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Wednesday night’s (Nov. 20) 58th annual Country Music Association Awards showcased the best and brightest that country has to offer, from its rising stars to a moving tribute to the man they call the King of Country, George Strait.
It also featured multiple appearances from fresh-to-the-genre rapper-turned-crooner Post Malone, as well as a couple spotlight moments for Jelly Roll, who cemented his status as one of the brightest, most inspiring singers in Nashville when he held his own with Brooks & Dunn during a performance of their inspiring gospel-tinged track “Believe.”
Malone and Chris Stapleton kicked things off with their duet “California Sober,” followed by new artist of the year winner Megan Moroney’s glitzy “Am I Okay?” and Shaboozey’s ramble through his ballad “Highway,” which gave way to his 18-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash “A Bar Song (Tipsy).”
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Other notable duets came from Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan on “Cowboys Cry Too,” Thomas Rhett and Teddy Swims mashing up “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Woman” and “Lose Control,” and Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood’s “I’m Gonna Love You.”
Though he went into the night with seven nominations, entertainer of the year winner Morgan Wallen was a no-show, while Stapleton had a great night, winning three of the top five prizes, including single of the year and song of the year for “White Horse.”
If you missed some, or all, of the action, check out all of the 2024 CMA Awards performances below.
Post Malone and Chris Stapleton
The dynamic duo opened the show in style with a run through their weed-is-acceptable anthem from Posty’s hit debut country album, F-1 Trillion.
Megan Moroney
The new artist of the year honoree brought the glam with a bedazzled performance of the title track from her latest album, Am I Okay?
Shaboozey
For a minute there it seemed like this year’s breakthrough country superstar might eschew his ubiquitous hit in favor of the more contemplative new single, “Highway.” No worries, though, he also came through with a high-spirited take on “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” that had the all-star crowd at Bridgestone Arena dancing and singing along.
Ella Langley and Riley Green
After winning musical event of the year before the broadcast, the duo performed their honored old-school duet, “You Look Like You Love Me,” with Langley moseying to the stage after starting out on the arena floor as she sang-talked her way to the barroom set on the main stage. Green followed suit, making the same slow walk with his trusty acoustic slung across his chest.
Thomas Rhett and Teddy Swims
Dressed in their finest black leathers, Rhett and Swims started in the venue’s backstage area and slow walked into the spotlight for a rumble through the former’s soulful “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Woman” from Rhett’s seventh studio album, About a Woman. Keeping the love vibes going, they pivoted to Swims’ equally impassioned Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit “Lose Control.”
Luke Combs
Combs lit up the stage with his Twisters soundtrack hit “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” barreling through the rock-tinged track on a set featuring giant rusty oil derricks, towering pyro effects and digital lightning flashing behind him.
Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan
Ballerini and Kahan performed their duet “Cowboys Cry Too” — the lead single from Ballerini’s recently released fifth album, Patterns — live for the first time together on TV.
Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood
With images of snow-capped mountains behind them, Johnson and Underwood gave us all the feels with their moving duet from the deluxe edition of his 2023 Leather album.
Chris Stapleton
The night’s big winner proved why he’s a humble Nashville favorite son with an unadorned, mesmerizing performance of his Higher ballad “What Am I Gonna Do,” accompanied by his “secret weapon,” wife singer/songwriter Morgane Stapleton.
Kacey Musgraves
Musgraves didn’t need anything besides her trusty acoustic and her bell-clear voice to strum her way through the wonder-of-the-universe single “The Architect” from this year’s Deeper Well album.
Brooks & Dunn and Jelly Roll
The triple-threat trio brought the CMAs to church with their emotional, soaring performance of the beloved duo’s gospel-tinged “Believe,” backed by a full orchestra and swaying choir.
Lainey Wilson
The evening’s co-host took the crowd to a nighttime tailgate party with her impassioned run through her latest single, “4x4xU,” surrounded by roaring campfires and glittering stars.
Bailey Zimmerman
Injecting some rock energy into the proceedings, Zimmerman cut loose with his twangy “New to Country” on a set accented by a four-wheeler, his initials in towering red letters and a bunch of Solo cup-swigging bros playing beer pong with a wrestler.
George Strait tribute featuring Lainey Wilson, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum and Chris Stapleton
The beloved King of Country got his proper respect during a nine-minute, all-star tribute that kicked off with Wilson performing “Amarillo By Morning,” followed by Johnson’s take on “Give It Away,” Lambert and McCollum joining in on “Troubadour” and the Country Music Hall of Famer himself popping out with Stapleton for their collab, “Honky Tonk Hall of Fame.”
