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Mariah Carey is still out of commission as she battles a tough case of the flu, with the superstar announcing Friday (Dec. 13) that she needs to cancel two more shows on her holiday tour as she recovers. In a message posted to X and Instagram Stories the morning of her slotted performance in New […]
Jimmy Fallon and Jonas Brothers’ Yuletide team-up “Holiday” ascends to the top of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart (dated Dec. 21). Fallon earns his first Adult Contemporary No. 1 – and his first ruler on a Billboard radio airplay chart – with his second top 10 on the tally, after “Wrap Me Up,” with Meghan Trainor, […]
Sabrina Carpenter claims her fourth No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop Airplay chart – all earned in 2024 – as “Taste” tops the radio ranking dated Dec. 21.
The song, released on Island Records and promoted to radio by Republic, follows Carpenter’s “Please Please Please,” which led Pop Airplay for two weeks in September; “Espresso” (three weeks, July); and “Feather” (one week, April).
Carpenter joins only Doja Cat and Lady Gaga in having scored four Pop Airplay leaders in a single year, dating to the chart’s 1992 launch. Doja Cat reigned in 2022 with “Need to Know,” “Woman” and “Vegas” and as featured on Post Malone’s “I Like You (A Happier Song).” Gaga dominated in 2009 with “Just Dance” (featuring Colby O’Donis), “Poker Face,” “LoveGame” and “Paparazzi.”
Carpenter this year and Gaga in 2009 are the only artists with as many as four Pop Airplay No. 1s in a single year all in lead roles.
“Taste,” meanwhile, is the third Pop Airplay No. 1 from Carpenter’s LP Short n’ Sweet. The album, released in August, is the first to spin off at least three Pop Airplay leaders since Selena Gomez’s Revival in 2016, and the 10th to achieve the feat in the chart’s history.
Albums With 3 or More Pop Airplay No. 1s:Artist, Album, No. 1s, Year(s)
Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet: “Espresso,” “Please Please Please,” “Taste” (2024)
Selena Gomez, Revival: “Good for You” (feat. A$AP Rocky), “Same Old Love,” “Hands to Myself” (2015-16)
Justin Bieber, Purpose: “What Do You Mean?,” “Sorry,” “Love Yourself” (2015-16)
Maroon 5, Overexposed: “Payphone” (feat. Wiz Khalifa), “One More Night,” “Daylight” (2012-13)
Katy Perry, Teenage Dream: “California Gurls” (feat. Snoop Dogg), “Teenage Dream,” “Firework,” “E.T.” (feat. Kanye West), “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” “The One That Got Away” (2010-12) (*The album’s The Complete Confection reissue generated an additional No. 1, “Wide Awake.”)
Lady Gaga, The Fame: “Just Dance” (feat. Colby O’Donis), “Poker Face,” “LoveGame,” “Paparazzi” (2009)
Justin Timberlake, FutureSex/LoveSounds: “SexyBack,” “My Love” (feat. T.I.), “What Goes Around…Comes Around,” “Summer Love” (2006-07)
Avril Lavigne, Let Go: “Complicated,” “Sk8er Boi,” “I’m With You” (2002-03)
Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill: “Ironic,” “You Learn,” “Head Over Feet” (1996)
Ace of Base, The Sign: “All That She Wants,” “The Sign,” “Don’t Turn Around” (1993-94)
“I called it Short n’ Sweet for multiple reasons,” Carpenter mused to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe ahead of the album’s release. “It was not because I’m vertically challenged [‘5 feet, to be exact,’ per ‘Taste’]. It was really, like, I thought about some of [my] relationships, and how some of them were the shortest I’ve ever had, and they affected me the most.”
All charts dated Dec. 21 will update on Billboard.com Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Donning a fitted navy blue suit and with a cocktail in hand, Joey Bada$$ stands to address the lucky few patrons invited to dine with him inside New York’s lavish Caribbean fusion restaurant Tatiana By Kwame Onwuachi. Braised oxtail, honeynut piri piri salad and half-drunken palomas blanket each table inside the dimly lit eatery. Industry luminaries like KidSuper’s Colm Dillane, and Cordae can be spotted mingling amongst the crowd, but as Joey stands, a powerful hush falls over each table.
