Music
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Global Citizen announced on Tuesday (Dec. 17) that John Legend will headline the 2025 installment of the group’s Move Afrika touring series next February. The international advocacy organization with a mission to end extreme poverty has tapped the singer/producer to topline the next iteration of the first-of-its-kind African tour circuit headlined by international artists.
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The 2025 edition will expand beyond the East-to-West Africa route to include stops in Nigeria and Rwanda, kicking off on February 21 with the Move Afrika: Kigali show at the BK Arena. The tour will then move on to Lagos for a show at the Palms on February 25.
“I’m honored and excited to perform in Kigali and Lagos as part of the Move Afrika tour – an initiative that not only brings unforgettable shows, but also creates entrepreneurship and job opportunities, empowering young people to engage with Africa’s growing music and creative industries,” said Legend in a statement. “Africa has always been a global cultural powerhouse, and it’s an honor to be part of the future of live music on the continent.”
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The first Move Afrika event, Move Afrika: Rwanda, was held in Kigali in December 2023 and was headlined by Kendrick Lamar and, according to the release, hailed as the most successful live music event ever staged in the country. The series aims to drive economic investment, job creation and support entrepreneurship opportunities in each host country it visits.
“Move Afrika is Global Citizen’s initiative to address the world’s inequities by creating job and entrepreneurship opportunities for the continent’s emerging generations through an annual series of live music events,” reads a release announcing next year’s lineup. “Showcasing the best of Africa to the world, these events will drive transformative investments within local communities, engage local artists, vendors, agencies and crews, and provide opportunities for on-the-job skill development and training.”
The goal is to add additional counties to the circuit each year over the next five years. The 2025 edition will spotlight a citizen-led advocacy campaign championing sustainable development and economic growth, with a focus on strengthening health systems across the continent. A limited number of tickets for Move Afrika: Kigali and Move Afrika: Lagos are available for purchase here; additional details about the February tour and how to earn free tickets by taking action with Global Citizen will be announced soon.
“We’re thrilled to have John Legend, our longtime Global Citizen Ambassador and friend, headline Move Afrika, as we expand the tour from Rwanda to Nigeria,” said Global Citizen co-founder and CEO Hugh Evans in a statement. “As Move Afrika grows year over year, our goal is to equip and inspire Africa’s dynamic, young population to participate in the live music and creative industries, while investing in its future with lasting infrastructure that will mean the continent no longer needs to be excluded from the international touring circuit.”
It’s not exactly a Christmas miracle, but it’s definitely better than a sharp candy cane in the eye. After cancelling a string of shows due to a battle with the flu, Mariah Carey promised her fans that she will close out her Christmas Time tour in style by making it back to the stage for the final scheduled show.
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“Lambs, thank you for making my #Christmastime so special,” Carey wrote in a post on Monday (Dec. 16) that featured photos and videos from previous stops on the holiday tour. “I’ve loved singing with you every night, and I can’t wait to see you all tomorrow in Brooklyn for the last show of the tour.”
The accompanying photo dump included a dramatic shot from behind of Carey staring out at an arena of fans holding up their phone flashlights, as well as a video of that moment in which she’s singing her beloved 1993 classic “Hero” and her Lambily help her out with group backing vocals. The slides also included pics of fans freaking out as the singer wades out into the crowd and a homemade sign that read “You are my safe space,” which Carey signed.
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Carey was forced to cancel her show at Pittsburgh’s PPG Paints Arena on Dec. 11, writing, “Pittsburgh, I am sorry to say, I’ve come down with the flu. It breaks my heart that I unfortunately have to cancel tonight’s show. I love you all so much.”
Then, in a message posted on the morning of her planned performance in Newark, New Jersey at the Prudential Center on Friday she told Lambs she was “still sick” and had to call off that show, as well as the one slated for Sunday (Dec. 15) at UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY.
No worries, though, MC promises she’ll be back at it tonight (Dec. 17) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Carey’s perennial holiday hit, “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” is back at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 dated Dec. 14, marking the song’s 15th collective week at No. 1 on the chart.
