Music News

08 Dec 2022

Lizzo’s ‘Someday at Christmas’ Debuts in Top 10 on Hot R&B Songs Chart

Lizzo lights up the Hot R&B Songs chart with a holiday release, “Someday at Christmas,” that debuts at No. 9 on the list dated Dec. 10. The song is a cover of a track first recorded and released by Stevie Wonder in 1966. Lizzo’s version was released exclusively through Amazon Music and Amazon’s digital music store.

“Someday at Christmas” traces its arrival on Hot R&B Songs, which measures streaming, radio airplay and sales in its rankings, almost entirely to 5.8 million official U.S. streams earned in the week ending Dec. 1, according to Luminate. Lizzo’s cover, originally released Nov. 11, has picked up steam thanks to Amazon Music’s growing promotion of holiday music on playlists. For the other two metrics, the song had negligible download sales and its airplay registered 312,000 in audience listenership.

The holiday release gives Lizzo her fourth top 10 on the Hot R&B Songs chart. She earned her first visit to the upper tier with “Juice,” which peaked at No. 5 in 2019, and followed with the 10-week No. 1 “Good as Hell” in 2019-20 and the 13-week champ “About Damn Time” this May – September.

Elsewhere, “Someday at Christmas” opens at No. 28 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and at No. 96 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, and makes its first appearances on Billboard’s slate of holiday charts, with a No. 46 arrival on the Holiday Streaming Songs list and a No. 54 entrance on the Holiday 100. The track also generates a bit of radio airplay, starting at No. 27 on the Adult Contemporary chart.

The new rendition may also have fueled a slight bump in interest for Wonder’s original. The legend’s 1966 recording pulled 3.7 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week, up 55%, and sold 1,000 downloads in the same period. The song, though, was only Wonder’s third most popular holiday track this week, and again, features a newer artist covering his classic material. John Legend’s reworked take on Wonder’s “What Christmas Means to Me,” which features Wonder and was released in 2018, earned 5.07 million official U.S. streams, while Wonder’s 1967 original generated 5.01 million clicks.

08 Dec 2022

Manuel Turizo’s ‘La Bachata’ Returns to No. 1 on Billboard Argentina Hot 100 Chart

Manuel Turizo rebounds to No. 1 on the Billboard Argentina Hot 100 chart (dated Dec. 3) after ranking at No. 2 for one week. The song adds a 12th week atop the tally, tying with Maluma and The Weeknd’s “Hawai” and Pedro Capo and Farruko’s “Calma (Alicia remix)” for the fourth-most among all titles since the chart launched in 2018.

Rosalía’s “Despechá” returns to its No. 2 high for a 23rd week. Meanwhile, as “La Bachata” tops this week’s ranking, it sends Bizarrap and Duki’s “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 50” to No. 4 after one week in command. Bizarrap also rises to No. 3 through another of his music sessions: “Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 52,” with Quevedo. Plus, La Joaqui, Gusty DJ Salsatkbron’s “Dos Besitos” holds steady at No. 5.

Elsewhere, Quevedo’s “Punto G” scores the Greatest Gainer honors of the week as it climbs 47 rankings, 78-31. Plus, the Hot Shot debut goes to Karol G & Ovy On The Drums’s “Cairo” at No. 57

Further, four other titles debut this week, starting with Paulo Londra and Lit Killah’s “Necio” at No. 59, Nathy Peluso’s “Estás Buenísimo” opens at No. 73, Nicki Nicole’s “Frio” bows at No. 80, while La Joaqui and Omar Varela’s “Mañosa” arrives at No. 92.

08 Dec 2022

An Army of M3GANs Just Took Over the Red Carpet to Dance to Taylor Swift’s ‘It’s Nice to Have a Friend’

It’s nice to have a friend. Or eight? At the premiere of M3GAN on Wednesday (Dec. 7), an army of life-size M3GANs invaded the red carpet to perform a creepy dance number set to “It’s Nice to Have a Friend” by Taylor Swift.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s Chris Gardner tweeted a video from the event at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in L.A., showing the eight dancers twirling, twisting and body rolling to the Lover deep cut much like the eponymous doll in the horror film.

“Light pink sky, up on the roof/ Sun sinks down, no curfew/ Twenty questions, we tell the truth/ You’ve been stressed out lately, yeah me too/ Something gave you the nerve/ To touch my hand/ It’s nice to have a friend,” Swift can be heard singing on the record as the M3GAN — or “Model 3 Generative Android” — lookalikes all move in chilling unison.

The track off the singer’s 2019 album was first used in the initial trailer for the Blumhouse sci-fi thriller starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Amie McDonald and the voice of Jenna Davis. The movie hits theaters nationwide on Jan. 6.