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Joey and his longtime collaborator Sophia Chang remind everyone why they’re here, in support of something bigger. The dinner – sponsored by Tres Generaciones who also awarded the rapper with the Impact Award at Billboard’s Power Players Event last September – is to support Joey’s ImpactMENtorship program, which launched last year to provide free mentorship and support for men of color.
“I think people sleep on the fact of how important it is, especially for communities of color, to have proper representation,” Joey tells the crowd as silverware and glasses clatter around him. “I’ve been navigating this industry for the last 12 years of my life, and every room and every table I come into, the circumstances are the same. There’s not enough people who look like [us] in positions of leadership.”
While patrons begin to applaud in approval, Joey quiets that down to continue his stirring speech.
“This ain’t about me,” He says. “Making music is cool, having platinum records and stuff like that is cool. Starring in TV shows and all of that, it’s cool. But this, this is my greatest creation to date.”
While Joey also thanks everyone for attending, the Pro Era leader has another big announcement: Next semester he’ll be serving as the first Artist Scholar in Residence at Columbia University’s Edmund W. Gordon Institute. This now marks the rapper’s second residency at a prestigious university, having been an Artist in Residence at New York University’s Tisch School back in October.
Teaching at the collegiate level is just the latest feather in Joey’s cap. The Bed-Stuy Brooklyn rapper-turned actor-turned-philanthropist has been stacking up artistic accolades for over a decade. After debuting some serious acting chops in 2016’s Mr. Robot, Joey Bada$$ took a brief hiatus from music in 2019 to explore that outlet. The following years found him delving entirely into 50 Cent’s Power universe as the fan-favorite character Unique in Book III: Raising Kanan. Come 2022, Joey finally got back in the booth and dropped off 2000, the follow-up to his seminal mixtape 1999. The point is, the polymath has a lot going on. He’s even got a new album due out in 2025. When I spoke with Joey earlier in the week, it took a moment for the busy multi-hyphenate to register why I was chatting with him.
“Oh OK, so we’re talking about that,” Joey says when I mention the Gordon Institute. Long story short, Joey hosted his first annual Impact Summit with them back in June, and the school reached back out to him following its success. “One plus one just equaled to two,” Joey quips.
Billboard spoke to Bada$$ about his recurring mentorship, his new residency and creating a safe space for men of color.
What about this opportunity are you most excited about?
I’m just excited to expand and just to kinda create a new — how can I say it — a new norm for people like me. I don’t think people expect rappers to be doing this type of thing, or rappers to be scholars themselves. I’m just kinda excited about challenging the status quo.
At your IMPACT Mentorship summit, you spoke about the importance of creating a safe space for men of color. In your opinion, how does education factor into that? How can education be more inclusive?
Mentorship is a matter of exchanging information and providing wisdom for people who are looking for it. A slept-on idea is the confidence that it gives people, especially men of color. We grew up in this world where we’re told our ideas or opinions or even our emotions are not valid. So to be sharing space with people who look like us, who are further along on these paths we may wanna take, means everything/ Sometimes, people just need reassurance because they’ve never gotten it before.
Other rappers like Lupe Fiasco have also taught at the collegiate level. What role do you think education plays in hip-hop?
I think it plays one of the biggest roles. Hip-hop was founded in the beginning as a means of spreading messages through communities. The first rappers were, in every sense of the word, neighborhood reporters. So I think education is key, and hip-hop is the channel that we can spread a lot of information quickly.
As a high school dropout yourself, how has education come back into your own life and shaped you as your career has gone on?
Education is everything. Your ideology is a reflection of the education you get. It affects your mindset, which affects the way you navigate the world. You’re talking to someone who dropped out of high school and never got his high school diploma, but who is now having residencies at Ivy League schools. That was all with the self-education I had to pursue, and it’s clearly made all of the difference in my life. I shouldn’t be here, statistically speaking.
