup consisted of BTS’ J-Hope, Duran Duran and New Edition, plus pre-taped Disneyland performances from Aly & AJ, Bailey Zimmerman, Ben Platt, Ciara, Fitz & The Tantrums, Halle Bailey, Lauren Spencer Smith, Maddie & Tae, Shaggy and TXT. Armani White, Betty Who, Dove Cameron, Finneas, Nicky Youre and Wiz Khalifa were on the L.A. bill.

DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldrige. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.)

JID’s ‘Surround Sound’ Remains Atop TikTok Billboard Top 50, Timothee Chalamet Debuts

JID’s “Surround Sound” remains at No. 1 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 dated Dec. 23, holding off a challenge from a pair of Christmas songs in Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and The Ronettes’ “Sleigh Ride.”

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The TikTok Billboard Top 50 is a weekly ranking of the most popular songs on TikTok in the United States based on creations, video views and user engagement. The latest chart reflects activity Dec. 11-17. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.

“Surround Sound,” which features 21 Savage and Baby Tate, maintains its reign on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, leading for a second week as the viral song continues to be used in a variety of ways, chiefly its Ceiling Challenge in which creators tape a phone or camera above them and do a choreographed dance below.

The Dec. 8-14 Billboard chart tracking week saw “Surround Sound” leap another 11% to 9.8 million official U.S. streams, according to Luminate.

Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” (which concurrently returns to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, as previously reported) and the PhatCap! trap remix of The Ronettes’ “Sleigh Ride” rank at Nos. 2 and 3 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50, respectively. Four of the top 10 are holiday tunes, with Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” at No. 6 and Wham!’s “Last Christmas” at No. 8 also appearing.

Six-week No. 1 “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski remains at No. 4, while the top five receives a new challenger for the top of the tally in Lana Del Rey’s “Let the Light In,” featuring Father John Misty, at No. 5.

“Let the Light In,” from Del Rey’s latest album Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, has vaulted in streams in recent weeks via a trend that involves tying a pink bow to various people, animals or objects for what they call a coquette aesthetic.

It’s not the only song from either artist on the latest list. Del Rey’s “Margaret,” this time featuring Bleachers, appears at No. 13, while Father John Misty’s “Real Love Baby” ranks at No. 48. “Margaret” draws closer to the top 10 after initially scoring virality in October with users (mostly women) explaining what their “Roman Empire is,” referencing the trend in which women asked men how often they thought about the Roman Empire.

“Margaret” concurrently returns to the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart at No. 45, its first time on the ranking since its debut (at No. 43) in April.

The TikTok Billboard Top 50’s highest debut of the week belongs to Nicki Minaj’s “Everybody,” featuring Lil Uzi Vert, which bows at No. 9. The new song is the 11th track on Minaj’s latest album, Pink Friday 2, which simultaneously bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

“Everybody” isn’t the only song from Pink Friday 2 on the TikTok Billboard Top 50; “FTCU” debuts at No. 18. But “Everybody,” which samples Junior Senior’s “Move Your Feet,” has users doing just that on TikTok, with a variety of dancing clips among the sound’s top uploads of the week.

It bows at No. 26 on the Hot 100, the top debut from Pink Friday 2, via 16 million streams and 6,000 downloads.

Finally, Timothee Chalamet makes an appearance on a Billboard chart thanks to his rendition of “Pure Imagination” from the movie Wonka, which debuts at No. 27 after the film’s Dec. 15 premiere. Usages of the song include footage of the movie, the red carpet at its premiere, reviews of Chalamet’s singing voice and more.

See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here, also featuring debuts from NLE Choppa, Jhene Aiko, Trippie Redd and more. You can also tune in each Friday to SiriusXM’s TikTok Radio (channel 4) to hear the premiere of the chart’s top 10 countdown at 3 p.m. ET, with reruns heard throughout the week.

Watch Nicki Minaj & Stephen Colbert Have a Hilarious Rap Battle on ‘The Late Show’

For the latest stop on her Pink Friday 2 promo run, Nicki Minaj returned to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday (Dec. 20) to chat about her new album and trade freestyle bars with the Emmy-winning host.

“I’ll do the beat, you just be entertained,” Minaj quipped as Colbert clumsily attempted to make a lunchroom beat on his desk. “That’s not the beat I taught you last time I was here!”

Five years ago, when she was promoting her Queen album, Minaj showed Colbert how to make a simple beat and freestyle to it. Evidently, the Late Show host has spent the past half-decade honing his skills, because his retorts to Minaj’s bars shocked even the “Super Freaky Girl” rapper herself.