K-pop powerhouse Rosé has stormed the ARIA Albums Chart with her debut solo album, Rosie, landing at No. 2 and equaling her highest-charting success in Australia as part of BLACKPINK with The Album and Born Pink.
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Rosé’s lead single, “APT.” featuring Bruno Mars, isn’t letting go of its grip either. The track continues its impressive run at No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart for a sixth non-consecutive week, well and truly marking its place as one of 2024’s biggest hits. Her newest offering, “Toxic Till the End,” debuts at No. 31, boosted by a cinematic music video starring Gossip Girl’s Evan Mock.
Taylor Swift’s chart reign Down Under shows no signs of slowing down, with The Tortured Poets Department holding strong at No. 1 for a seventh non-consecutive week. That’s a record-breaking run for 2024, nudging past Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, which spent six weeks on top earlier this year.
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It’s yet another triumph for Swift in Australia, where she continues to shatter records. The Tortured Poets Department is now her 11th No. 1 album down under, more than any other female artist.
The album also pulled in the biggest opening week of the year, moving over 100,000 units, and set a new high for the most first-day Spotify streams in Australia.
Sabrina Carpenter keeps her streak alive as well, with Short n’ Sweet holding at No. 3. But she’s also bringing the holiday spirit, as her festive EP Fruitcake debuts at No. 59. The release features a playful Christmas version of her hit “Nonsense,” which hit No. 23 last year.
In a surprise comeback, Aussie hip-hop legends Bliss N Eso cracked the charts with their 2004 debut album, Flowers In The Pavement, appearing for the very first time at No. 46. Nearly two decades since its release, the record’s resurgence proves the trio’s lasting legacy, furthered by their three No. 1 albums over the years.
Meanwhile, the Christmas classics are creeping back into the mix as the holidays approach. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” climbs to No. 8, Wham!’s “Last Christmas” jumps to No. 10, and Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” shakes up the chart at No. 16.
The ARIA charts are a melting pot of heavyweights and holiday hits, with Taylor Swift still calling the shots, Rosé carving her solo path, and timeless anthems ringing in the festive season. The question now? Can anyone knock Swift off her throne, or will The Tortured Poets Department keep rewriting the record books?
After months of delays and speculation, SZA has finally announced the release date for Lana, the long-awaited deluxe edition of her chart-topping album SOS. The project is set to arrive on Friday, Dec. 20, as confirmed via a teaser video shared on social media.
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In the clip shared Monday (Dec. 16), Stiller channels his inner superfan, dramatically lip-syncing to what’s presumed to be SZA’s new track “Drive” while driving through a rainy night.
If the scene feels familiar, it’s because Stiller also once made an iconic lip-syncing cameo in Jack Johnson’s “Taylor” video back in 2003 — except this time, he’s swapping a guitar for a steering wheel.
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Lana has been in the works for over two years, with SZA first teasing it as “a whole other album” packed with outtakes and new tracks. In a recent interview with British Vogue, she reflected on her evolving creative process. “I think I am making music from a more beautiful place. From a more possible place versus a more angsty place,” she explained.
“I’m not identifying with my brokenness. It’s not my identity. It’s shit that happened to me. Yeah, I experienced cruelty. I have to put it down at some point. Piece by piece, my music is shifting because of that, the lighter I get.”
The deluxe release marks another chapter in the SOS era, which has been nothing short of massive.
Following its release, SOS debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart with 318,000 equivalent album units – the third-highest debut week of 2022 – and shattered the record for the biggest streaming week for an R&B album by a woman, with 404.6 million official on-demand streams for the album’s songs, according to Luminate. It spent 10 total weeks atop the chart, and became the first R&B album by a woman to hit the double-digit mark since Mariah Carey’s self-titled debut posted 11 weeks at No. 1 in 1991.
With Lana now confirmed, the release perfectly aligns with SZA’s upcoming stadium tour alongside Kendrick Lamar, kicking off in 2025. As part of their highly anticipated Grand National tour, presented by Live Nation, pgLang and Top Dawg Entertainment, the duo are setting off on a North American stadium tour beginning in April 2025.
