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25 Nov 2022

Ask Billboard: Bruce Springsteen & Elton John Share Another Week of Chart Headlines

Submit questions about Billboard charts, as well as general music musings, to askbb@billboard.com. Please include your first and last name, as well as your city, state and country, if outside the U.S.

Or, tweet @gthot20.

Let’s open the latest mailbag.

Hi Gary,

Bruce Springsteen debuts at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart this week with Only the Strong Survive, scoring his 22nd top 10 album. He has notched top 10s in each of the last six decades, from 1970s to the 2020s. How rare is that feat, and are there any other notable chart achievements of his that we can celebrate this week?

Thanks,

Raditya Gunardisurya
Jakarta, Indonesia

Hi Raditya,

Springsteen is one of only three artists with newly charting top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 in each of the last six decades, having joined James Taylor when the former’s Letter to You launched at its No. 2 best in 2020. Paul McCartney made the elite club a trio (including his work with Wings) in 2021.

The three Rock and Roll Hall of Famers’ Billboard 200 top 10 totals by decade:
Paul McCartney: ’70s: 10 / ’80s: two / ’90s: one / ’00s: four / ’10s: three / ’20s: one (21 total)
Bruce Springsteen: ’70s: two / ’80s: five / ’90s: three / ’00s: six / ’10s: four / ’20s: two (22 total)
James Taylor: ’70s: six / ’80s: one / ’90s: one / ’00s: two / ’10s: two / ’20s: one (13 total)

Per the breakouts above, Springsteen, with the debut of the aptly titled Only the Strong Survive, becomes the only act to have earned multiple top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, ’00s, ’10s and ’20s.

Notably, Barbra Streisand, if she can notch a pair of top 10s in the ’20s, would surpass Springsteen’s streak (and potentially McCartney and Taylor’s, if they can each add a top 10 this decade) of multiple Billboard 200 top 10s in each of six decades, as she tallied more than one in each decade from the ’60s through the ’10s, having most recently reached the region in 2016. Here are Streisand’s decade-by-decade totals – with the fellow superstar, who boasts the most top 10s among soloists (34, second overall only to the Rolling Stones’ 37) having notched at least four top 10s in each of those decades: ’60s: nine / ’70s: seven / ’80s: six / ’90s: four / ’00s: four / ’10s: four.

Meanwhile, Springsteen’s latest chart feat – with Only the Strong Survive also new at No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums – accompanies that of another legend: Elton John, who crowns Adult Pop Airplay with “Hold Me Closer,” alongside Britney Spears. Similar to Springsteen’s new Billboard 200 accolade, the song itself traverses decades, as it reimagines the hook of John’s 1972 classic “Tiny Dancer” and the verses of his 1992 Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “The One.” John also upped his career Billboard Boxscore touring total to a near-record level, thanks to his three shows Nov. 17, 19 and 20 at Los Angeles’ Dodger Stadium.

Springsteen and John have long been linked on Billboard‘s surveys, even if they haven’t combined for any hits, dating to Springsteen’s first charted song. On the Hot 100 dated Sept. 20, 1975, Springsteen made his first appearance at No. 68 with “Born to Run.” One notch lower, John charted with an enduring single of his own: “Someone Saved My Life Tonight.”

Springsteen scored his first Hot 100 top 10, “Hungry Heart,” in December 1980, after John reached the tier that June with “Little Jeannie.” They also each earned top 10s in the same year in 1984-86, 1988 and 1994.

(As for their most-streamed songs in the U.S. to-date, according to Luminate, John’s “Rocket Man,” from 1972, has drawn 738 million official on-demand streams and Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” from 1984, 318.6 million.)

“He’s probably one of the nicest people in rock and roll I’ve ever met in my life,” John said of Springsteen in 1980 on the Australian TV show Countdown, helping introduce a performance of the latter’s “The River.” “One of the sweetest and sincerest people. At the moment in America, he’s the biggest cheese going and good luck to him, because someone that nice deserves it.”