In a flow and rhythm taken from Pink Friday 2 breakout hit “FTCU” — lovingly renamed “F–k the Colbert Up” — Nicki spits, “High heels on for Stevie/ If I marry Stevie, he ain’t ever gon’ leave me.” In response, Colbert raps, “High heels or not, Nicki / You better hope you never meet my wife, Evie!” The hilarious comeback shocked Minaj into a few moments of silence before she and the audience broke out into uncontrollable laughter.

On the Billboard Hot 100 (chart dated Dec. 23, 2023), “FTCU” was one of 14 Pink Friday 2 tracks to appear on the ranking — the most of any female rapper in history. Over on the Billboard 200, Pink Friday 2 became Minaj’s third No. 1 LP, making her the female rapper with the most chart-topping efforts. The new album is both the Queen of Rap’s long-awaited fifth studio album and the sequel to Pink Friday, her Billboard 200-topping 2010 debut album. The ever-expanding 24-track set sports collaborations with DrakeJ. ColeLil Uzi Vert and more. Recent singles including “Red Ruby Da Sleeze,” “Last Time I Saw You” and the Hot 100-topping “Super Freaky Girl” also appear on the tracklist.

During her interview with Colbert, Minaj revealed that she’s “still working” on the album. “I put more songs that entire week,” she said in reference to late-stage additions such as the 50 Cent-assisted “Beep Beep.” “My entire label looked like they were about to have heart attacks!”

With the promise of more new music, it looks like Minaj is prepping for an extended stay in Gag City — the A.I. kingdom her fans created in anticipation of Pink Friday 2. According to Minaj, who presumably is the head of state in Gag City, everyone is entitled to “a free mansion, free car and free canned goods” in her kingdom.

The “Super Bass” rapper’s conversation with Colbert also touched on her 3-year-old son, affectionately nicknamed Papa Bear. Minaj spilled about being a first-time mom, watching her son grow right before her eyes and, in turn, growing as a person herself. “My life was so selfish before he came here,” she gushed to the comedian. “Since this little human came onto Planet Earth, I can’t do anything without thinking about him first. There’s this thing that happens every day when I see his face, which is more than anything money could buy in the world. So, I’m really happy I pushed him out!”

Check out Nicki Minaj and Stephen Colbert’s hilarious rap battle above, and more clips from her interview below:





Nicki Minaj Says She’d Collaborate With Taylor Swift ‘In a Heart Beat’

Nicki Minaj is manifesting a collaboration with Taylor Swift. After congratulating the pop star for her successful year, the “Super Freaky Girl” rapper revealed on X that she wouldn’t hesitate to get in the studio with the 12-time Grammy winner. 

Replying to a Barb who asked Wednesday (Dec. 20), “Would you ever collab with Taylor Swift ?” Minaj simply wrote, “In a heart beat.” 

The Queen of Rap had previously shared praise for Swift on the platform, prompting the fan’s question about a potential duet between the two artists. “The [SAGITTARIUS] QUEEN TAYLOR DESERVES!!!! PERIOD!!!!!” Minaj tweeted. “She takes months & years off then comes back with great music & fans who’ll never leave her!!!!” 

“The point is that we have something to aspire to as we watch the SAG QUEEN Taylor & the swifties & Republic Records,” she continued in a follow-up tweet. 

In many regards, a team-up from Minaj and Swift is long overdue. The pair have supported each other publicly for years, and the rapper has even thanked the “Anti-Hero” singer for boosting the success of “Super Bass” by promoting it back in the day. And while they had some short-lived beef in 2015 over a VMAs-related miscommunication on what was then known as Twitter, it was quickly resolved with the two women performing together at that year’s ceremony.  

Earlier this year, many fans thought that the two hitmakers were finally teaming up for a shared track on Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version), although hopes were squashed once the pop superstar shared the album’s track list. The fruitless theories had emerged from a Swift-themed word puzzle sponsored by Google leading up to the record’s release; one of the answers was “Sagittarius,” the astrological sign of both Swift and Minaj. 

“That’s my favorite Sagittarius over there,” Swift said of the Queen Radio host at September’s VMAs. 

See Minaj’s tweets below: 

A Timeline of Taylor Swift’s Generosity

The musician has a long history of donating her earnings.