The Grand National tour will kick off in Minnesota on April 19 and make its way through major cities across the country including Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, the New York area, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Detroit, Chicago and even Toronto before wrapping up in Washington, D.C., on June 18.
Sabrina Carpenter collects her second top 10-charting effort on the Billboard 200, as her holiday set Fruitcake reenters the Dec. 21-dated tally at No. 10, prompted largely by its wide physical release on CD, vinyl and cassette on Dec. 6. It joins her chart-topping Short n’ Sweet in the top 10, as it holds at No. 5. Fruitcake had previously peaked at No. 121 in 2023.
Fruitcake cooks up a big reentry thanks to major sales – the biggest sales week for any holiday album in four years, and the largest sales week for a holiday album on vinyl in the modern era (since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991). Fruitcake also got a big promotional boost from the debut of Carpenter’s Netflix holiday special, A Nonsense Christmas, on Dec. 6.
Fruitcake was initially released in November 2023 as a digital download album for purchase and through streaming services. The next month, it garnered a limited vinyl release, exclusively through Carpenter’s official webstore. On Dec. 6 of this year, the album became widely available on CD, cassette and three vinyl variants (including one exclusive to Target).
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In the tracking week ending Dec. 12, Fruitcake earned 54,000 equivalent album units (up 1,040%) in the U.S., according to Luminate, with album sales comprising 39,000 (up 27,326%; it debuts at No. 4 on Top Album Sales) and SEA units comprising 15,000 (up 210%, equaling 19.65 million on-demand official streams of set’s songs). Of the album’s 39,000 sales – vinyl sales comprise 31,000 copies.
The last holiday set with a bigger sales week overall (across all formats, physical and digital) was when Carrie Underwood’s My Gift debuted with 41,000 copies sold on the Oct. 10, 2020-dated chart.
Previously, the biggest sales week in the modern era for a holiday set on vinyl came just two weeks ago, when The Philly Specials’ A Philly Special Christmas Party bowed with 22,000 vinyl copies sold (Dec. 7 chart).
Back on the Billboard 200, with albums at Nos. 5 and 10, Carpenter is the sixth artist in 2024 to have at least two albums in the top 10 at the same time. Previously this year, Zach Bryan, Future, Metro Boomin, Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen all notched multiple projects in the top 10 concurrently.
Elsewhere on the charts, Fruitcake makes a sweet debut across multiple tallies: No. 1 on Indie Store Album Sales, No. 2 on Vinyl Albums, No. 2 on Top Catalog Albums and No. 4 on Top Album Sales. The set also zooms 47-3 (a new peak) on Top Holiday Albums.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. Units comprise album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). 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. All Dec. 21, 2024-dated charts will be posted in full on Billboard’s website on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Top Album Sales and Vinyl Albums ranks the week’s top-selling albums and vinyl albums, respectively. Indie Store Album Sales ranks the top-selling albums of the week at independent music stores. Top Holiday Albums ranks the week’s most popular holiday albums by equivalent album units. Top Catalog Albums ranks the week’s most popular catalog (older) albums across all genres, by equivalent album units.
Enigmatic English electronic extraordinaire Aphex Twin (aka Richard D. James) has released a surprise compilation album, with Music from the Merch Desk (2016–2023) collecting a number of limited edition recordings from the past decade. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Released on Tuesday (Dec. 17) without any […]
After more than a decade away from the iconic performing space, Katie Crutchfield has brought Waxahatchee back to NPR‘s Tiny Desk Concert series.
Appearing in support of her latest album, the Grammy-nominated Tiger’s Blood, Crutchfield ran through a five song set which included three tracks from her latest record, alongside the recent single “Much Ado About Nothing” and 2020’s “Fire”.
Backed by a full five-piece band, the performance is a picture of evolution for the Alabama musician, whose 2013 debut on the series in support of Cerulean Salt is one she looks back on with some mixed emotions.
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“I have been here before, it was about 11 years ago,” Crutchfield explained during her set.
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“I sort rolled out of the tour van, I didn’t realize I was going in be the NPR building, I sort of didn’t really know what I was doing at all. My amp broke in the middle,” she added. “I’m really happy to be back.”