25 Nov 2022

Jennifer Lopez Announces ‘This Is Me … Now‘ Album: ’We Captured Me at This Moment in Time’

It’s been 20 years since Jennifer Lopez dropped This Is Me … Then, and in honor of the set’s anniversary, the star has announced a follow-up to that album titled This Is Me … Now, set to drop next year.

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Calling it a “musical experience,” the project will chronicle the “emotional, spiritual and psychological journey” that Lopez has taken over the past two decades, according to a press release. In a teaser in which she announces This Is Me … Now, J.Lo says: “We captured me at this moment in time. If you have, like me at times, lost hope, almost given up, don’t. And that’s real. And I want to put that message out to the world.”

Lopez talked about this new album in her recent Vogue cover story describing it as a “culmination of who I am as a person and an artist.” She added: “People think they know things about what happened to me along the way, the men I was with — but they really have no idea, and a lot of times they get it so wrong. There’s a part of me that was hiding a side of myself from everyone. And I feel like I’m at a place in my life, finally, where I have something to say about it.”

This Is Me … Then — which featured tracks such as “The One” and “All I Have,” featuring LL Cool J — peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Dec. 14, 2002). After releasing a handful of singles and the soundtrack for her film Marry Me over the past near-decade, This Is Me … Now will mark J.Lo’s first album in eight years, following A.K.A. in 2014. The tracks on the 2023 album, whose exact release date has not yet been revealed, are described as “plaintive, confessional songs, reflections on the trials of her past, upbeat jams celebrating love and sex.”

See the exclusive This Is Me … Now teaser below:

23 Nov 2022

Geoff Wonfor, Director of Beatles ‘Anthology,’ Dies at 73

Geoff Wonfor, a Grammy-winning British filmmaker who directed the Beatles’ acclaimed “Anthology” documentary series and worked on the 1980s music program “The Tube” as well as several projects with Paul McCartney, has died at age 73.

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His death was confirmed Tuesday by daughter Sam Wonfor, who said he died in Newcastle, where he grew up. Additional details were not immediately available.

Released in the mid-1990s, “The Beatles Anthology” was an authorized, multimedia project that included an eight-part documentary, three double albums and a coffee table book. Wonfor spent 4 1/2 years on the film, which combined archival footage with new interviews with the then-three surviving Beatles (McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison, who died in 2001). Wonfor’s challenges included weaving in commentary from John Lennon, who had been murdered in 1980.

“He was very vocal (in interviews),” Wonfor told the Los Angeles Times in 1995. “I hit on the idea of listening to his interviews that were done … getting all the pertinent questions and answers to any year we were doing (in the documentary) and then pose the exact same question to the other three Beatles, so it looked like the four of them were answering the same questions, which of course they were.”

The Anthology helped renew worldwide obsession in a band that had hardly been forgotten and brought Wonfor and co-director Bob Smeaton a Grammy in 1997 for best long form music video.

Wonfor also directed the McCartney videos “In the World Tonight” and “Young Boy” and a McCartney concert video from the Cavern Club, the Liverpool venue where the Beatles played many of their early shows. He was on hand, too, for a Beatles “reunion” from the 1990s — a video of “Real Love,” a song left unfinished by Lennon that the remaining Beatles completed and recorded.

His other credits included “Band Aid 20,” a documentary about the anniversary re-recording of the British charity song “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and “Sunday for Sammy,” a tribute to the late British actor Sammy Johnson.

Wonfor had been prominent in British entertainment since the 1980s, when he directed a handful of episodes of “The Tube” and made a documentary about “Shanghai Surprise,” a feature film produced by Harrison and starring Madonna and Sean Penn. His work with Harrison would unexpectedly lead to the biggest undertaking of his career.

“I was at my dad’s and it was Paul McCartney who rang up and he says, ‘Hello there, you’re alright’? And I say, ‘Yeah, I’m fine,’” Wonfor explained during a 2018 appearance at the Newcastle Film Festival.

“He said, ‘I was talking to a mate of yours last night.’ I went, ‘Who the hell does he know that I know?’ He says, ‘A little guy called George Harrison.’ … And he says, ‘Anyway,’ and we talked long into the night and he says, ‘We want to do a history of the Beatles and you are that man.’”

