Music News

20 Dec 2023

Kelly Clarkson Brings the Holiday Spirit With ‘This Christmas’ Cover

The fireside is blazing bright, and Kelly Clarkson is caroling through the night! The superstar opened up her popular Kelly Clarkson Show on Wednesday (Dec. 20) with a cover of the holiday classic, “This Christmas.”

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“Hang all the mistletoe / I’m gonna get to know you better / This Christmas,” the three-time Grammy winner belted the opening lines of her Kellyoke rendition of the track, dressed in a stunning, sparkling black mini dress, paired with black tights and a festive red lip.

Clarkson herself is no stranger to a holiday album, as her 2021 project When Christmas Comes Around arrived eight years after her 2013 album, Wrapped in Red. Her festive hit, “Underneath the Tree,” returned to the Holiday 100 top 10 this year at No. 9. The song, which Clarkson co-wrote with Greg Kurstin, was the lead single from her first Christmas album, 2013’s Wrapped in Red. It has so far peaked at No. 8 on the Holiday 100, in 2014.

Expect more Christmas covers from Clarkson throughout the rest of the week. She kicked off this week’s shows with unique takes on Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas,” “O Holy Night,” Cher’s “DJ Play a Christmas Song” and her own Christmas track “Wrapped in Red.”

Watch Clarkson cover “This Christmas” below.


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20 Dec 2023

Cher Says Kelly Clarkson ‘Aced’ Her Cover of ‘DJ Play a Christmas Song’

Cher is loving Kelly Clarkson’s talent just as much as the rest of us!

The “Believe” icon took to X (previously known as Twitter) on Tuesday (Dec. 19) to gush over Clarkson’s recent Kellyoke cover of “DJ Play a Christmas Song” on the latter’s eponymous talk show. “KELLY,,,,U ACED IT,” she wrote. U GOT THE GIRL VERSION OF MY VOICE. BABE, I AM OUT OF MY MIND OVER UR VERSION.. THE MODULATION GAVE ME …I DONT KNOW, I JUST LOST MY MIND. SISTER U GOT IT.”

Cher released “DJ Play a Christmas Song” as the lead single from Christmas, her first holiday album. “DJ Play a Christmas Song” topped the Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales chart last month — giving Cher a Billboard chart-topper in the last seven decades — while its parent album, Christmas, debuted atop Billboard‘s Top Holiday Albums chart earlier this month.

Clarkson herself also has a holiday album, 2021’s When Christmas Comes Around, which arrived eight years after her 2013 album, Wrapped in Red. Her festive hit, “Underneath the Tree,” returned to the Holiday 100 top 10 this year at No. 9. The song, which Clarkson co-wrote with Greg Kurstin, was the lead single from her first Christmas album, 2013’s Wrapped in Red. It has so far peaked at No. 8 on the Holiday 100, in 2014.

Watch Clarkson’s take on “the hit “DJ Play a Christmas Song” on The Kelly Clarkson Show below.


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20 Dec 2023

Billboard Explains: The Year-End Charts

With 2023 coming to a close, Billboard‘s year-end charts have finally touched down. But when were the year-end charts first put into practice, and how are they measured? The latest episode of Billboard Explains dives into the final charts of the calendar year, with some help from Billboard‘s Managing Director of Charts & Data Operations Keith Caulfield.

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The annual year-end charts were launched back in the 1940s, and have become a staple of the magazine and website since. The end-of-year tallies measure metrics for each artist, title, label and music contributor from charts dated Nov, 19, 2022, to Oct 21, 2023. Technological advancements have allowed this process to change throughout the years, but according Caulfield, the process can be simplified as such: “You take all of the combined performance for all of the songs, artists, albums on a particular chart throughout that chart year, add them all together and then you get a bunch of numbers, and that, generally speaking, is what the year-end version of what that chart looks like.”

While the data-collection process is both rigorous and regimented, surprises sometimes happen. Dua Lipa’s “Levitating” was crowned the top song on the 2021 year-end Billboard Hot 100 chart, despite it never hitting No. 1. Though the track never crowned the Hot 100, the song’s many weeks on the tally (77 during the tracking period) allowed it to have more “points” than a song that, say, reached No. 1, but was at the summit for only a week.