Ashley McBryde
McBryde’s reverential tribute to late country outlaw Kris Kristofferson via his classic “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” brought a hush over the arena as her crystalline voice was accompanied by a series of pictures of the beloved singer who died at 88 in September.
Luke Bryan
The American Idol judge and night’s co-host kept it simple with a bare bones, earnest run through his top 5 Country Airplay hit, “Love You, Miss You, Mean It.”
Eric Church
In his ongoing quest to keep a light on those Americans in his home state of North Carolina impacted by Hurricane Helene, Church played “Darkest Hour,” a song he released last month to help with recovery efforts. The impassioned Van Morrison-like ballad, which found Church backed by a horn and string section and choir, featured projected images from the aftermath of the devastating storm.
Editor’s note: At press time Post Malone’s solo performance of his ballad “Yours,” Jelly Roll and Keith Urban’s team-up on “Liar” and the “American Girl” finale with Dierks Bentley, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull and Bronwyn Keith-Hynes were not available on the CMAs YouTube feed.
Beyoncé‘s “Diva” nears the No. 1 spot on the TikTok Billboard Top 50 chart, but it’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ “Maps” that remains atop the Nov. 23-dated tally for a seventh week.
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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 from Nov. 11-17. Activity on TikTok is not included in Billboard charts except for the TikTok Billboard Top 50.
“Maps” again reigns over Alphaville’s “Forever Young”; the pair of tunes have been Nos. 1 and 2 for six weeks in a row, dating back to the Oct. 19 ranking.
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But while the top three had also been static for four straight weeks, with Akon’s “Akon’s Beautiful Day” at No. 3 during that span, the top three gets a shake-up in the form of Beyoncé’s “Diva,” which jumps 6-3 in its fourth week on the ranking (“Akon’s Beautiful Day,” meanwhile, drops to No. 8).
TikTok uploads showing off creators’ diva-esque behavior continues to drive the ascension of “Diva,” originally released on Beyoncé’s 2008 album I Am…Sasha Fierce.
In the week ending Nov. 14, “Diva” sported an 11% gain in official U.S. steams to 2.6 million earned, according to Luminate.
Aphex Twin’s “QKThr” rises back to its No. 4 peak (after initially attaining it on the Oct. 26 ranking), while Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” rounds out the top five, leaping 7-5. Carey returns to the top five at virtually the same time as she did last year, as the holiday standard first hit No. 5 on the Nov. 25, 2023, tally, the first holiday season of the TikTok Billboard Top 50’s existence.
Other holiday-related moves include Wham!’s “Last Christmas” (down 13-14) and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” (up 22-21).
Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True” reaches a new peak within the top 10, rising 8-6 in the song’s third week on the list. Concurrently the multimetric Billboard Hot 100 chart’s greatest gainer in streaming (up 25% to 23.5 million streams, good for No. 1 on the Streaming Songs ranking), “That’s So True” remains driven by lip-synching content and other edits.
And one song hits the top 10 of the TikTok Billboard Top 50 for the first time: Grace McGuigan’s cover of “Amazing Grace,” which launches 21-10 in its second week. McGuigan’s cover of the religious standard, given a wide release earlier this month, has been used in a variety of ways on TikTok, from post-U.S.-election content to sports teams’ uploads and much more.
See the full TikTok Billboard Top 50 here. 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.
Allow Snoop Dogg to be the soundtrack to your Black Friday shopping spree. The West Coast icon is set to close out season three of Amazon’s Amazon Music Live series with a career-spanning performance on Black Friday (Nov. 29).
Following the conclusion of the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders Black Friday Football game on Amazon Prime Video, Snoop will take the stage at 7 p.m. ET.
As a lover of both the NFL and hip-hop, it’s only fitting Snoop is closing out season three. The Doggfather’s performance will be live-streamed on Prime Video as well as Twitch.
The Death Row legend is slated to run through classics from his decorated catalog and give fans a taste of his upcoming joint album with Dr. Dre titled Missionary. Snoop follows in the footsteps of previous AML performers such as Big Sean and Jelly Roll this season. Girl group TWICE is set to perform on Thursday (Nov. 21), and will be the first K-pop group to take the Amazon Music Live stage.
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Before Missionary hits streaming services on Dec. 13, Snoop and Dre gave fans a sneak peek of the LP during a live episode of Drink Champs at ComplexCon in Las Vegas over the weekend.