23 Nov 2022

After ‘Embracing the Darkness’ & Confronting K-Pop Concerns, VERIVERY See Breakout Hit ‘Tap Tap’ as ‘A Fresh Start’

While making your debut into the K-pop industry is a battle in and of itself, carving your place in it is another conversation entirely that VERIVERY found required a series of experimenting and ultimately confronting harsh realities about themselves and their futures.

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After VERIVERY hit the K-pop scene in early 2018 with their feel-good, throwback-pop single “Ring Ring Ring,” the K-pop boy band dipped into singles that spanned into hard-hitting EDM, smooth-groove R&B, experimental electronica and more. The septet always had international expansion top of mind with a DIY mindset being hands-on with music they felt was relatable beyond core K-pop fans and creatively directing and editing some of their music videos and album packages. Despite fluctuating album sales and public reactions through the years, the group pushed into 2022 as their most ambitious yet with more music, touring and honesty than ever.

VERIVERY’s third major musical shift began in early 2021 with the release of their Series ‘O’ Round 1: Hall EP and the dramatic, dark electro-pop single “Get Away.” The new musical vision was brought to the group by their Korean record label Jellyfish Entertainment (home to fellow boy band VIXX, who have made a splash on various world-music Billboard charts) with the concept how young people face, fight against and embrace the darkness in themselves and the world at large.

With two EPs and their first full-length album Series ‘O’ Round 3: Whole released this past April, VERIVERY tell Billboard that they found themselves taking in their music’s messages to seriously reflect on surviving in the K-pop market and disappointments from the past. VERIVERY tell Billboard that they found themselves taking in their music’s messages to seriously reflect their innermost worries about surviving in the K-pop market and disappointments from the past. “The lifetime of an idol isn’t that long,” dancer-rapper Hoyoung says. “After being a member of VERIVERY for four years, we do have to think about the future.” Leader and eldest member Dongheon admits, “We were afraid for our future.”

After speaking the worst-case scenario out loud and pushing on regardless, VERIVERY returned last week with the new single “Tap Tap” off their Liminality – EP. LOVE. Instead of a new direction, the band returned to their rookie roots with another bright, bouncy single that boasted ’80s synth-rock production and unexpected sonic shifts. Almost like a rebirth, Liminality smashed their best sales records in days while “Tap Tap” took their first-ever No. 1-winning spot on Korea’s competitive music-chart program Show Champion. These shows act as signals to the K-pop industry that an artist has made an impact with the shocked tears the members shed while accepting their trophy all the more indicative of how important this moment was for the group.

“It took us 1,415 days to reach where we are at right now,” the group says in a joint statement to Billboard just moments after securing the win. “Looking back on that journey, it may seem like we’ve come full circle, but we think that viewing the win as a new start is much more important. We want to thank all the fans who have constantly pushed us to stride forward and do better through their love and support, and taking that into account we think it’s more fitting to view it as a fresh start so that we can begin paying back all those who have cheered us on by working even harder. Thank you to everyone who have made this possible.”

Read on for more from Dongheon, Hoyoung, Minchan, Yeonho, Gyehyeon, Yongseung and Kangmin about the work put into their 2022, facing fears, and where this new musical step will take them next.

You just wrapped your U.S. and Latin American tour last month. Were there any markers you had to know it was a successful tour?

HOYOUNG: Because we were going to so many cities, I want to make sure that a lot of people got to know VERIVERY and that we’re spreading VERIVERY’s name.

KANGMIN: I think what determines a successful world tour is what shows on the fans’ faces and how they felt.

GYEHYEON: For me, If the fans re-visit us, wherever we are on tour, I think that just defines like, “Wow, this is a successful tour.” Also, a successful tour is just completing it without anybody getting hurt.

Originally, VERIVERY was the first K-pop act to come back to tour the U.S. in late 2021, which was exciting, but a COVID infection cut it short. Did you take any different precautions or preparations this time?

HOYOUNG: We’re always doing exercises, especially vocal exercises. Actually, YEONHO has this tape that covers his mouth when he sleeps so he can breathe through his nose, it protects his throat. It’s keeping his throat a little more moisturized so that he can sing better.