At the premiere, the movie’s producer, Jason Blum, also dressed as the terrifying red-headed doll, writing, “Get ready, world. I’m back” alongside a selfie posted to his Twitter account.

Meanwhile, Tay gave Swifties a behind-the-scenes look at her Grammy-nominated All Too Well short film this week, showing the superstar bringing her creative vision to life as a first-time director and working with actors Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien.

Watch the M3GANs’ red carpet dance, and get a look at Blum in his own M3GAN costume below.

08 Dec 2022

RM Delivers Stunning Mini ‘Indigo’ Concert While Surrounded by Art & Nature: Watch

RM is rooting himself in nature and taking in all the delights that a museum — specifically, the Dia Beacon in New York — has to offer. On Thursday (Dec. 8), the BTS rapper shared a 12-minute concert special taped at the contemporary art installation space to perform four tracks from his debut studio album, Indigo.

The video kicked off with a performance of the album’s lead single, “Wild Flower (with youjeen).” RM appeared from the Dia Beacon’s maze-like garden space in a gray shirt, pants and chunky shoes to give an impassioned performance of the track solo. The scene then cut to the interior of the museum and featured RM in a space with wooden floors, bright large windows and and contemporary metal sculptures decorating the space.

By the time “Change Pt. 2” rolled around, the scene was vastly different. RM, nothing but a black silhouette, performed the track from a green lit room filled with columns and shelving units. The shadow play continued into “No. 2” as the camera followed RM throughout the museum, ultimately landing in a large open space before descending into a second space with faint shadows dancing on the walls.

After the mini concert went live, RM took to his instagram Story to share that “Live in New York (Dia: Beacon) was the contents that we put the biggest effort into. Enjoy, thx :).”

RM’s performance at the Dia Beacon is the latest of his Indigo performances. The BTS rapper also performed tracks from his solo effort for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series.

Speaking about Indigo on Suchwita, Suga of BTS’ sit-down talk show, RM said, “It’s been 15 years [since we started pursuing music] and yet in a sense, this is my first album. So after 15 long years I finally have a chance to prove to myself in the form of a solo album. That’s what I felt.”

RM also added that he was happy to have the chance to make a statement about who he is as an artist now on Indigo, because “to be honest, in my Mono album, I had doubts and concerns for about half the songs in there, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case for this album.”

Watch RM’s Indigo concert at the Dia Beacon above.

08 Dec 2022

A Pop Song of Ice & Fire: See Your Favorite Music Stars as ‘Game of Thrones’ Characters

Westeros isn’t so different from the world of pop. The top slot on the Billboard charts is just as sought-after as the Iron Throne — though artists use their music as weapons instead of, well, actual weapons.

Back in 2016, ahead of the season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones on HBO, we decided to see if we could draw a direct line between the citizens of the Seven Kingdoms and our very own pop royalty. These people are playing very different games, but often using similar strategies. We published animated illustrations reimagining six of the biggest musicians in the world as six of the biggest characters on the wildly popular show, which came to an end in 2019 after eight seasons.

This week (Dec. 7), our gallery of GIFs became relevant once again, when Taylor Swift told The Hollywood Reporter for their Women in Entertainment Power 100 issue which Thrones character she most identifies with: Arya Stark. “I realize I don’t know how to use a sword and I’ve never had to rise up from near death to go on an epic revenge mission,” the pop star quipped. “But I have been in the music industry for over 15 years, so …”

When we published the original gallery, we had Swift pegged as the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen — of course, that was before (spoiler alert) Dany burned it all down in the final season. Also since the gallery was posted, Swift has spoken of her kinship with the Stark daughters (Sansa too) and how they partially inspired her 2017 album reputation. “So much of my imagination was spent on Game of Thrones,” Swift told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. “At the time, I was making reputation and I didn’t talk about it in interviews, so I didn’t reveal that a lot of the songs were influenced by the show.”

But Swift isn’t our only pop star featured in the gallery. Below, find animated illustrations of pop stars as their kindred Game of Thrones characters. (And maybe for our next round, we’ll include musicians as House of the Dragon standouts.)

This gallery was originally published in 2016.

08 Dec 2022

What Is Stiff-Person Syndrome? Celine Dion’s Neurological Disorder Explained

Celine Dion revealed in an emotional video posted to Instagram on Thursday (Dec. 8) that she is battling a rare neurological disorder called “Stiff-Person Syndrome.”

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“As you know, I’ve always been an open book. And I wasn’t ready to say anything before,” said Dion in the solemn, brief clip. “But I’m ready now… ’I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through.”