At what point did you realize that you had to seek out that eduction yourself?
When you’re seeking growth, you realize that education is a vital part of that process. Otherwise, you’re just waiting on experience. Experience doesn’t necessarily happen every day. Sometimes, it takes months in between something significantly happening to you or in your life that you learn from and it’s a lot of chop wood, carry water, same thing every day. So, in that interim, there’s things like creativity and education which ultimately pushes you towards that growth space. I guess that’s how it happened for me, I’ve always been attracted to self improvement. I call myself a self-improvement junkie. I’m always looking for ways to better myself.
JOEY BADA$$
Will Vaultz
Do you have a message for young people who might not feel seen or heard in more mainstream education spaces across the country, like the classroom?
I’m not sure if I have a message for them apart from, “Don’t give up.” Keep trying and know that you are not alone. That was one of the biggest lessons I had to learn through my time and experiences of feeling like I wasn’t heard, it was realizing I was not the first and I was not alone. The more that I vocalized or I fought for my right to speak, the more those people came out from the shadows. If there’s anything, I’d tell them don’t be discouraged.
Do you think a good education can foster more creativity? How can learning make art better?
Yeah, I always talk about this concept of walking around with this bucket of inspiration, and we all have it. We all pull from it to create or to show up however we show up. I think one of the main ways to fill that bucket up is with knowledge or education. For me, if I find myself having writer’s block, one of the things I do to refill the bucket is pick up a book. I go fill my head up with something that I didn’t have before.
The Wanted‘s Max George told fans that, unfortunately, he’ll be spending Christmas in the hospital. The 36-year-old singer posted an image of himself giving a thumbs up and smiling from a gurney on Thursday (Dec. 12) along with a lengthy message explaining his condition. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, […]
LL Cool J has teamed up with The Skateroom to launch a series of limited-edition skateboard decks inspired by his new The Force album.
The vibrant collection of decks boasts 300 in total between The Solo Deck and The Triptych models, which combine the cultures of music and skating with art. Released on Friday morning (Dec. 13), each collector’s item purchase comes with a certificate of authenticity autographed by LL Cool J himself.
“Skateboarding, music, and art are about breaking boundaries and rewriting the rules. Collaborating with The Skateroom on these limited-edition decks honors The FORCE and the culture that made me, while sparking the next wave of creativity. These decks are for those bold enough to push what’s possible and make their mark. Let’s ride.”
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A portion of proceeds from sales will benefit the skating community as funds will go toward skate NGOs, new skateparks, and skateboarding programs helping the youth.
“At The Skateroom, we believe in the transformative power of art and skateboarding to inspire change,” said Skateroom Founder Charles-Antoine Bodson. “Collaborating with LL COOL J is an incredible honor, as his legacy transcends music and embodies the bold creativity we strive to celebrate. This partnership is about more than skate decks — it’s about bridging communities, empowering youth, and proving that art, music, and skateboarding can create real social impact.”
The New York rap legend may have hung up his skateboard trucks years ago, but 2024 ended up being a busy year for LL Cool J.
The 56-year-old returned in September with his first album since 2013 with The Force. Produced by Q-Tip, the LP debuted at No. 50 on the Billboard 200 with features from Snoop Dogg, Nas, Eminem and more.
Check out the decks below and shop them here.
LL Cool J teams up with The Skateroom for exclusive limited-edition skate decks inspired by new album, The Force.
Daniil Lavrovski
Musical inspiration comes from so many different places. And while many pop musicians will tell you that some portion of their desire to write songs stems from an obsession with the Beatles, not many of them cite the country jamboree “Rocky Raccoon” as their guiding light.
“When I was very, very young, my dad played me ‘Rocky Raccoon’ for the first time and I was so mesmerized by that song and the songwriting of it all that I fell in love with Paul McCartney,” Sabrina Carpenter told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show on Thursday night (Dec. 12). “I was convinced that was my husband, my future husband,” she added of the now-82-year-old pop icon.