YEONHO: Yeah, it helps when it comes to the big notes so I had to get to used to sleeping with that.

HOYOUNG: And we got to meet fans face-to-face this time, no more barriers in front of us. We could do hi-touch [high fives] and take photos with them. We did a fan sign in LA.

KANGMIN: We were kind of nervous because I can’t speak English! [Laughs]

YEONGSEUNG: Communication is so important.

True, but fans love you for things beyond language and you guys do a great job at expressing yourselves. Like, the Series ‘O’ era that included songs written by you and your first full-length album. How did you feel about the time period overall?

DONGHEON: After our last tour [ended in 2021], we were able to release multiple albums and, through that, I think our mindset got a little bit more chill and we were more relaxed. During tour, we had a lot of conversations with our members and a lot to talk about. We had some difficulties, but we were able to overcome that. And then throughout this tour, we were able to enjoy it more than ever.

What kind of difficulties did you have?

DONGHEON: Hm, well there were just the big and small stresses like jet lag and we weren’t able to control our mentality or health as well while we were on tour. That became a little sensitive. But just seeing our fans on tour allows us to be able to overcome that, and that mindset really changes throughout.

HOYOUNG: The main keyword to the Series ‘O’ was embracing the darkness in us. When we first heard that was our story for our next album, we thought a lot about how to try to deliver that to our fans. But as we started progressing through the albums, we found that we had a lot of time thinking about ourselves individually and about the darkness within us. I think that kind of made us think more maturely and grow up a bit into adults.

DONGHEON: Many people have just questions about their future and we were afraid for our future. We always think about our future and our team, our music, our dance. It can be very dark…

HOYOUNG: Adding a word to what DONGHEON said, after being a member of VERIVERY for four years we do think about the future because we know that the lifetime of an idol isn’t that long, to be honest right? We’re thinking about the future, thinking about us as a group and what more we can achieve. I think we’re very energetic, outgoing and active but all our members do have a lot on their minds. We have had some hard times with having too many thoughts in our brain but we talk a lot as a group to overcome that.

What do those talks look like? Is it at the label? In a dorm? At a bar?

HOYOUNG: We gather around a lot at the lounge [living room] and talk. Now that we’re all adults, even KANGMIN, we might have a little to drink… [Group laughs] But we really try to take those times after practice and rehearsals to try and reflect on our previous practices to make a better performance. Even when we fight, we try to finish any arguments on that day so that, as a team, there’s nothing that could split us apart or anything. The most that we can do as a group is always talking with each other, connect with each other member-to-member. I think that’s how our teamwork improved a lot. Our leader usually just says, “Should we have dinner?” That’s kind of the sign for “Let’s have a talk.”

Did you learn that habit from anyone or did that happen naturally in the team?

HOYOUNG: We’ve done that since we were trainees but, honestly speaking, as trainees we were too desperate to debut. We practiced alone just to survive, to be honest. But after DONGHEON came in to Jellyfish Entertainment, he helped us come together as a group. I think that’s how VERIVERY was formed. We have a lot of thanks to him and I know that the rest of the members all feel the same way that I do right now that being a leader isn’t an easy job but he’s handling everything.

Do you feel pressure as a leader, DONGHEON? Is there a different kind of pressure when expanding into new places like America?

DONGHEON: I’m flustered by the compliments. [Laughs] But it’s very hard because so many members have many ideas and many opinions. To be honest, it’s very hard, but I like it.

During Series ‘O,’, was there anything else you guys felt you needed to process individually versus as a group?

YONGSEUNG: In my case, we had to stop the last tour because of me. [YONGSEUNG and VERIVERY have a light laugh] I was very sad and disappointed in myself. It’s very hard to let that feeling go. So, I was very disappointed, but now I think I overcame that. This time, this tour is different. I exercise a lot with members and I practice a lot. So, I wanted to show the next version of VERIVERY on this tour. In fact, I feel a lot more comfortable now.

Will the Americas continue to be a focus for you guys?

HOYOUNG: America’s a place that we always thought we must go to; it just fits with us. The songs can be really relatable to the fans so it’s always been a place that we thought that we have to go so we’re thinking of coming back a lot.