Taylor Swift is one of the world’s richest and most powerful women, crossing over into billionaire territory in 2023 thanks to her blockbuster Eras Tour and record-selling Taylor’s Version releases. In fact, Billboard estimated earlier this month that Swift earned nearly $2 billion this year through her music, tour and accompanying tour film and merch — before even accounting for additional revenue from things like synchs and sponsorships.

Now, the “Anti-Hero” singer definitely puts her hard-earned wealth to personal use. She’s spent hundreds of millions of dollars on properties in New York City, California, Nashville, Rhode Island and more. She frequently travels via private jet, reportedly owning not just one, but two Dassault Falcon aircrafts. And her much-studied sense of style is aided by pricey, oftentimes designer pieces.

But luckily for those who have crossed her path, Swift has also long been generous with her riches. Through the years, the pop superstar has supported various causes, donated to charities and struggling individuals alike, and showered her fans with lavish presents in a 2014 gift-giving extravaganza known by her fandom as “Swiftmas.”

She’s also been known to be generous with her time, whether it’s meeting fans after almost every show of her pre-Eras tours completely free of charge, or making surprise appearances at unsuspecting Swifties’ weddings, bridal showers or engagement parties. There have also been times where fans have opened their front doors to find the musician waiting outside, as well as days spent dropping in to cheer up patients at hospitals.

Keep reading to see some of Swift’s most notable acts of generosity below:

Ashley Cooke Dumps a Cheater, and Stakes Out Her Own Artistic Turf, With ‘Your Place’

Some of the most important learning experiences happen outside of the classroom, in a school of life where people trade hearts and dreams and bodies — and find out that not everyone deserves those gifts.

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Ashley Cooke knows more about the school of romantic hard knocks than she prefers.

“As a young person growing up and falling in and out of love — and what you think is love, and what actually isn’t love — I think it’s easy to get so caught up in it,” she says. “I put up with a lot of stuff in different relationships that, if you listened to my whole debut album, it’s a lot about relationships and about toxicity.”

Shot in the Dark, which Big Loud released July 21, amasses two dozen songs in that general vein. One of those tracks — “Never Til Now,” featuring a guest appearance by Brett Young— earned Cooke her first gold award from the RIAA on Dec. 5. But “Your Place,” inspired by a major disappointment, has real potential at becoming her first radio hit. It boasts an easy, singalong hook; the kind of lyrical flip that historically plays well in country; and an innate believability, thanks to its connection to one of her harshest real-world lessons.

Cooke dumped a boyfriend when she discovered he had cheated on her, and even though she was definite about closing that particular door, he kept pestering her about maybe getting back together. Cooke had a hook, “It ain’t your place,” logged into the “note graveyard” — as she calls it — on her phone, and the idea lined up perfectly with the boundary-drawing abilities that she was developing.

“You basically kind of regain your power,” she observes, “by saying, ‘Hey, you know, you don’t get to know those things anymore. You’re the reason this thing broke. You should already know that this isn’t your place anymore.’”

“Your Place” was the first idea she offered during a co-write with Jordan Minton (“Best Thing Since Backroads”) at the Nashville studio of songwriter Mark Trussell (“Good Time”) on Aug. 16, 2022. It was that rare moment when an idea was immediately obvious, but surprisingly untapped.

“It felt like something that we hadn’t heard before,” says Minton. “But also we could see the road map for the whole song when she said it.”

Cooke had a melody in mind even before she introduced the idea, so when they buckled down, starting with the chorus, Trussell began developing a chord progression beneath the topline. The passage never quite resolved, moving from the four chord through six-minor, five and the one, though Trussell played a different note on bass, keeping the sound unsettled. Played on acoustic guitar, it sounded unintentionally like it derived from 1990s alt-rock. “I liked the emotional intensity of those chords,” Trussell says.

The chorus started with three half beats — “It ain’t your…” — before Cooke found her “place” on the downbeat of the measure, leading the singer from a hazy uncertainty into defined firmness. Thus, “Your Place” melodically mirrored the lesson the song embodied.

“It has a little runway into it,” observes Minton. “It makes the whole chorus feel more conversational. She’s not belting the melody out. It’s a very kind of subdued, conversational melody, which makes it just felt like she was talking to the person.”

When they attacked the opening verse, they populated the story with loads of furniture — both songwriter “furniture” (physical objects that create a sense of scenery) and literal furniture. They included a spare key to the guy’s front door, a Jeep in the driveway, a toothbrush on the bathroom sink and a whole neighborhood reference: “Haven’t been to your side of town in weeks.” It ranged from the intimate lavatory to the larger community, those details strengthening the double meaning when she scolds the guy at the chorus: “It ain’t your place.”