Taking to her personal Substack newsletter after the fact, Crutchfield reflected on that initial performance, noting it does “leave some room for improvement”.
“It’s giving endearingly green and inexperienced and tiny bangs she cut herself in a hurry,” she wrote. “It’s a sweet little relic of my early 20s but I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to go back and do it again as a full grown adult with my band and some newer songs.”
Though this latest return to NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series is her second in-person appearance, Crutchfield did however show up with Kevin Morby in 2020 as part of the lockdown-inspired Tiny Desk (Home) Concert series.
Crutchfield’s latest effort as Waxahatchee, Tiger’s Blood, is currently up for Best Americana Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards in early February. It follows on from an impressive global showing for the record, which also featured a No. 146 position on the Billboard 200 and No. 27 on the Independent Albums chart.
Just a month after Bad Bunny bagged his 77th top 10 on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart, the Puerto Rican adds a new top 10 to his roster of songs, as “El Club” debuts at No. 2 on the Dec. 21-dated list. The new arrival extends his scope to 78 top 10s across a seventh calendar year, dating back to his first in 2017.
“El Club,”, along with its music video, was released Dec. 5 on Rimas Entertainment. The song launches at No. 2 as the Hot Shot Debut of the week largely to its streaming activity –9.5 million official U.S. streams in the tracking week of Dec. 6-12, according to Luminate. The sum also sparks a No. 2 entrance on Latin Streaming Songs for a record-extending 83 top 10s there.
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“El Club,” Benito’s second solo single of the year, follows “Una Velita,” a song that addressed the destructive effects of hurricane María on his native Puerto Rico in 2017, which launched at No. 4 on Hot Latin Songs with 6.6 million official U.S. streams (Oct. 5-dated list). The multi-metric tally combines streaming data, digital sales and audience impressions into its formula.
Despite a negligible number of downloads in its first week, “El Club” advances 11-2 on Latin Digital Song Sales, also Benito’s 78th top 10 there.
With “El Club,” Bad Bunny stacks his 78th top 10 on Hot Latin Songs, further extending the distance from the next competitor, Enrique Iglesias, who last secured a top 10 through his Anuel AA collab, “Fútbol y Rumba” (No. 8 debut and peak in 2020).
As Bad Bunny’s top 10 collection grows, here’s a look at the artists with the most top 10s on Hot Latin Songs since its inception in 1986:
78, Bad Bunny39, Enrique Iglesias39, Luis Miguel37, Daddy Yankee37, Shakira
Further, “El Club” starts at No. 66 on the overall Billboard Hot 100, for Benito’s 97th entry there, still the most for a Latin artist. It also makes its No. 39 entrance on both the Billboard Global 200 and Global Excl. U.S. charts, with 31 million global streams and 22 million clicks outside the U.S., respectively.
All charts (dated Dec. 21, 2024) will update on Billboard.com tomorrow (Dec. 17). For all chart news, you can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
When Cai Xukun — the 26-year-old Chinese singer-songwriter better known as KUN — began working on his smash single “Afterglow,” he wanted to capture fleeting moments of change by connecting time and space with art and fashion. “I pondered for a long time about what kind of word could represent this imagery and mood,” he says. “Finally, the word ‘afterglow’ came to mind. We often see this scenery during various travel moments — including while driving; it represents our feelings in that instant. I chose this theme and combined it with some of the images in my mind: models on the runway, flashing lights, shifting time and space and changing people.”
“Afterglow” immediately connected with audiences. On its release day in early June, the song achieved a score of over 95 on the Tencent Music Uni Chart, which aggregates data from nine major platforms and over 100 radio stations. The song remained on the chart for 10 weeks and became the fastest song to receive gold certification on the Tencent chart; it also made the June edition of the Tencent Music Wave Chart, which is voted on by over 200 Chinese music industry professionals. That success has informed his selection as China’s representative for Billboard’s Global No. 1s, as chosen jointly by Tencent Music Chart and Billboard China.