MINCHAN: And I want to tell the international fans, that “I love you.” [Laughs] It’s a very important thing, right? At every show, I received so much energy from the fans so keeping up this momentum, we’re going to push right through and enjoy ourselves. We’ll keep going!

What’s next as you keep going further?

YONGSEUNG: We included a fully self-composed song in the full-length album. So, coming up next, expect new, self-composed songs.

Is that the vibe you guys are going for, trying to take a little more ownership of the music and concepts?

YONGSEUNG: On tour, we performed a song we made “Crack It,” we want to share more of our self-composed songs.

HOYOUNG: What I’m thinking is we’ve done some dark, I’m thinking that we’re going to do something bright now. We’re going through a lot of hard darkness and now going through a bright stage. I think that’s going to end up really good.

“Tap Tap” just dropped with HOYOUNG as a co-writer and is looking to be your biggest single yet. Tell me more about the viewpoint now with this song and Liminality – EP. LOVE.

YONGSEUNG: We’ve been through lots of things like concerts and our tour since we promoted our last single “Undercover.” This is an album coming off of those various experiences, as well as the first bright concept we’ve had in a while so we hope that it holds just as much meaning to fans as it does to us.

MINCHAN: It’s our first comeback with a bright concept ever since our debut era and I hope that we can prove to everyone that VERIVERY is able to pull off bright, happy concepts as well.

DONGHEON: I’m hoping that this album is able to provide a different experience as “Tap Tap” is a song that keeps you bouncing even in the winter. It’s a brighter, happier version of VERIVERY that people haven’t been seen in a while, so I hope the song leads to more opportunities for everyone to laugh a little more.

HOYOUNG: I’m excited to show to our VERRER how VERIVERY can pull off a brighter concept with almost four years under our belt.

What else do you want to tell VERRER fans at this point?

MINCHAN: I want to say thanks to all the fans who came to our show. We tried hard for this tour. Please look forward to what’s next.

GYEHYEON: With the bright, bouncy song that we’ve come back with, VERIVERY will make sure to provide everyone with tons of love so that we could all wrap up the year happily.

23 Nov 2022

Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda Debut in Top 10 on Regional Mexican Albums Chart

Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda extend their perfect top 10 streak on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Albums chart as De Hoy En Adelante, Que Te Vaya Bien debuts at No. 8 on the Nov. 26-dated list. It’s the 10th consecutive top 10 for the act — the entirety of its chart entries.

The 12-track set was released Nov. 11 via Fonovisa/UMLE. After its first tracking week ending Nov. 17, De Hoy En Adelante generated 2,000 equivalent album units, according to Luminate. Most of the album’s opening sum derives from streaming equivalent album units. That equates to 3.04 million on-demand official U.S. streams generated for the songs on the album.

On the Regional Mexican Albums chart, each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.

De Hoy En Adelante marks the return of the band to Regional Mexican Albums after a five-year hiatus, following the three-week champ Ni Diablo Ni Santo in June 2017. The new set comprises 11 songs plus a norteño cover of Mexican folk-alternative singer-songwriter Ed Maverick’s “Fuente de Ortiz” originally released in 2018.

De Hoy En Adelante adds a 10th straight top 10 to Julión Álvarez y Su Norteño Banda’s career account on Regional Mexican Albums, including five No. 1s. Here’s the complete list including the new arrival:

Peak, Title, Ddate, Weeks at No. 1
No. 7, Ni Lo Intentes, Sept. 17, 2011,
No. 5, Márchate Y Olvídame, Dec. 17, 2011,
No. 1, En Vivo, Sept. 22, 2012, (2 Weeks)
No. 1, Tu Amigo Nada Mas, March 30, 2013, (1 Week)
No. 2, Soy Lo Que Quiero: Indispensable, Feb. 15, 2014,
No. 1, El Aferrado, April 11, 2015, (7 Weeks)
No. 2, Lecciones Para El Corazón, Oct. 3, 2015,
No. 1, Mis Ídolos, Hoy Mis Amigos!!!, April 30, 2016, (2 Weeks)
No. 1, Ni Diablo Ni Santo, June 17, 2017, (3 Weeks)
No. 8, De Hoy En Adelante, Que Te Vaya Bien, Nov. 26, 2022,

Elsewhere, De Hoy En Adelante starts at No. 38 on the all-Latin genre Top Latin Albums chart.