The early returns saw the project draw rave reviews, as LeBron James, Jamie Foxx, Travis Kelce, Tony Yayo, Russ and more celebrities gave Snoop Dogg his flowers in his IG comment section.
Missionary marks the reuniting of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on a full-length project for the first time since Snoop’s 1993 Doggystyle debut album. The hitmakers have kept details of the LP on the low, but some special guests expected to appear on the album include Sting and Jelly Roll.
Jelly Roll raved about landing the collaboration in an October interview with Bootleg Kev, during which he confirmed his cameo.
“I won’t say anything about the record because he didn’t, but man, it’s special. It is really good,” he said. “I’m legitimately on the Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre album. It’s crazy. It’s unreal. Dude, Jimmy [Iovine] hits John [presumably Jelly Roll’s manager John Meneilly] and says, ‘Can we get on a FaceTime with Jelly Roll and Dre?’ I’m like, ‘Dr. Dre?’ I get on a FaceTime from my back porch. I’m like a kid. Jimmy’s there and I’m already like, ‘I cannot believe it’s Jimmy Iovine.’”
The Illinois Supreme Court has overturned Jussie Smollett’s 2021 conviction for allegedly staging a racist and homophobic attack on himself in 2019, ruling on Thursday (Nov. 21) that his rights had been violated when a special prosecutor stepped in to retry him despite the Cook County State’ Attorney’s Office initially dropping all charges against him.
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“We are aware that this case has generated significant public interest and that many people were dissatisfied with the resolution of the original case and believed it to be unjust,” the court wrote in its decision, according to The Chicago Tribune. “Nevertheless, what would be more unjust than the resolution of any one criminal case would be a holding from this court that the State was not bound to honor agreements upon which people have detrimentally relied.”
The decision comes more than five years after the singer-actor first reported that two men had assaulted him, yelled racist and homophobic slurs and placed a noose around his neck in downtown Chicago. Two years later, a jury found Smollett — who is Black and gay — guilty of five of six counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly lying to police about the incident, with the prosecution accusing him of hiring the two men to attack him because he was unhappy with his employer’s response to hate mail he’d received, according to the Associated Press.
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In addition to 30 months of probation, Smollett — who has maintained his innocence — was ordered to pay $130,160 in restitution and sentenced to 150 days in jail, which he never served due to the lengthy appeals process that has played out in the years since. A lower court previously upheld the convictions in a split 2-1 decision, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear the actor’s appeal — and on Thursday, sided in his favor.
Billboard has reached out to Smollett’s lawyer and rep for comment.
The most crucial element of the Supreme Court’s ruling was the fact that Cook County had originally dropped the charges against him — despite brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo testifying that Smollett had indeed paid them to carry out the attack — citing that the star had forfeited his $10,000 bond and done community service. The move sparked national debate over State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s handling of the case, from which she’d recused herself.
As national outcry increased, former Cook County Judge Michael Toomin appointed former U.S. attorney Dan Webb as special prosecutor amid scrutiny around the decision. Webb eventually refiled the charges, which Smollett’s legal team has countered by arguing that double jeopardy was attached when he forfeited his $10,000 bail bond.
Again, Smollett has maintained that he was not behind the attack, testifying at his trial in 2021 that “there was no hoax.” In April 2022, he declared his innocence once again on his song “Thank You God…,” rapping, “Just remember this, this ain’t that situation/ You think I’m stupid enough to kill my reputation?/ Just to look like a victim, like it’s something fun/ Y’all better look at someone else, you got the wrong one.”
V is doubling down on holiday releases this year, with the BTS star announcing a new seasonal duet with Park Hyo Shin titled “Winter Ahead” Thursday (Nov. 21). Arriving Nov. 29 ahead of V’s highly anticipated “White Christmas” collaboration with Bing Crosby, “Winter Ahead” is described in a release as a jazz-pop collaboration inspired by […]
P!nk is celebrating the end of her epic Summer Carnival tour. The over-the-top global outing that kicked off in June 2023 in Bolton, England and wrapped up on Monday (Nov. 18) in Orlando played to more than 3.6 million people and grossed nearly $470 million.
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“And just like that… it’s over. 131 shows. 98 cities. 15 countries. 4 million people. A lifetime of memories,” the singer wrote on Instagram alongside a video compilation of special moments from the tour featuring footage from the concerts and behind-the-scenes bits with her kids, husband and crew.