Verse two shifted from objects to behaviors, with the singer warning her ex to stop reaching out to her family or to her, because, of course, “it ain’t your place.”

Finally, they fashioned a bridge, determining that they needed to reinforce the song’s message a little more strongly. Cooke wanted to do something with the cliché “You made your bed, now lie in it,” and they batted around ideas for a bit until Minton blurted out the solution: “You made your bed, and I ain’t sleeping in it.” In addition to emphasizing the song’s message, it served a full-circle function, returning to the literal furniture concept from the opening verse.

“The bed is just even closer zoomed in to that same point, ‘I’m not staying at your place,’ ” Trussell says. “Sometimes on a bridge, you want to say something different. And sometimes in a bridge, there’s not something else to say, but maybe you can say it in a more cutting way or a deeper way. In this case, I guess it is a little bit more cutting because it’s more zoomed in.”

Trussell developed a demo with several guitars, a simple drum part and an atmospheric keyboard —  a spare production that showcased the crafty lyrics but wasn’t particularly hooky. Many members of the team weren’t immediately enthusiastic about it, but as Cooke piled up tracks for the album, she kept insisting “Your Place” was important. She finally cut it during the last session for the project, on Nov. 14, 2022, at Nashville’s Ocean Way.

Producer Jimmy Robbins (Kelsea Ballerini, Maddie & Tae) endeavored to keep the final recording pared back, much like the demo, pulling it together while fighting a bad case of food poisoning. “It was horrible,” he recalls.

Drummer Nir Z, bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas, guitarists Kris Donegan and Ilya Toshinskiy, and keyboardist David Dorn used tremolo tones and pulsing parts to create a sense of movement without distracting from the message. They increased in intensity at just the right moments to enhance the song’s development.

“There’s not a ton of tracks on the record, but there’s enough there that the chorus lifts and kind of helps you feel the dynamic change,” says Robbins. “It’s not a super-rangy song where the range does all that work for you.”

Cooke recorded her vocal at Robbins’ place in one of the first sessions he held after moving to a new location. “She’s so good on the mic, and gets everything she needs to so efficiently,” Robbins says. “But this one in particular, I think we did, top to bottom, like probably three or four takes and probably most of it was the third take. She’s very good.”

Big Loud released “Your Place” to country radio via PlayMPE on Oct. 29, setting Dec. 11 as the official add date. It’s been satisfying on both a creative level and on a personal one.

“In a weird way, writing ‘Your Place’ was kind of my line in the sand of ‘Hey, I’m going to turn a new leaf and not deal with those kinds of relationships anymore,’ ” she says. “Singing that song every night on my headline tour, you feel that power kind of being put back into who you are and your worth and your respect for yourself. And it’s cool to see people in the crowd also responding to that.” 



‘The Masked Singer’: Which ‘00s R&B Hitmaker Is the Season 10 Winner?

The Masked Singer unveiled its season 10 winner on Wednesday night (Dec. 20) after a tight battle between finalists Cow, Donut, Sea Queen and Gazelle.

In the first hour, Sea Queen was revealed to be Macy Gray and Gazelle was unmasked as Janelle Parrish, so the final two came down to Cow and Donut.

After a heartwarming season performing jaw-dropping renditions of “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Suede, “I Do (Cherish You)” by 98 Degrees, “Georgia on My Mind” by Ray Charles and more, Donut was ultimately the runner-up of season 10 and was revealed as The Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider.

As a result, Cow was crowned The Masked Singer’s season 10 winner — and was unmasked as Grammy-winning R&B superstar Ne-Yo. Over the course of the season, the smooth vocalist performed songs like “Bones” by Imagine Dragons, “Treasure” by Bruno Mars, “Cry Me a River” by Justin Timberlake, and “Ring My Bell” by Anita Ward.

Before Ne-Yo was unmasked, the judges guessed celebrities like Boyz II Men singer Shawn Stockman, Usher, Hamilton star Leslie Odom Jr., Trey Songz, Mario, Nelly, Jason Derulo and Taye Diggs.

So far, the stars eliminated from this season 10 competition include Keyshia Cole (Candelabra), Hall & Oates’ John Oates (Anteater), Skid Row’s Sebastian Bach (Tiki), Ginuwine (Husky), Ashley Parker Angel (S’More), NBA alum Metta World Peace (Cuddle Monster), The Real Housewives‘ Luann de Lesseps (Hibiscus), Teen Wolf star Tyler Posey (Hawk), tennis legend Billie Jean King (Royal Hen), Michael Rapaport (Pickle), Vanderpump Rules‘ Tom Sandoval (Diver), Anthony Anderson (Rubber Ducky) and a special unmasking of Demi Lovato.