The album yields a No. 1 on Regional Mexican Airplay: “Que Te Vaya Bien” lifts 4-1 in its seventh week. It earns the band its eighth leader there.

23 Nov 2022

Madonna to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of ‘Sex’ Book at Miami’s Art Basel

Madonna will ring in three decades of Sex at Miami’s Art Basel later this month.

The pop star’s 1992 erotic coffee table book is set to receive a 30th-anniversary re-release during the art show courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent and New York-based published Callaway. The new edition of Sex will be 800 pages long and come with its own art exhibition curated by Madonna and YSL’s creative director Anthony Vaccarello.

“I’d like to put you in a trance. ……………YSL presents SEX-Re-Release…Miami Nov 29- Dec 4,” Madonna shared on Instagram alongside a photo of herself with red hair, staring in the mirror while waring a nude-colored corset and tan fur coat. A separate post of the event’s invitation confirms the exhibit will be held at Yves Saint Laurent’s Rive Droite project.

With photography by the famous Stephen Meisel, Madonna originally released Sex on Oct. 21, 1992, as a sort of visual companion to her fifth studio album Erotica. The LP contained sexually charged singles like the title track, “Deeper and Deeper,” “Bad Girl” and “Fever” and ultimately bowed at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.

The book, meanwhile, created quite the stir as it spent three weeks at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List and became — according to her 2002 biography by Andrew Morton — the best-selling coffee table book of all time.

Last month, Madonna reflected on Sex‘s cultural impact in a separate Instagram post, writing in part, “I also wrote about my sexual fantasies and shared my point of view about sexuality in an ironic way. I spent the next few years being interviewed by narrow minded people who tried to shame me for empowering myself as a Woman. I was called a whore, a witch, a heretic and the devil.

“Now Cardi B can sing about her WAP. Kim Kardashian can grace the cover of any magazine with her naked ass and Miley Cyrus can come in like a wrecking ball,” Her Madgesty continued. “You’re welcome bi—es.”

Check out Madonna’s announcement below.

23 Nov 2022

6 Essential Tracks on Paulo Londra’s ‘Back to the Game’ Album: Editor’s Picks

After releasing a handful of singles throughout the year, Paulo Londra has officially dropped his highly anticipated album aptly titled Back to the Game.

The 16-track set marks the Argentine rapper, singer and songwriter’s first album in three years, following his debut album Homerun (2019), which debuted and peaked at No. 12 on Top Latin Albums.

In his first album, Londra leaned more on his core urban sound using elements of trap, freestyle, dembow, hip-hop and reggaeton. This time around, while the 24-year-old artist stays true to his essence with a cheeky reggaeton (“A Veces,” a collaboration with Feid), he also dabbles in punk rock (“Nublado” featuring Travis Barker) and R&B (“Noche de Novela” with Ed Sheeran).

“I’m back,” he wrote on social media. “This is from Paulo to those who’ve always been there, since when I would go to the plaza in Joaco to crossing paths for the second time with Ed Sheeran. As long as one follows their passion, no one can stop you. If you ever felt empty but today you want the people around you to smile or have fun, welcome to the club.”

Earlier this year, Londra officially announced his comeback after forging a new partnership with Warner Music Latin, which marked a new phase for his career. In November 2021, Londra settled a two-year legal battle with Cristian Salazar and producer Daniel Oviedo (Ovy on the Drums), with whom he co-founded Big Ligas in 2018. After filing dueling lawsuits in 2020, Big Ligas and Paulo Londra amicably resolved their differences in a Miami courtroom.

He marked his grand return to music, dropping one of his punk-rock anthems “Plan A” in March, his first single in three years, with which he previewed the new album and presented a fresh new sound for the artist. Since, he’s released other singles such as “Chance,” “Julieta,” “Party En El Barrio” and “Luces.”