“It’s not always about where you peaked at on the chart during the chart year, it’s your continued performance throughout the entire year that ultimately tells the story of where you end up on the year end chart,” Caulfield adds.

Visit Billboard‘s 2023 year-end charts here and watch the full episode above.

After the video, catch up on more Billboard Explains videos and learn about how Beyoncé arrived at Renaissance, the evolution of girl groups, BBMAs, NFTs, SXSW, the magic of boy bands, American Music Awards, the Billboard Latin Music Awards, the Hot 100 chart, how R&B/hip-hop became the biggest genre in the U.S., how festivals book their lineups, Billie Eilish’s formula for success, the history of rap battles, nonbinary awareness in music, the Billboard Music Awards, the Free Britney movement, rise of K-pop in the U.S., why Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums, the boom of hit all-female collaborations, how Grammy nominees and winners are chosen, why songwriters are selling their publishing catalogs, how the Super Bowl halftime show is booked and why Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” was able to shoot to No. 1 on the Hot 100.

20 Dec 2023

BTS’ Jimin Announces New Single ‘Closer Than This’: Here’s When It Arrives

Jimin has a gift for fans in the final days of 2023. The singer’s management company BigHit Music announced Wednesday (Dec. 20) that the BTS member will be releasing a new solo single titled “Closer Than This,” arriving under ARMY’s trees with time to spare before Christmas.

Sharing the news on Weverse, BigHit wrote that the company is “excited to announce the release of BTS member Jimin’s digital single, ‘Closer Than This,’” which drops at 2 p.m. KST on Friday, which means midnight ET on Dec. 22 for fans stateside. According to the company, the 28-year-old K-pop star’s newest project is a “heartfelt fan song that encapsulates Jimin’s genuine feelings for ARMY.”

“As we approach the final days of 2023, we hope that ‘Closer Than This,’ with its lyrics conveying Jimin’s love and affection for his fans, will bring you hope and warmth,” BigHit concluded its message.

The song announcement comes just a few weeks after it was confirmed that Jimin and three of his bandmates — V, Jung Kook and RM — had started the process of enlisting in the South Korean army, and have since begun serving. Jin, Suga and J-Hope had already previously began their service; all able-bodied men are obligated to complete about two years of service by South Korean law.

Earlier this year, Jimin dropped his EP Face, which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. One of the project’s singles, “Like Crazy,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 in April, becoming the singer’s first No. 1 on the chart as a soloist.

Last month, Jimin was a top nominee with eight nods at this year’s MAMA Awards, where he was crowned best male artist. “Today we received so many valuable awards today,” he wrote to fans afterward on Weverse. “Thank you very much to all ARMYs who always support and love us. We will do our best to show you better music and performances. Thank you again and I love you.”

20 Dec 2023

Gayle Says Opening for Taylor Swift Was the ‘Most Amazing Thing in the Whole Entire World’

Gayle knows that everything happens for a reason.

Late last year, the 19-year-old star canceled her North American tour to focus on her mental health. In a new interview with NBC News Now, Gayle shared how the “intimidating” experience ultimately led to something better — opening for Taylor Swift on select dates of her groundbreaking Eras tour. “If I would had gone on the tour, I wouldn’t have been able to meet Taylor, and to have been able to open up for her,” she said. “So I kind of see it as, like, an ugly blessing. It was a big lesson for me to look at myself and understand that taking care of yourself can work out for you in the long run.”

She also reflected on first meeting Swift, joking about how nervous she was in the moment. “She was like, ‘What are you doing next year?’ I was so nervous. I was like, ‘Yes, ma’am, I’m doing music next year.’ And she’s like, ‘OK, do you tour?’ I was like, ‘Yes ma’am, I tour.’ And then she was like, ‘Well, do you open up for people?’ And I don’t know why I said this, […] I was like, ‘I open up for people who ask me to open up for them.’”

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Despite her initial interaction with the “Anti-Hero” superstar, the “ABCDEFU” singer said that the Eras tour was an “incredible” experience. “It was the most amazing thing in the whole entire world,” she gushed. “It’s like having a summer fling that you’ll never forget about. Taylor’s stage is almost the length of a football field and it’s crazy that they let you on that stage. I can only ever make it to the middle of the diamond. But the last show, I was like, I’m just gonna do it. And it took me five minutes to run the whole stage.”