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KUN created “Afterglow” with soul and rock sounds, and his integration of modern and classic production influences helped to give the song a timeless feel. And the song’s success marks the beginning of a new musical phase for KUN. “In my upcoming works, I will include some classic or modern elements,” he says. “I hope everyone can gradually sense a recognizable style in my music.”
In fact, several new singles KUN released in 2024 represent his fresh musical explorations. For instance, “Remedy” features clean piano sounds paired with a vintage vocal style, revealing his more minimalist side. It also reflects his listening habits: “I often enjoy classic songs, especially in quiet moments alone, listening to music and savoring that dialogue with myself,” he says.
While his previous works were warmer, KUN’s 2024 release “RIDE OR DIE” introduces a sound that’s new for him. “This song serves as a signal I’m conveying, heralding a transformation in my future musical style,” he says. “I believe it is essential to present something distinct to my audience, which has always been my aspiration. Consequently, the production process for ‘RIDE OR DIE’ extended over a considerable period and traversed numerous iterations, aiming to express the ‘stormy night’ concept that has long resided in my heart.”
KUN photographed for the Billboard China Global No. 1s Issue.
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Looking ahead, KUN plans to continue to expand his online live concept Art Lab, chronicling his growth and reflecting his changes from year to year — while strengthening his connections with audiences. “I can feel their enthusiasm, and they can feel my energy,” he says of his live performances. As time progresses, KUN is learning to “enjoy the process,” he adds. “Whether you genuinely enjoy the experience or merely fulfill a task can yield entirely different results. I believe that embracing this journey is paramount.”
Now, KUN is relishing a journey of “accumulation.” He’s preparing for a long journey ahead and accumulating new musical energy that he plans to direct toward producing more great songs. “This year, through the process of production and performance, I have engaged in numerous discussions and collaborations with various artists, which have profoundly influenced my personal perspectives and aesthetics,” he says. “Next year is likely to be a year where I unveil the fruits of my introspection.”
As Chinese artists increasingly gain international acclaim, KUN believes that the intersection of music across diverse cultures transcends language and geography, fostering cultural exchange. “I aspire for more individuals globally to experience music that is authentically ours as Chinese,” he says. “This has consistently been my ambition.”
As the chapter of who was responsible for 2Pac‘s death finally closes with the arrest of Keffe D, more stories from that fateful night are being told.
Young Noble of the Outlawz, who frequently collaborated with the late rapper and actor — sat down with The Art of Dialogue to talk about Pac’s final days in the hospital after he was shot in Las Vegas after a Mike Tyson fight in 1996.
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He began talking about the day the Notorious B.I.G. got shot in Los Angeles by revealing that the group had recently signed to Death Row and that he remembered them getting kicked out of a hotel after the staff accused them of pimping due to “too much female activity.” Noble then recalled watching the news about Biggie and feeling like “hip-hop was dying.”
Adding, “This ain’t how it’s supposed to be. We didn’t wish that on Biggie or nothin’ like that. It felt devastating,” before acknowledging that some members of the Outlawz were featured on 2Pac’s “Hit ‘Em Up” where he dissed Big.
Towards the end of the interview, Noble started speaking on being there with Pac in the hospital. “I was right there, front and center,” he said before referring to the longstanding rumors that the late rapper allegedly faked his death and moved to Cuba.
“Let them tell it, he’s still alive underground like Bin Laden somewhere hiding or in Cuba… Nah, he really died. I really was in the hospital. I really saw him with tubes in his body. I really saw his body full of fluid real big. He wasn’t skinny with the six-pack; his body was full. He really f—king died on us.”
The New Jersey rapper then claimed Pac’s mother made the decision to “let her son go,” saying, “He probably could have lived. His momma said, ‘Nah, f—k all that. I think he lost his finger, he was gonna lose a lung, they were gonna do all these surgeries. You know how strong your momma gotta to be to say, ‘Damn, he’s probably could make it. I don’t want my son to endure no more pain in this world. Y’all tear him down.’ That sh—t is devastating.”
He then added, “She let her son go. ‘Pac ain’t die; Afeni said, ‘Let my son fly,’” before getting emotional and walking off set as he continued to talk about how his friend’s life has been “dissected” since his untimely passing.
You can watch the full clip below.