Due to the severe muscle spasms that Dion says “affect every aspect of my daily life,” she will not be able to re-start her tour in Europe in February as planned. All of her spring 2023 dates will move to 2024 and 8 of her summer 2023 shows have been cancelled.

Following Dion’s announcement, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about the lesser-known disorder.

What Is Stiff-Person Syndrome?

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Stiff-Person Syndrome, or SPS, is a very rare neurological disorder that has features of an autoimmune disease. “SPS is characterized by fluctuating muscle rigidity in the trunk and limbs and a heightened sensitivity to stimuli such as noise, touch, and emotional distress, which can set off muscle spasms,” per NINDS, which also notes that the disorder affects twice as many women as men and science does not yet understand what causes it. The disorder is also often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia or anxiety.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, SPS only affects one or two in a million people.

What Are the Symptoms of Stiff-Person Syndrome?

“Abnormal postures, often hunched over and stiffened, are characteristic of the disorder,” according to NINDS. Those with SPS can also be unable to walk or move or might be triggered into a spasm or fall due to loud noises.

Are There Treatments for Stiff-Person Syndrome?

The current treatment is a regimen of anti-convulsants and valium and intravenous treatments aimed at reducing stiffness and lowering sensitivity to touch, noise and stress. The preferred treatments can improve symptoms, but a cure is not yet known and sufferers are often subject to frequent falls because of a lack of the usual defensive reflexes.

08 Dec 2022

Amber Riley Thinks Lea Michele ‘Would Probably Say That She Doesn’t See Race’

Amber Riley stopped by Ziwe on Wednesday (Dec. 7) and spilled some tea about Lea Michele and her time on the set of Glee.

The Dancing With the Stars season 17 champ weathered Ziwe’s trademark style of awkward questioning with grace during the sit-down, but that didn’t stop the host from trying to get to the bottom of her take on working with Michele — starting with asking Riley if there was a “race war” on Glee.

“Now speaking of getting down in the muck, you said that one of your famous co-workers wasn’t racist. Did you mean that she was?” Ziwe asked, leading Riley to burst into uncomfortable laughter before dodging the question by responding “Next question? I don’t even know how to answer that. Umm … I don’t know which co-worker you’re talking about — I’ve had so many.”

Undeterred, Ziwe conveniently had a clip of Riley’s pandemic-era interview regarding the headline-making allegations that Michele bullied cast member Samantha Ware on the set of the FOX musical series. (“I am not going to say that Lea Michele is racist,” she insisted in the clip, though the Funny Girl star’s first name was bleeped out in the replay.)

“Would you say that your famous co-worker doesn’t see race and is, in fact, rude to all of her co-workers?” the host asked as a follow-up, and this time Riley gave more of a straightforward answer.

“I think that she would probably say that she doesn’t see race, but as we discussed earlier, everyone does,” she responded before laughingly denying that her 2014 single “Colorblind” was about Michele.

Billboard has reached out to Michele for comment.

Later in the interview, Riley also got real about some of the macro- and micro-aggressions she’s dealt with in Hollywood, revealing that she’s been on the receiving end of many an inappropriate comment from other actors in the hair and makeup trailer. “‘Oh your hair … so interesting! Oh wow, can I touch it?’ Like, a lot of that,” she said.

Most recently, the newly engaged star took home the trophy as the Harp on Season 8 of The Masked Singer, becoming the first and only to win both the FOX singing competition and DWTS.

Watch Riley’s interview with Ziwe above.

08 Dec 2022

Taylor Swift Reveals the Badass ‘Game of Thrones’ Character She Identifies With

Winter is coming … swiftly. Named to The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2022 Women In Entertainment Power 100, Taylor Swift revealed to the publication Wednesday (Dec. 7) that the fictional character she identifies a lot with is Game of Thrones‘ Arya Stark.

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“I realize I don’t know how to use a sword and I’ve never had to rise up from near death to go on an epic revenge mission,” quipped the 32-year-old pop star. “But I have been in the music industry for over 15 years, so …”

This isn’t the first time Swift has shared her love for HBO’s hit fantasy drama. In fact, she once revealed that her 2017 album Reputation was inspired, in part, by Arya and her sister, Sansa Stark. “So much of my imagination was spent on Game of Thrones,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2019. “At the time, I was making reputation and I didn’t talk about it in interviews, so I didn’t reveal that a lot of the songs were influenced by the show.”

The single “Look What You Made Me Do,” for example, is “literally Arya Stark’s kill list,” according to Swift. And “I Did Something Bad”? Inspired by a GoT plot line in which Arya and Sansa — played by Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner, respectively — conspire to kill another character on the show, Littlefinger.