“But he was quite old and I was so young I didn’t understand that he was much older than me because I was looking at all these photos,” she recalled thinking. “No, he’s young, he’s only like 10 years older than me. I didn’t understand math… I was a child.”
Then, when she grew up, Carpenter said she fell in love with McCartney’s songwriting, and, eventually, she met Sir Paul, as evidenced by an awards show candid of the two Colbert pulled out from behind his desk. So, Colbert wondered, what was it like meeting her lifelong musical hero.
“I just formed tears in my eyes and he was just so normal and casual and was so charming,” she said. “It felt like I was entering an alternate universe… like the Upside Down vibes? Like Stranger Things, but a lot happier than Stranger Things.” What isn’t strange, Carpenter noted, is that in every room McCartney enters he makes everyone feel “seen and heard,” which was inspiring to see from someone she’s “obsessed” with.
To celebrate Carpenter’s six Grammy nominations, Colbert offered the singer an espresso martini in honor her Billboard Hot 100 No. 3 hit “Espresso,” which was nominated for record of the year and best pop solo performance; her No. 1 hit “Please Please Please” was nominated for song of the year and her album Short n’ Sweet is up for best pop vocal album and album of the year and she is also nominated for best new artist.
“I would love that,” Carpenter said as Colbert read off the list of noms and she challenged him to a boozy caffeine chugfest. “This truly is my first time [attending the Grammy Awards]. I always told myself I never wanted to go until I was nominated and I didn’t think it would be for all those categories, which is really special. So I’m excited.”
Carpenter said that, for now, she’s just trying to “vibe it out” and enjoy the ride, but predicted that “in five years [I’ll] look back on this moment be like ‘wow, so much happened at once.’ It’s hard to process it in the moment.” That said, Carpenter, 25, added that she feels incredibly lucky because music is all she’s ever wanted to do. “Writing songs is my favorite thing in the world, so the fact that I could do it and people listen is sentimental but it’s a gift so I’m very grateful,” she said.
Talk eventually turned to Carpenter’s entertaining new Netflix holiday special, A Nonsense Christmas, with Lord of the Rings obsessive Colbert mentioning that none other than Samwise Gamgee — actor Sean Astin — plays Santa in the singer’s holiday variety show. “Do you know him as Samwise Gamgee?” Colbert asked as Carpenter covered her face and blushed.
“Have you ever seen a Lord of the Rings movie? Answer the question,” Colbert asked with rising alarm. “Do you want to know how I know him? From Stranger Things,” Carpenter giggled. “For me he’s Bob… So for me, I was like, ‘Bob wants to be Santa?! That’s epic.’ But you are from a different generation,” she added as Colbert threw his head back and guffawed, grabbing Carpenter’s hand for a sweet kiss.
Watch Carpenter on The Late Show below.
Machine Gun Kelly is all up in his holiday emotions this Christmas. The rapper-turned-rocker gave Wham!’s snowy season classic “Last Christmas” a revved-up, skatepark vibe for Wednesday night’s A Motown Christmas special on NBC. With his hair knotted up in a pair of double-dutch braids and rocking a baggy black suit with white flames at […]
Pozer has shared his psych-influenced new single “Aquatic,” following a year of major commercial and critical breakthroughs. The song (which you can hear below) arrives less than a month after the Croydon artist teamed up with AJ Tracey on collaborative track “Heaterz,” which sampled “Gunshot Riddim” by pioneering grime producer Ironsoul. The 22-year-old has also […]
Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre dropped their Missionary album on Friday (Dec. 13) via Death Row Records, Aftermath Entertainment and Interscope Records. Missionary features previously released singles “Gorgeous” (featuring Jhené Aiko), “Outta da Blue” (featuring Alus) and “Another Part of Me” (featuring Sting). “Gorgeous” helped the iconic West Coast hip-hop duo return to Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop […]