Joey Fatone Joins Pentatonix to Sing *NSYNC’s ‘Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays’

Pentatonix is getting into the holiday spirit during their live concerts, and to show fans just how much, the group brought out none other than Joey Fatone for one of their recent shows — part of the group’s The Most Wonderful Tour of the Year trek — to sing *NSYNC‘s holiday hit, “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.”

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The video starts with the a cappella group singing the title of the song on the into, until member Scott Hoyin takes a moment to tell the audience, “And we have special guest, *NSYNC’s Joey Fatone, everyone!” Fatone then came onto the stage in a red leather jacket to sing the track’s first verse: “We’ve been waiting/ All year for this night/ And the snow is glistening on the trees outside/ And all the stockings/ Are hung by the fireside/ Waiting for Santa to arrive.”

“This was ICONIC!!! Thank you @realjoeyfatone, you are amazing!,” the group captioned the video, shared on Wednesday (Dec. 20) to Instagram.

Fans were equally excited to see Fatone on stage — one fan in the comments section of the post wrote, “Just as my old teenage “*NSYNC mania” self was about to calm down after being revived after the VMAs and Trolls, y’all just want to make me act up again!!!” Another excited fan added, “Omg how did Joey not get more solos when he was in *NSYNC? Amazing!!!”

There may have been a bit of a generational divide amongst audience members, as one shared, “I was here and absolutely lost my mind. I almost cried. The younger girls behind me said ‘Who is that!?’”

Watch Fatone join the members of Pentatonix in the the video below.

Finneas Says Billie Eilish’s Next Album Is ’85 Percent Done’

Fear not, Billie Eilish fans — the pop star’s next record is close to completion. Eilish’s brother and right hand producer Finneas spoke with Mr Porter in a Tuesday (Dec. 19) interview and revealed that his sister’s next album is “85 percent done.”

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While the percentage offers a concrete update for fans, Finneas noted that the process of creating the album was not an easy one. “I don’t think Billie was particularly sure about how she actually felt about the things we were trying to write about,” he explained. “Making a thing that you feel really connected to – it can really evade you.”

Finneas, who works with Eilish often on songwriting, additionally shared that mapping out the time between his own busy schedule for writing was difficult as he performed 88 shows in a year’s time: “I think I got a little rusty. And that was scary. It was discouraging to realize that if I take time off, my songwriting muscle atrophies. I had to get back in shape.”

Eilish’s last album, Happier Than Ever, arrived in 2021 — the set, which marked her sophomore release, crowned the Billboard 200 for three weeks and has spent a total of 124 weeks on the all genre tally. In the time since, Eilish and Finneas worked together on “What Was I Made For?” as part of Barbie: The Album; the track is up for a total of six Grammys ahead of the 66th annual Grammy Awards, including the song and record of the year categories.

Read Finneas’ interview in full here.

Timothée Chalamet Jokes It Was ‘Hard to Be Present’ at Beyoncé Concert With Kylie Jenner

Timothee Chalamet reflected on a special 2023 concert experience.

The Wonka actor sat down with MTV’s Josh Horowitz this week, where the host asked Chalamet what his best concert experience of 2023 was. The star had a hard time remembering if he had attended a concert this year, before Horowitz reminded him of his “documented” attendance at Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour Los Angeles show on Sept. 4. The concert also happened to be his first public outing with rumored girlfriend Kylie Jenner, as the duo were spotted kissing and embracing throughout the PDA-filled night.

“That’s right. “That was great,” Chalamet responded, before jokingly adding, “Hard to be present.”

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The Call Me By Your Name star also noted that he was surprised that he didn’t know as many Beyoncé songs as he thought he did. “I’m not, like, BeyHive-level, but I thought I knew way more [songs]. But I guess I know some of the more basic hits,” he said, adding that Bey did not perform “Halo” and “Single Ladies,” which are two of her most popular songs. “‘Halo’ was a great, moody, 12-year-old head against the bus [window] song,” Chalamet said with a laugh.

Chalamet and Jenner have been romantically linked since April. The Kylie Cosmetics founder was previously dating Travis Scott, with whom she shares daughter Stormi and son Aire. The Oscar nominee, meanwhile, was previously in a relationship with Lily-Rose Depp.

Watch Chalamet’s interview with MTV below.