The 11-time Grammy winner also shared in the Women in Entertainment Power piece which Hollywood figure she’d like to trade places with. Instead of naming a fellow singer-songwriter, she shouted out director Guillermo Del Toro.

“Imagine having that imagination, that visual vocabulary and that astonishing body of work,” she said of the Shape of Water filmmaker. “To have such a diverse storytelling range but to somehow put your distinctive artistic fingerprint on every film. And yet, it feels like he’s still so curious and enthusiastic about his work. I can only imagine that a day in his mind would be fascinating.”

Mindy Kaling, who was also featured on the Women in Entertainment Power list, had a much different answer to the same question. She said she’d like to trade places with Tay’s assistant, because “you know they got seats to her concert.”

08 Dec 2022

Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service Teaming For Co-Headlining Fall 2023 U.S. Tour

Ben Gibbard will be pulling some serious double-duty next fall when he takes both his indie rock favorite bands on the road for the first ever Death Cab For Cutie/The Postal Service joint tour. The co-headlining outing that will mark the 20th anniversary of Death Cab’s breakthrough fourth album, 2003’s Transatlanticism and that year’s Postal Service debut, Give Up, will feature both bands performing the respective albums in full.

Gibbard, co-founder of both groups, will front the bands for the unique tour announced on Thursday (Dec. 8). “I know for a fact I will never have a year again like 2003,” the singer said in a release announcing the run of 17 U.S. shows that is slated to kick off on Sept. 8, 2023 in Portland, Maine and run through an Oct. 13 gig at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. “The Postal Service record came out, Transatlanticism came out. These two records will be on my tombstone, and I’m totally fine with that. I’ve never had a more creatively inspired year.”

The Postal Service lineup of Gibbard, keyboardist Jimmy Tamborello and singer/guitarist Jenny Lewis will perform alongside Death Cab, which features bassist Nick Harmer, guitarist/keyboardists Dave Depper and Zac Rae and drummer Jason McGerr. The unique outing will mark The Postal Service’s first live performances in more than a decade following 2013’s 10-year anniversary reunion tour for Give Up, which remains Sub Pop Records’ second highest-selling album of all time behind Nirvana’s 1989 debut full-length album Bleach.

Pre-sales begin on Dec. 14 at 10 am. local and continue through Dec. 15 at 10 p.m. local; sign up for early access here and check out complete ticket information here. The general on-sale will begin at 10 a.m. local time on Dec. 16.

Check out the fall 2023 tour dates and a teaser video below.

Sept. 8 – Portland, ME @ Cross Insurance Arena

Sept. 9 – Kingston, RI @ The Ryan Center

Sept. 10 – New Haven, CT @ Westville Music Bowl

Sept. 12 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall

Sept. 13 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall

Sept. 14 – Washington, DC @ Merriweather Post Pavilion

Sept. 17 – Detroit, MI @ Meadow Brook Amphitheater

Sept. 20 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden

Sept. 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Mann Center

Sept. 24 – Minneapolis, MN @ Armory

Sept. 26 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom

Sept. 27 – Denver, CO @ Mission Ballroom

Oct. 3 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre

Oct. 4 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea Ballroom at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

Oct. 7 – Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena

Oct. 10 – Berkeley, CA @ Greek Theatre – UC Berkeley

Oct. 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl

08 Dec 2022

Cardi B Tells Fans Considering Butt Injections: ‘Don‘t!’

Cardi B hopped on Instagram Live recently to offer her followers some strongly worded advice about plastic surgery.

“In August I got surgery and I removed 95% of my [biopolymers] … if you don’t know what it is, it’s a– shots. It was a really crazy process,” the rapper said, according to People. “All I’m going to say is that if you’re young — if you’re 19, 20, 21 — and sometimes you’re too skinny, and you be like, ‘Oh my god, I don’t have enough fat to put in my a–,’ so you result to a– shots, DON’T!” (The rapper previously opened up to GQ about receiving illegal injections in a basement apartment in Queens for $800.)

“When it comes to BBLs [Brazilian butt lifts], if y’all want advice from me, before you get your BBL done, you have to make sure your blood levels are all right,” she continued. “If a doctor says your blood levels are too low or you have diabetes or whatever, don’t do it.”

Cardi told her 144 million followers that she was addressing the procedure because “a lot of people thought as soon as I gave birth [to baby Wave in Sept. 2021], I got my body done.”

This week, the superstar also used her social media to clap back at a troll who questioned a video of her performing in a backyard at Art Basel, revealing that she was paid a cool million dollars for a 35-minute set at a private party.