Watch Gayle’s full interview with NBC News Now here.

20 Dec 2023

Watch Drake & Morgan Wallen Blow Up in ‘You Broke My Heart’ Music Video

Drake and Morgan Wallen are closing out the year with one of music’s most unexpected crossovers.

For his new “You Broke My Heart” music video, the “Hotline Bling” rapper enlisted the country star for a cameo in the opening scene. While dining together at a restaurant, Wallen admits to Drake, “I didn’t like her. I think she might have been the wrong girl anyway.”

Before tipsily leaving their table, the two friends sing “I’m kinda glad she gone” to each other, after which the video’s main stars — two women billed at the end as Grace Matthews and Taylor Morris — take over in an explosive outdoor sequence that shows the two artists getting blown up while driving away.

“You Broke My Heart” dropped late last month as part of the “Scary Hours” extended deluxe version of Drake’s For All the Dogs album, which also included the tracks “Evil Ways,” “Red Button,”“The Shoe Fits,” “Stories About My Brother” and “Wick Man.” The track debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album was propelled back to its No. 1 spot atop the Billboard 200.

Both Drake and Wallen dominated over the course of 2023, and both were named on Billboard‘s ranking of the year’s biggest pop stars. Coming in at No. 10, the Canadian hip-hop artist was recognized for his atmospheric year-end stats — two No. 1 songs and two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, to name a couple — whereas the Tennessee native scored No. 5 on the list thanks largely to his 16 weeks atop the Hot 100 with “Last Night.”

Watch Drake and Wallen’s new music video above.

20 Dec 2023

Travis Scott Nearly Gets Knocked Over During Concert by Giant Floating Head Prop

Can’t trust anyone, not even your own head. Travis Scott learned that lesson for himself at one of his recent concerts, when a giant prop replica of a head careened into him mid-performance.

The incident went down at the rapper’s Tuesday night (Dec. 19) Utopia — Circus Maximus Tour show at Barclays Center in New York, where videos captured by fans and one obtained by TMZ show an enormous cranium creeping toward an oblivious Scott from behind. The prop typically swings across the stage on a pulley, but this time, it collided with the “Goosebumps” artist, nearly knocking him down and causing him to jump off one raised platform to the stage floor.

Videos show that Scott made a quick recovery and landed on his feet.

Billboard has reached out to his representatives for comment.

The near-accident came just a few days after the 32-year-old hitmaker was forced to cancel his concert in Chicago after experiencing flight delays. “I literally spent 24 hrs on a f–king runway,” he tweeted at the time. “Craziest s–t ever.”

“To my people in Chicago I was so ready to go crazyyyy,” he added. “Chicago always been one if my favorite places. To go ham and been waiting for it the whole tour. I will be back the first couple days of January.”

The Grammy nominee also recently opened up about the infamous 2021 tragedy at his Astroworld Festival in Houston for the first time. Speaking about the crowd crush that killed 10 fans and injured hundreds more, Scott said in an interview with GQ that he felt “overly devastated.”

“I always think about it,” he continued. “Those fans were like my family … The idea of just even getting back into music, working on music and just even getting into that, was therapeutic of being able to channel some of the energy into production and sounds and finishing it.”

See the moment Travis Scott had a run-in with his giant head prop below:

20 Dec 2023

Bad Bunny Collects His 28th Top 10 on Latin Airplay With ‘Mónaco’

Bad Bunny picks up his 28th top 10 on Billboard’s Latin Airplay chart as “Mónaco” pushes 16-4 on the list dated Dec. 23.

“Mónaco” takes the Greatest Gainer honor of the week with a 46% gain in audience impressions, to 7.42 million, earned in the U.S. during the Dec. 8-14 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The song is the third single from Benito’s eight-week No. 1 on Top Latin Albums set Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana to enter the top 10 on Latin Airplay. Previously “Where She Goes” and “Un Preview” sat at No. 1 for one week each in August and December, respectively. Further, one other song from the 23-track set arrives on the overall radio chart this week, “Perro Negro” with Feid, at No. 46, for Bad Bunny’s 47th overall entry there.

As “Mónaco” rises to the upper region on Latin Airplay, Benito ties with Maluma and Wisin & Yanel for the fourth-most top 10s among Latin rhythmic acts since the tally’s inception in 1994, behind the overall record holder Daddy Yankee with 48 top 10s, J Balvin with 41, and Ozuna with 38.