“I may joke all of the time, but this s–t is no joke,” she says in voiceover in the compilation. “This has been the hardest, most physically, mentally and spiritually ambitious show I have ever put on. Two years of galloping at top speed around the globe and back again. This crew, all of these beautiful people that never sleep, work their butts off. They build this city, break it down, move it on, light it, make it sound good. They build me up as well. They really are my family.”
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The proof is in the footage, in which the many parts of the P!nk machine dress, prep and comfort her in the midst of the tour that saw the singer playing stadiums around the world and putting on a technicolor spectacular featuring her signature high-flying, acrobatic wire work, neon flamingo scooters, mega-trampolines and plenty of heartfelt moments.
“And it is the most magical, beautiful, impossible unbelievable thing to be a part of,” she continues in the voiceover. “I can’t believe what we’ve done.” The athletic endeavor wasn’t without its aches and pains, with P!nk lamenting at one point, “I hurt, I feel like s–t! I’m so tired of being inside… so many moving parts.”
In the end, she wrote on Instagram, it was all well worth it. “This show tested me in every way; my body, mind, and soul. It’s the most physically, mentally and spiritually ambitious show I’ve ever put on. It’s been really, really hard, but every moment has been worth it for the memories we’ve created together,” she said.
“I know I say thank you a lot, but thank you will never be enough. Your energy, love, commitment and passion are why we do this every night. Why I leave it all out there, every time. You have created a safe space with me where we can all belong. A world where we can put down our armor and our walls and just be. Breathe. Scream. Cry. Laugh. Feel. Celebrate. Mourn. Rage.”
She again thanked her crew and fans, those who made it out, and those who couldn’t this time. “Thank you for creating this incredible world with me,” she signed off. “I can’t believe what we’ve done. I can’t believe it’s over.”
Watch P!nk’s Summer Carnival recap video below.
The Grammy Museum has announced the expansion of Grammy Camp, a week-long program for high school students interested in pursuing careers in the music industry. Starting in summer 2025, Grammy Camp will be held in New York and Miami, in addition to its flagship Los Angeles program. The 2025 Grammy Camp season will take place […]
Kesha is on the run from a gang of really bad seeds in the action-packed video for her single “Joyride.” In the visual that dropped on Wednesday (Nov. 20), the singer makes a seemingly cheeky reference to her split with former producer/label boss Dr. Luke, with a voiceover saying that she is “set to be released after nine years of wrongful imprisonment” thanks to new evidence overturning her conviction.
Forget all that, though, because the high-octane clip co-directed by the singer, Laura Gorun, Dimitri Basil and Cooper Roussel is a cheeky homage to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill series, with Kesha playing the part of a red leather-clad hell-raiser on the run from a group of colorfully named hired assassins. From the fonts to the names of her tormentors, the clip has QT’s influence all over it.
After finding out — in Italian for no apparent reason — that her unnamed tormentor only has “60 miles of blacktop” to stop her from achieving her goal, Kesha slips into her driving leathers and hits the road as a helicopter fires rounds at her ride while she speeds down the desert highway in a vintage Jaguar convertible.
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“Are you a man?/ Cuz I’m a b–ch/ I’m already rich/ Just looking for that mmmmm/ This party sucks I’m ’bout to ditch,” she sings over the bouncing rhythm of the Zhone-produced song that dropped on July 4. The high-speed pursuit includes a procession of would-be sharpshooters taking potshots at her, including Yippie & the Kiyays, Sadie the Stabber & the Crazyboys, Rowdy Ricky & the Red Flags, and the mega-jacked Derk Delusional (the One to Outrun).
Try as they might, their bullets never hit their target and the video ends with Kesha striking a series of poses on her ride before she hits the gas, seemingly on a collision course with a sawed-off shotgun wielding, shirtless Derk. The action ends with a tease for her upcoming single, “Delusional,” which is out on Nov. 29.
“Joyride” is the first single Kesha has released on her own label, Kesha Records, following the settling of the defamation suit filed by Dr. Luke in 2023, which came years after the singer filed a suit against the producer in 2014 alleging physical, sexual and emotional abuse; Dr. Luke has denied all the allegations.
Watch the “Joyride” video below.
Lady Gaga has conquered music, movies and Las Vegas. But there is one item on her bucket list that has been annoying elusive. Until now. After Mother Monster was announced as one of the headliners for next year’s Coachella Festival, the singer took to her socials to gush about how the booking is the realization of one of her rock and roll fantasies.
“I have long dreamed of throwing a massive night of chaos in the desert,” Gaga wrote on Wednesday (Nov. 20) after the lineup for next year’s event in Indio, CA was unveiled. “I’ve had a vision I’ve never been able to fully realize at Coachella for reasons beyond our control but I wanted to come through for music fans. I have been wanting to go back and to do it right, and I am.”