The eclectic, star-studded set also features collabs with artists such as Timbaland, Duki and LIT Killah. Below, Billboard editors recommend six essential tracks on the new set.

23 Nov 2022

Aaron Carter’s Fiancée Melanie Martin Shares Emotional Post for Son’s First Birthday

Aaron Carter‘s fiancée Melanie Martin celebrated the first birthday of her son with the late singer on Tuesday (Nov. 22), just a few weeks after the “I Want Candy” star tragically passed away at age 34.

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“Happy birthday to my baby boy Prince Lyric Carter,” Martin wrote alongside a sweet slideshow of Carter with the bundle of joy. “Today is going to be a tough one for me but I know your daddy is playing birthday songs for you up in heaven I love you baby boy!!!”

In the wake of the “That’s How I Beat Shaq” singer’s passing, his older brother Nick Carter has launched a donation fund for On Our Sleeves, a children’s mental health charity, in his memory.

A representative from Aaron Cart’er management team confirmed his death to Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter on Nov. 5. No cause of death was given. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department told The Hollywood Reporter at the time that a suspicious death took place at the address of Carter’s residence but could not confirm the identity.

“Aaron my darling, I miss you so much my Angel. I don’t know how I can go on with out you, but I hope you can give me that strength somehow,” Martin wrote on Instagram following her fiancé’s death. “I will miss you forever like the stars miss the sun in the morning skies.”

She continued in a separate post, “Heaven has gained and angel and a piece of my heart.”

23 Nov 2022

Run-DMC Perform ‘Christmas in Hollis’ for First Time in 2 Decades for Disney Holiday Special: Exclusive Video

‘Tis the season, and The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration is returning to ABC this Sunday (Nov. 27). The Derek and Julianne Hough-hosted event is jam-packed with incredible performances from artists of all genres.

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In a special moment during the night, Run-DMC will perform “Christmas in Hollis” for the first time in nearly two decades, as seen in the exclusive Billboard clip below. The group is introduced by fellow performers The Black Eyed Peas, who will take the stage to deliver renditions of “A Cold Christmas” and “I Gotta Feeling.”

Becky G, Chloe Flower, Ne-Yo, David Foster with Katharine McPhee, Il Volo, Jordin Sparks, Maren Morris, Meghan Trainor and the Hough siblings will also perform at the special, filmed from Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Resort in California, delivering musical mixes of holiday classics and cheerful new hits. The annual show will also highlight heartwarming family stories and offer sneak peeks at what’s new around The Walt Disney Company.

The Wonderful World of Disney: Magical Holiday Celebration will air Sunday (Nov. 27) at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, and be available to stream in full on Hulu and Disney+ the next day.

Check out a sneak peek of Run-DMC’s performance of “Christmas in Hollis” below.

23 Nov 2022

JoJo Siwa Recalls Elton John Calling Her After She Came Out: ‘Hello, JoJo Darling’

JoJo Siwa reflected on her friendship with Elton John while attending the singer’s final U.S. tour date in Los Angeles on Sunday.

“I remember the first time I ever got to meet Elton was backstage at one of his concerts and I got to talk to him for 45 minutes,” she told E! News at L.A.’s famed Dodger Stadium. “I was only 15 and that conversation changed my life forever.”

Almost half a decade later, the 19-year-old got the surprise of a lifetime when Sir Elton called her after she publicly came out, saying, “”Hello JoJo, darling. This is Elton.’ And I was like, ‘Mom, get the camera out. It’s Elton John.’

“To see the way that the world accepted Elton John for who he was, Freddie Mercury for who he was,” Siwa continued, “All of those people who came before me in the gay community made me feel like, ‘Oh, it’s going to be OK. Those people are who they are, people know them and people love them.’”

Siwa hit the red carpet wearing a re-creation of the Rocket Man’s famous orange plumed costume with devil horns, and she wasn’t the only star who made an appearance during Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodgers Stadium, which streamed live on Disney+. Dua Lipa joined John for their 2021 Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hit “Cold Heart (PNAU Remix),” while Kiki Dee was on hand for “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” and Brandi Carlile duetted with her pal on “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.”

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