Beyond its new radio boost, “Mónaco” reaches other heights across the charts: No. 1 on the multimetric Hot Latin Songs tally, where it sat for eight weeks at No. 1; it enjoyed a six-week domination on Latin Streaming Songs; and a No. 2 high on the overall Streaming Songs list, all starting the Oct. 28-dated rankings Plus, it peaks at No. 2 on the current Latin Rhythm Airplay chart.

20 Dec 2023

Rihanna Says Her Super Bowl Pregnancy Reveal Was Unplanned, Has ‘Fingers Crossed’ for a Baby Girl

Arguably the most show-stopping part of Rihanna‘s Super Bowl Halftime Show earlier this year was her unexpected baby bump reveal, announcing to the world that she was pregnant with her second child. But according to the 35-year-old singer-mogul, the moment was completely unplanned.

“Here’s the thing — I do what I have to do, right?” she told Access Hollywood at her recent Fenty x Puma event in Los Angeles. “My jumper couldn’t zip up. No one knew I was pregnant — I just told my stylist, ‘Make sure it’s stretchy.’”

Come game day, and the “Umbrella” singer’s red jumpsuit zipper wouldn’t even move past her belly — much less cover the bump. “The zip, it just stopped right there,” she said, laughing. “So it had to be what it had to be!”

The Fenty Beauty founder give birth to Riot Rose, her second child with rapper A$AP Rocky, in August. His big brother was born just the year before, with Ri and Rocky welcoming baby RZA in May 2022.

“I loved him differently as a dad,” the “Rude Boy” musician told the outlet of her partner. “It’s a turn-on, it’s just like, wow. What a leader, what a great, patient loving — my kids are obsessed with him. I’m just a background, like I’m an extra.”

Speaking of baby boys, Ri joked that between fashion, beauty, music and business, there is actually one thing she can’t seem to get the hang of: “So far, have daughters,” she quipped to E! News on the Fenty x Puma red carpet.

“I’m batting at a 75% for a boy next time, so we’ll just keep our fingers crossed.”

See clips of Rihanna chatting about motherhood at the Fenty x Puma event below:



20 Dec 2023

‘The Voice’ Crowns Its Season 24 Winner

Another cycle of The Voice has wrapped! The season 24 finale aired live on Tuesday night (Dec. 19) and saw the competition come to a close after weeks of blind auditions, battle rounds and last-chance performances, culminating in the reveal of the show’s latest champion.

Jacquie Roar, Ruby Leigh, Mara Justine, Huntley and Lila Forde were the final five contestants left in the competition, after having one last chance to prove themselves solo with two performances on Monday’s episode, which served as the first part of the finale.

The Tuesday installment of the finale saw the hopefuls performing covers alongside their coaches — Huntley and Niall Horan teamed up for a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door.” Horan pulled double duty as Mara Justine was also in the running to win the competition, and sang the Eagles’ “Wasted Time.” Reba McEntire also had two chances to win, and performed Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and Wynonna’s “No One Else on Earth” with Ruby Leigh and Jacquie Roar, respectively. John Legend also sang a Christmas hit with Lila Forde, putting their spin on Ella Fitzgerald’s “Sleigh Ride”

After a series of all star performances from Earth, Wind & Fire, AJR, Tyla, Teddy Swims, season 22 winner Bryce Leatherwood, season 25 coaches Dan + Shay and more, the season 24 champion was crowed. Huntley took home the title, providing Horan with his second consecutive coach win. Ruby Leigh finished in second place during the finale, though 32 percent Billboard readers — the majority — voted her their pick to win the competition.

Following his big win, Huntley revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that he “was so surprised” with his victory. “Ruby [Leigh] is so talented and I think that she is a force to reckon with, so the fact that it was us two standing up there, it was right. … She’s super talented, and when my name got called, I genuinely couldn’t believe it.”

The winner continued, “This has all been so worthwhile … I just want my career. I’m so hungry for this. John [Legend] said he can see me singing in arenas around the world, and that’s something I’m very hungry for. Y’all are not getting rid of me!”

The Voice will return for season 25 in February.

Revisit the finale performances with the coaches below, and watch Huntley get crowned the winner above.


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