Gaga, who is preparing to release her as-yet-untitled seventh studio album in February, headlined Coachella at the last minute in 2017 when she replaced Beyoncé, who was pregnant with twins Rumi and Sir Carter, marking her only appearance to date at the event. “I’m headlining and starting the weekend off at Coachella. Can’t wait to hear you all singalong and dance dance DANCE till we drop,” she added.
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Gaga has plenty of other big news to celebrate at the moment, including a new guitar-heavy version of her current single, “Disease (The Poison Live),” and the news that her collab with Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile,” just became the fastest song to reach 1 billion Spotify streams.
She will also have plenty of A-list company from fellow headliners Green Day, Post Malone and Travis Scott at the festival that will take place over two weekends — April 11-13 and 18-20 — which will also feature sets from Missy Elliott, Benson Boone, LISA, FKA Twigs, GloRilla, Tyla, Charli XCX, Anitta, Clairo, ENHYPEN, Jimmy Eat World, T-Pain, Megan Thee Stallion, Zedd, JENNIE of BLACKPINK, Beabadoobee, Ty Dolla $ign, Rema and Shaboozey, among many others.
A presale will kick off at 11 a.m. PT Friday (Nov. 22), with 2023 and 2025 attendees getting early access starting 11 a.m. PT the day before. You can also register for the presale now on Coachella’s website.
See Gaga’s post below.
BTS’ Jin made his hotly anticipated solo debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Nov. 20, promoting his first solo album, Happy.
Among the gems from the revealing interview, Jin recounted the fascinating story behind receiving a guitar from none other than Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
“Are you a big fan of rock? And who is your favorite rock artist?” host Jimmy Fallon asked Jin, who replied in his native tongue, with English captions reading, “I really, really love Coldplay… I had a chance to work with Coldplay before. A few years ago — before this album — Chris Martin gave me a song he wrote. We worked on it together and it was an honor for me.”
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While discussing his new album, Fallon asked, “I heard he gave you a guitar?”
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“Yes!” Jin confirmed, explaining, “I was hanging out with Chris Martin and he had a guitar from his tour, I jokingly asked him, ‘Can I have this guitar?’ Chris Martin was like, ‘Of course!’”
“I was so happy. Now it’s a family heirloom,” Jin added.
It seems the feeling’s mutual, with the Coldplay frontman once also sharing his adoration for the K-pop star in a 2023 video, saying, “I really love that guy.”
Fresh off his return from mandatory military service in June, Jin also used his time on Fallon to share anecdotes about reconnecting with his BTS bandmates, the origin of his playful “Worldwide Handsome” nickname, and taught Fallon the choreography for his viral hit “Super Tuna.”
A major highlight of the evening was Jin’s highly-anticipated live performance of “Running Wild,” a standout track from his debut solo project. Donning a shimmering pastel green fringe jacket, the K-pop superstar performed the new tune against a striking backdrop of a desert highway, with the stage adorned with street signs.
The Happy album features six tracks, including “Running Wild,” “I’ll Be There,” “Another Level,” “Falling,” “Heart on the Window” (a collaboration with Red Velvet’s Wendy), and “I Will Come to You.”
Jin’s appearance comes six years after BTS made its full-band debut on Fallon’s show. In 2018, the group — which is also comprised of SUGA, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — performed Billboard Hot 100 No. 11 hit “Idol” and “I’m Fine,” as well as tried out that year’s “Fortnite” dance trend.
In 2020, the boys made a number of Tonight Show appearances — including a couple of virtual musical numbers on the show to lighten ARMY’s moods during the COVID-19 pandemic — before returning again in 2021 for performances of their No. 1 hits “Butter” and “Permission to Dance.” Jin’s bandmates Jimin and SUGA have since made their own solo debuts on the show.
Jin’s latest appearance on Fallon comes hot on the heels of the release of his debut solo album, Happy, which dropped on Nov. 15. In a recent interview, Jin said of the project, “I have a very clear idea of what kind of emotions I want to share with our fans … I want our fans, our ARMY, to be happy.”
Jin’s solo era is unfolding as most of the BTS boys are still finishing out their mandatory service in the South Korean military, which the “Abyss” artist became the first to complete in June. J-Hope is the only other member of the group to have completed his since then; full-band activities are on pause until next year.
Watch Jin’s interview on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon here, as well as his live performance of “Running Wild” here.
